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Hyakko
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Animation - 7.8 |
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Sound - 7.8 |
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Story - 6.8 |
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Character - 7.4 |
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Value - 6.4 |
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Enjoyment - 8.0 |
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Average - 7.4 |
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Hyakko is one of the best slice of life gag-comedy series' out there. Like Ichigo Mashimaro, Azumanga Daioh, or Minami Ke, there's never a pointed plot that leads anywhere. The episodes are all semi-ridiculous, or perhaps even completely normal situations that sprout character gags all around, and sometimes lead to a little character development. With Hyakko's large cast of characters and its reluctance to focus on only a few (though the main character, Torako, seems to be the center of most happenings), the gags are by far the least repetitive in any slice of life comedy I've seen.
Most slice of life comedies have 4 or 5 characters that are the center of a large majority of the jokes. Their personalities are defined by a single quirk, and all gags revolve around that quirk. After watching 6 or 7 episodes, it quickly gets old. Hyakko has a huge cast, and each episode is devoted to a new and different character, so the same gags are rarely repeated (the exception being the perv gag the bisexual character pulls all the time). The main character, Torako, like Miu from Ichigo Mashimaro, is wild and unpredictable, so she's not restricted to the same personalities gags as the rest of the cast.
Hyakko, out of all the slice of life comedies, also seems the closest to reality. The characters are still far too extreme in their personality traits to resemble real people, but even the minor characters have a couple of nuances that feel real. Ayu, the first character you meet, is timid and shy to the extreme, but in one of her first scenes, she imagines what she'll say to her new classmates after catching up to them so that they might warm up to her. No one is quite as timid as Ayu, but most people have probably played some scenarios through their minds when trying to strike up conversation for the first time.
Most of the series is pointless gag comedy, designed perhaps with a little nostalgia, there are one or two heavy hitting emotional episodes involving Torako and her family later on.
The animation is one of the worst I've seen. A lot of the series looks like it was done on flash, but as a comedy series, it's forgivable. The character designs are pretty interesting though, especially the clothing. Everyone has to stick vaguely to the school uniform, but they all manage to stick just a tiny bit of individuality into their wardrobe. The music is very respectable though. Most of the original pieces, aside from the jeapordy like tune that plays during gags, are piano or string heavy, peaceful sounding pieces. They all sound pretty good, and bring up the nostalgic element in this series.
If slice of life comedies are your thing, it's a pretty sure bet that Hyakko will at least be enjoyable. For those who haven't quite acquired a taste for it yet, Hyakko is probably the best place to start. the jokes in azumanga, minamike, even the whakcier ones like hare+guu get boring after a few episodes because they reuse the same material over and over. You'll be spared from that with Hyakko. It is probably one of the only ones in its genre that can be watched straight through.
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Hyakko follows the school life of four girls, led by the unstoppable Torako, and their schoolmates. A series that rises and falls with its main character, whenever she leaves the screen the series falls flat like a pancake.
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Zaku88 |
(2009-02-20 19:39:34) 2009-02-20 19:37:57 |
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| Average |
5.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| Hyakko follows the daily school life of a group of girls lead by the overly enthusiastic Torako. The basic synopsis is that Torako becomes friends with all of her classmates through various wild adventures and strange happenings.
Overall, if you're looking for pure character fun then this might be your series. I'd relate this to Lucky Star but it lacks all the fun otakuness and I'd relate this to Minami-ke except that it lacks all the hilarity that that series brings.
My impression is that it was pretty much a filler series with no real point. Sadly, other series that are based around it have distinctive points that I found interesting. The strongly contrasting personalities of this series and occasional humor were not enough to satisfy me.
By all means, if you're looking for something PLOT based, stay far away from this. If your looking for a slice of life comedy, this is a hit or miss.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Fans of Azumanga Daioh rejoice! Comedy on an episodic basis starring flat, cliché, mostly female characters has once again found its way to middle school!
I'm saying that as if it were a bad thing. What Hyakko lacks in originality, it makes up in comedy. I haven't laughed this hard in quite a while and on top of that, jokes are hardly repeated.
Hyakko is brilliantly animated. The character designs are original where they have to be, but more important is that, the moment you see a character, you immediatly know what type it's going to be. Sure it's cliché, but who cares. Directing was also good, many scenes emphasizes the jokes just because of good directing.
Sound is likewise. The OP/END and even the BGM are quite awesome, but the voice acting was truly gorgeous. Not surprising since most of the seiyuu's are anime veterans and many have fullfilled much more demanding roles than Hyakko offers, but still certainly worth mentioning.
Hyakko simply has no story. A few girls meet eachother on their first day s in middle school and gradually get to know eachother. I couldn't care less, but fortunately this setting was home for many acts of comedy, so I'm satisfied...or am I? At the end of Hyakko, the show throws in some attempt at drama - a waste in my opinion. This show is a comedy, please keep it that way. Another downside is that there are just 13 eps. I don't mind that it ended before it got boring, but hey, Azumanga did that with 26 eps and then there's also Kyou no Go no Ni, which is roughly the same genre. I'd personally like a few extra seasons.
I'm going to be simple about the characters: They're mostly flat, and the little depth here and there doesn't make them better. Flat characters simply work better for shows like this, so it's all good.
The most important part is that the show has a seriously high rewatch value, some stuff just doesn't get old and some you'll just want to see over and over again. Enjoyment guaranteed!
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| ok well I have only seen the first episode, but, it was freaking awesome! Jumping out of the second story building, breaking a window with a brick, decking the teacher in order to escape. And the clumsy? innocent kind girl who just wants to feel a part of something is pulled into something extraordinary. Another coming of age story.
I hope it follows through with it's epic beginning to the end.
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1 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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