Its realistic, that's the point of oregairu. No one expected a 2nd season and then we expected it to end at the end of volume 10 (episode 11) but he gave us a volume that wasn't even fully available. I'm happy about that. Yes the cliffhanger wasn't ideal but it just shows their growth. Something geniune doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to build and this is what is happening. We are seeing the step by step growth. Yes if he had done the last few movels and made it 2 cour we would have had a satisfying ending but I personally enjoyed everything.  + This season gave us iroha... and Iroha is amazing... I actually like her (way more than Yui right now)

Floundering about the same problems over and over and over again may be realistic but it certainly isn't interesting. How many times does the show need to show us characters choosing friendship over love before it decides to actually do something with the concept? Additionally, what progression was really made in that finale? First of all, it remains vague enough as to not actually commit to anything (using vagueness as a means of sidestepping progression seems to be a recurring theme). Otherwise, it seems to just be using the same solution to a slightly different problem as it did earlier in the series. We have seen both of the main girls being unsure about how to advance their relationships and what exactly it all means throughout the entire season. The problem was confronted a while ago by the whole "real thing" speech that keeps being brought up, but that seems to have been but a temporary patch, because the problems being brought up in the finale are essentially the same: How can the relationship move forward without losing what they have. And what is the solution the finale gives us? "We'll find a solution later I guess"? Thats what it sounded like to me.

Granted, I may be misrepresenting something in the vagueness of the show. Some layer of everything makes it difficult to talk about because it never really directly confronts anything meaning it is very much a discussion of intangibles, and I like that about the show, but not when all of this feels the same.

Additionally, I find the characterization of both of the main girls to be incredibly weak. What is the deal with Yukinoshita's family? First of all, they have developed the sister as a character with no redeeming qualities, whos every moment on screen is just her being an absolute bitch and acting self-righteous. It makes every encounter with her a pain to watch. It isn't interesting, it isn't thought provoking, it isn't fun. Its just tiring. Other than that, Yukinoshita's role was mostly just being depressed all of the time, with next to nothing but a few blushes to develop her character.

And what of Yuigahama? Well she is just as much of an empty shell, if not more. We know next to nothing about her, except that she likes stealing Hayama's lines ("I'm not as nice as you think I am"). Her character is extremely easy to read and her relationship with the other characters seems to have advanced very little and she seems to have grown very little.

In fact, Iroha was made to be much more interesting than either of the two main girls, just by virtue of actually bringing something slightly interesting to the table with her weird behavior.

What am I missing? As with the first season, I am left feeling that everybody got something out of the show that I missed, and I've looked everywhere and cannot find it. SNAFU is one semi-interesting character. That is pretty much it. Season two presented a problem and just wallowed in that problem for the entirety of thirteen episodes, moving forward in baby steps at best.

PS: Sorry if I sound a little more aggressive than I should. I am still slightly miffed about that ending. I do want some sort of explanation of things if you can somehow explain what I am missing, though...

My best advice to you is to read through Myanimelist episode 13 discussion. It has a lot of theories that make far more sense that I can ever make.

Did anyone else in here watch SNAFU and if so, what were your thoughts

I've read a bit of it, and it really doesn't make anything any better. It seems that people got the same thing out of it that I did but somehow just enjoyed it as opposed to disliking it like I did. I really do think that the ending was extremely weak, rehashed issues and didn't solve anything.

That's the problem, I think, with turning something still running into an anime that doesn't end.  I remember just being stunned at the end of Glass Mask, which was mostly brillant, because there was no ending at all.  Snafu S2 isn't as bad but, yeah, it felt like it ended right where it started.  Other than that, it was basically the Iroha show.  That should have been the subtitle.

I was very disappointed, though, that Yukino's situation with her family never made the slightest bit of progress.  I feel like I've been rooting for her to tell her sister off for a very long time.  Her character development has been a flat line and that makes me sad.  

As for the final episode, I liked it a lot, actually, until it became clear that nothing was going to be made clear.  Then I kind of just shrugged my shoulders.

The main bright spot was Yukino saying that they still had Hikki's request to fulfill.  That, to me, was the most important line of the episode and the biggest positive.

I also have to admit that one of the first things I thought about afterward was Shirobako and the struggle they had with the ending of the second anime they produced.

Danmachi had a good run. I really love the last episode, they just continue to hit that monster one skill after another, gave me plenty of goosebumps. For me the highlight of the anime was when Bell fought that monster while AIZ friends were watching him, imo that was one of the best fight scenes i have ever seen. Giving it a 8.5/10.

Hoping for a second season (dont know how far the light novel is, but i do follow the sales chart on myanimelist, and after the anime aired, it really boosted the sales of it)

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan episode 13.

I had no idea through the first 7 or 8 episodes of this anime that it would turn into something this interesting and this good. It's truly a tale of two halves. I kept watching at first because it was kind of funny and kind of cute but it wasn't a series I really cared about. However, since the 'change', it's been something I think about even after the episode is over. Especially episode 13.

Really good stuff and a welcome break from the usual. I feel sad, certainly, but not the disappointed kind of sad.

Random Picture of the Day: Haruhi Mecha!

Unlimited Blade Works end up as a "slightly better than average" anime for me. It just could not match Fate Zero by any stretch of the imagination. Not enough Saber, obviously, but I also got very tired of Emiya Shirou. The series just kind of kept ramming him down our throats as being so awesome and wonderful that I just got sick of him. My own assessment of him is that he's an absolute idiot who continued to put Rin and Saber at risk so he could play hero.

Punchline turned out to be the rollercoaster of the season. Very entertaining anime that kept throwing me for a loop time after time.

On the other hand, Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku's final episode was awful. Boom, everything was solved and suddenly the main characters were Super Saiyans.

Re-Kan is an anime that I enjoyed a lot. I'm glad I watched it. It was my "soothing anime before bed". It was just a nice experience. I'll miss it.

I agree about Re-kan. It was one of the nicer ones... this season was one of my favourites due to the sheer number of great shows it had... but it did lack that 10/10 show. I could say oregairu was 10/10.. but it feels  more like a 9.