Apr 2, 2020
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
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
