"Hitohira" is a twelve episode Japanese anime series that have drama, romance, comedy; with the feel of "slice of life." The series had run from March 28 to June 13 of 2007. It was directed by Akira Nishimori and aired on Japan’s "XEBEC M2." The series was adapted from the manga that was authored by Izumi Kirihara and published by "Futabasha." There are four volumes to the manga but it is still in circulation versus the series as there are only twelve episodes total. The main character is Mugi Asai who is a very shy girl and doesn’t know what after school club she wants to join. But humorously, Mugi is very soft spoken and doesn’t know how to speak out loud very well.
But her loud voice is very astonishing. That is what draws her to the Drama Research Society which is an alternative school drama club. Like all Japanese schools, all of the students are required to wear uniforms. This is a very common theme of school oriented Japanese anime titles. It can be dubbed something that’s grounded in reality. Watching a few episodes of Hitohira, it looks to be a good anime series to watch if you feel like winding down at the end of the day.
But the main focus is Mugi getting out of her proverbial shell and growing. In a sense, the Drama Research Society brings it out in her. However, she is very shy. But, she joins the club after being pressured by Nono Ichinose who is the club’s president. It shows that Mugi caves into pressure. Mugi learns that being in the drama club is by no means a walk in the park. It is learned that there is a rivalry between the Drama Research Society and the Drama Club as the presidents of both clubs have some ongoing rivalry with each other.
Hitohira has an interesting cast of characters for the series.
There is Nono Ichinose who is very calm and collected. She is very determined and very intimidating. She is the president of the Drama Research Society. One would ask why there is a secondary drama club. It is eventually revealed later in the series while Nono had started the Drama Research Society. In a sense, the club is under the guise of researching dramas.
Takashi Katsuragi is one of the three original members of the Drama Research Society. He is probably the most cool and collected people of the group. This is one person with a strong passion towards drama and acting.
Risaki Nishiba is the last original and founding member of the Drama Research Society. She is basically the tough member of the group. She basically uses fear and coercion to get people to join the Drama Research Society. Risaki managed to use fear to get her younger brother Kai to join the club.
There is Mirei Sakaki who also appeared in the first episode as she was the lead actress in the Drama Club’s production of Primavera. She is a very serious individual that commands respect from other members of the club. Mirei is the president of the Drama Club.
It also focuses on Chitose Kanna who is the new member to the Drama Club. But she tends to be an ally of the Drama Research Society. Chitose is the complete opposite of Mugi as she is very bold in her actions. It looks as if she enjoys acting and performing much more than Mugi does.
The members in their own way help Mugi grow throughout the series. She even gets encouragement form her friend Kayo Toyama who has a camera with her at all times. This is indeed an interesting slice of life anime series as it mainly focuses on Mugi. The animations look to be sharp and well done. Everything looks to fit the mood and feeling of Hitohira.
Keep in mind that Hitohira might not be for all audiences. As most of the characters are female, it may look as if the series is mainly appealing to the female crowd. This isn’t uncommon in Japan as marketing research depends on the thoughts of female high school students.
It is unknown if or when a company is going to acquire the license to distribute the series to North America. However, it looks less than likely that Hitohira will officially be released to the United States and Canada. Realistically, one could look at least two to three years before Hitohira might be dubbed into English and released to North America.
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