There is something inherently odd about saying that going into the hard life of the agriculture business is like being handed a silver spoon. Inherently odd, but in the context of a well-researched and clever show such as Silver Spoon, I'd believe it. Ironically enough, to convince us of how rewarding the lifestyle that its characters are pursuing is, we're shown the great hardships and struggles needed to obtain it. The narrative distinguishes itself by showing a reality that is both enjoyable and brutal, and still has us laughing at every turn.
By now our key characters have been introduced, namely Hachiken, who is earnest, smart, and hardworking, having come to agricultural school to escape the pressures of an academic life, and Mikage, a cheerful girl who loves horses and is slated to take over her family business despite her misgivings. Their budding romance is at the center of much of this season, and yet there is never a challenge to their mutual attraction, no love triangles or complications besides their inability to be straightforward with one another. The attraction is there to drive them closer to one another, where they get the chance to face issues they keep below the surface. For both of them, it’s the family. Hachiken resents his older brother for achieving the academic success he did not, then throwing it all away on a whim; he also resents his father, who refuses to give a single word of praise to anyone, but who is quick to challenge Hachiken’s ambitions with harsh words. Mikage hides the fact that she dreams of working with horses for the rest of her life, betraying her parents’ expectation that she take over the farm. Not the most original issues, but seasoned writer Arakawa manages to sell it well, due in no small part to the realism of the situations they are in.
As a show based around something as specific as agriculture, the research that went into making the show as accurate as possible is astonishing, even for someone growing up in Hokkaido like author Arakawa Hiromu. The unusual setting never takes a backseat; the students are up at 5 or 6 every morning and spend hours upon hours working directly with the animals. Their classes are completely geared towards specific areas of making a business from agriculture, with practicums and demonstrations appearing often. The students talk to one another about making cheese and horses the same way most high school students would talk about fashion and games.
The struggles they face are where the show displays its awareness of the life of farming, and no punches are pulled. Farms go under, money runs short, people become traumatized by seeing poor practices or by making mistakes that are worth more than any apology can excuse. People have concrete dreams contrasted with the concrete paths set before them, and drastic changes could mean the end of both. And yet we are seeing it all through a high school perspective, where students run around after hours, gossip about each other, and find interesting ways to hang out on the weekends. Few other high school settings are as well-defined as Ooezo, and the show could not function without it.
Unfortunately the school tends to outshine most of the characters, who fit the setting perfectly but generally do not complicate it at all. In some sense it is interesting to see kids who could have been the characters of standard high school slice of life shows if it were not for their upbringing, but it can be frustrating at times to see the lack of anything beyond that. Hachiken and Mikage, while good characters together, progress fairly normally as an anime pairing, with the gap slowly closing while never actually getting all the way there. Without each other, neither one seems to act in a particularly interesting way; it may sound odd to say this way, but if the camera was not partial to them and privy to their inner thoughts, it would be hard to tell that they are the main characters, the ones that we should especially care about.
Hachiken’s father is somewhat of a standout in his frigid attitude, even towards those in his own family. It is not entirely inconceivable as a character model, especially with his affinity for having his children study and get into good schools. He is demanding of Hachiken in the current time, saying that the future will work out only if he puts in all the effort now. It provides a nice contrast to the lifestyle of the farmers, who are fairly easygoing but always concerned about the future. Sometimes, however, the father feels a little too far down this road, to the point of being an antagonist rather than a person.
The episodic nature from the first season has changed into a more plot-oriented style. The first season had different episodes focusing on different events, which were fantastic for world building, comedy, and giving a sense of the chaos that Hachiken had to deal with in coming to an agricultural school. It was right of the show to then follow him after he has had time to adjust and focus towards the characters and to continuity. Events from the first season were referenced continuously, giving them a sense of purpose in the overall story. One of the key points from the first season was Hachiken’s father complimenting his bacon, which was a small character-driven occurrence that gave Hachiken’s decision to escape to Ooezo some context, and the show does not forget this event in the second season. When we see the mother suffering with the same issues that Hachiken does, this event frames things very nicely.
It is tempting to write a review of both seasons together given how well they flow as a continuous story, but frankly the strong setting was more conducive to the easygoing comedy of the first season rather than the plot of the second. Not saying that this was inevitable, but rather that it was noticeable. Regardless, Silver Spoon continues to be a standout instance of the popular and often unremarkable high school genre, as well as the more niche farming genre, and certainly a fine example of a slice of life comedy. The jokes are tailored to the setting, with fewer jokes revolving around simple miscommunications and slapstick. The serious moments feel serious because they are unlike the issues characters at normal high schools have to face, and often the consequences feel more real. To say that they are born with a silver spoon is certainly a stretch; not even the academics—living in the city with money to spare—have a life of comfort and relaxation. But the characters’ ability to enjoy themselves despite this in their own ways, with their own friends and dreams; maybe they do really have an ephemeral silver spoon to enjoy for now.