Series Review – Hanasaku Iroha

Hansaku Iroha – 花咲くいろは (The ABCs of Blooming)

As PA Work’s 10th anniversary series, the studio interestingly chose to make a slice of life series. Slice of life has generally been PA Work’s forte and money-maker, so it does make sense. And with Mari Okada behind the series composition, I had much expectations for this coming-of-age story about a young teenage girl named Ohana.

That being said, the resulting series turned out to be rather mixed in terms of plot. The story had it’s touching, powerful arcs, but there were far more episodes filled with very filler-esque material. The episodes that stuck out as the best were the first 3 or so episodes, the middle episodes about Satsuki (around ep 12-13), and the final episodes to the series. These arcs had some amazingly good character development, and also stood out as the arcs that developed the main heroine and her family the most.

Everything in between was meant for side character development, but the side characters were never developed beyond some quirks in personality. Overall the side character stories dragged the plot down, with a select few exceptions. I can say for sure that Hanasaku Iroha would’ve been tremendously better as a 12-13 episode series, mainly because it would’ve cut out the excess.

On the plus side, the side character development does get a sense of community going amongst the cast, and that proved to be quite important later on in the series. Overall, story was rather mixed, but I would be lying if I said there weren’t some awesome story arcs to this series. Go figure that Mari Okada actually wasn’t very involved in these side character arcs, and almost all of the better arcs she was much more involved.

Art and Animation, as expected of a 10th anniversary series, was absolutely gorgeous. Every single episode had pretty much top notch animation, with each scene very detailed. Coupled with some very intricate backgrounds, the production quality certainly was nothing to scoff at.

All in all, Hanasaku Iroha was a mixed bag. It had some great stories, but it was weighed down by quite a bit of unnecessary story arcs. That being said, the cast did remain fairly memorable, which means that the series in general did quite a good job at creating a quirky set of characters. Though as a 10th anniversary series, I do have to admit had much higher expectations.

Animation/Art: 9.0/10

Music: 8.0/10

Setting: 8.5/10

Characters: 8.0/10

Story: 7.0/10

Overall Enjoyment: 8.1/10

Hanasaku Iroha – 26 (Final)

Episode 26 Final-

Well, I guess this was a rather fitting finale for Hanasaku Iroha. It’s kind of funny how before closing up Kissuiso was a super-important conflict, and yet in the end, it is the most fitting way to wrap things up. Nevertheless, the closure of Kissuiso did transition into a bunch of final moments for the main cast, where each member of the HanaIro cast move on with their lives. It was a rather bittersweet ending in some ways, yet at the same time was a happy ending for the characters in general.

That being said, this episode didn’t really introduce anything new or overdramatic, and instead opted for a quiet closure. Everything was left very much open-ended, and because of that you do get the feeling that “the story continues”. Heck, I was half-anticipating a fast-forward to the future where everybody would have returned to Kissuiso.

But yea, Ohana gets her happy end with Kou-chan, Sui moves on from Kissuiso, and Satsuki grows more appreciative of her strict mother. The Shijima family had their nice conclusion, but everybody else had their nice segments too. Denroku retires to a peaceful life with his family, Enishi and Takako work towards reopening Kissuiso, and both Nako and Minko are living out their lives how they’ve always wanted to. It was a nice conclusion with a warm afterglow, but I can’t help but feel that the creators kind of chickened-out and played everything too safe.

On a different note, the title “hanasaku iroha” is finally vaguely referenced here. “Hanasaku Iroha” would roughly translate to “The ABCs of Blooming”, and that does describe the series up until this point quite well; the tale of a young girl struggling to mature and bloom. Ohana’s final scene where she mentions that she is “striving for the sun, and trying to bloom”, would be a reference to the title. All in all, this ending was very passive. It was fairly disappointing in a sense, mainly because it played it’s cards very safe. This “conclusion” almost feels like a “to be continued”, and in a sense, that is probably the best way to end this anime.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5

P.S. Ah, almost forgot to mention. The heron taking flight was probably also meant as an indicator of Ohana “blooming”, where the heron finally flying is probably symbolic of how Ohana is “leaving the nest” called Kissuiso, and moving forward with her own life.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 25

