Hanamaru Kindergarten Series Review はなまる幼稚園 Hanamaru Youchien  ***SPOILERS*** I have a massive backlog of anime to watch. As I had mentioned before, sometimes things get elevated to the top of the [...]
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I decided to start watching “Hanamaru Kindergarten” I receive a lot of recommendations for anime to watch or manga to read, and they all get put on a list. I’m pretty sure someone recommended Hanamaru [...]
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The first thing that struck me while I watched Hanamaru Kindergarten was how similar it felt to Kobato.  And I don’t mean that the setting (daycare/kindergarten) was similar, or that the characters were similar.  No, actually, I forgot about the setting of Kobato until I was almost finished with Hanamaru Kindergarten. Instead, what struck me [...]
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Megahouse is going to release the Chara Fortune series Sakura Class Anzu and Hiiragi and Koume in Sakura Group ( さくら組の杏ちゃんと柊ちゃんと小梅ちゃん ) trading figure set form the manga/anime “Hanamaru Kindergarten” ( はなまる幼稚園 ). Will be released in July 2010. Each around 35mm tall, 1,580 yen for the whole set of 5 characters. Here are the [...]
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Review: My only reason of choosing to watch this anime is that I was getting tired and wasted after laboriously got through many intense and super serious anime. Well, that wasn’t even a good reason since there were several other high profile comedy anime piling up in my backlog. So there you have it. I [...]
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Whew! Sorry for the extremely late post. I was on the East Coast with some of my relatives and [erroneously] assumed that there would be wireless internet. Alas, there was none, and my laptop was essentially rendered useless. Anyways, onto the final episode! Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen, young dames and kind sires, we have finally reached our destination: [...]
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I have decided to skip writing about episode 11 and just jump straight to episode 12. In this episode it is Christmas time and the gang is going to have a party at Anzus house. She winds up falling asleep before they arrive and dreams that she has gotten her wish to be older and goes out to look for Tsuchida. In the final half, everyone goes to visits the art gallery done by Anzus father, and Sakura reminds Tsuchida of some inspiring words he gave her when they were younger. The final episode dives into the thoughts of Anzu, showing the audience what it might be like if she suddenly turned into an adult. It is amusing and adorable to see that even though Anzu can picture herself older, she can’t shake that she is still a child with little practical knowledge of the world around her. It is a credit to her character in the execution and depiction of what a young kindergartner might believe what an adult acts like. Finally, in the episode, Tsuchida shows more backbone than he was believed to initially have.There is a brief flashback between Tsuchida and Sakura which makes Tsuchida feel a lot more like a normal guy. In the end, Hanamaru Kindergarten turned out to be a good watch. The cast of young children are bright, entertaining, and cute. They are exactly what they should be, and thankfully the show avoids any disturbing sexual themes between the children. The adult cast of characters leave a bit to be desired, and the older male lead, Tsuchida, can seem a bit stale at times. Towards the end of the show, the characters reflect more feelings and express more opinion that the universe they live in is a believable yet at the same time fun and cartoony one. There is not much girth to the actual story, but Hanamaru Kindergarten does not necessarily need that to entertain its audience. There are many shows like Hanamaru Kindergarten, telling the lives of cute girls as they run around and pursue their silly things, but Hanamaru Kindergarten cops out a lot less to the boring stereotypes seem all too often today. Ultimately, I’d recommend this show to fans of the slice-of-life genre or someone just looking to watch cute characters run around and be... cute characters. It is a decent show with a few noticeable flaws, but they are easily forgiven. GAINAX had me curious as to why they would pick up such a seemingly average show, but I guess they just wanted to work their magic with it. It is either that, or maybe they wanted to splice in all those references to their own shoes. I am done writing on this show for now, and if you have any thoughts on Hanamaru Kindergarten yourself, please share them with us here at Anime Pulp.
