Based on a novel series, this teen-classroom drama would appear on the surface to be largely music-oriented but is actually comprised of a set of modest-scale mysteries. Athletic co-ed Chika changes her goals when she sees an orchestra performing and decides that she would rather be a "cute girl" flute player (despite having no musical background) than a volleyball champ. Fortunately, the underpopulated student band society needs members, so they accept her. Chika bonds in odd-couple fashion with the gay French horn player leading the group, Haruta. Both of them have a crush on music teacher Mr. Kusakabe—who mysteriously abandoned a successful conducting career for this obscure post—and want to turn the club into a first-class competitive ensemble to honor him. The process of recruiting new instrumentalists and securing practice space invariably plunges Haruta, Chika, and their bandmates into solving enigmas, dilemmas, and scandals involving their schoolmates’ cloistered personal lives—puzzles that are unlocked by Haruta thanks to his Sherlockian sleuthing talents and encyclopedic knowledge. Haruchika is a cleverly written offbeat series that spawned a live-action adaptation in 2017. Presenting all 12 episodes from 2016 in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, in Japanese with English subtitles, rated TV-14, this is recommended. (C. Cassady)
Haruchika—Haruta & Chika: The Complete Series
(2016) 2 discs. 300 min. In Japanese w/English subtitles. Blu-ray: $29.99. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). Volume 34, Issue 5
Haruchika—Haruta & Chika: The Complete Series
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