Back to Neonnie's Profile Neonnie's Profile

(No spoilers)

Barakamon is a modern classic in the slice-of-life genre. There, I said it. Someone had to. Watching it you'll feel a slow smile creep up your face. It's about inspiration and the relationship between the characters. It's poignant at times without being pretentious or emotionally manipulative.

The characters of any medium have to be relatable to cross that boundary of imaginary fiction and be a real meaningful figure. And barakamon has those characters. At the end you will become close with the characters as if you're part of the group too. Handa, our lead protagonist, is temperamental and moody like most people. He does ... things in the spur-of-the moment but also apologises after a realisation. He fails in finding inspirations for his profession of caligraphy but is determined to achieve something unique. The show mainly concerns with Handa chasing after his goal of finding his own style of caligraphy, and also the surrounding bond between the characters. Most characters support Handa in some way or are helped by him.

The most important and intresting one is Naru. Naru is our small child protagonist who is the biggest source of inspiration for Handa (directly or indirectly). Also, she's a ball of sunshine who will have you smiling with her meme face and childish ways. In the show, you will slowly see her unravel and understand her. Credits to the small child who voice acted her, because she does a damn good job.

I've seen complaints about the character development of Handa, because each episode he seems to be taking a step forward and is back at the starting point in the next. That's missing the point. The development is supposed to be gradual. Each chapter is an anecdote. It's life and not some fairy tale (tail) where you just level up after being trapped in an island. And it's not as if the show just meanders around because the goal set out at first is achieved in some way.

The other characters do contribute, however you won't see them grow as much as the other two. Well, they are the protagonists for a reason.

Barakamon in one word is charming. I mostly explore the slice-of-life genre in the medium of anime. Most people dismiss it as a genre of boredom where nothing happens. Barakamon sets out to prove those wrong.