In my review of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu S1 I mentioned how the simplicity of its advertising banners artwork caught my eye and lead me to watching and thoroughly enjoying the unique concept and adorable dualistic relationship between Haruka and Yuuto grow across the shows first 12 episodes. The final episode in S1 really brought it all together and I couldnt wait to see how the characters and plot would grow in S2 Purezza. 12 more episodes later I sit here writing this review with strong feelings of being disappointed and let down. There are so many aspects about Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza that in my opinion were not only inferior in comparison to that of S1 but also more offputting and confusing. The first and foremost pertains to a plot device mentioned in the final episode of S1 that being the encounter that Haruka and Yuuto had as kids long before meeting at the time the anime takes place. I thought they did a great job of implementing Yuutos realization of said encounter while leaving Haruka in the dark it sets S2 up perfectly in terms of further exploring this crucial plot point so that both of them learn the truth. Not only did Purezza fail to expand upon this point it just seemed to ignore it entirely. I was genuinely excited to see Haruka and Yuutos relationship take the next step and become 100 official in S2 and I believe expanding upon this past childhood memory would have paved the way for said relationship. Instead their relationship remained more or less the same as it was at the end of S1. The second offputting aspect of Purezza comes in the form of perhaps the most important plot point in the entire show: Harukas secret love of all things anime manga etc. If youre going to name the title of your show after such an important plot point youd better make sure its understood and expanded upon throughout each season. S1 did just that but Ill be honest I can legitimately only think of one instance where Harukas secret love of otaku culture is mentioned that being in the very first episode of Purezza. In comparison to S1 S2 had virtually zero major moments of Harukas secret being revealed to those who werent already aware of it. There were many such moments in S1 but I almost get the feeling that this crucial character trait and plot device was more or less scrapped for unnecessary characters and filler. Speaking of characters that leads me to my third offputting aspect of Purezza. I mentioned in my review of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu S1 that the small cast characters who revolve around Haruka and Yuuto make for great support while keeping the spotlight primarily on Haruka and Yuuto. Purezza decided to expand upon said cast of characters so much so that it wouldve been better if they just hadnt. The cast of good characters from S1 all make a return but there are SO many unnecessary sidecharacters many of whom are shown once and never seen again. Characters like Tohka and Harukas army of maids made an appearance once or twice and were then subsequently removed from the remaining episodes something that begs an entirely new question: Why even bother including them at all? Personal Ratings 1. Music: 75/100 This is the first ratings section in which Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza ranks worse than its predecessor and it wont be the last. That however is not to say that the music in S2 is bad far from it. While the opening and ending themes werent quite as memorable as the ones in S1 the fact that I can still remember them and hum them in my head every now and again speaks to the enjoyment they brought me. 2. Plot: 50/100 Purezza had a chance to take the established plot and characters from S1 and build upon it significantly but it just simply failed to do so in my opinion. Everything I enjoyed about the plot from S1 was downgraded at best or outright removed at its worst. S1 had so much charm and uniqueness but I feel as though Purezza elected to focus less on story and more on fan service in its episodes. 3. Characters: 62/100 Classic case of choosing quantity over quality to be honest. There were so many characters in Purezza that just didnt need to be added to be honest. The new characters who actually got extended screentime were very few and as a direct result of this the main characters from S1 suffered in terms of memorability. Theres honestly not much more I can say about it its just disappointing. 4. Art Animations: 74/100 There really wasnt much change in art and animation style in Purezza from that of the 1st season in my opinion. Conclusions At the end of day Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza failed to live up to the expectations I had for it and was in my opinion a significant downgrade in comparison to Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu s 1st season. Now thats not to say that I didnt enjoy watching it I did Its just disappointing from the perspective of someone who really enjoyed S1 to consider what they couldve done for the plot and characters but just didnt. I would encourage anyone who loved S1 and is planning on watching S2 to simply lower your expectations. Do that and youll probably enjoy it just fine.