Ah, WHITE ALBUM… It was a visual novel that turned into an anime series back in 2009. Despite its flaws, it was the anime series that I cried inside a little, especially with the soundtrack (Yeah, kudos to Nana Mizuki and her opening theme “Shin Ai” that I feel in love with that series!).
Now, there’s a sequel set 10 years after the original series, with new characters and setting, all being handled by Satelight.
Now for the first episode… I’m expected that they’ll start with the high school setting like in typical visual novels, where in the original, they started during the college years. But seriously, it’s good to have a stepping stone before the real drama starts.
On the character side, we got Haruki Kitahara as the main character. While he’s a good guy who helps others (and has good grades too), I have a feeling that he might become the next Touya Fujii in the future. But it’s too early yet!
Still, he’s acting like a well-mannered student with a bit of snark to it! I wish he would stay that way.
For the heroines, I think it’s okay but the sequel only has two for now.
Of course, Setsuna Ogiso reminds me of Yuki Morikawa with a strike resemblance to Rina Ogata. As for Kazusa Touma, I think she’s gonna be the dark horse for WHITE ALBUM 2 (Heck, Hitomi Nabatame is in on this anime adaptation).
Other than the characters, Satelight did a great job on adapting it and living up to its reputation. Heck, its OST is a big improvement over the original. Now if only they could insert “Shin Ai” as a nod to this series, just like the visual novel.
While WHITE ALBUM 2 leaves me a good impression, the only complain for this sequel is the timeline. It is supposed to be 10 years after WHITE ALBUM, which would have set WHITE ALBUM 2 during the 90’s or early 2000s. But then again, it seems that AQUAPLUS messed up the years before making the sequel. (The anime of WHITE ALBUM took place in 1986, where the original visual novel took place in the early 90’s.)
Logically speaking, WHITE ALBUM 2 took place 17 (the visual novel version) or 21 (the anime version) years after the events of WHITE ALBUM. Still, I have a feeling that there won’t be a cameo appearances of the main characters from the original.
Nevertheless, it’s gonna be a drama fest on WHITE ALBUM 2, especially on later episodes. I hope the staff continue that good momentum of the first episode until the end!
Anyways, on to the next episode… and I can’t wait for Haruki meeting that mysterious pianist!
The Anime Rambler - By Benigmatica 