Hyakko

This is a goddamn yuri comedy in disguise. The first two episodes will do nothing to prepare you for how much this show turns into jokes about homoeroticism. A lot of its humor doesn't always land, but after a few episodes it stops relying on the more typical jokes to carry it and ends up mixing in weirder and less predictable tones, leaning further into low key character drama and relationship building. I went from thinking it was kind of a weak comedy to being invested enough in its characters that even when jokes didn't land I didn't really mind anymore, it was going to ... much greater and more "real" lengths with depicting what their relationships and personal lives are like.

You know a show is good when it introduces a comedy lesbian and then... actually kind of takes her seriously and lends her depth later, and starts playing off the relationships between the rest of the cast with enough greyness (if you can call what happens at the end grey) that her yuri goggles jokes are, actually kind of just literally what's happening. No, seriously, I didn't expect how gay this show is, if you're wondering whether it'll be fun as a yuri anime, it legitimately kind of is.

It's easy to count it out as a weaker Azumanga or Nichijou with a bit of an artificial edge, but it ends up taking its characters and their circumstances remarkably seriously, it's a very different show and a pretty unique one in its own right. Legitimately one in there with something like Soukou no Strain as a short little hidden gem that just requires you to be willing to invest in its characters long enough for what it's doing to pay off.

Hyakko is a prime example of a show that's really just spinning its wheels. It's not necessarily bad, and it's clear a lot of work was put in, but it doesn't seem to have resulted in anything remarkable. It's generally alright, and definitely had its good moments, but its weakest points were too numerous to overlook. Beginning with the story, it's largely your typical CGDCT faire, highly episodic with a generous helping of comedy throughout. In this respect, it managed to hold up, and a couple episodes were actually pretty good, though there were a few moments and even recurring ... subplots which felt bizarre and out of place, and not in an absurdist comedy angle either.

The art is simultaneously engaging and inconsistent, with solid use of color and visual comedy, paired with moments of almost amateurish animation and shot composition. The best part of the art is the character designs, managing to make a huge cast look distinct and recognizable from afar.

The sound is generally awful from start to finish, with a stilted, artificial OST and sound effects which sound as though they are occurring at the end of a long tunnel. I don't know how else to describe it, but many of the sounds of life sound distant and echoey. The voice acting meets all the standards of quality, but doesn't make up for the rest of the sound design.

The characters are this show's greatest strength, feeling believable for the world they're in as they play off each other quite well. If I had to choose my favorites, I'd choose Torako and Suzume, not only because they feel like the narrative core of this anime, but also because the last few episodes really developed them as characters. In fact, i'm not sure if I would have made that decision if those final episodes hadn't happened. This speaks to how I feel about Hyakko overall. In the end, it's a show which is especially sloppy in the beginning, developing into a better show as it clumsily stumbles to its feet. If the entire anime was like those last few episodes, than this would have gotten a higher rating, even with all its flaws.

Well you may think is is just a cheap version of azumanga but this anime is is actually even cheaper.

Very lame jokes that just kids without much experience in anime would enjoy. Its is your usual comedy stereotype anime, i feel like i have seen so many such clones.

Cheap drawing, cheap story, characters are okey but jokes are cheap and cringy, and as usual some cheap drama as reward.

So basicaly i checked it becuase i wanted to see cheap les serious azumanga ver. but its not even good enough to be called a cheap ver. So no, i would not recommend it even to unexperienced ... viewers.