English Dub Season Review: Himouto! Umaru-chan R

Overview:

Umaru Doma is back with more of her at-home otaku life and her constantly being adored out in public. This season focuses more on her relationships with her friends and brother.

Our Take:

The first season of Himouto! Umaru-chan primarily focused on Umaru and her double life. When she’s at home, she’s a lazy slob. She spends all her time watching anime and playing video games. When she’s out in public, everyone views her as perfect and beautiful. We saw some of her interactions with her friends and her brother, but that wasn’t focus. In Season Two, however, we mainly see her interactions with them. The season also gives us a lot more backstory on all of the other characters. We see Umaru hanging out with her friends during holidays and just doing more activities in general. There are also more interactions between the other characters. For example, Taihei officially meets Sylphin for the first time this season. Some of these interactions are enjoyable and I do appreciate that the show’s formula changed a little from the first season.

Unfortunately, seeing more of the rest of the characters and learning more more about them doesn’t make me like them any more. I wasn’t too keen on most of the characters introduced in Season One and my opinions haven’t really changed. Umaru still acts the same as she did. I find her at-home personality to be annoying and her public persona to be disingenuous. Yeah, she can be nice, but being nice doesn’t automatically make a character good. She’s not as bad as Kirei though. I just hate seeing Kirie on my screen. I don’t like her attitude nor do I care for her obsessive behavior. It’s not funny to me, it’s just weird. There’s a new character named Hikari and I dislike her almost as much as Kirie.. She has a brother complex with Taihei, which is a trope I’ve never cared for.

At least they’re not all bad. Kanau is a pretty fun character, but she doesn’t get a lot of screen time. I always enjoy seeing Sylphin. I’ll admit that she can be a bit too over the top and she has worn off of me a little, but she’s still enjoyable to watch. I liked learning more about her and seeing her transition from Umaru’s rival to her friend. Let’s not forget about my favorite character in the series: Nana. I can’t help but root for Nana every time I see her. She’s very sweet and she’s just a joy to watch.

The visuals are about the same as they were the previous season. The show looks good overall, but I can’t stand Umaru’s chibi design. I don’t like the way the design looks, but I also can’t stand the lack of logic behind it. This was more of a problem in the first season, but it’s still present here.

“Komaru” is called by her real name on several occasions, but Kirie never figures out that they’re one in the same. If she does, it’s never explicitly mentioned. That’s just one part of a bigger issue I have with the show. The answers to so many questions are right in front of characters’ faces, but they’re either too stupid or naïve to realize it. I know this isn’t the type of the show you’re supposed to take seriously, but it gets infuriating watching this happen over and over again.

As for the comedy, it definitely has its moments. I don’t find this show to be gut-bustlingly funny, but I always find me laughing at least a couple of times during each episode. The voice acting quality is also consistent from the first season. There are a few lines in the dub that try too hard to sound hip. Those lines will be dated in a few years time when today’s slang dies off. Thankfully, that kind of dialogue doesn’t come up too much.

Overall, Season Two is about on par with Season One. I commend the show for changing its focus, but I don’t think it’s much of an improvement over the previous season. This is a type of show that I would normally be into, but the lackluster characters are what hold the show back for me. I appreciate the show going into more detail with them, but giving them backstories doesn’t automatically make them likable. I can see why people enjoy Umaru and the show’s sense of humor, but it doesn’t tickle my funny bone that much.