Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Genres: comedy, drama, coming of age, shounen
General Setup: Hachiken Yuugo doesn't know what he wants to do in life. He does know that his prep-school junior high was too intense for him and he doesn’t want to continue that path. So when Hachiken’s counselor recommends an agricultural-focused school out in the boonies Hachiken readily agrees. However, farm life has its own challenges, like getting up at 4 a.m. and sending animals to slaughter. As Hachiken makes new friends and tries his hand at novel experiences he comes to a new understanding of who he is and what should be valued.
Characters: Silver Spoon displays a wide cast of characters that I won’t be able to completely cover. So, in the interest of time, I’ll just be covering who I consider to be the three MAIN main characters.
First we have Hachiken (obviously). Having experienced being a clueless high school student who has no idea what the future will hold, I feel like Hachiken is a very relatable character. He is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, as well as gaining confidence in his abilities. Also, Hachiken serves as the middleman between the agricultural-crazy characters and the viewers who don’t know the difference between a heifer and a holstein.
Mikage Aki is a girl who Hachiken befriends shortly after starting at Ooezo High. She is also the one who gets him into the equestrian club. Her family owns a small ranch, but Mikage’s dream is to work with horses. Hachiken has a crush on her, and she just might like him back.
Komaba {name} is a self-described muscle-head. He and Mikage are childhood friends. Also, Hachiken and Komaba are in the same group for (practicums). One of Komaba’s passions is baseball. He hopes to catch the eye of recruiters in high school and go pro before retiring to take over his family’s farm.
Plot: A lot of this plot centers around Hachiken’s activities at school. Because this is an agricultural school the focus shifts away from the academic aspects of high school to the more agricultural aspects. This gives the plot a fresh take on the standard life of a high schooler.
Ending: I wasn’t as satisfied with the ending as I was with some anime. However, with only two seasons and an ongoing manga of base material, the anime had to end somewhere. As is the norm for most anime based off of ongoing manga, the conclusion of the anime resolves some of the issues, but leaves plenty in the air for a later continuation of the story.
Things to Watch For: There are a few crude jokes in this anime, but nothing you shouldn’t be able to watch with your parents (I speak from personal experience on this one).
Sights and Sounds: The style of animation for Silver Spoon is clean, if a little lack-luster. The style of the art is distinctly Hiromu Arakawa (the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist and one of the only mangaka I know by name) so fans of Fullmetal Alchemist and Arslan Senki should enjoy watching this series. The soundtrack has a very orchestral feel (think Legend of Zelda). It ranges from calm and flowing to upbeat and march-like. Also, I especially liked the first opening and the last ending songs.
Other media: As mentioned previously, Silver Spoon is based off of an ongoing manga. There is also a live-action film that has been released in Japan.
Fillers: There are no fillers in Silver Spoon.
Length: Silver Spoon has 2 seasons, with a total of 24 episodes.
Where to Watch: You can watch all of Silver Spoon on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
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