Can I just say this one thing that I haven't said about another anime since Death Parade,
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I CAN SAY BADLY ABOUT BARABAMON. IT IS JUST ABSOLUTE PERFECTION AS A 12 EPISODE SERIES.
I cannot believe myself for hesitating to watch this anime. When I heard from other MAL users that it's about kids harrassing this adult, I was like, "Nope, this anime is not the one for me." I have a part time work where I work with a lot of kids everyday, and I thought to myself, I've had my fair dose of kids harrassing ME EVERYDAY. I don't need this no more! But it was something about Naru's face that made it irresistable for me to click on the first episode, and after that everything was history. in the making.
CHARACTERS AND PLOT
The characters are ABSOLUTELY memorable, so memorable to the point that I'm currently thinking about getting rid of one of my favourite characters to put Naru on the list (which is so rare because I never budge with this kind of thing!) Naru is JUST the most quirky, adorable, funny, cute, lovable child anyone could ever ask for. And her friends like Hina, the highschoolers, the brats and others are equally memorable because of their mischievous and unique sides of their personality. I love the authenticity of the children, everything that they did to play and to cause trouble seems extremely natural, even though a lot of the games were not games I was personally familiar with. But parts of them certainly made me a little nostalgic, like collecting bugs, creating a mess everywhere, getting angry for no reason but then becoming fine again. It just reminds me of the simplicity of being a child, and those innocent days that gave me that breath of hope and happiness each new day. I few like sometime during the period of transitioning slowly into an adult, I have lost that, and like Handa, through this anime, these children has reminded of what is truly important.
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FRIENDS and MAKING MEMORIES
Handa I just want to say that straight off the bat reminded me of someone I love already, TAMAKI from Ouran! The resemblance in the way they overreact in situations is uncanny! Of course, Handa is the Tamaki in the alternate universe that wants to do well in things but is socially a little awkward. :D They are both equally handsome though (hue hue hue). I absolutely love the development of his character, from someone cold to someone a little shy that blushes, the childish innocence in him shines at the end, and that makes me realise, there is a child that is hopeful and happy in all of us, we city people need to unleash them to climb out of our shells!
For a slice of Life, I believe it is FANTASTICALLY paced, each episode is a little story, and Handa learns a little something, and the last couple of episodes builds towards some sort of a climax that adds just a little sprinkle of urgency. What I really like about Barakamon is the fact that I don't feel pressured to watch the next episode, I feel this kind of positive energy, like I'm warmed each time I watch a new episode, yet in between episode breaks, I am not left in the cold but the steam is retained. It's strange but in this beautiful, fantastic way! THIS IS AN ANIME WITH EXTREMELY HIGH REWATCH VALUE!!!!
Watching the characters' growth, I have realised that I am blessed with a job that involves kids, as annoying as they sometimes are, I get to first-handedly witness them mature into beautiful beings, and I am PART of the mechanism that encourages that maturity. I am also the PART of the mechanism that tries to preserve this beautiful part of their life for as long as possible. It's paradoxical.....but wonderful..... (getting a little teary in here ....)
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ANIMATION
I ADORE ALL the chibi moments in the anime, I love the incorporation of all the different faces and funny moments of Handa and Naru. It's nothing spectacular, but lines are clean, crisp and sharp, colours work well together, colours are never too harsh on the eye. Movements are well animated.
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SOUND
I LOVE the opening song so much! Even though I have no idea what it is singing about, it just gives this heartwarming, heartlifting energy and it transcends through the speakers into my ears. I love the ending as well. But what I even more enjoy is the country accents of ALL THE CHARACTERS!!! Even though I don't understand Japanese, I can definitely tell the difference. It's very abbreviated, but definitely gives that authentic feel to the anime. AND THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, for using REAL KIDS as seiyuus! It's soooooo rare these days and all the kids, especially the one who voice Naru, did a fantastic job! Handa was voiced by a favourite seiyuu of mine, so I already love his voice. Fantastic job!
OVERALL, wow, such an impacting anime! Them feels overflowing from my kokoro ever since the last episode ended on my screen...What I am trying to say is, you don't need no fancy action, crazy animation, crazy characters, crazy plots to create a good anime. all you need is to find a way to make the anime RESONATE with the audience. That is all. (Of course to find that resonation point can be challenging hehehe)
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FRIENDS and MAKING MEMORIES
Handa I just want to say that straight off the bat reminded me of someone I love already, TAMAKI from Ouran! The resemblance in the way they overreact in situations is uncanny! Of course, Handa is the Tamaki in the alternate universe that wants to do well in things but is socially a little awkward. :D They are both equally handsome though (hue hue hue). I absolutely love the development of his character, from someone cold to someone a little shy that blushes, the childish innocence in him shines at the end, and that makes me realise, there is a child that is hopeful and happy in all of us, we city people need to unleash them to climb out of our shells!
For a slice of Life, I believe it is FANTASTICALLY paced, each episode is a little story, and Handa learns a little something, and the last couple of episodes builds towards some sort of a climax that adds just a little sprinkle of urgency. What I really like about Barakamon is the fact that I don't feel pressured to watch the next episode, I feel this kind of positive energy, like I'm warmed each time I watch a new episode, yet in between episode breaks, I am not left in the cold but the steam is retained. It's strange but in this beautiful, fantastic way! THIS IS AN ANIME WITH EXTREMELY HIGH REWATCH VALUE!!!!
Watching the characters' growth, I have realised that I am blessed with a job that involves kids, as annoying as they sometimes are, I get to first-handedly witness them mature into beautiful beings, and I am PART of the mechanism that encourages that maturity. I am also the PART of the mechanism that tries to preserve this beautiful part of their life for as long as possible. It's paradoxical.....but wonderful..... (getting a little teary in here ....)
ANIMATION
I ADORE ALL the chibi moments in the anime, I love the incorporation of all the different faces and funny moments of Handa and Naru. It's nothing spectacular, but lines are clean, crisp and sharp, colours work well together, colours are never too harsh on the eye. Movements are well animated.
SOUND
I LOVE the opening song so much! Even though I have no idea what it is singing about, it just gives this heartwarming, heartlifting energy and it transcends through the speakers into my ears. I love the ending as well. But what I even more enjoy is the country accents of ALL THE CHARACTERS!!! Even though I don't understand Japanese, I can definitely tell the difference. It's very abbreviated, but definitely gives that authentic feel to the anime. AND THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, for using REAL KIDS as seiyuus! It's soooooo rare these days and all the kids, especially the one who voice Naru, did a fantastic job! Handa was voiced by a favourite seiyuu of mine, so I already love his voice. Fantastic job!
OVERALL, wow, such an impacting anime! Them feels overflowing from my kokoro ever since the last episode ended on my screen...What I am trying to say is, you don't need no fancy action, crazy animation, crazy characters, crazy plots to create a good anime. all you need is to find a way to make the anime RESONATE with the audience. That is all. (Of course to find that resonation point can be challenging hehehe)
