Kokoro Connect - Original Anime Selection is the second volume of the supernatural drama series Kokoro Connect and includes a special story-arc that is exclusive for home video.  In this volume we see the Student Cultural Research Club  (STCRC for short) return and they are still being tormented by Heartseed and he has given them their biggest curse yet.  This time Heartseed's curse has turned all of the STCRC's minds into personal broadcast stations and certain thoughts will be heard by the other members.  This isn't good as some of the STCRC member's most personal thoughts will be heard with a high chance at hurting the other members which is sure to cause some carnage amongst the group.  That is not the only problem that the STCRC have as it turns out that the club has a chance of being shut down due to their teacher can only be the advisor of only one club.  Sure that doesn't sound that threatening but their teacher is also the advisor of the Jazz Club and they are also refusing to let him go.  In order to settle this the STCRC must impress the judges at a special presentation their school is having where all the clubs perform a special show in front of a crowd.  The STCRC doesn't have long though as they have till after their short school break is over and they must work hard on trying to impress the judges so that their teacher will pick them.  There is also a third problem that the STCRC must face as one of their members (Iori Nagase) has suddenly started suffering from depression for no apparent reason and the other members must find out why and help her get though it but she is refusing to accept any help from her friends.  What a hectic time it is for the members of the STCRC.  (Click "Read More" to read the full review).

The storytelling in this special story arc has a much more serious tone than what it had in the prior volume.  I like how the show takes itself more seriously but it also leaves the door open for my main gripe I had with the show in the past which was that it can get quite over dramatic.  Sadly it does get very over dramatic and while it doesn't get as over dramatic as the prior volume you will find that the over dramatic scenes in this show are more intense and it is cheesy as all hell.  Other than that you will find the writing to be less dumb and more darker than what it has been in prior episodes.  This is also a very short series as it is only four parts long and isn't the best point to be starting this series if you are looking forward to be watching this for the first time.

 The comedy is not completely gone in this series but it has been toned down and I did find it charming when they did have it but yet it's not the kind of comedy where you will be laughing out loud, that's not to say that it isn't enjoyable.  I was surprised to see that there are some action scenes in this show and they were not bad at all.  I was very excited while watching them and there was enough suspense to keep me at the edge of my seat.  I also found the fight scenes to be quite charming as it has a nice little throwback to a scene from the prior volume which I also found to be charming.


I wasn't a fan of Iori Nagase in this volume as her problems in this show were unexplained plus she was very useless.  She isn't so annoying where you want to go watch something else but you won't find yourself liking her also.  The rest of the characters are much better and you will care about them and will really feed bad for what they are going through.  Heartseed is still a creepy bastard but you won't see him as much in this volume which is a bit sad as I he is a very interesting character.

Artwork in this show looks pretty good with some nice coloring and some very beautiful backgrounds.  Character designs are not bad looking but they are also a little generic looking and aren't that memorable but not completely forgettable either.  Animation is okay and does it's job but they still have a habit of being inconsistent with characters that have extra features (like how Iori Nagase has a mole on her face) and it bugs me as they are always changing size and location to the point where it is distracting.  English dub is decent but sadly that is all I can say as there isn't anything excellent or bad that stands out.  I liked the music played during the show as it set the mood of the show and it sounded nice.


There is a very tiny selection of special features that includes text-less versions of the opening and closing credit sequences.  They are nothing new as they were also included in the first volume of this show.  I liked the animation in the opening and closing credits but wasn't a fan of the music as I didn't like it's pop-rock sound.  I'm actually surprised that there were special features included on this release. 

Overall they have fixed some problems with this volume but they have also created new problems.  In the end this show wasn't bad and I do recommended it for those who have watched the prior volume.  People who are looking to get into this show should avoid this volume until you have watched at least the first two story arcs so you can get the hang of how this show works.  I did like the prior volume better but this one wasn't bad despite how big some problems might sound.  Decent viewing.

Title: Kokoro Connect - Original Anime Selection