Hana-Saku Iroha

[corocoro]

Spoiler: 15

More bathing, more fanservice. :p
Anyway, Yuina works for the first time in her life and learns it's not as bad as she thought. Will that be enough to fix her relationship with bandana guy? Well, we'll have to see. :D
Also interesting to know that she's jealous of workaholic Ohana, who just can't sit still for ten minutes it seems. Spending your school trip working for no reason? Not all that common anymore. I wonder if they're trying to bring in a moral message and subconscious influence youths?
Oh well, time for the next episode!

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 15

Good, solid conclusion to a nice two-parter.

Yuina gets some needed spotlight and character development, while Ohana sparkles once more.

I'm also pleased to see Ohana and Minko gradually grow closer together through being colleagues and around each other a lot, almost like the female equivalent to Tiger and Bunny.

The artstyle and animation are gorgeous as usual. Hanasaku really is a solid notch or two above in these categories, imo.


Fried chicken flavored ice cream... not sure if even Col. Sanders would support that, lol.

Next episode focus on yamakan? www

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 16

I couldn't shake the feeling something was going to go horribly wrong while watching the episode. It felt off in the sense it seems to good to be true.

The only thing I disliked about this episode is the implied siscon. Good grief, siscon is becoming almost as commonplace in anime as tsunderes are!

Other than that, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and fun episode that puts a new challenge/opportunity to the Kissuiso without needing Ohana to play shonen hero for a change (well, at least not yet, anyway ).

This episode also helped humanize some of the adult characters of this anime that many viewers have not been fond of so far, particularly Takako. I know some of these characters may be, er, beyond redemption in the eyes of some viewers, but I still have to commend Hanasaku Iroha for at least trying to make them more likable and realistic.

I also like how it hints at how Enishi might be starting to develop more of a spine, and becoming a somewhat more well-rounded character.

Also. Poor Enishi. Apparently he's not butch enough looking to be the stand in for the actor. The actress though...seems VERY satisfied with Renji.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 17

^lol

The Enishi/Takako antics were amusing to me in and of themselves, but it was Minko and Tomoe's facial expressions while watching them that really made me crack up. Actually, this episode seemed to really make a point of having Tomoe make "not again" expressions whenever Enishi was either around or being discussed. Makes me wonder if Okada predicted people like me would predict an Enishi/Tomoe end and is therefore trolling, as the episode itself seems to clearly favour Enishi/Takako.

Ohana and Yuina holding a casual discussion while covered in stage blood was great too, though I worry about their clothes. I do have to say that Minchi's grown on me a lot, though. I think she looked pretty badass while listening to the conversation between Enishi and Takako (Around 16:30 or so, can't open the episode right now), all dark and brooding and serious. Her character growth is one of the things I like most about this show, I think she's matured into a very likable person.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: epi 18

nakochi rabu <3 :3

 

[Kou]

Lol do you even need spoiler tags for that?:P

Spoiler: episode 18

Nako is a sweet character. In some ways she is the "easiest" all of the characters in the show for me to relate to - although I definitely like many of the characters; like and easiness to relate being two diff things.

It's kinda nice to also see the "strengths" of both Yuina and the Landlady brought to light as well in their encouragement of Nako. I know it's been said before, but showing the characters good and bad points together throughout the episodes as a whole is one of the things I like about this series.

The beginning scenes of the guys "dramatically" asking the girls to tea and the Inn guest filming the flowers growing made me chuckle quite a bit.

I would never have thought about ginger pudding as a thing to eat, though. The Japanese never fail to surprise me with their culinary creativity.... At least it was not served with mayonnaise or natto. -_-

The male chars are fail and lame >_>.

 

[Kou]

Drama about food o_O.

Spoiler: episode 19

Finally, Kou makes his GLORIOUS return... kind of . Is there a single male in this anime that won't be ridiculed at least once? Tohru is the last bastion of masculinity in this show. Don't disappoint me, bro!

There were interesting bits of info distilled here and there in this episode, the most shocking being the revelation that Beanman's got a son. I guess that means we were wrong about him being gay (although it's not impossible he "awakened" after getting married once; happened to someone I knew). Enishi is apparently finally going out with Takako, so we can kiss goodbye to another theory - I'm talking about Enishi x Tomoe. I'm actually relieved as I wouldn't have wanted the awesome Tomoe to end up with such a pathetic man.

Minchi, on the other hand, was def a bitch at the end (I quite like her recently, but now lol). Had she been like, say, Okami, who would sternly separate love and work, I'd find what she said acceptable. However, demeaning someone else about mixing love and work when that's exactly what you are doing by trying to make a menu Tohru would be proud of, makes her a hypocrite.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 20

Nakochi to the rescue! She solved the problem without even being aware there was one lol. Credit should go to Yuina and Ohana for coming up with the right techniques too. I quite like that the issue was resolved so naturally and peacefully.

