Hinatama

Hinatama is like eating a simple yet delicious dish that focuses on its core taste and not incorporating it with contrasting flavors that not everyone is going to like. The manga knows that it’s slice-of-life at its best and not any genre hybrid. It does resemble some shoujo characteristics but only faintly present in the narrative and does no harm with its potential. It also has a clear premise which is family and friendship. How the story manages to expound on this brings about a result of a refreshing tale that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The story follows Amano Hinata’s encounter with the new transfer studentKazama Ayato who is new to the countryside landscape as he’s from Tokyo. To add to the surprise, he also has 3 younger siblings that breathe life into the mundane setting. From then on, the successive chapters deal with Ayato and Hinata’s growing friendship with the siblings serving as a catalyst. One observation is that there is a considerate amount of shounen-ai undertones present especially with Hinata’s internal monologues. However, it doesn’t really go beyond pure intentions as it only showcases strong feelings of friendship and nothing else. Apart from the main duo, the three siblings get characterized very well and don’t come off as overly obnoxious. Chiyoko is understandably a typical little girl that likes cute things. Hayato is also a typical little boy that gives the bratty vibe but deep down wants to make friends just like any other kid. Ikuto is well… a typical hyperactive toddler that struggles getting potty trained? Anyway he exudes such a cute aura just like his siblings. They all contribute on making the overall reading experience enjoyable. While the manga delivers effective storytelling in making things interesting, my main gripe is that there is little payoff in the end. Sure, Hinata has deepened his bond with the Kazama family but it needed a better realization that has more impact. Inserting a conflict may harm the lighthearted nature of the story but it’s what makes stories more compelling to read. It can go wrong in various ways but I don’t blame the author for playing safe. Even if conflict is not the best suggestion, then perhaps it should have spent more time developing the easy-going story by expanding the narrative through different lenses. Even so, Hinatama still succeeds with its objective which is to introduce the reader to a familiar setting tied to a simple scenario but does it in a way that evokes a feeling of sentimentality. It goes easy on the family drama aspect by focusing on trivial situations that usually happens in the family without making things bleak and serious. Overall it’s a fleeting yet impressive manga that is recommended to readers who crave for something sweet yet refreshing.

There is a chance this life can be a little less mundane with you in it- a quote from Palm Springs (2020), must be the best way to describe the whole course of Hinatama. The story follows the daily life of Amano Hinata who befriends the new students at his school, the new sensation called Kazama Ayato. In the eyes of his female peers, Ayato is a cool beauty from the city, but he is a clumsy boy who helps to look up after his three younger siblings. At first, Hinata does not seem to care that much about the Ayato and his family, but soonhe, as well as most of the city, became close with the Kazama kids. The main plot revolves around the blossoming friendship between the two main leads, but there are still some side plots that give more insight into the behavior of some characters. For instance, Hinata used to be above average as a kid, but soon he realized there were always going to be people funnier or more athletic, which is why he at first seems apathetic to the world that surrounds him. Another example is Hayato, Ayato´s brother, who at first acts like a spoiled-intolerant-ill-mannered brat, who in reality is shy and has a hard time finding new friends in his new environment. I think the main issue with this manga is its short extension. With just 18 chapters the story ended abruptly and kind of in an anticlimactic way, just like the author wanted to finish it, or like it was axed. Which honestly sucks because this could have been an amazing anime. I can admit the story can lead to some shippable moments between Hinata and Ayato, but to those who are worried about it, there is no BL. As I said before, this is just slice-of-life manga revolving around the lives of a group of kids in the countryside. As simple as it can be, the magic behind Hinatama lies in how nurturing and wholesome a normal day can be. Just like Pam from The Office once said – There´s a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn´t that kind of the point?