Hanasaku Iroha (generic discussion thread)

[Decagon]

Already some Hanairo erodoujin came out for Comic1☆5. Some people work fast.

[Malkuth]

^^title/circle? and which characters are featured?

[Decagon]

Originally Posted by Malkuth

^^title/circle? and which characters are featured?

Featuring Ohana. I've seen the scans for one and know of a few others. The books were [スカポン堂] いろはす, and [clear glass] 花売りのいろは. If I use this format you know what's what, right? One by K^2友の怪 is going to release 5/15, and one by messiah&pikaring is set to release 6/01.

[Malkuth]

I was hoping for Nako, and thanks, I completely forgot about ComicOne

[Triple_R]

On the "what's slice of life?" debate, and how it pertains to this anime:

1) Slice of life can have plot, and actually usually does have some semblance of plot. It's just that the plot of a slice of life show is similar to the "plot" of day-to-day living. In other words, one event does lead to another and then to another, and significant changes have lasting impact, but it's not like everything is gradually building up to a climatic conflict. As such, a slice of life show will probably tend to have a bit of an episodic feel to it.

2) I would consider Hana-Saku Iroha to be slice of life. In fact, if it isn't slice of life, I'm not sure what is. Hana-Saku Iroha doesn't even have any of the fantastical elements (aliens, ghosts, robots, superpowers) that, for some viewers, can seem out of place in a slice of life show.

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Hana-Saku Iroha doesn't even have any of the fantastical elements (aliens, ghosts, robots, superpowers) that, for some viewers, can seem out of place in a slice of life show.

Well there IS that paramilitary raid that happened for some reason...though that's completely without context, just to confuse us most likely.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Roger Rambo

Well there IS that paramilitary raid that happened for some reason...though that's completely without context, just to confuse us most likely.

I'm going to make a total guess here, given how this anime likes to pull off over-the-top stunts from time-to-time:

I think it's going to be revealed next episode that it's suspected that somebody wanted by that paramilitary group (perhaps a suspected terrorist, say) is staying at the Inn.

The paramilitary group hence rushes in to the Inn to subdue the suspected terrorist, leaving Ohana in a state of shock and awe.

However, it ends up all being a big mix-up (due perhaps to a clerical error), and the embarrassed soldiers have to apologize to Madame Manager for mistakenly raiding her Inn.

[james0246]

^My guess is that a group of businessmen will come rent out rooms at the inn, and then go play airsoft games in the woods. Short, simple, and sweet. (Maybe one of the airsoftplayers will be a former school friend of Tomoe? This would tie in to her comments during the preview...)

As for the genre "debate", can't we just settle on drama?

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by james0246

As for the genre "debate", can't we just settle on drama?

What's wrong with people supporting the idea that this show is slice of life?

Speaking personally, I see more slice of life in this anime than I see drama.

[germanturkey]

if there's a paramilitary raid, i will hate this show for all of time. just saying. Also, how is this NOT slice of life? you see their daily interactions with people, and what they do during their day. key word here is character driven, not plot driven. yes, the plot of "improve the inn", "wtf is up with me and Ko" and "lets sort out family issues" are overbearing lines, but they'll be resolved with character interaction.

to mention Aria again (which, shameless plug, i'm rewatching Origination again. see sig below!) the 3rd season is all about "growing up," which is firmly mentioned in the first ep of the season. but after that, there is no more "straight up" mention of maturing. its all done in circumstances that involve the characters.

[Reckoner]

It just really depends on how strictly and how traditionally you want ot use the term.

If slice of life is supposed to depict the normal daily lives, slicing a piece of life, of a group of characters, then traditionally it was never meant to apply to stories with a more dramatic focus.

Granted, this show thus far hasn't exactly been ultra serious, but there have been dramatic climaxes in many of the episodes (Although perhaps silly ones in many). If go under that understanding, then Hanasaku Iroha is not a classic representation of slice of life. Ohana is going through extenuating unique circumstances, she is thrown from her metropolitan life to a life of hard work in a hot spring inn where dramatic conflicts and tension ensue. Again, that isn't what I call slice of life, traditionally.

