First Impressions / Hanasaku Iroha

「涙の板前慕情」 (Namida no Itamae Bojou)
“Tearful Chef Romance”

Who saw it coming? I saw it coming. Throughout the entire episode, it would be hard to say that things didn’t feel a bit too pushy at times. From Ohana’s recklessness to Minchi’s extremely hard head, all these things come together to make an episode that will make you want to rip your hair out. But in a good way, sort of.

I guess that I can’t blame Ohana and Minchi entirely, since all of this ridiculousness started with Jiroumaru and that big mouth of his. In all sincerity, I can’t believe that everyone started playing along with his story so easily. Especially after his past psychotic break and attempts at suicide, one would think that people would be a little wearier when taking information from him. I’ll give it to him that his suspicions sound entirely probable, and if put in the same situation I’d probably react the same way, but watching everyone (even Minchi) let their imaginations run wild made for a partially hair-ripping episode.

Luckily, the latter half of the episode had so much background story that it balanced all the crazy from the beginning. After finally filling in some of the gaps in Minchi’s back story, it becomes a lot easier to sympathize for her. Sure it’s possible to feel bad for her because her crush is apparently getting stolen from her, but boy does it ramp up the stakes when you know why she’s so crushing on him so hard. If Tohru wasn’t so dense, I think it’d be pretty hard to miss just how badly Minchi wants him. It’s a shame that from the looks of things, his eyes are focused somewhere else. Could you even imagine a love triangle involving Ohana, Ko, and Tohru? To all the guys out there, feelings can bloom from the smallest of encounters!

Like I said earlier, most of the episode was partially hair-ripping until the end, where I’ll admit I raged for a bit. After sitting through that embarassing conversation between Ohana and Minchi over Tohru’s strong points, it felt like a smack in the face to hear that everything was a big misunderstanding. I mean Ohana ran all the way to Fukuya, fighting a grey heron all along the way. Plus she made herself look like a complete jerk in hopes to take back Tohru — only to discover Tohru didn’t need saving at all.

Amongst all the really dumb misunderstandings, there were some impressive moments stuffed into the end of the episode. Besides Minchi finally accepting Ohana as one of her friends (which was really, really cute) who would have thought Tohru would have complimented Ohana at the end? After acknowledging all of Ohana’s hard-work and effort to bring him back, albeit in a slightly roundabout way, I swear I caught the hint of some affection coming from his words.

With random jokes about closing the inn, the Bonbori festival coming up, and Ohana’s relationship with Ko nowhere near resolved, I can’t see any specific direction this show could take. If the preview is any indication, it sounds like another foul mouthed person is coming along. Using my powerful skills of deduction, I’m willing to bet my money that something financially related to the inn will be coming into play soon. I mean, they wouldn’t just show Okami making random jokes of those magnitude for no reason, right?

 

Preview

73 Comments

    1. Yeah, indeed she seems to be warming up a little bit..
      but I still not able to sympathize with her at all, this could be one of my favorite anime of this season if she wouldn’t be that blunt.
      let’s wait if its gets better..

      BoxLiLi
      Reply

  4. I also think that Tooru is showing an interest in Ohana. At least, that´s what I’ve been picking up for the last couple of eps. Specially eps 2,4 and 5.

    I’m a TooruxOhana shipper so I’m all for their development! xD Still not warming up to Minko.

    Crii
    Reply

    1. Interesting observation, though I also think it’s evident that Ohana is very much not fond of Tooru – Ohana speaks her feelings clearly, and there’s no reason not to believe her. I doubt we’ll see anything come of that, especially now that we’ll likely be hearing from Ko-chan again.

      Eclipse
      Reply

      2. Well, most of the time if a heroin states to “not liking” a certain male character, 95% chances are that she’ll later on come to harbor affection for him. Idk though, its kind of early to really tell if there will be more TooruxOhana.

        Still, I ship them. Episode 2 when Ohana says she should start dating boys in order to rebel, Tooru appears before her. Then in the van he teases her in his “sharp-tongued-way”. Episode 4, coming out of his way to tease her again about her uniform. I think if he didn´t have the slightest bit of “awareness” of her, he wouldn’t go ahead and comment on something as her appearance. And then later on when he asks her about how her school day was, and yet again teases her about her body. Episode 5, well….the scene with them…I swear that’s what totally drew me in. Before actually telling her to move, when Ohana is typing away in her cellphone, you can actually see Tooru standing behind her for a few seconds. Kind of like: “How should I speak to her now that I know she ran all the way to Fukuya to bring me back?” And the nose pinching, it was really cute.

