'Hinamatsuri' Hits Hard with the Humor and Feels

I wasn’t able to watch Hinamatsuri when it originally ran in the second quarter of 2018.  However, I saw a clip of the rock-paper-scissor super-powered battle scene from episode two; after seeing something as hilarious as that, I just had to see the rest of the anime.  So, I took the time to binge it during the Christmas break.  And, man, it was so entertaining, I effortlessly breezed through the 12-episode first season in one sitting.

What makes Hinamatsuri primarily noteworthy is the comedy.  It’s a show brimming with brilliant gags.  One’s amusement escalates from the setup to the delivery to the punchline.  In addition, amid its goldmine of jokes, it also surprisingly slows down to tug at the hearstrings with some bittersweet moments.  This anime made me laugh as hard as Grand Blue did, but it also hit me right in the feels as hard as Violet Evergarden did.

Hinamatsuri follows a powerful psychokinetic young girl from the future named Hina, who, while encased in an egg-shaped metal pod (presumably a time machine), drops out of nowhere onto the high-end apartment of a yakuza officer named Nitta.   Under the threat of her destroying his expensive art collection, Nitta is strong-armed into buying everything that Hina wants – especially food, which she can’t get enough of.  From that point on, Nitta becomes Hina’s reluctant guardian.  While living under the comfortable lifestyle that Nitta’s good-paying yakuza job has afforded, Hina has been lazy and selfish. On the other hand, Nitta is frustrated that he has been forced to look out for this spoiled brat.  However, they eventually grow to care for each other, and develop a father-and-daughter bond.  At one point, Hina, with her abilities, has even come to Nitta’s aid in his work, helping him to rise up through the ranks of the yakuza.  Meanwhile, the people around them, who have assumed that Hina is Nitta’s secret daughter from a past relationship, have also grown fond of her.

Hina and Nitta have a funny, heartwarming, and interesting storyline.  But, truth be told, the respective storylines of two supporting characters – at least, as far as the first season goes – are much better.

The first revolves around Anzu, a peer of Hina’s from the same organization she’s from, albeit less powerful than her.  Initially, her mission is to kill Hina, but after a battle which Hina wins, the two girls hang out instead.  When her time travel device is damaged, she becomes stuck in the present.  She’s taken in by a homeless camp, and then later, she’s adopted by an elderly couple that runs a Chinese restaurant.  Because of the harder experience, she turns out being Hina’s anti-thesis.  She’s frugal, has a good work ethic, and just an overall nice girl.  Among all the characters, she’s had the most meaningful and most poignant character development.

The second of these storylines belong to Hitomi Mishima, Hina’s classmate in middle school.  She’s kind, gentle, hard-working, a quick study, and has a hard time denying other’s requests.  These traits are what led her to get into the hilarious scenario of working as a part-time, well-paid bartender in Little Song (a bar owned by Utako Sakura, Nitta’s acquaintance and potential romantic interest).  Here, she gets acquainted with a wide range of people – teachers, businessmen, politicians, yakuza members – gaining their favor in the process.  As the show progresses, Hitomi finds her duties, resources, and connections growing absurdly larger than what a middle schooler normally has.

Meanwhile, surrounding the aforementioned characters is a shared network of interconnected recurring characters – classmates, entrepreneurs, gangsters, street musicians, etc.  – who not only fulfil the roles they have to play in these storylines effectively, but are amiable as a whole.  In other words, Hinamatsuri has a very likable cast.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that it’s looking like, based on the finale, season two is going to be set after a three-year time skip.  And Mao, another psychokinetic girl that came from the future, is finally entering the picture after spending the last three years being stuck in a desert island and then studying martial arts in China (and being basically irrelevant to season one’s core story).  I’m really intrigued of what she’ll bring to the table next season, especially because I found her fight scenes to be so kickass.  Action as another layer to the show is an exciting thought.

To sum it up, Hinamatsuri is a terrific anime.  And with all the terrific new anime series that debuted in 2018, it’s one of the best.  Really looking forward to a new season!