Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora Plot:

In a winter when he was in the second grade of the high school, Yuuichi was hospitalized because of hepatitis. Soon, he became so good as to be scolded by the nurse for going out of the hospital. One day, he happened to meet Rika, a girl of his age, in the next building. He was fascinated by her beauty, but she was very selfish girl. Although she led him by the nose, he began to be attracted by her. However, when Rika told him about her illness, he knew why she acted so selfish; she couldn't live long.

Alternative Titles
English: Looking up at the Half-Moon
Synonyms: Hantsuki
Japanese: 半分の月がのぼる空

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 6
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jan 13, 2006 to Feb 24, 2006
Producers: Group TAC, Pony Canyon
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora review

Story 8/10
Yuichi is a guy that's hospitalised when a girl named Rika arrives to the hospital. She as a seriously weak heart and she doesn't have much time to live if she don't gets a surgery really soon. The nurse that take care of Yuichi asked him to visit Rika and so he did. Yuichi and Rika became good friends and one night Rika tells Yuichi that she want to get to the top of a nearby mountain. Yuichi takes her there and at the top, he suddenly faints...

The very next day he wakes up at the hospital and he's back at square one.

And then, the real story begins.


Characters 9/10
Interest: Who can't help but be interested in Rika? She may be a little selfish, but she's absolutely charming. Yuuchi is one of the classical good guys, someone that we all wish we were a little more like. The secondary characters are all interesting as well - Dr. Natsume has his inner demons and Nurse Akiko has a rather interesting personality. Most of the other characters are so minor, they are pretty much stereotypical filler, but that is their purpose in the show. Hantsuki is primarily about Yuuchi and Rika, and it does an excellent job of making you interested in them.

Growth: Oh hell yes. Both Yuuchi and Rika. It's impossible to talk about it without giving away the crux of the plot, but...let me just say that neither one of them are unchanged by the time the credits roll. Even Dr. Natsume has changed a little by the end.



Animation 10/10
Character Design: The characters in Hantsuki are drawn very, very well. All are proportional, all are different, except there's a pronounced similarity between Yuuchi and Dr. Natsume - but I think that's deliberate. The animation and movement is very smooth.

Op/Ed: Very high quality. There's just a touch of softness to both opening and ending sequence that makes them both a little dreamlike. Some people may not like that style; I love it.

Artwork: Great artwork. Backgrounds are usually fairly simple, since the majority of the show takes place in a hospital. There are very very few still shots or reused sequences, possibly none. The only complaint is that maybe it's a little too simple, but the focus of the show is on the story, not the artwork.



Sound 10/10
Op/Ed: The opening and ending music are two of the best songs I have ever heard for an anime series. Perhaps even THE best. The opening is paced just right for the series, and the ending flows so perfectly with the sequence, it brings tears to my eyes.

Music: There's a few points where instrumental music comes out and really adds to the scenes, especially in the final episode. Otherwise, the music is unobtrusive.

Voices: I have to say that the voice acting was solid. Yuuchi has a good voice for a 17 year old who hasn't really completely grown up yet, and Rika has just the right inflection for her personality: selfish, teasing, reckless, caring. The voices for the secondary characters are fitting as well.


Conclusion: I feel that Hantsuki would be an excellent gateway series to watch with someone new to anime - it highlights a lot of the very best points of the genre without going too overboard with any. I cannot recommend this series enough. A tiny bit more polish, a little longer, and it would have gotten a perfect score from me. I <3 hantsuki.="hantsuki." span="span">