Hyakko love! Thanks to all for the input on my last post… with that in mind, posts will be spoiler free unless otherwise noted.
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To all those that have seen hyakko, share wha’cha love! To those that haven’t, hopefully this will sway you one way or the other~
When it comes to slice of life shows, I generally evaluate them by two simple criteria – characters and chemistry between said characters. Sooo, let’s see how hyakko stacks up.
~characters~
The series focuses on a group of 4 girls:
能乃村 歩巳 (nonomura ayu) – voiced by none other than hirano aya!
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However, aya fans, don’t get too excited – though the show begins with ayu…can’t really say she’s the star of the show. Honestly if I didn’t recognize her voice… I’d probably like her character a lot less ^^;; (well, not that I’d dislike her… but rather I wouldn’t really notice her) In 3 adjectives… shy, polite, and kawaii!
伊井塚 龍姫 (iidzuka tatsuki) – voiced by neya michiko. Soul Calibur fans like myself may be surprised to know she’s the voice of Sophitia!
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The ojyou-sama of the group. By the book, can come off as cold, aloof. Do you know the adjective katai? Literally it means hard, solid, or stiff – applies to personalities too though, and tatsuki. Personally one of my favorite character types to see brought out of their comfort zone.
早乙女 雀 (saotome suzume) – voiced by yuzuhara konomi ochiai yurika. Aside from konomi in ToHeart2, seems that ochiai-san has also did yukiho’s voice in the Idolm@aster.
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torako’s side kick ^_^ On the quiet side, but that definitely doesn’t mean shy ^^; Always seems to be surprising ayu and tatsuki with her daitan behavior coupled with an ice cold expression. torako’s used to it… for the most part :P
上下山 虎子 (kageyama torako) – voiced by orikasa fumiko, Shirley Fenette being the only other character of hers I’m familiar with… though that’s just my failure as an otaku ^^; fumiko-san has quite a lengthy resume :P
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Here we have, in my eyes at least, the real star of the show. Energetic, care free, whimsical… a great friend ^_^ A touch of irresponsibility too… torako’s the type to try first and apologize later ^^;
Aside from the big 4, there’s a multitude of other characters in case your type isn’t covered by the above girls ^_^
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杏藤 子々 andou nene
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幕之内 潮 makunouchi ushio
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古囃 独楽 kobayashi koma
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蕾家 祈 tsubomiya inori
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大場 湊兎 ooba minato
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涼ヶ崎 知恵 suzugazaki chie
I won’t go into all of them, since half the fun is getting to know them ^_^
There’s a handful of males in the show too, though my favorite is amagasa kyouichirou sensei ^_^
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Poor guy has to deal with a class of weirdos :P
~character interactions~
Once a show has got my attention with the characters, then it’s about how they work (or fight :P) together! I think this is the highlight of hyakko for me. There are so many combinations of characters that produce amusing situations for me.
torako + tatsuki = fun loving crazy girl + formal katai girl = hilarity ^_^
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nene + torako = class president + torako … what could possibly be interesting about that? You must watch and get to know nene ^_^
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ushio + torako… torako isn’t exactly a model student, so she hangs out with another delinquent type from time to time. It’s great seeing torako’s beaming cheerfulness clash against the seemingly mean spirited ushio.
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koma + ayu/torako (well, mostly during art class ^^;) – episode 4, art class, I loved it ^_^
inori + iori – unfortunately you don’t see much of these sisters in the anime or manga, but I enjoy the little time they have a lot. I think it may be the influence of moe sadako.
minato + ushio = timid, quick to tears type + rough delinquent type (with a soft side :P)
hitsugi + torako – hitsugi is a younger student you see from time to time in the anime. She has a much bigger role in the manga that unfortunately wasn’t covered in anime. At any rate, torako befriending hitsugi is good for the lols ^_^
oniyuri + torako = strict, beautiful onee-san trying to discipline torako. Good for the awwww kawaii~ moments ^_^
kyouichirou + torako – I absolutely love how torako and amagasa sensei interact.
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~Soooo~
A great slice of life in my book. Best complemented by the manga imo though… because if you enjoyed the anime as much as I did, you’ll want more :P Currently 31 chapters span the 4 volumes of manga published. In this case the manga has a pretty rough feeling compared to the anime, but the content is the same goodness.
I’m curious what others thought of the last episode – I knew what was going to happen since I had read the equivalent chapter in the manga, perhaps took a lot of air out of it for me.
Optic recently posted about the OP, you can find the ED on youtube, below.
And there you have it. Hyakko! Be forewarned, seems many were turned off by the first episode, which, admittedly, doesn’t do the show justice. As such, I highly recommend watching at least 3 episodes to give hyakko a chance :P
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