After producing many action/mecha/horror series like Gurren Lagann and Shikabane Hime, I was surprised that GAINAX was releasing a cute, light, slice-of-life series like Hanamaru Kindergarten. Two episodes into Hanamaru, and it got me thinking that this is a show with a wide range of appeal despite any initial impressions…
Hanamaru Kindergarten is a show for everyone, not just anime fans. First of all, little kids can like it since the main characters themselves are little kids engaging in the kinds of things children can relate to, and it doesn’t have any disturbing themes like violence or perversity. However, it also has enough adult characters for adults to relate to. Throw in some subtle adult humor, such as Anzu telling everyone that Tsuchida-sensei was making passes at her, and older people can enjoy it as well.
Of course, it has traits for viewers who are already anime fans, mainly slice-of-life cuteness and comedy. And, as digitalboy pointed out, GAINAX has been throwing in some extra treats for the fans, such as changing the ending song over the course of two episodes, one of them being an adorable tribute to GAINAX’s history with sci-fi/mecha that shows the characters in a spin-off mecha scenario.
There are a couple of things that I feel make Hanamaru Kindergarten more universally appealing than other slice-of-life comedies like Azumanga Daioh, Ichigo Mashimaro, and Lucky Star. First of all, as I mentioned above, the number of children characters and adult characters in Hanamaru is pretty balanced, while in the others, the majority of characters are in one age group. Another thing is that a lot of the humor depends on the viewers’ knowledge of certain aspects of Japanese culture. I’m sure we’ll see some culture specific things in Hanamaru, but as of yet, the humor has been universally understandable.
The only audience that Hanamaru Kindergarten would not appeal to are those who like action, drama, fantasy, or other stimulation in the shows they watch. I know some cynical people who hate cute/moe would condemn this show or even accuse it of promoting pedophilia. But any show with cute, young characters could have that potential – it’s not the show’s fault if some people have those kinds of thoughts. I’m sure there are some people who watch shows like Hanamaru for darker reasons, but there are just as many who watch it because they like cute, simple, warm adventures and don’t necessarily have dirty thoughts about the characters.
We’re only two episodes into Hanamaru but I think the kind of anime it is has already been established. I wasn’t originally planning to watch it because I thought it might be too cutesy even for my taste, but thanks to convincing from other blogs, I decided to give it a try. And I’m glad I did because it’s a lot of good-natured fun.
I may give this series a try. It sounds genuinely cute.
This is sort of unrelated and yet related to this post – just how many times a year do they start new anime series in Japan, anyway…? I thought I was doing well with taking up Hanasakeru Seishonen (which began in summer 2009), Miracle Train and Letter Bee (which started in fall 2009). Now it’s January, and all these new shows are starting up. Do they start airing new series every few months over there? I’ve fallen behind on Letter Bee, and I’m about 18 episodes behind on FMA: Brotherhood (I need to hole up with a pizza for one entire day and just marathon them ;) ).
I want to watch some of these new series, but I can barely keep up with the series I already watch. Gahh!
@ Jan
Yeah, roughly 30 to 50 new anime come out each season, with the largest amount being in the fall and spring. My friend pkjd on moetron.com always makes these handy lists of all the new shows each season. For example, here’s his post for all the fall 2009 and winter 2010 shows. Another good source is chartfag. That site has lists of anime all the way back to 2000.
I don’t think very many people have time to watch more than a handful of currently airing shows, and even less people actually finish all the ones they start. Each season I usually pick up about 5 to 7 shows, but it depends. Hope this was helpful =)