Best Barakamon episode we’ve had so far!  This was awesome in how Seishu had to shift his focus of being completely spur of the moment to a well-mannered calligrapher in Tokyo!  I was very happy to see the opening omitted from this, because it needed to utilize every moment to make the entire setting play off well in Seishu confronting his personal matters of contention!

He had a lot to overcome here: the director he punched prior to the start of this show, his calligraphy standing out by being new and different, his parents and his subconscious fear of losing himself from being away from the only friends he has ever truly had on the island.  A lot to cram into 24 minutes but Kinema Citrus pulled off some incredible visuals along with amazing direction by Masaki Tachibana.  Still can’t believe this is the same director of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 and The King of Fighters OVA, quite a large contrast of series, and yet he’s able to develop a solid style all his own in adapting this already awesome shonen manga!  I really like the character designs in this series and I’m impressed that this episode completely took it to a higher level!

Emi was the best character here, she was so funny in her attempts to keep Seishu as the little boy she took care of by forbidding him to go back to that island.  Kawafuji the smoothest and most level-headed person in this show is utterly handed to by Seishu’s mother by being beaten to a pulp!  It’s incredible how much this show has transitioned from being straight-laced to wild and wacky–  Seishu’s having been influenced by Naru, the Arai family and the other people on the island so much that he has affected his own family here and the results are some hilarious situations here! Haha!  Great episode!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 9/10

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