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.

You can't judge this by watching 1 or 2 episodes... I've watched until sixth and even that may not be enough... But so far, it's was quite good with many hilarious and some heart warming moments.

It's about four girls (friends), all with different personalities and many events that happen between them. I enjoyed a lot of jokes in the series. Although it's not the most hilarious anime you'll ever see, it's certainly a great series that's worth watching.

Voice actings are great and are done by many recognized and popular voice actresses like Hirano Aya (Haruhi), Fumiko Orikasa (Rukia from Bleach), etc.

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.

Even though I've only seen two episodes, it's easy to tell that Hyakko has potential and we could all agree on that. The characters are so unique that their personalities tie this strong bond that gives the anime a more appealing enjoyment. Likewise, this show is hysterically funny and one of the good laughs for the Fall '08 anime line-up. At first I thought it won't be great, but as I got into the first episode, I found out that it has the potential. Anyways, long story short, Hyakko is a very great anime and has this unique charm to it.

Let me get this straight, i find it one of the most enjoyable anime i've ever watched in a long long time.
Hyakko first seems like a typical school life anime and of course i cant deny it but this anime has so much more to offer, not in the story line but in the characters and the comedy it has to offer.
Hyakko has a large range of character including the 4 seemingly main characters and their classmates. And every characters have their own personalities and it's great to see such a simple show can do that. And it's very rare that i love all the ... characters, dont hate anyone.
The art is beautiful, the music is touching at some point, the ed is great. I think this is a must watch for any anime fan.

well hyakko is one of the wierdest anime series i seen in my life... the beginning is far too slow and doesnt make any sense until you get to episode 5 or 6. well when i started this series which was when it first aired, it was put on hold for months because the first two episodes didnt really make sense. the beginning feels somewhat like azumanga daioh but less interesting and the story is very slow in the beginning and rushed in the end. the last two episodes is where all the action takes place.
this anime is a school, slice of life, and ... comedy series, but there is quite alot of drama nearing the end. the characters in this anime doesnt play out that well. some of the support has nothing to do with the main story or the main character in the anime, not sure about the manga though.
to summarize the beginning of this anime is horrible, please dont judge until you are on the 5 or 6 episode, it get really interesting then.

Overall, this is a very laid back, slice-of-life type anime. However, don't let that stop you from watching this because this is an amazing anime. It surprised me just exactly how deep this anime is, and it really made for a good watch. Characters and character development is probably the strongest point in this anime - you will see a change in their personalities overtime, and personally that's my favorite part. The cast is great. If you can compare this, it's similar to lucky-star but less humor and a tad-bit of drama. Great mix.

Story.

Not too much happens but its 13 episodes, and we get to ... see the life of a group of high school girls who slowly become inseparable. Its touching, it has humor, and its a great watch. Not much depth to the story but it is a deep (emotionally) anime. Too short for my liking tho...

Art.

Nice art, beautiful colors. Kinda has this orange-y feel to it. Fits the theme and main character perfectly. Drawn with this, distinct lines and good color contrast. Overall its above average :)

Sound.

Not that great but good enough to the point where it doesn't hurt nor make better the anime. Above average.

Character.

This receives a 10. I dont want to give anything away, watch the anime, you'll find out why this part receives a 10.

Enjoyment.

Awesome watch, a bit too short tho... can't complain though because there wasn't that much of a story. For example, I felt like lucky-star dragged on too long, but this felt too short. 9.

Overall.

Great anime, good watch. It's not perfect but it's definitely a good watch. Not a waste of time at all.

This is a character-driven anime so I'm just gonna give my impressions of the characters here ok. All of them.

Torako: Starts off really brash and annoying but you get used to her soon enough. She doesn't change at all, you just get Stockholm'd into liking her.

Ayumi: I honestly don't remember if she had a personality, she was kind of just there.

Suzume: She's cool, goes with the flow and likes to eat a lot. Nothing not to like.

Tatsuki: She's cool, kind of a tsundere, acts a bit like an ojou which is one of my favorite character types.

Amagasa-sensei: I wish the school disciplinary policy was less ... lenient and less realistic so he could sock Torako and give her one or more of those big ol' anime head-lumps every episode.

Nene: A NATIONAL TREASURE AND A GIFT TO HUMANITY

Minato: A NATIONAL TREASURE AND A GIFT TO HUMANITY

Ushio: SO GOOD?????!!!!

Inori: SO GOOD?????!!!!

Touma: Deeply regrets befriending Torako. Tsundere and relatable.

Kobayashi: She was pretty funny in that art class scene.

Chie: The robot jokes were funny.

Kitsune: If anyone deserves to get beaten up, it's him.

Oniyuri: Eh.

Hitsugi: Really cute.

Yuki: I love her voice and I love her.

Shishimaru: His crush on Torako is pretty good comedy.

Photoshop: I forgot he existed, but I liked the whole photography club selling pictures of attractive students plot well enough.

The cat: Really small, looks like a tiger, decent mascot character.

Okay okay Nice Anime
Spectacles That Can Be Said Simple but Attractive.
Simple what I can say

Anime Yang tells a group of girls at a school that can be spelled Elite
But Every-Every Student Personality Has Its Own Unique Traits, Not Just Groups That Just Prominent.
honest
on the First episode rather Ordinary Ya like anime Genre Slice of life and Comedy Generally (a little boring).
And what I say Anime is interesting that is:
On Moving From episode 1 to Next episode and so on
... which is not the only group that stands out
From episode to episode The Hidden Properties of Other Students Also Disclosed
Plus There's a Dramatic Element Approaching the End episode.

The problem lies in the last episode
I want to give a value of 8 on this Anime But Down slightly because of the last episode That is a bit skip