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In this world, a small percentage of the population has superpowers, and these people are called Minimum Holders. The series follows a group of detectives, who are all Minimum Holders, and their adventures as they take cases throughout Yokohama City. Meanwhile, the Yokohama police are completely puzzled trying to solve the case of a Serial Killer who targets only Minimum Holders...

Hamatora is a mixed-media project created by Natsu Matsumai and YÅ«ki Kodama. It has a manga by Yukino Kitajima and YÅ«ki Kodama published in Weekly Young Jump magazine starting in November 13 2013, an anime airing from January 9 as part of the Winter 2014 lineup, and a 3DS video game called Hamatora: Look at Smoking World was released in summer of 2014. A second season of the anime aired in the summer 2014 lineup.

Also available: a character list.

Definitely should not be confused with Hamtaro.

The tropes in this series include:

  • Above Good and Evil: Moral shows signs of being one. He sees it not as good and evil, but as weak and strong. The strong do the crimes and the reason for the strong getting punishment is because the weak are jealous the strong could even do the crime in the first place.
  • The Ace: Nice, who graduated from Facultas with the highest grades in the school's history, and is so great that his existence and Minimum are kept a secret.
    • Also Murasaki, who scored the second highest at Facultas.
  • Aerith and Bob: You've got names like Hajime and Murasaki alongside Ratio, Birthday, Art, and Nice.
  • All Gays are Promiscuous: Played for Laughs in Episode 5. Turns out it wasn't by choice.
  • Animation Bump: Re:Hamatora features greatly improved animation and coloring.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: Moral offers Art Minimum powers so that he could be a proper friend to Nice. Art refuses, and Moral promptly shoots him to death.
  • Anti-Climax: Expect the most exciting, tense scenes to end in the most mundane way possible. For example, Episode 10 ending in Nice finally meeting Moral, and at the beginning of 11... he takes him to Nowhere Cafe.
  • Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: During the hot springs episode when the girls were taken hostage, the terrorists dimiss them as they were not interested in them. This enrages Honey, prompting Koneko and Hajime to join in (the former not entirely sure why, the later because dinner would be cancelled).
  • Asshole Victim: Theo's teacher turns out to be one of these
    • In episode 10, some Mininum haters are viciously attacked and Three's Loony Fan is beaten to death by random strangers.
  • Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Non-romantic example with Nice and Murasaki in Episode 7 of Re:Hamatora.
  • Beach Episode: Episode 8.
  • Beware Nice: He can be quite harsh despite his name.
  • Big Eater: Hajime. Koneko even says it's rare for her to share her food with anybody she's just met.
  • Bolivian Army Ending: Moral is defeated, and Art is alive, everything seems well... and then as Nice is looking at Moral, Art points his gun at Nice's head. Fade to black, gunshot, credits.
    • He survived.
  • Book Ends: Re: Hamatora ends in the same way its opening begins.
  • Brain in a Jar: A huge room with hundreds of them, taken from people with Minimum powers.
  • Break Them by Talking: Moral to poor Art in Episode 3, to the point he lost his usual composture and grabbed him by the collar.
  • Breather Episode: Episode 7 of Re:Hamatora, in spades.
  • Broken Pedestal: Theo goes into a Heroic BSoD when he finds out his beloved teacher, who was supposedly supporting him throughout the bullying he was receiving, was the one inciting the bullies in the first place.
  • The Casanova: Murasaki's client's deceased father was revealed to be sleeping with a number of women.
    • Episode 7 features a man who has slept with a number of idols, and isn't shy about it at all.
  • Cast Full of Pretty Boys
  • Chekhov's Gunman: In Episode 7, Birthday is flirting with a woman at the hospital. Later, she is revealed to be Moral's assistant.
    • Said assistant, whose name is Momoka, is revealed to have an even bigger role in the story, being the "Saikyou" supporting/collaborating with Art and the Freemums.
  • Childhood Friends: Ratio and Birthday.
  • Cliffhanger: The last episode ends in one.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Birthday is kinda odd.
  • Comfort Food: Hajime shares her meal with Nice in episode 7 to confort him which says a lot considering what a glutton she is.
  • Covert Pervert: Nice at least in the manga.
    • He's not so Covert in the anime.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Some spoilerific examples.
  • Cursed with Awesome: Lampshaded. The teenager who went berserk in episode 3 after being used by Moral is happier than ever as noted by Nice.
  • Darker and Edgier: Literally, Re:Hamatora's color scheme is darker than the first season's. It is also more serious and plot-driven.
  • Defective Detective: Hajime might not have the best personality, but in the manga Hajime shows she can assist Nice in solving cases.
