With a second season on the way, the first draws to a close.

What They Say:
The final preparations are underway as SHONEN HOLLYWOOD enters the last week before their Christmas Eve concert. Are their bonds strong enough to carry them through to the end, or will someone get last minute stage fright?

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Shonen Hollywood has done a decent job of showing us the more true to life way these kinds of things happen, without all the splash and fanfare and just a whole lot of hard work. Grueling work, in fact, considering the gamut of shows you have to deal with in order to get yourselves out there in front of people. But now as we get to the week before the Christmas Eve concert, the boys are doubling down on what they need to do and going all out. They’re also getting a lot of little extra things in to get things set up for the performance so they can really go all out with it and make a splash. It’s certainly nicely done as it sets the right atmosphere for things with the kind of excited tension you get in those final days before the performance.

Not surprisingly, a lot of what we get here are the smaller moments. Time with family as the boys talk about what they’re doing and going through hand some reflection on everything. We also get a little bit of fun when the make-up phase is put into play and we see how well they do with it. Others not so much of course, but that’s half the fun there. There’s also some really fun material with a few of the guys Takeru knows at school that end up seeing him with some of his makeup on and while you think it’s going to go in one direction badly, they actually find an amusing middle ground with it where the guys find themselves respecting Takeru even more now because he’s willing to put himself out there like that. It’s a decent scene with some good humor, especially since you repeatedly see Takeru with his makeup on.

A lot of the time here is spent with Takeru, which isn’t a surprise as he was our window into this series from the start. His time at home is nicely done as we see his family supporting him in their own way and a kind of simple warmth between them that’s just nice to see in general. We also get some good time at the theater itself as the president reflects on where he’s been with the previous troupe and where he is now with this group. There’s even a pretty fun little party that starts up to celebrate their impending performance to get them all in the right mood, but the president almost brings that down a fair bit before remembering his own past being like them and getting into it in his own way. He’s got his serious approach to be sure, but he has his connection to all of this as well and it’s good to see that surface a little.

In Summary:
With a second season set for January, Shonen Hollywood brings us up to the concert and sets the stage for that in a decent way. A lot of what we get here is pretty good before the show kind of jitters and exploration of what’s going on and that’s welcome to see since it’s playing things as realistically as it can like in previous episodes. That said, there’s still that undercurrent of not really hitting the right beats to be completely engaging as it doesn’t really rally you to the boys in a significant way. It’s enjoyable enough on its own with what it does, but the series as a whole feels like it’s too mellow and laid back in what it does and this episode simply reinforces it once again. It’s good, but it doesn’t demand you watch it.

Grade: B-

Streamed By: FUNimation

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.