Toilet- bound Hanako-Kun
One of those rare cases that drove me to watch anime was that too many people in my social circle were glued to its manga. It's not like I was under pressure to get into it, but I wanted to know why the fanaticism came out almost overnight. Anyway, without further ado, let’s get started with this review! Beginning with the anime, I think I've already seen its charm.
Our protagonist, Nene Yashiro, hears a rumor that a mystery in the academy can make her most cherished wish come true. That being the seventh mystery of the academy, "Hanako-san,” who has been hiding in the girls' bathroom on the third floor of the old school building since she died. Yashiro doesn't hesitate to go there to make her wish of getting a partner a reality.
But when she arrives and Hanako-san emerges, she is surprised to find out that Hanako is a boy. He asks her for her wish, but Yashiro doesn't know she has to give him something in return. An exchange, so to speak, equivalent, to make her wish come true. In this way, Yashiro accepts this controversial condition to become Hanako's personal assistant to get the boyfriend she wants so much. The question is, will the prophecy about the power of the Seventh Mystery come true?
With a title as catchy as "Toilet-bound, Hanako-kun" at first glance, you would think that you would find a comedy that doesn't have much of a plot behind it. But it is a work that mixes both the world of humans and the "other side" where we can find the spirits.
It is a story that proposes its own rules for both and establishes an amusing game to sustain its story and capture the viewer's attention. A combination that will conquer the most curious who want to spend a pleasant time in front of the screen. Besides presenting some of the strangest and most charming stories, a time will link the hearts of its characters and the viewers.
It also highlights the seriousness with some touches of comedy that are great to address the mysteries of the academy. We're talking about cases in which the kids can practically die, in which their lives are at stake. I know that this is almost the order of the day in anime with magical characters. Still, in this case, Yashiro and Kou don't have this kind of supernatural power, so they have to rely on their luck and ability to dodge attacks while Hanako fights.
The main character, Nene Yashiro, can be considered innocence personified. But throughout the plot, she shows rapid emotional and personal growth as she immerses herself in the mysteries of the academy.
On the other hand, we have Hanako (Amane Yugi), the seventh of the mysteries, capable of maintaining the balance between humans and spirits. A character with a captivating personality, both playful and cunning. You can notice her growing emotionally. She develops a nice friendship with Kou, plus watching her chemistry with Nene thrive is cute, something that makes it inevitable for Hanako to save her assistant whenever she falls into trouble.
Minamoto Kou is another character that shows good development. He goes from being an impatient exorcist to fighting to prevent his brother from being controlled. However, this is more noticeable in the manga. Kou is a character that takes center stage several times in the series.
Let's not forget about the antagonists, whom we gradually get to know throughout the story. Tsukasa Yugi, Amane's twin brother, has a very similar personality to Amane. But both of them have different points of view about the relationship between humans and spirits. On the other hand, we have the mysterious voice that alters the rumors at will to control the spirits belonging to Nanamine Sakura, Tsukasa's assistant.
One of the most striking things about this anime is the animation style, which is often very different from the typical anime. I highlight the design of the characters, which use lines a little thicker than usual to follow the aesthetics of the manga faithfully. A very nice overall design above all, as it manages to give off warmth.
On the other hand, you can notice that there are times when it abuses the use of still frames and a lack of frames to make a fluid animation sometimes, but that they fix with post-production techniques. The outbreak of COVID19 generated all these problems. That forced to stop the vast majority of the media productions in general. However, the studio decided to continue working with what they had so far.
Some additional details are also interesting, such as the reddish shadows in the corners of the students' eyes (which give them a somewhat sickly look), Hanako's distorted irises (a disturbing detail in close-ups), and the inclusion of various references to Japanese popular culture, such as traditional Japanese dolls (common in horror stories), the magatama that Nene uses as a rubber band, or the name of the academy itself, a reference to the children's song Kamome kamome.
I liked this anime a lot, and the truth is that after watching it, I wanted to read the manga as soon as possible because, as you can feel after finishing the anime, there are a lot of answers missing at the end. Besides, Hanako's story, apart from breaking your heart, makes you very curious. This is primarily because of the limited length of the anime to adapt the manga’s plot and that the latter is still being published. We can hope for a second season, but jumping to the manga is recommended if you can't stand the curiosity like me.
I like the leading trio a lot, but I must say that the secondary characters are also great. I think you should give it a chance because it's pretty different from a typical shonen and really, audiovisually it's fabulous. And on top of that, it's short, so it's excellent to binge it in an afternoon.
