Tropical Kiss

Good

Hanabi Hinata has a great design and her personality really shines when she starts getting flustered around Kaito during that first meeting at the resort

there is clearly not going to be much of a plot since it is only three episodes but the reunion angle adds some flavor to the scenes

I actually really liked that this started with Hanabi because their past connection gives the story a bit more weight than your average title in this genre, the resort vibe is super relaxing and the animation quality for her scenes was surprisingly solid throughout the whole episode, it is a bit short but seeing them reconnect at ALOHA was a good start

the tropical resort setting is pretty nice to look at but Kaito is just such a lazy guy that it makes the pacing feel a bit slow in the beginning

That connection between Kaito and Hanabi made the whole reunion at the resort feel way more meaningful than usual

Seeing Kaito try to escape his old life only to run straight into Hanabi at the front desk was such a mood and the focus on her reaction when they locked eyes was handled so well and you could see her getting flustered while trying to keep it professional which made the whole dynamic feel much more real than expected

The way the music changed when Kaito first saw Hanabi was perfect and you could tell they both have a lot of regrets

I definitely felt the awkwardness when Hanabi mentioned their past, and seeing her get so flustered made that entire scene worth it

That ending with Hanabi standing by the water was such a good shot and her eyes looked so sad when she looked at Kaito

Watching Kaito act cool at the resort while Hanabi was right there watching him fumble his words was pretty funny

The animation on Hanabi during her heart racing moment was so smooth and it really showed how much she still likes him

I was really feeling for Kaito when he realized Hanabi was actually working there, and the tension between them during that first conversation was heavy

Wait Kaito just running into Hanabi at his new job was so awkward and she looked so different in that resort uniform

Hanabi looked so flustered during the close up scene and that blush stayed on her face for the rest of the episode

I did not expect the reunion to happen that fast and the way Hanabi reacted when she saw Kaito made me feel the tension because of their history together

That beach setting at A LO HA is nice and Kaito getting to work there while bumping into his old flames makes the plot actually feel like it is going somewhere

My mind was kind of blown seeing Kaito realize his big dreams were a total wash and then he just ends up at the resort with Hanabi

I wasn't expecting Kaito to actually take the job at A LO HA, but seeing him reconnect with Hanabi made the whole resort setting feel much more personal.

Hanabi looks great in this art style and her reaction to seeing Kaito at the resort was definitely the best part of the whole start