        Anyway, there’s still many episodes to go so I think anything could happen. XD;;

        Crii
        Reply

    2. Yes!! definitely Tohru is aware of Ohana, there has been a lot of comments from Tohru that were not really necessary..
      it would be interesting to see a love triangle with Ko-Ohana-Tohru just as TAKAII mentioned above 😛

      P.S: Keima will definitely explain us the possible outcomes of the conquest haha.

      BoxLiLi
      Reply

      1. Seriously doubt that Tohru X Ohana. Ohana is not tsundere so she ain’t like that. And I doubt this anime has too much on Romance, stealing your friend’s crush and that sort of thing. More of community bonding, growing up and slice of life then a KIMI NI TODOKE. Grey Heroin on Ko’s book.

        deafvader
        Reply

  5. Finally, good progress for Minko and Ohana’s relationship 😀

    Also, Tohru x Minko for the effing win.
    Gotta admit that its damn cute seeing Minko love him so much)

    yoursoul
    Reply

    1. I agree with you 1000000000000000000000000%
      Tohru x Minchi for the WIN <3333333 HECK YEAH xD
      After the first 2-3 episodes , when i saw that there are some scenes between Ohana and Tophru i was like "Awww but he's a cool character i don't want him with her *Grows* Besides she has her "Ko-chan" so PLEASE don't put them together Tohru seems cool he might go well with that Minchi girl" and then we found out that Minchi likes him and i was like HELL YEAH!!!
      So basicly i REALLY REALLY hope that SOMETHING will happen between Tohru and Minko (as in a relatinship).
      PS i thought i was the ONLY one who ships them =P Nice to see other people do it too ^^
      Oh and btw if you wanna chat or something give me your e-mail or skype ( or something different) you seem like an awesome person <3333

      xAnimeExtazyx
      Reply

  6. Nice to see Ohana finally make some progress with Minko. Hopefully we can move to the next subplot. I have nothing against Minko, but her relationship with Ohana was predictable. I’m waiting for some other developments with other characters, especially Ohana’s grandma.

    Also, Yuina talking on an electric chair was pretty funny.

    fragb85
    Reply

  9. Tohru might looks like a dense person but I can understand his point of view a bit. I believe he might not be that dense but he just couldn’t see Minko (or even Ohana) as romantic interest since she’s still a highschool girl so he can’t take her seriously. But as the story progress, I think he will actually acknowledge her as a woman, instead of a girl as it is now.

    Serapita
    Reply

  10. Unwillingly starting to shop TohruxOhana. Sorry, Minchi! And all in all this was such a rage episode – Minchi and Ohana are starting to grate on my nerves a little bit… but that little bit of TohruxOhana made this episode bearable, I suppose. Looking forward to more development with Ko! Is it just me or was he looking up inns? C:

    Vii
    Reply

  11. Yay! Ohana and Minko are “friends!”
    Ohana is just so damn lovable! I loled so hard when the crane chased her back up the stairs and when she considered taking Yuina’s helmet. Moar Nako.
    Minchi was slightly annoying this episode due to her indecisiveness, but I guess that had to happen for her and Ohana to become friends.
    As for Tohru, I have no idea what to think about him and Ohana. I definitely think things are a bit fishy; even Ohana seems to blush more around him for some reason, remember when she screamed about not dying in the car that one episode? Awkward. I hope that for Ohana and Minko’s sake, Tohru doesn’t like Ohana.
    Wish we knew a little more about Kouichi. Hopefully he makes more of an appearance in the future.
    Another good episode. Can’t wait for whatever happens next!

    innerchihiro
    Reply

  12. I don’t see the whole Tohru and Ohana thing really. To me it seems that he sees her like a sister type in terms of their interactions. He’s always teasing her, albeit playfully in a condescending type of way sometimes, which is reminiscent of sibling bickering.

    Near the end when Ohana and Tohru were talking about how she was the only one who tried to stop him, I noticed his disappointment when he said that no one else went with her. I would say he was referring to Minko, though his heartless retort to her when she yelled that she would stop him next time threw me off that path. His reaction may have been of a fleeting moment of self pity in that no one else seems to care for him to stop his leaving except her…and she only did it for the sake of Minchi’s feelings.

    I’m throwing a curveball in the shipping department but I bank he has a thing for Nako. He has little interest in Yuina the easy going peppy one, Minko whose hardworking and diligent, Ohana which I stick by to the sister type…that only leave the quiet beauty of Nakochi.

    Seriously, she’s a hottie. If that water rescue in EP 2 didn’t do it, then nothing will.

