Akari Kito -- Tiny Light

One of the other Winter 2020 anime that has caught my eyes and ears thanks to the anime buddy is "Jibaku Shonen Hanako-kun"（地縛少年花子くん...Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun）. Its mixture of design, mystery, comedy and the distinctively merry voice of the title character himself as played by Megumi Ogata（緒方恵美）, once the seiyuu behind the kakkoii Sailor Uranus in the legendary "Sailor Moon" franchise back in the early 1990s, has gotten my attention. A sign that an anime has gotten my seal of approval is whether the episodes will hold my attention even after coming back from a large meal out (at my age, dozing off in a chair has become a ritual). Happily, "Hanako-kun" has kept my eyes from fading out.

Hanako-kun's partner in his supernatural hijinks is student Nene Yashiro（八尋寧々）. She's played by seiyuu/singer Akari Kito（鬼頭明里）in a role that's a whole lot more verbose than her Nezuko from last year's hit "Kimetsu no Yaiba"（鬼滅の刃）and a whole lot less stoic than her Momo Chiyoda from "Machikado Mazoku"（まちカドまぞく）also from 2019. Kito also provides the ending theme for "Hanako-kun", "Tiny Light".

Considering some of the suspenseful scenes and mysterious goings-on in the show, "Tiny Light" provides some melodic comfort. Written and composed by Saku, the song doesn't exactly break the mold with those familiar strings, keyboards and guitars but I think it reflects some of the dynamism of "Hanako-kun" along with the innocence of Nene. As for the show itself, my buddy and I both agreed that it would be nice if it could go on for another season.