Here's a character/seiyuu page for the wonderful but neglected show Hitohira. In my opinion, Hitohira is in competition for best show of the spring season. It is cute, funny, and deep, with complex characters and involving drama. The voice-acting is excellent. The lead, Kimoto Orie, is good, and first-line pros Kawasumi Ayako and Yukino Satsuki are outstanding.It is good to hear Miyagawa Miho again. She was Sahara in PetoPeto-san, which was made by the same staff as Hitohira. The "young" seiyuu in this show are not really that young, just relatively unknown. Miyagawa is 30 and Kimoto Orie is 28.
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An excellent episode centred on the relationship between Nono and Mirei, the Drama Club president. Two fine seiyuu really acting: Kawasumi Ayako (Nono) and Yukino Satsuki (Mirei). This is the most I've liked Yukino-san since she played Ai in Planetes. Her crying in this episode is the best I can remember hearing.Once again, this show gives us complexities of relationship and character, and deepening emotions. And subtle feelings of female friendship tinged with yuri. Summary begins after the first set of pictures. Risaki is putting up posters for the Hitohira play, featuring a big picture of Mugi in the lead role. Mugi is freaking out but can't stop her.During rehearsal, Nono is being hard on Mugi, telling her to put more feeling into it. As Mugi and Risaki go on, Katsuragi tries to get Nono to be gentler, but she says it's necessary. When Risaki complains that Nono is talking when she should be watching them rehearse, Nono says Katsuragi was sexually harassing her.Chitose is mooning at a window somewhere, thinking beautiful pink hearts toward Katsuragi. Another Drama Club member tells her she should be practicing, and she says: Yes. You're right. I should go and do something about it, and rushes off to Katsuragi.When she gets to the Drama Study Group's room, she peeks in and sees that Mugi is actually acting pretty well. She knew she had that voice, but now there is something different. So she realizes she had better practice herself. Risaki, the Drama Club president, is coming to find her, but when Chitose sees her, she gets down on the ground and apologizes profusely and says she will get back to work. Risaki is embarrassed and her anger defused. Nono is waiting in the school doorway for the rain to stop and remembers the day she brought her resignation from the Drama Club to this door, wanting to apologize to Mirei for leaving the Club, but feeling she had to keep acting, which Mirei wouldn't let her do. Katsuragi offers her his umbrella, with the intention of sharing it. She says it would be a bother and rushes off into the rain, saying the rain feels good. Katsuragi complains to himself that she's inhuman. Mirei comes up and says Nono is just unreasonable and does her own thing, that he should give up on her. Katsuragi says: "So should you." This takes her aback. "What do you mean?" she says. He gives a non-answer and rushes out into the rain, leaving her his umbrella.The next day, Mirei and the Drama Club are getting ready for the festival. They are missing a raincape costume. Meanwhile, Nono is lamenting that the Drama Study Group doesn't have one. But Risaki produces one, which she has kept from the Drama Club days (I think). Risaki goes the her Club's storeroom to look for it. She has trouble opening the door until she realizes she hasn't urned the key. Once inside the storeroom, she realizes someone else is there. And she realizes it's Nono.Risaki tells Nono that her obsession with continuing to act is not going to work, that they won't succeed with their play. Nono says they will. The two get into a little fight with rolled up posters as swords. Mirei falls over and pulls Nono down on top of her in one of the nicest little romantic pile-ups I can remember: quick, with a brief flush when they realize how close they are to each other. They decide to leave, but neither can get the door open. they realize that no-one is going to come to the storeroom soon and let them out. Mirei shouts, saying she's an actress and should be able to rouse someone. Aren't you embarrassed? asks Nono. Mirei says that an actor doesn't get embarrassed. Nono decides to shout, too. Mirei is worried that it might hurt her voice, and softens to her real feeling of concern for Nono, with her hands on Nono's shoulders. Then Nono really does lose her voice. She writes that on a pad of paper to tell Mirei.Meanwhile, Mugi wonders why it's taking Nono so long just to return the cape and goes to the Drama Club room to find her. She imagines Nono and Mirei having a knock-down, drag-out fight. She finds out where they are and rushes off.Back in the storeroom, Mirei is crying over Nono losing her voice. Nono writes: It's nothing for you to cry over, is it? Stop fooling around! shouts Mirei. Why do you you have to act? she weeps. Nono remembers how lonely she was and how Mirei got her into acting and gave her this wonderful world, saying how much fun it was to become a self that is not yourself. She remembers Mirei holding her hands to calm her, as she held Mugi's hands. There's