Binchou-tan

For those of you looking to relieve those slice-of-life blues afterAria finished, then look no further than Binchou-tan.

The series began life as began as a manga by Ekusa Takahito before being adapted for anime in 2006. The story is set in the town of Minabe in the Wakayama Prefecture (located in the Kansai region), and the series pays homage to the area in a number of aspects, the most prominent being the names of the characters. The titular character, and indeed many of the other characters, are named for different types of charcoal, with Binchou-tan being named after binchotan, a form of white charcoal that ... the Wakayma region is famous for producing.

This connection has added to the popularity of the series throughout Japan, so much so that Binchou-tan is now the official mascot of the Kishu-Binchotan Promotion Museum, which is run by Minabegawa Forestry Society.

The story is very simple. A little girl named Binchou-tan lives alone in a run-down cottage in the forest outside of town. Life is hard but she takes each day as it comes, works hard at various odd jobs, and tries not to let her spirits flag.

Unusually, each episode in the series is split into two individual stories, so over the course of half an hour the viewer is shown two chapters in Binchou-tan's life. Surprisingly, this works rather well, especially as this is purely a slice of life show. Over the course of the series the viewer is given a taste of Binchou-tan's life, and whilst the general tone is very much an upbeat one, the show isn't afraid to give the old heartstrings a good hard yank (you have been warned).

The artwork throughout the series is actually very good. The backgrounds and settings are extremely well done, from the rustic setting in the town, to the lush greenery of the forest. A lot of attention has gone into scenery, and because of this the area in which the show is set has a vibrancy that is rare in anime.

Characters are also well done, relatively speaking of course. There is a penchant for labelling the characters in the show as "lolis", however this is a gross misconception, especially given the sexual connotation attached to that word. Binchou-tan and her friends are designed very much like chibis, however there is a distinctive innocence about each of the characters which is readily apparent just from their look. Binchou-tan herself could be a postergirl for "kawaii".

One thing that may confuse some viewers is the log on Binchoutan's head. This is actually a piece of charcoal, although it's never really clear if this is the type of charcoal for which she is named. She is not unique in this repect either, as some of the other characters also make reference to the charcoal industry in both name and hair adornment.

The sound quality throughout the series is very good. The various effects and background noises are well used, with no effects overwhelming the audience at any time. The voice actors are also good, and manage to give each character a certain innocent quality which is reflective of their design and personality.

The one element that really stands out about the show, aside from the scenery that is, is the music. I can't actually recall a single moment that was bereft of music of some sort. The various orchestral scores are very much in keeping with the tone of the series, serving to enhance the atmosphere in any given scene. In addition to this, the OP is a very melodic track which I found to be quite fitting for the show as a whole, whilst the ED is a very upbeat track about Binchou-tan herself.

The characters are extremely, almost tooth-achingly, cute. This isn't just in terms of their design, but also their personalities. Each of the characters has a unique personality, and whilst there are some nods in the direction of stereotype, these are often offset in some way (Ren-tan, for example, fits the "silent girl" mould, however she is also very playful, and not above a little teasing).

The one thing that belies the generally cheery tone of the series is the fact that Binchou-tan herself is rather a tragic figure. She is upbeat, hard working, and more than a little shy. She is also extremely lonely, something which the show highlights in several ways. However, she has a certain air that attracts the other girls to her, and as the show progresses we see some very subtle changes in her personality.

Unfortunately, the other characters don't develop as much as Binchou-tan does, however this can be forgiven because of the length of the series and the fact that each episode is enjoyable in some way.

Now many people will automatically write off this series simply because of the fact that Binchou-tan is so damn cute. This, together with the colourful backgrounds, often makes people believe that this is purely a kids series. However, such thinking means you'll miss out on what is actually a very enjoyable show.

The main appeal of the series is that it is almost purely slice of life. The setting and episodic format may not initially be appealing to many, however it truly is worth giving it a chance. The characters, the scenery, the various days in Binchou-tan's life, are all wonderfully realised, and whilst I may be a terminal Aria fan, I will freely admit that this series is very, very close to it in many respects.

In all honesty, I would recommend this series to anyone who simply wants to watch something nice for a change. There's no romance, no real drama, no big fights, and no gondolas (there are ducks and birds however), but don't be fooled into thinking that there isn't anything for you to watch. This is an extremely enjoyable series, and the length of each episode means that, whilst you can easily finish the whole show in one sitting, you'll probably find yourself spreading the series out over the course of a few days (just to make it last longer).

I now have two shows which I can truly call relaxing.

This anime series just appeared on my news feed and I was intrigued to how the story would progress so I took the effort to watch it. As I've watched it, there's so many emotions that popped out on my mind: warmth, joy, pity, sympathy, etc. I love how strong Binchou-tan is yet I felt pitiful with her situation especially the scenes where she had the feeling of wanting those privileges that other children have and when she gets to see that those seems impossible to her, she gets saddened and that what was really hit me. Overall, I think that it such a heartwarming ... anime series to watch in free time for each episode lasted for about 12 minutes with 12 episodes overall. I recommend it to the watchers who want to experience such heartwarming feeling yet sad at the same time coming from an artwork created more than 16 years ago (as of the date that I write this review). It's really worth the time to watch Binchou-tan live her everyday life full of will to live, I genuinely am glad that I've watched it.

Hello there you beautiful f@cks,my name is Dion and i will be your guide through this painful journey.......That is unless you're offended by every single thing so..Sorry!

Now if my rating didn't give you a hint then here's one and don't say i didn't warn you...It's utter rubbish this anime.That's it..Oh you want more?

Ok then..I hated Binchou-tan,simple as that..And when i hate an anime i will show it just like i will equally show it when i love an anime.

And maybe i'm wrong-though i highly doubt it-and this anime is the best Japan has to offer in terms of entertainment.And it is if i'm honest,if you ... are a 4yr old or an adult who likes to fondle children..."But Dion i'm an adult and i find children disgusting and still i liked this one cause *insert generic moe-loving quote here*"

And that there is the exact problem with this anime.I dare you to read any review about this anime,the only thing people say about it is that it's cute and heartwarming and moe and kawai and it has chibi sexed up kids.Which only helps solidifying my case even more.

Don't believe me?Then why don't you do this?Go watch the 1st episode and come back and tell me i'm wrong.That this anime is full of meaning and has hidden messages and shit.It barely has any dialogues in it and most of it comes from the narrator..Apart from that there's no story whatsoever it's just a chibi little kid going about her bussiness at the mountains,collecting food and that's about it..Now granted there are some characters being introduced later on but even with these additions the anime barely shows signs of life,by which i mean that if i were a pedophile i'd very much love the fact that they fall on their faces and show some skin..

So the story is vacant and dull and animationwise it has nothing to show apart from chibi cute characters and overall subpar animation that can destroy your eyes like you poured bleach in them.So what about the characters AS characters..

Well i did not like them at all either.They were as one dimensional as they could be with only one gimmick that would be used until the very bitter end.And speaking of bitter ends the only development that occured was on the last episode and i couldn't give a rat's ass about it.

So yeah,if you're into cute episodic anime with no substance whatsoever then this is the anime for you..If you're like me though and you like your anime with some HP sauce and some ACTUAL content then why not try something else and not bother with this one at all eh?