I enjoy slice of life. I really do. The problem I have with them is that it’s incredibly difficult to find one that isn’t terrible. The two biggest pitfalls I find with the genre are the lack of compelling plots and the lack of depth as the episodes get drowned in clichés. They often end up simply being boring as the episodes drag on to the formulaic beach/school festival/holiday routine in an attempt to entertain. Needless to say, I’m usually turned off by the introduction to a slice of life anime before I can even get into the series.
I watched Hanasku Iroha with massive heaps of cautious optimism. The entire premise sounded a little worrying. It tells of a teenage girl, Ohana, who experiences a set of circumstances that would send her to live and work with her grandmother, who owns and manages a hot spring inn of a small town. A hot spring inn staffed by mostly teenage girls? With that setup, fanservice seemed to be primary driving force.
Watching the first few episodes, I was pleasantly surprised. The characters had depth and were likable. The stereotype of the doting grandmother never got played out, settling for the minor stereotype of the “tough love” grandmother instead. There were actual obstacles presented to the characters. The events of one episode held consequences over the next episode. And for some bizarre reason, the anime that least needed fantastic animation had some of the best animation of the season.
The central message of Hanasaku Iroha is one about purpose. Ohana is pulled out of her comfort zone and sent into an unknown town. Here, the insecurities of her life are magnified. Here, she suddenly is faced with the uncertainty of where she wants to go in life. Here, she is forced to grow up, just a little bit. However, she embraces her new life and tries to find her place as one of the waitresses of the inn. She begins to learn more about herself, her place in life, and her family. Her resolve to face these challenges serve bring about change in the staff of the inn. Each member of the staff are faced with a crossroads on where they see themselves heading. As the story progresses, there is legitimate growth in each character. In the end, even the status quo of the inn is changed as a result of this growth with Ohana’s grandmother closing the inn to allow the staff to pursue their own dreams.
One of the best points of the series is how well they understand their audience. Each point that needs to be made is clearly made without underestimating the audience’s ability to understand. They show character development and conflicts rather than telling us about it. Some of the best scenes have no words at all, something that can easily be afforded with the animation quality. As a result, the plot doesn’t get too caught up in its own complications. They focus in on a situation just enough to get us tied to the characters before attempting to tug at our heartstrings.
As captivating and dramatic as it is, Hanasaku Iroha has its drawbacks. Remember that fanservice I suspected a few paragraphs back? It’s certainly here. It never completely dominates the series, but it doesn’t add anything either. My stance of fanservice is a disapproving one. I’ve never felt that it’s truly necessary for the female characters to disrobe for whatever reason or to include all these bath scenes. At best, it’s an odd scene to inject into an otherwise good episode; at worst, it is the entire series. Thankfully, the episodes that do include fanservice use them with a decent amount of restraint. Like I said earlier, it doesn’t harm the series as a whole. It’s just a bit unnecessary.
The romantic dramas within the series are a whole mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the drama they added and how it complicated the situation at the inn at times. Yet, the infuriating pacing and lack of closure on some of the stories really got to me. I know that the focus is supposed to be on the characters themselves while the romance is used to contrast their growth throughout the show. Then again, with the possible announcement of a second season, there should be plenty of time to flesh out those side stories in addition to showing us what the staff is up to now.
Hanasaku Iroha has reaffirmed my belief in slice of life series. It’s raised the bar for what will pass as entertaining and engaging and hopefully, it’ll continue to do so in its possible second season. I’m still going to approach these shows with cautious optimism, though. There’s just too much crap out there sometimes.
