First Impressions – Barakamon
Naru’s antics, calligraphy, and rural healing!
Hello, and welcome to our latest first offering this Summer. I hope this quaint little slice of life found you well. My thanks to Kyo and OC for joining me on what has become my personal instant favorite.
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I’m becoming more and more fond of these slice of life anime with healing aspects thrown in for good measure. It’s just so nice to watch a sweet, relaxing show after a hard day of work. Unfortunately, they don’t succeed unless they’re genuine. So how endearing is Barakamon? This tag team post should give you a better idea.
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This has been on my radar for a while because of the feel good theme and I really love well-done slice of life anime and if you have comedy in it, the better. Isn’t it fascinating to see people have tough time dealing with different situations? After all, everyone has their own version of the weird and I have enough tight situations at work to enjoy this. Anyways, let skylion, Cools and I take this, shall we?
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The Angry Young man
Meet Mr. Grumpy
Kyokai// Handa Seishuu just needs to add one N in his name to start his seishuun life. He definitely needs it and even when I am stretching this pun to its limits, from how he has been boiling at everyone since he blew on to our screens, he needs a chill pill and fast! I mean, punching the daylight out of an oyaji just because he criticized his work sounds extreme but what is behind all that anger? Does he require anger management lessons or simply needs to heal all the frustrations away? I do feel there has to be a reason for it all because all crazy people have backstories and I would definitely like to think our Mr. Grumpy has one too. Come on, he screams personality and half of it comes from OnoD as his seiyuu. You have already heard him rage as Shizuo in Durarara!!, Satou in Working!!, Daikoku in Noragami but he has also voiced mellow yet slick roles as Sindbad in Magi, Midorima in Kuroko no Basuke and Sebastian in Kuroshitsuji. His range is amazing and he gives Handa just that diversity from getting angry to terribly embarrassed to even blush (kawaiii!) after getting caught while singing.
What does THIS button DOOO?!
Putting on his shoes, I feeeeeel his frustration. Imagine working hard all your life on a profession that even has won you awards but one day, some snarky critic moseys in just to label the same work as common trash? It definitely blows and against all his judgement, Handa does blow on the old man. Not the best thing to do in front of a crowd, it gets worse when the supposed crowd is related to that profession you prize so much. Basically Handa’s career is fucked and he has to mature by apologizing for his mistakes and work harder on diversifying his calligraphy in the process. Really, he has to cool off his engine and relax. And what better way to do it? By moving to a remote island and meeting strange-accented people. But that is what really going to save him in the end after all. It’s never too late for learning from the young and this Naru here is one firestarter alright.
The Real Star of the Show
3naru4u Handa?
skylion// Well, I love SoL anime and I am the LOLi-Defender, so you can probably tell that this premiere episode just tickled me pink! I swear they could make this show “Naru trolls around the island” and you’d be printing yen. But really, it has to be much more than that. Which doesn’t preclude this little scamp not being the perfect foil. Her trolling around the island gives Handa exactly what he needs. An insight. To scale the wall of mediocrity. If you don’t climb the wall, you don’t get to see if the sunset is going to be worth while. While we are at it, can we just give a round of applause to Suzuko Hara? That has to be one of the best child performances ever. Naru is a gem, aint she? I’ve been reading the manga for a few months, and of all the characters I wanted Kinema Citrus to get right, they got her so right.
Enjoy your payback!
Handa-sensei is a piece of work ain’t he?. Proud, with just the right measure of vanity to be more trouble than he can handle; add to that some violence issues and you get the guy pretty much exiling himself to get back into “focus”. That being the fundamentals of calligraphy. This is the sticking point in his character. He takes pride in approaching his art from the best of the most basic of levels. Perfection in tradition. There is quite a bit to be said in this, but this is an art form; and as is pointed out to him (much to his chagrin, over and over again) it’s basically copypasta. In other words, it’s textbook enough for even Naru to see it has little to differentiate itself from her teachers writing…or even possibly her own. Nothing in it says “This is Handa-sensei, accept no substitutes”. With this we have the motions set for our acerbic city dweller to take it easy for awhile. Soak in the rural nature of his new home, and learn to accept things as they are. It’s simple, and decent hospitality, and the heart of what a community is. Something he might even need?
Island Thoughts
Nothin’ ventured nothin’ gained
Overcooled// There’s something inherently calming about nature. It’s especially nice to watch it on your television or computer screen without actually going outside and facing the less pleasant parts of nature (bugs, wind, rain etc). I tend to really enjoy it when slice of life shows let us slow things down and appreciate the beauty of nature. I’m not even an outdoors kind of person, but it just calms the nerves so well. That’s the whole point of Handa going to an island. Nature is supposed to heal you in times like this. I really look forward to seeing Handa progressively unwind and learn to have fun the more he explores the island with his new “friend.”
