English Dub Review: Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun “Final Exams and a School Sleepover”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Despite knowing her life is near its end, Nene tries to live her life to the fullest! This is made harder with the arrival of the 6th Wonder, Shinigami-sama, the God of Death.

OUR TAKE

Well, we had a three month break to get the bathroom stink off of us, but now we must return to the second half of the apparently double length second season of Toilet Bound Hanako Kun. When we last left our otherworldly middle schoolers, they were all trapped in a painted illusion by the Fourth Wonder, Shijima of the Art Room, where Nene, Hanako, and a few of their friends were forced to break themselves out of what seemed like their ideal lives. Hanako in particular hoped for a world where he and Nene could live happily forever, as it was revealed at the start of the season that she had not long left to live. When she learned this, she tore him a new one and told him, basically, that she was going to find a way to live long enough to do everything she wanted to do, inspiring everyone, including Shijima, to be more hopeful about their respective uncertain futures. And that was honestly where I thought this story would be ending when I wrote the last episode review of it just a few months ago, but here we are, so I guess let’s get on with the rest of this season.

One of the mysteries left hanging at the end of that last episode was the identity of the Sixth Wonder. Of the Seven Wonders, we had met the Seventh (Hanako), Second (Yako), Fifth (Ryuujirou), and Third (some bird and later Mitsuba) in the first season, followed by the First (two spirits and Nene’s friend Akane) and the Fourth (Shijima) in the first half of the second, so the Sixth is the last to make a full appearance. Well, now he’s shown up and he is quite literally the spirit of death itself. Not a great sign when the end of the last arc was so hopeful, but it seems he’s not here for Nene at the moment, but instead her friend Aoi Akane…who is NOT the same person as Akane Aoi, but IS the girl Akane has a crush on. Anyway, with that and Teru Minamoto, the anti-apparition upperclassman, upping his tactics, things are getting a lot more tense very quickly, so I would say that’s a pretty strong start to this part of the season. Let’s see where the rest of this arc goes and if it will carry that momentum to the very end.