Hinamatsuri – 02
I’ve been a little slow to embrace Hinamatsuri, despite the consistently good marks the manga receives and the lack of evidence that the anime is screwing anything up. No question the premise engenders a healthy level of skepticism for me, simply because we’ve seen one twist or another on this premise so many times in recent seasons that it’s hard to imagine anyone could find anything really interesting in it.
I admit though, the second episode went a long way towards winning me over. Or more accurately, the second half of the second episode, because the A-part was on a level with the premiere (pretty good). But the B-part this week was full of big laughs, and both characters brought to the forefront in it seem like much healthier additions to the cast than Anzu (who seems like a dime-a-dozen 2010’s anime character).
Again, nothing really wrong with that first part – in fact the animation of Hina and Anzu’s “fight” was surprisingly good. I just felt like in a world where Hinamatsuri proved to be every bit the cliche I worry it will become, that’s exactly the sort of thing it would follow up the premiere with. Whereas what came after was genuinely inspired humor. Oikawa Kei is proving himself a definite name to watch in anime comedy – which is a good thing, as its previous kingpin Oota Masahiko has kind of fallen off a cliff.
I think Hitomi’s straight-laced neuroticism is a perfect foil for Hina, and Utako-san is a tantalizing potential love interest for Nitta. The whole sequence where the old boozehound Tanaka-san gets Hitomi behind the bar is hilarious, and then everyone going off to a girly bar… Gold. Also nice was Nitta’s reaction to seeing his bachelor paradise of a life imperiled by his “daughter”, and Hina’s wounded counter-reaction to being abandoned. If every episode of this series is like this chapter (it won’t be – we’re going back to Anzu next week) it has a chance to be a real keeper.
Hisone to Maso-tan – 01
What a strange Frankenstein’s monster of a series is Hisone to Masotan. Produced at Bones, co-written by Okada Mari, mechanical designs by Kawamori Shoji – and in the end, all of those elements are overshadowed by the overwhelming Gainax influence that pervades the visual style.
Every couple of years we get a mini-explosion of Gainax nostalgia, seems like, and a bunch of shows pop up which are patently trying to capture the Gainax mystique (some with ex-Gainax staff, some not). We seen to be having such a moment now, but in a sense none of the current crop feels as overt about it as Hisone to Masotan. Bones has more and more become a refuge for ex-Gainax personal lately, and Hisone’s credits are littered with them – by far the most prominent being Chief Director Higuchi Shinji. He’s not the best known of the Gainax greats to the casual fan, but he was in fact one of the founders of Gainax more than three decades ago.
Higuchi-sensei co-wrote the script with Okada, which is good in that it means Kawamori’s influence is thankfully limited to mecha design. But that script is a mess, if you ask me – entirely too obsessed with its own preciousness and rather full of itself. That largely overshadows the visual brilliance at work here (which will inevitably call to mind that other post-Gainax dragon piloting anime, The Dragon Dentist). I pretty much wanted to strangle protagonist Amakasu Hiisone by the time the episode was over – being pooped out of a dragon’s rectum seemed about right – and most of the other characters were grating as well. Maybe things will get better when the dragon starts talking.
There is, despite all that, a sort of ineffable charm to Hisone and Masotan – but it all comes from the visual flourish for me, not the story. A series co-written and directed by one of the Gainax first generation and produced at Bones should be a true event, even an AotY candidate – but this show isn’t that. There’s just too much self-aware smugness here for my tastes, and while with this kind of talent involved I’ll certainly keep watching for a while, that’s something you really don’t expect to see change.