Weapon LOLiX is gonna cone you, dude…
Another thing I really like about the emphasis on nature here is that it’s an island instead of some hick town that’s miles away from the city. I’m not a country girl, but my grandfather is an islander. He was born and raised on a Caribbean island called St. Thomas and recently I’ve been going to visit him every year or two. All of this scenery is actually very familiar and comforting to me. The empty airport surrounded by mountains, the vast expanses of the surrounding ocean and the rickety little houses scattered throughout the island are all ingrained in my memory. It’s nice! Of course there’s a difference here since this is a Japanese island (thank goodness I’ve never had to use one of those pit toilets) but it’s still a nice touch that makes me personally like the show even more.
Mo’ Naru Mo’ HNNNGGGG
Goodness, I am so looking forward to the next episode. I’ve watched this four times as of this writing. I just keep getting more and more from it. I was totally enthralled with Super Beaver’s OP. The animation was perfect. And who didn’t love that little pause in the vocals as Naru slide that door open? All in all, this was wonderful. I hope the show can keep up this sort of pace, as I would dearly love to write for it each week. So what did my mates think?
Adorable. This show is just…adorable. The first episode has perfect pacing, as it introduces the full scenario swiftly and effectively. We meet most of the main characters right off the bat and Handa’s healing process has already begun. He’s already become more friendly and fond of the island and it’s only been a single episode. I can’t wait to see how he continues to learn valuable life lessons and how that will be conveyed in the way he does calligraphy. Oh, and of course I want to see more cute antics in between. The mixture of the two is great. Barakamon is a must-try of the season because there’s a little something in there for everyone. Have I sold you yet? Well, it also has cute accents! If that doesn’t convince you then my work here is clearly done.
*glomps Naru* Can I take her home?! Please?! Holy, what a bundle of cuteness. Hnng, her accent and just the overall energy. If Handa blew across our screens, Naru ROLLED into it with her infectious laughter. I agree with my tag partners that this is one of the best shows of the season. If you don’t try this, you will definitely regret it later. Who can say no to a healing anime, which also makes you laugh? At least for me, anime is my gateway to good times after a hard day’s work so when it’s filled with such joys of characters, even when one of them is grumpy, I’m all for it. And I can’t wait to see how things progress with Naru influencing Handa in not only becoming a better person but someone he does not despise himself. Yep, inner calmness and all that zen stuff.
See you next time for more FUN and adventures!
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Having read some of the manga this was one of my most anticipated animes of the season and it does not disappoint. Seeing Naru animated and voiced (many kudos to Suzuko Hara for a great job) is priceless. There is no need for the Three Ghosts of Christmas–Naru could melt Ebenezer Scrooge’s heart by herself. Handa doesn’t stand a chance. Meeting her is going to make him a better and nicer person.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Have to add that so far this is my favorite of the season, although I haven’t seen everything yet.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The rest of the shows have some awesome competition right here…
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Same here. I like shows that deal with the arts, and they already tackled calligraphy in an interesting way. From the stuffy, smug atmosphere of the juried exhibition room, to the practice of a devotee, to the sensual aspects of the ink and brushes. All good stuff. Can’t wait to see more.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, as a fiction writer I assert that all the stories have been told already, more than thousands of years ago. The same applies to most art forms really. The trick, is to make the story, the art, yours. So in this respect, I love what they’ve done with Handa-sensei here; he took his experience and made that one character his.
I also want to add that Kinema Citrus has done a great job of adapting the manga. They played with time and space a bit, but they did make it their own…
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
As an…artist, or trying to be an artist? I was drawn to this series, as you said Joojoo, I also like shows that deal in the arts, any art related subject.
Now I actually need to read the manga… maybe after this series is done ill pick it up.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I don’t think the manga will spoil you for the show. In terms of direction, they are using the source for inspiration, not direct one to one adaptation…well,mostly…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
heh… it’s kodomo no jikan! literally. 😛
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Pls, no. It’s completely different. If this turns into Kodomo no Jikan at some point I’ll be really sad.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Why would it? KnJ already happened. It really doesn’t need to happen again…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
*shakes head*
There is a difference between Kodomo no Jikan and kodomo no jikan. Read the subtle nuances and emphasis. 😛
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
So you say as you lead them on lol.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Ah, thank god. Now I get it.
