Hibana: Spark

Hibana: Spark has built a devoted audience in Australia on Netflix, and in the US on Netflix among viewers who want their drama to earn its emotional beats. The show says what it needs to say in a single season, no filler. 29 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Watch it for Kento Hayashi — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Available now on Netflix — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Hibana: Spark arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The writing in Hibana: Spark treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. Tokunaga, a comedian who is down on his luck, has a shock encounter with Kamiya, an older comedian, when he visits a fireworks event in Atami on a job. Tokunaga is deeply touched by Kamiya, and asks if he can become his apprentice. Kamiya is a genius type of comedian, who is full of human kindness. Kento Hayashi and Kazuki Namioka lead a cast that treats the material with real seriousness. It first aired in 2016. The performances in Hibana: Spark do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. The consistency throughout is what elevates it — not every moment is the best, but none of them are a reason to stop watching.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Hibana: Spark delivers. Fans of The Fruit of Grisaia will recognise the sensibility here immediately. The complete run is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Kento Hayashi carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.

Hibana: Spark wrapped up in 2016, created by Shuichi Okita, Kazuya Shiraishi, Yasunori Mouri, Shinji Kuma and Ryuichi Hiroki — and 1 season is available to watch from start to finish. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro's free voice app makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just say the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.