I enjoyed learning a bit more about Minko (not annoying again). She can be very cute when she wants to. A shame her message didn't successfully get across to Tohru. I can't really blame him for that, everyone had gotten the same message so there was no reason for him to think his plate was special.

Probably just my yuri googles, but I sensed some strong yuri vibes between Nako and Mizuno. A shame we probably won't see Mizuno again.

Next week, the rebirth of "Die"! This should be interesting (if they keep the Takako x Enishi to a minimum, that is).

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: 21

weird. just plain weird. 2 people getting married with no prior dating and any indications of whether they like each other or not.

been suspecting the direction of the show, after the very weak 2 months of 'plot' after the tokyo scene where ohana got 'dumped'. the school fest showed some signs of revival, though it was completely brought down to earth again this. very disappointed at how the show unfolded, given the early promises shown.

getting married: throw a ceremony or not. fight even before the start of the shot-gun wedding. staff getting thrown off their pace aint a good thing, especially with minchi realising that she probably stands no chance with tohru.

getting the ring from okami-san at the end was kinda heart-warming, after her past was revealed. yet, the last part where she decalred they will not take over the inn threw a stun-bomb at me again.

nani ga okiteiru? wa ga nai~~

 

[Kou]

Nekkid bath fights :o

Spoiler: episode 21

ANOTHER episode catering to Takako and Enishi =0/? Well, at least it focused on other things as well.

The main thing I liked about it was the directorial touches in this. Lots of great facial close-ups for important moments and pieces of dialogue, good handling of physical confrontations, and just all-around superb directing here.

One thing I will say is that Enishi and Takako have been humanized for me. I'm not sure if I would call them likable yet, but I do find myself caring a smidgen about what happens to them. That may be largely (if not entirely) a function of pity, but it nonetheless helps that I get the sense that, in their own quirky ways, Enishi and Takako are both good decent people. If you had told me, right after Episode 8, that I'd eventually come to view Takako that way, I would have found that impossible to believe.

I thought Tohru/Minko would actually get somewhere, but alas, Tohru dropping the bomb on Minko that she was exhibiting Ohana's positive aggressiveness to start and finish something(which I thought she was even before he said so) was hard to take. Poor Minko . I guess that's why he's taken to Ohana so much, because he prefers a loud and noisy family.

PS: Omigawa Chiaki telling Itou Kane she has an annoying and disgusting voice was hilarious.
PPS: What the hell was Jiromaru's script about for Nako to react like this?

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: 22

probably the stand-out best episode of the series.

more boiling tension leads to the eventual confrontation between ohana and minko for tohru. ohana, who has decided to harbour an one-sided crush ko, while minko is pushing to respect tohru's feelings and go out with him. with the very guy caught in the midst of the mess, tohru had to patch things up, revealing he may like ohana, but minko keeps him in suspense. with ohana's declaration of one-sided love, i guess it will eventually boil down to a minko x tohru ending.

wedding continues, it was great to see all the members of the inn come together to put this wedding celebration, from the very wedding dress takako was wearing, to the celebration hall and the food. did i mention nako looked stunning in the dress, i will make her my wife if i could! <3

with the entire celebration a big success, sui drops a bombshell after the credits. along with mame-jii's decision to quit the job at the inn, she will close down the inn after the festival. no more kissuiso. that probably explains takako's no reaction after last week when sui told her that she and enishi will not succeed the inn, because there will be no more inn. i would not argue mame-jii's decision of course, cut the old man some slack would you! but the closing of kissuiso was really unexpected.

next week: back to tokyo, ko returns. did i mention that ko dude is completely unnecessary now. oh well.

 

[Kou]

How can i be unnecessary? :(

J/k

 

[Terumi]

LOL!

of course i didnt meant you.

now and 4 more epis to go, P.A. Works

 

[Index-EX460]

upddd...i didn't realize that in 4 eps...i have to say goodbye to Hanasaku

let's wait until sub comes out

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 22

The marriage arc was handled well, and it was excellently used to help develop some plot threads, if not completely resolve them.

I found it refreshing to see a love triangle resolved pretty quickly and in a believable way. Yet Okada still made it all entertainingly dramatic for me, and the emotions felt raw and real. Ohana's short fight with Minchi was a neat moment for me.


Enishi and Takako were given good moments here, and I have to admit that this just about justifies the earlier Enishi/movie arc. It justifies having the arc because this marriage would have felt like a total asspull to me otherwise, but the movie arc developed Enishi/Takako just enough to make their eventual marriage work, imo.

