((Warning: Contains spoilers for Hinamatsuri))
Have you ever watched a series and thought, Wow, this side character is the real star of the series?
Well, that’s how viewers tended to feel watching Hinamatsuri, this season’s surprisingly emotional comedy about a psychokinetic girl being adopted by a yakuza member.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Hina and Nitta are entertaining. Both of them give some brilliant deadpan line deliveries, and the way they interact with each other is perfect. They’re both kind of very shitty people, but they still try their best to make the other’s lives a little brighter. It’s very sweet, and also very hilarious. However…
…the two don’t really develop that much throughout the show. At least, not compared to the other characters. Sure, Hina used to be a crazed killing machine who mellows out thanks to her time with Nitta, but we don’t really see that much of the transformation – her past self is mostly implied through other character’s reactions to her new self. Ultimately, by the end of the series, she’s still kind of a jerk, even if she does save the day in the final episode, “Yukimatsuri.” As for Nitta, we see him defrost a bit through his relationship with Hina when he vows to bring her home a mommy (“Anzu is A Greeter Now”) and when he bids her farewell (“And It’s The Same Old Hina”) …but then, he throws a lot of that development away when he is caught throwing a party when he thinks Hina has left for good.
Perhaps I’m not giving Nitta and Hina enough credit. It’s not like they’re flat or boring characters, but it really is hard to focus on the character development of the actual main characters when the supporting cast outshines them episode after episode. At the end of the day, it was these “side characters” who made Hinamatsuri the surprising and emotional favorite of the Spring 2018 season.
Continue reading “How Excellent Side Characters Made Hinamatsuri The Best Anime of The Season”
