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Hanasaku Iroha (TV).


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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 7:14 pm Reply with quote
Hanasaku Iroha - Available at Crunchyroll.

Plot summary: (Note that this is my own, not ANN's, and may contain first episode spoilers.)
Ohana, our protagonist, is a lovely and extroverted young lady aged 16 who lives with her weird and carefree mother. But one day her mother suddenly decides to run away from creditors with her lover and leave Ohana behind, thus Ohana is sent to her grandmother in the process. Ohana's grandmother happens to be a very strict person who owns a hot springs inn and claims to have disowned Ohana's mother.
In other words, Ohana now faces the challenge lots of hardworking cheerful leads often do - to become liked by others present in her new environment, environment that turned out to be far harsher than she expected.

First let me start with the art. The character design looks very attractive (which is a huge element in my book), and they're making full use of it, at least with our protagonist's facial expressions. And do notice that I don't recognize her seiyu, which is another plus in this kind of story (where we'll most likely keep hearing our protagonist's thoughts frequently). And as Key pointed out in his preview, it's animated by the same studio as Angel Beats, so you can expect a very good level of animation and art (but not on the same level of Angel Beats).
And as Key also pointed out in the preview, the writing is outstanding. What would usually be a boring setting, became somewhat interesting despite the low level of development given in the first episode. Which isn't to blame since they had too much to introduce. And I predict it'll become very interesting as it goes.

And one thing I'd like to point out. This isn't about cute girl doing cute things. A somewhat similar character whom I couldn't stop thinking about while watching her is Kaleido Star's Sora. And the series' atmosphere is also similar to what we saw in the beginning of Kaleido Star.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23769
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 7:39 pm Reply with quote
Yep, I'm definitely liking the looks of this one. It's kind of got an Anne of Green Gables feel about it, except that our heroine doesn't have red hair, isn't especially plucky and hasn't been adopted by a kindly, older couple. But other than that, two peas in a pod. Wink

Needless to say, I have already grown quite fond of her new room-mate, who invites her to spoiler[die] a couple of times.
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garfield15



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1517
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:46 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, this show really knew how to make use of it's full 24 minutes and used it splendidly. The animation is great, the setting isn't really that often seen and the characters are...well, actually, only Ohana is that endearing. The others seem like they've all got their own problems (though GARanny is pretty interesting).

Only problem is that ED (which is most likely the OP). I...did not like how it sounded.
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kiddtic



Joined: 04 Dec 2009
Posts: 309
Location: Kitwe, Zambia
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:01 am Reply with quote
Wow I was simply shocked at how awesome this show is. I did not expect it to be a serious drama and the art is beautiful with attractive looking character designs, aspoiler[confession]in the first episode is a huge plus for me because it gives us so much more drama to enjoy.

This show can only get worse from this point because at the moment is its nearly perfect, if you haven't seen this i implore you to check it out.
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Westlo



Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 1684
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:54 am Reply with quote
egoist wrote:
And as Key pointed out in his preview, it's animated by the same studio as Angel Beats, so you can expect a very good level of animation and art (but not on the same level of Angel Beats).


Eh.. but Angel Beats is inferior to True Tears, CANAAN and Hanasaku when it comes to animation and art...
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Mister V



Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:10 am Reply with quote
I quite like the art here, the production values as noted everywhere else are definitely above average. Not really sure I'll end up following it to the very end, though. So far it's a nice start, with a more mature way of handling its plot and characters than a lot of other shows; however, if this starts going into relationship drama (see Ko-chan and/or someone else?), I'll probably drop it.
Also, Chiaki Omigawa toned down and actually has an interesting voice (and character).

For now I'm mostly interested in discovering where exactly it will take this initial premise. Will the town girl adapt to strict traditions/rules?Will she "change" everyone "for the better"? One can only hope it'll be handled with more subtlety than usual. Certainly it's a more promising start than Angel Beats.
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Penguin_Factory



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 732
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:57 am Reply with quote
This is a pleasant surprise. I was kind of afraid from the premise that it would turn into a fanservice fest or a reverse harem, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I still have some reservations, though. The main character is just a tad too generically cutesy (my tolerance for "cute" female anime characters has reached an all time low lately) and as usual I'm having trouble believing she's as old as the story says she is. Also, her Mom annoyed the hell out of me for some reason but I suppose that won't be a problem in later episodes.

I'll definitely keep watching for now.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:09 am Reply with quote
Thank goodness she cried. I know it's not fair comparing her to me because I'm just one big emotionally mental unstable wreck, but I would've been cowering in a corner every chance I had. It did feel kind of weird how problems were just piling on every 5 minutes, but it's not completely unbelievable. The ending (opening?) certainly shows promise of high points, and I'm looking forward to how she reaches those points.

