It’s the end of the run and unsurprisingly it ends with smiles and calmness rather than outlandish moments.
What They Say:
Welcome to Hanamaru Kindergarten! Here, you will find that everyone is super genki and full of beans, and that every day is fun, fun, fun! Anzu loves Mr. Tsuchida, the homeroom teacher. Cheering her on is her friend, the brainiac Hiiragi and the pure-hearted Koume. The pupils do things like slightly off-base love attacks or sleuthing around outside the school. Although the three of them are occasionally scolded for their antics, the three of them are quickly growing up. For them, these adventures from the heart are followed by afternoon naps – everyday.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Hanamaru Kindergarten draws to a close with episode twelve and it does run through a few familiar things. The show has progressed fairly nicely since the start by introducing new characters, adding to the settings a bit and playing with the relationships with a bit of fun, particularly when we got introduced to Yamamoto’s sister. The opening part here is good classic fun as Christmas is approaching and Anzu makes a wish which has her dreaming that she’s older and meeting everyone as adults, though she can’t quite place them outside of Tsuchida in some way. Hiiragi and Koume are really cute as older characters and there’s a good Christmas spirit feeling to the episode as we see her meeting Tsuchida and dancing in the snow. It’s a straightforward dream sequence but the kind that really leaves you smiling.
The bulk of the episode focuses on the relationship side of the series which is brought into focus when Tsuchida, Yamamoto and the kids visit an art gallery where Anzu’s father is having his work shown. There’s a lot of attention on the artwork itself and its cute to see Tsuchida having a hard time grasping some of the basic pieces. There’s one piece that surprises folks with a mother/daughter painting where the two are wearing what appears to be nothing yet revealing nothing. It’s a great portrait of the two which causes some discussion amongst everyone. What they realize though is that Anzu’s family is very open about their affections, something you don’t see in public much overall, so when Anzu’s father enters the scene and openly kisses his wife and they seem so much in love it’s both heartwarming and surprising for everyone to see. It goes a long way towards explaining how Anzu is as well.
It’s Anzu’s openness that really helps in the end though. Tsuchida has had such a hard time in confessing to Yamamoto which is made even more difficult because of her dense nature. He’s essentially given up, but memories from the past still linger in him as he remembers when he gave up on Sakura and the things that the two said to each other back then. What brings it full circle is that Anzu is now telling him the same thing and that he shouldn’t give up, even though she intends to be his bride someday. It’s a kind of great childlike innocence and nature that brings things clearly into focus for people who make it more complicated than it should be. While the end will surely drive some people nuts, I found that the nature of the relationships throughout the show makes this one that’s perfect. It gives some closure while still leaving plenty open to be dealt with another day should it happen.
In Summary:
When watching a streaming show, there are three ways I tend to look at my overall impression of it at the end in terms of how much I enjoyed it. Hanamaru Kindergarten makes out the best because it is a show that I would easily buy and want to own. Most shows are enjoyable fluff that I wouldn’t care if I didn’t see again while there are also those that I’d actively try to enjoy. This one left me smiling throughout and is filled with positive memories that has me wanting to experience it all again. While some of the setup gags of the show may frustrate or annoy some, it’s this kind of show that’s a welcome diversion when it’s done very well, which it is here. With a fun cast of characters, plenty of quirky moments through the kids, and some solid supporting characters and good animation, Hanamaru Kindergarten is definitely one of the most memorable shows of this season and one I’d love to see licensed for release and dubbed.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
