Megami no Café Terrace 2nd Season

It has been months since Hayato Kasukabe decided to save his late grandmother's cafe, Familia Café Terrace, from permanently closing its doors. He and the five "goddesses" who serve as the cafe's mascots—Ouka Makuzawa, Akane Hououji, Riho Tsukishima, Shiragiku Ono, and Ami Tsuruga—persevere through all the hardships of maintaining a business to stay afloat for as long as possible.

Rougher times await them when a new competitor cafe, Family, appears with the sole intent of bringing Familia down. To come out on top of this business competition, Hayato must use his wits, fortify his trust in the girls, and figure out how to entice customers to continue supporting Familia.

To further complicate matters, the girls slowly begin to develop feelings for Hayato, causing tensions within the group. As this can potentially pose an even greater threat to Familia's survival, the five goddesses need to find a way to compromise and unite at all costs.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hououji, Akane Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Makuzawa, Ouka Main

Aoki, Ruriko Japanese

Tsukishima, Riho Main

Yamane, Aya Japanese

Ono, Shiragiku Main

Waki, Azumi Japanese

Tsuruga, Ami Main

Suzushiro, Sayumi Japanese

Kasukabe, Hayato Main

Mizunaka, Masaaki Japanese

Confectionery Seller Supporting

Takeuchi, Emiko Japanese

Makuzawa, Kikka Supporting

Uesaka, Sumire Japanese

Kasukabe, Sachiko Supporting

Ikura, Kazue Japanese

Takasaki, Mao Supporting

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Kuwabara, Satoshi Director

Motoyama, Satoshi Sound Director

Kawanishi, Taiji Episode Director

Oochi, Keiichirou Script, Series Composition

Reviews

Sep 19, 2024

KANLen09

Recommended

The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses Season 2 - It's the return of the Quintessential Quintuplets rip-off that imitated the way after its rival did so, with quintuply double the trouble...to find a marriage partner?

Getting introduced to the Gotoubun no Hanayome rip-off that was the rom-com master Seo Kouji's Megami no Café Terrace a.k.a The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses, or you've read the manga in its full expose, you've already known about what's to come of the garbage stank that would be his latest series if you watched Season 1 back last Spring (of 2023). I'm not going to rehash what I've said in ... my already substantial review done for that, basically all that needs to be noted about the series is just the rom-com formula done to "perfection" as Seo Kouji likes his works to be: overly extensive (like a certain Kanojo, Okarishimasu a.k.a Rent-a-Girlfriend's author Reiji Miyajima) with no clear winner, dragging out for as long as he possibly could do for the audience to speculate on who could be the winning girl for MC Hayato Kasukabe (unlike a certain Negi Haruba, which I'm kinda thankful for that Gotoubun no Hanayome is not overstretched, but is STILL being milked as a series for all its worth today).

Still, I did promise to take a look at the anime series in its later adaptations of the manga, and how does Season 2's content actually hold up against its premiere season? Surprisingly good I'd say. It's not great, but there's some originality done here that warrants a second look into either medium of the books or the small screen.

With Season 2 adapting Volumes 6 to the early chapters of Volume 10, Hayato and his harem of the new generation Familia maids must now contend with competition from an old rival that seemingly still feuds against the aforementioned cafe's new owner to create a look-for-look similarly exact replica of a copycat cafe, both maid servants and food combined that's enough to put the still fledgling generations of a cafe out of business. The 5 new girls that would make up the imitation Family Cafe: aspiring author Hekiru Yoshino, chef descendant Moemi Soya, ldol-likeful Ririka Chiyoda, travelling foreigner Valentina Azuma and amateur model Mao Takasaki, each and every one of the girls are handpicked solely for their similarity when compared against the Familia girls, and the heated battle to win customers ensues, which has been a problem for the new Familia trying to pick up on their own two feet after the passing of Hayato's beloved grandmother Sachiko.