Lately the term has been broadly used to talk about any show that doesn't really involve fantasy/sci-fi/action elements. Stories that pretty much use normal real life settings like schools, or work places are now being classified as slice of life just based on the setting without taking to account how slice of life is supposed to be a normal representation of life of a character or group of characters, not a dramatic one.

[Triple_R]

I have to say that I really don't see why "slice of life" and "drama" should be considered mutually exclusive.

With this in mind...

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Lately the term has been broadly used to talk about any show that doesn't really involve fantasy/sci-fi/action elements. Stories that pretty much use normal real life settings like schools, or work places are now being classified as slice of life just based on the setting without taking to account how slice of life is supposed to be a normal representation of life of a character or group of characters, not a dramatic one.

So there's no drama in a normal representation of life?

Your normal person never encounters romance drama, or career drama, or family drama, or drama due to struggles in school?

This type of drama is part of everyday life for average, everyday people. So why shouldn't it be in slice of life anime?

With the possible exception of Episode 3, the level of drama we've seen in Hana-Saku Iroha so far is by no means outside what you could find in the lives of many real life teenage girls.

[james0246]

Slice of Life is not built on Drama. In fact I would even go so far as to say slice of life represents a status quo, whereas drama fundamentally represents change and action. Consequently, yes they are mutually exclusive (though, much the same as any genre theory, the lines can be blurred).

That being said, besides the semi-realistic nature of the characters (teen girls doing teen things), the events are clearly not ordinary (just how often do you think children are abandoned due to debt?), and the consequences that result attempt to break the status quo the characters live in. So, no, Hanasaku Iroha is not a Slice of Life story...at least for me; it may contain certain element (partial setting, certain dialogue, etc), but the story is clearly dramatic (a young girl wishing to change) with hints of comedy and potential hints of romance.

[Guardian Enzo]

Am I the only one who thinks a little too much attention is paid to pigeon-holing series into a specific genre? Really, does it make all that much difference what you call it? A show is what it is - entertaining or not. Challenging or not, smart or not, interesting or not. Isn't that more important than the label?

Besides - most of the best shows defy easy categorization anyway. For every good show like Ao no Exorcist that neatly fits into a genre bucket, there are probably ten good ones that don't. HanaIro falls under that category, IMHO.

[Deconstructor]

I'll just move the slice-of-life discussion here, and get the last laugh as no one reads this thread anyway...

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Granted, this show thus far hasn't exactly been ultra serious, but there have been dramatic climaxes in many of the episodes (Although perhaps silly ones in many). If go under that understanding, then Hanasaku Iroha is not a classic representation of slice of life. Ohana is going through extenuating unique circumstances, she is thrown from her metropolitan life to a life of hard work in a hot spring inn where dramatic conflicts and tension ensue. Again, that isn't what I call slice of life, traditionally.

At the same time, I would consider some of what goes on in Ohana's life to be very typical. Like gossiping with her friends, cleaning up the inn, cooking food or taking out the trash, texting with a long-distance friend, etc. About half of the time, these events are not overplayed to create drama. They're just routine, procedural tasks Ohana does like every other human being on the planet. Different setting and different life, you say. Yet still typical compared to those around Ohana.

Now, there are many times when Hanasaku Iroha pulls out some events unlikely to happen in real life... for example, the giant heron attacking Ohana. The heron serves as an improbable source of comedy; normally, birds don't attack people. It's awesome - and real life isn't quite as awesome.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

So there's no drama in a normal representation of life?

There really isn't.

Your normal person never encounters romance drama, or career drama, or family drama, or drama due to struggles in school?

Sure, people do. Usually, it's unintentional drama - people would rather avoid struggling in school or arguing with the family. The desire to be normal, you might say, fuels the slice-of-life genre.

Originally Posted by james0246

Slice of Life is not built on Drama. In fact I would even go so far as to say slice of life represents a status quo, whereas drama fundamentally represents change and action. Consequently, yes they are mutually exclusive (though, much the same as any genre theory, the lines can be blurred).

