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ばらかもん [Barakamon] #16
ばらかもん 16 [Barakamon 16]
Life never seems to get easier for Handa-sensei in this funny, heartwarming slice-of-life series!
221 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 2017
6 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Satsuki Yoshino
80 books93 followersYOSHINO Satsuki
Name (in native language): ヨシノサツキ
Zodiac: Gemini
Name (in native language): ヨシノサツキ
Zodiac: Gemini
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 17, 2025
even though the volume is essentially about Hiroshi graduating and preparing to leave for Tokyo there's plenty of Handy and Naru!!
November 7, 2018
This is one of the best volumes of the series as the creator deals with the theme of fathers. First, a new work of calligraphic art by his father challenges Handa-sensei to try to master some of the same techniques. Also, Handa-sensei finds himself stuck in a cycle of frustrating correspondence with Naru's absent and wandering father. Finally, the village chief, a more traditional and easygoing father, sees his son off to college.
It's gentle humor and mild drama in a rural setting, but very addictive all the same.
It's gentle humor and mild drama in a rural setting, but very addictive all the same.
May 24, 2018
Suka banget sama volume ini. Hiroshi lulus SMA dan mau ke Tokyo. Handa makin protektif pada Naru, seolah Handa ayahnya sendiri.
November 29, 2018
This one was so good. My sweet little Hiroshi leaves. 😭
October 8, 2019
As the series winds down the fully realised arcs are wonderful.
World: Fantastic art has been the thing of the series. Simple lines with beautiful emotions and grand vistas when needed. The world building is also great with this being a wrap up for Hiroshi it’s nice that the pieces are tied with that.
Story: A nice little wrap up for Hiroshi and the story and characters it’s linked with. The story moves along well and lingers at the emotions. The stuff tied with his growth as a character is great. The stuff with the school and the slow and steady growth of Sensei is also great. Don’t forget about Naru and her shoes.
Characters: Beautifully realised end for Hiroshi. Where he started and where it ends is great. The time we took to get here was earned and the time we see how both Sensei and he learned from each other is delicious. Naru is great as a foil for growth for Sensei also and her moments with him are just the best.
Beautifully written.
Onward to the next book!
World: Fantastic art has been the thing of the series. Simple lines with beautiful emotions and grand vistas when needed. The world building is also great with this being a wrap up for Hiroshi it’s nice that the pieces are tied with that.
Story: A nice little wrap up for Hiroshi and the story and characters it’s linked with. The story moves along well and lingers at the emotions. The stuff tied with his growth as a character is great. The stuff with the school and the slow and steady growth of Sensei is also great. Don’t forget about Naru and her shoes.
Characters: Beautifully realised end for Hiroshi. Where he started and where it ends is great. The time we took to get here was earned and the time we see how both Sensei and he learned from each other is delicious. Naru is great as a foil for growth for Sensei also and her moments with him are just the best.
Beautifully written.
Onward to the next book!
November 5, 2019
Hiroshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Boi, bye.
Boi, bye.
December 31, 2021
Literally burst out laughing at the end there
February 19, 2019
In Summary
Like so many small town kids, Hiroshi’s been fixin’ to leave for the big city once he’s graduated, and that moment has arrived. Although the long-suffering teenager has gotten the short end of the stick time and again, these chapters do show how well-regarded he is among family and friends. So amid Hiroshi’s aspirations for the future are fond memories and comical last-minute attempts to make memories before he leaves home.
The Review
Handa may be the main character, but Hiroshi steals the spotlight for most of these chapters. This installment even includes sketches of Hiroshi at different ages in between chapters. So if you’re a fan of the village’s “ordinary” teenager, you won’t want to miss this volume.
It begins with graduation day at Hiroshi’s school, in which Yoshino-sensei uses the four-panel style she used for the Handa-kun series. And in the midst of parting words from educators, well-wishes from younger students, commemorative photos, and other classic graduation moments, Rina Tajima struggles to make a love confession to Hiroshi. However, Hiroshi is extraordinarily dense for an ordinary person, and Rina’s attempts to express her feelings get misinterpreted time and again. For those who enjoyed the comic miscommunications of the Handa–kun manga, Act. 115: ”Hiroshi Graduates” offers the same flavor of humor.
The book then delivers two brief, silly chapters about Handa and the village kids before shifting the focus to dads. Although it begins with Handa senior’s latest calligraphy piece, Act. 118 turns into a joint reflection between Handa and Hiroshi about their fathers. Then Act. 119 takes it a big step further with Handa pondering Naru’s relationship with her father as Yuuichirou Kotoishi mails a steady stream of one-line messages to the young calligrapher. We only got one glimpse of Yuuichirou before, and his postcards don’t provide any additional solid information about him although they do confirm his quirky personality. However, the mail exchange does prompt Handa to ask Hiroshi about Naru’s mom (something I’ve been wondering about this entire series). While Hiroshi also doesn’t have any concrete facts to offer, his reply does confirm that none of the villagers—with the possible exception of Naru’s grandpa—knows the true circumstances behind Naru’s origins.
