School Trip: Joined a Group I’m Not Close To Season 2

Our Prince and his little mermaid…

I’m so glad to see my favorite high school couple return for Season 2! The awkwardness continues, and that deer-in-the-headlights look has practically become Hioki’s trademark. Nobody does it quite like him! But this time, it’s Watarai who’s swimming in unfamiliar waters. What do you do once you’ve finally caught your mermaid? Do you protect him, surround him with affection, or hold on so tightly that you’re afraid someone might steal him away? Boy, isn’t that exactly what first love does to us? All that jealousy, insecurity and possessiveness…when all you really want is to smother someone with love and attention.

And that’s what I adore about this series. It takes everything so lightly, without needing heavy drama, toxic relationships or unnecessary heartbreak to keep us entertained. Just two awkward boys figuring out love, one adorable moment at a time. We have enough drama floating around in the real world. Sometimes I just want to be that little kid again, standing in front of a fish tank, completely mesmerized, watching the colorful fish swim around without a care in the world. No worries, no complications…just the simple joy of watching something beautiful unfold. And honestly, that’s exactly how this series makes me feel.

Read More

NOW THAT'S A FOLLOW UP.

Was Honestly worried (plus excited) After Second Season was confirmed as I WAS WORRIED of what else they'd like to explore further and how they'd do that. Most at time, It ends up .. not so good. But after seeing The first episode? DROP THE WHOLE DAMN EPISODE ALREADY 😭

First Of all, THIS IS A FOLLOWUP DONE WELL (SO FAR.) The progression into the 2nd season from 1st one feels valid and logical. JBLs I've seen always end with them being together at the end without further exploration of "What comes after" And I think this season is beautifully handling that so far and I'm so happy and seated.

Watarai being "Possessivenes" and "Insecure" Is certainly not out of line given his character from s1. (so I don't see why the complaints) So I'm loving the further exploration of how that ties into the relationship.(I always love when we get a relationship arc and see how their already established personalities draws the relationship into a crisis) I love the tone set up as we're about getting their relationship dynamic (one in crisis) which is a brilliant follow-up as to uphold a more depth love story. Makes complete sense.

I love the view of having watarai (who is overly popular, loved by all, a school hunk hottie that you'd think has it all in terms of confidence and all) Having this spiralling insecurity over his relationship with someone not fully "School hunk popular status" . I think it goes a long way layering his character for more room to explore his life more (I hope the drama goes into that direction and have us zoom more into his real POV to get a glimpse of why he FEELS this way - I'd be grateful) And I also think Hioki's "lack of understanding" at the level of what watarai is spiraling over and coming to terms to understanding and working at that is a brilliant addition to the romantic dynamic given their already established personalities from s1.

And it's most interesting that "possessive" scenes from watarai doesn't just come off as " textbook" level "possessive boyfriend" to me alone but layers it into me feeling "sad" for him with an undertone of insecurity that needs working on. Love that because there I'm giggling and smiling and also going "Aww.. what is he being so insecure" (which parallels the same question Hioki asks while leaving for the bathroom.

So far I love the establishment from s1. and I'm curious how the show plays with it as I'll update my review soon. Given the fact that they worked their ass to get into this relationship, I'm curious to see how this relationship works.

{Plus THANK YOU WRITERS for keeping that giggling blushful scenes that always had me in s1 and reminding me why I fell in love with this adorable show!)

So Far I'm in love with where this direction is heading to and I can't wait to see THAT AT ALL

Read More

Off-the-Charts Chemistry: Hideyoshi Kan and Kodai Fujimoto Sparkle in School Trip Season 2

Episode 1 of School Trip Season 2 is an absolute masterpiece of a premiere that instantly makes me want to binge-watch the rest of the season right now! The absolute highlight of the episode is the phenomenal, off-the-charts on-screen chemistry between Hideyoshi Kan and Kodai Fujimoto. They step back into their roles so seamlessly, delivering a comfortable yet intensely electric dynamic that makes every single glance and interaction feel deeply authentic. Seeing Watarai's fiercely protective, clingy devotion clash with Hioki's endearing, flustered vulnerability completely stole my heart. This premiere did a fantastic job of raising the stakes with the new class separation, and the palpable connection between the leads has left me incredibly impatient and eager to see how their love story unfolds in the upcoming episodes!

Read More

Watch Season 1 First!~

Aishhhhh it's just the first episode, and Watarai is already so much whipped for his kawaii Hioki like seeing them on my screen once again and being all lovey dovey made me squeal hard UwU Like thanks to them, my Sundays won't be boring anymore hehe I missed them so much ^V^ Seeing my two babies start their senior year literally makes me feel so much proud also Watarai's possessiveness is completely understandable yet unhinged T-T Like having him as a boyfriend in real life would be a hassle for real though I'm not complaining also THAT KISS at the end gosh I'm so down for the next episode >//3//<

Read More

First Impression: Joined a Group I’m Not Close To Season 2

Overall: I really hope this isn't a second season of being overly possessive/jealous. 10 episodes about 24 minutes each. Airing on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/9486/school-trip-joined-a-group-im-not-close-to-2025-s02e01 ; Viki viki.com/tv/41798c-school-trip-joined-a-group-im-not-close-to-2 and TVer (Japan).

Content Warning: this is getting into intimate partner abuse (emotional)

What I Liked
- acting
- good recap of season 1
- the friend groups

Room For Improvement
- "I'm your boyfriend, so I can do whatever I want with you, right" = absolutely trash statement
- being extremely controlling/possessive/jealous, it's not cute

Read More

So far so good

Don't have a lot to say after just one episode, but it is pretty good. Pretty similar to the first season and an overall nice and enjoyable continuation to the original so far.

You can watch it on Viki: https://www.viki.com/tv/41798c-school-trip-joined-a-group-im-not-close-to-2#episodes
or GagaOOLala: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/9486/school-trip-joined-a-group-im-not-close-to-2025-s02e01?noresume=1

Things I liked:
1. Acting. No surprises here though since I loved it in the first season too.
2. Friends. They are a big highlight in both the first and second seasons.

Things I disliked:
1. Watarai's haircut. I'm sorry, but they did him dirty with that one.
2. Repetitive plot. I will probably change this one depending on how the next episodes will play out, but so far it is just like the first season. Not that it's necessarily too bad and it is not exactly the same, but I would've liked it more if they did something new instead of another school trip/study camp.

Read More