Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 continues to reward fans of the series with a charming slice-of-life comedy-drama blend. Created by Take, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 features excellent animation produced by ENGI (Management of a Novice Alchemist, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs). Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 features theme music performed by Kano (opening), Naomi Ōzora (opening), and MKLNtic (ending).

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 features performances by Naomi Ōzora and Kenji Akabane. Fans who enjoy cute and charming anime will find the second season continues the tradition of a delightful mix of genre elements with this sweet-natured comedy. A series for kawaii anime fans.

Hana Uzaki (Naomi Ōzora) and Shinichi Sakurai (Kenji Akabane) seem like two peas in a pod. The pair are still close and now that summer has ended, Uzaki and Sakurai discover that their close friends are still wondering why the two aren’t already in a relationship. When will Uzaki and Sakurai start dating?

An unending dating inquiry by family and friends means the two-to-tango relationship keeps turning the page. Could Uzaki and Sakurai start dating each other soon? As Uzaki and Sakurai get closer-and-closer to each other – the inches between them increasingly minimizes and before long Uzaki and Sakurai could be total lovebirds. Can there at last be romance be in the air?

The characters are at the heart of the series. Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 features sweet and charming characters who are the essence of the series. The cast of characters adds a lot to the production and make it a lot more delightful for fans of lighthearted and sweet-natured anime. A wonderful showcase for the character designs, too. The character designs are by Manabu Kurihara (Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 1, Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto). The designs for the characters and their personalities well. The aesthetic adds to the kawaii factor of Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2.

The animation on Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 is exceptional. The animation is one of the best qualities of the anime. The aesthetic looks superb and the art style adds plenty of charm to the production.

The series features art direction by Satoshi Ōkubo (The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out). The series also features chief animation direction by Manabu Kurihara (Puzzle & Dragons X, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs), Masahiko Suzuki (Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs), and Shinpei Koikawa (Management of a Novice Alchemist, High School DxD Hero). The animators brought a lot to the table with quality animation that reflects the kawaii sensibilities provided by Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2.

The score composed by Naoki Tani (The Detective Is Already Dead, Narenare -Cheer for you!-) and Satoshi Igarashi (Don't Hurt Me, My Healer!, Zetsumetsu Kigu-shun–), Tatsuya Yano (The Detective Is Already Dead, Stella of the Theater: World Dai Star), and Yuri Morita is cute and fun, too. The score adds to the series blissful sense of kawaii charms. The music certainly adds warmth and character to the series.

The cinematography by Yūsuke Yamamoto (Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me, Zenryoku Usagi) is well-done and provides absorbing cinematography for the production. An impressive showcase for the visuals with cinematography providing a nice aesthetic sheen to the production. The art style is well highlighted by the cinematography. The bright and colorful animation is on full display in regards to the cinematographic approach by Yamamoto.

Written by Takashi Aoshima (Brighter than the Dawning Blue, The Troubled Life of Miss Kotoura), Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 delivers fun comedy-drama with the beloved characters of the first season. The series continues to explore the characters fans have come to love. The writing is solid with good characterizations, nice dialogue, and fun charm. The comedy is goofy and entertaining on the series.

Directed by Kazuya Miura (Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs, Full Dive), Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 delivers what fans are looking for. The series provides audiences charming animation alongside a sweet comedy-drama and the right ingredients for a fun time. Fans will continue to want to seek out the series for its bubbly personality and sweet style.  

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series aesthetic is well reproduced on the release. Colors are bright and crisp. Animation looks incredible with impressive line art and background animation. The encoding is impressively handled with good clarity on the release. A solid encode by Crunchyroll.

One of the hallmarks of Blu-ray is the superior presentation quality. This was one of the established hallmarks of the format long before streaming even existed. Even in the age of streaming service options, it's nice knowing that Blu-ray continues to provide viewers with superior encoding in comparison to streaming video services. Blu-ray provides superior video bit-rates with better encoding. For home theater enthusiasts and videophiles seeking the absolute best picture quality obtainable, the physical media format is superior to any and all streaming video services.

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release capably highlights the sound direction by Yasunori Ebina (A Certain Magical Index, Date A Live). The audio does a solid job reproducing the dialogue with crisp clarity and detail. The score and soundstage are well handled on the release, too. The English dub is provided with a slightly more enveloping surround mix but purists will still prefer the Japanese language version with its equally impressive lossless option.

The Blu-ray format provides a huge advantage over all streaming video services: lossless audio. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non- lossless) audio encoding. For audiophiles and audio purists who want the best possible sound quality achievable, the Blu-ray format provides superior audio with superior bit-rates, bit-depth, and dimension. The soundstage is all the better on the physical format.

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray release includes an o-card slipcover on the first print run. The standard-edition differs from the limited edition and includes the same key artwork. The standard edition still looks nice in hand. In comparison to some of the other standard editions offered by Crunchyroll, this one seems a little less interesting, perhaps to entice buyers to lean more towards opting for the limited edition offering with more 'goodies' for collectors wanting a more complete box-set of add-in collectables.

On disc extras include:

Commercials (HD, 4:44)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

The supplements could have been expanded to make a more robust package. The set only provides a small handful of extras. The set would have been improved with audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast/crew interviews, photo galleries, and more. Alas, the only extras feel unessential.

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 2 continues the series sense of charm with beautiful animation and a fun cast of characters. The series is entertaining and provides anime fans with cute and bubbly kawaii anime for series fans who enjoy the mix of comedy-drama the series provides. Fans will feel thrilled to continue the journey.

The Blu-ray release provides an excellent video presentation alongside an impressive lossless audio encode. The release also includes a small selection of extras (including commercials and textless opening/ending credits). The set also comes with a slipcover on the first press run. Recommended.