Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora

After contracting hepatitis A, Ezaki Yuuichi has been confined to a hospital, away from his friends and family, much to his displeasure. To relieve his boredom, he has taken to sneaking out of the hospital, usually putting himself on the receiving end of a beating from his nurse. Upon meeting a girl his age also staying in the hospital, he is immediately captivated by her beauty. Akiba Rika's personality is not quite as captivating as her beauty however. In fact, she is rather selfish, moody, and bossy. But as the two spend more time with each other, they become closer, sharing the ordinary joys and trials of a budding teenage romance, even when darkened with impending tragedy—for Rika's condition does not leave her much longer to live.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Akiba, Rika Main

Takahashi, Mikako Japanese

Ezaki, Yuuichi Main

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Sekoguchi, Tsukasa Supporting

Kobushi, Nobuyuki Japanese

Tanizaki, Akiko Supporting

Kodaira, Yuuki Japanese

Natsume, Goro Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Tada, Yoshizou Supporting

Yada, Kouji Japanese

Yamanishi, Tamotsu Supporting

Sasanuma, Akira Japanese

Mizutani, Miyuki Supporting

Matsuoka, Yuki Japanese

Kakushou, Chikamatsu Supporting

Kitagawa, Katsuhiro Japanese

Ishiguro, Tatsuya Producer

Kawando, Kenjirou Producer

Matsushita, Yukihiro Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Yatabe, Katsuyoshi Episode Director

Reviews

May 19, 2008

makushimirian

Recommended

“Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora” or “Hantsuki”, as I will call it from now on, is yet another drama and romance anime. It’s a really happy and sad anime at the same time, which spans over only 6 episodes. That paradox feeling one gets is quite unique to this series.

Story:
Though Hantsuki is limited to only 6 episodes, its still a wonderful story which leaves no questions open. The story is about a boy, Yuichi, who is hospitalized due to hepatitis over the winter. He’s really just bored having to stay in this hospital the whole time and keeps on trying to escape, thus having ... to run away from and deal with the nurse. While in the hospital he encounters a girl called Rika. Amazed by her beauty he kind of falls for her, but she keeps on acting very selfish. After Yuichi figures out why Rika is in the hospital, he begins to understand and feel sorry for her - she doesn’t have very long to live.
That said, the story goes through how the doctor of Yuichi had a similar relationship with a girl quite some time ago and gets mad at Yuichi because he sees himself in him. It even gets to the point where he lashes out and beats him up. Other then that, the story is all about Yuichi and Rika finding their love. It’s really interesting though how, although Rika is acting really mean and selfish towards Yuichi, you still begin to like her character.
The story ends both very happy and very tragic, which makes the perfect ending for this show, though it is very short.
BTW: Be careful to watch past the ending of the last show.

Animation:
The animation is very well done. I found the characters to be designed in a very “realistic” way, making it easier to identify with them. I don’t really now what else to say, except the animation at no point bothered me.

Sound:
The sound, as in most romance/ drama anime, is made to fit the mood perfectly and make the experience more immersive. This show succeeds in doing so.

Characters:
All but 1 character (the friend of the nurse) are very easy to sympathize with. At the end of the show you don’t really hold a grudge against any character, since they all had their reasons for doing what they had done.
I found the characters to be very well fleshed out, especially Rika. The show also does a good job showing the situation Rika is in - already ready to die, but yet falling in love.

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed this show very much. I think that 6 episodes is the perfect length for this series, since it is really fast paced and doesn’t “dick around” as many other senseless romance/ drama anime do. I’d maybe only like to see an OVA showing how life is after the hospital or after Rikas death. Still, I highly recommend this show!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 14, 2011

mandi92

Mixed Feelings

To be completely honest, this didn't feel realistic at all.

The concept was good if you like slice of life and drama or whatnot, but I didn't like the way it was executed.

Part of the problem is probably due to the shortness of it. In only short 6 episodes, it's hard to care about the characters. However, its length wouldn't be a problem if they hadn't tried to add so much information in every episode. For instance, in the first episode alone, Yuuichi is already practically professing his love for this girl who's acted like a brat for the previous 20 minutes of screening. It ... just didn't feel believable.

The characters and their actions felt forced, too. I can't decide if Rika is a major tsundere or just really bratty. Hell, even if she IS a tsundere - which I usually love - I don't like her at all, and I honestly don't know what Yuuichi saw in her in the first place. In turn, Yuuichi needs to grow a backbone. My favourite character was Sekoguchi, and seeing he's got such a minor role, that's just sad.

The art was good, the soundtrack decent, but the animation definitively could've been better. There were scenes where the characters' movements looked really unnatural.

Overall, I found this somewhat enjoyable. Maybe if this were a full length series - with better character development and an unrushed plot - I'd give it a rating higher than fair.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 30, 2014

2SugoiToActSugoi

Not Recommended

Have you ever been in a hospital for a certain period of time? I haven’t. I would imagine a hospital being a somewhat orderly establishment—a place where the sick patients can relax (unless we’re talking about a psychiatric ward… which we aren’t). A hospital would most likely be quiet, monotone, and serious, with a somewhat melancholic vibe for obvious reasons.

