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EP. REVIEW: Hanebado! [2018-07-17]


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Cab329



Joined: 01 Apr 2017
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:12 am Reply with quote
I will admit, I really wanted to like the show but after episode 3, I think I'm dropping it (I will keep following the reviews though in case it turns around).

Episode 1 was a good set up but 2 and 3's resolution for the angst was too convenient.

Aragaki treated her team like crap for 6 months. Teammates left and she created a toxic environment that lingered over everyone.Really, there should have been a scene where someone punched her in the face for all the crap she put them through.

Then episode 3 occurred. Hinesaki's resolution made no sene and Elena is a horrible friend, no matter how you slice it. Hinesaki is genuinely interested in going to see a movie but Elena makes her go to practice and the moment the other club members give Hinesaki a compliment, she gets jealous, leaves her and goes to the movie Hinesaki wanted to go to. Also, despite being her childhood friend only just figured out that quitting badmiton was related to her mother disappearing (no duh). But hey, after playing multiple games prior and being absolutely miserable, one more game gets her love of the sport back.

Then there's her mom. That's not a bad source of drama though pretty forced (I'm going to assume she didn't leave because she lost and there will be another reason provided later because leaving after your daughter lost one game while she was sick is crap. Every athlete no matter how good will lose a match at some point and learnign how to handle that is a key part of sports)...except, it's also a plot point that could easily be solved: Just look up where she's playing (and her games are mostly in Japan based on what we know), go there and confront her. If you don't want to make it a spectacle, figure out where she's staying before teh match then confront her.

Then there's the psycho rival charater...and she feels like she belongs in a different series. Also, nice rape imagery with the cold scene. It just makes Hinesaki's entire situation laughable from how ridiculously crap things are for her, instead of heartbreaking.
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:03 am Reply with quote
This series' drama surprised me a bit especially into the third episode. I think the show itself has a lot of promise though for developing its character cast, especially Hanesaki.

Visually, the show has been one of the most impressive so far for the season.
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Chaos Wings



Joined: 05 May 2015
Posts: 277
Location: Your guess is as good as mine?!
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:14 am Reply with quote
I was sold on this series within the first 5 seconds. I'm very impressed with what I've seen thus far, everything looks great and the story is definitely keeping me interested.

If it can keep up this level of quality all the way through, I'm going to have high expectations indeed. Also worth noting in general I don't particularly have a soft spot for sports anime.
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Ruddor



Joined: 20 Apr 2016
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:55 am Reply with quote
I wasn't going to watch this at first, but I was hooked in by the great animation and solid directing (although I'm glad I'm not the only one who made the sports bra comment).
I'm still on board, but I'm finding myself more and more distracted by the bullying/harassment. The cold scene in particular was hard to watch; I really hate it when a series tries to disguise abusive situations like that with the whole "you don't love the sport as much as I do" angle.

Also am I the only one getting serious Your Lie in April vibes?
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:08 am Reply with quote
Easily my favorite new show. I was hooked with the first episode. Hanebado! is so far looking like how I wished Yuri on Ice was: a drama revolving around a sport, not a sports show disguised as a drama. I do agree that episode 3 of Hanebado! had some writing issues, but they are not serious enough to damper my enthusiasm for the show.
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Neromon



Joined: 11 Jul 2018
Posts: 18
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:35 am Reply with quote
I found the first episode's melancholic tone more exhausting than anything else, you can't expect me to take high school girls who play badminton like their life was on the line seriously, when I don't even care about them yet. I enjoyed the second episode a lot more, which went a long way into making me invest in these characters, and I was glad Aragaki's issue got resolved quickly.

However, the third episode was a real disappointment with every story beat leaving a big question mark in my head, from everyone trying to force Hanesaki into joining the club to the ridiculous explanation of her trauma. The show will probably try to justify the mother's action later on, I'm gonna guess she felt guilty about her child's collapse and she felt she wasn't being a good mother and was forcing badminton on her, or something like that.

The show has a very attractive aesthetic, but the writing's leaving me cold. I'm hoping this will improve now that it's done with the setup. I also think the show could use a looser pacing.
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:46 am Reply with quote
Cab329 wrote:
I will admit, I really wanted to like the show but after episode 3, I think I'm dropping it (I will keep following the reviews though in case it turns around).

Episode 1 was a good set up but 2 and 3's resolution for the angst was too convenient.
This.

