It goes without saying that anime sequels usually occur when a series is popular among fans, as anime production companies want to make sure they cash in on such popular shows. However, some sequels are questionable for their merits and popularity.
Hazuki Taeoka’s Masamune-kun’s Revenge is one of those sequels. It’s been about six years since the first season aired, and anime fans tend to either hate it or love it, which begs the question of whether the new season, Masamune-kun’s Revenge R, will be worthwhile or a waste of time.
The Ending of Masamune-kun’s Revenge Left Viewers Wondering
Masamune-kun’s Revenge is centered on a health and exercise-obsessed teenage boy named Masamune Makabe who is out for revenge against the pretty, popular girl in school, Aki Adagaki. His anger stems from an incident when they were children: Adagaki supposedly rejected Masamune due to his chubby appearance. Now, as a high school student, Masamune becomes the hottest guy ever and plans to make Adagaki fall in love with him. Masamune will then humiliate Adagaki by rejecting her, just as she did to him in the past.
The ending of season one was left open-ended. Masamune requested a kiss from Adagaki as a reward for saving her class’ Snow White play for the cultural festival. However, Adagaki tricked him into closing his eyes and then fed him food instead. His friend Yoshino Koiwai witnessed the entire interaction and advised Masamune to be more assertive in his revenge quest, and the last episode hinted at a second season when Masamune showcased a flyer for a class trip to Paris, France, vowing that he would get his revenge this time. With this ending in mind, fans are wondering if the pair will finally get together in the next season — or whether viewers will be faced with yet more petty antics and nothing more.
Masamune-kun’s Revenge Features Unlikeable Main Characters
Currently, anime fans are uncertain whether the new season will redeem this harem series, as the first season provided viewers with very unlikeable characters. When formulating a great story, audiences generally want likable characters that they can relate to or sympathize with in some way. After all, the characters are what drive the plot and make viewers want to invest in the series. In Masamune-kun’s Revenge, that isn’t the case.
Masamune is quite vain when it comes to his physical appearance. He cares a lot about his looks and what other people think of him, and his perspective is due to the insecurities he had when he was younger due to his size. Furthermore, Masamune is obsessed with revenge against Adagaki for rejecting his love based on appearances. Understandably, Masamune was hurt by this incident, but his revenge spree is for all the wrong reasons. Rather than mentally traumatizing someone else, he should be more focused on living his best life. Arguably, Masamune’s obsession with his health can be viewed as a form of self-love, but he goes about this in a very narcissistic way, which makes him an unattractive character and sends a message to audiences that looks really are everything. If Masamune was a bit humbler and kinder, viewers wouldn’t find him so self-absorbed and annoying.
As for Aki Adagaki, she is known as the “cruel princess” by her peers. Whenever a guy confesses his feelings for her, she publicly humiliates them, giving each of them a horrible nickname that highlights their insecurities. Although it’s portrayed in the series as comedic how Adagaki rejects her suitors, it promotes bullying, and her cruel words harm a person’s well-being, as evidenced by Masamune. It would be difficult to change the viewer’s perception of her since this persona is already established in the first season.
Although Masamune-kun’s Revenge may be entertaining to watch in some ways, with the trajectory of the storyline and the pacing, it’s doubtful that a second season can make its main cast likable. In any case, Masamune-kun’s Revenge R is a sequel that seems most likely to fall on the back burner this coming season due to the other anticipated anime sequels, such as Bleach and Jujutsu Kaisen. For those who don’t mind watching the petty actions and obnoxious personalities of the protagonists play out, Masamune-kun’s Revenge R may satisfy some, but otherwise, this is an exceedingly skippable sequel.
