Silver Spoon Season 2 - Episode 11 (Completed)

Hachiken's dreaded return home to pick up some of his brother's study notes for Mikage all seems to be going smoothly - he's bumped into and managed to impress some former schoolmates, and it seems that his house is empty leaving him free from bumping into his father.

Of course, a boy's luck can only run for so long, and before leaving he finds himself not only meeting his parents but being implored to stay for a meal - a delicious meal at that, but one soured by one of Yugo's father and another of his brusque remarks, this time regarding Hachiken's attempts to help Mikage study despite having failed an entrance exam himself.  To his mother's surprise, this cause Yugo to flare up and argue back to his father, suggesting that treating failure as an absolute and the end of the road would make him less important than livestock before storming out of the house.

Recounting this story back at Ooezo nets him plenty of sympathy, with the exception of Tamako who suggests that perhaps Hachiken's father had a point - rather than getting back on the proverbial horse and risking failure again, is he actually simply living vicariously through Mikage by helping her study?  It's a prospect that rocks Hachiken to the core and leaves him racked with guilt, although his apology to Aki proves that it isn't as big of a deal as he thinks he is.  Then again, this all comes at a time when there's joviality all around, as a surprise visit from Yugo's mother so that she can find out at least a little of what his school life is like turns into something of a feast of locally-sourced produce.  It's the kind of evening that leaves all and sundry pondering their future with positive thoughts in mind, leaving us with a happy place to end this second season of Silver Spoon on.

Well, at least it's as happy as you can be when a series that you really don't want to end comes to a close - once again, Silver Spoon has been an absolute joy to watch this week and unceasingly brilliant in its execution.  Its comedy continues to be pinpoint accurate almost without fail, and its drama and emotion is so measured that it can be subtle when it needs to be but hit you with the force of a sledgehammer when it wants to, thanks in no short part to its wonderful cast of characters.  It would be criminal for this anime adaptation not to continue in the future, and I for one will doubtless be missing this show hugely until it (hopefully) returns.