More office ladies working at a video game company and being gay for each other. That is all well and good but is there more to the sequel than that? Let us find out as we take a look at New Game!! (Double Plus), aka New Game season 2.
Review of the first season HERE.
Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life, Drama
Themes: Video Games, Office Lady, Fanservice, Yuri
Number of episodes: 12
G-Rating: 11/10
Plot Summary: After the success of Fairies Story 3 the women of Eagle Jump are back and hard at work on a new project called PECO. Aoba and some of her colleagues will face new obstacles as they start moving up in the workplace and also meet brand new faces. Will they be up to the challenge?
Aoba. Still cute but her “other side” also becomes more visible than before this season.
Readers wondering why I gave the 2nd season the extra title of “Double Plus” it is because there was a huge clamoring from fans for the season to be titled New Game! + due to how obvious and fitting of a sequel title it is. We instead got two exclamation marks. HOWEVER, both have pluses instead of dots…and there you have it.
Describing NG!++ is quite simple: Everything that made the first season great times a hundred. What this means is the workload is greater, the fun times are even more fun, the sexy scenes are sexier, the office drama is deeper and most importantly the yuri power is doubled. The show has some nitpicks here and there but we will slowly get to them.
Expect some heavier character developing drama this time around.
Let us first go over the character development and deeper drama. See, while both were present and accounted for in the first season it feels even stronger this time around, for better or worse depending on who one asks. What I mean by this is that compared to last time where it mostly felt like the story was about “Aoba and Ko and friends”, this time it felt like EVERYONE had their time in the spotlight facing greater professional and personal obstacles than before. Some of the ladies got promotions and had to face the challenge of whether they were ready to step up or not. Others wondered whether they really contributed anything after all their time working there. Then there are the newcomers who had their own challenges to overcome. Put simply, while the video game development part of the show was still fun and lighthearted the character developing drama was stronger than before. Expect to get the feels on multiple occasions…unless the viewer is a cynic/internet critic then I do not know. Again it all depends on how the viewer feels about the show taking its character much more seriously than before.
Hifumi’s awesomeness went up dramatically.
As I said though it is not all work and no play. Far from it. The other parts that made the show great are still present and stronger than before. Hifumi in particular got to shine brightly on both a personal and professional level, making fans of hers love her even more. The same goes for most of the girls who did not get much development last time like Yun and Hajime.
Sexy times are still present and they are, like everything else, better than ever.
The animation is similar to the first season but again like everything else it looks better, is more colorful and the sexy scenes are sexier. The soundtrack, OP and EDs are nice and cute.
The two most prominent newcomers, Momiji Mochizuki and Narumi Tsubame.
Next up let us briefly go over the veterans and newcomers. As mentioned above almost everyone goes through A LOT of development on the show. Then there are the newcomers, some who get more time than others. The two newbies who get the most screen time are the interns who debut somewhere in the 2nd half of the season Narumi Tsubame and Momiji Mochizuki. The best advice I can give peeps is to be patient with them, especially Narumi. They make solid first impressions but from the second episode they are in and onward…again patience is key. One drawback to the interns’ addition is that while most of the veterans got plenty of time to shine in the first half it was at the cost of less screen time in the second half in favor of the interns getting to develop then. Some veterans still get the spotlight during the second half but others not so much.
Rin did not get to do very much this season. However…
That is until we get to Rin. Out of all the veterans she was the one who got the least time to shine. Apart from more of what made her likable last time she spent most of her time as either assisting Director Hazuki with her work or providing moral support for everyone. Other than that not much else. HOWEVER, at the cost of not getting much screen time she had arguably one of the most powerful moments in the season…we just had to wait a long, long time to see Rin get her defining moment. Trust me though, it is worth the wait.
Many familiar ships evolved to something more this season.
