Quote & Recs of the Day


"The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it."


-Bill Nye
Random Recommendations:

Siren by Taichi Mukai: A Japanese r&b song with a (little bit unnerving) really rhythmic beat in the chorus. It's chill!

Upcoming:
Not Even Bones + Only Ashes Remain Review! And also other reviews :>


Sunday, July 5, 2015

Hanasaku Iroha || Anime Review

Info: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11795
Episodes: 26
Produced by: P.A. Works
Sites to watch?
KissAnime
Crunchyroll

Image from: https://forums.hummingbird.me/t/spoilers-hanasaku-iroha-home-sweet-home-discussion/1825

This is a non-spoiler review! 

I don't know how to start this off since I just finished marathoning the anime series, and my thoughts have yet to form into coherent words but...I'll try my best to explain why this is such a good show and why everyone should watch it.

So, Hanasaku Iroha doesn't really start off well in terms of appearance. I mean, the name, for one, in English is "Blossoms for Tomorrow", like what the heck is that cheesy shit? Once you watch the show though, it actually fits very well. Also, I'm not sure if this is a problem for anyone else, but I find that typically anime with a large, and mainly female-focused cast tend to suck in terms of plot and characterization and are loaded with fanservice. I thought HanaIro was going to be the same, looking at the poster of these overly cute female characters. Luckily I was wrong.

Summary:
HanaIro is a story about growth; about finding a dream to pursue, and that there isn't always a clear end to things like other "perfect" stories are. The main character, Matsumae Ohana is plagued by the laziest and the freest mother in the world. But because of this, she quickly learns to rely on herself and to not depend on others; she takes care of all the chores around the house starting from a very young age. Although she lives in Tokyo, and although most would envy her for living in such a beautiful city, Ohana finds her life very dull, and doesn't have a clear grasp on her future. That is when, her mother and her newest boyfriend decide to make an escape together one night, in order to avoid debt collecters(caused by the latter), dropping Ohana off at her grandmother's inn located in the countryside, Kissuisou. Here, Ohana learns gains the experience of working with others and discovers her place at Kissuisou. But first, she has to gain the acceptance of her grandmother, who despises her mother(daughter), and the others that work there, as well as dealing with a crush back in Tokyo.

Supporting characters (Image from: http://www.zerochan.net/Hanasaku+Iroha)
This series is produced by P.A. Works, which is a studio I like a lot from watching the amazing art and animation in Nagi no Asukara, and although it aired in 2011, the art in HanaIro was still absolutely gorgeous.
No complaints about the music as well, although I wished that they would have picked different songs for the OP/ED; the singers aren't really that pleasing to listen to.

What I think defined this series was the characters. The female characters especially shined, which is typically rare to see in the anime. This is mainly because the girls are focused on; each one of the girls in Kissuisou, Minko, Nako, Ohana, and Tomoe (and others) all get their backstory episode. We get a look at what's happening in their life through their perspective and their thoughts. It is really refreshing to see them all (not just the girls but everyone in Kissuisou) focus and work together to please their customers, rather than a romantic slice-of-life(which I'm not quite fond of).

The one who became the most developed of course, was Ohana, the lovely heroine. She starts off as quite unmotivated and undriven in life, but when she arrives at Kissuisou, she is taught to take work seriously, and works hard at her job as a waitress. Like most main characters, they have a sort of charisma that draws people to them, and Ohana is no exception. The other characters note that Kissuisou changed when she came, and in a good way. Ohana, is also a teenage girl, so OF COURSE, she deals with boy problems and angsty teenage stuff (but it's not the main focus of the show). It makes her more relatable, what with her procrastination and her struggle to communicate her thoughts eloquently.

Of course, this series is not without faults; the main one being that the story kind of deteriorates in the latter half of the series(around episodes 13-) with a couple of interesting episodes in between. I think that nevertheless you should watch this series for its characters, animation, and story. It was a very pleasant watching experience.

Overall, I would rate Hanasaku Iroha a 4.5/5 stars!!

Please give Hanasaku Iroha a watch!~ :D

Have a great day!
J U L I E (ㅇㅅㅇ❀)

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