For one thing, Season 2 definitely gave its premiere season a run for its money by introducing even more characters into the mix, but not slightly too different as each main girl gets their reasonably-sized opponent from the talent that they offer, such as between Riho and Ririka being popularity figures themselves, and the more obvious Shiragiku and Moemi being competitive chefs with foodie talent to bring to the kitchen table. And for one, I thought that this was a welcome change to stand out from an already crowded rom-com market of authors trying to do similar themes whilst making it their wholly own, and Seo Kouji definitely pulled a Fuuka here to bring the series back to relevance (well, at least the anime anyways) in a way to get us the audience to once again be like fans watching the Gotoubun no Hanayome rip-off to see which girl would win Hayato's heart. It's awfully and predictably self-explantory, but you get the point of where I'm driving if the anime is to follow the manga's paces in the future.

Otherwise, it's pretty much the same story with Tezuka Productions and returning series director Satoshi Kuwabara still adapting the series justice with an even greater production. The year-long wait for Season 2 is definitely worth the wait for Cafe Terrace fans to see where the schlong will not just grow the yonder of the heart, but also to carry on the legacy of the Familia Café for time to come.

If there's one negativity however, despite the OST while being the same, both of Hikari Kodama's OP and VTuber Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino a.k.a Pepechi's ED are kinda underwhelming songs, though they abstractly fit the series to a T. It's not bad, but I'd think that Season 1 has the better pair of theme songs with NeRiAme's catchy OP (which I still remember to this day) and Miki Sato's great ED.

There's never been a good time to be a Megami no Café Terrace a.k.a The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses fan like now, because while Seo Kouji has a working formula of the series to come for the anime side of the source material adaptation, you can still choose to spoil yourself by reading ahead with the manga. But I digress as doing it this way will make or break expectations (just as how Negi Haruba got so much controversy with Gotoubun no Hanayome's out-of-whack ending), and if you're already feeling burnt on how the actual quintuple harem turned out, I suggest you stick to the anime adaptation and its future developments for a better overall experience.

If anything, Seo Kouji, please don't turn Cafe Terrace into another Quintessential Quintuplets. You still have a chance to turn things around

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Nov 21, 2024

Justykanna

Mixed Feelings

The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses Season 2 has a lot going for it, but it also has a handful of things that play against it too. I'll assume you've seen Season 1 for the purposes of this review.

Story & Characters: Let's start with the strengths, many of which continue from Season 1. The storytelling is still quite strong. The first arc focuses around a competing café, known as Family. It features a rival owner who hires five girls to run the café for him. There is a minor problem this posses, as it's not the most use of character ... design - each girl resembles and shares characteristics with the current cast. Leaving that out, I actually enjoyed the storyline with that setting quite a bit. It posses a serious problem for Hayato and company and, while it's still a little goofy, they go about their business in trying to find a way to coexist with this new crew. Expanding the setting can only be a good thing considering how much time is spent in Familia anyway.

One character that really starts to shine is Ami. You may recall that each girl got their own mini-arc in Season 1, but Ami did not receive the same benefit. And, like the others in Season 1, it was pretty well told. Much of Ami's character is about this weird, over-the-top girl who always seems so carefree, but introducing a serious problem for her fleshed her out so much more. This actually was really good timing, because you can see her finally develop as a character, especially when you consider the finale. She was great here. This isn't to say the rest of the crew didn't develop either. The other four were still really well represented, though some got more screentime than others. Shiragiku and Akane might have the least here and I'd like to see the two of them developed more if this series were to continue.

As the series carried on, I felt like the second half started to get slightly dull in terms of exciting material. This isn't to say an attempt to continue strong storytelling didn't continue because it remained different. I just didn't think it was quite as interesting. If you liked the weird and over-the-top stuff from before, then you'll still find it here. This, along with the excessive fan service, were probably my least favourite parts of this series, but the latter was at least a little more held back than before.

