This Week in Anime
Is Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Horror or All Hijinks?
by Michelle Liu & Andy Pfeiffer,
The perpetually single Nene just wants a boyfriend but finds herself attached to the incorporeal Hanako-kun, a male ghost that hangs out in the girls' bathroom and grants wishes for a price. The series' focus on Japanese ghost stories is mostly played for laughs but is there an emotional core to Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun?
You can read our Daily Streaming reviews of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun here!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
@Lossthief
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Micchy
Andy, I don't know if I've ever told you this, but when I was a small child I used to watch The Little Mermaid pretty much daily. Every kid has that one movie they watch over and over, and that was mine. Two decades later I'm revisiting my childhood favorite, but uh, something seems a little off here.
Andy, I don't know if I've ever told you this, but when I was a small child I used to watch The Little Mermaid pretty much daily. Every kid has that one movie they watch over and over, and that was mine. Two decades later I'm revisiting my childhood favorite, but uh, something seems a little off here.
Andy
That's because like all Disney classics it has been updated and improved. I'm just glad they didn't go live-action for once. I don't even want to know what Ursula here would look like with Will Smith's face CG'ed on her.
That's because like all Disney classics it has been updated and improved. I'm just glad they didn't go live-action for once. I don't even want to know what Ursula here would look like with Will Smith's face CG'ed on her.
This one does have a lot more squishy anime blob faces though, so you win some, you lose some.
Also instead of an octopus witch, it's some jerk who lives in a toilet and might possibly be the ghost of a murderer. But close enough.
Also instead of an octopus witch, it's some jerk who lives in a toilet and might possibly be the ghost of a murderer. But close enough.
Japan has some weird cryptids, and one of them happens to be Moaning Myrtle, and now that we've hit the year 2020 someone was finally brave enough to say fuck gender roles and gave us this smug murder boy.
Our Hanako-kun here is the ghost of a murderer long deceased whose goals in the (after)life are to clean the bathroom, dunk on his doughy human assistant, and keep other supernatural entities from wreaking too much havoc, approximately in that order.
The main difference between the Japanese and British versions of this ghost are that while one floods bathrooms because of a giant snake, the other has done all kinds of stuff throughout the history of their stories. Things as benign as vaguely scaring children to as extreme as yanking people down to hell. In this case Hanako-san gets by granting wishes and taking payment in return, but he hasn't done much of that until an extremely bullyable client comes along.
Of all the suckers to get entangled in dumb supernatural nonsense, Nene's probably one of the dorkiest. She's trying so hard to not be a mess, but when your best friend lives in a bathroom you can't claim to be entirely on top of your shit.
She's an idiot, but boy is she such a good idiot. A lot of the time she's overwhelmed and confused by the mundane things around her, so add in the supernatural and it's almost refreshing that she takes it about the same because hey, life is confusing enough. She also has the absolute best faces, which is a staple of all TWIA All-Stars.
Hanako's well aware that whatever Nene has resembling a brain is firmly stuck to the outside of her head where a face would go, so naturally he abuses the hell out of that knowledge to give the kids watching at home a steady supply of goofy faces.
That dynamic is pretty much the core appeal of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun—I couldn't care less about the supernatural shenanigans, but the chemistry between the show's two leads is charming enough. They're cute and worth a chuckle or two, which is honestly plenty.
That dynamic is pretty much the core appeal of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun—I couldn't care less about the supernatural shenanigans, but the chemistry between the show's two leads is charming enough. They're cute and worth a chuckle or two, which is honestly plenty.
The supernatural stuff was what initially drew me, much like In/Spectre. I've a soft spot for yokai stories and was curious what this was gonna be about. I expected some Kitaro level dealing with Yokai, and while there is technically that it isn't the main draw. The main plot takes quite a while to kick into gear, but that really isn't an issue when it's so fun to watch the characters interact and fight over the 2 braincells divided between them all. That's not to say it doesn't get the appeal of horror stories though, because I absolutely love the designs and color palette of this show.
It looks good sometimes! There's some genuinely unsettling imagery in this show, lots of evocative layouts for the horror bits. At other times it's unsettling for entirely different reasons.
I don't know what you're talking about. Yokai Tinder has a 100% success rate.
The Confession Tree isn't picky about gender when playing matchmaker. A true ally to bland best friend characters everywhere.
I do appreciate how hard the show goes out of its way to dunk on a side character that we never see again.
Speaking of characters who get roasted, how 'bout Minamoto the younger?
His introduction is everything you'd expect and more.
I also love that it literally takes multiple episodes for Nene to put 1 + 1 = 2 together.
I also love that it literally takes multiple episodes for Nene to put 1 + 1 = 2 together.
TNL (Today Nene Learned): people who share a surname and look similar are probably related. Usually this kind of confusion occurs when you know someone's first name but not their last, not the other way around. Anyway Kou's trying his best, but his brother Teru got most of the brain cells allotted to their family so he's kind of out of luck when it comes to being a competent exorcist and whatnot.
Sure his brother is the better exorcist, but this boy can do something his older brother can't, and that's:
Great, now I'm imagining a three-way crossover between EVOL, Knives Out, and Hanako-kun where Daniel Craig is just there. You know you want yokai adventures featuring Daniel Craig, make it happen you cowards! Kou also has something else his brother doesn't though: the innocence to be compassionate towards the creatures he's supposed to slay, even when they accuse him of being a filthy weeb.
Boy does he. I didn't expect the show to go where it did on that.
I mentioned earlier that it takes awhile to get into the plot, roughly episode 6 out of the 8 currently aired, and even then it's usually a spooky mystery plot. So I was mostly following along with the fun little Yokai arcs. Nothing too emotionally involved or anything, just some good ol' fun. And then Episode 8. A Kou episode. One that has zero Nene and only a scant minute of Hanako. What should just be a sidestory for funsies. It happens.
