REVIEW: ‘Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun’ Season 2 Cour 2 Exceeds Expectations

The Studio Lerche train doesn’t stop here. From the studio that adapted Assassination Classroom, Classroom of the Elite, and more, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 continues to deliver the highest level of artistic detail, thanks to its stylistic 2D animation. 

Based on the manga of the same name by duo authors Aidalro, this season proves that the wait was well worth it. Arriving five years after the premiere of Season 1, the highly distinctive, bold linework, blend of Eastern and Western aesthetics, imaginative supernatural designs, and clever coming-of-age storytelling find new ways to push its own creative boundaries.

Director Yohei Fukui takes the reins from Season 1 director Masaomi Andō. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 begins with a rumor in Kamome Academy that somewhere within the school premises lies a clock that governs the passage of time in the academy. That clock is overseen by three clock keepers—each representing the past, present, and future. Despite this, an unforeseen event causes mayhem, with students rapidly aging and the academy’s infrastructure falling apart.

A greater episode count allows Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 to better develop. 

Nene Yashiro (Akari Kitô) and Kou Minamoto (Shouya Chiba) seek help from Hanako/Amane Yugi (Megumi Obata), embarking on a new adventure to find those responsible for this mess. However, what they uncover is more than just the culprits’ identity. As hidden truths are revealed and new vows are established, the academy students and their apparitions find themselves in a game of fate, where the living fight to free themselves from its grasp.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 contains more episodes and storylines than in Season 1. Still, it never loses sight of the end goal: saving Nene from her impending doom while navigating typical high school coming-of-age rites of passage. One of the show’s overall storytelling strengths is how it balances fun and dramatic beats. Whenever things get too serious, something silly or cute will follow.

These back-and-forth shifts in tone don’t come out of nowhere and are consistent throughout, so the viewer doesn’t wallow in sadness too long, nor do the viewers feel like the lighter levity moments feel useless to the plot. Season 1, in comparison, felt less balanced than Season 2. 

The Near and Far Shore is one of the most beautiful depictions of the afterlife in anime.

This season is more focused on each section. Part 1 covers the following arcs: The Three Clock Keepers, Summer Lights, and Picture Perfect. Part 2 covers the Sacrifice of the Grim Reaper, Red House, and Far Shore Bound arcs.

Part 2 introduces the Near and Far Shore, which is one of the most beautiful depictions of the afterlife in anime history—and Studio Ghibli has shown its version multiple times before. Every arc is organized, but it sets up the next arc so that the transitory episodes don’t feel too stiff when switching arcs.

With Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 having a massive 25-episode season, this also provides a lot of room to develop its main characters. Kou, in particular, undergoes multiple character development arcs.

Part 2 builds on his progress leading up to the final fight at the end of this season, where Kou accepts his weaknesses but confidently believes in himself to make an impact in protecting his friends, no matter how small a contribution he can make.

Kou plays a pivotal role in Season 2. 

Kou’s character development touches on the adolescent struggle of living up to an older sibling. In this case, Kou puts his older brother, Teru Minamoto (Yuuma Uchida), on a pedestal for being one of the best exorcists. However, Kou carries the burden of living up to his older brother’s expectations. As Kou is one of the youngest members in Nene’s apparition-fighting group, it’s natural for him to feel like he’s not as strong as the rest of the group. Still, he tries to save people whenever he can.

The Red House episode delves into Kou’s desires as the cursed house shows him everything he wants. This is a huge character moment for him because he’s tempted to stay there, where he can live out his days with a version of his mom and dead best friend, Sousuke Mitsuba (Daiki Kobayashi).

Through every tormenting temptation, Kou pushes past his urges and shows major improvement in knowing his duties—emphasizing how pivotal he is in the Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 finale. When Teru tells Kou to “stop being a hero,” Kou ignores his older brother’s advice—showing he has the agency to do what he believes is right. 

Supporting characters get their moment to shine. 

Another supporting character, Akane Aoi (Shunichi Toki), receives some fully fleshed out backstory and character growth throughout Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2. Akane is first introduced this season as the neighbor and obsessive observer of Nene’s best friend, Aoi Akane (Minako Satou), who is also one of the three Clock Keepers—aka School Wonder Number 1. Akane is also the school vice-president, meaning he interacts with Teru a lot since Teru is the school president.

More on Akane’s character structure, he makes a wholesome full arc this season—going from creepy guy to the guy that Aoi can rely on to save her. Near the end of the season, Akane delivers a thoughtful monologue to Aoi, revealing that he’s not just obsessed with Aoi.

He explains her flaws and loves her for it. In turn, Aoi sees Akane’s faults and loves him for it. Their relationship blossoms into an overarching theme that resembles how Nene overcomes Hanako’s dark, murderous past, and she sees Hanako’s vulnerability when most people can’t see past it. 

The line between good and evil is thin in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. 

At its core, everyone in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun learns they have the power to make their goals come true. From the protagonists to the antagonists, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 stresses the point that there are no good and bad guys in this show.

Hanako is the epitome of that theme. Even seeing Amane’s (Hanako’s living self) childhood memories with his twin brother creates the multi-levelled character building for Hanako, and creates sympathy for him. Hanako will always do anything to protect Nene, even at the expense of other characters’ lives. No one in this show is two-dimensional; they have layers. 

With more focus on the male characters this season, yaoi enjoyers have a lot of content to pull from between Teru and Akane. As Teru becomes a more prominent character, he comes off more like Satoru Gojo. Like Gojo, Teru arrogantly knows he’s the best exorcist and smartest person in every room he walks into—with the one character flaw of thinking too logically when saving others.

At first glance, Teru and Akane’s relationship may seem like fan service. But deep down, Teru manipulates Akane into being a better student and stronger fighter—even if Teru’s strategies to make Akane better are a little scummy. One of Tsukasa Yugi’s lackeys, Natsuhiko Hyuuga (Daichuu Mizushima), also makes multiple appearances this season—looking prettily-drawn as ever.

Studio Lerche delivers an expanded art style. 

Other than wandering the halls as the self-proclaimed hottest guy at Kanome Academy, Natsuhiko also appears to have hidden motives in supporting Kou. Whether Natsuhiko’s goals are going to help Kou remain to be seen, but on the surface, he is very much eye candy. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is always treading the line of being an all-boys cast sports anime like Haikyuu!! or Free!, with the way the male characters are gorgeously animated.

In a time where supernatural anime are dominating the most-watched series like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Jujutsu Kaisen, and DanDaDan, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is arguably the most uniquely animated series of the bunch. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 builds on its art style with various color contrasts and art techniques. From mixing greyscale, vibrant color splashes, and zip-a-tone textures, Season 2 expands its artistic repertoire to match the branching cast and storylines. 

While Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 ends quickly on its nail-biting finale, Lerche shows the care and dedication they have for this anime. If audiences have to wait another five years for the third season to get adapted as good as this, they’ll happily wait. This is an anime that defies genre boxes and boundaries, always bringing in complexity to the animation craft and its storytelling. There’s no telling how much further they can push expectations.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 is available now on Crunchyroll.