Barakamon

This is the only show Funimation simulcasted that i watched (hence it being a week late as i wont pay a sub for only one title)

I never talked about this in my first impressions cause i didn't know about it till 8 or so weeks into the season. Essentially it's a Slice of life show about a young Caligrapher who got himself in a bit of trouble when he punched one of his critics.
His father tells him to go to a somewhat remote island to cool his head and maybe think about what kind of caligraphy he is making and if the critics criticism had any validity.
At first he hates the island living but after he meets Naru, a village brat who always manages to sneak into his house to try and get him to play, he starts to open up and have a good time with his new surroundings and eventually is even able to find new inspiration.

I really enjoyed this show, it dealt with a lot of subject matter that i personally (and any artist in any medium) struggle with. It's hard to be confident in your work... or to do pages and pages of sketches and have nothing resonate... it can hurt to hear critique even though 99.9% of the time there is a valid point in there. It sucks not being the best.... and theres an extra sting if the person happens to be younger. Also not knowing if what you are doing is "right"
However you follow Seishu on his journey of realizing that there is no right or wrong in art.... there is no competition... you are the only one who can make what you make... those pages and pages of drafts or just messing around may eventually lead to something you are really happy with... watching that journey just filled me full of feels. (for lack of a better term)

It's shows like this that epitomize my favourite aspects of Slice of life... it has a point and an arc... does everything always work out whit all loose ends tied up? no... cause thats not how life works.... but you get to see a snippet of this world and it's just a joy... one of the best "Feel good" shows i've seen in a while.

From what i understand Funi got the streaming rights for USA and Canada but if you are in other countries I think it also aired on crunchyroll (i can't verify since it wont even show me titles that it's not showing to canada)

The good:
Animation is so lovely, especially the intro and ending song which blend the calligraphy art style into the animation.
Characters are well designed and loveable.
Music is great, especially the intro and ending... just so enjoyable to listen to and perfectly capture the mood of the show.

The not so good:
Short, i would love another season of this but it did end at the perfect time.

Now i just have to wait for Funimation to put out the physical release (as well as noragami.... waiting is so hard) but yeah this past season was full of some wonderful titles and while this season so fa isn't winning me over... i've only watched 3 shows.

but yeah a lovely show, if you like slice of life that'll put a smile on your face give this one a shot.

Now to go beat Tales of Graces f! even if i beat it today i'll set the thing to post for tomorrow....
then monday my birthday presents to me arrive (i ordered them so they would arrive around the 14th [birthday funtimes]... both ended up being scheduled to arrive on the 6th.... well i tried... i just have to hope i am the one to receive the package or the rest of my family will hide the box from me till the 14th.... they are mean like that... also don't be surprised if i do a random blog about Natsume Yuujinchou 17... i have a feeling i may need to rant a little)

But yeah go watch this show... it is good.