Lovable but average
I'm a sucker for stories with people escaping to or being banished to the countryside. This should have been right up my remote island alley.
I found it hard to get into. This show started cold and took a while to pick up. It's like both the screenwriter and the director were doing this for the first time and initially had zero ideas for turning a manga panel with someone yelling angrily into a believable live character interaction. Even after the lead realises late in ep 1 that he's being a total ass.
By episode 5 the lead's self-assassinating character has been fixed but the storytelling remains a bit choppy and takes time to settle. This is definitely a second-half dorama that leads in somewhat unrealistic resolutions for some, harsh but bearable realities for others, and overall warm and fuzzy conclusions. And you can almost forgive it any and all sins as a seven year old child actor steals the show and runs away with it with the rest of the show's very strong cast chasing after her.
The music was all too often too up front and was trying to lead the emotion instead of following it so it felt intrusive. It was also inconsistent across episodes with similar moods. We've heard much better.
Should you watch Barakamon? If you like your doramas fluffy and conventional you most certainly should. Would this live action make me want to seek out the manga and anime, though? I don't think it would.
I found it hard to get into. This show started cold and took a while to pick up. It's like both the screenwriter and the director were doing this for the first time and initially had zero ideas for turning a manga panel with someone yelling angrily into a believable live character interaction. Even after the lead realises late in ep 1 that he's being a total ass.
By episode 5 the lead's self-assassinating character has been fixed but the storytelling remains a bit choppy and takes time to settle. This is definitely a second-half dorama that leads in somewhat unrealistic resolutions for some, harsh but bearable realities for others, and overall warm and fuzzy conclusions. And you can almost forgive it any and all sins as a seven year old child actor steals the show and runs away with it with the rest of the show's very strong cast chasing after her.
The music was all too often too up front and was trying to lead the emotion instead of following it so it felt intrusive. It was also inconsistent across episodes with similar moods. We've heard much better.
Should you watch Barakamon? If you like your doramas fluffy and conventional you most certainly should. Would this live action make me want to seek out the manga and anime, though? I don't think it would.
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