Don’t say misleading things like that, man D=
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Not a bad first episode! I think the whole dynamic between Naru and Handa was easily the best part of the episode for me especially all the slapstick comedy! LOL those two are going to make for the best team of the season as far as comical gags go, but I sort of expect some kind of emotional episode revealing why Naru is on the island or is that not a thing in Barakamon? If not that is fine with me either way I look forward to more!
Naru btw looks like a child version of Ritsu from K-ON to me ahaha and my mind was blown that this Suzuko Hara first time doing anime! Wow such talent! Even though I think they could have easily cast Misaki Kuno who voiced Kate of Zvezda and Serara of Log Horiozn <3
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Naru and Handa do have great chemistry. I don’t think it’s a think in Barakamon, she’s on the island cause she was born there. The manga doesn’t tip the scales like that. It balances things.
Kuno also did Tama…BATERU! That would have been good, but I would hate to have missed Suzuko Hara. And yes, Naru does look like a young version of Ritsu!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
I instantly thought of Futami, Mami or Ami from Idolm@sters, But She doesn’t look like a little Ritsu sister haha.
Sounds like a series to just enjoy then, but will there be dramatic moments? or just all around feel good slice of life anime, watching as both characters grow? sorta like.. Usagi Drop?(oh gosh that series haha) but with more laughs here.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
There are a few dramatic moments in the manga, but they aren’t big booming things. The series will mostly be about character interaction. He still has a crop of unruly teenagers to deal with, and the rest of the adults….he won’t have many breaks, let me tell you.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I decided to try this series out just on a whim and I found it very sweet, inspiring series. I really liked this lighter SoL style after all the drama an action of the week.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Isn’t it wonderful when things catch by surprise!?
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
Yup, this show has checked all the right boxes for me too as you guys have mentioned. I know anime likes to explore various professions, but calligraphy is pretty fresh. I think that parallel between Handa’s calligraphy and his time on the island will be an interesting thing to watch developing. In just one episode he went from straightforward ‘textbook’ style, to a free and pretty messy one at the end. I’m guessing his healing experiences and life will help him find the balance in this as the show goes on.
I love the islanders – from the first jiisan on the tractor to the helpful old ladies – they all show a wisdom and warmth that Handa is certainly in need of. No need to say more about Naru, she’s adorable and I’m sure they’ll be more classic moments between Handa and her. I really enjoyed this first episode and I’m looking forward to your write-ups on it!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I hope the show doesn’t turn the islanders into “magical calming people” to much. The manga has a way of treating it very matter of factly. Dry wit mostly.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
This was magnificent. Naru never acts like anything other than the child she is, yet through simple childishi directness she gave Handa insights that he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) see himself.
Naru is making a strong contender for girl of the season, right out of the gate.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I agree. Just look at how she easily apologized to him? That was a very powerful moment in making Handa realize how he should be doing it too. This is a new found gem alright.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
OH gosh this series, I think this one is going to kill Fate/kaleid number 1 spot on my top 10 easily, Man this seasons top 10 list is going to be crazy…
speaking of this season, Akame ga Kill, Aldnoah.Zero and Tokyo Ghoul are some gruesomely Bloody series already, totally took me by surprise. SO Barakamon will give us a great series to unwind from these three shows and others, BUT maybe its just me, I mean ever season has the same spread of Genres so I should not give this too much thought.
Anyways Barakamon will be a fun watch, I’m already drawn into the Arts part of the anime. Naru has instantly captured my heart, sometimes reminds me of myself, Just having a good time, laughter and silliness, but don’t we all have a little kid inside us? I mean we are watching cartoons still =P, but that is never a bad thing haha.
Naru, that little bundle of joy laughter and energetic and quite Adorable. As skylion said Naru and Handa do have great chemistry, and it just shows right away.
Wow, Suzuko Hara IS a kid voicing a kid, good match, on MAL she seems much older but the picture here, shes soo small haha, very awesome, SO Yes skylion ill give her a round of applause, such good talent.
So yes, this series will be the highlight of my week, I can’t wait to see how this series will make me feel after more episodes, hopefully it will fill me with all the things related to good feelings. Naru… YOUR on my list of drawings for sure…NOW if only I can just finish doing my pictures… that would be great… hehe Anyways till next time!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
When you draw her, make sure you have her laughing…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
BTW as a challenge. Once the full ED is available, I want HWY’s band to cover it. Youtube that stuff….
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
seishuu (“Junon boy”) handa, a testy calligrapher with a hair-trigger temper, is no match for Naru — a maddeningly, devilishly charming imp LOL! Barakamon ranks high in my short list for this season. all hail suzuko hara 🙂
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Naru is one heck of a handful that much is for sure…