Lastly we come to the yuri which had the strongest evolution of all. What do I mean? The show went from being about “Ambiguously gay and some lesbian office ladies” to “Lesbian office ladies who have difficulty confessing their feelings to the respective coworkers they have a crush on”. It may not sound like much but trust me it is huge step up. Of course for the peeps I like to refer to as “counter culture doods” they can still apply the Yuri Yuri “anything goes” shipping principle if they so wish.
Overall New Game!! (Double Plus) is everything that made the first season great times a hundred. Some of it will not please everyone, like the more emotional drama, but for everyone else who loved the first season this is an easy recommendation. Girls Club aficionados will also find plenty to enjoy here.
The Yuri Empire 
Awesome season..but Rin 😦
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No worries. She’ll be fine.
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Sniff, well, the moment they had, holding hands..was GOLDEN, so Ko better don’t dissapears.
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It’s one of those long-distance relationships where Rin will make sure Ko never forgets the promise to come back to her.
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You make it sound so romantic and good. Yes, it’ll be like that!
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As many others here have pointed it, twas pretty much a romantic confession/marriage proposal between RinKo. They’re set for life. All Rin has to do is be patient while keeping in touch with her beloved and vice-versa.
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Yun and Hajime are fucking
I need to watch it Pripri was so good
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Do it ASAP
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it was a very of good thing indeed I thinks.
So… can I just assume that Rin x Kou is canon now? I can, can’t I?
Either way, it was an incredibly good season that included incredibly juicy character development and deepened the ships to an astonishing extent, I’m quite satisfied…
… However, there are 3 things that I thought were lacking, they’re quite simple things, but big things:
1: There wasn’t enough footage of Peco, and I wanted to see how the boss fight actually went, and I just wanted more in general.
2: We didn’t get a definitive Aoba x Hifumi scene this season, like none at all, it won’t stop me from shipping because it’s basically second nature to ship for me now, but I still would’ve liked some material.
3: Ditto for Nene x Umiko, it’s up there on my list in terms of ships, since I think their personalities mix well with a definite bottom/top dynamic that makes it far more… romantic, yet, despite their good chemistry, we didn’t get much shipping material for them.
I think that if they did a third season, it’d probably occur a year or two after, or maybe even 4 years when Kou returns from France, and would focus almost entirely around the amount of progress that Aoba has made, and might also feature some character changes in said Aoba (taller, different hairstyle, voice, etc), alternatively, now bear with me, it could be set in France at the company Kou is transferred to with an entirely new cast (and might have older cast members return in a couple of episodes), the only problem with that is they could either have the characters speak in broken french, as I doubt they could find a full cast of high-quality female French seiyuu for a Japanese anime, or Japanese, which would break immersion a bit (although quite a few anime do incorporate other languages when necessary, very few actually succeed at it), in the end, there is probably going to be a season 3 at some point, I’m sure it’ll be great too.
In conclusion, all is well in the universe, Rin will certainly visit her future wife when she gets a chance, I’m sure, and the other ships are intact (although it looks like the writers are actually trying to make us ship Momo and Aoba for some reason, I just get that vibe).
Going bed now.
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So much goodness in both the drama, sexy and fun times, culminating in a GLORIOUS FINALE!
I’m sure she’ll visit her when she gets a vacation.
Nah. Naru’s Momo’s soul mate and Aoba has Hifumi.
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Perfectly summarized and said, so not much to add. I loved this season even more than the first and fell that much more in love with all the key ships, especially Nene x Umiko. RinKou goes without saying and the others are pretty obvious as well, even if they didn’t get there full time to shine just yet. I believe it’ll happen eventually though, in the season 3 I pray we’ll get. Should be interesting to see just how the next season will go forward with Kou being gone, unless they will do a time skip as others suggested. Either way, I’m looking forward to more, so I’m going to remain hopeful.
RinKou is canon! The words didn’t need to be explicitly said to understand that moment was Rin’s confession and that they will always be together forever, even if they have to be apart for a little while. Their love will never die and Kou will surely return to her wife again.
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It had plenty more to laugh about, cry and squee over, yes. NeneUmi was also my fav pairing of the season but RinKo had the biggest breakout moment without a doubt.
