Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
- Anime Title: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun
- Episodes: Season 1 – 12 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Hulu
- Publisher: TBS
My man actually found this. If I recall correctly, he watched a couple of episodes while he was at work one night and decided to suggest for us to watch. And I’m glad he did. We enjoyed this one a lot. And we actually wished there was a second season made.
This anime was set in a school, Kamome Academy, famous for its rumored Seven Wonders and supernatural events. Here we met Nene Yashiro, a first-year high school student obsessed with having a boyfriend. Because of this romance obsession, she summoned the Seventh and most famous of the wonders, Hanako, in hopes that the spirit would grant her a wish regarding her love life. And the adventure began.
There were a couple of characters that I loved of course. Hanako and Kou Minamoto. Hanako was a given. I knew I would enjoy his character off the bat. He was characterized as childish and mischievous. However, that was a mask of how serious the character was. And that was without the character’s background. His main duty was to monitor all supernatural activities in the school and ensure that there was a balance between the supernatural and humans. And he took this duty seriously. Honestly, he was just so fun to watch with his playful character and his weapon of choice – a kitchen knife. He was very secretive about his past life, with reason. And the more we got to know about him, the more I found him so endearing.
Now, Kou Minamoto has the most character development in this. He came from a clan of powerful exorcists and believed that all supernatural beings were evil. And we got introduced to him when he tried to exorcise Hanako. But as he continued to tag along with the Hanako-Nene duo, he realized that not all supernatural beings were evil. We saw him questioning his upbringing and beliefs, especially when he encountered a spirit that he genuinely cared for. He has some heartbreaking scenes that made me cry. The way his character developed through the whole first season was so beautiful to watch.
Not going to lie, I was not a fan of Nene whatsoever. Not that I hate her. I just did not like her boy-obsessed character. But then I guess, some girls do focus on romance and having a boyfriend in their high school years. I mean, I would be hypocritical to say that I did not have a crush on someone back at that age however, I did not actively search for romance either. This girl decided to summon a spirit that could grant her a wish – to have her crush return her feelings. I thought that was a pretty extreme obsession, especially after realizing the consequences of her actions. Sure, she mellowed a bit but I still did not care for her as the anime went on. However, I did enjoy her interactions with Hanako and Kou. And I think their relationship naturally progressed to an actual friendship and genuine caring for each other.
Anyway, the artwork was amazing in this anime. Honestly, when my man sent me the link to the anime, the first I thought was, is he going to make me watch a Lolita anime? What is this? And that was not the case. That was just the art style of the anime/manga. And I loved it. We loved the bold black lines for sure. This anime was just fun and I loved the story. A season two was announced and it should be out mid-2024 or end-2024. It would be a while but we would be patiently waiting.
- Anime Title: High Card
- Episodes: 12 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
- Publisher: TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd.
My boyfriend picked this anime for us to watch. Not that I was not interested in it. I just simply neglected to add it to our watchlist. I am glad that we got to check this one out. We had fun.
What is this about? In the Kingdom of Fouland, there exists a secret 52 deck cards. It’s called “X-playing cards”, which give the users special abilities. Though originally held by the royal family, the cards were stolen and scattered throughout the kingdom. Fast forward to the present day, where we are introduced to Finn, a thief trying to raise funds to save the orphanage he calls home. Finn decides to try his luck at a casino to gain money quickly, where he gets into a squabble and meets people with special abilities. During this encounter, Finn learns how to use the 2 of Spades, the card he has been holding. This leads to his induction into High Card, a group of people assigned by the royal family to recover the 52 playing cards while disguised as salesmen for the Pinochle car company. Of course, High Card is not alone in this quest. There is another group, Klondike mafia family, who wants the cards for nefarious purposes. And the story goes from there.
This anime is definitely action-packed. A lot of cat and mouse chases trying to get a hold of the 52 cards – who will get to this first and all that. It was fun. This season focused a lot more on Finn Oldman and Chris Redgrave – two members of the High Card. Sure, we got to see the other members – Leo, Wendy, Vijay and Bernard – but the season heavily focused on Finn’s and Chris’ background story. Their motivations for joining High Card. Their friendship and all that.
Between Finn and Chris, it was Chris’ story that made the show for me. Not to say that Finn is not a likable character. He is – with his main motivation in doing things and eventually joining High Card to save the orphanage that he grew up in. But Chris to me is a very fleshed-out character. We were only allowed to see the surface of this flirty womanizing character at the beginning. But as the season progressed, we got to see what he was hiding behind that mask of his. Yes, it was a mask. He exhibited this noncommittal persona because ultimately as revealed in the season finale, there was no use in getting attached to anyone. And that in itself made Chris so real to me.
The friendship between Finn and Chris also progressed naturally. Sure, they may not admit it outright but they are buddies. They rely on each other a lot. And the fact of the matter that these two understands each other is something so beautiful to see. Of course, the fujoshi in me wants something more to develop but I mean, that’s just me.
Season two has been approved for this anime, and I am hoping to see more of the other members of High Card. We got some background on Leo and Wendy, but I want to see a bit more. We didn’t really know anything about Vijay aside from his ability. So hopefully these characters and Bernard as well could get a more fleshed-out story in the coming season. I can also do without Sugar Peace. I cannot stand that detective. She can just be nixed in season two. She is aggravatingly annoying because of her decisions. I cannot.
This is a fun anime. It’s pretty fast-paced with action in pretty much every episode. It does have a heart as well, which elevates the plot. The soundtrack is pretty good too. I definitely love the opening and ending songs. My boyfriend did not seem to mind letting me play the opening and ending songs for almost all the episodes.