Episode 25 –

And with this episode, most of the drama surrounding the closing of Kissuiso is brought to a close. It looks like Kissuiso will not be closing (though it hasn’t been 100% confirmed), and now that the final major hurdle is over and done with, all that’s left is to wrap up all the character relationships and such. That being said, this episode was quite good with a strong sense of growth for the main cast, where everybody eventually cast aside their worries and worked together as a huge team. The charm in the cast has always been how they’ve meshed together well, and produce a fun dynamic amongst the group. All the drama about the closing had almost killed that atmosphere, but luckily it turned out well after Takako slapped some sense into Enishi.

That being said, I found a few aspects to this episode fascinating. One thing that Tohru points out here is how much Ohana had changed in comparison to her early days at Kissuiso, where before she was much more unpredictable and rash. Her much more uncertain, reserved attitude is quite different from before, and is reflective of how much she has matured over her time at Kissuiso. She thinks things through much more thoroughly, and has grown attached to her new lifestyle.

Similar things can be said of Minko and Nako, where they too have undergone significant change since the beginning of the series. Nako has grown much more confident in herself, and ismore assertive than her previously shy persona. Minko has grown to care for Ohana, as reinforced her strong will towards her dream of being a chef though Tohru. Even the manager, Sui, has changed quite a bit since the beginning. She is becoming much more aware of how diverse her staff at Kissuiso is, as well as their motivations and determination.

You could really feel all this character development coming together this episode, resulting in one of the most lively days at Kissuiso I’ve seen out of this entire series. The halls are brimming with parents and laughing children, guests who enjoy their well-crafted meals, and a dedicated staff earnestly working their very best. I personally found the scenes where everyone was working together quite satisfying.

That being said, while this was an excellent episode to showcase everything this series has been about up until this point, it still felt a bit too convenient. We got Sui and Satsuki randomly joining in to help out, and it conveniently helped everything run smoothly. Ignoring that, this penultimate episode showcased the fruits of all the joys and difficulties the members of Kissuiso endured through, and the character development from all of that. The finale next week will probably finish wrapping up the character relationships themselves, now that all the drama is out of the way.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

P.S. Seeing Satsuki, Sui, and Ohana working together is really nice to see. Considering the rather complicated family situation for the Shijimas, and how it’s been an enduring issue in this series, this scene is great to see.

Hanasaku Iroha – 24

Episode 24 –

Err, well this episode certainly wasn’t without it’s very awkward moments. When Sui walked into the bath, I was literally dumbfounded. Even for comedic relief, that was very awkward. Well, aside from that, you can clearly see that PA works is trying to setup things for to bring things to a closure. As a result of this, the drama was quite something, and character development does seem like it’s being rushed. This episode certainly wasn’t subtle in the way in went about things, yet at the same time this approach does work fairly well for this particular conflict. As for the focus on the manager, Sui, it’s certainly character development I’m glad to see considering how she has usually been more of a background character.

As I already mentioned, character development feels a bit rushed. One thing that is nice is how the Ohana x Kou relationship has practically been resolved in a short, simple but sweet manner. Kou’s victory cry was pretty funny, yet strangely touching at the same time. As for the bits of development with Tohru and Minko, all I can say is that it felt very rushed, almost as if PA works was just throwing it in for the heck of it.

Most of the episode was pretty much just all drama around Kissuiso’s closure, where Sui ends up being quite stubborn about the closure, and leads up to an outright revolt against her. Satsuki ends up complicating things quite a bit with a glowing review bringing in a ton of reservations, which ends up exacerbating the conflict quite a bit.

What makes all this rather interesting is Sui’s interpretation of the closure of the inn, where she feels she is releasing everybody to follow their own paths. I guess she just feels she has been too imposing with her way of running the inn, and thinks it’s time to finally bring things to a proper closure for the inn. In a sense, I can sympathize with her after her troubles with her two children, yet at the same time I can’t quite agree with her because of how dedicated the rest of the Kissuiso staff seems to be. Ohana seems to be of the same opinion for the most part, where she too is unsure of which side to take up.

