Hana-Kimi Ep. 1: Genderbending Romance Story [Review]

Hana-Kimi is in some ways a typical romance anime one might find in a shojo manga. However, Ep. 1 shows that in many other ways, this is definitely not a traditional romance story. Not when the main character is a girl who has disguised herself as a boy in order to pursue her male love interest, with all the genderbending (bordering on queer) hijinks you can imagine.

Hana-Kimi Ep. 1: Details in Brief

Hana-Kimi Ep. 1 is the first episode of the first season of this genderbending romance anime. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Hisaya Nakajo.

Signal.MD (Atom: The Beginning, Dragon Goes House-Hunting, The Fire Hunter) is the animation studio behind this anime. Natsuki Takemura is the director, with Shigeru Ueda as the assistant director, and Takao Yoshioka as the head writer responsible for series composition.

The opening theme song for Hana-Kimi is “Adrena” (アドレナ) by Yoasobi. Meanwhile, “Baby” also by Yoasobi is the ending theme song.

Synopsis

Alas, at the time of this review, Hana-Kimi hasn’t even started streaming yet. Ep. 1 will begin streaming on January 4, 2026 exclusively on Crunchyroll. Thus, here’s the official synopsis of the anime as a whole from Crunchyroll below:

“Japanese-American track-and-field star Mizuki has gotten herself to transfer to a high school in Japan…but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she’s going to an all-guys’ high school…and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they’re more than classmates…they’re roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates–and the school nurse–must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own orientation…”

Hana-Kimi Ep. 1: The Good

As you might imagine, it’s the romance of Hana-Kimi Ep. 1 that is the most interesting aspect of the anime’s story. And as you might also imagine, it’s for a number of some surprisingly queer reasons. First off, the main character Mizuki Ashiya (voiced by Aya Yamane (JP) and Katelyn Barr (EN)) is a girl who’s trying to become closer to her love interest…by attending an all-male school as a boy. The premise alone is quite LGBTQ+, as any romantic interest towards her by any of the guys would effectively be yaoi by dint of everyone assuming that she is male, as she is stating to be.

Honestly, this storyline even feels transgender in some ways due to Mizuki’s publicly male persona. She calls herself female in the privacy of her own thoughts, but identifies as male in public for the purposes of her deception. It creates an interesting conflict of personas for her that’s fascinating to watch, and yet also hilarious due to her clearly not thinking the whole thing through before going through with this plan. A plan that goes horribly awry by the end of Ep. 1, but that’s a spoiler I’ll save for later.

And all with some pretty good animation from Signal.MD. In fact, the overall animation quality is fairly high, with smooth animation whenever the characters are engaging in any kind of physical activity, from walking to running to soccer-playing. There’s also an emphasis on beautifully drawn eyes as the animators show off their artistic skills. All in all, it’s a good-looking anime to enjoy along with the maybe-queer romance.

Hana-Kimi Ep. 1: The Bad

As you can guess by the synopsis and the manga it’s based on, Hana-Kimi Ep. 1 is not an action-packed anime…at least, it’s not the main conflict. The story revolves entirely around romance and drama as Mizuki struggles to keep her current gender from being discovered, and not on action movie antics. There is however a good amount of focus on physicality here, with Mizuki herself being depicted as physically adept and the male characters’ interest in her revolving around her physical prowess, so it’s a nice change of pace for a romance story.

However, there is a point of concern: there is a strange amount of…predatory behavior from a few of the male characters. I’m not sure if this is a comment on men in an all-male environment or what, but it feels a bit…off. At the very least, it’s a bit concerning, and how the story handles those characters will decide what my view of said story will be.

Anime Recommendations

If you want more action in your anime, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, and/or May I Ask for One Final Thing?. On the other hand, if you want more calming anime or drama not involving action, then you might want to watch Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, and/or This Monster Wants to Eat Me.

What did you think of the very first episode of Hana-Kimi? Tell us your anime thoughts in the comment section below.

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