Hanayamata | Episode 11 (Episode 12 Follows)
Buckeye: That was quite an emotional scene there with Hana going off to America like that. At the very least, Hana is going to live together with her mother and father again, but that means saying goodbye to all the friends she made in Japan and the rest of the club just isn’t going to be the same without her. One more episode to go, and it remains to be seen how it all ends.
EmperorBrandon: As outgoing as Hana came off originally, when it comes to the really important stuff, she can keep it bottled up even tighter than the rest of them. So it seems there’s nothing really off about her mother, actually quite the opposite. She really regrets not being able to spend time with the family, and Hana can’t say no to that. But there’s a lack of communication (yet another common thread to Naru and Tami) about how strongly she feels about her friends and the yosakoi they’ve done together to Mom. At least she manages to come out to Naru in a rather sweetly emotional sleepover, and of course the friends aren’t going to let her leave at the airport without seeing her in an emotional scene there too.
But she does leave and they’ve apparently promised to go on without her. Such a conflict for Naru and the others there as things don’t really feel the same without Hana, even though they made that promise. It feels like we’re going to have to have Hana back, and I’m curious to see how it happens if so. I think, as above, getting those feelings through to Mom will play a part. I’ve always like that the opening lines of the theme song being sung by Hana, and now I love to see it even tied into the show proper. Hopefully we get a good ending not just for Hana, but for the rest of the girls who were all brought into this with what she tried to start.
Sly05: I thought for sure that Hana was going to come running back before her flight left. EmperorBrandon is right that about the lack of communication as it seems like Hana’s mother would have been totally fine with Hana staying in Japan with her father until summer. It didn’t seem like she was aware of Hana’s interest in yosakoi, but she came across as someone who would be supportive of her daughter if Hana let her know how much it meant to her. Hana will of course be coming back next episode but she could have saved her parents a few thousand dollars in airfare if she communicated her feelings a little earlier.
stardf29: This was a pretty standard development here, with Hana having to move back to the US on short notice. And while Hana probably could have stayed longer if she told her parents about her yosakoi interests, I guess these girls are at that age where they’re hesitant to tell their parents about their interests, or something. Still, as far as the basic development went, this was probably the first time I didn’t really care for the base drama in the show.
Where the show still worked really well, though, was in some of the other things that happened during all of this: Hana’s visit to Naru’s place was really nice, and then there was the group going to see Hana off at the airport. Not to mention the group singing the OP song for their upcoming performance.
Of course, I’d wager that Hana will return in time for the group’s final performance. Now for the long wait until next week to actually see that performance…
Episode 12 (Finale)
EmperorBrandon: “Why didn’t you tell me?” Exactly the kind of reaction I was expecting of Hana’s mom. Of course she’s completely understanding, and Hana is able to make it back and into the performance, even if it’s a little late. Fun to see the craziness around her making it there, with her enlisting the help of the police officer from the first episode and Aniki doing stuff that gets him scolded by festival organizers.
Not the only bit of parental communication this episode as earlier Naru finally got to being honest with her dad about what she’s been up to, and that scene was very sweet. Hard to top the sweetness of Yaya’s friends coming to cheer her on and being tsundere about it. And Naru’s hazukashii serifu gets Machi’s confidence up.
Such a wonderful ending. Love the continued reference to the OP, and the audience scenes during the performance are great too (Sally and Aniki particularly). Interesting how Naru’s mom is the “hidden” parent in this instance, when it usually seems like it’s the dad when there is one (see Love Live, for instance).
We have a note of things continuing on happily, with the cultural festival reference. I would love if there was more but this was a great note to end on.
Jun Kuga: There’s sure to be OVAs and we can hope. (I see that Ritsu is a fan of Machi…)
Sly05: This episode played out mostly as would be expected with a few happy twists like Hana being allowed to stay in Japan to finish school. While maybe not a ground breaking series, it was bright, cheerful, and accomplished what it set out to do while remaining consistently entertaining. It left me satisfied and I enjoyed the time I spent with it.
Momoka Kibi: While the episode still had the drama of getting there in time, I do like Hana actually called ahead. so her coming back wasn’t completely of nowhere (Other than obvious plot progression)
Also like her declaration of as long as she’s being selfish.
Sally favoring Machi, sister complexes!
The show did have a strong focus on drama which I know scared some & frustrated others, but I was fine with it.
In any case, I think Hana raised enough flags with Naru for the logical events to happen. Now to start dreaming.
Buckeye: [T]his show is another nice cute girls doing cute things show, but one that brings with it so much emotional distress, and the way the characters grow out of it is what makes this show so nice. The characters are great, and that’s what really makes this show go, especially with Hana being the crazy one, and the stuff about yosakoi dancing is pretty interesting. But above all else, it’s the animation quality that is the best thing about this show. This show is pretty cliched with yosakoi dancing the only thing new, and while the storyline is impactful, the writing is pretty lazy, but those aren’t stuff that would ruin my enjoyment of a show like this. That said, it’s a show that gets better as it progresses and it’s capped off by an awesome finale.
stardf29: What a finale. So many great moments in this: Naru telling her father about yosakoi (and her father saying he’d go watch her and getting embarrassed over it), everyone talking about how Naru has grown over the course of the show, Yaya’s old bandmates coming to see her, and of course, Hana’s return, complete with the help of that police officer from the first episode, to join the dance right in the middle of the performance.
Speaking of which, if I had one complaint, it’s that we didn’t see more of the performance animated. That’s probably due to budget limitations, though. What we got was still really nice. And that shot of Sally happily videotaping the girls while on the yosakoi shop owner’s shoulders (and his obvious happiness over that) was great, so I’ll forgive that.
Looks like there’s room for a continuation (by way of a school festival) if by some miracle there’s a second season. Still, this was a very complete story on its own, so if this is all we get, I’m fine with that. (Though I definitely want more of these girls, of course!)
…
Wow, where do I start with this show? Being a much more plot-driven show involving a cast full of cute girls, Hanayamata really devotes itself to the development of its cast, and the result is beyond wonderful. The girls are all great characters, flawed but relatable, and their stories really make their growth come to life. And all of this is put to a show that is really beautiful, even with the budget limitations. As for the drama, I think it was pretty much handled perfectly throughout, though I can see how certain parts might have annoyed some viewers. In the end, though, everything paid off with a show that is no weaker for daring to have a definite plot and drama to drive that plot, and is instead one of the best shows of the season and of the year.