a nice, somewhat suggestive shot of their bags on top of one another while they are working through a script. Then we see Nono about to quit out of a feeling of inability, exactly the way Mugi was about to quit, and Mirei saying: Okay, quit, and go back to your lonely world. On a cold day after rehearsal, Nono felt her throat and Mirei thought she had a cold and they walked home together sharing Mirei's scarf. She remembers Mirei unzipping her costume to measure her for altering it. Then she remembers the day she told Mirei she might lose her voice. Mirei felt it was her fault for inviting Nono into the Drama Club. She said Nono should stop and look after herself, but Nono refused. Mirei made it an order, as Club president. In the present, Mirei says she did it because she was worried for Nono, but Nono then left her. The Goddess of Spring costume from episode one is sitting there in the storeroom beside them.They remember the day Nono brought her letter of resignation from the Club. Mirei was shocked and unhappy, but said Nono had to rest and could come back when she was better. Nono said she wasn't going to come back, that her high-school life was half over and she wasn't going to wait, she was going to do it herself.Back in the storeroom, Mirei is crying and saying: What's wrong with me being concerned for you? Do you hate me that much? She laughs bitterly that Nono isn't that good at making friends. Nono writes that she has a friend. Mirei thinks she means Katsuragi. Nono writes that it's Mirei. Mirei cries. Nono wipes away her tears. They embrace.Mugi comes up outside and sees them embracing and hides. She thinks how hard everything must have been for them, being friends, and loving one another ("love" doesn't imply anything except close friendship). Then she sneezes and they hear her and Mirei calls for her to let them out quickly and get someone to help Nono because she's lost her voice.The next day, Nono's voice is fine. Mirei gets mad at her and they rush off. Katsuragi says that's how they always were. At the end, Nono says to herself that she still has a lot of uncertainties, but for Nono's sake and for her own sake, she is going to keep working hard toward the play.
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Perhaps the pace slows a bit this week, but the character development goes on, and we get deeper into the reality of the characters' being. Mugi's return to the cabin was not enough. Nono needs to know if Mugi really wants to be an actress. And we see that Katsuragi has some unsuspected feelings, and Kai some feelings we already knew about.The animation and design of this show seem simple, but the positions and movements of the characters really work. Mugi sitting on the sand, for instance, has an awkwardness that somehow makes her fresh and real.Summary begins after the first set of screencaps. In the aftermath of the evening's upsets, the group is sitting eating breakfast. Katsuragi asks Nono if she has anything to say. "No," she says. He excuses himself and goes off into the woods to shout and punch some trees. Then he comes back and asks again. "I already told you," replies Nono, who then turns and says it is up to Mugi: does she want to continue acting, or to quit and be the Mugi who can't do anything? Risaki throws her salad in Nono's face and storms off, saying that practice is impossible. Mugi apologizes to Nono, saying that it's her fault. Nono goes into the cabin, saying to everyone that practice times are unchanged, don't be late.Risaki builds a sand castle which the waves undermine. Katsuragi says she built it too close to the water. She says it's like human relations: if you aren't hard, you will surely cry. Mugi is off by the rocks trying to look at her script. Nono starts the practice right on time -- but all alone. She remembers when the club started, with Risaki, Katsuragi and Mirei (the present Drama Club head), and wishes that simple, optimistic time could have continued forever. Mirei seems to appear to her from the mirror, and she says to the image that she, with her talent, doesn't understand Nono at all. Then she throws herself on the floor, longing for Mirei. Kai can't help thinking of how warm Mugi's hand was the night before.... Mugi, sitting alone on the shore, wonders why Nono invited her into the club. It was the voice, she remembers, the voice she didn't know she had. And the fact that the club needed members to survive. Back at the cabin, Nono continues to practice alone. She is frustrated and thinks of Mirei telling her that together they can do things they couldn't do on their own. And she thinks of what Mirei taught her, and what she herself is teaching Mugi: But she is different from me, and I am different from you.Katsuragi looks at a shell and thinks it would be good if Nono were the kind of person that could be cheered up just by being given a shell. Risaki stands up and says: Let's go back. Mugi thinks: What if I did quit? It has been a mistake from the beginning. Then she thinks of Nono saying what a good thing it was she had joined. Then of Nono saying that although she was different from Mugi, she wasn't really cut