'Hanasaku Iroha' ~ genki! yuuki! nonki!

There was an image song of Degiko in 'Di Gi Charat' called '元気！勇気！のんき！' which translates as 'vigorous! motivated! easy-going!' I always considered these three words as Degiko's principle and supported her wholeheartedly. On a second thought, this motto can be applied to many anime heroines, but carried to the point of absurdity. Almost all manga/anime claim to have 'an unusual story' and 'outstanding strong admirable heroine'. 'Iroha' is no exception. It also has a predictable 'unusual story' and 'outstanding, strong, admirable' Mary Sue

story and characters
There are always two ways to phrase something depending on which aspect is emphasised. About 'Iroha' one would say - 'even though Ohana's grandmother is strict and working in a Japanese-style hotel is not easy, Ohana learns a lot of important things and gradually grows as a person'. As for me, I would like to swift these aspects. Even though Ohana's sudden turn in life is useful to her, even though her strict grandmother and coworkers teach her a lot of things, this doesn't change the fact that Ohana was abandoned by her mother, slapped in the face three times by her grandmother, told to die and never explained properly what to do.
One would say - 'even though Ohana has to get used to ryokan, she learns a lot'. I would say - 'even though Ohana learns a lot, she has to abide by the rules of the ryokan'. She bows and kneels in front of this system. An ideal Japanese woman, is it? Slightly rebellious in the beginning, but docile in the end, always positive, cheering herself up and never reluctant.
And guess what? Despite initial misunderstandings, she manages to get along with everyone, and despite initial harshness or unwillingness to communicate, everybody starts to love her.
Moreover, people love her exactly for how she is. Others may do their best, but they are bound either to be left with nothing, or to find 'their own kind of happiness', which is always nothing more than an excuse for the fact that they do not get as much love as the the Main Heroine does. When the Main Heroine is in trouble she simply has to

and say

or look like

And when something important happens, she only needs to feel depressed for a while, but she does not really need to rack her brains over anything because

and then everybody will say

 and they will say

Here we are. A guy and a girl are engaged, but he tells her in the face he wants to marry someone who is eager to work in the inn with him. She does not give a certain answer. They laugh. I wonder if this is really funny. Probably this humour is beyond my comprehension.
A girl cries complaining that she is the only one left behind while everyone else has found a job. A guy tries to cheer her up. Suddenly they start discussing their favourite manga. Then the mangaka shows up. They are shocked. I wonder if it is enough to see a mangaka to stop crying and worrying about your future. Probably this change of mood is something beyond my comprehension, too.

music
BGM was as soft as one would wish. OPEDs were your usual 'positive' songs, with much guitar and melodic sound, though it will never reach the level of some other OSTs I have heard in my life both as BGM/theme songs, and as independent music albums. However, NANO.ripe's vocalist's voice made me want to cover my ears because they hurt.

art
is here something few other anime can compete with. Nature, buildings, scenery, interior, and of course people were drawn in detail and this level of detailing was of the best I have ever seen. Too bad art doesn't make a complete anime

Fanservice was rare and tolerable

 And this is the level of detailing

Smooth realistic movements of everything

voice acting
in 'Iroha' is something I could not care less about. It was never bad or odd, but I do not even feel interested in any of the seiyuu - except for Minko's Omigawa Chiaki, perhaps

conclusion
When the Inn was closed down, I was supposed to be sad. Qhen Madam was looking at its interior and remembering how lively it was, I was supposed to be crying. When the final credits poured different moments from the story, I was supposed to feel nostalgic. And... I was not. I just felt nothing, except for the relief that it finally came to an end.
In general, 'Iroha' is not absolutely bad. People with that unique ability to take things for granted (which I envy so much) would probably enjoy the developments and the characters' interactions. I simply could not

p. s.
One thing I understood well: it is highly unlikely that I will watch P. A. Works anime ever again