  • Dirty Old Man: Murasaki's client's deceased father, in addition to his affairs. His impregnable safe was full of dirty magazines.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: In Re:Hamatora, Art extracts Minimum powers from their Holders, saying he'll take all their sins, and uses them on himself. He can also revive from death. Really subtle.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The ending theme, Hikari, is sung by Murasaki's VA, Wataru Hatano.
    • Re:Hamatora's ending theme, Brand New World, is performed by Ayami, Chiyuu's VA.
  • Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: In episode 11.
  • Emotionless Girl: Hajime gives off this vibe.
  • Enemy Mine: The reason for Art's alliance with the Freenum
  • Evolving Credits: The opening theme had three different animation sequences, and the third one remains for the rest of the show. On the other hand, the first version of the ending theme was covered in Engrish spoilers. Doubles as a Bilingual Bonus.
  • Expy: The first chapter of the manga, Nice's client looks just like Fuyumi. The character designs were done by Blood Lad's mangaka.
    • Moral will remind to more than one Psycho-Pass viewer of the Big Bad Shogo Makishima not only for their physical similarities but also their roles as philosophers and criminals.
    • The villain in Episode 6 was totally channeling Dio Brando, MUDA MUDA MUDA included.
    • The Maou in the drug dealer's fantasy in Episode 8 is Seymour from Final Fantasy X with a color swap.
    • In the first episode of the second season, the Yandere girl resembles Rui from Gatchaman Crowds. (Or even better, Katze impersonating him).
  • Eyepatch of Power: Ratio has one, which hides his Minimum.
  • Fair Cop: Art.
  • Fantastic Racism: Inverted. Minimum Holders, especially those who graduate from Facultas Academy, get better treatment than most Muggles.
    • Episode 10, reveals that the populace didn't know about it.
  • Fauxlosophic Narration: The first episode starts with one. It turns out it's Murasaki trying to tell Nice that he can't withdraw 430 yen (about $4.15) out of a bank.
  • Four Is Death: Murasaki's hospital room is 444. As if that weren't enough, his friends make it worse by bringing a potted plant. A camellia, to boot. note 
  • The Glasses Come Off: And when they do, Murasaki's Minimum activates.
  • Good Cop/Bad Cop: Ratio and Birthday pull this in Episode 6, with Ratio as the Good Cop and Birthday as the Bad Cop (in a hilariously over the top way). It works, except for what happened during "the Bad Cop leaves" part.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Ratio uses brass knuckles, since his Minimum isn't combat-based.
  • Ironic Echo: Moral shoots Art to death five times, Art comes back and shoots Moral 5 times to death.
  • Hot Springs Episode: Episode 5, but it involves less fanservice than usual. It goes for Hilarity Ensues instead.
  • Hyperlink Story: The three separate jobs in episode 1, turned out to be all related.
    • Every episode is like this. Throw-away gags, random background characters and the like will probably converge in the case solution at the end.
  • Hypocrite: Played for Laughs in Episode 5. A woman hires Nice and Murasaki to track down her boyfriend, whom she suspects to be cheating on her. She expresses her utter disgust at the idea of him "touching her with the same hands he touches other women". He was part of her harem, mind you.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: Moral suspects that Art deep down wants a Minimum as well, having gone to Facultas Academy but never developed one. Based on how Art reacts, he might not be entirely wrong
    • The villains of the first two episode are this as well. Wanting Minimums so much to use Moral's drugs. The first episode villain went so to say Minimum Holders are beyond humanity.
  • I Want Them Alive!: Murasaki's superior wishes to have Nice return to Facultas alive.
  • Japanese Delinquents: A gang defies Theo in Okinawa because he's in their territory. Played for Laughs though, since they are more ridiculous and hammy than they are menacing. They are in good terms by the end of the episode. Theo and their leader, especially.
  • Kick the Dog: Moral deliberately let Art got closer to his phone as he's dying, only to prevent him from picking up Nice's call at the last second. And then he shoots him.
  • Killing Intent: Murasaki accidentally shows one in the manga's first chapter which causes to Nice to respond with his own killing intent.
  • I Reject Your Reality: Nice Disapproves Moral's view of the world, believing even the weak are strong when accepting themselves.
  • Only in It for the Money: Murasaki is more willing to take jobs with the higher payout. While Nice wants to take the job that does the most good regardless of the price.
    • The villain in Episode 6 is a case of this too.
  • Manipulative Bastard: As evidenced by episode 3, Nice has some shades of this.
  • Male Gaze: Nice to his client in the first chapter.
  • Mission Control: Koneko seems to serve as this for Hamatora.
  • Mood Whiplash: Quite often, sometimes even veering into Black Comedy.
    • Episode 5 is about a gay terrorist trying to make his favorite idol regain popularity after a scandal with a ridiculous plan that involves working out and making other men gay. At the end of the episode, Gasquet is looking at some data with another investigator... and then promptly stabs him in the back, while smiling maniacally. Cue credits.
