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Hanako-san, Hanako-san… are you there? What’s that? It’s actually Hanako-kun? For years, I’ve strayed away from anime that deal with ghosts and apparitions; however, something about this one caught my eye. Maybe it was the contrast between theme and art-style. Or, it was simply the premise of the show that drew me in. What I do know is that Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun exceeded my expectations through and through.

Expanding storyline and epic world building:
What sets this anime apart from the others is the refreshing and unique ideas it explores along with the colorful art style and shounen-like characteristics it uses. Right from the get-go, the story ... delves deep into the mysterious apparitions that are hiding around the school. The viewers are taken through a numerous different settings, despite the entirety of the anime taking place in a school of all places.

The story makes incredible use of an episodic format to tell many short stories throughout as it provides the viewers with a great deal of information while also withholding a lot of information from the audience. The story develops at a nice and slow pace; though, at the same time, there’s plenty of action to be found.

Beautiful art:
If the storyline and world building wasn’t enough, Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun has one of the most unique and exceptional art-styles I have seen I a while. The vibrant and colorful colors played important factors in scenes whether the scene was meant to be dark and scary or bright and happy. Working in tandem with the colors, the art-style made it easy for the artists to bring complex designs to life. The art of this anime really took everything to a whole new level.

Terrific soundtrack:
The soundtrack for Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun couldn’t have been done better in my opinion. Each OST distinctively fit with every scene and overall sounded phenomenal with everything else going on in the anime. I could pick out a couple plenty of standout OSTs when I watched through the anime. Not only the OSTs, the OP and ED were both equally as incredible in their own way. In fact, they’re both a part of my favorite songs.

Unique characters:
I think the main cast of characters are very likeable in their own special way. The main girl, Yashiro, is clumsy, but at the same time, very cheerful and kind, which I'd say gives her a special charm. Also, Hanako is very mischievous and likes to mess with the Yashiro, even though he ends up protecting her from everything. These two characters are just two great examples of how different their characteristics are from one another. The rest of the characters also have their own defined characteristics that sets them apart from everyone else, which make the show so enjoyable to watch.

Very cute and entertaining:
Despite the show taking dark turns every now and then, seeing how the characters interact when they’re not in a sticky situation is very funny and enjoyable to watch. The show’s art just helps highlight the adorableness of Yashiro throughout, especially when she’s talking with Hanako or Minamoto. The very light heartedness emitting from Yashiro makes for plenty of comedic moments too.

Final thoughts:
The elements of Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun are all executed to a significant degree. I wouldn’t put any one area anywhere near average. The anime was done amazingly well as it tells a unique story featuring ghosts and apparitions while at the same time keeping to its comedic formula. I recommend the anime as a must watch, especially for the season of Winter 2020. [9/10]

In a world where VRMMO began taking over in the anime community, one series rises to the top through it’s unique charm and an idea so insane that it actually worked. No one would have thought that a main character with so much power could still lead an anime to such great lengths; however, BOFURI broke that idea this time around. Take realism out of the equation because there’s nothing realistic about this anime. Instead, you can have a cute, yet broken main character who gets through her life in the game through her clumsiness and extreme luck.

Unique story & concept:
With a fast-paced story to ... help drive the energetic and quirky nature of the main character, there’s not much time for the audience to actually breathe. Episode after episode, the main cast is either training or competing in some sort of event showing off the new skills and abilities of everyone, especially the powerhouse herself: Maple. To top it all off, none of this happened to Maple by sheer skill or intellect but rather her insane luck aiding her in each of her encounters.

“The best offense is a good defense.” This statement proved to be true for Maple as the story progressed and her power grew along with it. Despite fighting against strongest foes in combat power, her skills and defense was enough to crush her competition along with their hopes of ever beating her. Normally, a main character that has unmatchable power would look like a poorly written character; though, Maple’s charm is how oblivious she is to the luck around her and her fun personality. She’s not some boring OP character with little to no character development. Maple actually learns from her mistakes and grows as fighter despite her appearing to be an airhead.

Fantastic art:
The animators of this show have shown us time and time again how great they are with a simple animation software. Each new environment always looks clean and well-drawn, and the fights are no different. There wasn’t a single fight where the audience would be left wondering “Are they saving their animation for later?”. Actually, it was easy to tell that each fight had a lot of effort poured into it from just living the experience by simply watching the anime. Finally, the use of CG really put the animation over the top compared to any other anime. It was fairly difficult to piece together which parts were CG and which parts weren’t making transitions between the two animation techniques smooth and crisp.

Great soundtrack:
The entire soundtrack for this anime was done well. Each OST fit well with the given scenes and overall sounded great. I could pick out a couple that I’d listen to on repeat because of how great they sounded. Not only the OSTs, the OP and ED were both equally as amazing to listen to. If anything, the OP has become one of my favorite songs.

Fun & lovable characters:
Along with everything else, the characters in BOFURI were done incredibly well. All of the characters had moments in the spotlight and showed off a bit of what made them different from the rest. I found it especially impressive that the leader of the Flame Emperors had a very vulnerable side shown on screen. It broke the standard mold that any opposing ‘boss’ or ‘leader’ didn’t have a glaring quirk about themselves that made them particularly unique.

Never-ending entertainment:
There are plenty of comedic moments in BOFURI that have really hit hard when they come up in the show. Watching Maple’s guild come together is pretty entertaining to watch because their personalities really gel with one another. Additionally, watching how the other major guilds worked with one-another was fun to watch. Each main group of characters played off each other amazingly well and provided a lot of enjoyment throughout the show.

Final thoughts:
BOFURI was an anime I wasn’t expecting to get this season, especially since it was announced as an VRMMO related anime; however, the journey these characters went through was fast-paced and entertaining to watch. The episodes went by in a flash and left me wanting more. This anime crushed my expectations and will probably sit high in my rankings for quite a while. [9/10]