Hanasaku Iroha
Hanasaku Iroha, or Hanairo for short, is a Japanese 26-episode anime television series produced by P.A.Works and directed by Masahiro Andō. The screenplay was written by Mari Okada, with original character design by Mel Kishida. P.A.Works produced the project as the studio's tenth anniversary work. The anime aired between April and September 2011 and had two manga adaptations created. An animated film was released in Japanese theaters on March 30, 2013.
Plot
Hanasaku Iroha centers around Ohana Matsumae, a 16-year-old living in Tokyo, who is left in the care of her estranged maternal grandmother, following her mother's elopement with her boyfriend. Ohana arrives at her grandmother's country estate to realize she is the owner of a Taishō period hot spring inn called Kissuisō. She begins working at Kissuisō at her grandmother's request, but finds herself at odds with many employees and customers at the inn. Initially feeling discouraged, she decides to use her circumstances as an opportunity to change herself for the better and to make amends with her deteriorating relationship with the Kissuisō's staff for a more prominent future.Characters
;Ohana Matsumae;Minko Tsurugi
;Nako Oshimizu
;Yuina Wakura
;Kōichi Tanemura
;Sui Shijima
;Tomoe Wajima
;Enishi Shijima
;Tōru Miyagishi
;Renji Togashi
;Takako Kawajiri
;Tarō Jirōmaru
;Denroku Sukegawa
;Satsuki Matsumae
;Ayato Matsumae
Media
Manga
A manga adaptation, illustrated by Eito Chida, was serialized between the December 2010 and October 2012 issues of Square Enix's Gangan Joker magazine. Square Enix published five tankōbon volumes between March 22, 2011 and December 22, 2012. A spin-off manga with Minko Tsurugi as the main character, illustrated by Jun Sasameyuki and titled Hanasaku Iroha: Green Girls Graffiti, was serialization in Bandai Visual's online Web Comic Gekkin magazine between July 1, 2011 and July 2, 2012. Two volumes of Green Girls Graffiti were released between December 10, 2011 and July 10, 2012.Anime
The Hanasaku Iroha 26-episode anime television series is produced by P.A.Works and directed by Masahiro Andō. The series aired in Japan between April 3 and September 25, 2011 on Tokyo MX. The screenplay was written by Mari Okada, and chief animator Kanami Sekiguchi based the character design used in the anime on Mel Kishida's original designs. Sound direction was headed by Jin Aketagawa and the music was produced by Shirō Hamaguchi. The anime series was simulcast in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Brazil, and Portugal by the Internet streaming website Crunchyroll. The series has been licensed in North America by NIS America under the title Hanasaku Iroha: Blossoms for Tomorrow. The first Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on April 9, 2013 and the second part was released on July 2, 2013. MVM Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the title in the United Kingdom and Ireland.An anime film titled Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home was released in Japanese theaters on March 30, 2013, featuring an original storyline. At Anime Expo 2013, NIS America announced the rights to distribute the film in North America.
Music
An image song titled "Patricia" by Nano Ripe was used for the promotional videos and anime; the single was released on September 22, 2010 by Lantis. Another promotional video featured the image song "Yumeji" by Nano Ripe. For the first 13 episodes, the opening theme song is "Hana no Iro" by Nano Ripe, and the main ending theme is "Hazy" by Sphere. For episodes 14 onwards, the opening theme is "Omokage Warp" by Nano Ripe, while the ending theme is "Hanasaku Iroha" by Clammbon. Nano Ripe provided several more ending theme songs: "Tsukikage to Buranko" for episode 6, "Yumeji" for episodes 8 and 26, "Saibō Kioku" for episode 11, and "High Leap" for episode 22.Reception
The series received generally positive reviews. Mania praised Kanae Itō's voice as Ohana, the animation quality, and execution of the plot. The reviewer however commented that the beginning was not new nor innovative. Anime News Network praised the realism and quality in the animation, score, and opening and ending theme music. The character designs were noted to be attractive yet subtle enough to retain the realism, and also noted how Ohana's design is much better than a moe clone. As the characters' personality developed, the reviewer highly praised the realistic interactions between them as they are touching and substantial. Ohana's relationship with her mother and grandmother was noted to be especially well written with daunting emotions. After reviewing the second half of the series, the reviewer considered Hanasaku Iroha to be one of the best titles in 2011. Hanasaku Iroha received a Jury Selection award in the Animation division of the 15th Japan Media Arts Festival.Yuwaku Bonbori Festival
Hanasaku Iroha also had the effect of attracting fans of the show to visit the Yuwaku Onsen in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, the inspiration for the show's setting. Increased general interest culminates in the Yuwaku Bonbori Festival, held yearly around October. In the anime, the preparation and celebration of the fictional Bonbori Festival was a major plot point. In 2011, shortly after the show finished airing, the town of Yuwaku decided to bring this Festival into reality where there had previously been no equivalent celebration. In addition to typical Japanese festival attractions, the organizers also included a procession of participants carrying paper bonbori lanterns and a burning of ema plaques with particpants' wishes written on them, both of which are distinguishing characteristics of the festival as shown in the anime.During the festival, the town's inns are sold out and attendees number over 15,000 for more recent iterations. Originally, the festival was organized by individuals associated with P.A. Works. More recently, the town has attempted to broaden the appeal of the festival to beyond anime fans, including by inviting traditional musicians.