Review of Haruchika: Haruta & Chika

If you're looking for a show with mystery, HaruChika is one that falls flat with a mixture of elements that don't seem to work well together. While summaries for the series will say its about our title characters recruiting members for the ensemble, it mostly focuses on the mystery aspect. Although these cases result in the increase in members, I feel like there isn't a good balance between the two plot lines. Sure, there are musical references, but we hardly see the ensemble practice that much. For characters, I would have to say Chika is my favorite for her brazen stupidity, willing to say whatever's on hermind and do what her gut tells her to do. Haruto is the exact opposite, as in he's my least favorite. I just don't like his smug attitude that makes him come off as, for a lack of better terms, a jerk. The other characters we meet are introduced as the main focus of a particular episode. They appear throughout afterwards, but, except for a select couple, wind up being nothing more than background characters.

The animation was decent throughout, save for a couple of episodes where it was lacking. Though only a minute detail, I always found Chika's eyes entrancing for some reason (I mean, I've never seen any like that in real life).

After a few episodes in, I found myself bored with the series. Still, I continued watching in case something interesting happened. That didn't really happen. So, I recommend not bothering with it. There are plenty of other mystery shows (as well as ones about music) that are better.