Forum - View topicHotel Inhumans (TV).
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Edjwald
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Hotel Inhumans (TV) Source: Manga (ongoing @ 10 volumes by Ao Tajima) Demographic: Shounen Animation Studio: Bridge Genres: action, drama, mystery, psychological, slice of life, thriller Themes: assassins, crime, hotel, mafia, tragedy Plot Summary: Hotel Inhumans has two concierges, Sara and Ikurō, who service a very particular clientele: assassins. Not only does the hotel offer top-class dining, relaxation, and entertainment, but it also boasts an ever-fresh arsenal of weapons, false identity creation services, and a world-class cleaner crew. Here, assassins cross paths with each other as Sara and Ikurō tend to their needs without question. Air Date & Platform: July 06, 2025 (Sunday) Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Pending [EDIT: Fancy opener stuff edited. -TK] |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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I liked the first episode a lot, more than I thought I would.
My only hesitation - and I mean this sincerely - is that with a lot of story-of-the-week anime where hotels or restaurants or inns host guests with problems, they start out with strong stories - probably whatever story first inspired the author to embark on the experiment...and then meander into mediocrity. So I'm not going to start declaring that "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winnah!" quite yet. But there are also exceptions - I liked Bartender for example, both versions, and I guess Death Parade does fit that format too. So I'll keep watching and hope that this anime keeps up the quality. Looks like we've got a researcher and killer on staff, and maybe we'll get some kind of ongoing backstory like Bartender provided to tie things together and add some continuity. Or maybe not. |
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Eilavel
Posts: 477 |
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@Edjwald The "he hates killers" to me implies its likely there will be at least a little bit of an underlying braided story about these two, in that its the kind of background motive that makes most sense to drop in that context.
If the high concept is good, episodic stuff like this can be quite strong. Well, with stories of the week hope springs eternally so I will probably pick this up. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Episode 1
Not bad. Definitely worth some more sampling. I like how the Hotel itself spells its name: Hotel In Humans. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#1
Reading the synopsis, I was thinking this would be something like the John Wick universe, minus John Wick and with the spotlight on this franchise's equivalent of the Hotel Continental with the two concierges playing the star roles. The first episode certainly gave off a similar atmosphere to the John Wick universe (as well as just about every fictional universe involving contract killers). That's where the similarities end though. Turns out the adaptation is as pointed out one of those series which has a revolving cast of characters (hotel guests) with the main hook being the concierges' efforts at keeping their guests happy (and not getting killed themselves). Besides the episodic content (this pilot is a one-week special, it looks like subsequent stories are multiple episodes long), a lot is going to hinge on our concierges. The male has the pleasant demeanour of an actual concierge and the investigative skills required to keep up to date on guest backgrounds and sudden guest requests. The female gets her hands dirty as the combat specialist; despite her looks she has an almost perpetual scowl on her face and her eyes are permanently set to murder mode. It looks like the male was recently hired with the female as his peer/manager, since he keeps saying he wants to quit whereas she doesn't give away what her thoughts are about her current place of employment. The story arcs aren't bad if they continue in the same vein as the pilot episode. Lots of blood, gore and tragedy. But at the end of it all the concierges will do their best to satisfy their guests' requests and throw in a little extra for the 5-star customer satisfaction rating. It hasn't turned out to be quite what I anticipated, but as a modern-day action entertainment option there are worst ways to spend one's time. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4990 |
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This is the third hotel anime in a row seasons wise, I really wonder if next season will have another one to keep it going. Each of the three shows has been rather different. One was all about puzzling people's lives together in purgatory, one was after a deadly disease forced humanity to leave Earth and now we have assassins. The latter seems to offer plenty of action and tragedy. I dig the concept but like mentioned I wonder if it will stay interesting long term, I really enjoyed Tasokare Hotel at the start to then slowly lose interest.
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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They are very different takes on the hotel theme. Apocalypse Hotel doesn't even really fit in the "Guest of the week" type category. I would argue that every episode about Apocalypse Hotel was about Yachiyo, even the ones that did have guests in them (Many did not). And the second most dominant character was the hotel itself, which was pretty much inseparable from Yachiyo or vice versa.
And I think Eilavel's right, indications are strong that the concierges are going to be developed further, though not to the same extent Yachiyo was. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4990 |
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That indeed seems to be the case, about half of the second episode was about Ikurou struggling with his duties and griping about it while also making clear that he can't/won't leave and that his past is likely a painful one. He also gets easily attached to a client, despite knowing their line of work. I assume that their dying service is aimed at the people left behind and making sure they are cared for.
Kase's persuit of perfection was a pretty hardcore one and he died due to being that perfect (it was a realistic risk when impersonating someone that hated). |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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On the show Coupling, they had the concept of porn buddies, which was a measure of true friendship More specifically, Steve and Jeff gave each other keys to their apartments so that if one of them died, the other could go into their flat place and remove all of their porn before their family or other loved ones found it.
