Hanayamata Ep. 01 - Shall We Dance?

Director: Atsuko Ishizuka

Cast: Kaya Okuno, Yuka Otsubo, Minami Tanaka

Duration: 25 minutes

Naru Sekiya is a middle school girl who, besides a fascination with fairy tales, considers herself average in almost every regard, particularly in comparison to her friend Yaya Sasame, who is the drummer in an amateur band. Whilst walking home from an errand late at night, Naru comes across a blonde haired girl dancing in the moonlight, believing her to be a fairy and asking her to take her to another world. The girl invites Naru to dance with her, but Naru isn't confident enough and runs off, inadvertently taking a paddle with her. The next day, the girl, who turns out to be an American transfer student named Hana N. Fountainstand, starts asking Naru if she would like to partake in yosakoi with her, but Naru is too intimidated by her forwardness and rejects her. The next day, as Hana continues to try and find members for a yosakoi club, she explains to Naru that even though she's having no luck in finding any members, she wants to pursue her dream of becoming a true yosakoi dancer because it is her decision. Naru laments that she has no such interests to speak of and considers herself empty, but Hana tells her that it simply means she has plenty of room to discover new things. Moved by her words and admitting she had fun dancing with her, Naru offers to help Hana recruit members for her club and becomes friends with her.