out for acting at first, but that someone reached a hand out to her, and she learned, and how happy that made her. Mugi stands up, realizing that she has been a fool and has wounded Nono's feelings.Mugi rushes back to the cabin and comes in to apologize. Nono stands up and asks her if she's ready to go home. Mugi says she doesn't know, and goes on to apologize for saying terrible things to Nono. Nono apologizes in return. Mugi is hemming and hawing and Nono says: Have you decided you want to act? Mugi replies that although she doesn't have the confidence.... Nono says: If you believe you can change, then you can. Mugi composes herself and says: Yes. Mugi asks Nono if she loves acting. Nono replies that she thinks it is everything to her. Mugi: Can I change, to be like you? Nono nods. They begin practice. Risaki, Kai, and Katsuragi are amazed, peeking in from outside. Risaki wonders how Mugi could come back, after the horrible things Mugi said. Katsuragi says that she sees Nono can show her a new world, of confidence in herself. They are arguing outside and Nono comes to the window to tell them to be quiet and come in to practice, like Mugi. Risaki leads them in through the window. As Nono concentrates on Mugi, who is still very hesitant in the way she delivers her lines, she orders the others to memorize their entire scripts.Later, in the bath, Mugi comments that she didn't realize there was an outdoor bath. She then very haltingly asks Nono if she would like her to wash her back. As she is doing it, she thinks how beautiful Nono's back is. Risaki pokes her head in to say that she will do Mugi's.Mugi and Kai are outside looking at the stars. Mugi says how pretty the Milky Way is. She says she's happy she came back, and thanks Kai for helping her. Katsuragi thinks how great it is for Kai, and looks at the shell he picked up earlier, and glances at Nono. Risaki shows up with fireworks and when Nono says she's not interested, grabs her, pours a drink down her throat and starts the festivities. Nono, drunk, chases Risaki and Katsuragi around with a Roman candle. Mugi and Kai light senko hanabi (like sparklers) together. Nono returns and collapses on Mugi's lap.Back at school, Chitose is yearning for Katsuragi's return. She spies Mugi and Kai and rushes down to them. Kayo takes a picture of Mugi and Kai and says Mugi looks different. She says with a meaningful tone: Did anything happen on the trip? Both Mugi and Kai deny it, and Kayo asks why Kai is getting upset. She puts two and two together: Ah! Did you two...?Chitose comes up and asks if Katsuragi said anything about her on the trip. Mugi hesitates, then says he said she was cute . Chitose is overjoyed. Mugi thinks: "I lied. What should I do?" At the end, Mugi's voiceover says: "School life hadn't changed, but I felt more solid."
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The best episode yet. I only get this full, emotional feeling in my chest from the best shows: Simoun, NANA, Bokura ga Ita. If this keeps on, Hitohira may be on its way to joining them at the top of the list.Great direction, pacing, and use of music, sounds and silence. And fine voice acting, not only from Kawasumi Ayako (Nono) and Kimoto Orie (Mugi), but from everyone. Katsuragi (Narita Ken) was great in this episode. And the unique, somewhat harsh tones of Risaki (Hikami Kyouko, who played Rabi-en-Rose in Di Gi Charat, and Momoko in Wedding Peach) showed their worth.And one of the subtlest, sweetest anime confessions yet. Summary begins after the first set of pictures.The Drama Study Group is on its way to a sleepover and practice session at the seaside. Chitose longs to join them, imagining fun in the sun with Katsuragi-sempai. But Drama Club president Sakaki-san is there to drag her away to a hot practice on the school roof.At the seaside, it's all work and no play. Nono has the troops lined up practicing enunciation. Back home, Mugi's friend Kayo is enjoying her photography and thinking encouraging thoughts toward Mugi. Meanwhile at the beach, Mugi is enjoying working with the group to make a meal of curry. Nono breaks the mood by saying that they will meet for practice after dinner. Mugi thought the seaside would be more fun.Chitose drags herself through the school halls after practice, and Sakaki upbraids her, saying she can't appear on stage like that. Then Sakaki surprisingly tells Chitose she is to have a major role in their play, as Sakaki's sister, and she should not betray Sakjaki's hopes for her. Chitose brightens up.At the beach, Nono is putting her club through its paces. She has them hold their breath under water, to improve their lung capacity. Katsuragi says this is hard after eating curry. Risaki says it's no fun. Nono tells them not to complain, and to do it again. Risaki asks why Nono isn't doing it, and suggests it's because she's scared of the water. Nono immediately plunges in and swims strongly into the distance. Katsuragi tells Kai and Mugi: never get her mad.Back in town, as evening falls, Kayo is looking through her photos, especially enjoying one of Mugi. And Chitose is thinking of the seaside, but has been reading through her