    • Episode 7 manages to be even worse. The episode ends with Moral killing Art in the cruelest way possible, complete with an accoustic version of the ending theme playing in the background. Cut to the next episode's preview, with all the characters cheerfully and loudly talking about going to the beach.
    • Episode 8 goes back and forth between Hilarity Ensues and the aftermath of the previous episode.
  • Mundane Utility: So far both Nice and Birthday have used their minimum for everyday things. Which include
    • Nice using his super speed to get to the front of the line for a sandwich. As well as using it to catch food that Hajime dropped (after he blatantly states he would not use his minimum for something mundane).
    • Birthday tried to use his Minimum as well as Ratio's to pretend to be a fortune teller. Much to the latter's annoyance.
  • My Beloved Smother: Hamatora's client in the third episode is a mother that is focused on making sure that children are not given anything that might "hinder their development".
    • Horribly Deconstructed, her actions made her son feel like she thought he was a loser as he didn't have a Minimum.
  • New Transfer Student: Only for episode 2.
  • Nice Guy: Nice.
  • No One Could Survive That!: In the manga Hajime's heart stops beating and she wakes up some minutes later without any apparent problem.
  • Orphanage of Love: Three runs one.
    • Orphanage of Fear: Rumored as this on national TV thanks to a deranged fanatic. And when his plan fails, he sets the place on fire, but Nice, Murasaki, Three and Honey are there to save the day.
  • Parting-Words Regret: Art and Nice have a nasty argument because Art doesn't want Nice to meddle in his work. Later, Nice calls him to talk things over... too bad Art is now bleeding to death, and just when he's about to pick up, Moral steps on his hand and opens fire on him.
  • Perpetual Poverty: The reason why the Hamatora end up accepting whatever job is thrown at them.
  • Power Degeneration: As of Re:Hamatora, Minimum holders start to suffer secondary effects after using their powers.
  • Private Detectives: A whole group of them.
  • Really Gets Around: The former idol in Episode 5 had to retire because he was found to be in a 18-way relationship.
    • The client in Episode 7 too, with a lot of Idols. And damn if he isn't proud of it.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: A great one from Nice to the Monster of the Week's mom in Episode 3.
  • Say My Name: MOOORAAAAL!!
  • Sequel Hook: The shows ends in a huge Cliffhanger and the message "To Be Continued".
  • 7th Episode Twist: Moral kills Art in Episode 7.
  • Ship Tease: Abundant between Nice and Hajime in Episode 9 of Re:Hamatora, following the reveal of how Nice and Hajime met each other at Facultas in the episode prior, which in itself contained a fair bit of this trope.
  • Shock and Awe: Birthday's Minimum, which he activates by biting a taser.
  • Shout-Out: In Episode 5 of Re:Hamatora, Murasaki cooks fried rice, then serves on plates shaped like a tiger and a rabbit. Nice even muses about that making them 'Usatora' note  instead of 'Hamatora'.
    • Episode 7 has a Running Gag of Murasaki getting thrown off his bed. Every time it happens, it's followed by a slow motion Replay with the first ending played in the background, just like in Angel Beats!. It's worth noting that both shows were directed by Seiji Kishi.
  • The Stoic: Ratio and Murasaki don't show much emotion.
  • Super-Empowering: Moral's goal. Not that bad, if it didn't include killing off Minimum holders and using their brains to do it. With the added side effect if your body isn't suited for one, you become a Hulk like monster
  • Superhero School: There are allusions to an Academy people with powers attend, and judging from what Nice remembers of it, it was quite shady.
  • Super-Speed/Flash Step: Nice's Minimum.
  • Super-Strength/Gravity Master: The brute from episode one can makes things weightless, but it comes off as Super-Strength.
    • Murasaki seems to have general Super Strength though.
  • Take That!: This show is so fond of this trope that it has its own page.
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Moral is quite hinting at this.
  • Those Two Guys: Ratio and Birthday
  • Visual Pun: When Rei asks Theo if his butt hurts at the end of Episode 5, there is a huge, suspiciously blushed peach covering the screen...
  • Wall Jump: Murasaki does this in episode 2.
  • Weirdness Magnet: The cases the Hamatora deals with are far from simple, or normal to begin with.
  • What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Some of the Minimums are kinda worthless. Episode 2 really shows some of these powers. One of Theo's bullies had the ability to speed up time. Not as cool as you would think, his power was to use a stop watch to speed up a timer. It only sped up the time by a few minutes at best each time he used the power
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: When one of the bullies that torment Theo shows up again, he uses a time bomb to blow up a school, and is speeding it up with his Minimum. He even screams, with his power, he can use a time bomb as a grenade. Nice just quips why doesn't he just uses a grenade.
  • With Friends Like These...: Poor Murasaki in Episode 7 of Re:Hamatora.
  • X-Ray Vision: Ratio's power.

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