 |
| KEEP ON RUNNIN'! *group jump* |
Renkin 3-kyu Magical Pokan (MagiPoka for short) is a 12 episode anime series produced by REMIC which aired on April 2006 and ended in June 2006. The director is Kenichi Yatani , who does not have any noteworthy titles under his belt. Magipoka caught my attention because I thought it might be a cute and light watch…
I've been watching Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica, airing this season. It is produced by SHAFT and directed by the reputable Akiyuki Shinbo. It follows titular character Madoka and her friend Sayako as they stumble upon a world in which magical girls do battle with "witches".The witches can not be seen by normal humans, and they cause despair and misery wherever they go. By making a contract with a strange creature called Kyubey, Madoka and Sayako can become Mahou Shojo to fight the witches, and at the same time are granted one wish of their desire. However, once in this contract they must lead a life of servitude; fighting the witches and collecting their grief seeds.
What makes Madoka Magica great is that its initial impression as a cutesy magical girl show is only the veneer to a darker tale revolving around young girls as they face certain danger and death. While other shows of its ilk take a much lighter approach; the tone of Madoka is very dark, and the choices carry heavy consequences for ones as young as our heroines. Combined with the aesthetic style of director Akiyuki Shinbo, who has a fondness for the odd and bizarre, create an atmosphere that is bleak from the first second to the last.
For many fans of the magical girl genre, this unique spin on the style can be a great refresher. For others, they may find it lacking in some departments. Up to this point, only four episodes have aired and each spends their time advancing characters through backstories and plot development. So if you came hoping for slice-of-life moments or fanservice you'll have to go digging up some other things. Madoka is sure to engage you in the story and its characters, one way or another.
Madoka is a must watch, not only because it is the best thing this season, but because it is one of the best anime to come out in a long while.
--To listeners of Anime Pulp Podcast.. I apologize for the lack of updates. Please hold on a little bit longer! We’ll be back soon!
I have decided to skip writing about episode 11 and just jump straight to episode 12. In this episode it is Christmas time and the gang is going to have a party at Anzus house. She winds up falling asleep before they arrive and dreams that she has gotten her wish to be older and goes out to look for Tsuchida. In the final half, everyone goes to visits the art gallery done by Anzus father, and Sakura reminds Tsuchida of some inspiring words he gave her when they were younger.
The final episode dives into the thoughts of Anzu, showing the audience what it might be like if she suddenly turned into an adult. It is amusing and adorable to see that even though Anzu can picture herself older, she can’t shake that she is still a child with little practical knowledge of the world around her. It is a credit to her character in the execution and depiction of what a young kindergartner might believe what an adult acts like. Finally, in the episode, Tsuchida shows more backbone than he was believed to initially have.There is a brief flashback between Tsuchida and Sakura which makes Tsuchida feel a lot more like a normal guy.
In the end, Hanamaru Kindergarten turned out to be a good watch. The cast of young children are bright, entertaining, and cute. They are exactly what they should be, and thankfully the show avoids any disturbing sexual themes between the children. The adult cast of characters leave a bit to be desired, and the older male lead, Tsuchida, can seem a bit stale at times. Towards the end of the show, the characters reflect more feelings and express more opinion that the universe they live in is a believable yet at the same time fun and cartoony one. There is not much girth to the actual story, but Hanamaru Kindergarten does not necessarily need that to entertain its audience. There are many shows like Hanamaru Kindergarten, telling the lives of cute girls as they run around and pursue their silly things, but Hanamaru Kindergarten cops out a lot less to the boring stereotypes seem all too often today.
Ultimately, I’d recommend this show to fans of the slice-of-life genre or someone just looking to watch cute characters run around and be... cute characters. It is a decent show with a few noticeable flaws, but they are easily forgiven. GAINAX had me curious as to why they would pick up such a seemingly average show, but I guess they just wanted to work their magic with it. It is either that, or maybe they wanted to splice in all those references to their own shoes. I am done writing on this show for now, and if you have any thoughts on Hanamaru Kindergarten yourself, please share them with us here at Anime Pulp.