I like much of the relationship trolling in the anime - for me, it's like a wild rollercoaster ride where you're not quite sure where it'll all end up. This episode has effectively thrown Ohana's end in doubt - Will the Kissuiso even be around for Ohana to be with, lol ? Ohana has an "one-sided crush" on Ko so an Ohana/Ko ending is still possible (major remaining hurdle being book girl, of course). Minchi/Tohru is still possible too.

I like how the anime has effectively left all of these options open going into its final two episodes. Makes things

 

[Coolio]

Totally agree with Kou's point of view. :3 Really exiciting and starting to look like an ending. Well hopefully they will end it more gracefully. :3

 

[Kou]

I bet nobody expected the direction of this episode to be like this. As usual, we got trolled again.

Spoiler: episode 23

Have a gif first

My reaction to this episode:

Oh, this romance trolling... It is so delicious!

Great, great episode. It did so many things right. It did such a great job of moving things into a Kou/Ohana direction... to either end things very effectively and believably that way, or to troll us yet again.

I love Satsuki for asking Kou whether he thought she intended to watch porn with him, as that thought definitely crossed my mind (and Kou's apparently, that guy might not be as dull as I thought).

Hugely surprising how the 2-part Movie Arc came up again, and Takako really shined in this episode, as did Satsuki. Kou himself came off pretty good.

 

[Coolio]

Why is Kou in the review? I've never seen kou. Oh now i get you. It's Ko. Lolll. In any case, this ep is pretty good as to how thr will be 2nd season of this. Lool. But the ending is pretty predicted. Lets see if this is going to be a happy ending. :)

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 24

Oh my, Sui fanservice
She bathes like a boss. That scene was so surreal and funny. Kou's reaction is my reaction to the confession scene www.

I wish they had let Nako speak her mind to Sui instead of having Ohana do it as always. Nako was more fired up than ever, and I believe her speech would have had more of an impact on Sui. When even the shy and gentle character gets pissed off, you know something's wrong.

Sui's reason for closing down the inn is understandable, but she is mistaken. She needs to realize Kisuisso brought happiness to a lot of people (from workers to customers) and that it's not just her dream anymore.

The reveal that Jiromaru is the one who wrote the manga that inspired Tohru and Minko to become cooks were pretty... traumatizing
I bet the series will end with him going back to manga, he'll make a manga depicting the daily life of a waitress at an inn which will be titled "Hanasaku Iroha"

And the preview having yuri text for the straight girls. Oh what would i do without my weekly dose of troll.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 25

That was a very well-done episode, with good drama and suspense, and conflicts that felt real and sincere.

It was good to see Ohana placed in a position where determining the right thing to do is much more difficult than what it usually is for her.

Right after watching this episode, I actually felt it was a mild victory for Enishi. I mean, both his mother and his sister basically said to him "You take the lead". I think they really are giving him one last chance, and in their eyes, he hasn't completely bungled it yet and so that chance is still there for now.

Enishi is a very poor planner, and that's something he'll really need to work on if he ends up inheriting the Inn from his mother. One thing I'm pretty convinced of now - The Kissuiso won't be closing. The only question is who's going to get it. I'm starting to seriously think that Sui will bypass Enishi and give the Inn to Ohana.

A Kissuiso/Ohana/Ko end looks increasingly likely to me right now. It would likely feel a bit rushed, but I do see the possible symbolic and thematic strength of it (Ohana/Ko being the latter-day equivalent of Sui/her husband).

 

[opera1618]

very like this anime, very healing

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: final impressions

Like other PA works animes in the past, Hanasaku Iroha has managed to provide quite the unique experience, but this is not necessarily a good thing. If I were to sum up the idea of this anime, it could be put quite simply as learning to love your work. It is a fairly down to earth series.

The series really started out quite wonderfully as a very promising coming of age story. It had top notch visuals and had a compelling enough premise to get behind our main character Ohana as she tries to "fest it up."

As far as the female cast went, Ohana's character was the shining star of the entire show, and I would be hard pressed to find someone who actually dislikes her character. Her little phrases like "fest it up," or "sparkling" would become trademark aspects of her character that both the cast and audience would come to love her for. A character once said in the show that the "Kissuiso is fun because she's there" and I could not agree more. Without her character, I doubt this show would have ever worked at all. She was a bullheaded girl who often charged into a chaotic world. She would constantly butt into people's problems and try to fix everything up. The cast would label her as inconsiderate for doing so, but this inconsideration is precisely what made her character so likable.

Too bad, it isn't True tears 2.0 xD.

 

[Terumi]

MOVIE CONFIRM!

 

[Tayau]

If it's a movie, we can probably expect a higher animation quality than the series ( which was top notch to begin with ).

 

[AhGwee]

A movie? Yes!

Time to finish where I left off on the anime.