I can hardly believe that they announced a season 3 for this show already. This series has never felt like it is particularly popular. Certainly not like Slime or Overlord, but apparently it has done well enough to justify its continuing adaptation.
This episode is where we very quickly jump around and tie up a lot of loose ends. Well, one loose end is tied up by Root instead, while another was mostly eaten by Mio. The interaction between Root and Sophia is a good reminder that underneath the flirty, quirky exterior, he is not anybody's friend. The whole guild system was set up to act as a way to get the strongest hyumans killed after all.
Looking forward to a season 3! As for this season, I think Mio said it best...
This series has never felt like it is particularly popular
I never even saw it on the popularity charts you posted but maybe that was because it was a 2 cour anime so not technically a spring one? Although maybe those charts are for outside Japan.
Certainly not like Slime or Overlord
I don't know how everyone else feels but I haven't watched the last like four episodes of slime. I probably shouldn't give up on it but boy does it seem like it's just time I won't get back... I could see people liking Tsukimichi at least more this season rather than overall.
Do you have any closing thoughts on the season overall? Especially with the heroes in the first part, and the students later on? Should they have cut more, less, or was pacing the main issue? I feel like I'm coming out of it with a positive opinion but thinking about it, that might be because everything good was stacked right on the last few episodes, where it took ~23 other episodes to get here
Looking at the charts that zabadoh posts is a good idea. Here is the most recent post. The JP twitter list shows that Tsukimichi has about as many twitter followers in Japan as 7th Prince does, a show that just aired for its first season, compared to the second season/third cour of Tsukimichi.
Looking at the other chart (MAL + AniList) gives an idea of the following in the English-speaking world. On that chart, Tsukimichi has about as many followers as Wind Breaker, another show that just aired its first season.
So, overall, not a tremendous showing for Tsukimichi. Again, surprising that this gets an immediate season 3 announcement. Perhaps there is some merit to the "some rich person likes the series" theory you had.
Slime
I haven't watched this show at all to be honest. Instead, I read the manga basically up to the content covered by this season (based on what I have seen of the discussion during the episode threads). I basically stopped reading at this point though, so I sympathize with having trouble finding the motivation to go on.
closing thoughts on the season overall
I think the season had some ups and downs. I personally really enjoyed the beginning of the season where we got the stories of the heroes that was cut out of season 1. However, I do sympathize with anime-onlies that were confused/frustrated that these characters aren't why they watch Tsukimichi. Their stories kind of come out of nowhere if you aren't familiar with the source.
After that bit of filling in the blanks left by season 1, moving to Rotsgard, the story really slowed down and I think it probably could have been done better. There were opportunities to make things a bit more exciting through here that were just passed up. Classes/fights with the mist lizards could have been more exciting. The tournament arc started ok, with the student fights being exciting, but then the fights against the monsters felt extremely boring. There were lots of politics happening during this sequence, so I understand they chose to focus on that, but I feel they could have helped balance it out a little bit by slimming down conversations and adding in a little more action. Also through here, they mostly cut the backstory of Ilumgand, which is a shame. Without his backstory, he is just an asshole rather than more of a victim of circumstance that was preyed upon.
Then, finally, the last section of the season where Makoto and Shiki are summoned by the Goddess to save Hibiki. From here on out it was fantastic, and was a great way to end the season. Just like the first season, the show runners really know how to end on a bang. I wish there was more of the Kaleneon, Left, or Lancer fight, but I think the show chose to focus more on Sophia/Makoto, which is probably the right call if you have to make a choice.
I thought they would actually go back to the fight in Kaleneon this episode but, nope, fast forwarded through it. I still really don't understand what Mio did to make the demon general a smol lizard... I assume it has to do with his reflection skill but... I didn't remember or expect Mio to have won the fight by eating.
Mondo and Lime best bro duo this season.
They kind of glossed over it but the prince(ss) was expecting Makoto to be normal and like... blackmail her. That and Makoto turning down a full time teaching position shows it really does help to have a pocket dimension where all your needs are met.
What I was wondering if would get adapted last episode was (I wonder if we were talking about the same thing, wjs018), and Sofia is shown to be still alive! Oop, nevermind. Hard to not feel bad for her, Root definitely comes off as the villain here with his blasé attitude towards life, but perhaps that comes with living a very long time and losing everyone you get close to by being functionally immortal.
I had a moment during the party where I was thinking "Wait, is this the scene with... Right Mio won the contest... so will they adapt..." And yep, I feel like that's kind of a bad scene to end on, as Makoto brushes her affection aside, comes off as prime dense protag to me, but at least they all get a last name so they're like family, right?
I wanted to spend some time reflecting on the entire season, but doubt I'll have enough time to go through it all to collect my thoughts. Overall I didn't find the adaptation disappointing, but that might be because I have a lot of context with the WN, manga, and soon LN to fill in the gaps. I do wonder if things would be better if they went even more cut-heavy. Like people complain the students aren't fleshed out in the anime, but are in the manga (so go check it out if you want to see more), but I wonder what if the anime just completely cut them out? Nah, that's impossible, but what if... I'm not sure I've seen anything make that amount of drastic cuts though.
It was a fun ride, surprised it got a 2 cour episode season, and even more surprised it's getting a season 3. I think over time this became my favorite isekai, though it's very slow going there's so much character and relationship development, as well as crafty antagonists and allies, that I couldn't think of anything I'd place higher, so even though the anime adapation itself has been a bit iffy, another season is still something I look forward to
We were! I remember this interaction between Root and Sophia being kind of shocking when I read the WN because of how different he seems throughout the whole rest of the story up to this point. He is not the silly, flirty, carefree person that we normally see other times, but a cold, indifferent, ruthless immortal being that has determined she has outlived her usefulness.
Something that happened during that interaction that I didn't remember was him noticing the katana. Is the implication that Lancer turned Root's former husband (an isekai'd Japanese person, thus katana) into a sword and that is why it is so powerful?
what Mio did to make the demon general a smol lizard
I don't remember this either. I did find the image of her munching on the spear really funny though.
I agree with your assessment that Makoto doesn't really come off the best in how he continues to brush off Mio's (and Tomoe's) obvious affection. If they are family now, does he see them as sisters or as wives? He really needs to clarify things, with himself more than anything else. Also, does that make Shiki a brother, or a husband? If it's the latter, Shiki better steer clear of Root, because the jealousy is likely to get him killed.