In this episode of Hanamaru Kindergarten, the athletic festival is coming up and Koume seeks training from her teachers so she can make herself and her brother proud. In the next half, Tsuchida drinks some liquid courage and confesses his feelings for Yamamoto.
The young Koume faces an obstacle in this episode, and while we watch her undertake the challenge, it is not only charming but a tad bit inspiring. For a young girl, Koume possess a lot of spirit and when her friends rally around her to cheer her on or defend her, it feels like they have a true bond of friendship. It is not a hard tear-jerker, but the moments of friendship fit right in with the “warm” feelings that Hanamaru Kindergarten has had up to this point. The humor in this episode have even stepped up. The show begins to make use of the characters and the scenarios they have placed them in rather than relying on tired old gimmicks all the time.
There is little else to say now. Hanamaru Kindergarten is still a fuzzy feel-good show that has little (left) in it to criticize. You can watch this episode on crunchyroll. I’m done for now, until next time folks.
Zvarri! It’s time for the next review! The creator(?) of the famous panda-cat hybrid comic is having trouble coming up with new ideas and problems with his love life until he runs into the kids of Hanamaru Kindergarten. Then the kids draw portraits of what they want to be when they grow up, causing some interesting conversations to spawn.
The kids help out another person in this episode, this time a man named Hanamaru who happens to be involved in some manner with the popular Panda-Cat comic. When Hanamaru goes to a nearby park he runs in to Anzu and friends, and it’s just more of the same cute shenanigans that have been prevalent in the show up to this point. There is something about the sincerity of children that make it a lot more believable that these kids would care more about the plight of a stranger than any other person. The best thing about the show are the three main little girls, who have the similar traits of the innocence of kindergartners but are all still unique. The differences between Anzu, Hiiragi, and Koume have play off of each other and create interesting dialogue with the things and people they interact with. This is best evident in this episode when they show Tsuchida what dreams and hopes they have for the future.
Another notable factor is that this episode pulls out some of the niftiest references to date in the show. Namely, Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, Luke Atmey Reference (See Hiiragi in the first picture) and The Wings of Honneamise, the spacesuit worn by protagonist Shirotsugh Lhadatt can be seen sported in the active imagination of Hiiragi (See third picture)
Hanamaru Kindergarten is getting close to its end. There are less things to say about the show as it goes on, but it still remains one of the better things to come out in the Winter Lineup. Until next time. Here's episode 9 on crunchyroll.
Welcome to the next review! In this episode, Anzu and friends help a classmate named Aoi out by aiding her and family in the their home business. Next, Tsuchida finds a young girl named Hinagiku and helps her home. She falls in love with him and she transfers to Hanamaru Kindergarten in order to marry him. I have a bit more to say than usual.
The show shifts back to the children again as they try to worm their way into the world of adults. It’s easy to understand where the kids in the show are coming from. They see themselves just as capable as the adults around them, and work hard to prove it. The new girl introduced in the first half, Aoi, wants really bad to work with her father. She has a sincere desire to simply be with her dad and also prove herself to him. The other girls try to convince her father to let her work with him, and try to sell fish. These moments make for a show that feels light-hearted and touching to a certain extent. It is not to the point where it is very emotional, but it is an innocent romp as the girls decide to assist a friend in their friend's life.
The second half spends most of its time acquainting the cast with Anzu’s new rival for love, Hinagiku. It is clear that just like Anzu, Hinagiku has no strong reasons to actually be in love with Tsuchida. The audience should accept it with not much thought, since she is a child with a strange concept of love. The innocent love and warm feelings presented are at a level just right to hit fans looking for loads of cute content, and still offers something that feels like an average story. Tsuchida doesn’t seem to mind that he has yet another little girl thinking she can marry him. He handles his scenario in a mature manner, at least opposed to either overreacting or being a jerk to the little girls. The positive aspects of him come through again in this episode.
