Anime & Manga News

Director of Hanasakeru Seishounen Changed

by dtshyk
Sep 10, 2009 6:42 AM | 25 Comments
According to Newtype Anime Channel, the director of "Hanasakeru Seishounen" was changed from Kon Chiaki to Kamegaki Hajime ("Naruto Shippuuden: Gekijouban Naruto Shippuuden", "Lupin III vs Detective Conan") from episode 21. The reason of the change is unknown.

Source: Web Newtype

Anime director Daichi Akitaro criticized Hanasakeru Seishounen in his blog that "I froze when I watched the anime. It's not something we can laugh off."

Source: Akitaro's blog (Sep 7)

20 of 25 Comments Recent Comments

Ehhh... I wonder if maybe I should pick this up again...

Dec 8, 2009 8:22 PM by Nammy

Even though this forum said the director has changed, the OP still says Kon Chiaki as the director of the anime.

Sep 20, 2009 4:15 PM by tsubasalover

I dunno, I thought the show was so bad it was good. Like I think I enjoyed watching it for how terrible and lulzy it was. Now that they changed directors, they may actually try to make it good with would conversely fail because all the stuff I liked about it would be gone!

Sep 14, 2009 11:32 AM by Tsundere

seimei said:

I like the voice cast, I think they've been doing good/amazing work, but it's not like I can't see where the complaints come from (after all, in the manga Rumaty's supposed to be a very charismatic and powerful presence, even as a bratty child, which isn't exactly the way I see him in the anime, but maybe he will surprise me :D).


^^;; Yeah, I sure hope that was just a Gundam joke. I get the impression that 2channers just enjoy bashing the anime. XDD;;

You're right. The Rumaty in the anime vs the manga come off really different. So does Machaty (they just had Namikawa deepen his voice for this character). I think it's 'cause the staff decided to strengthen the reverse harem vibe by making Rumaty a more attractive husband candidate 1st and a possible charismatic future leader of a nation 2nd? 3rd? The way he's drawn makes him look older and he's much calmer in the anime. Also some lines that showed Rumaty's political insight was cut out. I don't think the seiyuu is to blame when it's the executive decisions, direction, and script editing that's likely at fault. The production team chose to emphasize Kajika's husband hunting and the handsome men because they thought that's what would sell to female audiences. I think the fans on 2chan might not have been so annoyed if they done the prologue first.

Sep 12, 2009 2:38 PM by bonbonzy

bonbonzy said:

>_>;; Don't know if they even have the time to read 2ch, but if these 2channers are actually emailing in their complaints and leaving 1-2 star reviews for the DVDs...plus the sales and viewership is pretty dismal then I guess the companies have to take some notice..


Yes, I suppose DVD sales are being affected and thus they decided to change.
As for seiyuu, I'm just surprised at the amount of negativity Namikawa's continuously getting; while critics for the others (including Endo and Morikawa) were of the general "She/He is too old, her/his voice doesn't fit with my image of the character" kind, and stelled down after a bit, to the point they like them now, Rumati's criticised not only for his voice, but for his performance in general, which many find disappointing.
The old actors'list is a joke by a Gundam fan, obviously :D (I laughed out loud at Carl voiced by Gihren Zabi, actually XD).

I like the voice cast, I think they've been doing good/amazing work, but it's not like I can't see where the complaints come from (after all, in the manga Rumaty's supposed to be a very charismatic and powerful presence, even as a bratty child, which isn't exactly the way I see him in the anime, but maybe he will surprise me :D).

Sep 12, 2009 1:31 PM by seimei

seimei said:
I wonder if the people in charge read 2ch. If so, now that Chiaki Kon is out, I can totally see Namikawa being replaced, since his performance seems to be the root of the scandal for many 2channers XD.


>_>;; Don't know if they even have the time to read 2ch, but if these 2channers are actually emailing in their complaints and leaving 1-2 star reviews for the DVDs...plus the sales and viewership is pretty dismal then I guess the companies have to take some notice.

I can't take their complaints about the seiyuu seriously especially when they list dead, retired, or very old seiyuu as their choices to play the characters. I get the sense some 2channers are middle-aged fans of these seiyuu from 20 years ago and that they don't like any of the younger seiyuu. And I seriously think Morikawa, Ono, Endo and most of the others are doing very well. I love re-watching scenes where I can hear Kajika speak because I'm so fascinated by the voice Endo Aya uses. I love her scenes with Rumaty, too. They have such an easy chemistry together. And Morikawa excels in delivering Li Ren's long lines as well as showing the different faces of this character.

Sep 12, 2009 12:06 PM by bonbonzy

seimei said:
LenaleeMelodee said:
Eh? What's up with Namikawa? Jeez, why do they even have to argue in the first place!


To put it lightly, they've been dissing his acting as Rumaty since the start, and they're still saying he's not apt to play the role, while they're pretty much satisfied with the others (Aya Endo as Kajika got lots of flack in the beginning, but now she's generally accepted whereas every time Namikawa appears there's a flood of complaints.)

Of course I'm just being ironic, I doubt they're going to replace him, especially at this climactic point.


Wow O.o I didn't know. Kinda ridiculous, of you ask me. Rumati's voice's a lot of fun)))

Sep 12, 2009 11:28 AM by LeeNoriega

LenaleeMelodee said:
Eh? What's up with Namikawa? Jeez, why do they even have to argue in the first place!