I'm not in love with it like other people, but this certainly seems like it'll be pretty good.
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EmbraceMe



Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 2013
Location: Growing old and jaded.
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 3:05 pm Reply with quote
Off to a good start, liking the roommate and main character right now, but some characters bother me. The Grandmother being the one that bothers me the most. It irks me a little the way she treats her employees, spoiler[slapping the roommate], it seems a little extreme. Yelling would have been fine in my book, but pretty good drama so far.
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Mister V



Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Posts: 1000
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 4:57 pm Reply with quote
EmbraceMe wrote:
Yelling would have been fine in my book, but pretty good drama so far.

Wouldn't you say it's somewhat exaggerated? Sure, this isn't Hinata Inn, but that attitude screams "we dun like yer kind 'round here, city gal" a bit too much.
Note: the scene with the chef, now that I have no complaints about. This is actually a realistic depiction of some of their relationships in these more traditional areas. And the fact that they have this sort of hardline depiction of a more traditional way of doing things. But I do think they sometimes go overboard.
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:35 pm Reply with quote
I give this my top ranking, even after seeing just one episode. This is as good as top-drawer Ghibli work.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is influenced to some extent by Anne of Green Gables which, I understand, is popular in Japan.

No, the Inn manager/grandmother is not unrealistic. There are many characters like that in real life here in the U.S., and I presume in Japan here too. I am a bit puzzled by the active submissiveness of Minko, though. I'm sure there's a story there all by itself.

The Crunchyroll HD stream is stunning. When this comes out on BD I am buying it.
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kiddtic



Joined: 04 Dec 2009
Posts: 309
Location: Kitwe, Zambia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:48 am Reply with quote
HaruhiToy wrote:


No, the Inn manager/grandmother is not unrealistic. There are many characters like that in real life here in the U.S., and I presume in Japan here too.


thats very true theer are a number of people like that IRL. Given the circumstances I dont see how this can be inconceivable, The Grandmas daughter was a delinquent and was disowned giving much grief to her Mother she opted to run away from home and head to the big city and mother her bastard child. Years later said child comes back without a proper warning or sorry and is expected all of a sudden to care for her.

i totally see where the grandma is coming from. It doesnt help that the grand-daughter is also...spunky.
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:53 am Reply with quote
kiddtic wrote:
i totally see where the grandma is coming from. It doesnt help that the grand-daughter is also...spunky.


Yet it is quite clear that Ohana is not a whiner. Whatever bad blood between her mother and grandmother, somehow her ditzy and possibly loose mother managed to raise her with a strong sense of right and wrong and without a sense of entitlement. She is no stranger to household chores. We did not see one line of complaint from Ohana when she learned about her new circumstances except to herself when she was alone. Even then it seems she had a sense of humor about it (I would have preferred a nice old lady handing out candy.) Where she is starting in this story is far down the road from where most characters her age start. That suggests the destination is much further still.

I think it is pretty clear from the outset that Ohana is going to win her grandmother's respect. The story is predictable in that way and we have seen it before -- but that doesn't matter. The question is how and that is what we are going to keep watching to see.

As for the Grandmother -- she shares a lot in common with Chihiro's Yubaba or Anne's Marilla. Obviously her designated roll is the harsh authoritarian butt kicker that just might have a soft side after all. Minko has the role of Chihiro's Lynne or Anne's Gilbert. Everything's in place.

As for the uncle -- who manages to cop a feel off his niece's rear in their very first meeting -- we'll see where that goes.
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darkslayer709



Joined: 16 Aug 2010
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:44 am Reply with quote
Am I the only person who felt that her actions in episode 2 were really uncalled for? The way she was behaving kind of irritated me actually if I'm totally honest but then it always bugs me when a character who is so clearly in the wrong never gets called out on it. spoiler[I mean yes she had good intentions wanting to work hard, cleaning the room and making breakfast but at the end of it all nobody actually asked or expected her to do those things. The fact that by the end of the episode she actually has the nerve to pretty much bully their most hated meals out of them to punish them without offering so much as an apology herself just really wound me up]
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23769
PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:16 pm Reply with quote
@ darkslayer709 - considering there seem to be other people out there who are completely unwilling to cut the Ohana character even one millimeter of slack, you probably aren't alone. Let's see, she's been raised by a completely unreliable mother, sent to live with an incredibly harsh grandmother - yeah, what a complete bitch! How can I have any sympathy for her at all??? Why isn't she perfect??? Rolling Eyes

I can totally understand why she would be angry at both Minko and Nako. Nako is a timid mouse afraid of her own shadow who neglected to pass on a few bits of key information to Ohana which got her into trouble with Cruella de Ville. Yeah, Ohana could have ratted Nako out and take the heat off herself, but she selfishly decided to save Nako's skin, instead. WHAT A WHORE!!! Rolling Eyes

Minko has been a complete cow to Ohana from second one, but hey let's ignore that shitty behaviour, right? Yeah, that douche-bag Ohana really has it coming to her. Rolling Eyes
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