Anime Reviews
Hinamatsuri (2018, Feel)
ヒナまつり
Nitta Yoshifumi is a wealthy Yakuza member. One day, a young blue-haired girl with telekinesis powers called "Hina" appears in his apartment out of nowhere in a metallic cocoon. Worried he'd be killed he lets her stay with him. Before long, he learns she must unleash her powers frequently or she will overload and go out-of-control briefly. Nitta ends up becoming her guardian as she tries to fit in and obviously things don't go quite so smoothly when you have a Yakuza gang member trying to live together with a girl with super powers. Meanwhile, Anzu has been ordered to destroy Hina but ends up stuck on Earth and finds out how harsh life can be as she finds shelter amongst the homeless. Life just isn't the same for everyone they cross paths with.
The overall vibe reminds me of Barakamon another great comedy but without the super powers and alien elements. In fact, the direction and art is so similar I'm surprised I couldn't find any staff that worked on both! Art style with the thick highlight lines reminds me of Poco's Udon World but different studio. Facial expressions alone are hilarious to watch let alone the ridiculous scenarios that come up in the show. Even the eyecatch commerical break images are fun and there's a lot of references to Terminator too.
Most of the time you'll probably be in tears laughing but there are also some tear jerking moments too as you see life from both sides of the coin, the wealthy and the poor. Despite being aliens, both Hina and Anzu act just like their childlike appearances - just two innocent kids. Yet, Hina learns how spoiled she is and Anzu learns there are times when you must put aside your pride so there's some great character development. And even though there are supposed to be some not so down to earth elements, very little actually happens that remind you that they are aliens with powers so over all it's like another slice-of-life comedy.
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