Now, those that have been with me since the beginning know I love myself a good slice of Life. Especially when they’re extremely well done and deserving of a second season, which I think Barakamon is worth of. However, today I want to talk about why I think Barakamon is arguably one of the best Slice of Life Anime to grace the genre.
I also know that this can be very debatable with all you lads, as we all have preferences as to what Anime should be the ‘best’ of whatever genre – sorry not sorry, let’s get into the review.
Barakamon is an Anime that aired during the Summer of 2014. It has a total of 12 episodes and is known to 278, 250 people on MyAnimeList. What is surprising about this Anime is that it currently has a rating of 8.48, the average rating of 151, 124 people – meaning just over 54% of the people who have seen the Anime has rated it an 8 or higher. (Meaning it’s really good).
Episode Count: 12
MyAnimeList Synopsis
“Seishuu Handa is an up-and-coming calligrapher: young, handsome, talented, and unfortunately, a narcissist to boot. When a veteran labels his award-winning piece as “unoriginal,” Seishuu quickly loses his cool with severe repercussions.
As punishment, and also in order to aid him in self-reflection, Seishuu’s father exiles him to the Goto Islands, far from the comfortable Tokyo lifestyle the temperamental artist is used to. Now thrown into a rural setting, Seishuu must attempt to find new inspiration and develop his own unique art style—that is, if boisterous children (headed by the frisky Naru Kotoishi), fujoshi middle schoolers, and energetic old men stop barging into his house! The newest addition to the intimate and quirky Goto community only wants to get some work done, but the islands are far from the peaceful countryside he signed up for. Thanks to his wacky neighbors who are entirely incapable of minding their own business, the arrogant calligrapher learns so much more than he ever hoped to.”
My Opinion
This anime is definitely a refreshing and a unique slice of life anime, watching it gives me nostalgia of whenever I have failed at something and had built up only to have evaluated and being told to try again – which I’m sure everyone can relate. Watching the show and characters interact is a great joy; seeing each person going through new experiences and emotions. Barakamon is definitely a wonderful addition to the slice of life genre, that people can relate to and enjoy.
Story 9/10
This story features a calligrapher, Handa Seishu, that is suddenly forced to live on a small island to better focus on his calligraphy. As someone who has lived in the city his entire life, he must now adapt to his new surroundings. Encountering various different people and learning from these experiences he begins to see new perspectives and develops inspiration in his writing. Each episode is heartwarming and gives insight into Handa Seishu.
Throughout this entire series, each component to the plot was well done the comedy, elements of slice of life as well as the moments of self-reflection; help gives this series a unique feeling. The story follows a linear plot all towards the goal of Handa improving his calligraphy through experience and new encounters.
Art 9/10
The art style is nicely done to match with the environment of the series, portraying country landscapes as well as a variety of unique characters. Using light colors the animation is very fluid. Though the art does not particularly stand out, the uniformity and style make it fitting for the story.
Sound 8/10
The soundtrack throughout the series fits well with the overall mood of the anime. Barakamons soundtrack does well in transitioning between scenes since the music is not extremely noticeable this allows the viewer to focus on the story at hand.
However, both the OP and ED were particularly nice to listen to. Listening to the OP and gives a nice calm mood overall, befitting of a slice of life anime.
Character 10/10
The characters in the show were various, each with a different personality. There’s Handa Seishu a calligrapher that resides on a small island hoping to improve his calligraphy after being sent to a small island. Naru Kotoishi, an innocent and fun loving seven-year-old girl that spends her time messing around with Handa.
Also with a variety of unique supporting characters each with their own quirks, the characters in this series are all interesting in their own way providing unique developments to Handa. Each character in this series definitely stood out due to their unique personalities and is one of the main factors which make this anime so enjoyable. Watching each character interaction was something I could look forward to each episode.
Does this deserve a second season?
100% yes, out of all the other Anime that have been released over the years. In my opinion in this one particular Anime does deserve a second season. Do I think they’ll make one? No, I do not. But would I like that to happen? Yes, definitely.
Do I personally think it’s the best Slife of Life Anime? Yes, as of right now I do. I’ve seen a lot of Slife of Life Anime, heck a lot of my reviews are based on Anime that touch on the Slice of Life genre. As a person who has completed 421 Anime since 2014, I think it’s safe for me to say that this is definitely the best Slife of Life in my eyes.
However, it’s up to you to decide. Tell me what you think, give the Anime a watch, I think you’ll really enjoy it as much as I did.
Stamp of Approval Earned,
– OOCentral
Twitter: @OOCentral
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3 responses to “Barakamon | Best Slice of Life?”
I quite enjoyed this anime despite not normally liking comedy or slice of life. There was just something relaxing and charming about the story and there was enough of a plot that it felt like it was going somewhere despite individual episodes mostly just being about the characters going about their daily lives.
Thanks for shairng your thoughts on it.
Thanks for reading and commenting! You da best ;3
I really loved Barakamon too. Your review was pretty great. I’ll be looking at some of your other work as well 🙂