Yama no Susume Season 2 Notes

2024 September 28

Reposted from my Anilist account. The version here pretty much just contains my own writing, go to Anilist to see other bits & resources like staff lists and such.

OVA โ†’

S2E2

First, for episode 2, my thoughts are (unfortunately) in this Twitter thread. Click here to see the full thread.

S2E4

end of the Mitsutouge arc! nice one to begin the season off of, teaching Aoi the lesson of taking things at her own pace, which will become that much more important as they go to take on Mt. Fuji. Really not much to say other than it's just so fun & fluffy, and Shimada's touch all over the episode just makes it all the more of a joy to watch.

S2E6

Another thread.

S2E7

what it doesn't have in production power is made up for with Mizumoto's expressive boards. you can see their different personalities just through their mannerisms alone. and while it would've helped to have the acting chops to support that, Mizumoto proves that it's more than feasible to economically create visual storytelling that can be just as effective.

S2E8

Yet another thread.

S2E10

It's discussed here the importance that were the team's location scouts, and that rings even truer for the Mt. Fuji location. Sure, they could've just used reference photos (of which they extensively used their own), but having actually gone there and become familiar with the location, Yamamoto and his team didn't have to rely solely on the confines of what's within the frame of a photo. The solemnly silent scenes at 10:15, with only the deep howls of wind and the characters' voice to accompany the dimly lit path/platform that they stand onโ€”none of that would be possible if the team didn't go to the actual location to capture the atmosphere of the scenery. The music in this episode was really great as well, starting melancholic as we see Aoi's dissapointment, before it starts ramping up into bittersweet determination on Hinata/Kokona's part to make it to the top for Aoi's sake.

S2E12

Love the bit with Kokona stepping down, wanting to act and cheer Aoi up, while Hinata is still feeling awkward and is staying still. Aoi's progression in this episode is obvious, but the way Hinata's experience is portrayed is also equally as great in its own understated wayโ€”which makes sense considering that Hinata is actively holding her feelings back.

And that's beautifully illustrated here by the environment around her, from the green walking light blinking out, insinuating that feeling of awkward stagnationโ€”

Hinata literally walking against the "current" of her own emotions of wanting to step in and help Aoi, with the car literally driving opposite of Hinata's directionโ€”

before she stops and turns at the bridge, the wind swaying the initially still greenery, bringing a sense of movement to the scene as Hinata suddenly feels the urge to climb that distant mountain. It's Hinata's infectious desire to get up and *act*, no matter what failures may have happened to soil a past experience, that ended up influencing Aoi to stand up and try again.

It's with Aoi's trip, climbing the first mountain we saw in the series, where Kaede's words last episode really take shape and emblematic towards the overall tone of the show.

I've already mentioned this before, but it's that low-pressure approach to self-improvement that really makes this show rise above the rest, while still being a microcosm of what I love about this genre. In a lesser show, Hinata would've pulled Aoi out of her room to take her on that trip, but she didn't. Aoi had to step out of her room all on her own (albeit thanks to Hinata's words of encouragement in the letter), to meet Hinata's sense of initiative halfway. It was Aoi's own choice to climb Mt. Fujiโ€”and it was because of that that made her subsequent failure feel all the more frustrating & humiliating; and if she were alone, that disappointment would've made her quit right then and there, but she isn't. That's why it's also important to acknowledge that she didn't completely make that choice on her own, that it was her bond with Hinata and her infectious enthusiasm that ended up encouraging her in the first place. Hinata did the right thing here, being sure to give Aoi space to process the experience, which gave her the time to come to terms with it as well. Because the entire time she was up at the peak, she must've been thinking "This would've been so much better if Aoi were with me". Because Hinata made it to the peak and completed the trip, it's easy to forget that Hinata's experience could've been so much more fulfilling tooโ€”that disappointment goes for everyone on the trip, not just Aoi.

