When the show “New Game!” came out, I had two big problems with it. The first was the overwhelming female cast in it (men were there, but certainly background at best) and the fact that for trying to put out a video game, there was a decided lack of pressure. The game would come out when it would come out. Not very realistic. With the second season of “New Game!! 2” (“Nyū Gēmu!! 2”) upon us, they have at least raised the stakes a bit.

With the release of “Fairies Story 3”, what is the video game company Eagle Jump going to do next? We pick things up a year later, when the company decides to hold a character design contest for their next game. Aoba Suzukaze (purple hair) decides to enter it, as it will help her move up in the company. The problem is that when Aoba’s designs supersedes that of her mentor, Ko Yagami, (blondie in the center), this causes harsh feelings. How can they reconcile these issues before they start production of the new game? The series looks at all of these concerns, but in more of a pressure cooker situation, as they now have to beat a deadline this time.

Overall, there is nothing wrong with the series. We have some new characters, which bring in new problems and the roadblocks that are placed before them, both external and internal. The game itself that they are working on, “Peco”, appears to be quite interesting and a major departure from their previous offering, but there are still tons of programming problems and personal issues that need to get resolved along the way.

In this iteration, I honestly did not see any guys at all, not even in the background and certainly not working for Eagle Jump. And the revelation at the end might imply a third season, but I wasn’t even expecting a second season. I assume that this is a girl empowerment series; that they do not need a man to hold their hand and pet their head and tell them that it’s OK. These are tough women who know what they want and what it takes to get there. It’s just without a man.

This now opens the door that this is a yuri series, owing to all the women. Look, it’s not. Yes, there are lots and lots of ladies, but not in that sense. It is about understanding what you can offer and how you can improve upon yourself, not any kind of naked canoodling.

Would a man have caused problems? Well, potentially so, as we have women mentors assisting the next generation and a man potentially would have messed up the dynamics of things. It’s just that it is glaring in the omission of things and I may have spent too much time looking for guys that weren’t there. It’s also that since I had no thoughts about or regarding any second season, it comes off as a tad weaker, as though they didn’t give themselves enough time to tell this tale.

I feel there is no need for a third season, but I’ve been wrong before. Unless it is this generation of young vets teaching the next generation, this tale has, honestly, concluded.

Oh, yeah, you gotta binge. Since we have added the factor of a deadline to be met, binging will heighten those feelings of having too much to accomplish and not enough time to get it all done the way you want to get it all done, so, in a broad sense, you are really participating with them on every time-crunching aspect of getting this game together and out and a success…even if you are not sleeping under your desk.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork           7 (The ladies are cute, but it’s typical)
Plot                  7 (A caliber of retread)
Pacing              7 (Never really felt the deadline pressure)
Effectiveness   8 (Did tell its story well, for its framework)
Conclusion       7 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service      2 (A similar show would be “Okamisan”)
Bingeability     9 (They don’t get a break, I don’t get a break)

Overall            7 (Got a bit too soap opera for me)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Am I fired?