Maiden Japan licenses anime "reality" series HINAKO

It’s been said that if a film or television genre exists, someone in Japan has probably made an anime about it. As proof of this theorem, MAIDEN JAPAN submits HINAKO, Japan’s first interactive anime reality and exercise video series! Which may sound strange at first, but transforming robots, collecting virtual pets and dancing with video games were once all considered odd ideas as well, and look how that turned out.

Beginning with TRAINING WITH HINAKO, the surprise hit that topped Amazon Japan’s and other internet retail sales charts for two consecutive weeks, HINAKO’s videos focus on a ‘self aware’ anime heroine who constantly stops to chat about her feelings with the audience. Of course, the fact that Hinako tends to be continuously bouncing up and down exercising or stretching, and that her videos’ scene order can be rearranged to create different scenarios, might be as responsible for her success in Japan as the innovative format. But whatever the case, HINAKO’s producers were quick to serve Hinako’s legion of fans with two more interactive video experiences, SLEEPING WITH HINAKO and BATHING WITH HINAKO, all three of which will be packaged together for Maiden Japan’s U.S. home video release.

Hinako used to be a normal girl, but then she became an anime character! Now she does things like play the heroine’s best friend, but unlike most people in anime, Hinako is completely aware that she’s being watched by an unseen audience! So, if she’s doing something and thinks of something to say, she’ll just say it to the people she can’t see. Or CAN she see them? The most self-aware anime character ever invites you to peek behind the screen and experience Training, Bathing and even Sleeping in the intimate interactive life of HINAKO!