To be perfectly honest, I had expected the creators to actually close up Kissuiso and have everybody go their own ways. That sort of ending would’ve been rather bittersweet, but satisfying. However, the sudden turn of events does make me rethink this idea a bit, and the possible outcomes here perk my interest a lot. As a build up episode, this was great at both exploring Sui’s motives behind her decision, as well as racketing up the drama amongst the main cast. The situation right now is pretty much just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, which I bet will happen around when the bonbori festival begins. And I wonder if Kou-chan and Ohana will play a role in this at all.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.9/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 23

Episode 23 –

Well, I have to say that this was very different from what I had anticipated. It turns out that this week’s episode was rather quiet and reflective, where the focus is brought to all of the characters involved with Ohana that current live in Tokyo. Of course, there was also some focus on Ohana’s feelings with regards to everything that has happened so far, but in terms of the bigger picture, this episode is pretty much starting to tie up loose ends. The bits of screentime with Satsuki and Kou-chan were probably the most noticeable aspects to this episode, but the bonding moments between Ohana and Takako were quite interesting as well.

The main point to this episode was for to sort out everybody’s feelings so that there would no longer be any uncertainties amongst themselves. Ohana seems to be the only exception here, where her really dull romance-sensors seem to prevent her from coming to terms with her own feelings about Ko-chan, as well as how he may feel about her. As for Kou-chan, he seems to have finally found some resolve after coming to terms with his uneasy feelings towards Ohana, and the timing couldn’t have been any better with him running into her atop the bridge at the end of the episode.

The whole Ohana x Kou-chan drama is actually fairly predictable in many ways, so I can’t quite say it was the most interesting aspect to this episode. Rather, seeing Takako and Ohana’s interactions throughout the episode were quite something. We always knew of Takako as the annoying consultant, but this was pretty much a stark reminder that she isn’t as incompetent as she may seem. Not to mention, her bit of bonding with Ohana visibly changed their perceptions of each other, as well as my opinion of Takako as a character. This provided a different perspective of Takako as a character, which in itself was a refreshing thing for PA works to add in here. Another intriguing little occurrence would be the run-in between Satsuki and Kou-chan, where it’s quite obvious that Satsuki has her own worries and concerns with regards to Ohana, though she isn’t vocal about it at all.

All of these jumbled feelings and emotions are gradually coming together, where the big picture is slowly starting to appear in pieces and chunks. What’s somewhat surprising here is how this series is taking a more roundabout, slower approach to the situation to let these emotions and such sink in more. Actually, now that I think about it, the biggest conflicts in this series have always been related to the Shijima family in general, where their somewhat strained and unique family relationship has produced this odd web of character relationships. With everybody else’s story mostly resolved, the big conflict at this point is how Ohana herself is uncertain about her own emotions and resolve, and her confrontation with Kou-chan will put her to the test to see just how much she has grownup and changed.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 22

Episode 22 –

This episode was rather quiet in some ways, with the marriage ceremony between Enishi and Takako finishing up without any major issues or drama. What I’m really seeing here, though, is a buildup episode leading into the final few episodes. The series is starting to bring some closure to the rather large cast of characters, with Enishi and Takako being the first of the side characters getting a solid conclusion. The Minko x Tohru drama is wrapped up this episode, and there are even subtle little hints at Tomoe getting together with Renji. Of course, this entire episode did lead into the surprise announcement by the manager, which in itself speaks volumes about what to expect from here on.

As I already mentioned, this episode has started to bring about some closure to all the relationships in this series. The most obvious bit of closure would be for Enishi and Takako, but this also surprisingly wraps up the entire Ohana x Tohru x Minko love triangle. There was no real excessive drama involved in wrapping up the love triangle, but rather, a simple and short bit of conversation to wrap up any dangling issues. It’s not exactly how I expected the love triangle to wrap up, but kudos to PA works for keeping things more down to earth. This episode also brought to a close the involvement of Beanman and the maybe the manager, and I felt that it was done in a very fitting manner.

