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Digital
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Thursday, 20 October 2011 00:00 |
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For a studio that only came to my attention with Angel Beats!, PA Works sure did get to their 10th anniversary quickly. Hanasaku Iroha (or HanaIro, if you're feeling lazy) is their 'anniversary' title, and as such it's clearly had a lot of production TLC lavished on it. Now to see if the story can match the visuals...
Ohana Matsumae doesn't particularly like life in the city - you only see half the sky, for a start, and she just finds the place dull and boring. Add in a mother who could be described as "a character", and change is something she would welcome. Change comes more quickly than she expected, though, when mom decides to do a runner with her debt-ridden boyfriend, leaving Ohana to go stay with her grandmother at her onsen resort in the country, Kissuiso. Sounds good - but Ohana wasn't expecting to be made to work for her keep. Add in that her grandmother has a definite tyrannical streak, and that her new room-mate can think of nothing better to do than think of new insults to throw at her, and inn life isn't getting off to the best of starts...
First up, I'd just like to reinforce just how good this series looks. The visuals in it are damned near theatrical-quality, with highly-detailed background scenery & buildings, great use of colour, and character designs that are mostly very easy on the eyes - I never got tired of looking at this one. It certainly hasn't been done on the cheap.
Which isn't to say that it was great to watch from the get-go, mind you, as what it gains in lush visuals, it loses a little in the personalities of its main characters. Ohana is flighty, and her "fest it up!" catchphrase wears a bit; room-mate Minko never really loosens up and is one of the more annoying characters in the show; grandmother Sui starts off downright abusive, although mellows as the series goes on; and management consultant Takako is one of the dreaded all-college-lectures, no-real-world-experience types you just want to thump. And don't get me started on the raw deal that most of the male characters get when it comes to personalities. Take most of the cast as individuals, and with the possible exception of wallflower Nako the urge to give them either a slap or a lecture to get them to act like normal people would be strong.
Somehow, though, put them together in one place and let them play off each other, and it suddenly all clicks together and works - and works really well. At heart, the series is one-half coming of age story for the three girls who work at the inn (Ohana, Minko and Nako), and one-half slice of life story about the running of a failing inn. Either one of those would have been quite interesting, but together it's almost a magic combination.
It's helped along by a strong supporting cast. Yuina, a classmate of the girls, is another curious personality who genuinely sees the world in a different way from most, courtesy of a very self-centred attitude to life; while Ohana's mom, while behaving in an utterly reprehensible way towards her in some ways (I really did get angry at her in places) has a strength and determination about her in some ways that almost balances out her failings. Almost. She doesn't appear much, but she always makes an impact when she does.
The appeal of the series, then, comes from the interactions of a bunch of flawed characters in beautiful surroundings. There are funny moments, sad moments, moments of fanservice (although the series shies away from anything too gratuitous for the most part), and it all wraps up with the help of a wonderful soundtrack into something that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Masterpiece? No, there are niggles that make it fall short of that. Worthy of being a "10th Anniversary Series"? Yes. I wasn't too sure what to expect when I started this one, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised, and with the series becoming Sunday night fixture that I looked forward to each week. Well worth checking out.
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