I imagine the dying service is something like that...framing a death in such a way that it looks like an accident or some other phenomenon that will protect the assassin's identity so that surviving family members won't know about the assassin's past and enemies won't go after the families for revenge. Interesting episode. And yeah, being perfect is a burden (sigh). It's why I intentionally lard my posts with typos and occasional factual errors and dumbass comments, just to take a little pressure off of myself 
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#2
The tone of this series is starting to form with the second episode. The concierge pair are our titular pairing and each story arc deals with specific clients, their demands and their idiosyncrasies. This story's assassin is the archetype who leads the double life with a wife unaware of his true profession. His penchant for disguising himself as the victim certainly ties in with his perfectionist outlook; the motif with the orchestra with him as the conductor an illustrative method to hammer home this point. However, his best laid plans are thwarted when his wife Asami is involved and so it proves with his unlucky demise. Had he not been stopped by her while disguised, he would not have been in the alley when the recently deceased target's many victims would come calling. What's unusual is that the episode title is only referenced right at the end. It appears the hotel has so many guests meeting their demise while checked in that the concierge have a dedicated service for such an eventuality. Although Kasei ran his life almost like clockwork, the pair will have to work hard to keep his wife in the dark as to what really happened. We even find out a bit more about our concierge pair as individuals. Hoshi likes his hard rock music as a stress reliever, even though personal circumstances dictate he can never quit no matter how much he wants to. Sara on the other hand has those hardcore coffee makers and drinks her coffee at diabetes inducing sugar levels. Outside of her coffee pastime, Sara is a machine who either kills or services her clients. They get along well, but will their relationship change as Hoshi gets used to his post? Last edited by Harleyquin on Sun Jul 20, 2025 6:03 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Eilavel
Posts: 477 |
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There are worse things a show can offer than a rotating cast of Golgo 13s. Its not classic material but it had a pretty good balance between sketching the story of our assassin of the week and world building around our titular hotel. I've seen enough that I think this seems worthwhile.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Episode 2
This show is surprisingly... arty. When I first heard the premise, I assumed it was going to be a more straight ahead action type show. Instead it's a bit more thoughtful than that, with flourishes like the painting-like rendering of the orchestra and more wading into thematic waters than I would have guessed. Interesting. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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Wow. I had already decided to stick with this series, but if I hadn't, episode 3 would have convinced me.
I hadn't really noticed until today, when the intro went straight from a funeral to the opening music, but the opening music is more like something I'd expect from a romantic comedy or slice of life anime than a show about hit men. I can see the artsy quality. Time rewinds, perspective shifts, vague yet significant seeming conversations between two staff people who are polar opposites, background music that belongs in an Italian film where everyone is feasting and screwing and dying left and right.... Today's episode was more about the strange ceremonies of love that people fall into without really understanding all the whys and wherefores, and how unnerving that must have been for a man who prided himself on being a precise, logical, cold blooded killing machine. From the title of next week's episode, it sounds like a story that's going somewhere. Have gone from provisionally interested to totally digging it. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#3
If I have one complaint about this episode, it's the very obvious use of the previous episode's highlights reel to obfuscate the lack of actual episode for the airtime. The funeral service and Kasei's posthumous flashback of how his wife Asami won his heart form the core of the episode, but there isn't enough content to fill the airtime hence the padding. That said, the episode is a nice closer to the Kasei arc. Turns out the hotel does a funeral service + extras as part of its contractual obligations to its assassin guests. It's a template that works, but the assassins are also expected to play their part in providing material to the concierge to ensure everything goes as perfectly as one of Kasei's usual meticulously planned hits. Unsurprisingly Kasei took a while to draft that letter, since his wife really is the one weakness he has which he never learned to adapt to. His final wish before dying was to protect her, which the concierge accepted and accomplished with their usual panache. It's interesting Sara let off the Shimamoto hitman with updated information on what really happened. She hasn't actually killed anyone yet in this adaptation, but circumstances dictate both scenarios when she lets down her hair to perform her guardian duties. If needs must, hotel inhumans can definitely do a Hotel Continental under siege, but it would be Sara alone who would have to face down the besiegers as Hoshi cannot fight. Next week sounds like another service this hotel performs. Not sure how that works, but I'm curious to see what kind of quirky hitman they'll feature next who will dovetail with the theme being explored. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#4
The hotel really has a diverse range of customers. This week's assassin has the worst ever commission, and unlike her handlers has decided to take a stand against this unreasonable assignment. The concierge really do take care of their guests' needs, even if it means interfering with their contracts when requested. I have to hand it to the animators. They've gone the whole hog and actually commissioned a song just for this episode. Even the lyrics are tied to the episode content; it is no surprise Nina was so taken by the song's lyrics since it means more to her than ordinary fans. For once, it is Sara who takes the lead with this week's feature. She's genuinely dedicated to her job to the point of forcing herself to go to a bar every week for non-alcoholic drinks just to check if her guests have off duty requests they will never make when she's at the counter. Sara also reveals an unexpected weakness: low tolerance to alcohol. No wonder Hoshi tried to stop her since he knew what would happen if she drank the corpse reviver (the ED visuals change each week so always good to see instead of skip). The post-credits scene seems to indicate this arc isn't just a one episode arc, especially as the next episode title could easily link up with this week's episode. Only way to find out is to watch next week's episode. |
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