Saturday, January 17, 2009

Hyakko

We have finally finished watching "Hyakko" and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. Hyakko is about a group of high school girls that come to this school that is so huge, it is almost impossible not to get lost if you are a newcomer. It is while they are lost that most of them bump into each other. Some really funny incidents do occur once they finally find there way around. I know that some of you disliked the anime because of its slow start, but I can guarantee it does pick up and gets really funny. To better understand the anime itself you really need to get to know the characters themselves.

Plot Summary from ANN:
On the first day of high school at Kamizono Academy, four girls meet each other while lost on the huge campus, and form a friendship. This story follows the daily school life of the four girls and their eclectic classmates.

This is Ayumi Nonomura, Shy, so much that it inhibits her from talking to other people. She is the opening character to the series. It gives you the impression that she is the main character, but isn't really. The series starts and ends with her. One thing noteable about her is that she is very polite.

This is Tatsuki Iidzuka, I think she would be considered the "tsundere" of the group, she lives in a modest-looking home complete with a maid. Her father is corporate president for a major electronics company in Japan. She is very classy and tends to use honorific speech even towards her closest friends. She is also easily annoyed by Torako's shenanigan's. She is also often dragged along with her friends even if she doesn't want to be, whether by force or other actions.

This is Torako Kageyama Who is one of the main characters, she is the one that I like to call the "feisty" one of the group, one thing that makes her stand out so well is that she is extremely outgoing. She is very daring, such as jumping out windows, and punching her homeroom teacher.

This is Suzume Saotome, probably my most favorite character because she is most like me, she is Torako's best friend. One of the most noteable things about her is her love for food, and what happens to her twin-buns when somebody hands her food (it's just too cute)... she is very athletic, and yet she is so adorable.

This is Nene Andō, the bisexual of the group, and also class president, I found her to be very funny in the things she did, she seems to be such a pervert. She loves to chase Torako and Ayumi around, and is known for frequent sexual harrassment. She is always trying to take on things, such as activities, that are more than she can really handle. She also has a brother who is very much like her in the way he is. Overall she is quite a funny character.

This is Kitsune Kageyama, Torako's older brother, and yet bares no resemblance to her. He is quite typically known as the 'Sadist' of this anime, and the most noteable thing about him that you will probably notice is that he wears a safety pin in his ear like an earring. Another noteable thing about him is how he has loved to bully Torako since she was little.

This is Ushio Makunouchi, known as the deliquent of the bunch, but firmly denies it, She is somewhat quiet unless irritated, and known to be a bit "tone deaf" as you will notice in one karaoke scene. One thing that you might notice is that she loves cats. She refuses to wear her school uniform, the blazer and tie at least. I guess she would be considered a bit of a punk.

This is Inori Tsubomiya, She looks like the stereotypical ghost-girl seen in some Japanese horrors, but in reality is actually very pretty when her hair is away from her face, I think what makes her stand out so much in the beginning is that she is friendless, and very quiet, and with her hair over her face, even her smile looks somewhat scary and evil. Not to mention her laugh.



This anime would definitely be classified as "Slice of life/comedy". There are many more characters in Hyakko, you just have to watch and see them all. Follow them along their journeys around the academy, and throughout the many antics of each character. There is an outlying story behind the story that you won't realize until you watch the entire series, and this is the part that makes it so good. There is never really a plot, But it is an enjoyable story. If I had to compare it to another anime, I think I would go with "Lucky Star". Hyakko doesn't seem to be getting much love from critics, but I myself found it very enjoyable. It is one that is being overlooked, despite being a good show.

Images from Gelbooru and Pixiv.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah many dropped it at episode 1 or 2 and never really got to see the funnier sides.

Nice images, all manga-side lol. I just got to love Oniyuri though, too bad she got so little screentime.

And Hyakko was indeed quite the comedy for me for fall anime last year.

Lightning Sabre said...

I LOVE this show! Ok well the first episode was a bit too slow for me, but good thing I watched past that.

The opening and ending song is so good that they're stuck in my head at most times.

Nene Ando's antics is one of the things I look forward to. She's great! And one of the most surprising thing was that I thought Aya Hirano played Torako, but I checked and she played the quiet Ayumi! WHAAAA!?

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for dedicating a post to this show! Hyakko is perhaps my favourite show last season. Indeed, critics flamed this series a lot. It's nice to know there're others who enjoyed it. Where did you find all those fanart, by the way? They look fantastic. I'm working on a Torako artwork, too. I'll put it up when it's done =).

Katie said...

That looks interesting, I might have to check it out. Oh and I actually just updated my blog after so long!!!!!!!!!!! And I actually got a few figures for Christmas~

Anonymous said...

I'm currently up to ep. 4 and loving it. It's one of those comedy flicks where I could never pass up so thanks M12 for recommending it to me. :)

Anonymous said...

Just finished watching EP4, and I don't really understand why I dropped after the first episode when it first released.

Some of the antics are plain hilarious, but I'm not the one to say since I'm not really into funny anime. Because this series has kicked me into watching funny anime again, I thoroughly enjoying Toradora as well.

Maybe I'll blog my impressions on Hyakko later! Thanks for the heads up! ^^

Riiana Doon said...

M12~ All arts where found at either Gelborou or Pixiv.:)
Look it up in Japanes Form and you will find it.

ClearTranquil said...

Nice little review you have here! I have to admit, I followed Hyakko as soon as it aired in the Fall and didn't give up on it despite my feeling that the 2nd episode was a bit lacking. They kept getting better from there. I almost died when they didn't get subbed for like 3 weeks.

Torako is def my fav. character...*saves pictures*

Anonymous said...

liked the show so much i had to go out and buy all the manga ^^;; anyone know if another season is planned? they didn't go into hitsugi's story at all!

i often like something playing in the background while i work on figure reviews, slice of life shows like hyakko fit the bill exactly ^^

Unknown said...

I watched hyakko about 2 weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good. I don't why so many people were bashing it.

Anonymous said...

Glad to find others who also enjoyed this anime. I believe people are being a tad harsh towards the series, which is not surprising as Hyakko was forced to compete against Kannagi and Toradora, two most overrated animes aired around the same season. Had Hyakko been aired on a different season, people's reception towards the anime might have been slightly more positive.