Personally I think Endless Eight was quite clever, but they didn't need eight episodes to get the point across.
Exactly!!!
I think it was necessary because of the movie.
But "The Sigh" was pretty stupid. Nothing new really. Of course they explain the mikuru beam, Shamisen and the cherry blossoms in the winter, and all that other stuff, but if they were planning to do that from the start they could've just included it in the first season..
And I know nobody cares; but the soundtrack from season two is actually really freaking good. "Semitori Kassen" "Omoide Tsukuri" "Meeting Time" are a few I remember.