English Dub Review: Hinamatsuri “Disownment / Rock n’ Roll Fever”

Nitta has had enough of Hina.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Fed up with Hina and her many quirks, Nitta decides to banish her from his home once and for all, effectively making her a street urchin. Luckily, Anzu is happy to share her home (although a little more reticent to share her food) and Hina begins to learn how to live on the streets. Anzu may have ramen in her belly and a scrappy roof over her head, but she has to work her butt off to keep them.

In-between this drama, we get some fun little comedic bits focusing on Hitomi and her experiences working as a brand-new bartender.

Our Take:

I think it’s pretty clear by now that Hinamatsuri doesn’t have anything up its proverbial sleeve. No big boss battles are in store for us, no super-powered death melee between Hina and Anzu. Just fun characters interacting in some silly sketches with a thin assortment of plot drizzled on top.

Hina’s disownment arc didn’t hit any emotional highs. Despite centering on a newly-homeless child, it felt more lackadaisical than sad. Her reaction to getting thrown out (and her behavior afterward) felt somewhat underwhelming. I know she’s someone who doesn’t show her emotion easily and speaks in a very monotone voice, but I would’ve appreciated seeing more of her genuine feelings about her new situation. Surely, Hina has strong emotions brewing after being barred from not only her first home in the city but her second (Anzu’s homeless camp) as well. While I didn’t love these aspects, there was definitely some wonderful comedy going on. Nitta getting tossed out of Otako’s bar for being an awful parent is completely justifiable. (Seriously, even if he expected her to be back soon to apologize, it’s just not good form to let a young newcomer wander around alone in the big city.

The show may have ‘Hina’ contained in its title, but it’s also becoming clear that Anzu and Hitomi share the spotlight in a very real way. Anzu’s exploits on the street continue to be sweet and funny (she’s so happy to be working for a living, even if it is collecting cans). Hitomi, too, seems to be settling into her new job, which I’m glad to see she’s finally starting to seemingly enjoy. For a quieter person like herself, maybe she enjoys just listening to bar patrons crazy stories.

Today’s dub was very well done. It starts with Nitta’s performance, dubbed by Jarrod Greene. He totally sells Nitta’s annoyment with Hina, while also grounding in his love for his adopted daughter. Brina Palencia’s Hina has improved for sure. Even with the required monotone voice, she brings out the subtlety necessary for the given scene. As I’ve said in the past, Amanda Lee is perfectly cast and never fails to impress me with her performances. I have to admit to being a little disappointed when they didn’t choose to dub the rock and roll band’s song, but I understand how much extra work it is to create an entirely new piece of music for an English audience who probably won’t mind the song still being in its native tongue. Best line of the dub goes to the rock n’ roll-ers themselves: “Whatever you’re up to, I’m sure it’s punk rock!” (What a bunch of ol’ softies!)

Disownment / Rock n’ Roll Fever may not be the funniest or most memorable episode of the series to date, but it still did a fine job exploring some the different dynamics between various characters (especially Anzu and Hitomi!) while making me laugh a lot. Everything from the dub deliveries to the lines themselves really works together in a wonderful way to produce a solid comedy, and I hope it will only improve as we near the halfway mark for the show.