Ranked #1252

Hyakko

This show completely blew me away. Usually when Maceart suggests something to watch, it's some harem melodramatic crap or moe moe crap. But Hyakko is a different beast altogether.

Hyakko is about the lives of students in Kamizono Academy. The cast numbers around 20 well-fleshed out students, mostly high school students and two elementary school students. The series is fairly episodic, and goes into each of the characters one by one.

The characters make Hyakko golden. No other show in recent memory was this funny. The plot synopsis, a group of girls and guys hanging out in this high school, may sound like the most boring thing ever. But it is not. You get the classic hyper girl, the quiet girl, the glasses girl, the scary girl, the tall airheaded girl, the girl who never opens her eyes, the bisexual girl, and many others. To make the show even better, Hyakko introduces a few key guy characters at just the right moments. You get the angry homeroom teacher, the lovesick guy, the bully, and the photographer dude. By the end of 13 episodes, all the characters will be etched inside your head like jam on toast. That analogy was pretty bad, but you get my point. What I mean is that everyone will find at least one character that they like. For me, I loved the lovesick guy and Tatsuki. They are amazingly awesome.

Hyakko has situational comedy defined down to the atomic level. For example, when Torako and the gang visits the cafeteria, you get such classics as COMBO CARDS and BIG SERVINGS. Hyakko can create comedy out of the most mundane things. Thought dodgeball isn't funny? Well you haven't watched Hyakko. How about art class? Well, Hyakko has got that covered too. Hyakko also does not resort to tired conventions such as fanservice to get its comedy across. In that aspect, Hyakko rises above Toradora and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Looking for beach episode? Hot springs episode? Not in Hyakko, nope.

As if the characters and situational comedy aren't enough, Hyakko's music is also awesome, to boot. I'm a classical music buff, and when I heard Vivaldi's 4th Season used as effective background music, I couldn't help but stand up in shock. Shocked in a good way, I mean. All of Vivaldi's work is presented in Hyakko, from Spring to Winter, and it is used so perfectly.

People have asked what kind of animation you should expect in this show. Well, the show airs in HD. Expect orgasmic clouds and super sharp trees in the background. The character designs need some time to get used to, but I love them. Sometimes Hyakko uses the technique of speed lines to animate scenes very well that usually don't require awesome animation. For example, in episode 1, the scene when Ayumi chases Tatsuki and Tatsuki turns around. That must have cost bundles of yen to animate. Like all anime, the animation quality dips during the middle but not to the point of pure QUALITY. It got fine in the end though.

As for the voice acting, Hyakko is littered with an all star cast. Aya Hirano is here. So is Yui Horie. So is Keiji Fujiwara. All the voices were superb. Even the two existential brats were awesome.

Are there any bad things about this show? Well, only episode 2 was kind of on the weak side, as they stretched 18 pages of manga across 24 minutes. But even a weak episode had its golden parts. DREAM TEAM, anyone?

Don't miss this show, please. I implore you not to. If you are looking for references and parodies, there are plenty. Hyakko covers Tetsujin 28, the Ring, Slam Dunk, and the Stonehenge, all within 13 episodes. Looking for lesbian tendencies? Hyakko has also got that base covered. If you are a fan of comedy, watch this show. If you like to watch pretty girls do surrealistic things, watch this show. If you have siblings, watch this show with them. My sister loved this show too.

Hyakko is so good, that I spent the last two days translating the last three episodes. (Sorry Mayu-subs) That's six hours of my life right there, and rightfully spent.

PS: This is more of a final impression/rant/giddiness rather than an objective review. The very long review by tehnominator is more level headed. I hope you still enjoyed reading it, though.
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You could call this series "The Melancholy of Torako Kageyama" and not be far off. If you like Kyon, Mikuru, Yuki and Haruhi you'll probably enjoy Tatsuki, Ayumi, Suzume and Torako almost equally. Normally, Torako would be the the character in charge of slapstick comedy - loud, boisterous, and embarassing like Tomo, Himeko or Kana but here she shines. But Hyakko revolves around Torako no less than MoHS is centered on Haruhi, as a matter of fact if Haruhi were a "normal" human she'd probably be Torako Kageyama. In Torako's world there's too much to do and too many chances for fun and entertainment to spend your time worrying about the sadder aspects of your life. Torako hates sitting still, grasping both life and her classmates with both hands she pulls both along in her wake blithely ignoring complaints and criticisms. There are other "slice of life" school girl comedies that are "funnier", Azumanga for instance, but I doubt if you'll find one with more fully developed characters in both the lead and supporting roles; particularly Torako Kageyama. read more