I disagree with the review. The "release" feels cheap because its so quick and they had already dialed up the melodrama to 11. Then pink haired girl shows up and it feels like she just walked in from a different show. How does she know where Hanesaki goes to school? How does she know she has (sorta) joined the badminton team? Does she have spies all over the city to find this out? Her get up was also silly and contrasts with everyone else looking like proper athletes. What's next goth lolita badminton player? Then there was the backstory which was a little eye rolling. I think the idea of pink hair terrorizing or bullying Hanesaki would be valid, but the execution left me underwhelmed. I also kind of feel bad for Hanesaki's childhood friend. It seems she has been designated as the role of support to the gifted one. Usually those characters don't get to shine, but are just there to cheer the gifted one on.

I'll be dropping this for now and following the reviews as I hope the story evens out.
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2269
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:55 am Reply with quote
I won't be dropping it, but I agree with most of the criticisms folks have leveled against Eps 2-3. A lot've poor writing decisions that quickly took one of my most anticipated (based on Ep 1) shows of this season to a much more tempered, "Welp, it's no Haikyuu!!, but I guess I could watch this."
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1035
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:11 pm Reply with quote
I didn’t have as much problem with some of the things as other people did (and it isn’t just “one more game” that makes the difference but the fact that it becomes such an informal game that the need to win becomes secondary and the painful ingrained responses break down, recalling earlier positive associations). I agree, though, that a plausible explanation for the mother’s actions other than just “she’s bad and crazy” seems close to impossible.

Neromon‘s guess seems the most obvious trope based on the way they’ve set it up, but I sure hope they they have some reasoning up their sleeve that’s better than I can imagine without making it a Martian conspiracy or something.

Apart from that serious concern for the future, though, I thought the drama played out well and the characters are plausibly flawed and likeable. I also don’t care whose name is in the title if something’s working fine as an ensemble piece (see Hinamatsuri).
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青白



Joined: 30 May 2012
Posts: 184
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:25 pm Reply with quote
People’s argument about Elena being a bad friend because she manipulates Hanesaki into getting back into Badminton feels overexaggerated and butthurt. I mean sure, there is a slight hint that Elena was doing this to satisfy her psychologically need to have other people depend on her, but she never would have have done anything to Hanesaki if it wasn’t for her knowledge of Hanesaki’s past. It was clear to Elena that Hanesaki was only running away from her inner demon, and she was the one only who could have given Hanesaki the push she needed to continue. Elena herself understands that this is a messy situation, and the opening scene in episode 3 showed Elena steeling herself in the washroom to prepare to go through this difficult process for her friend. I feel like people are upset with Elena’s manipulation because they are the type of people who doesn’t like other people telling them what to do. Hell, if I was in a similar situation, I might not have been as deteremined as Elena to help her friend like this. Hanesaki should count herself lucky that she has a friend who would look after her this deeply.
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Kokuryu Daimao



Joined: 04 Sep 2017
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:52 pm Reply with quote
I like the animation, the drama I can tolerate, The characters are okay but pretty typical in a sports anime. Even the crazy rival and aloof parent are nothing new.

But one thing I will debate is the character of Elena. She is a True friend.

All those people calling Elena a bad/horrible friend should really think about what they define in a friendship. Do you just want someone to be nice to you, or do you want someone who will be there and help you even when you don't know you need help?

Elena is kind of like Ben Affleck's character, Chuckie, from Good Will Hunting, and Hanesaki is Will Hunting, trying to run away from life out of misplaced anger and fear.

Elena has known Hanesaki since childhood. She also knows that Hanesaki loves Badminton and is really good at it. So when Hanesaki says that she's quitting badminton and tries to run away to other things like boys and tennis. Elena might not know all the details about Himesaki's mom drama, but she knows that Elena runninng away from badminton is wrong.

A regular friend will help you lie, a Real friend will stop you from lying to yourself.

A regular person might just say "Do whatever makes you happy" and go along with Hanesaki's lie, but a real friend will call you out on your BS.
They aren't trying to fight you, ignore you, or kiss up to you, they are willing to face you. Even if they know that doing so will make you upset at them. They will tell you the hard truth because they care. That kind of loyal honesty is rare. So Elena tells Hanesaki that she should join Badminton and even drags her there.

That scene where Hanesaki is trying to run away to a movie and Elena drags her to Badminton, but then leaves to watch said movie. Kind of a dick move to some.
Yes it was, but it also shows that Elena isn't perfect. Elena is also a Teenage Girl who is dealing with her own identity issues.

Elena sees all the other club members fawning over Hanesaki and realizes that there is nothing else she can do in that situation. She might have been a bit jealous, but that is understandable. But she doen't make a scene, she doesn't get dramatic and make it all about Elena. She just leaves to collect her thoughts.

She wants to help Hanesaki, but is not sure what else to do. She eventually comes to the realization that while there is nothing She can do, there is something that Aragaki can, since Aragaki and Himesaki both love badminton. So she convinces Aragaki to help her, help Himesaki.

