Deadjournal

The second season of Sora no Otoshimono turned out to be just as uninspired and dumb as the first. Most episodes are crammed with idiotic fanservice aimed at 13-to-16-year-old teenagers. Some episodes crank the absurdity up to ridiculous levels. That said, there are a few moments where the show tries to insert some meaning or plot, but the story is so poorly developed that you might as well say it’s nonexistent.

Here’s the gist of it: an ordinary Japanese high schooler has a "fall from the sky" moment, literally, as a well-endowed "angeloid" drops onto his head and immediately starts calling him "Master." Then comes a second angeloid, this time a loli. Then a third. Then yet another angeloid, an even younger loli, who initially wants to kill everyone on orders from the Big Bad but ends up "healed" by a good old-fashioned beating and turns into a cute and harmless character. The entire point of the story is to build the protagonist’s harem so they can churn out fanservice scenes. Same old, same old.

Now, let’s talk about the characters:

Tomoki: The protagonist, a perverted little creep who delights in inhaling the scent of women’s bathrooms and panties. Like many classic anime high schoolers, he lives alone in a huge house because his parents are conveniently "away somewhere far."
Sohara: Tomoki’s childhood friend, secretly in love with him. Completely unremarkable.
Ikaros: The main angeloid who calls Tomoki "Master." A stereotypical kuudere, nothing special.
Nymph: The second angeloid, a classic loli tsundere.
Chaos: A loli yandere who wants to kill the protagonist and her fellow "traitor angeloids" but ultimately mellows out.
Mikako: A character so obnoxious you just want to punch her.
Sugata: The sole voice of reason in this entire mess, the only character who doesn’t evoke disgust.
Minos: The main villain who gets barely any screen time.

And that’s pretty much it. This anime might appeal to unpicky fans of "cute girls" and fanservice. Judging by its MAL average rating (7.8/10), there are more than enough of those around.

I’ve known about this anime for a long time and had been wanting to watch it, but I kept putting it off. A few days ago, I finally decided to give it a go. Well, I wish I hadn’t. The first five episodes were fairly enjoyable, and I even considered giving it an 8/10. However, as I kept watching, my internal rating dropped with almost every episode, eventually hitting 5/10 by the end. And that’s a score I reserve for outright trash. Unfortunately, To LOVE-Ru turned out to be exactly that kind of “trash” on par with Cosprayers and other disasters from Studio M.O.E.

The final episode felt like some forgotten OVA from the 90s, a complete shit. But it’s not all bad. The character design is decent, and the protagonist, while being a classic soft-spoken and feminine "nice guy," is surprisingly non-irritating. I also liked Lala, though that’s mostly because I have a soft spot for chaotic, energetic genki characters. Everyone else fades into the background; none of the other characters left any impression. It takes a special kind of talent to create a 26-episode anime where not a single character gets properly developed.

I had high hopes for Mikan, the protagonist’s sister, but she barely appeared in the series, which was disappointing. Overall, it was one letdown after another. That said, I’ll still watch the sequels since the person responsible for this mess, who has apparently never created anything but garbage, wasn’t involved.

This anime had potential, and if a studio like Shaft or KyoAni had taken the reins, it could have turned out to be a solid title. Unfortunately, it ended up in the hands of someone who completely butchered it. Here’s hoping the sequels do better.