Handa-kun

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tl;dr: A high school comedy manga with only one type of comedy, but that uses that comedy really well.

Handa-Kun is a prequel to Barakamon, and though I haven't read the manga for Barakamon yet, I have watched the anime for both of these. Based on that, the connection between the two isn’t very significant beyond some superficial elements in terms of plot and characters, and the two series aren’t similar at all thematically, so the order in which they’re read doesn’t really matter. As such, I decided to watch the anime in release order, Barakmon and then Handa-kun, but with the manga since Handa-kun was ... published simultaneously with Barakamon in the middle of its run and because it's first chronologically, I've decided to read Handa-kun first. Also, with the Barakamon and Handa-kun anime I believed that there would be more of a connection, so I watched them back to back, but that really isn't necessary as they're incredibly different, so I'll be waiting a bit before reading Barakamon.

With all that out of the way, I would also like to note that the anime is incredibly faithful to the manga and adapts it completely to the point that the anime doesn't really have any more or less value compared to the manga other than the anime lacking the manga's epilogue. Thus, I think only watching the anime and reading the epilogue for the manga should be perfectly fine. Also, because they're so similar, my review for the manga will be incredibly similar to my review for the anime.

Handa-kun is a high school comedy that essentially has only one type of comedy and uses variants of that from beginning to end. This type of comedy is centered around Handa seriously misunderstanding those around him as hating him and those around him seriously misunderstanding him as doing amazing things intentionally, hence resulting in him being perceived as someone great and becoming even more beloved. That is the core of the series, and though I think its enough to hold up the entire series, it does get somewhat repetitive.

There is some fluctuation in how these stories are structured, though for the most part things proceed in such a manner that there’s a character that doesn’t really find Handa all that amazing, but something happens that causes that character to interact with them, and then after a series of misunderstandings and coincidences, ultimately the character is left with the impression that yes, Handa truly is amazing. This generally involves some level of character development in the side character, though not much in that the focus is more on humor than actual character development. 

There’s a lot of side characters and they’re pretty varied, which I think greatly diminishes the issue with repetitiveness even if the overall plot structure surrounding them is really similar. Also, said side characters will generally at least have some presence for the rest of the series, which isn’t always the case in series like this where each episode adds more characters, and they’re handled pretty well despite the large cast, so I thought that worked in the manga's favor. Though at the same time, how they continue to have a presence but there's very little development at all does begin to get grating at times. 

The other story type is centered around Handa, wherein the focus is more on Handa himself and how he views the world, and him dealing with the antics of the characters from the other story type who are now obsessed with him but he misunderstands as hating him. These are also centered around the same core comedy, though the difference in focus adds some variety. Still, Handa doesn’t have any development until the end, so these parts felt more on the slow side.

And as for the ending itself, the development isn’t all that major, rather something quick but nice and warm to end the series on. What's more significant is the epilogue, which focuses not on Handa at all, whom gets an entire anime's worth of an epilogue in Barakmon, but rather the rest of the characters from Handa-kun, seeing how their lives had changed and grown since then, and the impact that Handa ultimately had on them. It's short and to the point and though it is kind of sudden, it's a nice finale from a thematic and emotional point of view.

There is a pretty major point that I've completely ignored so far however, in that the Handa in Handa-kun and Handa in Barakamon are essentially completely different characters with completely different personalities. I was forgiving of that in the anime because I believed the rest of the plot of the manga would have more context to cover this, but that isn't the case and it is really strange for those that are familiar with both series. Also, the art isn't particularly great, but it's decent enough and gets the job done.

While I don't like giving high reviews often, this series really resonates with me. The comedy is great, and I find the premise of the plot to be extremely funny. Don't look too deeply into the plot, because this is of course a comedy.
All the characters play a role in the comedy. Their interactions and relations with each other are the reason why the story is so vibrant.
That's all, really. its a nice, funny, and amazing short read. You only need to just read the first chapter to see if it is worth your time.

Cheers.

need more words to post a review apparently ... so here are the words I need

I made this account just to review Handa-kun. This is my first review, so I may not express myself clearly.

The manga is by no means bad, but when compared to the original that this is based off of, then Handa-kun falls a bit short/

Barakamon was funny, heart warming, and realistic. It focuses mostly on the relation of Handa and Naru. It was a master piece that i will give 10/10 after this review, but that's not the point here.

You've probably already read the summary, and think this will be a great comedy, and it is. Its so funny, that I reread it a couple times. ... But that's all there is to it. Comedy. Handa didn't have any character growth like in Barakamon, and instead gets misunderstood so ridiculously that everyone around him literally worships him (except for the one guy that has common sense that isn't Kawafuji).

If I hadn't read and watched Barakamon I probably would give this a higher score, but it just doesn't live up to Barakamon. Reading Handa-kun almost made me want to not watch the anime.