Apologies for the late post, things have been rather busy on my end.  Moving, university work, actual work, the whole nine yards.  By Sunday, though, I should be back on schedule.  I must say, though, I could already use a vacation.  Preferably at someplace nice.  Like an old-style inn, with hot springs…that would be delightful.

Hanasaku Iroha

Episodes: 26

Originally aired: 3 April 2011 – 25 September 2011

Production: P.A. Works

Director: Ando Masahiro

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Slice-of-Life, Seinen

Rating: PG-13 – Teens 13 or Older

Unlicensed; currently streaming on Crunchyroll

Synopsis:

Matsumae Ohana is a plucky sixteen-year-old girl with a horrible mother.  Her mother tends to move from boyfriend to boyfriend without much thought and misses out on much of Ohana’s life as a result.  One day, Ohana finds that her mother has left with her latest boyfriend to dodge debt collectors.  She is then sent to live with her grandmother at a hot springs inn by the name of Kissuiso.  Instead of coming to a life filled with ease, though, her strict grandmother puts her to work as a waitress, making her keep as an employee of the inn.  Despite the harsh treatment and almost instant hatred from her coworkers, Ohana tries to make the best of the situation.

Review:

It has come to my attention that I watch a lot of dramas.  I will not deny this fact, as I like a lot of titles in the genre.  I will not simply go out of my way to watch something if it is a slice-0f-life drama, but I just end up watching quite a few of them.  How come, you ask?  Well, it is probably because I am a sucker for well-penned characters put into down-to-earth emotional settings.  Many of the best dramas tend to fall into this setting, and those that do not run the risk of being a teenage melodrama or, even worse, a trope-ridden soap opera.

With all of that being said, Hanasaku Iroha is a teenage melodrama that manages to encompass the high and low points of slice-of-life dramas with a bit of an earthy edge to its cast, making it stand out among its peers as a proper example of the genre.

It isn't a teenage melodrama without a beating or two.

Being a slice-of-life anime, there really is no single, linear plot to Hanasaku Iroha.  As discussed in plenty of previous reviews, this genre is more meant as a character piece, studying the growth of members of the cast over time in small arcs of development that happen to be based in reality.  Hanasaku Iroha does a good job of building a diverse cast of characters, with a good portion of them getting their time in the spotlight.  Obviously, the most developed character is the leader of this ensemble, Ohana.  Without spoiling too much, she becomes much more insightful about the needs of others over the course of the series, and this shapes her as a person.  Her fellow cast members, especially those in the spotlight, tend to get minor yet necessary development.  Despite this minimal development, they are not skin-deep caricatures, as the inn interactions help add to their quirky natures, and they are almost always enjoyable to watch; these elements ensure that this large cast is both developed and memorable.

This is not even the entire supporting cast. Just an FYI.

The story of Hanasaku Iroha is slice-of-life to the very core.  Many episodes are divided into arcs or stand-alone episodes dedicated to the development of one of the characters.  A few of the staples of modern anime are here: the beach episode, the field trip episode, the festival episode…those are all here.  Hanasaku Iroha’s stories tend to be rather predictable, but with the help of clever writing and charming characters, it is almost like these things do not matter.  The show is also not pure drama, as there is a good amount of silliness that manages to never transcend past the realm of reality.  The humor may not always work, but it helps keep things light-hearted.   Hanasaku Iroha will not be remembered for its epic plot, you can be sure of that, as it is a character piece.  Each episode (or arc) is set up with the full intention of the character-of-interest learning new things about themselves and growing as a person.  If you pay attention to the story in these regards, it definitely succeeds.  There are some problems with this set-up, though.  As previously mentioned, the stories can be a little hackneyed and predictable, but even then, there are some arcs or episodes that have elements that are seemingly out-of-place.  These elements can break the mood of certain scenes at worst or can just make the viewer roll their eyes at best.  In addition to that, some of the standalone episodes are thematically weird, especially one of the lessons that a Nako episode attempts to teach.  These factors are few and far between, though, and even in the most generic of episodes, the show is still enjoyable to watch.

The true stars of this production are actually the art and animation.  The character art is moe, yes, but it is more than tolerable.  In fact, the character designs are downright charming, and much like its cast, the designs are grounded in reality, never resorting to ridiculous hair colours or hairstyles.  The background art is also gorgeous, with the entirety of the Yunosagi area being a treat for the eyes.  The animation is simply phenomenal most of the time, and that should come as no surprise, thanks to the talented folks at P.A. Works.  It certainly is not wonderful all of the time, as there are points where still shots are used for much too long before transitioning to other still shots.  Some of the character animation choices, namely the attempt to incorporate standard anime expressions at points, do not also work, but the movement is usually fluid, and there usually is a lot of detail put into background character animation when not utilizing still shots.  The incorporation of CG is also to be applauded, as it looks good, even when you can tell that they used CG.  Much of the integration, though, is rather seamless and a joy to look at.  The opening animations are also to be applauded for being ridiculously nice to look at for the same reasons as the rest of the show, but the major downside is that they are simply very pretty versions of generic anime openings.  The endings share the main problem with the animation, in that it’s all just basically a still image with hair waving in the wind and credits rolling.  Overall, P.A. Works set the bar high for new slice-of-life anime, falling into some of its animation traditions while doing so many other things differently.  It is certainly one of the best-looking slice-of-life titles out there.

Let's play "Spot the CGI!"

The sound is a much more mixed area.  The voice acting is generally pretty good most of the time, with standout roles including Itou Kanae as Ohana, Toyosaki Aki as Nako,  Honda Takako as the Madame Manager (Shijima Sui), and, surprisingly enough, Omigawa Chiaki as Minko.  It’s not that Omigawa Chiaki is a bad actress, but she has a distinct voice that has gotten on my nerves in past roles she has done (Hotori in Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru, Maka in Soul Eater).  This time, though, her voice works in a dramatic role, and it is an enjoyable listen.  Occasionally, the acting gets over-the-top, but with this being a Japanese anime drama, it’s to be expected.  The music is arguably the weakest element of the series, which is hard for me to say since the score by itself is legitimately quite good.  It’s standard drama flare with a heavy usage of demure piano, but it is an enjoyable listen.  The problem with it, though, are the long periods of silence throughout the series, with the music only coming in to add emotional impact before whisking away.  Either that or the score was unnoticeable outside of these scenes.  The songs used for the openings and endings are varied, but they are pretty much female-fronted pop-rock, typically done by nano.RIPE.  Whether this music is any good or not is up to the individual listening to it, and I will admit that I can see why people do not like it, with nano.RIPE’s vocalist being very hard to describe (‘good’ is certainly not one of the adjectives I would use).  The music, however, grew on me, and it fits with the overall nature of the show.

Overall, is Hanasaku Iroha worth your time?  If you are a fan of slice-of-life, you have to watch this.  It is not the most original or mature entry into the genre, but it has a well-developed and charming cast and is certainly nice to look at.  Some elements of the story do not work and the music is not the best, but in the end, Hanasaku Iroha is a standout entry in an oversaturated genre.

Pros: Wonderful, developed cast; down-to-earth development; gorgeous art; pretty animation that incorporates traditional animation with minimal CG successfully; well-composed score; well-written and enjoyable to watch…

Cons: …even when some plot elements do not work; some thematic problems in stand-alone episodes; score is not used to its full potential, leading to many moments of silence; not the most original title out there