Hinamatsuri – 05 [Three Heads Are Better Than One]

At this point, I’m done delving on what the main thread of Hinamatsuri is. What appeared at first as the buddy/parental relationship between a yakuza and a psychic girl has evolved into something else, with Hitomi and Anzu slowly taking a central stage. This episode 5 in particular, they follow up on what I feel their weakest sketch (the plot A) with their most hilarious segment I’ve seen this year, bar none. The main reasons why the plot A doesn’t work for me mostly because it confirms many issues that I felt last week: Anzu and Hitomi keep overshadow Hina, there’s little wacky Hinamatsuri-signature sense, and Nitta and Hina relationship rubs me the wrong way for the first time (money can’t buy everything, mate). There are still two main takeaways from this first half, however. First, it has a sad undertone that the main reason Anzu does all this is because she wants to buy a video game to play with Hina and second, Hitomi and Hina help the blonde kid in their own ways, both end up with some mishaps that turn their plans upside down) or in Hina’s case, she makes one up as she goes). That’s the “friendship” that Anzu always looks for but hasn’t realized yet, and the rewards end up being not the money they earned but the efforts they spend to help her.

But my dissatisfaction for the first half is quickly replaced the magnificent of this little investigations from Hitomi’s friends. I suspect the main ingredients for its success are the expanded cast, with each of the new character more than light up the screen and I don’t remember falling for a new character (Aizawa) as quickly as this 10 minutes. She has her manipulating side, and God she’s clearly enjoying messing with Hitomi just to see her “adorable” reactions. The animation does a good job to animate Hitomi’s excessive movements here (is it just me who think that there’s some yuri affection from Aizawa to Hitomi? If so, I’d welcome it). She skeds the fine line between enjoying manipulating her and care for her own good at the same time. Likewise, the two boys walk the fine line between innocent-as-kid (the way they imagine the affair, with the caption: I can’t fantasize anymore or they still behave like kids playing detective) and their affection to Hitomi. Hina plays her role well here is a clueless mascot who most of the time doesn’t get what is going on. This is the situation-based comedy as its most inspiring as the misunderstandings just keep building up slowly and Hitomi behaves just like a wet cat get herself caught in the kitchen’s corner – she’s an adorable kitty, I swear. Look, I don’t even care anymore if this show slowly becomes Hitomimatsuri but I still hope there’s more supernatural wackiness along the way.