script.After dinner at the seaside, Nono asks the club if they liked the script she wrote, which is called "Hitohira." They all liked it. It is about a high school girl who is so depressed by her troubles that she even tries to commit suicide. But three fairies appear to her. She tries to drive them away, but they enable her to revive a love she had given up on. On the day she achieves her happiness, they disappear. She says to them: Thank you. If not for you, I would never.... Mugi is moved by the story, and imagines how well Nono will play the lead.Then Nono tells her that she, Mugi, will be playing the lead, that she wrote the part for her, and that the other characters were written to suit the other members of the club: she and Risaki and Katsuragi are the fairies, and Kai is the lover. Katsuragi thinks: Nono has very few lines. Is she worried about her condition?Mugi says she can't do it. Nono says not to give up before she begins. Mugi seeks the support of the others. Risaki says that although she agrees she doesn't have enough experience, if Nono has made the part for her, she should be able to play it. Kai says that when the fairies are flying all around her, the character is just like Mugi. Risaki says all she has to do is memorize the script. Nono says that it wouldn't matter which part she played, it would be the same. Mugi thinks: But I don't want to be an actor.They are reading through the script, and Mugi's line is to the effect that she can't do something. She says it quietly and haltingly, but Risaki says how well she said it, just as if it were real. Nono says she should just speak louder.Katsuragi asks Nono to step outside. K: It's nice and cool out here. N: I know what you're going to say, so make it brief. K: I was going to ask you for a date. N: We don't have time to kid around. K: This is too much for Mugi. She'll break under the pressure. N: She can do it. I've decided. K: Okay, I'll help. But don't push her too hard. N: I won't.They continue to practice. There is a bottle of cold mugi-cha (barley tea) on the table. Risaki goes through her lines mechanically and Nono gets angry and tells her to do it again with some feeling. Risaki says it's late and they should rest. Mugi says not until midnight.Nono tells Mugi to read her lines again, in a louder voice. Nono: Don't make me say it again. I chose this out-of-the-way place for your sake, so you wouldn't be embarrassed. Mugi thinks: She's so harsh. What am I doing here? Katsuragi encourages her and says she has a great voice. Mugi: But what if I can't get it out when I'm on stage? Nono: That's why we're practicing. Maybe I'm being harsh, but try harder.Mugi: I can try and try, but if I can't do it I can't do it. She says Nono can do anything and can't understand Mugi's feelings. "Can do anything?" says Nono. You don't know anything about me if you can say something like that. Mugi: I understand you. You are strong enough to start a club. You can write a script. When people who can do anything tell me to try harder....Nono stands up angrily and throws her script on the floor: If you think like that you'll never be able to do anything. Okay, just quit drama. You can go home and be Asai Mugi, who can't do anything. Mugi accepts and thanks her formally for everything up to then and runs out. Risaki sends Kai after her.Risaki says to Nono: What are you doing sending her out there in the dark? She'll get lost. Nono: She chose to go herself. It's her own weakness that's to blame. Risaki punches her to the floor. Katsuragi tells Risaki she gets angry too easily. Nono, from the floor, trips Risaki down and then they start fighting.Out on the beach, Mugi is running, falls and hurts herself, cries, throws her script into the surf.In the cabin, Risaki asks Nono what she thinks she's doing. Nono says that Mugi has to play that role. Risaki says: For whose sake? You're putting your own wishes on her and causing her a lot of trouble. This gives Nono pause. Risaki knocks her out, but as Nono is falling, her leg flies up and knocks Risaki out. Double knockout, says Katsuragi.Kai finds Mugi and picks up her script. K: Let's go back. M: I can't. There's no place there for me. It's like Nono said. I can't do anything. I just get led into things. That's not so easy to change. Kai: I'm here. Mugi: It doesn't have anything to do with you. K: I can't let you go home alone. And anyway, don't say it has nothing to do with me. (That's the confession.)Mugi: What am I doing here? Kai: Look up (at the stars). You can't see that from the city. Maybe that's why you're here.Kai and Mugi return, Kai holding Mugi's hand. Katsuragi is waiting. He thanks Kai and welcomes Mugi back. Mugi apologizes for causing them worry. Katsuragi apologizes for not being able to support her better. Then he notices their hands and things: Ah, youth.Back in the room, they are shocked to see the two women laid out. Kai: What's going on? Katsuragi: In early times, women were tough. Then they set to work tidying up around the fallen bodies. They turn out the lights. Nono awakens enough to hear Mugi's voice. She thinks of what Risaki said: For whose sake? Then goes back to sleep.