And it was through their own overcoming of that disappointment that they were able to get through to Aoi. It was only because Hinata refused to let that caveat soil her own experience, choosing to make the loop around Mt. Fuji's peak without Aoi at Kaede's suggestion, that she was able to shower Aoi with the souvenirs that ended up encouraging her at the end, literal signs showing what always giving your best and making the most out of an experience in the face of failure can give you.

What struck Aoi most in this experience wasn't just the sights that she saw (tho that's a big part of it), but how supportive everyone was of her throughout the entire experienceโ€”particularly Kaede, as it was Aoi that was the reason that Kaede couldn't make it to the top as well.

It was that unconditional support that taught Aoi to lend that same support to herself as well. To be okay with the experience at the end, to recognize that it's still an experience that's worth remembering, and to see it as just another stumble in her journey to self-improvement.

All she needed to do now was to take a rest, and stand up again whenever she felt ready. Because her friends will always be waiting for her, ready to support her however they can. This arc is flawless, still one of my favorite stories ever, just *so* wholesome and motivating ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ™

S2E13

what a visual feast of an ep!!! still as incredible as i remembered ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ as a whole the ep looks a bit more like the manga, but that's more due to how eel's style just so happens to coincide with siro's, and one look at the episode and you can tell that he allowed everyone to run wild with their scenes; a microcosm of the whole show's philosophy

Toshiyuki Sato's (ไฝ่—คๅˆฉๅนธ) take is a great fusion between the original designs, eel influences, and a touch of ichigo marshmallow (which he also worked on): with huge eyes and zero shadows on the faces to exaggerate the expressiveness of these designs even further

this smile...... hamaguchi ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญโ™ฅโ™ฅโ™ฅ

beautiful use irotore on both of these, not overdone while still appropriately accentuating the lighting and shading of the scene

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Hisashi Mori's (ๆฃฎไน…ๅธ) parts, appropriately brought on with this whole episode practically being an homage to Nijiiro Hotaru, a movie about the ephemeral temporality of a summer's day in youth--also pretty much what this episode is about! his iconic lineart, paired with the dialed back & simple designs, is perfectly suited to depicting the fragile nature of memories, and as much as they can be looked back at fondly they can be easily warped and misremembered the more time goes on

no other sequence can provide a better answer to Mori's scenes than the GOAT, the legend, the icon himself, Shingo Yamashita's (ๅฑฑไธ‹ๆธ…ๆ‚Ÿ). instead of removing details like Mori's parts, he dials the detail up to 11โ€”even going so far as to handle the compositing for this scene himself. all in order to immersively depict the value of experiencing these memories in the present, where all you could do to process it is to stand back and admire the almost overwhelming spectacle of it all... what a breathtaking sequence... it will never fail to blow me away.

and to end it off with Tatsurou Kawano's (ๅท้‡Ž้”ๆœ—) scene, a more accurate telling of the memory so it's more detailed than Mori's, but no less afraid of quenching that realism to make it befitting for a memory sequence

the blushes especially stand out to me bc the color settei shows that the compositing normally fades out the blushes but they exaggerated it here to bring out the youthfulness of the scene ๐Ÿฅบโ™ฅ

the SOUL in these drawings ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

smug gfs cute๐Ÿฅบ๐Ÿ˜ญโ™ฅ

the art direction really stepped up in this episode too to match the great layouts

smiles to protect for the ages..... ๐Ÿฅบ๐Ÿฅบ๐Ÿ™ This is Kyu Uchida's scene, they only have three credits somehow, with this being their second after space dandy. tbh it just looks like eel to me

i cant count how many times i rewatched this cut on the booru, but seeing it fullscreened in 1080p for the 1st time in a long time made it such a magical momentโ€ฆ the shifting lines, the pupil gradually wavering and subtly losing its shapeโ€ฆ absolute perfection, yama saikyou ๐Ÿ™

eel's costume design ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™โ™ฅโ™ฅโ™ฅ

S2E14

interesting ED and top KA role by Daisuke Hiramaki, who's the new star director at Doga Kobo, directing shows like Wataten, Koias, Selection Project, and the upcoming Oshi no Ko.

