Common Name: Barakamon
Score: 9/10, 5/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Summary: At 23 years-old, Handa Seishuu (Sei) has already earned himself the honor of being one of Japan's most skilled and renowned calligraphists. What he also is, however, is a brash and prideful youth that has never been able to take criticism well, regardless of its source and intentions. After an incident in which he attacks an elderly judge for calling his work uninspired and textbook, Sei is sent off to a remote island to cool his head and gain a little perspective. It is everyone's hope that his self-enforced exile will help him push past the limitations he's put on his own creative genius. With no friends, acquaintances, or ability to speak the local dialect, Sei finds himself at an utter loss the moment he sets foot on this hick island. No sooner does he lose hope, though, than a new and fresh perspective forces itself into his life in the shape of a six-year-old island brat named Naru. Ever a source of childish enthusiasm and naive optimism, Naru quickly becomes Sei's guide to island life and his source of inspiration as she repeatedly forces him to look outside of himself and at the world's natural majesty and the little interactions that make life worth living. Now it's just up to Sei to give that feeling he gets when he truly opens his eyes to the world form as he attempts to create a whole new style of calligraphy that's entirely his own.
Review: Alrighty, rather than giving my usual spiel that tries to connect this show to some higher theme, I feel like this review might be better served with something a little more personal. That's right, boys and girls, it's story time. Though I did not have the pleasure of watching Barakamon as it aired during the Summer 2014 season, it did eventually cross my desk a short while after the show had finished airing, which is precisely when I needed this show most. You see, the reason I didn't watch this or any show as it aired during the Summer season of 2014 was because I had just gotten out of college and was struggling to find a job that could, at the very least, earn me enough to pay my student loan bills. Though I was still in a position of relative comfort, thanks to my parents letting me move in and the hourly job I'd gotten at a local library, I was far from happy. Like many young people getting out of college at that time, I found myself facing a stark reality that was nothing like what I and so many others had been promised. All my years of schooling and work experience had done for me was land me the exact same job I'd had when I was 16. Though I tried to remedy my dissatisfaction by applying for other jobs that were more in line with what I wanted, I found myself crashing back down into reality after I was turned down from several positions. For a little while, I'd actually lost hope that my situation would get any better. So, looking for an escape from this shitty reality I was trapped in, I turned back to the one thing that always cheered me up when things weren't looking great: bingeing some light, fluffy, slice of life anime. Now, I don't recall how or why Barakamon happened to be the show that crossed my mind at this point--it was likely as simple as it being a newer title that had received a decent amount of non-specific praise--but it ended up being just the thing I needed at this specific low point in my life.
More than that, this is the show that opened my eyes to the subgenre that will always
land a show on my favorites list--a "struggling father's" slice of life.
From the word go, Barakamon is a title that really spoke to me and what I assume to be the experience of a lot of young adults these days. Much like my situation at the time that I watched it, Barakamon's main character, Honda Seishuu (Sei), starts this show off getting knocked off his high horse by the simple revelation that he's not nearly as good as he thinks he is. Though he's mastered the basics of calligraphy on a level worthy of praise, thanks to his years of learning and earnest efforts to meet his father's expectations, his textbook style speaks nothing of himself and his abilities, thus making his work inherently inferior to that of his elders. As you might expect, he doesn't exactly take this sudden and harsh realization well and ends up lashing out against the very world he's been trying to impress. As much as he might try to deny it, though, the simple fact of the matter is that he really does lack the knowledge and experience to impress the masters of his craft. So, from the very beginning, Sei is basically put in the same position as many college graduates these days where he's forced to reevaluate his place in the world. To assist with this reevaluation, Sei's father insists that he spend some time on an island. More importantly, though, Sei's relocation will ideally give him some peace and quiet to consider what he can/should do now that he's basically back at square one.
Of course, there's little doubt that he'll tackle this new challenge head-on like the professional he is; though his dedication to his craft won't necessarily make his journey any easier.