sonicsenryaku
April 16, 2018 at 11:02 amThat’s funny that the B-part was your favorite section of this week’s Hinamatsuri because it’s the part in particular that sold me on this series’ entire premise. I found the first episode to be quite enjoyable but i didn’t feel like there was anything truly engaging behind the humor or its setup….until this episode. Nitta is a good-hearted dad figure with quite a few irresponsible tendencies. As a matter of fact, a bunch of these adults are irresponsible; but they have the capacity to love, and you can see that conveyed through the gags and the comedy. This is what i was waiting for this series to show me; that it has an interesting bilayer behind its storytelling and comedy. That B-part showed me that although these guys are probably going to get into some questionable situations rife with laughter and tinges of danger, it’s all going to recrudesce back to this large festival of people doing their best to live life and being family to one another….at least i hope
As for Hisone to Masotan, this is what i said on RC: the visuals of this show feel as if BONES is flexing its muscles for Mob psycho S2. Getting to the premiere in particular, I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. One particular misgiving i have about this episode however is how the script handles Hisone’s character flaw. This is the kind of blemish i see quite a bit in Okada’s writing and in the writing of some anime screenwriters in general. It’s this compulsion to just completely explain a person’s character flaw right away and their feelings about said flaw instead of giving it time to unravel. Like dammit, why can’t you just give the flaw some time to fester a bit? Why can’t i have the opportunity to experience the ramifications of the flaw WITH the character? Having the character explain her flaw and tell us how she feels about it midway throughout the first episode limits the scope in which you can truly explore her behavioral and emotional idiosyncrasies. I don’t know, it just feels like prematurely blowing your load rather than building towards a more fortuitous climax. Anyway, this anime is a visual treat and i can’t wait to see what other moments of sakuga are waiting for us in the future.
I just appreciate that Bones is always able to throw out series’ of all different variety and quality. This year we got A.I.C.O being an alright sci-fi boasting some great bits of body/matter horror animation, we have Boku no hero being just as good as its always been with even better production this season surprisingly (the art design is looking even sharper than the first two seasons) and now we have Hisone to Masotan. We haven’t got a super great anime from Bones since 2016 but that’s alright though; I appreciate the general consistency of their productions. I’m just glad that their starting to look like an even more healthier studio now more than ever.
Guardian Enzo
April 16, 2018 at 2:27 pmI’m with you guys on all of this. Psyched for MP100, love the way Bones continues to evolve and innovate, like the idea of this is a precursor of the new Mob.
But dammit, this is a series created by Higuchi Shinji. It should be an event in its own right, a milestone. Instead it’s just another self-aware Okada trainwreck. And that sucks.
JJ
April 16, 2018 at 3:09 pmCan it be called a wreck if it crashed just beyond the platform?
sonicsenryaku
April 16, 2018 at 3:32 pmWell hey, Higuchi is doing his part. He’s always been more of a visual craftsman when it comes to storytelling in animation so he’s definitely nailing that part. I’m not ready to call this an Okada trainwreck yet but the screenplay does have its sour moments. Higuchi also has some writing credit in this so I’m wondering what parts he plays in this whole narrative process.
JJ
April 16, 2018 at 11:43 amThink of it this way GE – if this is what Bones can do with what appears to be material sourced from a dragon’s behind, imagine what is in store for MB100.2…
sonicsenryaku
April 16, 2018 at 2:04 pmExactly my point; just the thought has me even more hyped for the second season. Something tells me that a good bunch of the notable staff here may already be working on season 2; after all, one of the goals of MP 100 is to be a test bed for exciting animation techniques. If all goes well, Mp 100 is going to be one of Bones’ most memorable works for years to come.
Ronbb
April 17, 2018 at 9:22 pmHitomi is golden…she had me in stitches.
Matti
April 18, 2018 at 2:55 amAm I the only one who’s got issues with the framerate? It’s like everything was moving at 16fps or something. Is that intentional or is it just a case of me downloading a bad rip?
Guardian Enzo
April 18, 2018 at 3:17 amWhich series are we talking about?
Matti
April 18, 2018 at 4:00 amSorry. Hisone x Masotan
Guardian Enzo
April 18, 2018 at 4:14 amOK.. I confess to not noticing it as an issue TBH – bad encode?