Resource Links: ANN, AniDB, MAL
Its title translating to Unprecedented Game, Hatenkou Yuugi fits that description well. With no introduction whatsoever, it begins as the main character, a teenage girl named Rahzel, is told to go see the world as she's kicked out of her house by her father. A few scenes later she meets Alzeid, a quiet and cool young man—just as he's holding up a random guy at gunpoint. And thus we are thrown into the middle of Rahzel's journey, with another man named Baroqueheat also joining her soon after.
The show takes the approach of jumping right into events without any introduction and letting the viewer pick up details along the way. At the start, very little is known about the three protagonists, how they know each other, or why they're traveling together. But as it progresses, more and more information leaks out to answer these question until finally, at the end, we get the whole picture. It can be jarring at first, and the first couple episodes may be off-putting because of that, but it's also an interesting and uncommon method of storytelling in anime.
Baroqueheat, Rahzel, and Alzeid during one of the show's many serious-yet-funny moments.
The story itself is mostly episodic with each episode or pair of episodes featuring new things and people that the trio encounter on their journey. Some of these sub-stories are better than others but the main draw of the series is the character interaction. And the over-arcing plot itself deals entirely with the relationships between Rahzel, Alzeid, and Baroqueheat.
There's a nice mix of comedy, drama, action, and even some romance present in Hatenkou Yuugi. Though the show deals with some pretty dark and even disturbing themes, it never takes itself too seriously and frequently injects bits of humor here and there. Much of that comes from the main trio's wildly differing personalities bouncing off one another, but their antics are also contrasted by tragic pasts that shape their interactions more and more as they come to light.
Hatenkou Yuugi's OP and ED, Heartbreaking Romance by Itou Kanako and Te no Naka no Eien by Hikita Kaori.
Not particularly amazing but still nice, the art and animation feature detailed backgrounds and smooth movement, and the character designs are equally pretty. But the real treat is the music. Besides featuring both a great opening and ending, the background music is absolutely wonderful and well used throughout the series. The production values may not be incredible but it's a beautiful show nonetheless.
Ultimately, whether you enjoy Hatenkou Yuugi or not will mainly depend on whether you like the fantasy/adventure/comedy mix. It doesn't do a lot to expand its audience outside those genres but, if you do enjoy them and can get past the somewhat disorienting first couple episodes, you'll find an oft-overlooked gem of an anime in this show.