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Episode 4 didn't thrill me as much as the others, but it shows us that this is not a simple, predictable show. The characterizations begin to broaden. Nono is not just the sweet sempai eager to help Mugi. And one time on stage does not make Mugi an actress.Sorry I'm late with this post. Real life intervened. Full summary after the first set of pics.Mugi got 42 on her Japanese test. She tries to hide the test from Kai, but he shows her that he got a low mark, too. They feel a bond and shake hands. But Mugi is actually pretty good in Japanese. She just wrote all the answers down wrong.Chitose comes in to return a notebook to Mugi and loans her a book on acting she read a long time ago. Mugi says she is skipping drama practice. Everyone is shocked except Kayo, who says that's what Mugi's like. Chitose says Mugi has gone bad. Mugi imagines herself as a biker chick saying she won't go to club because it's boring.Kai says Nono will kill her. Mugi says she knows, and they smile together about skipping practice. The older three club members come in. Katsuragi says they seem to be in love. Nono congratulates them and says she hadn't noticed. Risaki tells her brother he moved unexpectedly fast.Chitose says good morning to Katsuragi. He says it's afternoon. Kai tells his sister they're not lovers, and anyway she shouldn't just barge into someone else's classroom.Risaki grabs Kai to drag him off the practice. Mugi pretends to have a fever and says she thinks she might be getting sick. Nono gets very close to her and tenderly holds her chin and offers to take her to the clinic. Mugi says it's not that bad. Nono says such half-hearted acting wouldn't fool anyone, and drags her off to practice.They run. They do speaking practice while the exhausted Mugi rests. Mugi thinks how amazing Nono is, despite her normal appearance. She suddenly found out she was losing her voice, but can still be as strong as this. They practice ad-libbing a role, for when they might forget the script. Mugi is very hesitant in her part of a waitress, but Nono says it's very apt, like an overseas student from Asia. Mugi tries to run away. The others go after her, but Nono praises the roile: "Very interesting. A waitress who runs away."After they catch her and finish practice, Mugi is exhausted again. The head of the Drama Club, Sakaki Mirei (played by Yukino Satsuki) comes by and greets her pleasantly. Then Nono is there, saying coldly: "If you try anything with one of our kids, I'll kill you." "I was just saying a few words." ""You're shameless, spying on our rehearsal like this." "Shameless? Don't be ridiculous. You were practicing in the open courtyard." Mugi tries to sneak away while they're arguing, but Nono catches her and tells the head of the Drama Club that Mugi has the ability to get into the top 50 in the class. Mugi, not being much of a student, is incredulous, but Nono says they have to beat the Drama Club in every way. When Mugi talks back to Nono, Katsuragi comments that she is really growing up. Then Nono says they all have to get into the top 50.We next see the club studying history together by doing dramatic readings from the textbook. Nono says it will help them remember. Mugi says it's a bit embarrassing. Kai says it will bother the neighbors. Katsuragi says they all have to obey their president, Nono. Risaki calls him an idiot, and we soon see why. Nono praises his attitude, then orders him to strengthen his stomach muscles by stooping against the wall while he drinks his tea. When he objects slightly, she repeats what he said: that her words are absolute. When Mugi says how impressed she is, Nono gets Risaki to do it, too.Mugi asks something she has wondered: why do you hate the Drama Club so much? Kai is coming in and tries to get away. Mugi apologizes for asking something strange. Risaki says they were all originally members of the Drama Club. Kai complains that Risaki dragged him in without telling him. She apologizes, saying she didn't know how to explain. Nono says it was really she herself deciding whether to go on acting. Katsuragi says they admired Nono and wanted to help her continue. Non says it isn't exactly hatred. She knows Sakaki-san (the Drama Club president) is right, but it's a matter of her decisions about her own life.Walking home from Risaki/Kai's house, Nono asks Katsuragi to escort Mugi. She says her own route home is well-lit all the way, so she'll be all right. She runs off, telling Katsuragi not to become a wolf. Mugi realizes she's alone with Katsuragi, and thinks of Chitose will kill her. Katsuragi asks what's wrong, and she says her heart is fluttering. He says she's been working hard. She asks: have I? He says the whole club can attest to it. That makes her feel good: she has been doing her best. She is determined to do even more.Mugi says Nono is really something. Katsuragi says she wasn't always like that. She didn't even like acting. Mugi asks who was the "important person" who got her into it. It was the Drama Club president, Sakaki Mirei. But she opposed Nono acting after her throat problem, and Katsuragi and Misaki supported her.At home, Mugi is studying hard, despite being so tired. She picks up the book on acting that Chitose loaned her and reads: The stage is a place of dreams. Meanwhile, Nono is in a park practicing, with her strained voice. Mugi thinks how great Nono is.It's the day when results are posted, and Sakaki says that the Drama Club will get their club fees if they all don't get in the top 50 in their year. Risaki says with a smile that it's impossible for her. Nono is 6th. Mugi says how smart she is. Kai says that smart people are all weird.Sakaki comes 2oth. She says to Nono that's good, and that it has nothing to do with the bet anyway. Katsuragi comes 25th, which surprises him and delights Chitose. Risaki thinks about what's possible and impossible, and that what's impossible can't be made possible. She blandly makes her way to the front and grabs the results list and tosses it to Kai and rushes away.Nono goes after them, with glowing red eyes like a monster. "If you don't come out, I'll kill you." "She'll kill me if I do," thinks Risaki. Nono comes into the classroom where Risaki is hiding and calls out loudly, then her voice breaks as if in pain. Risaki rushes out to help Nono, but Nono grabs her and says: Gotcha.Chitose and Katsuragi hear Risaki scream. Katsuragi says nothing can stop an angry Nono and burns incense to Risaki's spirit. Mugi and Sakaki are sitting waiting. Sakaki says the idea of them all getting in the top 30 was ridiculous. She wonders of Nono is stubborn or stupid. Mugi tries to ask if Sakaki and Nono can't be friends, but Nono shows up with Risaki, still looking for Kai.Later, in the club room, Nono says that during the summer they will go off and stay together for intensive training. They can't just do a second-rate job because it's a student performance. And Nono will train Mugi all summer. Will Mugi work hard? Risaki and Katsuragi say that personal taining with Nono is hell, and they don't know if Mugi will survive. Mugi faints. Then we see Nono in a doctor's office, hearing that her throat condition has worsened.
