I can't remember what I expected from Handa-kun, but I know that it wasn't what I ended up watching.
Barakamon was about the unusual friendship that Handa Sei forms with Kotoishi Naru after his exile at a small island. I enjoyed the slice-of-life storytelling it featured, the idyllic island life it showcased, and the art of calligraphy that was hard not to appreciate as you enjoy Handa's unusual journey to emotionally growing up. It was a given that Handa-kun was getting a spot in my viewing list.
Handa-kun chronicles Handa's younger years, as he lives his life as a student and as a famous calligrapher. It's never easy being famous while trying to lead a normal high school life, but Handa mistakes the attention as negative, thinking that his peers don't like him. Despite his aversion to interact with other students, he ends up making an impact with those he meets. Among those whose lives are affected by their meeting with Handa are Junichi Aizawa, Nikaidou Reo, and Akane Tsutsui, who end up forming the Handa Force along with reluctant member Kondou Yukio.
Handa-kun features a plethora of high school anime cliches, mainly featuring events that happen to Japanese high school students, such as receiving love letters, taking remedial classes, witnessing or being a part of gang wars, going on a school trip, or participating in a school cultural fair. These events are classic staples in any slice-of-life anime, but Handa-kun isn't really a traditional fare of the genre. What occurs throughout the series is turning those regular events into comedic ones, primarily because of everyone's skewed vision of what's really going on around them.
First, there's Handa himself. Famed in school not just because of his work as a calligrapher, but also because of his standoffish personality. Handa creates a wall around himself to ward off the supposed bad looks and gossiping of the other students, not knowing that the looks and words are actually those borne from admiration or respect. He doesn't realize that the other students don't approach him because they find him intimidating (because the Handa wall is a forbidding thing to imaginably see) and because they feel that he's on a different level since he's famous. Handa's rather warped view of how people see him usually leads to the hilarious events in the series, most of the time making things worse for himself and everyone involved because of the misunderstandings.
Handa-kun isn't just the titular character's show, however, with the series covering the stories of how his many other schoolmates (as well as other schools' students and the occasional teacher) met Handa up close and had their lives changed in the process. Despite Handa's attempts to stay out of everyone's radar, he ends up crossing paths with his schoolmates and ends up getting involved in their shenanigans. And despite his replies that indicate his reluctance to be around them, his words are misunderstood to be sage advice and ends up gaining him fans or followers at each scenario's end. His unusual charm ends up changing people, though the results may hilariously vary, such as a former bishounen turned thug and truant returning to school, a feminist student council president suddenly recognizing that she's not totally immune to Handa's 'masculine' charm, a proud class representative learning to take on a secondary role for the greater good, and a normal high school girl turned stalker and all-around weirdo.
The members of the Handa Force are usually central to many of the events that Handa finds himself in. The attention they pay to Handa is, of course, misunderstood as stalking or even as attempts to bully. Reluctant member and average student Kondou seems to be the only one to understand that Handa is just as socially awkward as the rest of the student body, but recognizes that he's special enough to be protected. The only one who seems immune to Handa is his middle school friend and eventual art dealer in Barakamon, Kawafuji Takao, but then again, his involvement in how Handa ended up socially awkward is suspect.
If you are expecting a second serving of Barakamon, Handa-kun could very well be a disappointing viewing experience. But as a comedy series that's very reminiscent of the charms of Sakamoto desu ga?, it holds up pretty well. Sometimes we just need a little ridiculous humor, and Handa-kun embraces its silly nature.
I don't believe that it's completely removed from the Barakamon universe, however. Handa-kun sheds light as to why Handa is the way he is in the original series. And the slice-of-life elements aren't completely gone, despite the comedic nature they might inhabit. There are life lessons to be learned even if they come in the form of slapstick and misunderstanding-riddled comedy. While I might prefer a second season of Barakamon, I don't consider it a loss that we ended up with Handa-kun instead.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Barakamon, Comedy, Handa-kun, Must-Watch, Slice of Life, TV