Hopefully we’ll one day get a third season and see the key couples shine even brighter.
As someone here also mentioned their reaction when Director Hazuki said for everyone to leave the two lovebirds alone. Yup. RinKo is so canon and set to wed in the future.
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The ++ in the exclamation points works for the development aspect more than the game aspect.
In season 1, my impression of RinxKo was the two were dating from sometime before the series began, but not open about it. Season 2’s developments make me think they are, but Ko is a big dummy that nearly ruins things for everyone around her (meat and potatoes, moving to France at the drop of a hat). I’m surprised Rin didn’t want to run after her… maybe in a few months.
I was hoping for a big Hifumi confession this season. It seems like she was working towards it early on, but the she got pushed out of the spotlight.
My current interpretation of Nene x Umiko is the two started dating around the time Nene spotted her outside one day. The way Umiko answered Nene’s phone call in an early episode…
Yun x Hajime is stuck on Yun opening up as a person, but Hajime is going to fight for her… even if it means sacrificing cool toys for dinner with her.
As for the newcomers, Naru is my favorite. I can relate to her in some ways, and she amuses me. Momo would rank higher if she didn’t keep crushing on other people all the time, when she’s obviously got a thing with Naru. I can relate to her too. Christina didn’t leave much of an impression. Maybe she’ll get more time in the future.
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Indeed.
RinKo are progressing smoothly. That confession pretty much set them up for life. Pay attention to how they reacted to Director Hazuki’s words.
Hifumi’s time will come. Aoba will be hers one day.
Correct.
Their progression is slower but coming along nicely.
It simply means Naru will possibly have to take notes from Rin.
Don’t forget about Hotaru. She made a brief but very delightful impression.
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Director Hazuki’s had many excellent words about those two this season. “So you wouldn’t mind if I hired a guy that swept Ko off her feet?”
Come on Hifumi, you can do it!
Naru needs to follow a different strategy for her relationship with Momo, something along the lines of the headbutting argument from the red light/green light beta test.
Oh, right, Hotaru. She needs more screentime. Also someone who she can date. Her appearance was very fun.
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That was awesome. Poor Rin nearly lost her mind when she suggested that.
FIGHTO!
Yup. You go girl. Fight for your “cow”.
Yes. More Hotaru goodness.
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It’s because the comments hit home, even if Rin and Ko are at the point where they’ll start stripping in the office at the other’s request.
Hifumi needs to call on her best cosplay persona when confessing to Aoba.
For and with, then make up with twice-cooked pork with pork for dinner.
Lots more Hotaru.
Seven Seas will be publishing the manga next year. I’ll be picking it up then.
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I love how when shizuku calls them lovebirds, neither of them deny it.
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Indeed.
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Rin x Ko was confirmed canon, and the moment was truly precious.
I loved how New Game! has done its best to give every character a developmental episode, despite having a rather large cast for a CGDCT show.
As you mentioned thoroughly in your review, the S2 had everything that made the S1 great and made it stronger. I am definitely looking forward to a sequel soon, as a movie or an OVA if not S3.
(It seems there is a manga arc that is yet to be animated, featuring Aoba and Nene before joining Eagle Jump, meeting Hotaru for the first time.)
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So precious.
Here’s hoping we eventually get a third season.
That would make a for a nice OVA.
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please let there be an OVA for Rin x Ko’s wedding in Paris 😀
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That would be GLORIOUS!
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It was hard to see that airport scene. And the look of Rin’s face. I can’t stand it. I’m no good with goodbyes.
Overall I really enjoyed it a lot more than the first season. Hifumi x Aoba remain my favorite. And it’s to see other couples get to shine too. I really hope there’ll be third season and Ko-chan is back home.
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It was a bittersweet scene.
Yes. Let us patiently wait for a third season.
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Not much to add to what you and others have said. Amazing season indeed. Hifumi, gambatte!
