TITLE: Hamatora (ハマトラ)
EPISODES:12
YEAR:Jan 8, 2014 to Mar 26, 2014
GENRE/s:Comedy,Mystery,Shounen,Superpower
REVIEWED RATINGS:R–17+
SUMMARY:"Minimum"— Otherwise known as "small miracles", is a special power that only manifests within a few, select humans. Those who possess this ability are called "Minimum Holders." The detective duo of Nice and Murasaki, otherwise known as "Hamatora," wait again today for work with their friends at a table at Cafe Nowhere that they use as their agency. Suddenly, a job they receive seems to have a weird connection with the serial killer that their police friend, Art, is searching for.
CHARACTERS:
*Nice
*Murasaki
STATUS:Finished Airing
WRITER'S P.O.V.Hamatora gets a 9 in my book. Maybe I'm a sucker for episodic animes with a hidden plot backbone (Akuma no Riddle was a personal favorite of mine in this category) but I really feel like Hamatora took its plot in the right direction. Some episodes seem fillerish or too forced, but then by the end you realize that the events of the episode connected back to the plot all along! The last episode left me needing more, and when I found Re:_Hamatora, I was incredibly disappointed in the quality of the second season (I could go more into that, but let's just say I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as season 1). The only real problem I have with it is the direction season 2 took, but maybe I should leave that out of my review for Hamatora? Eh, who knows. EEEEHHHHH.... Hamatora's characters in the first season had little depth. They really seemed like they never developed by the end of it, ESPECIALLY Hajime. She had a lot of potential as a character, but she hardly spoke in the first season and then became a ditzy love interest in the second season. Birthday and Ratio got one episode of development and backstory and then their characters weren't touched on again. Murasaki, a MAIN CHARACTER, PART OF TEAM HAMATORA, got less screen time than Art, a character who died half way through the series, and not even half the amount of development! If you want an anime for its characters, Hamatora isn't a good choice for you. My own personal experience with Hamatora was a good one, honestly. I really loved the story and its uniqueness, and the art was really alluring. I could go on for days about Hamatora and Re:_Hamatora's flaws, but honestly they didn't affect my enjoyment THAT much. It was a fun anime to watch in my free time and I really did like it. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an episodic anime with a plot in the back. It's kind of a low-maintenance anime which I really liked, since I watched it in the hospital on my tiny phone screen with IVs in my arms. If you're looking to pass time, go for Hamatora, but be prepared for a god-awful second season and a LOT of plotholes.
SCORE:7.42 over 10