What does this have to do with Hantsuki? Well, this anime mostly takes place in what seems to be a small, local hospital. By the way, this hospital breaks every single rule that can be broken. Even factoring in that this hospital is small (meaning that ... it’s bound to be a little weird) and that this is a six episode long anime (meaning that it’s bound to be a little weird), the things that happen are somewhat over the top. Occasionally, it’s funny; other times, the occurrences end up more than a little weird for reasons that I will go over later. For now, let’s just say that the latter take themselves seriously and expect us to take them seriously. The reason why this fails is because there’s a thin line between knowing it would never happen but not minding and knowing that it would never happen so deeply that you find yourself distracted by that fact while watching the anime. There’s a difference between your eyes glittering with an otaku’s delight (ahem, harem, ahem) and finding a frown on your face that resembles the expression of painful constipation. I don’t think Hanbun Sora is that bad, though, and I’m speaking from experience. Do not fret—the only thing related to my personal life that we’ll be talking about today is this anime that I spent my time on.

The last three words of the previous statement tie into what Hantsuki is all about. It’s about time—savoring it, using it wisely, cherishing what you had—and even our main character Yuuichi is bound by this philosophy. He is an active teenager who believes more in using his time wisely; even if he is ill, having contracted hepatitis A, he resists recovering quietly in the hospital and treats his boredom by sneaking out. First of all, he does so with ease by just hiding a bit and walking slowly, which isn’t something that I can comprehend. In a hospital, the patients absolutely would not be allowed to wander around the hospital without supervision, and there’s no way that the security would be so light that anyone would sneak out that easily, even with the rebel nurse in charge. Yuuichi does this repeatedly, even taking out another sick patient, Rika, and is never punished except by the nurse, who gives him a bit of a beating that can be chalked up to comic relief. Everything is viewed with such a nonchalant attitude, devoid of reality or logic, until obviously written and somewhat cheap twists come in, and we’re forced to think, “Oh, they meant for this to be important? I see.”

In six episodes, we all know that Hantsuki won’t be able to tell what something like Clannad might, but at the same time, the story is simple and shouldn’t have been complicated. It’s about a boy named Yuuichi, who meets an enigmatic girl named Rika. She has a disease but they care about one another, meaning conflict. Twists are expected and even welcomed to spice up the story, but in this amount of time, such an anime should not try so hard at something it won’t be able to achieve. They cram melodrama, love, patient abuse, two people to complicate things, grief, and yearning into six episodes; a melancholic, deep atmosphere is attempted and a cheesy, dramatic, immature one is created. Why? The anime can’t keep up with itself. One episode, something that it seems was meant to be serious happens, but by the beginning of the next scene, that atmosphere is gone or just not well handled, leaving a particularly sour taste because of poor writing.

The reason why the twists weren’t well handled of Hantsuki is somewhat attributed to the sound and animation, as, while the art or music in itself isn’t bad, the way that it’s used isn’t all that amazing. There are times when errors can be seen in the art, sure, but the largest downside is the animation in itself. A character does something like, for example, punching a wall in frustration and thanks to the angle, the jarring impact that could have been achieved comes across as dull. This isn’t helped by the voice acting, which I think occasionally came across as emotionless when the emotion was supposed to be at the highest point. Even the expressions are simple. Sometimes the music, which is good by itself, doesn’t fit the scene or an obvious sound is placed in to emphasize that something happened, making the atmosphere fall flat. This is not helped by the cast.

Every character has his or her place, every character seems to have a story, and every character moves along the plot, but that’s it. The supporting characters are much more intriguing than the main characters, though they unfortunately get little meaningful screen time or development. The mains, Yuuichi and Rika, have no “in between”—no underlying development. Rika is a brat one second and is sweet the next, as though permanently on PMS. Yuuichi ranges from pushover to “brave” in his stupidity, as though testosterone is being experienced for the first time. He was tolerable until one of his worst moments, where he had absolutely no backbone simply because of depression (and was over it by the next day). The relationship between these two is just there, as though they mutually agreed one day that they loved each other, and we’re forced to think, “Oh? Looks like they like each other. Huh.”

It is the sad truth that I found Hantsuki overwhelmingly disappointing. It didn’t fit. It didn’t piece together. I can see why people would like Hantsuki, but the best anime calms the part of my personality that scrutinizes deeply while I am watching. If you enjoy somewhat cheesy, melodramatic love stories, you might just have an opinion that greatly differs from mine. On the other hand, I think too much to enjoy something that is so obviously trying to make conflict and, like a slap in the face, does it in cheap, unimaginative ways.

If I could tell Hantsuki one thing, I’d say, “Your audience is not dumb.”

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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