At his core, Sei's character is designed to be representative of the general state of being for many young adults or, as the old adults like to call us, "millennials." He's stubborn, brash, deeply insecure about his skills as a calligrapher, but also prideful to a fault. Though many people might not relate to Sei in his moment of weakness, in that he quite literally attacks the critic that shattered his delusions of grandeur, his situation and feelings are something I think many people these days can either relate to or recognize on some level. Even if you don't relate to Sei or feel like his actions are inexcusable, though, his situation is meant to speak to that disillusion a lot of young people are forced to face as they realize that all their years of work and training were never a guarantee of success in the working world. However, moving on from that initial disillusionment, Sei's story in Barakamon is a lesson on how and why you can pick yourself back up and keep going in the face of adversity. What makes his story particularly novel, though, is the origin and manner in which he learns this lesson.
Enter this show's unwitting life coach, Kotoishi Naru--a kid as amazing as she is terrible.
Shortly after arriving on the hick-filled island he's supposed to call home until he gets his act together, Sei meets the various islanders that will inevitably become his friends, mentors, and pupils during his stay. Most notable among this cast of characters is the show's secondary main character, Kotoishi Naru, a young girl with more spunk and determination in her pinky than Sei does in his entire body. Depending on the scenario and your own perception of the show, Naru's character can be reasonably regarded in two different ways. The first is that Naru's connection with Sei is akin to that of a mentor-pupil dynamic. Over the course of the show, Sei basically takes Naru and her friends under his wing in the hopes of teaching them some manners and the same lessons on hard work he received as a kid, thus reinforcing their importance in the adult world. At the same time, though, their roles can be flipped as Sei repeatedly struggles with his pride/insecurities/failures only to have Naru unerringly comes to his rescue. Dragging him out of himself and reminding him that life isn't just endless work and suffering, Naru becomes Sei's mentor on how to step back, take a breath, and enjoy life any way you can. The second perspective, though, twists that same general concept of cooperative learning as it presents the idea that their dynamic is more akin to that of a father-daughter relationship. Though the long and short of it is still the same--both Sei and Naru each have something learn from each other that is unique to their situations--this twist comes from the acknowledgement that Naru doesn't really have a father figure in her life. The show doesn't really delve into the specifics of Naru's situation but it's not unreasonable to see Sei's role in her life being that of a surrogate father. Whether it's through his keeping her company while her grandparents tend the fields, his playing the role of instructor or chaperone during her various misadventures, or the simple fact that she latches onto him almost immediately after his arrival on the island, it's not hard to see that kind of dynamic working between them since they clearly care for one another.
To be clear, I claim that their relationship can be "reasonably" regarded in two ways because the third option--the romantic option--is neither reasonable nor appropriate.
Regardless of which dynamic you think is more accurate, the result is still the same though. As Sei and Naru spend more time together, the more they both grow as people. As Naru is given a little more of the discipline and structure she needs as she grows up, Sei is given the same opportunities to grow and mature as an adult. Through their interactions, Sei ultimately learns that all his years of training and work weren't for nothing. It certainly takes him some time to do so, but he eventually starts picking up the pieces of his old life and comes to regard them with equal parts disgust and admiration. The disgust, as you might expect, comes from him realizing how self-centered, pompous, and childish he'd been up until now, expecting that all his work and training meant he deserved instant recognition and praise no matter the stage, instantly devaluing the same efforts of his colleagues. The admiration, however, comes from the lessons on hard work and determination his father had drilled into him early on made all the more important as he tries to drill those same lessons into his current efforts and the heads of Naru and the other island kids. What makes Sei's time with Naru and the other islanders even more important though, are the lessons they add to his new approach to work and life. As Naru invades his work life as a constant distraction, she slowly teaches him the importance of taking time for oneself and how to recognize when he needs to get out of his own head and look elsewhere for inspiration or motivation. Most important of all, though, is their lesson on how to pick yourself back up and move past any number of failures. By watching Naru pick herself up after very literal falls or seeing the high schoolers, Miwa, Tamako, and Hiroshi, keep working to realize their own dreams, Sei eventually sees that nothing about his situation will change if he doesn't grow to face new adversities and dreams. Alternatively, he recognizes that he'll never succeed if he doesn't learn to roll with the punches life will inevitably throw at him since, regardless of whether he picks himself up or not, life will keep moving on anyway.