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Anyone who has seen my review of Hanamaru Kindergarten over at UK Anime will know that I wasn't hugely enamoured of the series in itself - However, I couldn't help but be drawn in by the wide-ranging and varied ending credits employed by GAINAX, all of which had a unique visual aesthetic that was matched by a staggering array of musical panache, including some tracks that left me gasping and
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In this episode of Hanamaru Kindergarten, the athletic festival is coming up and Koume seeks training from her teachers so she can make herself and her brother proud. In the next half, Tsuchida drinks some liquid courage and confesses his feelings for Yamamoto. The young Koume faces an obstacle in this episode, and while we watch her undertake the challenge, it is not only charming but a tad bit inspiring. For a young girl, Koume possess a lot of spirit and when her friends rally around her to cheer her on or defend her, it feels like they have a true bond of friendship. It is not a hard tear-jerker, but the moments of friendship fit right in with the “warm” feelings that Hanamaru Kindergarten has had up to this point. The humor in this episode have even stepped up. The show begins to make use of the characters and the scenarios they have placed them in rather than relying on tired old gimmicks all the time. There is little else to say now. Hanamaru Kindergarten is still a fuzzy feel-good show that has little (left) in it to criticize. You can watch this episode on crunchyroll. I’m done for now, until next time folks.
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Probably the cutest show to come out so far this year, Hanamaru Kindergarten attests to GAINAX’s flexibility with different genres of anime besides mecha. Twelve episodes wasn’t enough to get me extremely attached, but the show will definitely be missed… Hanamaru Kindergarten is simply a light, plot-less, slice-of-life comedy. The stories are fairly episodic, usually with [...]
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Kuro has the spoilers. In short – GAINAX managed to end the anime off the running manga; certainly it’s no Mahoraba, but I guess nothing is. So, another gold star on the resume of Seiji Mizushima, who I mostly know as the director of Dai-Guard.
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Oh Tsucchi, those words will surely come back to “bite” you again one day, heh heh. Yeah, see. (But… oh Anzu-chan’s such a good girl T_T) Herp derp, another confession blocked. Yamamoto-sensei is truly an impregnable fortress of dense. Even Anzu’s sympathizing with him, hurrrrrr… Of course I can’t forget about the first part, can’t I. Man… Anzu [...]
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Summary: With the hectic situation from last episode, Tsuchida becomes progressively depressed. When he calls in sick one day, Anzu marches over to his apartment to help him. Of course, this only creates more work for him, but he manages. When she falls asleep, Tsuchida hits up Sakura, who pleads him to let Anzu stay the [...]
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Zvarri! It’s time for the next review! The creator(?) of the famous panda-cat hybrid comic is having trouble coming up with new ideas and problems with his love life until he runs into the kids of Hanamaru Kindergarten. Then the kids draw portraits of what they want to be when they grow up, causing some interesting conversations to spawn. The kids help out another person in this episode, this time a man named Hanamaru who happens to be involved in some manner with the popular Panda-Cat comic. When Hanamaru goes to a nearby park he runs in to Anzu and friends, and it’s just more of the same cute shenanigans that have been prevalent in the show up to this point. There is something about the sincerity of children that make it a lot more believable that these kids would care more about the plight of a stranger than any other person. The best thing about the show are the three main little girls, who have the similar traits of the innocence of kindergartners but are all still unique. The differences between Anzu, Hiiragi, and Koume have play off of each other and create interesting dialogue with the things and people they interact with. This is best evident in this episode when they show Tsuchida what dreams and hopes they have for the future. Another notable factor is that this episode pulls out some of the niftiest references to date in the show. Namely, Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, Luke Atmey Reference (See Hiiragi in the first picture) and The Wings of Honneamise, the spacesuit worn by protagonist Shirotsugh Lhadatt can be seen sported in the active imagination of Hiiragi (See third picture) Hanamaru Kindergarten is getting close to its end. There are less things to say about the show as it goes on, but it still remains one of the better things to come out in the Winter Lineup. Until next time. Here's episode 9 on crunchyroll.
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Summary: Awww, isn’t that just cute? Incest Sibling love is so beautiful. Although we’ve heard about and seen snippets of Koume’s brother (Tomoyuki), he first appears lurking outside the kindergarten. He decides to visit because he’s worried about her (in a Ritsu-like manner) and because he’s heard about the field day, in which the children get to [...]
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Hurr… why so emo, Tsucchi? Despite the dramatic change of mood and tone, I quite liked how this introspective episode was done, especially when we thinking that Tsucchi was actually depressed over his failed confession last week. Turns out he went waaaaaaaaay past that and in to truly deep and dangerous territory; the meaning of working. [...]
