Rarely do you find a show that emphasizes the humanity of its cast as much as this one does. With a strong narrative about growth, acceptance, and hard work - Hansaku Iroha is ultimately a show that inspires me to live to my fullest potential.

Let me start of by saying that Hanasaku Iroha has been my favorite (if not at least top 2) anime for the past 3 years or so now. So do keep in mind that I certainly have subjective biases towards it. With that said, I will be trying to present the shows merits in an objective manner to help you decide if its worth your time.

Hansaku Iroha has "heart". I know you may have heard this word quite often being used to describe a show, and to be fair I'm quite guilty of it too, but what exactly I mean by that can't quite be described... You know how you could potentially have more fun doing something with others as oppsed to doing it alone? Or how "home-cooked food" tastes better than its restaurant-served counterpart? I can't quite place it but I would say it comes down to the attention to detail. That extra element of something that is put into a usually predictable and bland situation.

The premise of girls working in a hot spring (with a focus on slice of life Slice of Life too on top of that) is by no means new or exciting to begin with. You probably won't watch a show like this just because of synopsis since my first instinct would be to assume that the show just packs regular SoL high jinks with the setting just being a gimmick and excuse to add in some predictable fan-service. NO. That isn't what Hanasaku Iroha is. Okay maybe there's a little fan-service (which isn't in any way bad tbh) but the show largely respects your time and actually has a message. It's a story about growing up, accepting yourself and the ones you love, and also moving on. It's presented with beautiful art, a masterful soundtrack and a uniquely moving story that are all equally deserving of focus in this review alone. But I think I'll let you experience that yourself, if you choose to.

What I'd like to highlight here is the characters, or actually, how much they don't seem like "characters". This may sound cliched but they do really feel like they are actual living breathing human beings. During my numerous times re-watching the series, I do find myself thinking that these could very well be real people living their lives just being filmed. A lot of the characters feel like they have lives outside the scenes and some major characters aren't even treated with the usual "main character treatment". We don't learn all their live stories and aren't even being persuaded to like them as human beings. There are plenty of characters who have questionable personalities and make odd decisions at times, some characters are outright mean and a lot of times their actions aren't justified. If they make a mistake, they don't apologize and when they are happy don't always show it. But I still love all of them to bits, and I feel like you guys will too. It's because they are human and humans make mistakes, don't always say what we feel and hurt others as a result of it. It doesn't end after a character arc too, these problems will stick with us until the day we die. It's unavoidable. That's why its nice when I see these qualities in others. And seeing them live on believing in the warmth of humanity makes me one to do the same.

Do give Hanasaku Iroha a try if what I described sounds appealing to you! I realize that the review could be read as extremely subjective but I promise you there are objective merits to it too! If you're still unsure, check my favorites list, and if we share at least a few on there I'm quite confident you'll enjoy this show. To be honest I'm only writing this to spread the word since I feel more people definitely need to give the show a try. So if you did end up watching it and enjoyed your experience, do let me know. I'll be overjoyed to hear it :)