As for what was actually important in this episode, it would be the clues at Ohana’s return to Tokyo. Based on the OP theme, I had always suspected that Ohana would be eventually returning to Tokyo, but I never quite anticipated that the manager was going to shut down Kissuiso for good. Unless I’m misinterpreting her message, the manager seems to feel that it’s time for everybody to move on from the inn. It was quite the bombshell of an announcement, but I had suspected something big would happen to Kissuiso after that cliffhanger from last week. Now, I can’t imagine Ohana letting Kissuiso close without a fight, but I highly doubt she’d be able to stop the closure.

With that being said, the reintroduction of Kou-chan and Satsuki into the story here makes perfect sense; now that Kissuiso is coming to a close, Ohana would obviously be returning to Tokyo. Back when we last saw Kou-chan, Ohana still hadn’t fully sorted out her feelings. Now that she seems to have more resolve, maybe we’ll finally see some closure to the Ohana x Kou relationship.I do have doubts on how “one sided” Ohana’s love is for Kou-chan (I mean, he did confess to her in the first episode… =_=), but maybe Ohana is just that dense when it comes to love. The series is definitely drawing to a close, and it seems that PA works has started to shift gears and prepare for the final arc or two. I do have a feeling the finale might not be a “happily ever after” ending, but I do sincerely hope there will be some proper closure for Kou-chan and Ohana.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

P.S. Yuina and Nako this episode were pretty fun to watch, though it looks like we might not see much more of them in the next few episodes. 😦

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 21

Episode 21 –

Some people did suspect last week that Enishi and Takako would be getting married, and indeed, they plan on doing so. They never quite struck the image of a couple in my mind, so the sudden announcement does come as a surprise. I mean, they never seemed to be in love or anything, though they did seem to have a deeper relationship than what met the eye. Anyways, while the marriage was the most eyecatching detail here, the devil is in the side events that are shown in this episode. The sudden drama between Minko and Ohana over Tohru, and the surprise comment left by the manager with regards to her successor, immediately puts brings up some huge questions and worries. Now that I think about it, this entire episode was a setup episode, where PA works is setting the foundation for some of the climactic arcs to this series. With 5 episodes left to go, I would’ve been worried if the creators weren’t starting to hint at some sort of closure.

Like I already said, the most flashy aspect here was the marriage. But really, the important things to note happened all because this marriage acted as a catalyst, and will definitely bring about some surprise resolutions in the future. The main one to note would be the ongoing drama between Ohana and Minko, where Minko’s suspicions about Tohru’s feelings finally boiled over. Minko realizes she can never attain the same status that Ohana has in Tohru’s mind, which leaves her both confused and terribly anxious. Of course, it doesn’t help that Minko isn’t being straightforward with her feelings to Ohana, which confuses Ohana as well. This touches upon both Minko’s anxieties and lack of self-confidence when it comes to Tohru, as well as touches upon Ohana’s anxieties about love, Kou-chan, and how she may be responsible for the problem at hand. Quite frankly this could devolve into a complete and utter mess, though Hanasaku Iroha does have the tendency to surprise me with some normal, yet fitting, conclusions.  Funny how the source of the drama, Tohru, is blissfully unaware of any sort of conflict between the girls.

Another big point to note here is how the manager approves of Takako and Enishi’s marriage, but briefly mentions how she has no intention of handing over Kissuisou to the couple. While it is in the manager’s best interest to appoint her soon to be daughter-in-law and son as the successors, she does seem to indicate that she has other plans in mind. I do vaguely remember the manager saying she normally would’ve had Satsuki inherit the inn, but the person in question wants to have nothing to do with running an inn. This would leave Ohana as the only other family member she can really leave the inn too, which I personally think is a shocking idea to even contemplate.  However, my bet is that the manager’s line of thinking isn’t as predictable as I’m making it out to  be here, and she may have some more complex ideas in mind for Kissuisou’s future. Perhaps the involvement of the romance drama between Ohana, Minko, and Tohru plays a role here, where if Ohana and Tohru really got together as a couple, it would mirror the situation in which the manager met her husband. As of now, we can only wait and see.

