Hanasaku Iroha #01 — Taking Candy From Strangers

April 3rd, 2011

 

Don’t do it! She’s evil!

Impressions:

Let’s start with the good. As expected from PA Works, this is very beautifully made. Animation’s excellent, art looks good, etc. The music is also mostly good and fits the show fairly well. Or at least, the bassoons are less out of place here than there are in Merry. Only mostly though because there’s this truly godawful insert song in the middle where it sounds like the singer is either strangling or being strangled by a cat. Human vocal chords should not be able to make noises like that and still belong to a living person.

On to the less good. The entire setup is so cliche that it hurts. Ohana’s sent off to the inn where the entire family doesn’t want to and now she’s ruled over by a wicked stepmother grandmother who is a stickler for tradition and the proper way of doing things and enforces it by slapping people whenever anybody gets out of line. You’ve also got one wicked stepsister other girl who hates Ohana for simply existing. But Ohana’s not gonna let that get her down! She knows that with hard work and perserverance, she’ll win them all over and solve the deep rooted troubles in their hearts! And I think I may have just spoiled the ending of the show for you. I regret nothing.

It seems overall okay, but really not something I could ever be excited for nor my kind of show in general. It is pretty, I’ll give it that, but it also seems like it’s not going to amount to anything more than a very long Disney lifetime special perhaps matched up with Little House on the Prarie. If that doesn’t excite you, I’d steer far clear.

Preview:

Ominous glasses.

Posted in Anime | 18 Comments »

18 Shouts From the Peanut Gallery

  • Yue says:

    And I think I may have just spoiled the ending of the show for you. I regret nothing.

    Aroduc, you meanie. ~_~

  • parappa-iranai says:

    i’ve been reading you quite a time aroduc.
    and after some thought i dont seem to remember you liking any shows.
    i havent watched this iroha yet, so it really may not be that good.
    but i really would like to know if theres any show you like? maybe… hayate no gotoku?
    btw i like how you write, so ill continue supporting you =D

    • Anon says:

      Aroduc is tsundere.

    • viki says:

      he has liked seitokai no ichizon and I think juden-chan or whatever.

    • Tantei Opera Milky Holmes.

    • Aroduc says:

      BakaTest, Potemayo, Macademy, Mushi Uta, MM, B-Cup, GA Art, ZKC, Asura, etc.

      • EXM says:

        Notice how even with shows he likes, he will make fun of them to the point you don’t even realize he likes the show. Aroduc is a tsundere. He’d be like the little boy picking on the girl he likes. Mind you, he would totally ignore the girls he hates (Shaft? lol)

      • Fhoenix says:

        This should be FAQed somewhere.

        Also will go try watching some Macademy now.

        • Aroduc says:

          *shrug* There are plenty of shows that I like, and others I didn’t but would recommend based on what people already enjoyed, but I still accept that most of them are not objectively particularly good.

  • Aex says:

    This show’s music makes me laugh for all the wrong reasons. Really was horrible. Other then that, not a bad start aside from wanting to harm Ohana’s mother. Thought Ohana was gonna be a brat, but she seems okay. Seems like it’ll be worth watching for a few more episodes at least.

    • Kaisos says:

      I didn’t really notice the music, which means that it certainly wasn’t awful.

      I’ve heard this about a lot of shows with good music recently. Is there something wrong with my ears or those of other people?

      • Aex says:

        Probably should’ve been clearer. It wasn’t the music like background music, that was good, I liked it. It was the singing, like the inserts or ED (was that the ED?). I agree with Aroduc: the vocalist sounds like a cat being strangled.

  • Chen says:

    Oh man you weren’t kidding with the insert song. Yeesh.

  • Longhaul says:

    “Only mostly though because there’s this truly godawful insert song in the middle where it sounds like the singer is either strangling or being strangled by a cat”

    So very true, aside that a promising start and I dont even watch soap operas.

  • Firefly says:

    We all know she’ll win them all over before this ends, lets just hope that nose bleed develops into coughing up blood or something.

  • The Phantom says:

    Bha! this show needs more twists and I dont know “something”, for now is utterly boring and cute and the little drama was pathetic and unoriginal.

  • Rincewind says:

    This show need yuri. Lots of yuri.

  • tom says:

    Say what? I quite like the insert song. She has also sang the op/ed of Telepathy shoujo rin a couple of seasons ago. Its style is quite unique, but in no way bad.