That being said, besides the semi-realistic nature of the characters (teen girls doing teen things), the events are clearly not ordinary (just how often do you think children are abandoned due to debt?), and the consequences that result attempt to break the status quo the characters live in. So, no, Hanasaku Iroha is not a Slice of Life story...at least for me; it may contain certain element (partial setting, certain dialogue, etc), but the story is clearly dramatic (a young girl wishing to change) with hints of comedy and potential hints of romance.

I see what you mean here. Hanasaku Iroha seems to focus on the special, unique, exciting part of Ohana's life: Abandoning the sheltered past, going to a new high school and working with people she's meeting for the first time. A true slice-of-life story would be how Ohana lived before moving to the inn; Ohana lamented on how boring and undramatic her life was before moving.

I'm not ready to say Hanairo completely abandons the slice-of-life model, though. Contrary to what you say, some of Ohana's experiences are pretty ordinary.

[Kagayaki]

Originally Posted by james0246

Slice of Life is not built on Drama. In fact I would even go so far as to say slice of life represents a status quo, whereas drama fundamentally represents change and action. Consequently, yes they are mutually exclusive (though, much the same as any genre theory, the lines can be blurred).

This, I would say is a much better definition of slice of life than realism or ordinariness. I mean, nobody actually lives on Mars, and a bunch of girls trying to be gondoliers isn't something I would call ordinary (in the same sense as school life), but most people still think of Aria as a slice of life.

In contrast, I would say that Clannad isn't a slice of life because it focuses on the changes that happen in characters and their relationships. This seems like the direction Hanasaku Iroha is going in too.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Am I the only one who thinks a little too much attention is paid to pigeon-holing series into a specific genre? Really, does it make all that much difference what you call it? A show is what it is - entertaining or not. Challenging or not, smart or not, interesting or not. Isn't that more important than the label?

Besides - most of the best shows defy easy categorization anyway. For every good show like Ao no Exorcist that neatly fits into a genre bucket, there are probably ten good ones that don't. HanaIro falls under that category, IMHO.

Talking about genres is a good way to compare and contrast shows though, so I don't think it's harmful.

If someone passes judgment on something just because they hear other people calling it slice of life or not slice of life without deciding for themselves, then that's their loss.

Fans and critics can't really do any harm by pidgeonholing. Only show executives can.

[Reckoner]

I like how james0246 put it, slice of life is almost in a sense a portrayal of the status quo.

Ohana in episode 1 before getting thrown in the hot spring Inn was the status quo. What transpired after that was more dramatic changes in her life, hence drama.

This is not to say that there can't be elements of slice of life in any show... But just because a show has a few jokes in it doesn't make it a comedy. Is Hanasaku Iroha a comedy? I don't think so, though it can be charmingly funny at times. It's the more broad characterization of the show we're worried here.

This is more or less what I was trying to get across myself.

[black_star]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I like how james0246 put it, slice of life is almost in a sense a portrayal of the status quo.

Ohana in episode 1 before getting thrown in the hot spring Inn was the status quo. What transpired after that was more dramatic changes in her life, hence drama.

This is not to say that there can't be elements of slice of life in any show... But just because a show has a few jokes in it doesn't make it a comedy. Is Hanasaku Iroha a comedy? I don't think so, though it can be charmingly funny at times. It's the more broad characterization of the show we're worried here.

This is more or less what I was trying to get across myself.

Urk. So exactly, this anime, is a drama with a little fanservice, if i could say.
(with a bit of comedy)

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Deconstructor

At the same time, I would consider some of what goes on in Ohana's life to be very typical. Like gossiping with her friends, cleaning up the inn, cooking food or taking out the trash, texting with a long-distance friend, etc. About half of the time, these events are not overplayed to create drama. .

I feel that asking ourselves if the events in Hanasaku Iroha are ordinary or not is besides the point,if a show like nichijou can be classified as slice of life then being "ordinary" doesn't seem to be a requirement.

[mols]

Originally Posted by totoum

I feel that asking ourselves if the events in Hanasaku Iroha are ordinary or not is besides the point,if a show like nichijou can be classified as slice of life then being "ordinary" doesn't seem to be a requirement.

What? you haven't met a robot, child genius and talking cat yet? I think that is pretty "ordinary".
Of course I am just kidding, I have yet to meet a robot like that.