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At the end of this episode, I found tears in my eyes. Not from sadness, but from sympathy with the characters. For me, the show continues to do everything I want.The characters makes sense, even if Mugi's voiceless shy moments are a bit dramatized. The character design communicates gentle shades of meaning. The same hands that created PetoPeto-san seem evident in the sympathetic way the characters are treated. As well as in the fact that it is an insecure young girl who is the protagonist. And the relationships are building: Nono's sempai warmth toward Mugi, and interesting little hints of development between Chitose and Katsuragi. And Risaki becomes a more and more sympathetic person.Episode summary below:Mugi is on the roof, worried about the coming performance. Meanwhile, Katsuragi is outlining the schedule for the day to the older members of the Drama Study Group. Where are the two new members? asks Nono. Kai comes in and says Mugi was so worked up all day she seemed about to cry. His sister Risaki sends him off to find her. He hears Kayo in the girls' washroom trying to convince Mugi to come out of the cubicle where she has shut herself up. Mugi feels she can't possibly get on stage. The older members of the group see Kai outside the door and the two girls go in. Nono conjures up a dramatic scene of Mugi leaving the cubicle at night and coming out into the dark, empty hall, where she hears a sound of knocking.... She is so dramatic that she scares Mugi into coming out.The group is having little success handing out posters for their show. Risaki gets Kai to do gymnastics that attract attention. Katsuragi does verbal tricks that don't interest anyone... except Chitose, who is already infatuated with him. The Drama Club president comes around and is offensive about Mugi. Nono says that Mugi's talent is the real thing. Mugi doesn't believe it.Chitose is in the Drama Club room making a doll of Katsuragi. She imagines giving it to Katsuragi for good luck, and him expressing feelings for her. She hides the doll when Drama Cub members come into the room. The president asks her why she was hanging around the Drama Study Group's rehearsals. Chitose says she thought they were trying hard. The president leaves and tells them all to go home. The other members tell Chitose she's too honest. They talk about how harsh the pres is and how it's because of Nono. One tells the other a rumor. And then she tells Chitose. The president is outside the door, listening in.At the dress rehearsal, Mugi is learning so much that's new to her that she can't process it: where to stand, what to call her right hand in actors' lingo, the special term for a first time on stage. She can't get out even her few words of script. Nono puts her hands on Mugi's shoulders to calm her.Chitose bursts in and asks Nono, in a loud voice, if it's true that she has paralysis of the vocal cords. Risaki gets angry and says Chitose must be part of a Drama Club plot to ruin their performance. Chitose goes on: But if your voice is ruined, how will you be able to act? Katsuragi puts his hands on Chitose's shoulders and says: That's enough. But Nono says: Everything you say is true, but don't make a fuss. My voice is okay now. The drama club pres comes in and says to Chitose: Didn't I tell you to go home? Nono asks Mugi if she'd like her help. Mugi notices that Nono's hand on her shoulder is trembling.At the performance, Chitose sneaks in and sits beside Kayo. She thinks the club pres won't be there, but she arrives. The performance begins with a strong speech by Nono. Offstage, she tells Mugi not to worry. She goes on to say that her voice just disappeared the previous fall. The doctors cured it then, but couldn't assure her it would be all right in the future. An "important friend" -- the former club president -- gave her the support to carry on, by telling her not to feel sorry for herself, that she could act with her facial expressions, too, and that she would just be a problem for the group if she didn't snap out of it. And she taught Nono a lot about acting. Nono went from being half-hearted about the stage to learning to love acting. It made her very happy.All of a sudden it's time for Mugi's entrance. She had forgotten about it. She gets really nervous, but Nono says she has a method that helps calm nervousness: clasping each other's hands and closing their eyes. It seems to work. Nono mentions the incident when she first heard Mugi's voice shouting out her joy at having been accepted to the school. She says it gave her a thrill, that Mugi has a voice no-one can match. She should summon up her self-confidence, because Nono is with her.Mugi goes on stage and, after painful seconds of fear, and with her friends' encouragement and some quick-witted prompting from Risaki, booms out her first lines in that big voice. Then she descends into a quiet but just about audible voice for the rest.Mugi's friends cheer her. Chitose worries that the Drama Club president heard her cheer, but sees she is gone. Outside the theatre, the pres says: Enjoy the moment Nono, it may be your last time on stage.They celebrate after the show. Nono tells Mugi that she worked very hard and did a great job. Mugi is blushingly pleased. She tries to thank everyone...and falls as if fainting, but doesn't faint this time. She spills a drink on her skirt and gets all nervous again, but Chitose and then Risaki start to tickle her, which sweeps the nervousness away. At the end, Mugi's voiceover says that it went well this time, but what will happen from now on?