Then Hiroshi retakes the spotlight with a barf-inducing roadtrip to a local landmark and finally his grand exit via ferry. Departures generally spark memories, and we get lots of anecdotes—both funny and fond—as friends and family give Hiroshi a ticker tape style send off. Personally, I’ve liked Hiroshi a lot, and I’m sad to see the village’s most level-headed member go.
Extras include bonus manga, translation notes, translated advertisements for Barakamon related merchandise, and another installment of “Barakamon News.”
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
Like so many small town kids, Hiroshi’s been fixin’ to leave for the big city once he’s graduated, and that moment has arrived. Although the long-suffering teenager has gotten the short end of the stick time and again, these chapters do show how well-regarded he is among family and friends. So amid Hiroshi’s aspirations for the future are fond memories and comical last-minute attempts to make memories before he leaves home.
The Review
Handa may be the main character, but Hiroshi steals the spotlight for most of these chapters. This installment even includes sketches of Hiroshi at different ages in between chapters. So if you’re a fan of the village’s “ordinary” teenager, you won’t want to miss this volume.
It begins with graduation day at Hiroshi’s school, in which Yoshino-sensei uses the four-panel style she used for the Handa-kun series. And in the midst of parting words from educators, well-wishes from younger students, commemorative photos, and other classic graduation moments, Rina Tajima struggles to make a love confession to Hiroshi. However, Hiroshi is extraordinarily dense for an ordinary person, and Rina’s attempts to express her feelings get misinterpreted time and again. For those who enjoyed the comic miscommunications of the Handa–kun manga, Act. 115: ”Hiroshi Graduates” offers the same flavor of humor.
The book then delivers two brief, silly chapters about Handa and the village kids before shifting the focus to dads. Although it begins with Handa senior’s latest calligraphy piece, Act. 118 turns into a joint reflection between Handa and Hiroshi about their fathers. Then Act. 119 takes it a big step further with Handa pondering Naru’s relationship with her father as Yuuichirou Kotoishi mails a steady stream of one-line messages to the young calligrapher. We only got one glimpse of Yuuichirou before, and his postcards don’t provide any additional solid information about him although they do confirm his quirky personality. However, the mail exchange does prompt Handa to ask Hiroshi about Naru’s mom (something I’ve been wondering about this entire series). While Hiroshi also doesn’t have any concrete facts to offer, his reply does confirm that none of the villagers—with the possible exception of Naru’s grandpa—knows the true circumstances behind Naru’s origins.
Then Hiroshi retakes the spotlight with a barf-inducing roadtrip to a local landmark and finally his grand exit via ferry. Departures generally spark memories, and we get lots of anecdotes—both funny and fond—as friends and family give Hiroshi a ticker tape style send off. Personally, I’ve liked Hiroshi a lot, and I’m sad to see the village’s most level-headed member go.
Extras include bonus manga, translation notes, translated advertisements for Barakamon related merchandise, and another installment of “Barakamon News.”
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2022
Qu'est-ce que ça fait plaisir de lire un manga qui ne baisse pas en qualité ☺️
July 11, 2020
Hiroshi's fond farewell fills the whole of this volume, as readers glimpse the "average" culinary prodigy as he begins his quest for higher education and adulthood further out. Assuredly, there are words of thanks, tears to shed, and romantic misunderstandings afoot. In the end, it should come as no surprise how so much of the cast rediscovers just how far the young man's erstwhile generosity will take him in life.
It's a little difficult to place where Hiro-nii sits in the long arc of this manga series. He's long been the worldly counterbalance to Handa-sensei's posh stupidity, but the guy has also served as a reader analog on multiple occasions. As such, BARAKAMON #16 reminds us, through Hiroshi's perspective, how fleeting young adulthood tends to be, how frustrating and awkward young friendships tend to be, and how complicated and twisted our ambitions tend to be and all when we least expect it.
Life is tough -- whether evidenced through more humorous means, as in how the eternally selfish Rina, Hiroshi's schoolmate, blows every flipping chance to confess her feelings to Hiroshi, or evidenced through more emotionally raw interventions of conscientiousness, as when Hiroshi and Handa-sensei have a serious discussion about Naru's negligent father and absent mother.