It's crazy how much you can learn about balancing work and play just by watching kids be kids.
What's particularly interesting about Sei and his journey to become a proper adult, though, is that he and Naru aren't the only ones that grow along the way. As I've hinted at throughout this review, there are tons of other characters in this show that have their own roles to play. For example, though most of the kids' roles are minor and amount to little in the long run, they all help Sei acclimate to island life and give him clues on what he can do to make time with Naru all the more valuable for her. The high schoolers, on the other hand, form a kind of cooperative relationship with Sei that's similar to Naru's in both form and function. As I said already, through them, Sei catches a glimpse on how to work and grow to face whatever the future might bring while also taking time for himself so those harder moments in life won't just build on each other until he breaks under the strain. Yet, at the same time, they learn a great deal about the benefits of hard work and stubborn perseverance from him since Sei's legacy and professional career were ultimately born from his own efforts and determination. By the show's end, it becomes pretty clear that Sei's time on the island has affected the other islanders just as much as they affected his new approach to work and life. In fact, it isn't much of an exaggeration to claim that Sei becomes a real pillar of the community when all is said and done. In many ways, he becomes something of a bridge between the older and younger generations of the island, one that can pick up the slack of either side as he learns more and more from both.
Of course, his role as a pillar is only cemented by the fact that
he seems to have no intention of leaving Naru alone.
Now, perhaps its specifically because my job forces me into roles similar to the one Sei shares with Naru, giving me a kind of connection to this show many others might not share, but I think Barakamon is pretty effective at presenting its message on learning to live and grow up as a young adult. As I've said already, the show goes out of its way to make Sei and his experience as relatable as possible to the general situation many "millennials" find themselves in today. Through his various failures and successes, we're given general guidelines and lessons that can very easily be translated to our own lives. The main reason I feel confident in my belief that this show was effective in expressing its lessons and overall message, though, is the simple fact that this pushed me to grown once it was done. Corny and embarrassing as it might sound, I quickly found myself applying Sei's various lessons to my own life--more specifically those involving learning to move past failures and the need to grow to conquer life's hurdles--and found myself happier for it. I won't go so far as to say that Barakamon was the sole source of my successes in life since that particular low point, but I can certainly admit that my situation has significantly improved over the past four years.
At the very least, it's given me a wonderful point of reference on the unique
kind of satisfaction you can get from a job you're truly passionate about.
That being said, though, I also feel like I can admit that Barakamon isn't exactly a perfect show. It's pretty close; closer than most of its peers in the "struggling father" slice of life subgenre I love so much. Yet there are a few nits I could pick regarding the show's overall quality and lack of concrete direction. For example, characters like Naru and the two high school girls frequently have their more serious character moments are either played off as part of the show's brand of situational comedy or avoided entirely to tread a safer path that doesn't commit to any particular situation or perspective. In the grand scheme of things, these nits hardly ruin my enjoyment of the show but leave it just short of offering the kind of punch I expect from most 10/10 shows. As for every other aspect and facet of the show, though, I have no complaints to offer and too many praises to mention. If you're like me and love wholesome slice of life comedies, particularly those that have a real meaning and purpose behind them, I cannot recommend this show enough. Even if you aren't like me and found my ability to relate with this show on such a personal level to be utter nonsense, this is one of those shows I feel like I can recommend anyway. Honestly, just give Barakamon a shot.