u/PerformanceUnfair717

I was reading on Twitter about another anime that also recently ended, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Season 2, and I noticed that there were many people expressing relief that it was over. And these people weren't idle haters, but former fans of the series, people who had enjoyed the first season. On MAL, there's also a thread about this anime where other people express the same feeling of boredom and disappointment with season 2, proving that this phenomenon is widespread in the fandom of this series. And I think observing this fandom can be instructive for some fans who are hoping for a continuation of GNK in the form of a new season.

Broadly, this anime, as far as I could find out, is a school romance that, in the first season (which, btw, was well received) portrayed a slow-burn crush of a girl on a boy (or is it the other way around, I don't know). At the end of the season, although nothing physical is shown between them, the protagonists are much closer than at the beginning (and may even be a couple). Sounds familiar?

In the second season, they're already a couple, very lovey-dovey and all, and several kisses and hugs are depicted between them. There's no longer any doubt about the nature of their relationship. For GNK fans, who were frustrated with the ending of our first season and want a kind of final confirmation that the love between Nakamura and Hirose is 2,000% reciprocal and they'll be romancing soon, this sounds wonderful, a bliss after all the doubts and turmoil, but fans of that other series have discovered that what seems excellent on paper is boring on TV.

The two main complaints are:

• Lack of tension in the storyline of season 2. After the "will they, won't they" plot was resolved, the second season doesn't seem to have anything left to show.

• The interactions are repetitive. The dialogues recycle the same lines, the male protagonist is always reiterating how attracted he feels to his girlfriend, how she almost makes him lose control in that sense, and the other characters are always sucking up to the protagonists and hammering on about how cool a couple they are.

The frustration is such that many fans dropped the series before it ended.

Now, taking a step back, let's be honest with ourselves: isn't it easy to see that the same thing could happen to GNK? Anime, no matter the genre (think Dragon Ball and its sequels), is very susceptible to this kind of nonstop repetition when it's dragged on too long. That's the problem with stories that get sequels, not because the author has something more to say, but because there's a financial incentive to stretch the story out.

When it comes to storytelling, less is more. A series that says something in 14 or 15 episodes is superior to another that says the same thing in 26. I think a new season for GNK with 13 chapters is too much. If, in a future second season, they show NakaHiro as an established couple in the first few episodes, the story will have fallen into complete stagnation by the end, even if we think we'd like to simply follow Nakamura and Hirose living their best life as a couple for 10+ episodes. If, on the contrary, their relationship regresses at the beginning of the new season to extend the story and add tension to the final stretch, the story will have been too similar to season 1, and the fans' feelings won't be as heightened as they were the first time around.

I want a continuation and official confirmation of NakaHiro, a canonical demonstration that they are a real couple and not just hints and nods that they will get together in the future, but something shorter - an OVA lasting one or two episodes - would be enough to demonstrate this.

https://trends.google.com/explore?geo=Worldwide&q=%2Fg%2F11fnvry9hx

Even episode 6 had no such effect!

I was looking at the episode ratings on IMDb and I got the feeling that a theory I've been pondering for a while has been proven. And I think this theory helps to predict a little bit of what will happen in the last episode.

Let's say the series can be divided into two parts: the first goes from episodes 1 to 6, and the second, from episodes 7 to 13. My thesis is that, except for the fact that the second part is longer, both have the same structure.

Episodes 1-3 are introductory episodes that are relatively uneventful in terms of development or progress between Nakamura and Hirose. Episode 4, on the other hand, diverges by showing a rapprochement that surpasses that of previous episodes (Nakamura and Hirose hang out together outside of school). This is reflected in its IMDB score, which is better than that of previous episodes, because that's what fans of this series want to see: Nakamura and Hirose together. It's not a very significant rapprochement, but it helps to produce a sense of meaning and progress and encourages the viewer to continue watching the series after episodes with little change in the boys' relationship.

Next comes episode 5, which is a nothingburger episode that seems to undo the previous optimism. Hirose spends all his time in Takeuchi's lap and little happens between him and Nakamura. Suffice it to say it's the least liked of the first part on IMDB. And then comes episode 6, about which I don't need to say much beyond the fact that it's a hit and, so far, by far the most popular of the series on IMDB.

Now, why did the best episode follow the worst? It's no coincidence. The producers and editors of the series knew that the qualities of episode 6 would resonate more deeply with the viewer if they appeared completely unexpectedly, after the viewer's expectations had been driven low following episode 5. Opposites enhance each other!

That this structure was intentional is proven by the fact that Part 2 was assembled in the same way. Three average episodes (7 to 9) without a clear sense of progress; fourth episode (the 10th) showing an unexpected rapprochement, in which Hirose invites Nakamura to study together, this episode being more liked than the previous three; and then comes episode 11, which is the least popular of the second part as it frustrates the expectations that were built up the episode before. Finally we have episode 12, a banger episode that will rival episode 6. Its emotional impact is greatly enhanced by the casualness of the previous episode.

The series producers understand very well that the star of an episode will shine brighter if the one that came before had a very different frequency. And that's good news for anyone who wants Nakamura to have the ending he deserves. Because, from what we know of how animators are working, they wouldn't have placed two episodes with very similar tones back-to-back. What follows a hopelessly sad episode will be something different! And yes, I know the production staff cried during the final two episodes. But that doesn't mean the reason was the same both times! The ending will have a different impact, one that will shine much brighter precisely because the previous episode took us down a completely different path before.