Barakamon Live Action (2023)

 The Plot

Seishu Handa is a young calligrapher and he is a successor in calligraphy. He is recognized for his work and has the respect of others. But, he experiences a setback. Although he has lived in the city all of his life, he decides to go to an in island that is part of the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture and live there alone. Seishu Handa believes he can spend his time peacefully there in solitude and practice his calligraphy. Reality is different for him. His neighbors, who are full of different personalities and free-spirited, visit him uninvited and hang around him. Seishu Handa gets confused by the unfamiliar situations on the island and their unique customs. He becomes involved with various troubles, but, with the support of the islanders, he also grows as a person and a calligrapher.

I watched the anime a quite long time ago. And I happened to read some volumes of the Handa kun manga a few years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't find it amusing as I watched the anime version. As soon as I know that the manga/ anime was going to be made into live action drama, and Sugino Yusuke would be Handa sensei, I was thrilled. 

The story of LA is quite true to the anime version. The Goto island with the people who lived there was really a treat to my eyes. The beach, the trees, the soothing music, the sunset scene with Naru, and even some local events really caught my attention. Some morale stories were delivered almost in every episode. The 11 episodes of the drama really covered the journey of Seishu Handa sensei to be a distinguished calligrapher with his ups and downs.

It started off the getting annoyed Handa sensei into more receptive Handa who accepted whatever came to him. He was looking for his own originality in calligraphy, instead of following his father's pattern. His discovering journey came together with other people in the island: Hiroshi with his own dream to be a chef, Tama with her passion in drawing manga, Miwa who was in despair of her father's store, and more importantly, Naru, this adorable kid with her come-and-go-father. Well, I can say that the drama version was more complete than the anime. With 11 episodes and 46 minutes each, of course the story was more detailed. It's not as fun as the anime tho. However, the story was not forced to be similar to the manga or the anime version.

The casts did a great job, too. At the beginning, I was curious of who would be Naru since she brought the delight of everyone in the anime. I was kind of worried if the cast couldn't perform as I and the other audience expected. However, I was quite relieved to see Naru in flesh and bone. Sugino Yusuke could deliver the vibe of Handa sensei perfectly.  I even could picture Handa in anime on him. The only complaint for the cast was for Handa's mother. She was too old to act cute like that.

Overall, I enjoy my time watching every episode of Barakamon. I followed the official Instagram for Barakamon, and I know how hard they built their bond during the shooting. No wonder, when it was time to wrap up the scenes, some casts cried, either for separation with the crew and the other casts, or happy to be one of this legendary Barakamon.

Casts:

Sugino Yusuke as Seishu Handa

Miyazaki Ririsa as Naru

Nakao Akiyoshi as Kawafuji

Toyoshima Hana as Yamamura Miwa

Kondo Hana as Arai Tamako 

Tsuna Kito as Kido Hiroshi

My rating: 

Story: 10/10

Casts/ Acting: 9/10

Music: 9/10

Re-watch value: 9/10

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