Hiroshi has a tendency to ignore the obvious and wait until circumstances dictate he be more persnickety in his assessment of things than he would otherwise do on instinct. He complains about his lazy father but eventually recognizes the sacrifices all parents make; he ridicules the local calligrapher, only to realize later the young man has built a reputable following in relatively short order; and he doesn't appear at all broken up about moving on to the next stage in life, that is, until everyone else on the island comes to learn they'll have to pick up the slack when it comes to caring for one another as earnestly as Hiroshi cared for them.
It's a little difficult to place where Hiro-nii sits in the long arc of this manga series. He's long been the worldly counterbalance to Handa-sensei's posh stupidity, but the guy has also served as a reader analog on multiple occasions. As such, BARAKAMON #16 reminds us, through Hiroshi's perspective, how fleeting young adulthood tends to be, how frustrating and awkward young friendships tend to be, and how complicated and twisted our ambitions tend to be and all when we least expect it.
Life is tough -- whether evidenced through more humorous means, as in how the eternally selfish Rina, Hiroshi's schoolmate, blows every flipping chance to confess her feelings to Hiroshi, or evidenced through more emotionally raw interventions of conscientiousness, as when Hiroshi and Handa-sensei have a serious discussion about Naru's negligent father and absent mother.
Hiroshi has a tendency to ignore the obvious and wait until circumstances dictate he be more persnickety in his assessment of things than he would otherwise do on instinct. He complains about his lazy father but eventually recognizes the sacrifices all parents make; he ridicules the local calligrapher, only to realize later the young man has built a reputable following in relatively short order; and he doesn't appear at all broken up about moving on to the next stage in life, that is, until everyone else on the island comes to learn they'll have to pick up the slack when it comes to caring for one another as earnestly as Hiroshi cared for them.
April 7, 2019
Probably only 4 stars really, but I’ll round up because it’s so Hiroshi-centered. This volume had a coupe laugh out loud moments for me where the gags really hit their mark for me, particularly the ink episode (something about village chief’s serene face with that ink stripe killed me!) and the boat send off sign fail. There were lots of good Hiroshi moments in this volume, some fun calligraphy bits, a little more of Naru’s father (I like that he’s writing the postcards to her level even if Handa doesn’t seem to notice that) and it looks like there might be some hope for the calligraphy school’s growth in the future. Knowing it’s taken 10 years to get this much story makes me a bit depressed thinking about how long a wait it will be before we see the fruition of some of these things that have been started like Hiroshi going off to culinary school and what will happen with his career and especially where the calligraphy school will go and what that will mean for Handa’s future.
February 1, 2024
I loved this volume!! It was so awesome to see Hiroshi graduate and get ready for the next chapter of his life! Also seeing how much he meant to the villagers was increadibly sweet!! How Handa will survive without him feeding him is beyond me but I am so looking forward to it !!
April 27, 2018
akhirnya si rambut pirang lulus dan berangkat ke tokyo. jadilah koki yang hebat Hiroshi!
September 2, 2018
Great and funny as always, but a little more sentimental than I was expecting as well. Hiroshi is one of my favorites so it was nice to see him highlighted in this volume.
September 27, 2018
Terrific volume,
October 21, 2018
Seharusnya volume ini judulnya Hiroshi dan kebodohannya :))
November 24, 2018
Another good volume.
November 26, 2018
A very enjoyable and entertaining book in this series. And the best part - it doesn't stop here. I can't wait to read volume 17.
January 2, 2019
Almost cry when I saw the last chapter. I was very sad that Hiroshi is leaving and living in Tokyo on his own.
May 24, 2019
Even as the weakest volume I've read to date, this was pretty good!
June 8, 2019
Well, I know the end is near, but I'm just disappointed with the story flow became worse and worse.
September 19, 2019
Pretty great adorable slice of life manga, really love it!!😻😁📖🖋
June 1, 2020
Loved how this focused on Hiroshi. I love this boy <3
January 24, 2022
What a great volume. I really loved it.
Read
June 1, 2023i love how we got to see the end ( ? ) of hiroshi's arc. he's grown a lot, and i'm going to miss him not being in the manga anymore. hopefully, we still see him more in this last two vols.
October 10, 2024
This was all Hiroshi all the time. Suits me as he's my favourite character (closely followed by the Miwa Tamako duo).
December 19, 2024
Do your best Hiroshi!!
January 6, 2025
時々ナルは先生より大人しいよね。
この巻の内容や書道教室の営業とひろしの出発。テープで船を見送るはすごくいいアイデア！切なさが具体的に感じるよね。私もやりたい。テープがなくなった時には泣くかも。
この巻の内容や書道教室の営業とひろしの出発。テープで船を見送るはすごくいいアイデア！切なさが具体的に感じるよね。私もやりたい。テープがなくなった時には泣くかも。
Read
February 14, 2019Hiroshi, my little baby's all grown up and ready to save Tokyo. *sobs*
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews