Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

The famous Seven Mysteries that every school seems to have are a staple of Japanese urban legends. One of the most well-known of these tales is that of Hanako-san: the ghost of a young girl who haunts the school's bathrooms.

Kamome Academy has its own version of Hanako-san's legend. Rumors claim that if one successfully manages to summon Hanako-san, she will grant her summoner any wish. Lured by the gossip, many people have tried to call upon her, yet every attempt has failed. However, when Nene Yashiro, a girl hoping for romantic fortune, dares to summon Hanako-san, she discovers that the rumored "girl" is actually a boy!

After a series of unfortunate events involving Yashiro's romantic desires, she is unwillingly entangled in the world of the supernatural, becoming Hanako-kun's assistant. Soon, she finds out about Hanako-kun's lesser-known duty: maintaining the fragile balance between mortals and apparitions.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hanako-kun Main

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Yashiro, Nene Main

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Minamoto, Kou Main

Chiba, Shouya Japanese

Mitsuba, Sousuke Supporting

Kobayashi, Daiki Japanese

Yugi, Tsukasa Supporting

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Tsuchigomori Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Akane, Aoi Supporting

Satou, Minako Japanese

Aoi, Akane Supporting

Toki, Shunichi Japanese

Nanamine, Sakura Supporting

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Minamoto, Teru Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Higa, Yuuji Producer

Komatsu, Shouta Producer

Katayama, Yuuki Producer

Reviews

Mar 26, 2020

Stark700

Recommended

With all the negative news about the coronavirus going on this year, I figured there’s bound to be at least one or more shows to relax and indulge myself in. When I saw the English version of the title, it reminded me that people have been hoarding toilet paper. But upon finishing this supernatural gem, I found myself eager for more. Sometimes in life there comes a surprise that hits you out of nowhere. Sometimes, there’s a show out there that doesn’t seem what meets the eye. And to say that in a positive light, it’s something we need about now.

Based on the manga of ... the same name, Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun is a supernatural school story detailing events at Kamome Academy, a school shrouded by seven mysteries. Among these mystery is about an entity named Hanako, where a rumor goes around that they will grant a wish for the right price. A plot twist reveals that Hanako is actually a boy after being summoned by a girl named Nene Yashiro. And that’s not all. She becomes his personal assistant! Sounds like a strange character duo paired up together, right?

That’s because Hanako is a social animal, the type with a curiosity around the world and loves being mischievous. Like a prankster, he often sees situation as games for fun but does grow serious under circumstances when needed. For what he represents, Hanako is essentially the supernatural poster boy of the anime. This is somewhat in contrast to Nene, a sweet natured girl who is unaware of the true nature of the outside world. Like most teenage girls of her age, she wants a boyfriend and is one of the main reasons why she took the chance to summon Hanako in the first place – to wish for her feelings to be returned by her crush. However, this anime does not tailor to a romantic comedy but instead takes on the path of a supernatural adventure. Each episode reveals more mystery and fictional lore about the school and hidden truths. What started as a ‘be careful what you wish for’ soon becomes a maze warped with strange abnormalities.

A curious question revolves around what you should really expect from the character cast. To be frank, the characters are what collectively carries the anime together. Sure, the plot itself has a lot of potential with the various arcs but it’s the characters that plays out their roles. Obviously, you have Hanako and Nene together as the main pair and the amount of development we see is evident from the beginning. As time goes on, Hanako begins to truly care for Nene and isn’t hesitant to resort to violence to protect her. Similarly, Nene’s fragile shell begins to open up the more she experiences her newfound life with Hanako. It’s a type of character bonding that naturally plays out by itself and very simple to understand. They’re not the only ones hoarding the attention either as we also have Kou Minamoto, another student that becomes an ally and friend to Hanako and Nene. Being somewhat airheaded, Kou exemplifies the personality of a teenager of his age and sometimes gets himself into trouble. That doesn’t stop him from taking risks to help others and showing acts of courage. Other cast in the series possesses a wide range of personalities such as the unpredictable Mitsuba, popular Aoi Akane, or prideful Sakura Nanamine. They fall short compared to the main cast but still gets enough screen time to be worthy of being watched.

Divided into story arcs, the show typically follows each volume entangled with some of the various supernatural gimmicks of the premise. Most of them deals with the seven mysteries at school but sometimes, we also discover hidden truths from what you’d least expected. But because it’s composed of just 12 episodes, I knew the directors had to omit some content. It doesn’t negate the enjoyable of the series altogether but it’s still an unfortunate reality to accept with a pace of 12 episodes. Fortunately, the anime’s overall comedy excels at delivering quality character chemistry. Every expression has charisma and isn’t shy to be overdramatic. Character gags is also evident especially with the main cast by showing how they react to different situations. It’s easy to fall in love with the humor of the show when every episode does its best to entertain the audience.

One of the show’s trademarks is the unique style of the artwork. It pays tribute to the manga by taking it straight out of its pages and making it come to life. Watching the show feels like jumping right into the anime’s world fiction with its colorful settings. The comic book art-like style is also faithful in adapting the character designs to make them as crisp as possible. By that, I mean the characters look larger than life but enough to be believable for a supernatural comedy. Let’s also not forget the delicate features of Nene and malicious deeds of Hanako. Their actions follows them with the art style every step of the way. And if you ask me, this show has potential to be one of the most eye catchy OP theme songs of the year.

Perhaps Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun attracts more of a niche audience but in the modern world today, this is a safe recommendation that I can suggest to anyone. For a supernatural comedy, the show knows its intentions from day 1 and isn’t afraid to be over the top. But at the same time, it’s confident enough to be right where it feels comfortable. If you’re having a stressful day and wants to catch a break, this anime is your remedy. This world needs one right about now.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 2, 2020

aripiprazole

Mixed Feelings

I've noticed that those who read the manga before the show tend to have a more critical outlook on this anime's shortcomings. No spoilers here, though.

