I’m back writing again and this time I’ll cover the newest thing to come from GAINAX, Hanamaru Kindergarten! Hanamaru Kindergarten is based off a manga by the same name which was written and illustrated by Yuto and published by Square Enix. The TV director is Seiji Mizushima, who doesn’t seem to have done anything relatively big in his short line of work. Notables are Full Metal Alchemist and Slayers Next(as director). As for why GAINAX decided to pick this up is beyond me. Anyway, the show obviously revolves around kids and misadventures they’ll be having. We learn mostly about Anzu this episode, who is the blond/brunette energetic and adventurous type with a bizarre misconception that she should marry her teacher, Tsuchida, because her mother married her teacher when she was in high school. Two other characters - Hiiragi and Koume - are introduced as well. Hiiragi seems to be the well disciplined and smartest of the bunch while Koume seems to be the very shy and klutzy one. Other notable details learned are that the teacher, Tsuchida, is on his first day of work as a teacher and falls for another teacher at the school, Yamamoto, and that Tsuchida is also friends with the mother of Anzu, who was his senior in high school. The first episode moves pretty quick by setting the scene and the characters. Although at first you might feel weird watching a show about kindergartners, the show is very innocent and doesn’t seem to foray into any disturbing sexual themes like the similar show Kodomo No Jikan. The kids are kids and are very simple and naive like children should be. This on top of the cutesy character designs easily sell to those looking for a light slice-of-life show with adorable characters. The comedy seems a bit dry, but I believe they can go further in the next few episodes by showing us more of the characters and what makes them tick. The characters themselves don’t seem so generic and off-putting that I wouldn’t want to watch the next few episodes. Also, some of the jokes seem painfully old and obvious, but I think if they handle them right it can crack a smile or two from me. Animation and other such art related things seem to be decent for the kind of show we’re watching, it’s just nothing special. All in all, the show has good potential from mega-studio GAINAX and I look forward to the next episode. P.S. If you decide to watch this show, check it on crunchyroll and support the legal streaming and subbing of anime!.
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Episode: Hanamaru Kindergarten Episode 1