To put it lightly, they've been dissing his acting as Rumaty since the start, and they're still saying he's not apt to play the role, while they're pretty much satisfied with the others (Aya Endo as Kajika got lots of flack in the beginning, but now she's generally accepted whereas every time Namikawa appears there's a flood of complaints.)

Of course I'm just being ironic, I doubt they're going to replace him, especially at this climactic point.

Sep 12, 2009 6:21 AM by seimei

seimei said:
I wonder if the people in charge read 2ch. If so, now that Chiaki Kon is out, I can totally see Namikawa being replaced, since his performance seems to be the root of the scandal for many 2channers XD.


Eh? What's up with Namikawa? Jeez, why do they even have to argue in the first place!

Sep 12, 2009 5:16 AM by LeeNoriega

TJR said:
Kon Chiaki has a spotty reputation. Criticism of her direction/execution was rampant with Higurashi, Nodame Paris, and Umineko, so this is nothing new.

She's getting so much work these days, thanks to the success of properties like Higurashi, Nodame, and Junjou Romantica. However, you could also argue that those shows already sell themselves because of the (exceedingly popular) source materials.

Daichi Akitaro's remark made me laugh too since he is criticizing a great underrated anime and he himself hasn't made - and by far - only good shows.


I think he's a vastly superior director. Nevertheless, I do feel that his remarks are out of line.


Can someone please explain to me why he even made these remarks? Does he even have any relation to this anime?

Sep 12, 2009 5:13 AM by chinlamp

I wonder if the people in charge read 2ch. If so, now that Chiaki Kon is out, I can totally see Namikawa being replaced, since his performance seems to be the root of the scandal for many 2channers XD.

Sep 12, 2009 4:54 AM by seimei

Yeah! I like the way Hanasakeru Seishounen is going I hope that this director don`t change the story!

Sep 11, 2009 5:42 PM by Arystar

Lovin' Daichi's quote. Best criticism of a show I've seen in ages.

Sep 11, 2009 5:13 PM by CCZilla

Even if Kon Chiaki are busy, Hanasakeru Seishounen is pretty popular. I don't think it's less popular than Umineko.

And yeah, can't wait for Nodame 3!!!!!!

Sep 11, 2009 4:03 PM by LeeNoriega

bonbonzy said:
Wow, they finally did it, huh? 0_0 I guess the complaints from the Japanese fans about the execution and direction of the anime finally made an impact. Wow, the new director did Fushigi Yuugi and Ceres so he does have experience with shoujo-ish anime. Hope he does a good (or even better) job of animating this classic series.

Also, starting from ep.21, Natsumi Itsuki (the mangaka) will be designing the wardrobe for the characters. Japanese fans complained that the clothes the characters wore were out-of-date (since the manga was from the 80's to 90's) and that the color as well as the fitting was horrible.

Wonder how the new director will improve on the direction of the anime... It'd be great too if the OST got a new overhaul as well...

The Japanese fans on 2chan are celebrating the change of director...


Glad to see they're listening to the fans

Sep 11, 2009 3:02 PM by VelvetEris

Kon Chiaki has a spotty reputation. Criticism of her direction/execution was rampant with Higurashi, Nodame Paris, and Umineko, so this is nothing new.

She's getting so much work these days, thanks to the success of properties like Higurashi, Nodame, and Junjou Romantica. However, you could also argue that those shows already sell themselves because of the (exceedingly popular) source materials.

Daichi Akitaro's remark made me laugh too since he is criticizing a great underrated anime and he himself hasn't made - and by far - only good shows.


I think he's a vastly superior director. Nevertheless, I do feel that his remarks are out of line.

Sep 10, 2009 10:54 PM by TJR

As long as the anime is still good then it's whatever.

Sep 10, 2009 8:18 PM by MallyMalMal

Wow, they finally did it, huh? 0_0 I guess the complaints from the Japanese fans about the execution and direction of the anime finally made an impact. Wow, the new director did Fushigi Yuugi and Ceres so he does have experience with shoujo-ish anime. Hope he does a good (or even better) job of animating this classic series.

Also, starting from ep.21, Natsumi Itsuki (the mangaka) will be designing the wardrobe for the characters. Japanese fans complained that the clothes the characters wore were out-of-date (since the manga was from the 80's to 90's) and that the color as well as the fitting was horrible.

Wonder how the new director will improve on the direction of the anime... It'd be great too if the OST got a new overhaul as well...

The Japanese fans on 2chan are celebrating the change of director...

Sep 10, 2009 6:00 PM by bonbonzy

dtshyk said:

Anime director Daichi Akitaro criticized Hanasakeru Seishounen in his blog that "I froze when I watched the anime. It's not something we can laugh off."

Source: Akitaro's blog (Sep 7)

That's 100% correct.

Sep 10, 2009 5:09 PM by vault2049

"Anime director Daichi Akitaro criticized Hanasakeru Seishounen in his blog that "I froze when I watched the anime. It's not something we can laugh off."

I don't really get that. It's by far not flawless but it isn't THAT bad <.< Story put aside since it's already written, it was nicely executed until now in my opinion.

Sep 10, 2009 10:21 AM by kujika

Related Database Entries

It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login