Hiiro no Kakera
Release date: 6th March 2012
A Studio Deen adaptation of Idea Factory’s 2006 otome visual novel of the same name, Hiiro no Kakera tells the story of teenage girl Tamaki who moves to live with her grandmother only to find herself intimately involved with supernatural dangers and an ancient legend.
While the animation is elegant and rich, fitting for the rural setting, the first episode is somewhat confusing. Young heroine Tamaki arrives early in the colourful village from her childhood and is instantly nostalgic, something which leads her into deciding to walk alone to her grandmother’s house. She has arrived early and so the person being sent to pick her up is nowhere to be seen. Filled with cheerful determination, she sets off into an ominous looking forest.
This is where the initial sense of peace comes to an end and things become a little strange. She meets something during her walk. It’s not an animal. It’s white, it’s round and other than two large eyes and sticks for arms and legs ,has no features. After talking to her in a perfectly calm voice and considering taking her luggage, it hops away to make room for some approaching monsters with grasping hands and single, red eyes in their bulbous heads. So much for a quick walk through the woods.
However, Tamaki is not in danger for long. Predictably, a dashing young man comes to her rescue and everything becomes a little confusing. After making sure to hold her in a manner that will make her blush, this apparent hero helps her repel the monsters through some sort of magic and the supernatural but still very teenage world of Hiiro no Kakera has been established.
The rest of the episode seesaws between the supernatural and the mundane. Tamaki discovers that she is to inherit the title of Tamayori Princess from her grandmother and it is for this reason that monsters have been appearing. While puzzling this out and making friends with an adorable spirit fox that only she can see, Tamaki has to deal with starting school and a handful of handsome boys that annoy her with their smug attitudes but, given the nature of the anime, will likely improve with time.
This first episode contains almost too much initial information, especially since this is introduced simultaneously along with the main male characters – potential love interests – and plenty of emotional confusion. However, it is a very pretty anime indeed and there is still a lot of room for calmer, less rushed explanation and the true introduction of the plot. As scene-setting goes, it does the job well with what little time it has.
Good: Pretty artwork, potential for a complex plot and occasional humour.
Bad: A very rushed beginning and sudden explanations that seem a little forced.
Score: 6/10
[Words by Jennifer Nolan-Lee]
