Hinamatsuri – 04

I’m kind of with Anzu on this one – I think the inexplicable thing is that it took Nitta as long as it did to kick Hina out.  Not knowing her backstory it’s hard to say, but my general assumption is that “it’s not her fault” probably applies here.  Still, she’s utterly self-absorbed and selfish and a walking disaster area.  Maybe he didn’t exactly go about it the right way (especially as he was really just trying to scare her into changing her tune a little), but it’s not like I don’t know where Nitta was coming from.

I think Hinamatsuri works because it has just enough heft to cut through the absurdist comedy, and just enough sincerity to soften the black humor’s edge.  The aftermath of Nitta kicking Hina out is a good example – funny stuff but quite serious too, especially as it sees Hina leech onto Anzu in the homeless camp.  She ends up performing “magic” as a busker – eventually teaming up with a rock band – and uses s0me of it to buy a cheap vase for Nitta.  But in truth, I can’t say whether she’s doing all this because she’s actually sorry or just because she misses the easy life she had with him.

Well – it’s a given Nitta will eventually relent, and he did get a little just desserts too, being ostracised by Utako and the local patrons (I especially loved when the Kyoto-sensei gave him the finger – don’t see that everyday in anime).  That frees us up to move on to what’s always the main event of Hinamatsuri for me, Hitomi.  She’s easily the funniest girl on the show for me – pretty much everything she does hits.  I love that she’s become not just a great mixologist but mastered the true art of bartending – being an ear to bend and a shoulder to cry on.  She then hooks up with Anzu, because of course even moonlighting as an overnight barmaid Hitomi is still a good girl and a busybody.  And she’s so earnest that even though she literally falls asleep standing up, she doesn’t have the heart to break off her play date with Anzu.

I’m still not crazy about the whole “Yakuza as misunderstood misfits with a heart of gold” thing Hinamatsuri is peddling, but apart from that I’d say it’s hitting way more often than not both comedically and dramatically.  Maybe I’d like to see the story diversify a little, but for now at least I’m not finding it repetitive enough for that to be a problem.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl – 04

Well, that got real fast.

This is several days late, but this season…  So many bubble shows right during a ridiculously busy period for me is a real challenge.  If I’d known this episode of 3D Kanojo was going to be as weighty as it was I’d surely have blogged it sooner, but even though this is a jousei the speed and degree to which the seriousness kicked up genuinely surprised me.

The first thing I have to say is – fuck you, Tsutsui’s mother.  And Ishino too.  I suppose in Ishino’s case it’s not quite so egregious, since she and Hikari have only been friends for (presumably) a few days.  And Hikari’s brother Kaoru is a little kid, so he can’t be expected to grasp the situation.  But his mother – seriously?  It’s not unrealistic, don’t get me wrong – the degree of discrimination some otaku face even in their own family is that extreme.  But it was still a sickening display.

As for the perp of this whole charade, Takanashi, he’s the sort of cartoon villain no story is better for having, but his vile act does at least drive the plot in some interesting directions.  I am getting a bit weary of Hikari’s relentless resigned self-loathing, especially where Iroha is concerned, but the school situation was so nauseatingly realistic that it was really tough to watch.  This is serious business – life-destroying, suicide-causing business – and I don’t want any convenient redemption for Takanashi now that his little sister (who he made an unwilling accomplice) has come crying to him.  He needs to be held accountable for what he’s done in a severe and immediate way.