~Story~
The setting of Hinamatsuri is quite unconventional, especially considering the characters presented. Readers are presented with Nitta, a Yakuza member, who finds Hina in a box one day, a young girl with supernatural powers. Reluctantly taking her in to avoid further problems, the daily lives of both are presented. The fact that she goes berserk whenever not using her powers doesn't alleviate the situation at all.
What makes this manga so hilarious are the situations presented: these are for the most part everyday life of events, often easily relatable to the readers. These include aspects such as housecleaning, going to the shop, visiting relatives and the likes. Another addition is the representation of the doings of the Yakuza and adults: these range from retrieving money from loaners, going to the bar, or visiting the cabaret - which are fantastically relayed, due to misunderstandings or the characters themselves. It not all comedy in the manga: there are is also some drama on the stories of the different characters, such as becoming homeless or realizing how their own personalities are. These are well conveyed, in addition to mixing some humour in it, which was surprisingly well done.
Another thing that should be considered is the fantasy element to the manga: as story progresses, reader are presented with the supernatural powers, in addition to the introduction of different characters from the world from where Hina comes from. Although such characters are interesting, these remain a bit unexplored after its introduction, returning to these whenever the author felt like. This caused little inconsistencies throughout the story, lacking cohesion between these events; nevertheless, these issues were a minor drawback. The fact that the powers remained unexplored in addition to the world from where the main protagonist came from was lacking. Some events became rather ridiculous as well, such a teenager being able to do everything possible.
~Characters~
The characters of Hinamatsuri were one of the most important aspects to the manga, as without these, it wouldn't be even half as good as it is. The cast is not huge, yet sufficiently large to enhance the experience, as well as slowly introducing different ones, all with a variety of personalities than can't really be tied to stereotypes. The most interesting character was Nitta, whose personality an actions were certainly amusing as well as alluring, in particular seeing the hardships related to taking care of Hina. She herself could be described as a dumb and ignorant child, in addition to being egoistic.Although it certainly added to the humour of the manga, I personally disliked her a lot due to her personality. Character development and fleshing out of these are rather lackluster, albeit having some of these presented; however, this did not work against the manga.
Moving on to the supporting cast, these were for the most part amusing and interesting, presenting in some cases character development as well as fleshing out of these. This effects in particular the case of Hitomi, Hina's classmate, who evolves to be quite an incredible character, yet rather unbelievable due to her cunning. Other character of interest is Anzu, who becomes homeless and needs to deal with her situation, the author managing to portray the hardships of being homeless, both through the character and the supporting ones. For the majority of the interactions presented, these are well done, albeit exaggerated in some cases, yet immensely entertaining. The different personalities of these certainly enhanced the humor in the manga as well.
~Art~
The art style of Hinamatsuri is befiiting of the story, yet average as a whole, matching backgrounds as well as character designs; although these were generic and simple in most cases. There were also some inconsistencies found such as distortioned faces, yet was a small drawback. However, what stood out are the facial expression of the characters: these easily transmitted the characters emotional state, such as anger, confusion, surprise, you name it. These were hilarious and masterfully conveyed through correct shading techniques, without distorting the characters faces in any way.
~Enjoyment~
Hinamatsuri was overall a hilarious manga which I thoroughly enjoyed in the comedy aspect; the more fantastic side of the manga was rather lackluster, yet never really a huge issue, as it managed to maintain me entertained throughout its duration. There were some drawbacks story wise, especially when it got a bit to ridiculous for my liking, as it didn't really fit with it; the comedic slice of life were certainly the most entertaining ones. To people who enjoy reading a comedy based manga it is highly recommended, yet for those who is in search of a good story and deep characters may want to skip this one.
Thank you for reading.