A Kou episode co-starring this absolute piece of work, no less. And somehow it works.
Ok, so waaaay back in episode 2 we get a little bit of what's going on when the giant murder eyeballs turn out to be extremely adorable and good living peeps.
The little harmless gremlins are supposedly responsible for things like lost keys and the like, but someone decided to add to their story that if you see them THEY WILL MURDER YOU, and because yokai must exist to fit their stories they were actually forced into this new horrible role. This niggling detail will come up in a bit as we talk about Mitsuba, a recently deceased student whose spirit can't move on and who ends up re-befriending Kou.
The little harmless gremlins are supposedly responsible for things like lost keys and the like, but someone decided to add to their story that if you see them THEY WILL MURDER YOU, and because yokai must exist to fit their stories they were actually forced into this new horrible role. This niggling detail will come up in a bit as we talk about Mitsuba, a recently deceased student whose spirit can't move on and who ends up re-befriending Kou.
First up, it's pretty messed up that the yokai have to live up to their reputations to the letter. They only exist because of the popular imagination, and if their public perception changes they have to roll with it or go bye-bye. That's a lot of pressure to put on ghosts and sentient peeps! Now extend that to a kid who struggles to make friends and is generally disliked. Rumors spread, and now his ghost has to be exactly what everyone thought he was, be that jerk or creep or nobody, on top of doing all the regular ghost stuff.
That'd be better honestly! Because this poor jerk ass ghost child didn't let anyone see that side of him. He got bullied so bad for standing out as a kid that by middle school he tried his best to fit in. Yet in the end all it gets him is kids spreading a rumor about his death but they can't even remember anything about who he really was.
In the end he can't move on because he so desperately wants someone, anyone, to acknowledge his existence and care about who he is, or rather was.
In the end he can't move on because he so desperately wants someone, anyone, to acknowledge his existence and care about who he is, or rather was.
Kou tags along with Mitsuba's Instagram journey believing that'll get him to let go of his regrets in life, but eventually Mitsuba figures out what exactly he wanted—and it's an attachment stronger than any hobby could've ever been.
And then the episode ends. Right there. Nothing gets ruined by this horrible Nega-Hanako and I don't feel obliterated inside.
The reasoning is that since Mitsuba's already dead, he can't truly form new connections with the living—but that's pretty blatantly not true, if Hanako's affection (?) for his human pals is any indication. Not that that matters when Hanako's evil twin is out here murdering people who are already dead.
The problem is even if it's true, Nega-Hanako doesn't give a shit about what the dead want nor their restrictions.
Don't make deals with evil toilet ghosts, kids. Friendly toilet ghosts are OK though.
See, Mitsuba was vague in his original wish. He wanted "to be remembered" and Kou fucked that up for NH by actually learning who Mitsuba was, and caring about him. He completely fulfilled Mitsuba's wants and needs! And while actual Hanako tries to say that in itself is a problem
Like you said ,he's breaking his own rules. I'd nitpick and say that Mitsuba could have made friends in life had he been himself, and therefore it was totally ok to befriend Kou like he should've, but all of that is irrelevant in the face of what actually happens. See, Shitty-Evil-Hanako twists Mitsuba's story of "kid that died in a crash and wants someone to remember him" to "kid died in a car crash and if you can't remember him HE WILL MURDER YOU" and, following the logic from earlier, our dumbass brash boy who has finally learned to love himself after his tragic death gets fucking railroaded into this horrific monstrosity:
Like you said ,he's breaking his own rules. I'd nitpick and say that Mitsuba could have made friends in life had he been himself, and therefore it was totally ok to befriend Kou like he should've, but all of that is irrelevant in the face of what actually happens. See, Shitty-Evil-Hanako twists Mitsuba's story of "kid that died in a crash and wants someone to remember him" to "kid died in a car crash and if you can't remember him HE WILL MURDER YOU" and, following the logic from earlier, our dumbass brash boy who has finally learned to love himself after his tragic death gets fucking railroaded into this horrific monstrosity:
Our little jackass was too good for this world. Or perhaps the shadowy figures going around spreading false rumors are to blame. We don't know quite yet what they're doing this all for, but I'd guess some combination of revenge, power, and/or screwing with people just for the hell of it.
The episode hurts because either way, Mitsuba got done dirty in life in a way that resonates, and that even in death any peace he was able to find was ripped away. If nothing else the empty rage and frustration of that is something I was happy to see elevate Kou from comic relief to someone struggling to make things better.
And while this show definitely isn't as direct as say, Stars Align, I dare you to make it through this episode without picking up on the subtext at play.
And while this show definitely isn't as direct as say, Stars Align, I dare you to make it through this episode without picking up on the subtext at play.
It's a hell of an episode, and I'm honestly impressed that the show turned this doofus into a kid who insists on compassion even when the people in his life discourage it. All he wants to do is keep people from suffering, whether they be dead or alive.
Kou has it rough, but sometimes you gotta be the one to step up and grasp that donut if no one else can.
Luckily he has a couple of good (?) friends around him that can maybe lend a hand if they ever feel like it (Hanako) or remember to (Nene).
Of course Nene will stick around him. She needs someone as dumb as Kou to miss how devastating this unintentional burn was.
The two of them are birds of a brainless feather. Bless their hearts. Overall, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of Hanako-kun, but it sometimes turns out some pretty good stuff. The show feels a little disposable at times, but its moments of legit pathos are solid.
Each little yokai arc has its own internal theme and character that come across really well, and now that the plot is kicking in it has solidified that it was definitely worth my time. And it gave me the mokkes.
Love these stupid pink blobs.
Love these stupid pink blobs.
Gimme.
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