That is a True Friend.
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Cab329



Joined: 01 Apr 2017
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:36 pm Reply with quote
Here's the thing: A friend should push you when you are going against who you are.

Elena is not doing that. She only starts caring about how Hanesaki feels right at the end of episode 3.

I will remind you she has been her friend since childhood but couldn't put together that her mom (who made Hanesaki play badminton from the age of 2) leaving made Hanesaki start down a path where she came to hate badminton.

That is not an insignificant fact. That is telling as hell that she has very little empathy or insight into someone she has spent so much time with. She doesn't see Hanesaki as a friend, she sees her as something to wrap herself around...she's a parasite. She tries to get Hanesaki to do physical sports so people will be wowed by Hanesaki's talent and therefore she'll get to leech off of that attention. Remember, her role in teh club was just to play on her cellphone and the moment Hanesaki got some praise she left out of jealousy.

If she was really interested in getting Hanesaki back into Badminton, here's my issue with how she handled it:

1. Hanesaki is suddenly grabbed by an older guy who feels her hands up. If someone started groping you, would a good friend make you hang out with that person?

2. Once Hanesaki arrives, the true toxic environment Aragaki has created for the team is apparent. It is not a healthy atmosphere, people already have high expectations of Hanesaki without any attempt to discern her own feelings. Imagine if you used to be into competitive gaming and your friend gets you to join a gaming club where everyone is already planning your role out and then some guy who has a grudge against you lets out a bunch of slurs and says you have to play? A good friend would say "yeah lets leave" not make you keep going back.

3. What should she have done? Do what she did at the end of this episode (and before anyone says "oh well that's the point" . I'd like to remind you, it took her till now to think about it despite being her friend since they were in pre-k.): get her into a relaxed match where nothing is on the line with an opponent who is chilled out, and practically no audience so it could be jut about the game, or even find a badminton group that isn't associated with a school.

What did she do?
"Hey that guy grabbed you! Sounds like fun! The team is being abused by their ticked off captain who has a grudge against you...I'm joining and making you go! Wait, despite me doing jack all and my alleged reason fro doing all this is to get your love of Badminton back, I'm suddenly jealous of you. Wait, your Badminton mother leaving after you lost a Badminton match made you hate Badminton? Who could have figured that out?"

So I have rethought her a bit. My take is, she was a crap friend who associated with Hanesaki for self-serving reasons who finally did something decent at the end of episode 3. She is not a good friend.

EDIT: Y'know...upon rewatch, I think that was the point. Elena realizes how crap she was and when she fully realizes it, finally hunkers down and does something decent. It's actually expressed really well in the animation like when Aragaki is talking to her and the scene where she goes to see the movie. She realizes how she liked having Hanesaki around her finger and that she ultimately knew very little about her and was using her to boost herself. Reflecting on it, it's actually better than I thought on the first watch. Hell, I think I'll check episode 4 out (pink haired rival and Hanesaki's past are still pretty bad though).
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Mugen1style



Joined: 26 Aug 2005
Posts: 281
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:58 pm Reply with quote
I second Neromon's postulation. That the mother might have left because she felt like she had pushed her daughter too far and the only option for her was to remove herself so her daughter could figure out her own feelings about the sport after she lost big. You could see the expression on Hanesaki's face she was crushed in a way you shouldn't be after losing a game . I don't really have any evidence of course just a hunch. As far as the rest of the criticisms I just don't see any real issues with the way ep 3 played out for me it was good way to lighten it up a tad so it can hopefully turn intense again. If it tried to maintain the intensity of the previous two episodes I think it would get old pretty quick this was a good way to break in for some character development later when the inevitable big match happens they can crank up the angst again.
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Kokuryu Daimao



Joined: 04 Sep 2017
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:51 pm Reply with quote
Cab329 wrote:
Here's the thing: A friend should push you when you are going against who you are.

Elena is not doing that. She only starts caring about how Hanesaki feels right at the end of episode 3.

I will remind you she has been her friend since childhood but couldn't put together that her mom (who made Hanesaki play badminton from the age of 2) leaving made Hanesaki start down a path where she came to hate badminton.

That is not an insignificant fact. That is telling as hell that she has very little empathy or insight into someone she has spent so much time with. She doesn't see Hanesaki as a friend, she sees her as something to wrap herself around...she's a parasite. She tries to get Hanesaki to do physical sports so people will be wowed by Hanesaki's talent and therefore she'll get to leech off of that attention. Remember, her role in teh club was just to play on her cellphone and the moment Hanesaki got some praise she left out of jealousy.

If she was really interested in getting Hanesaki back into Badminton, here's my issue with how she handled it:

1. Hanesaki is suddenly grabbed by an older guy who feels her hands up. If someone started groping you, would a good friend make you hang out with that person?