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Welcome to the next review! In this episode, Anzu and friends help a classmate named Aoi out by aiding her and family in the their home business. Next, Tsuchida finds a young girl named Hinagiku and helps her home. She falls in love with him and she transfers to Hanamaru Kindergarten in order to marry him. I have a bit more to say than usual. The show shifts back to the children again as they try to worm their way into the world of adults. It’s easy to understand where the kids in the show are coming from. They see themselves just as capable as the adults around them, and work hard to prove it. The new girl introduced in the first half, Aoi, wants really bad to work with her father. She has a sincere desire to simply be with her dad and also prove herself to him. The other girls try to convince her father to let her work with him, and try to sell fish. These moments make for a show that feels light-hearted and touching to a certain extent. It is not to the point where it is very emotional, but it is an innocent romp as the girls decide to assist a friend in their friend's life. The second half spends most of its time acquainting the cast with Anzu’s new rival for love, Hinagiku. It is clear that just like Anzu, Hinagiku has no strong reasons to actually be in love with Tsuchida. The audience should accept it with not much thought, since she is a child with a strange concept of love. The innocent love and warm feelings presented are at a level just right to hit fans looking for loads of cute content, and still offers something that feels like an average story. Tsuchida doesn’t seem to mind that he has yet another little girl thinking she can marry him. He handles his scenario in a mature manner, at least opposed to either overreacting or being a jerk to the little girls. The positive aspects of him come through again in this episode. Episode 8 makes a complete recovery for the show after episode 7’s boring trek to back story. Hanamaru Kindergarten is proof that some shows and characters don’t need some kind of deep past to make for an interesting watch. At least in the cases of this show, it would actually drag something as simple as this down. That is all for now. Episode 8 is on crunchyroll.
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Tsuchida finally confesses to Yamamoto-sensei! Whoa! Very manly there, Tsucchi! (・∀・)イイ!! (・∀・)イイ!! (・∀・)イイ!! YE━━━━━━ d(���∀���)b ━━━━━━…. !! Wait what?! Oh wow, that sure sucks. Whoa, even more ouch. Unbelievably perceptive to the point of cruelty. Poor Tsucchi. ������������—–������(���´Д������)������—–������������ Tsucchi road to true love is really going to be very hard road to walk. Especially with how unbelievably unperceptive Yamamoto-sensei is. Well [...]
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I’m slightly behind on Hanamaru Kindergarten, but the last episode I saw was quite good.  The yakuza child Hinagiku is a welcome addition to the cast; she’s clearly mature and refined beyond her years, but she still essentially acts like a little girl playing tea party.  It’s great fun. But then, why IS she so refined?  [...]
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My apologies for falling behind. A personal matter came up and I got swept away in my personal business. This episode marks the beginning of the summer break, and Tsuchida heads home with the usual cast of characters. There Tsuchida and Sakura reminisce and Satsuki tries to impress her brother through her cooking, which he fails to identify her as the cook causing her to get angry. This episode focuses less on the children and more of the adult characters; Namely, Tsuchida, Satsuki, and Sakura. Unfortunately, they are still the most boring of the cast. The chemistry between them is flat, making for some dull interactions. The first example that comes to mind is the relationship between Tsuchida and his sister, Satsuki. She is given a popular moe catchphrase “onii-chan no baka!” and a strange strong desire to be the center of Tsuchida’s attention. In addition, the relationship between Tsuchida and the other characters make no progress either. Sakura tells a story about the past in the first half of the show, but it doesn’t explain anything or imply anything beyond that Tsuchida might have had feelings for her in the past. It felt like the whole episode was just a rehash of things that have been done in other anime, and the events which transpired ultimately made no impact on the characters themselves. It is not an entire failure, it just lacks that which made the episodes prior to this one interesting. It’s clear that the adult characters are not the shows strong point. When the children are not made the center of attention in an episode, the show is at less than its best. Hopefully the next few episodes will either shift it back to the kids or fix the current issues with the show. The next review will come when I get the chance. Episode 7 is on crunchyroll.
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