Hanasaku Iroha the Movie: Home Sweet Home

Veronin★ 7

We often look at movie spin-offs as unnecessary, thoughtless, and maybe even a little bit greedy. Do we really need another addition to an already concluded story? Not usually. There's an undeniable sense of indifference whenever we hear that a spin-off movie has been greenlit, and who can blame us when "movie" often simply means "bad adaptation with a couple new scenes". Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home is not one of those movies, but do still keep your expectations in check before digging in. Most of what was frustrating about the main series remains here. Taking place somewhere in the time-frame of the TV series(no indication is really given as to when), Home Sweet Home decides to show us a little bit more of an oft neglected character: Ohana's mother, Satsuki. While cleaning one of the inn's storage rooms, Ohana happens upon a set of diaries from her mother, telling the story of Satsuki's rebellious teenage years to the birth of Ohana. We see in greatest detail how Satsuki met Ohana's father, but the message is never in the story itself - it's how it relates to Ohana's own struggles. Like mother, like daughter, or so they say. There's an inherent sense of maturity to Home Sweet Home that was not present in the TV series. We see the beauty of childbirth (reminiscent of Mamoru Hosoda's "Wolf Children") and the toils of an adolescent girl trying to find adulthood in a world alien to her. Growing up has always been the central theme of the series, but the movie achieves it with much more clarity than the TV series. Few stories evolve the conflict beyond existential angst and into parenthood. There is a reason for us to care this time, and there is finally a message to be drawn by the end of the story, unlike the ambiguous "Huuuh?" of before. Being a product of P.A. Works, of course, it is impeded by melodrama. Plenty of screaming, crying, and more screaming for your hearing pleasure. Why do they always do this? Home Sweet Home is a better story than that. I understand that it is mainly a story about teenage girls, but come on, you can convey emotion through thoughtful dialogue instead of this nonsense. It doesn't always have to be two characters screaming at each other. It's a shame that an otherwise intelligent story had to be bogged down this way. The biggest problem however is that Satsuki's story only takes up about one-third of the overall story. Ohana, Minko and the rest of the inn are often given the spotlight instead for whatever reason. This naturally creates issues when the runtime of the movie is just 60 minutes. Large sequences of time are skipped by in a flash, numerous questions are left unanswered, and we never do fully understand the relationship between Satsuki and Ohana's father. Why does she fall in love with him so quickly? And why is an adult like him even interested in a highschooler suffering from a severe case of teen angst? Who really knows. Maybe we could have if the movie didn't spend its time on irrelevant subplots. I just have to wonder, why? Ohana and the rest of the inn already had plenty of focus in the main series. It's merely a repetition of what we have already seen. The worst offender is the Nako subplot, based on her issues at home and relationship with her siblings. One of her sisters runs away at random, generating us ten minutes of the inn screaming and searching for her, only to end with the tired message of "Nako is mature". The audience knows that already. It is verbatim. Why not show us something new about the character, or instead spend that time developing the relationship between Satsuki and Ohana's father? There was plenty of potential here for something great and in the end it is pushed aside for the familiar. The audio-visual quality fares much better. Even when it's only "pretty good" by Hanasaku Iroha standards, it still looks better than many animated films released these days. The lighting and reflections are the art's greatest asset as they often have the ability to enhance the story itself (one particular scene has Satsuki's confused face mirrored in the bus that her love interest is leaving in). The animation is merely serviceable, however, and distant shots will often have the characters drawn without a face. This laziness feels especially out of place when contrasted with the beautiful backgrounds. As for the sound, while I can't imagine there will be anything to stand out in anyone's memory, there is a certain beauty to the background music when one listens closely. There's a subtle sense of melancholy to each piece, never relying on loud, sappy music to make the audience feel something. It makes the quieter moments all the more powerful, and these quiet moments are unequivocally the strongest piece of the experience. At the end of the day, is Home Sweet Home worth your time? Certainly. If you had problems with the TV series, there is nothing here to change your mind in any significant way (there may just be more melodrama than before), but at only 60 minutes long it's hard to go wrong with more Hanasaku Iroha. It's just unfortunate that P.A. Works decided to play it safe for the fans instead of trying for more. Is that so much to ask for? I don't believe so.

