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Dated 25 July 2014: Barakamon taught me pacing is important even in a show about calligraphy

Seishuu and Tamako
Does this count as a Meet Cute?

Technically, Barakamon is not a show about calligraphy, but rather a show about a calligrapher. It's pretty refreshing because it's one of those increasingly rare anime that's about (1) an adult who is (2) good at something because (3) he works hard at it rather than by virtue of being Anime Jesus. In fact, one of the characters in the show postulates that having the discipline to work hard is a talent itself.

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Dated 23 September 2014: This is a pretty good season for asexual male protagonists

Nozaki and Chiyo
Never gonna happen, Chiyo.

I watched two shows during summer 2014 that featured male leads who were committed to their work above all else (three, if you consider Inaho instead of Slaine the male lead of Aldnoah.Zero). Despite being the author of a romance manga, Chiyo's titular crush in Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun failed to see her as a potential love interest at all even after working in close proximity with her for months. Normally, this should probably be a pretty heavy blow to Chiyo's self-esteem, but basically all of Nozaki's interests are related to his manga itself, so I guess it's somewhat less insulting that even teenage hormones weren't enough to interest him in her.

Miwa, Tamako, and Seishuu
It's not a date.

As I mentioned earlier, Seishuu's case in Barakamon is a bit less straightforward because he essentially has no suitable potential love interests to pursue. Naru and Hana are seven, the nurse is married, and everyone else is old. Well, not everyone else. There's still Miwa and Tama, the middle school girls who hang around him every day. Both of them are appalled, by the way, that he appears not to have had any interests other than calligraphy even when he still lived in the big city. It's canon.

Dated 30 September 2014: Summer 2014 season conclusion

Slaine
Slaine has seen some shit.

Aldnoah.Zero was far and away the best show from Summer 2014. I know a lot of viewers disagree with this opinion, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of its episodes. I've written a lot about it. Probably too much, considering I don't like it thaaat much even though it did almost get a perfect score on my little chart jobbie.

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Dated 17 July 2016: I sure hope Handa-kun has more than one joke

Handa
Handa-kun gives everyone the stink eye again.

Despite a fair bit of persistent reluctance remaining from the very moment I learned of Handa-kun to begin with, I watched the first episode anyway. I enjoyed Barakamon quite a bit, but essentially every aspect of the show I liked is probably going to be absent from its Handa-kun prequel. Notably, a Barakamon prequel set while the main character is a first-year high school student will not have an adult protagonist. Who in Hell thought we needed yet another anime starring a teenage boy? For crying out loud. Moreover, a Barakamon prequel will almost certain not feature Miwa or Tomo. This is unacceptable.

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