I'm glad Lerche did take the time to be as faithful as possible in adapting the unique art style and visuals, though at the cost many have pointed out, animation.

The main thing about this anime is that the adaptation is a play by play high-budget animatic of the manga. A good adaptation should add onto the original, but it follows it to a T; there's no new shots, no new content to really balance out what was removed and ... make the anime worthwhile over the source material. It's like it was terrified of making adaptive choices other than rearranging several arcs.

Speaking of the cut arcs, it's something many manga readers have been harping about. Some choices are necessary occasionally and all you can do is trust Lerche to consider the new story layout, but it removes a lot of the nuance the manga did have in handling its character development and story arcs.

To name a few:

- Young Exorcist is an important arc. Without it in its natural place, Kou's development gets axed, Teru no longer has plot relevance nor is he ambiguously scary or morally gray, and Hanako seems invincible, cutting down everything in his way with one slash of his knife.

- Little Mermaid arc is less important and ended up added in later, but as a natural consequence of this:

- Tsukasa's introduction, with something removed as a direct tie-in to the Little Mermaid, does not have the baseball-bat-to-the-stomach feel it did in the manga. It was really the best way possible to introduce right off the bat so many things about how scary his character can be.

- Without going into details, the ambiguity and buildup surrounding Mitsuba's character is lost since Hell of Mirrors was rearranged to be much, much sooner.

But between the lack of animation and cut story arcs, one of main things that didn't sit right with me just comes to the pacing itself. Hanako is a dialogue heavy show, so for the characters to just be standing in place and occasionally panning to an environmental shot while nothing's really going on on-screen half the time... felt very, very slow paced, almost a drag to get through.

It also creates a freezer burn effect, however, because the story pacing nearly felt breakneck as it like they were rushing to get to revealing Mitsuba and Tsukasa as fast as possible, at the cost of others' development. It feels a bit like Lerche wasn't confident in the show doing well and sought to cram in important parts without the proper buildup necessary that made these reveals so impactful in the manga.

Voice acting is fitting, sound is nice and atmospheric. Only one OST used for scene transitions is particularly memorable, but that's about standard for anime.

I've read a few comments stating episode 12 didn't feel like much of a ending, and that's because it wasn't; there was only about one place to end off naturally, but it wasn't possible since the Clock Keepers arc was moved to a potential season 2.

I really appreciate the exposure Hanako has received in being brought to a wide audience, but it all feels a bit rushed. Though considering the pandemic going on right now, I'm well aware we're lucky to be receiving something like this. Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun is one of my favorite mangas of all time, and I do wish for it to be treated with the care it deserves. Perhaps we'll be getting more quality in the inevitable next season?

I do wonder if I would have fallen in love with it the same way if I hadn't read the manga first. It's just one of those scenarios where if you have the patience to sit down and read the manga, just do it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 3, 2023

Skarvalin

Not Recommended

It’s bold to try and balance tense and dramatic scenes with comedic ones. It could easily backfire and make a show less than engaging. With that said, here we have Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, to showcase the worst outcome of this very problem. A perfect example of how not to do tonal shifts.

It’s presented as a fun, light-hearted adventure. Yet it also chooses to delve into topics such as loneliness and death. Doing so in a tonally much grimmer and dismal way. That is until it remembers that it set itself up as a comedy first and foremost and throws in some of its titular ... slapstick humor in the mix for good measure. The humor doesn't serve to build on the characters, it’s there just for the sake of it. It’s this forced humor that pulls one out of any potential engagement, in service of a cheap laugh. And if the show itself treats its heavier subject matters like a joke, then why shouldn't the viewer? It's a shame because the show has some genuinely good qualities to it.

The artwork for one is absolutely gorgeous. Beautifully detailed backgrounds filled with a warm color palette emits a feeling of comfort and excitement. The character designs are fun and distinct, and come to life thanks to the voice acting. Whoever decided to let Megumi Ogata voice Hanako deserves a raise. He's a fun character to watch which is amplified immensely by Ogata's acting. The other cast members also delivered a solid performance and seemed to have fun with their roles.

Hanako himself was another saving grace that made the show much more watchable. But I grieve over the fact that they only scratched the surface of his character. Giving the show more time to flesh him out could've been very engaging. Sadly a lot of the focus was shifted towards other characters like Nene and Kou instead, who frankly shouldn’t have been main characters at all. Their effect on the story is rather minuscule as Nene's existence revolves around being the person who gets all the exposition dumps, as well as a damsel in distress for white knight Hanako to rescue. Kou's purpose is even smaller as he's often just one of many comic relief characters. They did set a character arc in motion for him which sadly didn't lead anywhere. With this in mind I think that they should've been taken out of the spotlight to instead shine brighter on other characters, like Hanako. The show could've been more focused and serious by doing that which I think would've been beneficial to the show overall.

The animation was also a letdown as it’s basically nonexistent most of the time. Still shots take up the majority of each episode, and when it doesn’t it’s quite stiff and lifeless. It doesn’t take away how good the show still looks otherwise, slightly on par with the manga I would presume. I do however think it's unjustified to make an adaptation if the animation is only as good as the comic it’s based on.

It’s a shame to see a show with a lot of potential ultimately throw it away when the goal was right open. Nevertheless it did have gorgeous art and solid performances to back it up somewhat, and there were a few jokes that admittedly worked fine. Still, it’s not enough to make this worth recommending. Though it seems to be enjoyed by many despite its shortcomings. So give it a go if you want, but I’d recommend you flush that thought away.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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