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If done right, even simple stories can provide great enjoyment.

Barakamon was a really pleasant surprise for me. I went into it without expecting much, but little did I know! With a simple, yet charming and beautiful story, a big palette of jokes, great variety of outstanding characters and interesting, authentic interactions between them, Barakamon manages to capture everyone's heart. Let me briefly break it down...

As a comedy anime Barakamon has a lot to offer. The humor is pretty good and it doesn't rely on stupid, overused jokes or in tropes.
The characters is probably the strongest point of the anime. If I could describe them ... with one word, it would be human. They are authentic, real, they behave like a normal man/woman would in their position. The children are carefree and cheerful, the teens are laid back but sometimes sceptical, the adults are trying to face their problems in life in their own ways. What's more, the interactions between the characters are some of the best and most real and enjoyable I've seen in any anime.
Visuals are pretty nice but nothing special here. As for the sound and music, I found it pleasant and fitting with the Opening theme sticking with me for a long time.

What surprised me is how you can find yourself in this anime and identify with the main character. By living a more laid back and relaxing life in a remote island he can see things he couldn't see under the pressure of a big city. He can appreciate and treasure every moment, even the little things. He understands what is important and what isn't. And that should be a lesson to all of us.

Kyokai no Kanata could have been more than a 7/10. Don't get me wrong it's still fine, but it could have had been something more than an OK anime. Sadly it falls short. In my opinion there are two major flaws that hold it down and I am gonna explain them briefly.

But let me start with the good stuff. The story starts off pretty nicely and catches your interest as it is surrounded by mystery. The characters are definately the strongest point of Kyokai no Kanata toghether with its visuals. All the protagonists are enjoyable to watch and have nice traits that make them ... distinct and not soulless and mainstream. Scenes of humour and seriousness coexist in harmony. The action is stunning with epic battles that take advantage of the beautiful visuals.

Now the two weaknesses of the anime are the following:
Firstly it's pretty short. 12 episodes isn't enough for what KnK is trying to achieve. The world with the spirits and the spirit warriors which it is trying to present is lacking and many things remain unexplained or can be expanded on.
Secondly, in my opinion KnK's greatest flaw is its ending. Seriously, it's really bad. I am not gonna spoil anything but let me say that in the last 4 episodes nothing gets explained, random stuff happens for no apparent reason, we are not given any information about the antagonist, like what happens to him or what were his motives and in the final couple of minutes there is also a cheap surprise which is also not explained but they just put it in there for a happier ending I guess...

All in all KnK is a pretty good action anime with comedic elements that manages not to fall victim of any of the current trends (harem, fanservice...) and create something unique and enjoyable. Had its ending been decent it would definately get a 9/10 from me.

I just finished "Welcome to the NHK" and I loved it! Seriously, this anime succeeds into making you actually care about the characters without doing any flashy stuff. It was so realistic and simple, yet so... charming. It had a nice mix of pshychology, black humor, drama and romance making it an enjoyable and not tiresome experience as it manages to keep a really good balance.

The characters are interesting and easy to empathize with and the interactions between them are so real, they act (in contrast with most of the anime) very human, they have their flaws and weaknesses. And that's probably the anime's strongest ... point : the viewer can sometimes see himself in the place of the characters, he/she can sometimes identify with them.

The artstyle is pretty good but I cannot really comment on it as it not the thing that the anime focuses on. The sound on the other hand is really impressive for a drama anime. There are many good tracks that accompany the scenes and fit perfectly, enhancing the atmosphere and highlighting the emotions.

The only thing that I disliked was the ending. It wasn't bad by any means, it just didn't live up to my expectations. There was a lot of buildup and but the ending was mediocre. I was expecting more out of it as the anime really impressed me in general.

All in all, "Welcome to the NHK" is one of those anime that you may overlook. But believe me, if you do you will miss out on a really heartwαrming and human story, one that can make you feel all kinds of emotions, one you can identify with and find yourself in.