I noted last week how strange it was that Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun seems to draw very little commentary, despite being both popular and well-reviewed. Another notable thing about it – it’s extremely difficult to screencap. From a blogging perspective this show is brutal, because simply put I just want to screenshot everything. It’s an extraordinarily beautiful series both in manga and anime form – an explosion of pure imagination and symbolism. It just seems like there are no “wasted” visuals here – no throwaway shots. Everything is carefully constructed, whether it’s “significant” or not (and it often is).
That calls to mind Hyouka for me, because that was another parallel tracks sort of series. By that I mean that the storytelling was not only the traditional narrative variety, but a purely visual sort of storytelling running alongside it. Hanako-kun isn’t on the same level for pure production quality (what is) but it carries the same sort of visual weight. Given that, this arc is a sort of natural apotheosis of the style. The whole reality is the imagination of a girl – whether human or apparition is in doubt for a long time, but that probably doesn’t even matter that much.
The one constant running through every arc of this series is death. Most of the main cast is dead, for starters. A story focused on death and teenagers is naturally going to be pretty dark, but this one goes deeper than almost any out there. Shijima Mei is at the heart of it, of course. And it’s been clear for a while that the cover story with her was dodgy. And that the suicide rumor was nothing more than that, a rumor. It seems that the real Shijima Mei was a girl who was supported in her dreams of being an artist by her parents, but died of illness in a hospital. Yet the Shijima we’ve seen exists, clearly.
Shijima is Mei’s creation, it seems. A desperate attempt to maintain some sense of control and hopefulness as her life ebbed away. But Shijima – who had no say in the matter – doesn’t relish the role that’s been thrust upon her. It’s Tsukasa’s interference that directly led us to this point (we don’t know if he had an ulterior motive beyond his usual trickster role). But ultimately it’s the split between Mei and Shijima that led to this situation. Nene and the boys are caught up in it almost as an afterthought – or perhaps, because the broadcasting club saw the situation as a chance to entrap them. But Shijima Mei is the one whose psyche needs to sort all this out.
There’s a beautiful, terrible sadness in finally giving witness to Mei’s side of the story. What can be more tragic than the death of a child – and this is a story full of them. Ultimately Mei makes a courageous decision – to go back to the reality where she now knows (thanks to Shijima) that her future has almost run out. Shijima tries to prevent this, even Nene questions Mei on whether this is what she really wants. But ultimately she chooses acceptance, for better or worse. Whatever sadness lurks there, she chooses to face her truth rather than hide behind a lie.
The question, then, is what are the implications for Nene? Mei initially tries to take her back with her but that doesn’t work. Only Mei can return to her reality – it belongs to no one else. The stairs wouldn’t hold Nene’s weight even if she didn’t have daikon ankles. Shijima – trapped in this world whatever happens to Mei in hers – has stopped fighting Nene, Kou, and Sousuke. But there are rules she must abide by as a Wonder, she says. She can’t stop painting, and once this painting is finished Nene can never go back to her own world whether she wants to or not.
Whether Nene wants to go back is a fascinating question. She will eventually, to be sure – but she absolutely hesitates, knowing what she now knows. Even if she decided to follow Mei’s example, she’ll have to win over Hanako-kun, who’s determined to stop her. Brush-chan, as it happens, is an aspect of Shijima – a “failed” copy of herself that lived on. And it represents the side of her than wanted to help Nene and the others all along. It, perhaps, can show Nene and the boys the way home – but only if Hanako is willing to stand aside and let Nene face the fate he brought her here to escape.