Mom bonding episode!!! I've always loved this ep, she's so supportive of Aoi, even after what happened on Mt. Fuji 😭😭

speaking of Aoi's mom, you should totally read this fan manga if you can, it's so pure and sweet aaaaaaaa 😭😭😭

Narrative wise, it's introducing the final arc of the season with Aoi getting the desire to climb the mountain of their memories with Hinataโ€”a big deal since they were building up to it since the very beginning of the series! A fitting obstacle to that goal as well, where they have to take a lift up to the path, the episode where Aoi works on her fear of heights is one of the best of the season, but we'll get to it when we get to it.

S2E15

SB/ED: Ryouji Masuyama

really underrated episode, wonder if he utilized some of that influence in depicting melancholy from being assistant ED to takao in the legendary animas #24

small edit, click to expand

(EDIT: interesting theory i had, but i think the assistant ED role entails just overseeing the logistics of production so that the main ED can just focus on the creative side of it, so who knows if he actually took influence from that experience.)


esp this part that starts with kaede singlemindedly looking out to the mountains before yuuka barges into the frame. each time we return to the classroom, kaede keeps pushing yuuka away before finally she gets fed up with it and kaede is left empty in the frame to contemplate why

anyways yuuka's rly cute and she has a fun dynamic with kaede, i hope we get to see more of her in S4 ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ™

not sure they made it out here like she was dead or moved away tho, this always confused me lmao

S2E16

as much of a plot/exposition ep as you could get in this kind of show. still yamasusu tho, so still tons of fun, with plenty of fun expressions all thruout to carry it.

S2E17

Ebata's legendary ep!!! Sakugablog explained it better than I could, with the way his style is so perfectly suited to all the different park equipment the characters play on, and as a whole just a really sweet episode and gesture by Hinata to kick off this mini-arc of Aoi preparing for the challenge of riding the cable car.

S2E18

The part-time job episode! Hikari is a ton of fun. Aoi got the job like it was nothing, if only it were that easy ๐Ÿ˜ญ

S2E19

this may the funniest ep of the show, that 'Now loading...' part killed me ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ the timing and sound effects were so perfect

some great layouts in thie ep ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

S2E20

kokona tenshi,,,,,

S2E22

yamamoto's last SB of the season, and those location scouts really came in handy this ep with some of the season's most impressive and well-realized backgrounds

this part was particularly impressive, starting with the zoom out to take our attention away from the characters and onto the scenery, and that sweeping PAN with the different layers between the background, foreground and focal point makes the location feel so much more vast

the episode was cute too with aoi gravitating towards honoka because it's rare to meet another introvert like her that's interested in climbing mountains ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿฅบ theyre so cute, please let there be more honoka in S4 ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

S2E23

Great episode, so many great parts of this episode. Kokona's party in the mountain hut, with everyone joining in on the song was always so, so heartwarming to me ;-; and ofc Aoi and Hinata finally fulfilling their promise together, something that was being built up to for the whole series is so great, with the leadup to it being the so incredibly accurate depiction of the mix between excitement, anticipation & anxiety that comes with a big trip and a day that will stick with them for the rest of their lives, while still marking a change between them. the contrast between the permanence of an unforgettable memory, and the impermanence of a fulfilled promise made it such a bittersweet, yet optimistic episode by the end of it, especially with Aoi actively going to introduce herself to Honoka without the encouragement by Hinata or anyone (Honoka's yurucamp Rin-like personality is no coincidence, with it necessitating Aoi to take the initiative and go up to her if she wants to become friends with her), we can tell how much Aoi has grown and how this will change things between Aoi and Hinata, now that Aoi doesn't need to rely on Hinata as much. Get used to the bittersweetness of this episode is all I'll say for now, because oh boy we're in for a treat for season 3 and the OVA

OVA โ†’