After the oddly out of place (or perhaps “oddly typical” would be the better phrase) arcs of the past few weeks, Hanasaku Iroha has finally seems to be delving into some more important matters revolving around the Shijima family. This arc will probably have some huge repercussions for the future of the main cast, where you can tell that some of the side characters are getting some closure. There’s stuff like Takako and Enishi getting married, and even the vague hint that Tomoe holding some interest in Renji. All of this is all setup for a gradual closure to this series, and the buildup here was quite intriguing to watch. The tension shown in this episode is all just a ticking time bomb, which will probably implode in the near future. This episode did an excellent job with setting a solid foundation to the story.  What I’m curious about is how all of the seemingly unrelated conflicts here will all converge in the bigger picture, and how it will affect this overall picture.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 20

Episode 20 –

Well, this was definitely a funny episode. I was busting my gut laughing over Minko’s “Love” omurice for Tohru. While on the surface this episode seemed to be about a rather normal day (and learn that there are many ways to cook omurice), the arc did manage to stay consistent with it’s theme about friendship. This episode is at times very subtle at emphasizing it’s themes and ideas, and while I appreciate the subtlety, at the same time it’s really tough to see the fruits and rewards of everything that’s unfolding.

The biggest aspect to this episode was probably it’s questioning of what “friendships” and “relationships” constitutes, and what kind of friendships there are out there. Of course, it doesn’t directly ask the question in the episode, but in the entire arc there are quite a few scenarios that reflect upon such. There’s the obvious dynamic between Minko, Ohana, and Nako (with Yuina playing an observer role), then there’s less pronounced relationships like Minko’s relationship with the omurice girl, the omurice girl’s relationship with the unnamed-boy that she has a crush on, and Tohru’s relationship with both Minko and Ohana. Then there’s the awkward relationship between Nako and her classmate, which works out rather well by the end of this arc.  There’s even the scene that explains Minko’s relationship with the restaurant she visited in her childhood, which became her inspiration to become a cook in the first place. Everything in this arc places emphasis on the web of friendships amongst all the characters, and how that all of these seemingly minor relationships and quirks come together to produce this simple, normal day at a highschool festival.

Like I said though, on the surface the story seems to be about the everyday life of Ohana, Minko, and Nako, only this time they’re thrown into a school festival. They do typical stuff like fret over love/crushes, worry about how to cook food, show concern for each other, gossip about each other, and so forth. Quite honestly, if you take this episode at face value, all you get out of it is learning how to make omurice in two different ways. The conflict from the last episode neatly resolved itself without more omurice drama, and in general the episode ended on an uneventful note. So yea, while I liked this episode’s emphasis on friendship and relationships, at the same time I would appreciate some stronger, more bold plot progression. It’s especially notable if you consider we are already well past the halfway point for Hanasaku Iroha.

Oh, on a side note, there was a single vague hint at Tohru showing interest in Ohana (though it was very brief). Considering how the next episode preview suggests that Tohru might get married, I’m not sure what to expect out of that （￣□￣；）

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

P.S. I totally didn’t expect a Hiromi cameo, but considering how True tears was made by PA works, I guess it isn’t a complete surprise. They even mention “P.A. works” on corner of the poster in the cameo, lol. I still remember back when there were Hiromi vs Noe shipping wars while True tears was airing. Ah, those were fun to watch.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 19

Episode 19 –

The one thing that has always stuck out about Hanasaku Iroha is that how it often manages to push character development in the most absurd, yet at the same time subtle, ways. It’s really quite something to see, where scenes that might be disguised as silly slice-of-life moments actually have a much more implicit meaning to them. This episode does just that with Minko, though not quite as subtle as the bits of development for other characters in this show.

The primary focus in this episode was Minko and her rather conflicting feelings regarding Tohru, as well as her rather antisocial position in relationship to her classmates. It’s actually quite the conundrum here, where Minko’s rather blunt personality sparks off a lot of drama and debate. Seriously though, is omurice that important? I’m guessing there’s something in Minko’s past that biases her against omurice, though I can’t quite imagine what the heck that would be. It’s kind of odd how Minko is working hard to try and impress Tohru, when the girl who wants to make the omurice is trying to do the exact same thing towards one of her own acquaintances. While the drama was a bit too heavy for my liking, it did it’s job of exposing quite a few of Minko’s problems and general demeanor towards certain things.