Stark700★ 8

Every once and awhile, people like to dig up the past. By the past, I mean going through an old photo album, book, or anything that might bring back a bit of nostalgia. It’s not unusual when people feel a bit of sentimentality because memories are important. You can’t buy it. You can’t steal it. And for a certain young girl, these memories are like a treasure that comes once in a lifetime. From P.A. Works’ original animated series that debuted in 2011 known as Hanasaku Iroha comes forth a new movie. P.A. Works is well known for many of the original works such asTari Tari, Angel Beats, and recently Nagi no Asukara. What they’re less known for is perhaps their involvement in the film industry. Of course, adapting a slice of life story is never easy. The expectations of a movie usually involves a detailed storyline with engaging characters. With a movie running for roughly 60 minutes, it might look intimating to achieve such expectations. However, I am grateful to say that Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home has reached that level of expectation. For starters, the movie stands out as a side-story of the original series, Hanasaku Iroha. However, I do recommend viewers coming fresh into the franchise to watch the original series to gain a better understanding of the characters, settings, themes, and the overall style of P.A. Works’ slice of life presentation. As a slice of life, Hanasaku Iroha shines in its character interactions and dynamics rather than a powerful storyline. Ohana Matsume returns as the main character in this movie as she is still a resident of the hot springs inn that her grandmother manages. What originally started as a girl with little interest for those around her life now emerges a confident young woman with an appreciation of her new lifestyle. She’s not the only character making her return though. Fans should also be thankful that most of the original characters make their returns including Minko, Nako, Tarou, Takako, Enishi, Wakura, Tohru, and of course the master of the inn, Sui Shijima. The movie itself surprisingly has this explosive energy. Most of this comes from Ohana especially in the beginning. Along with this energy brings forth welcoming humorous moments around the inn such as the priceless acting and food decorations. It might not be masterpiece or Oscar level but it can definitely bring forth a smile to anyone’s face. Similarly to its original series, the movie retains its slice of life format and tells it similar to a narrative. Only this time though, it also focuses on Ohana’s mother(Satsuki) with a little trip down memory lane. In a way, Satsuki’s character isn’t very different from her daughter Ohana in the beginning. Both characters has a stubborn attitude and doesn’t seem to appreciate their lifestyles at first. Additionally, the both of them often clashes against other members of the inn at first becoming a talk around the house. Throughout the movie, a line of “I want to shine” echoes that seemingly symbolizes a chance to become something bigger in life for Satsuki. It’s written in text as well and becomes an important theme in growing up. Surprisingly enough, I can find this relatable. After all, everyone wants to grow out of their shells and challenge themselves to become something they never thought they’d become. For Satsuki, she is inspired to become a professional writer/editor. But if we look at life itself, there’s that sense of obstacle that can prevent dreams from coming true. Satsuki sees that obstacle as her residence at the inn because from her perspective, it prevents her from shining in the real world. The movie also focuses itself on character relationships. For Satsuki, it brings out her character in different ways of expressions including anger, sadness, regret, but also joy. However, her character does seem to rush a bit much in terms of development. It’s hard to take her maturity in a serious perspective as her actions speaks louder than her aggressive words. These actions are also usually performed out of carelessness with some regrets. Satsuki’s dream also somewhat reflects on her mother as they both chased after a different dream but similar reasons; like mother, like daughter. Although the movie focuses a lot on memories, other characters do make some moments in particular Minko. Her admiration for her superior Tohru is still easily noticeable as she wants to impress him with her cooking skills. Nako’s highlight in the movie details her insecurity regarding her friends and family. What’s important here though is that these character interactions can be reflected on how friendship and guardianship can play such a big part in our lives. Without family or friends, a home wouldn’t be sweet in any sense. If drama was a major idea in this movie, then I’d say there’s too much of it. At times, it seems to be forced with the emotions and tears running down. Satsuki is just one such example but some of the other characters’ drama seems to be forced out of their shells as well. It doesn’t help by the fact that these drama doesn’t tie in with relationship progression. Yes, the lack of relationship progression for some of the main characters doesn’t seem to hit anywhere near home. There’s also bits of fan service out of nowhere that can be distracting. Furthermore, the absence of a main supporting character from the original series is hardly memorable from this movie. Memories are captured by the lens of a camera but some of them zooms by like flying rice. Once again, P.A. Works shows the world their talent in artistic visuals. The animation of this movie is outstanding with rich artwork. The character designs all seems natural. It’s refreshing to see what Satsuki looked like as a young girl to what she looks like later on. It creates that atmosphere for viewers to see how much she has changed over the years. The inn itself is also designed to look exactly how it should be with its traditional designs. The soundtrack is cherry and lighthearted. It brings forth a home-like atmosphere to the movie as everything feels right at home. Most of the VA does a terrific job with their role. Satsuki’s voice as her younger self is also depicted well with a mixture of arrogance, insecurity, but also inspiration. Photo albums contains memories. Memories are created from experiences. Experiences are bought forth from friends and family. Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home is a movie that serves as a primary example of how to live through life. There are obstacles but at the same time, there is also hope and prosperity. I don’t know how many of you reading this once and awhile looked back to your photo albums. But if you do, you’ll probably feel the nostalgia of walking down a memory lane that feels like home sweet home.