Aside the new Family cast, there weren't a ton new characters to really sink your teeth into, but at the same time, you don't really need to. There's enough story elements with our current cast that I didn't feel more than a handful of additional minor characters were necessary, and they delivered that here. Hayato, for the most part, remains the same person as before, which I enjoyed for the most part. You can clearly tell that he's starting to feel pressure about who he likes most out of the five girls and if this series were to continue, I hope he starts to form more of a connection with someone. (Story: 7/10, Characters: 8/10)

Art: The series looks more or less the same as the previous season, but in terms of shine and terrible censoring. (9/10)

Sound: I don't have a ton to add here, as everything sounded fine. The OP wasn't nearly as iconic as the first season's, but that's a minor gripe at best. (7/10)

Overall: The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses Season 2 continued to be an entertaining series, even if started to taper off in the second half of the season. Audiences happy with the first season should still enjoy this series and it continues to do right by its characters, which should have been the goal with such a large main cast. If it were to continue, there are things I'd definitely want to see, especially after the developments of the finale, but I'd check it out to feed my curiosity. (7/10)

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 25, 2024

BlackCrowGrows

Not Recommended

So, I walked into Season 2 of "Cafe Terrace and Its Goddesses" with high hopes, fully expecting the same blend of romantic hijinks and slice-of-life charm that caught my attention in the first season. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a decent dose of harem drama sprinkled with cutesy moments? The first season was a fun ride, albeit one that felt a tad like a ripoff of "The Quintessential Quintuplets." But hey, who am I to judge? I happily devoured that idea until I noticed something awful creeping in like a soggy bun in an otherwise tasty sandwich.

This season was about as enjoyable as a room ... full of unfinished homework. The story stumbled around like a panda on roller skates, and the character writing? Let's just say it had all the depth of a kiddie pool. What happened to the hooks and genuine heart? It felt like many of the dialogues were slapped together for convenience—evidence of this was glaring in that cringe-worthy scene with Ami's grandma. Seriously, was that heartfelt, or did someone accidentally edit in a random soap opera script? I half-expected a dramatic soundtrack to start playing. (I think it actually got played too lmao)

Now, let’s talk about the harem aspect. Initially, it was engaging enough and seemed to suggest a lighthearted competition. But then the plot decided to binge-watch itself and dished us ‘glimpses of the future,’ effectively giving us a hint that there is indeed a winner. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any wilder, the author chucked in another five ladies into the mix—like adding extra toppings to an already overloaded pizza. I can only describe it as plain absurdity; I’m still questioning how that was a necessary plot to be added. I mean, keeping track of names was hard enough!

And while I know how wild harem shows can get, from the looks of the first season, I never expected it to get as wild as "High School DxD." Although that might be an overstatement but you do get my point. If the first season was trying to pay homage to "The Quintessential Quintuplets," this season felt more like a parody, complete with clumsy attempts at humor that seemed to miss the mark more often than not.

Picture this: you stroll into the café like it’s a battle royale, but suddenly the main character turns into superman without his invulnerability, getting kissed and "abused" relentlessly by all these so-called goddesses. Honestly, it felt less like playful flirting and more like a one-man comedy skit of 'What Can Go Wrong?' Gotta love the abundance of boundaries shattered, right?

What was supposed to be lighthearted escapades turned into a what-is-happening-to-my-eyes spectacle that left me more uncomfortable than amused. It's like watching someone put way too much hot sauce on their taco—at first, you're intrigued, but then you're just hoping they don't spontaneously combust.

In the end, the second season of "Cafe Terrace and Its Goddesses" was a major downer. All the magic and charisma evaporated faster than my will to review it! Instead of the delightful narrative I expected, what I got was more chaos than character engagement, leaving me scrabbling for something amusing—anything—to salvage my faith in the show. So, unless you have a penchant for hot sauce dancing and cozy kitchen shenanigans gone rogue, I’d suggest giving this season a raincheck.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Megami no Café Terrace 2nd Season Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Aug 15	53 replies	by Haileene »» Nov 14, 12:00 PM
	Poll: Megami no Café Terrace 2nd Season Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 19	81 replies	by KinjiKido »» Nov 13, 2:59 AM
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