I think the first thing I should say is that this is an early contender for best anime episode of 2025 (along with a couple RuroKen eps). Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun is really something special. It’s another one that gets puzzlingly little discussion in English (including here). It’s insanely popular in Japan and, in fact, has generally been Yen Press’ best-selling title in the U.S.. But I almost never get comments and see little mention of it in forums and social media. I’m not sure of the reason, quite honestly. People are reading it, and that certainly means they’re watching it too. And it’s deep – it gives one plenty to think about.

It is deep, there’s no question about that. One of those series’ where the surface tone and the underlying mood are often dissonant. Mood is a huge key to Hanako-kun generally, I think. It draws you into a calm pool rather than washes over you like a wave. That’s why the visuals are such a huge component of its spell. “World-building” is one of the most overused terms in criticism (not least anime criticism) but this series’ world-building is off the charts. The aesthetic is beyond distinctive – it’s unique. You could never jump into the middle of an episode and imagine for an instant you’d turned on anything else.

The Nene revelation continues to be the dominant theme of the season. Kou is a grommet-sized bundle of pure empathy, and he’s bumming hard about what he knows (despite Hanako scolding him not to give anything away). But Nene thinks it’s because of Mitsuba (Kou is perpetually bummed about that too, of course). So she decides to invite him to the local natsumatsuri. Quite innocently I imagine – I don’t think it ever occurs to her that Kou could be attracted to her. But that bums Hanako out, because he can’t leave the school to join them. So he hijacks the moment and instead arranges for them to attend a Tanabata festival on the other side.

Nene – with a little help from Yako – arrives in yukata (which hides her massive ankles beautifully). And it’s off to the festival. Hanako cautions both kids to wear the head-cloth of the deceased (which has more names than the Shounen Jump editorial department) as a human child showing up at such an event is at risk of being the main dish. In most ways though, this festival looks a lot like a human one. Overpriced food stalls (you do have to barter rather than use cash – mermaid scales are a good choice), carnival games, fireworks. And this being Tanabata, Tanzaku – those strips of paper you write wishes on and tie on a bamboo tree. Collect all five colors, Hanako says, and rumor says your wish willl come true. And when it comes to apparitions, rumors tend to pack some weight…

This whole matsuri sequence is Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun at its most assured. This series is fantasy in the best sense of the word, and the visions it presents are pure surrealistic visual poetry. It’s all quite enchanting – until Nene has a run-in with a “cow” and wakes up at a very different festival. The youkai are gone and around her are seemingly normal humans. Including one young boy who looks strangely familiar. Soon enough Nene confirms that this is in fact Amane Yugi, and the year is 1964 – several years before the events which set up the rest of the story. And we’re instantly reminded of just how dark this series is in its natural state.

Make no mistake, Hanako-kun punches hard when it wants to. Ultimately it’s a tragedy, and most of its cast tragic characters. None more so than Hanako-kun himself, whose demeanor is a mask for the sea of pain swirling inside him. Seeing him this way – bright and cheerful even when he talks about his brother – is gut-wrenching both to Nene and ourselves. She has in mind that if she gets his red tanzaku – the only color she’s missing – she can wish her way back to her own time and place. But he has his own wish to consider – to become an astronaut when he grows up – and is reluctant to part with it even for a girl who “might be his type”.

In the end Amane-kun does give his tanzaku to Nene – but she winds up giving it back to him when another path back presents itself. It’s an act born of empathy and kindness, no question, but depending on how one interprets the ending perhaps a fateful one. Maybe this was all just a dream, but Amane’s wish to meet Nene again in the future hardly seems like a coincidence. Fate is an especially cruel presence in this series, and it casts a shadow over everything we see.