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Opening Sequence: OP: 「Yume, Hitohira」 by Asami Yuuko
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Episode 2 wasn't as dramatic as episode 1, but it still really wove its spell for me. There are a lot of very likeable people here, and a plot that is developing in interesting ways.Mugi (Kimoto Orie) and Nono (Kawasumi Ayako) are at opposite ends of the professionalism spectrum, but they both move me. And I'm beginning to be able to stand Risaki, who was the one downer of episode 1 for me. Some of the background music turns me off, but the OP and ED are both just stellar.I'll interweave two contact sheets of images with a detailed summary of the plot, for those who can't understand what they're saying. I'm sorry I don't have time to pick the images more carefully.Mugi dreams of being on stage and wakes up with the after-lunch bell in the storage room by the costume she loved in ep1. In class, she tells Kayo she didn't sleep at all the night before, from being bullied to enter the drama study club. Kayo tells her it's a good chance to improve herself.Kai tells her they have their first practice. He apologizes for his sister, but Mugi says it's okay, she can't be on stage, but she'll do backstage work. He says to call him "Kai" instead of his last name Nishida, to be different from his sister. They look for the club room and it turns out to be tiny. Then they find out that their entering the club has made it possible for the club to survive, that there are only five members in total, and that in October they and the other drama club -- the "Drama Club" engekibu, rather than their "Drama Study Group" engeki kenkyuukai -- will present plays and the best play will decide which of the two clubs survives.Kai's sister Risaki punches him for putting down the club, but Katsuragi, the guy in glasses, says that Nono can handle her, that she beat up the whole judo club the year before when they damaged some stuff. Then Mugi discovers that there are so few people that she can't just do backstage work, and she faints. "Funny girl," says Nono.On the way to school, Mugi falls in the rain. The blonde girl, Kanna Chitose, helps her. She asks if Mugi is hurt, and Mugi says no, embarrassed. Chitose finds this hard to understand. She loans her a gym outfit while her uniform is drying in Chitose's locker. Katsuragi sees them coming out of the...Drama Club room, which is where Chitose's locker is. In class, the teacher calls Mugi "Kanna" all day, because of the name on the gym outfit.After class, the Drama Study Group is there to intercept Mugi and Chitose on their way into the Drama Club room, to ask what's going on. They think Mugi may be abandoning them. The Drama Club president and her troops come by and sympathize with poor Mugi for joining the "fake" club. Nono says Mugi didn't want to join the Drama Club because she hates acting. In the pause, Risaki smacks the the drama club prez's hand away from Mugi. When the prez questions her, she says there was a fly on it, and the prez drily thanks her. Risaki says "it was a stink bug" and grabs Mugi and runs down the hall with her. She apologizes to Mugi for mistaking her intentions when it was just that she got her uniform wet, but Mugi says that it's okay, and that she probably doesn't intend to quit the club.Up on the school roof after school, the club members are preparing costumes and props. Mugi and Chitose are sewing. Chitose is there even though she isn't a member of the club. She's infatuated with Katsuragi. Nono forces Mugi into an informal practice, and Mugi's voice is tiny. Chitose is surprised, but Kayo (Mugi's photographer friend) tells her Mugi's always like that when she's nervous.Chitose says she has a solution. She rushes over and orders Kai to hold Mugi, and she tickles her. Nono stops Risaki from interfering and notes that laughter is a good way to relax. After the tickling, Mugi angrily shouts at Chitose in the huge voice we only heard once before, at the notice boards. As she's walking away, Chitose says to herself: that voice really surprised me. She's a funny girl, Asai Mugi.Nono says what a voice it was, and touches her own throat. The other members are concerned (you'll learn why later), but Nono says it's all right, let's get her on stage as soon as possible. The prez of the Drama Club (?) is watching from the window and says: "fool" (I think about Chitose helping the rivals).