…And also others. You can do it too! Follow in the footsteps of Kou x Rin! Or not, as they’re terrible at confessing their feelings! But they succeeded! Mostly!
I realized now watching the ED in the last episode, that that ED is absolutely filled with foreshadowing for everything that happened, mostly to deal with Kou leaving…the fact she’s only shown at the start, almost as if Aoba is reminiscing about the past, in contrast to everyone else after that shown like they’re doing those things in the present, and the fact Kou doesn’t appear even in the background for any of the other character’s moments…almost as if the song is sung from the perspective of Aoba after Kou has left, and her feelings about such, moving forward…All the feels.
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Hifumi FIGHTO!
They can take notes from the two but not follow them step by step. Just focus on the more important ones so they can confess/propose a little quicker.
Excellent observation!
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Another great season from New Game! You’re right that it got a hundred times better than the first one. It’s a level up on all aspects. Though I wish Rin had more screen time. I love this show. I have no words for it. And with the way it ended, it looks like we’re going to get a third season. I haven’t caught up with the manga yet so I’m not sure if there’s enough material to work on but this show has gathered a huge fanbase and it’s highly possible for us to have another season or even an OVA.
I still wish that PECO will go on sale in real life because I really want to play that game. It looks so good.
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Yes. It warms my heart whenever a Girls Club show successfully wins over the mainstream.
Yup. I and many other gamers here would love to play PECO and the Fairies Story games if they were real.
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And that’s another season in the books. I loved the deep dive we got into the veterans’ relationships. From Hajime and Yun, tiptoeing around their attraction, to Rin ans Ko being married now (that last scene was Ko PROPOSING to Rin) everyone got a chance to shine.
The best relationship upgrade came from Nene and Umiko. Nene stepped up in a big way. That she could win the respect (and heart) of a professional programmer, is astounding. The fact that Umiko could step out of her aloof comfort zone and be charming and flirtatious with Nene made this season for me. Love elevates us, and it elevated these two to be the best version of themselves.
We got to see a lot of Aoba and Hifumi on their own. Dealing with their own problems. Hifumi became a effective supervisor, without changing her core personality, and Aoba found her competitive spirit, going as far as butting heads with her mentor for a project. We also got to see a bit more of Aoba’s rather twisted sense of humor. When she and Hifumi actually DO have sex, it’s going to be epic, or horrifying!
So, while I wish there was more overt Hifumi/Aoba, we did get Momo rather obviously crushing on Aoba. She and Hifumi are going to have it out over this in the future.
It was fun seeing more of the corporate political side of game design. I’m glad Ko blew up the event by inviting Aoba on stage. Aoba has some ways to go, but she’s eventually going to be the “Face” of Eagle Jump. Little girls are going to look up to her and want to get into game design. Just as long as she sleeps with her pajamas on! :p
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So much win.
Yup. NeneUmi is my favorite couple of the season for the same reasons you mentioned.
Still eagerly anticipating the confrontation between Demon Aoba and Full Power Cosplay Hifumi.
Let’s not leave out Narumi. I’m sure she too will have something to say about Momo hitting on Aoba.
Especially her bear pajamas.
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I have to admit the second season of New Game is very enjoyable. While it’s sad that we didn’t get to see more Aoba and Hifumi moments, at least the other pairings meet expectations. Nice to see that Yun and Hajime receive some time in the spotlight and maybe Umiko and Nene. Momo is also nice, although I had some mixed feelings with Narumi being mean to Nene.
While it will be awhile until a third season comes, but I kind of want to see another season. There is always the video game that I haven’t finished yet.
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Precisely. Should there be an eventual 3rd season I’m sure we’ll get plenty more Hifumi X Aoba.
Especially Umiko and Nene.
Yeah. Narumi took some time before peeps accepted her. She was unnecessarily mean to Nene.
Yes. I heard good things from the PS Vita game.
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That Rin and Kou scene after the party, just wow. Those two are totally a couple, like it has to be canon.
