The Symphonic Melancholy Of White Album 2

It’s heartwarming, heart-wrenching, honest, realistic, innocent… yet melancholic at the same time. That said, I do not think words alone are enough to do justice to White Album 2.

At its heart, White Album 2 is about 3 close friends spending their last days in school together, and tackles themes of friendship, love, and separation through its masterful incorporation of music. Personally, I feel that music amines are the ones that work the best in invoking emotions into the viewer. But even with that said, White Album 2 couldn’t have touched me as much if it purely relied on its music.

Upon viewing the show for the second time, I realized that the creators of the show are excellent in understanding the shows mood and effectively using it to create more tension or alleviate it if need be. A lot of the episodes start without an OP which allows some of the more emotive episodes to intrinsically seep into one another. The ED of the show – “Sayonara no Koto” was only played at the end of episode 3 to achieve its maximum effect too. These are the little things that I didn’t notice my first time round and only realized its importance after my second viewing of it.

Though, one thing I did notice during my first viewing of White Album 2 was the melancholic undertone it carried right from episode 1. I went into the series expecting a more lighthearted, happy anime but it immediately suggested otherwise through the shot compositions and musical score. Although I didn’t know what it was going to be, I sensed an approaching winter right from the start. And man, thank goodness I was prepared for the snow.

It may not seem like it, but I think of White Album 2 as one of the best anime series I have ever seen and consider it near perfect. But even though my fingers are itching to do it, I cannot bring myself to over-analyze the show and extract it for all its worth; since I genuinely see the show as a living, breathing thing due to the incredible amount of respect given to the characters as human beings. Other than them having a background, reasons for why they are who they are, and believable emotional and ideological conflicts – the way the story is presented without being too “in-your-face” about their true emotions or reasoning behind certain decisions. This may seem trivial, but I have never once felt like I knew everything there is to know about the characters; which resulted in be subconsciously getting more and more invested in them – because unknowingly, I was getting to know someone new and slowly see them open up.

I have a very intimate connection with this show as I literally watched the characters practice, and make music the show presents. I, as an audience member, got to see the characters interactions between practices, the hardships, and the fun they had… I never felt left out.

And that’s why, when the curtains drew open, and the music played – I felt happy. And when silence filled the show – it was deafening.

I wrote this piece as a part of my anime marathon to watch all of my favorite shows and write about them in around 1 month. This is my second, out of fourteen pieces to write and publish on here and my blog https://nutmegsjuice.wordpress.com/blog/ ... Wish me luck

But more importantly, what are your thoughts on White Album 2? I personally can't get enough of it and get the goosebumps just thinking of the last scene. I'd love to know how many more fans are out there!