    Horus
    Reply

    2. I don’t see Ohana and Tohru happening as well !And i don’t even wanna see it xD (Cuz Tohru x Michi is win ^^ )I get what you mean i think Tohru thinks of Ohana like a sis or a close friend although there were a few scenes that are a bit suspicious i hope it’s just fangirls overreacting !

      xAnimeExtazyx
      Reply

  13. hmm…someone’s train of thought from last week was dead on…

    dacasa:
    The heron is a Chinese symbol for Strength and Purity It is also a global symbol for wisdom. I think the bird is actually trying to help our protag since our protag is also a strong and pure girl.

    so is that grey heron our only source of sanity (aside from the other senior workers – Ren-san, the Manager, etc)?

    another thing: can we say plot preview??…though I have a weird feeling we’ve seen that woman from ep.1 (the one driving the sport car?)

    info600
    Reply

  14. I’m not sure siblings would talk to each other about body parts every so often. Tohru seems to make alot of comments about her physical appearance. From my experience siblings don’t make that many prevented comments (we just agrue about other stuff) But you know this story could go anywhere which is the beauty of slice-of-life. I’m going to hold my judgement on shipping anyone for awhile (were only on episode 5 out of a 26 episode series!! there is still so much to unfold). The relationships I’m most interested in is the friendships and how ohana is going to bond with her grandma and uncle. Even though they are family they don’t know much about her and neither does ohana.
    Regardless the highlight of this episode was minko and ohana finally becoming friends and the moment with tohru. There is certainly elements to build up all sorts of relationships in this series. which is great.

    liz
    Reply

  16. people who didnt see this coming need to watch more animes…

    I pretty much said last ep that tohru might like ohana. it would create tension with minko and ohana’s relationship, which would make some drama. of course, quite possible not but it might.

    amado
    Reply

  17. Am I the only one that think Ko is thinking about visiting Ohana? I mean they showed him with a magazine of what seems to be where Ohana is at right now. I would expect some kind of twisted love triangle with these creators

    BeatsAngel
    Reply

  18. Ohana is cute, must give it. I actually find her a little bit too lovable! (sorry for the weird choice of words). Minko is a little bit pain in the ass sometimes, but it’s alright.
    I find Tohru is a delight to my eyes 😀

    KGFJ
    Reply

  20. I see your triangle and raise you a quadrat – with Ko-chan aiming at Ohana, getting Tohru as rival and Minchi slaughtering them all with her knife, School Days style 😛
    Overall though I consider myself genre-savvy to for being able to see thru it all and predict the real state of “Tohru’s new job”…
    Also, despite (in)famous rivalry going on the two managers seem to get along, even borrowing workers one another as needed.
    Tohru might not be so dense as to not notice Minchi’s affection, he just has enough of common sense to not start romance with a teenager… and he might be cool towards her purposefully.

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. I’m convinced that the rivalry was just a rumor (told by Jiromaru of all people) because Ohana’s grandma called Fukuya’s manager “Shigeko-chan”. That’s first-name basis. So at the very least, they are not rivals personally.

      fragb85
      Reply

  22. Yeah, the misunderstanding made this episode somewhat annoying but then again I sat through Kimi ni Todoke’s misunderstandings without hurting myself or anyone around me, so I’m good.

    Kinda feel bad for Ohana though, especially with the hilarious heron blocking her away (if that’s not facing your fears I don’t know what is) she still charged through for Minko’s sake just to find out it was all just a misunderstanding. But it looks like Minko appreciated the effort, so I guess it wasn’t all for nothing.

    Jaden
    Reply

  23. Not only is Tohru dense, like most dense anime guys, without even realizing it himself, he’s slowly building his own harem – just look at how he was complimenting Ohana for how far she went to retain him for Kisuisou. 🙂

    Oh and Yuina’s vibrating voice on the massage chair was just pure lulz. Tomatsu Haruka is slowly making this show hers without anyone even noticing.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  25. I hope for a Ko-Ohana-Tohru love triange because I wanna see how Ko would fight for her affections. Besides girl jealousy in anime is getting a little old, I want more guy jealousy in anime since we rarely see any of that.

    texasroper
    Reply

  27. Minchi was a little annoying spouting all that “you don’t understand” nonsense half the time…child, just explain yourself instead of getting so angry -.-
    I must admit, Ohana was super cute, just willing to go all out to help a friend even if that friend wasn’t really accepting of their friendship…eh.. yeah.
    And… no! No love triangle please!! The idea came to mind, what with the little nose grab and whatnot, and then I realized that meant more screaming Minchi… I don’t think I could take another whole screaming Minchi episode O_o (though he did grab Minchi’s nose too, so maybe it doesn’t mean anything like that, maybe it’s just his weird, ‘we’re friends now’ thing…)
    I hope Ko comes to visit 😀

    Gia
    Reply

    1. I don’t see any indication that Tohru likes Ohana at all…he is like that with everyone. Will probably annoy Minchi see them acting close and bring her jealous side + Tohru going “you are too young” or something but…I reaaaally doubt he might start a triangle of any kind. For once, Ohana and Ko’s relationship to me will be more made by them than having another person interfere…it doesn’t seem to be that kind of anime. And I think Tohru really sees Ohana as a kid with her body not being like say, Yuina’s.