Aside from all the focus on Minko, this episode also tried to develop characters across the board. We see the rather small bits of development for Nako, Ohana, and even Yuina. While some of the development was a bit subdued and underwhelming, other bits of development were pretty darn good. Ohana’s odd dream, and her reaffirmation as a “shijima lady”, is subtling poking at some of her insecurities about herself. As for Nako, her involvement with the art exhibit turned out to be a rather genuine way of showing her struggling to grow a bit more capable. You could also tell that Nako holds some rather deep admiration for Ohana’s rather headstrong personality, and in retrospect, Nako’s character development episode last week does an amazing job at reinforcing this.

Anyways, this series seems to be continuing with it’s “one side character per arc” development setup, but the writing in this episode was surprisingly better than I anticipated. Hanasaku Iroha has a tendency to mask serious character development in some outrageous, silly plot events, and that mostly holds true in this episode. Don’t get me wrong, I still wish this series would bring some more focus to the star attractions (Ohana and the Shijima family), but the character development for these side characters is gradually improving.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Hanasaku Iroha – 18

Episode 18 –

And here is another side character focused episode, this time with Nako starring as the main character. At this point, the basic story format to this series is fairly obvious, where PA works is intending for there to be a bunch of standalone side character arcs, mixed in with the occasional arc focused around the main heroine (Ohana). While I guess this does adds up to a nice blend of character development, at the same time these individual side character arcs lack impact, which certainly applies to this Nako-centric episode. This episode did have some pretty hilarious moments, yet if you considered Nako’s conflict at the same time, was also terribly generic. There was a clean, neat wrap-up for this one episode arc, and while the episode itself did have it’s merits and gave some insights on Nako’s personality, overall I think it was pretty lackluster.

The one thing that struck me as odd is how Nako lacked so much confidence in herself. Based on what I’ve seen of Nako, she always seemed to be a polite, and a rather reserved yet hardworking, waitress at Kissuiso. I never fathomed that she had such a huge complex about the outside world, where she feels uncomfortable everywhere aside from her home, and wants to change this two-faced persona she thinks she has. I do somewhat understand the perspective she is coming from though, so I don’t have anything particularly bad to say about her conflict, but at the same time I’m not exactly thrilled about the conflict either.

On the other hand, Nako’s pure level of naivety actually made this episode rather fun. She isn’t obnoxiously naive like some other anime characters (such as in No6…cough…), so her reactions to shopping for clothes and being hit on were rather cutesy and funny in a way. Nako looks pretty darn good in that new outfit of hers, and I’m not the type of person that looks out for fashion either lol. Ohana, Nako, Minchi, and Yuina getting hit on by a group of guys; now that was something I wasn’t expecting, but Yuina’s coldhearted “just go die” and Nako’s flustered cutesy escape were both hilarious. Nako’s “nice” insults to Ohana were pretty hilarious too. Nako can really blab on and say some rather unexpected things, eh?

Aside from all the fun, the episode explores some of the merits to Nako’s rather reserved, shy nature outside of her home. Though Nako lacked confidence in herself, the manager fittingly points out that Nako is thoughtful of others in her own little way, and is still a respectable waitress in many aspects.

Now, the flower-viewing incident that Nako had earlier in the episode was a completely cliche and obvious setup for the manager’s method of comforting Nako, but at the same time, I think it’s a rather fitting way for a cheerful girl like Nako to gain some self-esteem. The character development for Nako was fairly well done, but another important thing to note here is how this episode did an excellent job at describing some teenager anxieties and worries. At heart, One of Hanasaku Iroha’s main themes is that this is supposed to be a show that explores the growth of young girls throughout their teenager years, and in that aspect this series has done a fairly decent job. I guess the more standalone-arc focused nature to this series does have it’s merits by exploring things from several different perspectives, and that is one thing I do appreciate. In the end, though, I would prefer some more focus  and continuity to the plot, coupled with less standalone arcs.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.