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Hitohira has been out for quite a while, but I finally had a chance to check it out. Raw style! I will tell you right now: If you like highlights (like the hair ones), you will need to watch this anime!
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I had these three on my anticipated list and decided to watch the raws because I want to get a feel for the new anime without all those pesky colored words getting in the way. At least for these first episodes. I’ll also try to post my reactions to other anime that are premiering that [...]
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Japanese Title: ひとひら Genres: Romance, Shoujo(?), Slice of Life OP: “Yume, Hitohira” by Yuuko Asami ED: “Smile” by Mai Mizuhashi Producers: GENCO, XEBEC M2 Official Site: http://www.hitohira.tv/ Probability of watching this: High Probability of blogging this: Low Rating: 8.2/10 Opening Sequence: [Yume, Hitohira] by Yuuko Asami Download TV size mp3 – 1.37mb: Mirror 1 Impressions: Not a bad episode, and not a bad start to the new season [...]
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It's probably not to everyone's taste, but I just loved the first episode of Hitohira. It's always dangerous to make comparisons, but in its gentleness, sensitivity and warm atmosphere, it reminded me of Asatte no Houkou. There was also something of Maria-sama ga Miteru about it, and not just in the conservative school uniforms.The basic story is of an insecure high-school freshman whose voice completely goes away when she is nervous, and how she becomes a member of a drama club. I see hints of a school-level Glass Mask. I'll summarize the story in pop-up captions you can see by passing your mouse over the pictures, and continue my comments between the rows of pics. (click pictures to enlarge) This show is made by the same staff that made PetoPeto-san, and their delicacy of feeling shows. They treat another insecure young lead with great sympathy. The voice-acting is generally wonderful. Kawasumi Ayako as the impassive but friendly senior Nono is totally captivating. And Kimoto Orie as the protagonist Mugi drips out her hesitant syllables in a way that draws you right in. Mugi's friend Kayo is played by Miyagawa Miho, who played the very popular character Sahara in PetoPeto-san. She does a good job as the close friend who sometimes seems a bit impatient with Mugi and is always trying to push her to be more assertive. The tenderest moments in the piece are between Nono and Mugi. The understated feelings really work. The silences and hesitations in these scenes are great directorial work, in my opinion. Of course, Kawasumi Ayako makes it all easier by being completely godly here. The series director is Nishimori Akira, who did PetoPeto-san, and he directed and storyboarded the first episode, too. The blonde freshman Chitose, who loves watching plays, is well voiced by newcomer Yabusaki Emi, who had a couple of bit parts in PetoPeto-san. Narita Ken's voice stands out as the drama research club member Takashi. He played Kazuya in Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora, and Jeremiah in Code Geass. Mugi's friend Kai, an insecure scalliwag, is played by Kishio Daisuke, who was Samatarou in Kamisama Kazoku and the elegant Yunoki in Corda D'Oro. Although I don't like some of the scenes he is in -- interplay with the tsuntsun member of the drama research club -- he does a good job with the voice.The music in the show works extremely well at reinforcing the emotion without making it melodramatic. The OP and ED are marvelous, to my ear. I just love the very skillful and musical voices of Asami Yuuko (OP) and Mizuhashi Mai (ED). Left above is the face-touching scene from the manga. To my eye, the animation director, Motohashi Hideyuki, and the character designers, Yamanaka Junko and Sudo Masatomo, have done a great job preserving the feeling of the manga in a clean, colorful anime look. At right is the entire page from the manga, which is by Kirihara Izumi. On the left are the seiyuus for the three main freshman girls -- (l-r) Miyagawa Miho (Kayo), Kimoto Orie (Mugi), Yabusaki Emi (Chitose) -- just before going on stage for a live event at the Tokyo International Anime Fair on Sunday. At right is Kimoto Orie at the Fair, beside a poster of Mugi. Looks pleased as Punch, doesn't she? This is her second starring role. She was Cure Egret in Pretty Cure Splash Star. She says she went on Saturday just to see the Fair, but ended up signing autographs by her poster. Both pictures are from Kimoto Orie's blog.This first episode got the show off to a great start, for me. But that was true of PetoPeto-san, too. While I did like that show, the plot did seem to wander off in the second half of the series. Hopefully the fact that this is based on a manga will help it stay on the rails. The lead writer is Sasano Megumi, who did the same job on PetoPeto-san. The manga is published in Comic High, which is a seinen magazine (mainly aimed at young men).A show that is a combination of PetoPeto-san, Marimite, and Glass Mask? You could do a lot worse than that.
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