Hyakko - Episode 2

After introducing us to the main four characters in its opening instalment, episode two of Hyakko gives us a rather better glimpse of what we can expect from this slice-of-lice school comedy.

A couple of weeks into the school year, it's time to choose on an after-school club to join, thus setting the scene for untold disasters, particularly given Torako's rather over-zealous competitive streak. Indeed, it's Torako's enthusiasm that sets the scene for this episode, building up what gradually becomes a rather vicious rivalry between herself and the initially apathetic Tatsui as they try out a variety of sports as well as a handful of other activities (which are rather glossed over for some reason).


I commented last time around that Hyakko will have to do a lot more to impress me than its first episode offered, and while to be fair this second instalment was an improvement it didn't really hit any home runs as far as its humour is concerned - It did have its moments, but nothing truly laugh-ou-loud funny, with the episode overall having a bit of a "seen it all before" feeling to it. Torako's boisterous nature has set her out as the natural leader of the group, but I really hope that Ayumi and Suzume get more of a look-in in future episodes than just standing around watching events involving the other two unfold, as they really were horribly neglected beyond the odd moment here and there this time around.

So, two episodes in there's no real sign that Hyakko will prove to be anything other than a run-of-the-mill example of its genre, but we can at least hope that it succeeds in pulling out some decent individual episodes during its run.