Episode 8 makes a complete recovery for the show after episode 7’s boring trek to back story. Hanamaru Kindergarten is proof that some shows and characters don’t need some kind of deep past to make for an interesting watch. At least in the cases of this show, it would actually drag something as simple as this down. That is all for now. Episode 8 is on crunchyroll.
My apologies for falling behind. A personal matter came up and I got swept away in my personal business. This episode marks the beginning of the summer break, and Tsuchida heads home with the usual cast of characters. There Tsuchida and Sakura reminisce and Satsuki tries to impress her brother through her cooking, which he fails to identify her as the cook causing her to get angry.
This episode focuses less on the children and more of the adult characters; Namely, Tsuchida, Satsuki, and Sakura. Unfortunately, they are still the most boring of the cast. The chemistry between them is flat, making for some dull interactions. The first example that comes to mind is the relationship between Tsuchida and his sister, Satsuki. She is given a popular moe catchphrase “onii-chan no baka!” and a strange strong desire to be the center of Tsuchida’s attention. In addition, the relationship between Tsuchida and the other characters make no progress either. Sakura tells a story about the past in the first half of the show, but it doesn’t explain anything or imply anything beyond that Tsuchida might have had feelings for her in the past. It felt like the whole episode was just a rehash of things that have been done in other anime, and the events which transpired ultimately made no impact on the characters themselves. It is not an entire failure, it just lacks that which made the episodes prior to this one interesting.
It’s clear that the adult characters are not the shows strong point. When the children are not made the center of attention in an episode, the show is at less than its best. Hopefully the next few episodes will either shift it back to the kids or fix the current issues with the show. The next review will come when I get the chance. Episode 7 is on crunchyroll.
In this episode, it’s summertime and the pool opens up at Hanamaru Kindergarten. Anzu and the gang go swimming and try to help Anzu win the attention of Tsuchida. The next half, Tsuchida's sister stops in to see how he is managing.
This is another welcome episode in Hanamaru Kindergarten's line up. Satsuki, who is Tsuchidas little sister, makes an appearance in this episode and it seems that she perhaps will be a recurring character. She isn’t very interesting and falls into a tsundere personality archetype. If her emotions were not as transparent as they are, she would be a less annoying character. On the bright side, Tsuchida makes more progress as he proves he can be a competent worker who actually cares about his job. He blends in his love of video games and when he connects with the children at the school both he and the kids have a great time. Tsuchida has an understanding and compassion for the children which grant him a more human personality rather than just a flat-otaku who can’t stop staring at busty women. As for the rest of the cast, they stay pretty much the same. The comedy comes from the chemistry between the characters which is certainly going strong and lasting.
This episode didn’t best the previous episodes but that is okay. Hanamaru Kindergarten is still a fun light show that many should enjoy. Keep watching it on crunchyroll. There are still some adventures to come so until next time, I’m outta here. Laters.
The episode this week revolves around Anzu and the gang following Tsuchida around on a Sunday to make sure he is not cheating on Anzu, and the second half involves Koume developing a crush on someone at the kindergarten named Yu.
This weeks episode is the same deal as last weeks. The girls continue their cute adventures, and it is indeed very cute. Hanamaru blends innocence and cartoony characters for lovable scenarios which might not be laugh out loud funny but still worth a chuckle or two. This episode makes me feel more attached to the children: Anzu, Hiiragi, and Koume. The girls follow their teacher around ambitiously with a keen sense of adventure that kids are familiar with having. The three girls are different but are brought together by their kid-like naivety, as they have their own strengths and weaknesses. These elements seem to only serve and add to the cute factor of the show. It makes them believable as adventurous kids who love the world around them . The adult characters in the show still don’t show any interesting traits, though. They are only there so that the kids have something to interact with. Tsuchida is especially annoying since he is too much like the shy/otaku character that shows up in anime these days. Outside of this, there isn’t much else to say.
Hanamaru Kindergarten episode 5 continues to entertain and provoke smiles. Those who have watched the first episode might have turned away but they should come back and give it another chance, at least up to this episode. This finishes the review for the fifth episode. Curious readers should go watch it on crunchyroll!
Nam
Ging 
Ryan