      As for Tohru he seemed more like “so you were the only one who went fetch me..?”, maybe he was expecting someone else. *cough* That’s just me going Minchi/Tohru but I think it’s obvious he might consider Ohana likable being the only person who went fetch him…even if it was not for him but for Minchi. That doesn’t mean he instantly LIKES her as something else…

      We’ll see who is right. X3

      South
      Reply

      1. I agree. The thought of Ohana and Tohru crossed my mind, but really, I kind of see him as just being friendly to her, more like a little sister rather than anything more. That’s why I mentioned that he did the nose thing to Minchi as well, I think that’s just his way of being friendly. I don’t want the OhanaxTohru pairing at all, I’d rather cheer for Minko on that end. I’d like to see Ohana’s relationship with Ko grow more than anything else. I hope you’re right 😀

        Gia
        Reply

  28. why no one calls for Ohana x Minchi yuri pairing? 😛
    other than that I see no sensible pairings for them as they are put simply, too young…
    and that knife is proverbial “Chechov’s gun”, I bet some slashing action will occur before this show will end…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  30. Don’t we tend to tease the people we like? Just saying. The possibility is definitely there between Ohana and Tohru. Age doesn’t matter. Don’t make me bring up Fruits Basket with Honda Tohru’s mom and dad. lol. And our suspicions mostly arise from the fact that there is a good amount of screen time with just Ohana and Tohru. And its not just random screen time, their screen time conversations is usually significant thus far.

    Lilian
    Reply

  31. Hmmm, I still dislike Minchi.

    I kind of like the TohruxOhana pairing, but I’m not sure how far it will go. It does seem kind of like sibling teasing. I also don’t really feel that he cares for Minko romantically, but maybe he sees himself in her. In the end of this episode, we see that he really wanted Ren’s approval, kind of like how Minko wants Tohru’s approval.

    I totally hated the whole misunderstanding thing though. Everything basically reset to normal with only Minko grudgingly accepting Ohana and Ohana finally feeling like she can reply to Ko’s text.

    Can’t wait to see what happens when Ko comes. I’m also hoping that this festival has a big part in the story. They seem to be hinting at it quite a bit.

    Oh and Yuina is pure win! She’s beginning to compete with Ohana for adorableness (her being scared of the Heron is priceless) for me.

    Amurita
    Reply

  34. Hi!!! I love Hanasaku Iroha!!! *.* so cuteee! I think Minko and Tohru are good together, because Ko seems to be very kind and sweet guy soooooo I would like to see Ohana with Ko. Also Minko and Tohru have a similar personality *I think…*
    I must say something that I saw… (let’s share some ideas) … well in the last screenshot, Ko was sleeping on top of some book that had that stupid bird that follows Ohana, mayyyyybeeeee, just maybe he is coming to the hot spring inn or maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic … ^^ hehe
    Bye guys, and thanks Takaii for the review and screenshots and … everything 😀

    nya-chan
    Reply

  35. Minchi has the potential to become the best or worst character of the season. As she is now, she is terribly immature and annoying. But if she develops over the course of the show, she’ll become one of the best characters any show this season, no question.

    Yttrium
    Reply

  37. I really hope Ohana and Minchi are in good terms now. Still don’t like her character though(maybe its the VA lol), I wonder what nickname she’ll give to Ohana now or will she be stuck in calling her “Hobiron”, oh no please dont.

    Nhelraios
    Reply

  38. i never liked minchi (plus I’m not a fan of tsrude characters ( I know i spelled it wrong)) But if she can develop into a likable character then I might change my mind.

    liz
    Reply

  40. I’m hoping for a Ohana x Tohru thread to develop. I don’t even care if the show ends with it, I just wanna see the crazy ass drama between Minchi and Ohana unfold if that were to happen. Who cares if it’s cliche, if the show pulled it off well it’d be an awesome ride.

    I think there was something to the Tohru having an interest in Ohana. Ohana’s totally oblivious to it of course but just some Tohru’s circumstantial behavior and commentary towards her raises some eyebrows.

    synkronized
    Reply

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