The Happiness Patrol (Season 2)

The second season of the British-Japanese dystopic steampunk anime series *The Happiness Patrol* aired from October 23, 2013 to March 5, 2014 in a variety of regions, notably TV Tokyo in Japan, BBC One in the United Kingdom, and NBC in the United States. The season was written and directed by the series' creator, Jay Stevenson, and produced by J-Animations. The soundtrack was composed by Susumu Hirasawa, Shiro Sagisu, and Joe Hisaishi, and features insert songs from a variety of Japanese and Western artists, including L'Arc-en-Ciel, Spitz, The Pillows, Judy and Mary, Mitski and The Go! Team. The second season's opening theme is "Goya wa Machiawase" by Hello Sleepwalkers, and its ending theme is "Hachimitsu" by Spitz.

*The Happiness Patrol* takes place in a dystopic society where industrialisation has turned planet Earth into an entirely man-made industrial site, wrought with pollution, overpopulation and crime. The government responsible for this are overthrown in a coup in the events leading up to the series, and the new government's solution to the issue is to reduce overpopulation. A social ranking system is introduced in which every citizen is given a card with their total social point score: the higher the score, the more access and therefore freedom one has. Every three months, the bottom 1 billion in the ranking system are executed. The series' second season follows the eponymous Happiness Patrol as they continue to complete stand-alone commissions in exchange for points. The series continues its episodic format, lacking an overarching narrative, although the season finale connects a variety of different stories from the previous episodes. The season is notable for seeing one of its characters, Jacob, die in a fight to the death with his brother, Kal, as part of a commission in the final episode.

The season was announced in December 2012, during the airing of the first season, and began development the next month. The first season's voice cast all reprise their roles, including Yuri Lowenthal as Adam, Jason Bateman as Zell, Thandiwe Newton as Eleanor and Alison Brie as Jess. In addition, Nicole Kidman joins the cast, playing Jara-Kan, a new member of the Happiness Patrol. The series aired on Wednesdays at 11 p.m. and consisted of 20 episodes.

The second season of *The Happiness Patrol* received mixed reviews from critics. Whilst art direction, animation, voice performances and soundtrack were all elements of the season that were praised, many found issues with the narrative of the season, the under-development of the characters and the lack of innovation when compared to its predecessor. The show's episodic format was highly criticised as barring the series from grasping the viewer's attention and telling a good story. Many also felt that the show was not doing enough to develop its characters, and thus Jacob's death felt "underwhelming". Worldbuilding was also criticised, as reviewers noted the series hadn't shifted its focus away from one setting, and the ambiguity surrounding the government in the series was condemned. The series' mature content was also said to be too "extreme" and irrelevant to the plot. At the 2014 Anime Awards, the season received several nominations.

The season saw a drop in ratings compared to its predecessor, averaging out at 35 million viewers per episode. Despite a decrease in viewership and acclaim, the series was renewed for a third season in December 2013, midway through the second season's airing. The series was collected into two 10-episode DVD and Blu-Ray volumes. In 2023, the season was released internationally on Netflix for streaming, as did the rest of the series. A third season began airing in October 2014.

## Accolades

 Best Character Design
 Best Animation
 Best Continuing Series
 Best Opening Sequence - "Goya wa Machiawase" by Hello Sleepwalkers
 Best Art Direction
 Best Soundtrack