Hyakko

Synopsis:

Ayumi Nonomura is having a little trouble on her first day of high school... she's lost. Having no idea where her next class is she wanders the campus grounds looking for a familiar area or someone to at least point her in the right direction with no luck. Eventually she comes across Tatsuki Iidzuka and asks for help but doesn't get a straight answer and after following her for a while Ayumi realizes... they are both lost. About to give up hope, Ayumi and Tatsuki happen across a girl that is jumping out of a window... from the second floor of the school! After a most ungraceful landing followed by another girl... they introduce themselves as Torako and Suzume, who are also lost, but intend to get to the next class by following a straight line across the school grounds. Torako turns to Ayumi and invites her and Tatsuki to follow them to find out just where the next class is. Unbeknownst to everyone, one of the most unique people they will ever meet, Torako, has just become a part of their lives.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 13


Review:

Simply put, Hyakko is a very underrated yet highly enjoyable series. Why? Because it does something that no other series I have seen does, it has no plot... zip, zilch, zero! Instead, it relies on characterization to progress the series and it does a very good job of it. Each episode of Hyakko will put it's focus on one character for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, give you a minisode about who and why they are and then switch to another character. The only thing that they really have in common is that the series shows how their lives are affected by Torako. And to my amusement, Torako is one remarkable character in that on the outside she may seem like that annoying person that you want to leave you alone but in reality she's one of the most interesting and reliable people you'd ever have the pleasure of knowing and one day without her presence would be nothing more than complete boredom.

Hyakko doesn't use fanservice, nor ecchiness, it has no drama, hell... not even a plot to present itself with, but rather relies on a remarkable cast of characters that differentiate themselves from the norm in the most bizarre of ways. When you look at the series as a whole it simply comes down to one thing... Hyakko is just alot of fun to watch from beginning to end.

Hyakko (opening)

Recommendation: |High|