2. Once Hanesaki arrives, the true toxic environment Aragaki has created for the team is apparent. It is not a healthy atmosphere, people already have high expectations of Hanesaki without any attempt to discern her own feelings. Imagine if you used to be into competitive gaming and your friend gets you to join a gaming club where everyone is already planning your role out and then some guy who has a grudge against you lets out a bunch of slurs and says you have to play? A good friend would say "yeah lets leave" not make you keep going back.

3. What should she have done? Do what she did at the end of this episode (and before anyone says "oh well that's the point" . I'd like to remind you, it took her till now to think about it despite being her friend since they were in pre-k.): get her into a relaxed match where nothing is on the line with an opponent who is chilled out, and practically no audience so it could be jut about the game, or even find a badminton group that isn't associated with a school.

What did she do?
"Hey that guy grabbed you! Sounds like fun! The team is being abused by their ticked off captain who has a grudge against you...I'm joining and making you go! Wait, despite me doing jack all and my alleged reason fro doing all this is to get your love of Badminton back, I'm suddenly jealous of you. Wait, your Badminton mother leaving after you lost a Badminton match made you hate Badminton? Who could have figured that out?"

So I have rethought her a bit. My take is, she was a crap friend who associated with Hanesaki for self-serving reasons who finally did something decent at the end of episode 3. She is not a good friend.

EDIT: Y'know...upon rewatch, I think that was the point. Elena realizes how crap she was and when she fully realizes it, finally hunkers down and does something decent. It's actually expressed really well in the animation like when Aragaki is talking to her and the scene where she goes to see the movie. She realizes how she liked having Hanesaki around her finger and that she ultimately knew very little about her and was using her to boost herself. Reflecting on it, it's actually better than I thought on the first watch. Hell, I think I'll check episode 4 out (pink haired rival and Hanesaki's past are still pretty bad though).


I'm glad that you've decided to give the series another look, I think it has potential.

As to Elena, I never said that she was a "Good" friend.
LIke I said, she's a teenage girl, she's allowed to be a mixed bag of nice/mean/selfish/selfless/etc. That's part of the growing process. If teenagers acted like actualized adults then middle/high school wouldn't be filled with so much drama and BS.

Most teenagers are SO self centered, self focused that its perfectly normal that she couldn't tell what Himesaki's mom leaving was doing to her friend. Or what was going through Himesaki's head. If Himesaki didn't outright say anything to her, how could she?
Most teenagers are so worried about what everyone else is thinking about Them that they don't pay close attention to anyone else s life.
Its why teens generally don't notice that one kid that becomes a shooter until after the fact and some poor soul on the ground.

She made mistakes, could have done things better, and might have gone in at first with ulterior methods. But she did turn it around and decided to seriously help Hanesaki. A bad friend or even just a manipulator would have bailed on Himesaki after they got what they wanted or left once they realized that they weren't getting the attention they wanted.

Elena stayed, or came back depending on how you look at it. No one forced her to make good, she took that path on her own to help her friend. Thats part of what I mean by a true friend.

Which means that in the first 3 episodes we've seen character growth in not just the main character, but also in the secondary cast members. That's already ahead of some other series. Some might have issues with the pacing and say that some of these resolution might be happening faster than they expected, but I for one like how they are not dragging out the drama.

Hopefully it means the series will get to the actual Badminton action sooner and they start highlighting techniques and play styles
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Violet Park



Joined: 18 Jul 2018
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:50 am Reply with quote
I have problems with how the anime handled Hanesaki's arc. The main issue is that while her rejection of badminton was a great example of "show, don't tell", her coming around and realizing she loved the sport all along was the opposite, mostly because of two factors.

Firstly, her personality. Because she is so timid and dependent on Elena, every time she is convinced to do something she doesn't want to it feels coercitive, and at the same time every she refuses is enormous. Elena failing to convince her to stay in ep 3 screams how much Hanesaki doesn't want to play. The creators at this point would need to be really convincing so Hanesaki's final decision to stay feels genuine and not the same peer pressure she has gotten for an entire week.

That is the second problem. Elena insists several times that Hanesaki loved the sport for other reasons than bonding with her badminton-obsessed mom. The creators try to convey this by showing little Hanesaki happily playing badminton in flashbacks...with her mom. In every single one of them, even the one during the match that allegedly reminded her that she loved badminton for other reasons. It makes me mad because they could have fixed it easily for putting flashbacks of Hanesaki always wanting to play badminton during recess in school and putting Elena in the last one instead of the mom.

Not to mention, while Elena and Aragaki are teenagers and teenagers can be disasters handling this stuff, the adults in the club are awful and have no excuse. Oh, and Hanesaki isn't going to get a lot of "badminton for fun" with the entire olympics thing coming up.
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