The appeal and reviews of "Haganai NEXT": Deepening friendships and new adventures

"Haganai NEXT": A sequel to the youth comedy about the journey of making friends

"Haganai NEXT" is a sequel to the TV anime series based on the light novel "Haganai" by Yomi Hirasaka. The 12 episodes were broadcast from January 10 to March 28, 2013, and were available on TBS, MBS, CBC, and BS-TBS. Animation was produced by AIC Build and directed by Kitahata Toru. This work has attracted many fans as a youth comedy about high school students struggling to make friends.

Story and Characters

"Haganai NEXT" depicts the growth of the members of the "Neighbors Club" to which the main character, Kodaka Hasegawa, belongs through various activities to make friends and deepen self-understanding. Kodaka is half Japanese and half British, and has a distinctive appearance with dull ochre-colored blonde hair. He is often mistaken for a delinquent because of his mean look in his eyes, but in reality he has a very sensible personality and is often the one to point out the unreasonable behavior of the members of the Neighbors Club.

Mikazuki Yozora is Kotaka's classmate and the captain of the Neighbors Club. She is androgynous, but always behaves in a sulky mood, making her an outsider in her class. Yozora was best friends with Kotaka in elementary school, and they called each other "Taka" and "Sora." However, although Kotaka noticed her when she cut her hair short, their relationship hasn't changed much since then.

Kashiwazaki Hoshina is the daughter of the school's chairman, and is a beautiful blonde with blue eyes, excellent grades, and an all-around athlete, making her a character of intelligence and beauty. She has a haughty personality, and the boys call her "Queen," but she is disliked by her own girls. After joining the Neighbors Club, she became addicted to dating games and often makes regrettable remarks. Hoshina dotes on Kodaka's younger sister, Hasegawa Kobato, and she and Yozora don't get along well, so they are constantly arguing.

Yukimura Kusunoki is a first-year student who calls himself Kotaka's younger brother and aims to be the manliest of men. However, due to his beautiful face and mannerisms, his classmates don't know how to interact with him and keep their distance. Yukimura obeys Kotaka and tries to do anything he's told to do, but he often misunderstands and assumes things, which Kotaka often has a hard time dealing with. He's also a history buff and loves military commanders.

Shiguma Rika is a high school student who is a genius inventor who has received offers from companies and is contributing to product development. She used to attend school in the science lab, so she had no interaction with other students, but after meeting Kotaka, she joined the Neighbors Club. Rika is a BL-loving fujoshi, and has a unique hobby of being particularly into "mecha x mecha" stuff.

Kobato Hasegawa is Kotaka's younger sister, a fair-skinned, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. When she was in the first year of middle school, she became obsessed with anime and started to act like a chuunibyou. Kobato has a severe brocon and joined the Neighbors Club to follow Kotaka. She is always fighting with Maria Takayama.

Maria Takayama is a 10-year-old nun working at St. Chronica Academy. Although she is academically excellent enough to be able to skip a grade, she is easily fooled by small lies and was persuaded by Yozora to become the advisor for the Neighbors Club. Maria is attached to Kotaka and calls him "Big Brother", but she is on bad terms with Kobato.

Takayama Kate is a nun sent to the school by the church, and is affectionately called "Mother Kate" or "Kate-chan" by the students. Yusa Aoi is the student council treasurer at St. Chronica Academy High School, and is also Hoshina's classmate. She is a diligent and earnest student, and is ranked second in her grade. Hidaka Hinata is a third-year student at St. Chronica Academy High School, and serves as the student council president. She is a very caring and popular character.

Episodes and subtitles

Each episode of "Haganai NEXT" depicts the members of the Neighbors Club as they grow through various activities to make friends and deepen their self-understanding. Below are the subtitles of each episode.

• Episode 1: "As I Expected, My Youth is Wrong" (2013/01/10)
• Episode 2: "Homogame Club" (2013/01/17)
• Episode 3: "My Little Sisters Are So Cute" (2013/01/24)
• Episode 4: "There's a Man Among Us!" (2013/01/31)
• Episode 5: "You can't play like that! ~Your presence disrupts my worldview~" (2013/02/07)
• Episode 6: "The Weird Girl Doesn't Get Hurt" (2013/02/14)
• Episode 7: "I'm the older brother, but as long as there is love, it doesn't matter if I have more little sisters" (2013/02/21)
• Episode 8: "My childhood friend is in a hell of a mess" (2013/02/28)
• Episode 9: "Stray Cat Overheats" (2013/03/07)
• Episode 10: "The Unfortunate King and the Unfunny Story" (2013/03/14)
• Episode 11: "I'm a lost chicken" (2013/03/21)
• Episode 12: "I Have No Friends..." (2013/03/28)

Theme songs and music

The opening theme for "Haganai NEXT" is "Be My Friend", with lyrics by Yomi Hirasaka and hotaru, and music and arrangement by Tom-H@ck. The song is sung by the members of the Neighbors Club: Yozora Mikazuki (CV: Marina Inoue), Sena Kashiwazaki (CV: Kanae Ito), Yukimura Kusunoki (CV: Nozomi Yamamoto), Rika Shiguma (CV: Misato Fukuen), Kobato Hasegawa (CV: Kana Hanazawa), and Maria Takayama (CV: Yuka Iguchi).

The ending theme is "Our Wings," with lyrics by Yomi Hirasaka and Emi Inaba, and music and arrangement by yamazo. The song is sung by fellow Neighbors Club members Yozora Mikazuki (CV: Marina Inoue), Sena Kashiwazaki (CV: Kanae Ito), Yukimura Kusunoki (CV: Nozomi Yamamoto), Rika Shiguma (CV: Misato Fukuen), Kobato Hasegawa (CV: Kana Hanazawa), and Maria Takayama (CV: Yuka Iguchi).

Production Staff

Many staff members were involved in the production of "Haganai NEXT". The original story was written by Hirasaka Yomi, and the original illustrations were done by Buriki. The director was Kitahata Toru, the series composition was by Urahata Tatsuhiko and Hirasaka Yomi, and the script was written by Urahata Tatsuhiko and Sunayama Kurasumi. The character design and animation directors were Watanabe Yoshihiro and Shen Hong, the color design was Matsuyama Aiko, the art directors were Kuginuki Aya and Kohama Toshihiro (Miho), the art was Miho, the composite director was Tokuda Chiaki, the 3D CGI was Iguchi Mitsutaka, the editor was Miyama Shota, the sound director was Motoyama Satoshi, the sound production was Magic Capsule, the music was Tom-H@ck, the music production was Media Factory, and the animation production was AIC Build.

Related Titles

"Haganai NEXT" was produced as a sequel to the original light novel "Haganai". The original work was published by MF Bunko J and is loved by many fans. In addition, the first season of the TV anime series "Haganai" was also broadcast and became a big topic.

Ratings and Recommendations

"Haganai NEXT" was well received by many viewers as a youth comedy about high school students struggling to make friends. The unique portrayal of the characters and the story of their growth through making friends resonated with many people. In addition, by faithfully recreating the appeal of the original work while incorporating unique elements of the anime, it has attracted not only fans of the original work but also a new audience.

In particular, the humorous exchanges between the members of the Neighbors Club and episodes depicting the difficulties and joys of making friends brought laughter and emotion to viewers. In addition, the backstories and growth process of each character were carefully depicted, leaving a deep impression on viewers.

This work is recommended for those who want to enjoy a youth comedy with themes of making friends and self-understanding, those who are interested in the growth stories of unique characters, and fans of the original light novel "Haganai." Be sure to watch "Haganai NEXT" and enjoy the journey of the members of the Neighbors Club as they make friends.