What an amazing finale that was. I went in expecting feels but man I got hit hard with the feels. I’m no good with tearful goodbyes like that in anime, I get all choked up and teary eyed while watching. But it was great to see Rin and Kou really show each other how much they care about and love one another. Those two are so good.
I liked how they did expand on the entire cast and we got to know more about the girls Aoba works with. I found myself liking Yun a lot more this season than I thought I would. Not like I wasn’t a fan of her before, but for some reason she just really stood out for me this season. She’s actually really cute.
Hifumi still remains me favorite and best girl (nendo hype!!) and it was great to see her character develop more and become more confident with talking to others and just interacting in general. I’m always cheering her on!
So yeah overall I have to give this one a solid 10/10. It hit all the right notes and delivered an enjoyable, sexy, dramatic and just plain fun experience week after week. Really gonna miss this show a lot but I’ve still got the manga to go read.
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Oh you bet they are. RinKo is #TrueLove and yes their scene was both GLORIOUS and sad to see them be apart for a while but best believe they’ll keep in touch as often as possible and I’m sure Rin will book a flight to Paris when she gets a vacation.
Yes. The other ladies got more time to shine this time around and it was great!
Hifumi is love.
It’s one of the best o 2017 for sure. Here’s hoping for an eventual 3rd season.
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11/10 only? 15/10 from me. 🙂
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11/10 is my super score reserved for Girls Club shows I really enjoyed but yes, 15/10 is another great score.
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I shall be the lone voice in the woods among many strange creatures that have thought patterns I cannot follow….
First, Rin and Kou were fantastic. The pairing was always working in the background throughout and then built up to a very bombtastic conclusion.
Next, Yun and Hajime finally got some real time to shine~ I’ve always loved the two, so glad to finally see it begin to go somewhere. Now Yun just needs to break through the wall of obliviousness that Hajime holds up.
The two new hires were great! I hope for more fun interactions between them in season 3 if it happens!
Onto the controversy!!!
All riiiiight. It begins. So, I loved this season for many many reasons but another one of them would be how great the development went on NeneAoba! I mean, Nene kept on saying how it was a ‘whim’/etc. Which, is true in a way. But she also let loose an important piece of information: It was all because she wanted to be able to make games with Aoba. She also made sure that the very first person who got to see the finished product was none other than…Aoba!! They spent a lot of fun time together this season, and even decided on a dream that they would definitely make a game together one day, with Aoba as the lead character designer ❤ Love those two so much ~
Shipping wars aside, I agree that the story was handled so much better this season. It felt way stronger and the characters got so much development. Aoba has grown so crazy much from the first season, and they all have increased their professional levels, getting higher and higher. Kou’s speech at the end was a really good summation of what happened. I’m sure the day she returns will be a day of great joy for her ;_;
hopefully a third season can bring us more great times….
FINALLY
I want to play a game like PECO SO…VERY…BAD!
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Your view of Aoba and Nene with different love interests than the ones almost everyone else sees continues and will continue should a third season air I imagine. I wish you luck when that time comes. At least you agree with RinKo and HajiYun.
We all want to play PECO.
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Well, Ko ended up leaving Eagle Jump. Technically speaking, seeing as Christina used her connections to get Ko a job at her sister’s company in France and she prevented her from outright quitting. She’ll be back someday.
All that aside, Rin’s moment with did not disappoint at all. Aoba was no slouch in that department either although she would’ve have been if she kept her true feelings about Ko buried(Thanks for that, Momiji!).
Overall, I say this season was a great improvement on the first. More character development’s never a bad thing and the new cast additions were nothing short of impressive. Two thumbs up!
Also, with Hotaru and Christina’s appearance this season, I appreciated that Japanese-French connection that was brought up from time to time.
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Let’s all wish Ko the best of luck.
It was worth the wait.
Good job Momo. You helped Aoba tell Ko her feelings. Narumi will have to work hard to keep Momo from going after Aoba.
Indeed.
That was a nice touch.
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