DGFischer

There is a certain tension for a sequel or a second season if the original is well-received by audiences, well-developed by the production company, or somehow has some mark of excellence.  This was the first thought I had when moving on from the 50 episode Yumeiro Patissiere to the thirteen episode Yumeiro Patissiere SP Professional.

I knew the sequel was in big trouble with the first bars of the opening theme, Sweet Romance.  Come on people!  Fairies dancing about in black leotards and sunglasses.  Puh-leeeze!  And what musical instrument made that ugly unique sound?

Still, romance was the only thing that Yumeiro Patissiere did not resolve.  Which of the three Sweet Princes will Ichigo choose ... if choose she must?  The short season seemed broken up and inconsistent due to the use of short, short, short story arcs dicing up the flow of action.  Arcs in Yumeiro Patissiere played along the phases of the Cake Grand Prix and the interims in between, and this aided in story flow.  But thirteen episodes broke into four parts?  Ichigo gets her shop and learns the basics of economics.  The gang enters the fairies'  Sweets Kingdom in an adventure to gain the ingredients to help the Jerks pass an important cooking exam (explaining the closeness of Chocolate and Kashino as we understand her feelings for the fairy Kashi).  The gang runs off to New York to help Mari Tennouji save her sweets shop.  Miyu 'The Heiress' Koshiro's final attempt to snag Kashino in holy matrimony.

The original gang does return, and a few new faces does liven up the pace.  In particular, American pâtissier Johnny McBeal and his Japanese-butchering fairy Maize.  But please, Johnny is the typical depiction of an American?  Overly opinionated, assertive over Ichigo, scooping up all the girls as if it were a common greeting, sure to betray the team if the situation merits.

The animation of Yumeiro Patisserie was dynamic with its kaleidoscopic features.  SP Professional was a step down ... like from off a five-story building step down.  The closing animation featured loop animation technique, but hardly intricate as the first round.  Same as the music and sound.  Step down from a five-story building into a twenty-foot hole.  The magic of the first season just wasn't there.  Everything was too predictable, even Ichigo's choice of boyfriend, which was so disjointed from the effects of the two never being comfortable with each other ... but they were better than friends and co-workers.

Still, even with Miya's marriage plans squelched, she still plans to make the tsundere chocolatier her own.  Sounds like a ploy for season three?  Perish forbid.