English Dub Review: Hinamatsuri “This Is how You Have a Superpower Battle!”

“This is my life now. Who would’ve thought?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

In an episode of any other show titled This is how You Have a Superpower Battle! that introduces a new telekinetic child tasked with destroying our main telekinetic child, you might think you’re in for some epic action sequences. But this isn’t just any show, this is Hinamatsuri. When Anzu comes looking for a fight, Nitta steps in and makes sure the only weapon being utilized is a good ol’ game of rock/paper/scissors.

The second half of the episode is dedicated to Nitta’s attempts at throwing off his newfound responsibilities as a parent in order to return to his former philandering ways. But when Hina eventually tires of dining on cans of mackerel, she insists on tagging along, making for a night Nitta won’t soon forget.

Our Take:

In its second episode, Hinamatsuri lives up to the promise of the premiere. If these two outings are any indication, we’re in for a season full of wacky comedic hijinks, cute father/daughter moments, and plenty of gang warfare! It really is neat how the show is able to properly juggle all these elements and still present a coherent storyline.

The first half of the episode introduced a new character, a superpowered punk named Anzu. She seems a little older than Hina and has a much more aggressive personality, but her powers aren’t as strong as her blue-haired counterpart. She may be trying to destroy Hina initially, but she soon bonds with her and they end up hanging out at Nitta’s place for the day. At the end of the episode, she discovers she’s stuck for good since her strange orb thingie has shattered. While this may be sad news for her, I’m excited to learn more about Anzu, and I’m sure Hina will enjoy having her around.

The episode’s second half finds Hina getting annoyed with how much time Nitta is spending out on the town without her. This storyline milks a lot more humor out of the premise than Anzu’s intro. Nitta’s reaction to learning the rumor that he’s given up philandering to spend more quality time with his ‘daughter’ is so over-the-top that it’s wonderful, and Hina’s friend Hitomi learning to bartend is comedy genius. This segment does a good job of integrating new characters into the comedy dynamic, which is reassuring since the OP promises a lot more cast members down the line.

I know I wasn’t loving the dub last week, but the addition of Amanda Lee as Anzu really helped sell me. Her voice contrasts nicely with Hina’s more monotone delivery, and she sounds just like I’d imagine Anzu to sound. (What’s more, apparently she gets to sing an entire song in an upcoming episode, and one of the reasons director Kyle Philips chose her was because she is also a singer. That’s right, we’re getting a DUBBED song!) The English script had some very funny lines, like Nitta’s awestruck observation: “Now one telekinetic kid makes sense. But two? That’s bordering on ridiculous.” Anzu is pretty funny herself, too, responding “You really think yelling ‘come back’ is gonna make me come back?” after shoplifting from a convenience store.

Two episodes in, Hinamatsuri is looking like a very reliable pick for people looking for a chaotic comedy that mixes in supernatural superpowered children with drunk playboy gangers. Having younger characters dealing with adult situations in a comedy always has the potential to become uncomfortably problematic down the road (underage bartending jokes!), but as of now, the show is handling the source material very well – and very hilariously.