Haré + Guu Vol. 7 2001   AN Entertainment Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Website

Who exactly is Guu? Where does she come from and more importantly, what does she want? Will Weda and Clive ever get back together? Will Haré ever learn if in fact Clive is really his father? Will Weda and Bell get together? Will Robert kill someone? None of these questions will be answered in the seventh and final volume of the Haré + Guu series, but it’s still going to be an outlandish and crazy ride to the finale.

Now that Haré and his family are living in the city, they don’t really have a care in the world. The problem is that having everyone wait on them hand and foot is getting a bit boring and Weda is the first to try and sneak out and have some fun on her own. Little does she know that Clive has come back to town as well, though just temporarily, and although he’s supposed to there for lectures, he can’t get Weda out of his mind. The two of them manage to bump into each other and Haré has seen what’s going on as well. This puts him on a mission to follow his mother and make sure that things don’t get out of hand, and he’s bringing Guu and Robert along for the mission.

This is just the beginning of the insanity however. Haré, Guu and Robert decide to play a game of tag in the mansion leading to everyone getting eaten and a few of Guu’s “friends” who live inside her stomach getting released temporarily. There’s only so much room in there. More importantly though, Haré meets his grandmother, though he hasn’t fessed up to who he is. She’s actually living separate from the mansion and feels terrible about what has happened with Weda 11 long years ago. As for Haré’s grandfather, he has passed on just shortly after Weda left for the jungle.

But, it seems that life in the city is getting to everyone and it might be time to head back to the jungle. There is still unfinished business though and Haré is trying everything he can to at least get his mother to reconcile with grandma before it’s too late. Even with a serious tone being brought into the series, it’s not something that’s permanent, and the comedy definitely is still in tact for the final three episodes.

As for Guu, I suppose that we can merely speculate her presence, though hopefully the OVA might reveal something. Maybe she arrived just to get Weda to return home, maybe she found her way into the jungle to torment poor Haré (which seems to be the more likely case) but no matter what, she has managed to turn life upside down for everyone.

Although Haré + Guu has been a blast, the ending feels a bit flat in my opinion and certainly leaves things open ended, again probably being concluded in the OVA’s which are forthcoming. However, the series doesn’t have the rather bland and lame ending of a particular mecha series that we are all familiar with, and Haré + Guu I’m sure won’t try and remedy the issue with another pathetic ending in the OVA’s. Again, just pointing the finger back to that certain mecha anime.

The final volume shows no changes as far as the collection of bonus features goes, but that’s actually something that’s not necessarily bad as many anime releases end up with close to nothing for fans come the end. The clean opening and ending animations are found here once again as well as the outtakes from the dubbing sessions, but as usual, the most important thing is the cultural notes. These final episodes do bring in many things that are quite obscure to those of us here in the West, and one thing you may take notice of is the use of the “o” word which even AN Entertainment points out isn’t necessarily something that’s good in Japanese. Come on, we’ve managed to overcome the usage of “Japanimation,” now let’s get rid of the usage of the other.

So, maybe the final episode of Haré + Guu doesn’t really bring about any real resolutions, but there is still plenty of comedy leading up to that point. For anyone who has been hooked since the first volume of the series, they wouldn’t dare miss the final episode anyway, but this is one occasion where no one is going to mourn the “end” of the series as more is just around the corner. The moral of the story of course is no pants, and that’s exactly the way it should be.

Episode 24 – Rest Stop

Clive comes back to the city for a few lectures and just happens to pass by the mansion where he fins Weda sneaking out. The two decide to spend time together alone and Haré on the other hand is determined to follow and stop anything from happening . . . with Guu and Robert going right along with him as backup.

Episode 25 – Terror! Humane Game of Tag

To cure his boredom Robert suggests that he play tag with Haré and Guu. But with Guu being “it,” the innocent game soon turns into something more sinister and everyone is getting eaten one by one. The only person who seems to be able to help Haré is an old woman living on the grounds who looks a lot like his mother.

Episode 26 – Over . . . It’s All Over

Weda has had enough to living in the city and decides that it’s time to go back home. But Haré at least wants things settled between mom and grandma and has to do something before it’s too late.

-mike-