Few shows can blend grim and serious action with light-hearted comedy as perfectly as Hatenkou Yuugi.
Many shows attempt to mix the two but get the timing all wrong, they mess up their grim seriousness by forcing comedy where it doesn't belong and while some manage to pull it off, most don't. The opposite is also true, after all there is a reason that the page for Narm exists.
Most of the humour comes from blunt comments from the main character. To declare that if forced the choice that you will willfully abandon a companion to starve to death in a pitch black cave with no noteworthy inflection, expression or emotion is both dramatic and hilarious (at least to me). Somehow, this series manages to preserve that light-heartedness while still being dark and grim, and also retain that seriousness in the face of humour without ruining either. That's an achievement. Perhaps the best way to put it is that the characters manage to take what's happening seriously without taking themselves seriously.
Additionally, the characters are fairly deep at times, and character development is constant but subtle. Really, subtlety is one of this show's strong suits. Of course big important things that have an effect on the plot happen as they do in all shows, but the little things are just as important and the characters manage to preserve their respective personalities at all times, whether they're joking around or graphically describing the effects of putting a bullet through someone's skull via the mouth.
My only complaint is that it was short (only 10 episodes) and that the last episode seemed to be under the impression there was a going to be a second series (there isn't). An enjoyable little show that anyone looking at should pick up, be it for the laughs, the serious action or the flawless blend of both.
Manga Short And Sweet
Few shows can blend grim and serious action with light-hearted comedy as perfectly as Hatenkou Yuugi.
Many shows attempt to mix the two but get the timing all wrong, they mess up their grim seriousness by forcing comedy where it doesn't belong and while some manage to pull it off, most don't. The opposite is also true, after all there is a reason that the page for Narm exists.
Most of the humour comes from blunt comments from the main character. To declare that if forced the choice that you will willfully abandon a companion to starve to death in a pitch black cave with no noteworthy inflection, expression or emotion is both dramatic and hilarious (at least to me). Somehow, this series manages to preserve that light-heartedness while still being dark and grim, and also retain that seriousness in the face of humour without ruining either. That's an achievement. Perhaps the best way to put it is that the characters manage to take what's happening seriously without taking themselves seriously.
Additionally, the characters are fairly deep at times, and character development is constant but subtle. Really, subtlety is one of this show's strong suits. Of course big important things that have an effect on the plot happen as they do in all shows, but the little things are just as important and the characters manage to preserve their respective personalities at all times, whether they're joking around or graphically describing the effects of putting a bullet through someone's skull via the mouth.
My only complaint is that it was short (only 10 episodes) and that the last episode seemed to be under the impression there was a going to be a second series (there isn't). An enjoyable little show that anyone looking at should pick up, be it for the laughs, the serious action or the flawless blend of both.