Let's Go Karaoke! – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

The Review Geek

2 days ago

Episode 2
Episode 2 of Let's Go Karaoke! starts with Satomi dreaming about giving a bad performance in front of an audience and having to step out of his role in the choir festival. Because of that, he can barely sleep through the night. While he's worried about that, another problem brews far away from him.
The mafia starts a fight about their singing in a public bathhouse. However, Kyouji then starts giving advice and impresses everyone. And that's when he tells them he has a teacher who has been helping him a lot. Now, there's a whole group of people wanting the boy's classes, as well.
The next day, Satomi is on his way to a strawberry-picking activity in school, but he isn't very excited. So, to save him (or doom him), Kyouji arrives at the right time and takes the boy to their usual karaoke place. But this time, it's full of other gangsters. Accordingly, Satomi gets scared out of his mind by the sight.
Thankfully, they're surprisingly nice to him. One of them even offers him orange juice. Then, he listens to them one by one and gives them advice. However, sometimes he's too harsh and ends up infuriating one of the gangsters. After, he apologizes and tells them ways they can improve even without his help.
On his way back home, he tells Kyouji that he can't teach every single one of them, but he can still help him. With that, his bond with him becomes stronger. Even though the boy realizes it was the perfect chance to leave the Mafia story behind, he doesn't regret continuing their lessons.
After this event, Satomi's nightmares change a little. He dreams that Kyouji and all the other gangsters are performing for him in a museum, and he has to give them advice. Then, he wakes up screaming in the middle of class. Later, he has his club activities, but he can't get excited about them. Even when he arrives home, he can't muster up the courage to tell his mother about the choir festival. He doesn't believe in his singing anymore.
But one good thing comes out of that day, as he sees his dad watching TV and gets ideas for good songs that fit Kyuoji's voice. He presents them to the gangaster, who, in return, congratulates and pats him on the head.
However, their encounter takes an ominous turn. They have to take a shortcut and go through a dangerous area in town, where Kyouji works. So the man decides to make a map with places the boy should avoid. When Satomi tries to find a piece of paper for the man, he ends up finding someone's finger.
After that, his dreams change once again, and he dreams about him and all the other gangsters in karaoke, sad about Kyouji being tattooed, kicked out of the Mafia, and having his finger cut.
The Episode Review
Let's Go Karaoke! seems to be finding a better rhythm to its story, making a better use of its comedy. Satomi finds himself in a weird and kind of awful situation, so it's great to explore the absurdity of that. Also, it's wholesome seeing how he begins to like Kyouji little by little. Still, it's good to know it'll only be five episodes long, as there isn't much substance to the series.
Although the jokes are better in episode two, they aren't entertaining enough to carry the series to new heights. And to make it worse, the boy's conflict seems important, but the anime barely explores it. The drama is incredibly weak, but the series still tries to present his school life and problems.
Furthermore, the episode's ending is quite strange. It gives a more serious look to the situation, something we hadn't seen yet. And while the boy is obviously shaken, the incident is only used as another joke. Although it fits the anime more than going to the edgier side, Let's Go Karaoke! doesn't mix these two aspects well.
Previous Episode
Next Episode
Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!