「ひとんもち / お祝いで投げられる餅」 (Hitonmochi / Oiwai de Nagerareru Mochi )
“Mochi Thrown in Celebration”

With the way this episode started, I never expected I’d be hit with a bombshell of emotions right toward the end.

Village Living

If there’s something that’ll never grow old, it’ll be watching Handa interact with all the locals of the village. While the formal term might be something like culture shock, I just can’t get enough of how different a simple convenience store feels when you add in some true village flair. That said, it seems that certain tropes will end up in all walks of life. I almost thought for a second that Tama was going to break away from the typical fujoshi stereotype when we got a glimpse at her, to put it lightly, intense manga. But with a little influence from her cousins from elsewhere, it looks like someone unlocked her true passions! And with everything out in the open it’s tough not to giggle when she enters eyecandy mode.

Life Is Sometimes about The Missed Opportunities

Unlike the fairy tale stories we all love to hear and see, life can sometimes be a cruel bitch that’ll take the little world you’ve grown accustomed to and turn it upside-down. Not knowing what to do or where to go, you end up in a funk that follows you closer than your own shadow. No matter what you do or what you say, that funk eventually starts overshadowing everything else to the point where you begin to forget the important things in life.

If that last paragraph sounded a bit morbid, my bad. Something about the last scene with Handa just hit me straight in the chest and wouldn’t let up. I’m sure we’ve all experienced loss in different forms and some have had it worse than others, but if there’s one thing that holds true among all walks of life, it would have to be Yasuba’s sincere words of advice. Sure, everyone’s entitled to their own interpretation of what she said but the part of being able to let go while kicking and clawing your way to a better future resonated so well with my soul (Tamashii no Kyoumei!) that I couldn’t help but shed a few tears.

Naru is Officially Best Girl

After such an emotionally tiring ending, I nearly forgot about Naru’s epic face of becoming a grownup. With eyebrows that Satsuki would be envious of and a jaw line that could rival Jojo himself, I nearly died trying to hold my laughter in — especially after Handa ruined her fun by accidentally telling her she read the kanji wrong!

Looking Forward

I absolutely love this show. It gives off so many different great vibes that I don’t even know where to start. It has that quality slice-of-life feel with (what I believe is) it’s depiction of village life while still keeping things serious when it comes to dealing with serious issues. It obviously highlights two specific characters as the “main” duo but I use main lightly because all the side characters get their fair share of the spotlight. And the best part? Naru, duh.

See you next week!

22 Comments

  1. This is definitely in my top 3 of the best animes this season.
    So well put together and entertaining. I LOVE IT!

    Never am I saying “Get on with it” or “so what?” It’s always “GIVE ME MORE!”

    Blood_X
  2. Takaii, I’m totally with you on loving the vibes this show gives.

    I thought it was hilarious how Tama was freaking out over the possibility her secret getting out, only to have her mind blown by the scene (filtered through yaoi googles)of Handa and Hiroshi embracing.

    Also Naru is definitely best girl. I don’t know how anyone could stay depressed with her around.

    RifuloftheWest
  3. Can I just say, I had my yaoi glasses on too? Two bishies – well, can’t help but go there. Tama-chan, fighto!

    I love this show. Definitely ranked #1 in my looooong list which I’m follwing this wonderful season.

    Teabie
  4. something about the countryside setting just makes it fertile ground for good things. i absolutely loved Non Non Biyori too, and Barakamon is steadily climbing the ranks.

    Nitro
  5. Something tells me Naru’s face is gonna be the next Chaika face meme…but I’ll leave it to those meme makers to do it though, lol.

    That aside, Yasuba-san’s message struck a sansitive chord within mine. By the end of the mochi contest I was almost on the verge of tears. Good job, Barakamon!!

    R_Jaeger
  6. Cute series, but I’m not expecting anything too serious from this;
    but it is honest, good olde down-to-earth story telling.

    I do love the way they haven’t resolved Tama’s secret, so I’m sure
    the gag will continue in future episodes.

    mac65

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