Hibana: Spark (火花) is a television series adaptation of the novelSpark byNaoki Matayoshi. It premiered worldwide onNetflix on June 2, 2016.^[1][2][3] The story follows an aspiring stand-up comedian Tokunaga (Kento Hayashi), who embarks on an apprenticeship with Kamiya (Kazuki Namioka), a seasonedmanzai artist.^[4]

Hibana: Spark
Promotional poster
Based on	Hibana byNaoki Matayoshi
Screenplay by	Masato Kato Miyuki Takahashi Yuko Kato
Directed by	Ryūichi Hiroki Kazuya Shiraishi Shuichi Okita Yasunori Mouri Shinji Kuma
Starring	Kento Hayashi Kazuki Namioka Mugi Kadowaki Masao Yoshii Hideaki Murata Nahana Sayaka Yamamoto Shōta Sometani Tomorowo Taguchi Kaoru Kobayashi
Composers	Kōji Ueno Tōru Ishitsuka
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of episodes	10
Production
Producers	Akihiko Okamoto Keiichi Yoshizaki David Lee Noriyasu Kamiki
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	June 2, 2016 (2016-06-02)

• Kento Hayashi as Tokunaga
• Kazuki Namioka as Kamiya
• Mugi Kadowaki as Maki
• Masao Yoshii (Inoshita Yoshii) as Yamashita
• Hideaki Murata (Toro salmon) as Ōbayashi
• Nahana as Erika Nishida
• Sayaka Yamamoto as waitress
• Eri Tokunaga as Ayumi
• Maryjun Takahashi as Yurie
• Rina Takeda
• Shugo Oshinari as Sasamoto
• Kyūsaku Shimada
• Shōta Sometani as Ogata
• Tomorowo Taguchi as Hyuga
• Kaoru Kobayashi as Watanabe
• Hiro Honda as VIP guest

David Cirone ofJ-Generation criticized the slow pacing of the first half of the series, but said "even with its rough edges,Hibana shines with the power of its two leads [Hayashi and Namioka]."^[5] Maggie Lee ofVariety called the series "a profoundly reflective and achingly tender look at Japan's vibrant yet cutthroat comedy scene".^[6] Elissa Loi ofStuff complimented the show for "steering away from the usual predictable Japanese tropes".^[7]

Okamoto's - "Brother"^[8] (released June 1, 2016)

Netflix Original DramaHibana -Spark- Soundtrack (released February 26, 2017 by Yoshimoto Music Ltd.)^[9]

• Hibana: Spark atIMDb