When have we ever seen a love triangle played out correctly? I don't mean like those that are consider "successful" because your favorite couple in the triangle won in the end, but an actually good love triangle with a legitimate dynamic and reason to exist. White Album 2 (and yes it is a sequel, but it's a standalone sequel. White Album is not required.) is perhaps the first show to make me actually appreciate the fact that even a love triangle can be done correctly. I can't be the only one who groans audibly when I see the makings of a love triangle in any medium, not just anime. In my mind, it just speaks to lazy writing, because the writer is trying to stir up artificial drama or simply can't decide which couple should be the canon couple. White Album 2 completely subverts this expectation, but more on that in a little bit.

One thing that White Album 2 isn't going to be remembered for is its visuals. It's probably the most okay looking show I've ever seen, even a little bit underwhelming, yet, I can't seem to be upset about it. I think it's because of how little White Album 2 actually needs to lean on its visuals. Of course, if it was animated well and looked beautiful, my score might be even higher, but the fact that it's still in the 80s despite looking just okay is a mark to how good the rest of the show was and that's best illustrated in the soundtrack.

It seems somewhat redundant to praise an anime about music for having good music, because that should be a given right? Well, yes, but White Album 2's soundtrack is nothing short of phenomenal. It seems a little contradictory, but the opening and ending aren't really anything to write home about, in my opinion. The true strength of the music lies in the soundtrack, especially in the title track, White Album, which I'll just put right here:

▶ This song single handedly convinced me that this show was going to be worth watching. And indeed it was, as this song plays constantly, almost once an episode, but different versions here and there, making it unique and moving no matter when it plays. Of course, there are other inserts that are fantastic as well, but they're not as worthy of getting direct praise like White Album is.

Favorite Character: Kasuza Touma

I'm not really sure that I need to explain very much why she's my favorite character, White Album 2's narrative shows Touma in the better light in my opinion, but I was also a fan of her from the start so I don't know if I'm just letting my bias talk. There are definitely only three characters that matter in White Album 2 though, even though there are more, they serve essentially no purpose other than to have other people appear in the show. You're either a Touma fan or a Setsuna fan and that's basically what it boils down to. I couldn't help but feel bad for Haruki throughout the show too. He was just trying his best to encourage the two girls to overcome what problems they had while he had a crush on this girl who taught him guitar and then everything comes crashing down around him. It feels almost personal. We essentially feel what he does, the confusion and the desperation as he tries to keep the trio together, while knowing full well that it's not possible after the romantic feelings rise to the surface. Here is where I need to chime in with my "fuck Setsuna", because the entire drama is entirely her fault from start to finish, but I'll let you watch White Album 2 and come to the same conclusion.

There's not a lot of substance to White Album 2's story outside of the character drama, which suits it just fine. For only 13 episodes, it achieves what many shows cannot. That would be having a clear direction. White Album 2 had its story to tell and that's exactly what it did. Previously, I criticized Steins;Gate 0 for not having any focus, well, White Album 2 is the exact opposite of that. It focuses exclusively on the trio's relationship, and it's exactly what was needed. Anything else and White Album 2 wouldn't have worked like it did. I have to tip my hat to White Album 2 for not caving and trying to be far broader than it could handle, but simply just telling its story. I would recommend White Album 2 to almost anyone who's interested in romantic dramas and as something of a case study for how to do love triangles. I didn't really touch on it before, so I'll do it now: You have to have a winner chosen from the start when you make love triangles. That's not to say that you make it painfully obvious, but it was clear that Haruki loved Touma more from the way the narrative shaped around the two of them compared to him and Setsuna. It wasn't obvious that it would turn out the way it did, but it was clear the whole time that Haruki knew who he loved more. That's top notch writing if I've ever seen some. I wish that most serious harem shows would take notes.