Hanasaku Iroha: My Review

Hanasaku Iroha, also known as Hanairo, is an anime series produced by P.A. Works (Nagi no Asukara; Angel Beats!) and written by Mari Okada (Nagi no Asukara; Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo), airing between April and September 2011, with 26 episodes.

Summary:

The story revolves around Ohana, a 16-year-old girl that lives in Tokyo with her carefree mother, who soon decides to elope with her boyfriend, leaving Ohana in the care of her grandmother. As Ohana arrives at her grandmother's country estate, she realizes that her grandmother is the owner of a hot spring inn called Kissuisou. Ohana then starts working at Kissuisou by her grandmother's request, soon finding herself at odds with some of the employees. Although initially feeling discouraged by this, she decides to use these circumstances as an opportunity to change herself for the better.

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Writing:

One of my predilect anime genres is the Slice of Life. Even thought I've enjoyed virtually every slice of life anime I've watched so far, it is one of those genres where studios don't need to put much thought into it to make it appealing, usually recurring to plain characters whose personality is only compensated by their strong stereotypical traits, a setting almost exclusively reserved to school life, or the ever-present Beach Episode.

Hanasaku Iroha was a breath of fresh air from most of that. It has a unique setting—something you wouldn’t usually come across with—, which ultimately leads to making the show far more interesting than the average slice of life.

Another common factor in my slice of life experiences is that the main character isn't really the most interesting or the most likeable of the bunch, something that Hanairo managed to avoid as well, to the point where Ohana has become one of my top 10 favorite anime characters. Growing up with the mentality of relying on herself only (result of her mother's poor parenting), Ohana is soon confronted with the fact that she can't do everything by herself at Kissuisou, and that sometimes hard work doesn't equal results. These are crucial elements that help in Ohana's growth since the very first episodes, and they also make Ohana a pretty relatable character.

The rest of the cast is well defined since the beginning, and their constant development throughout the series is handled fantastically, making you change your mind about certain characters more than once. The characters have a very good chemistry, and the interactions between them usually end up in hilarious and interesting situations.

Overall, the show has a good pacing and a superb writing, as expected from Mari Okada. It is never too dialogue heavy, it is engaging and it presents coming-of-age topics that more than one can relate to.

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Sound:

The soundtrack of Hanasaku Iroha is enjoyable and relaxing. It compliments very well the subtle mood of the show. However, sometimes it is the lack of it that plays an important role for the mood of the scene. It is not a common resource, but it seems to work for this show in particular.

The opening for the first cour of the show is called "Hana no Iro", by nano.RIPE, and the ending is called "Hazy", by Sphere. For the second cour, the opening changes to "Omokage Warp", also by nano.RIPE, while the ending changes to "Hanasaku Iroha", by Clammbon. There are also four more ending themes: "Tsukikage to Buranko" (episode 6), "Yumeji" (episodes 8 and 26), "Saibou Kioku" (episode 11), and "High Leap" (episode 22), all performed by nano.RIPE.

I've listened to various themes by nano.RIPE before in other anime (namely Hataraku! Maou sama and Non Non Biyori), and I was pleased to hear even more stuff from them in this anime. The first 5 seconds of "Hana no Iro", although somewhat dissonant, are catchy and very characteristic to the song. I find this opening to be more memorable than "Omokage Warp", but they are both equally as enjoyable.

Both "Hazy" and "Hanasaku Iroha" give a nostalgic feeling—proper of a good ending track—, but it is "Hanasaku Iroha" the one that takes the cake as the most nostalgic of the two.

The other ending themes, despite being as good on their own as any other nano.RIPE song from this anime, seem a little too much, and there's no real need for them in most cases.

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Visuals:

This show has the name P.A. Works written all over it. Its visuals are astonishing: the animation, pleasantly fluid, and the sceneries, impressive. The artstyle gravitates towards realistic features, which adds up to the overall mood and quality of the show.

The character design is pretty solid, and it slightly resembles the ones from Nagi no Asukara or Toradora! in my opinion. The way that the characters are designed fits very well with their personalities. Some clear examples of this can be Ohana herself, Sui Shijima (Ohana's grandmother) and Takako Kawajiri (the inn's business consultant advisor).

Conclusion:

Hanasaku Iroha stands as one of the best slice of life anime in my list. The combination of Mari Okada's superb writing, the astonishing visuals of P.A. Works, the enjoyable tracks of nano.RIPE, Sphere and Clammbon, and the performances of seiyuu (voice actors) like Kanae Itou, Aki Toyosaki, Haruka Tomatsu and Yuki Kaji made my experience watching this anime worthwhile. I definitely recommend it.