Tsuchida, a recent graduate, is starting his first job as a kindergarten teacher at Hanamaru Kindergarten. On his way to school, he runs into a little girl named Anzu who thinks that Tsuchida is hitting on her. While this is not the case, it's only later he finds out that Anzu is the daughter of Sakura, a girl he knew in high school. Anzu is taking the flirting thing very seriously, saying that she intends to become Tsuchida's wife. Her mother is completely fine with the idea.The series focuses on the day to day adventures of Anzu and her friends, Hiiragi and Koume, as well as the rest of the class and teachers at Hanamaru Kindergarten.Based on the manga by Yuto and produced by Gainax, the series aired in the winter 2009/2010 season.
Tropes in Hanamaru Kindergarten include:
Art Shift: This is the first look we get at the girls in the manga, a very deliberate attempt to make the readers think this will be a serious romance/drama in the vein of Kodomo no Jikan. Then on the next page we get a better look at them.
Episode 11's ending is animated in a notably different style from the rest of the show. Episode 8's is as well, using a watercolor style.
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: The girls' attempt to follow Tsuchida around in episode 5 is marred by Koume and Anzu constantly getting distracted.
Author Avatar: The octopus the anime uses for scene transitions turn out to be Yuto himself.
A Day in the Limelight: The second half of episode 3 focuses on Yamamoto-sensei. The first half of episode eight also brings Aoi, one of the girls' classmates, into the spotlight.
Digging Yourself Deeper: Tsuchida's attempts to explain away Anzu's behavior just gets him even further in a rut.
Free-Range Children: Averted for the most part, since the kids are usually seen in school and, thus, supervised by their teachers. Also specifically averted in the episode where the girls follow Tsuchida around on a Sunday afternoon and Sakura follows them.
Harem Seeker: While he's only focused on Yamamoto, Tsuchida had dreams of having an entire harem of teachers after him. Whether he has that in the present is debatable.
Tsuchida is still talking about it to his sister just before his first day, albeit as a joke, in the manga.
Kusano is apparently grooming her students so they will grow up "macho". Hmm...
Head Pet: Anzu frequently becomes one for Tsuchida (as in, she scampers up him and sits atop his head). It's adorable.
Hot for Student: Not just Anzu to Tsuchida (which her mother approves), but Anzu's mother, Sakura, is married to her high school art teacher.
Hot Shounen Mom: Sakura, justified in that she had Anzu at 18, and hence has a better time keeping in good shape unlike, say, a woman who does the same at 35.
Point in fact, is there any mom in this series who isn't young and adorable?
Marshmallow Hell: Tsuchida gets a bit of this when Yamamoto-sensei hugs him in episode 3. Wouldn't be Gainax if they didn't include this...
Meaningful Echo: Repeated three times in the course of one half-episode. Tsuchida's speech on The Power of Love inspired Sakura, who in turn repeated it to Anzu, who repeated it to Tsuchida himself.
Oblivious to Love: Yamamoto is completely unable to realize that anyone is attracted to her. This fact is lampshaded to hell and back in episode 3. This runs in the family, apparently, as Mayumi is no less oblivious about Hanamaru's attraction to her. Ironically, each of the sisters is fully aware of the other's situation, and they both feel sorry for the man in question.
On The Next: The next episode preview is given by a character or group of characters that changes for every episode. At the end of the preview, the characters giving it will ask the next group to do it next time.
Once an Episode: Hiiragi dresses in SOME kind of cosplay, be it a profession or an animal.
Overnight Age-Up: Anzu's dream sequence in the first half of episode 12.
Pre Meeting: Tsuchida meets Anzu for the first time on the way to his first day at work, when he sees her alone on the side of the road. He addresses her and "Ojou-chan" - essentially "Miss" or "little lady" - and she jumps to the conclusion that he's hitting on her. Of course, he's her teacher, and the misunderstanding persists.
She Is Not My Girlfriend: For as much as Tsuchida would like her to be, he has to explain that he and Yamamoto aren't like that when his mother asks the question.
Shout Out: The last frame of Episode 2 has the three main toddlers in a pose reminiscent of Gurren Lagann's Simon, Kamina, and Yoko... and Hii is wearing Yoko's signature outfit.
When Hiiragi's explaining the things that could happen to Yuu in episode 5, she lists off the Second Impact and the Ishval War.
Soundtrack Dissonance: Episode 10's ending. The music is a serene piece about something Tsuchida forgot. The animation is Anzu being sent through a wide awake nightmare, and ends with Yamamoto being a vampire.
Strawberry Shorthand: Anzu, reflecting on the difficulty of love while eating a strawberry.
Super-Deformed: Semi-justified in that although the children are basically toddlers, this is what their proportions come across as onscreen compared to the adults, moreso than Real Life.
Theme Naming: Most of the young girls have botanical names: Anzu = apricot, Hiiragi = holly olive, Koume = small plum, Hinagiku = daisy, Aoi = mallow.
Too Much Information: Played straight, during an episode where the kids are drawing their dreams. Anzu's dream is obvious (marrying Tsuchida), which stays innocent until a certain line is delivered...
Tsuchida: Are we getting naked as soon as I get home?
Anzu: My parents are like this all the time!
Tsuchida (with an appropriate expression): Eh? Sakura-senpai? and sensei?
Totem Pole Trench: In the fourth ending, "Yamamoto" turns out to be Anzu, Hiiragi and Koume standing on top of each other.
Unwanted Harem: Played with. Before starting his job Tsuchida fantasizes about having a whole school worth of teachers after him. He does end up with multiple characters wanting to marry him. They're all kindergartners.
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