7.8/10127 votes#1 - Cheerful Child
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 7/5/2014
Handsome young master calligrapher Handa Seishuu has been exiled to a far-western island for punching a critic. He plans to focus on his writing in solitude, but rambunctious little Naru won't leave him alone...
Director: Masaki Tachibana
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
7.5/10114 votes#2 - Annoying
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 7/12/2014
A week after coming to the island, Handa is trying to focus on improving his calligraphy. However, he keeps getting interrupted by Naru and her friends, including middle-school girls Miwa and Tama, who want their old base back!
Director: Kazuhisa Ono
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.1/10108 votes#3 - Mochi Thrown in Celebration
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 7/19/2014
Tama hides a deep, dark secret, and meeting Handa may have led her to reveal it. Is it too late for her to save her reputation? Meanwhile, Handa is suffering his own angst after not placing first in a calligraphy competition. Maybe a friendly mochi-picking session with the villagers will cheer him up...
Director: Satomi Nakamura
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
7.8/10109 votes#4 - Island Dads
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 7/26/2014
After his computer and cell phone break, Handa's only link to the outside world is the phone at the general store. He decides to focus on his entry for the upcoming Naruka Institute competition, but hits a wall. Can a job from Miwa's gangsterish dad help him break through it?
Director: Taketomo Ishikawa
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.0/10104 votes#5 - Going Swimming at the Beach
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 8/2/2014
After the job from Miwa's dad breaks his artist's block, Handa's ready to get writing! But some distractions come up, in the form of the girls demanding penmanship help, a day taking the kids to the beach, and Naru's Grampa's addictive pickled daikon...
Director: Shingo Kaneko
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.1/10104 votes#6 - Guys From Tokyo
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 8/9/2014
Handa's only friend, Kawafuji, arrives with a kid named Kanzaki Kousuke in tow, but their trip to Handa's house ends up being very roundabout. Why does Kousuke want to meet Handa so badly, and why did Kawafuji agree to bring him?
Director: Kazuhisa Ono
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.1/10101 votes#7 - A High-Grade Fish
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 8/16/2014
To make up for the turmoil of the previous two days, the village kids and Handa treat his guests to a fun day of fishing before bidding them farewell.
Director: Shinya Kawatsura
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.6/10110 votes#8 - Onde
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 8/23/2014
It's Naru's birthday, and Handa wants to present her with a new rhinoceros beetle. However, Kenta not only refuses to help him catch one, but also declares a battle to get Naru the best bug! Later, Handa is invited along for a visit to the Kotoishi family gravesite, but finds the local Obon customs unusually cheerful.
Director: Taketomo Ishikawa
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.2/1099 votes#9 - Almost Got Badly Hurt
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 9/6/2014
It's only two weeks until the Naruka Exhibition. Handa waits for inspiration as he deals with a broken bath heater and various scuffles with the kids. Unfortunately, not long after inspiration falls, so does Handa...
Director: Shinya Iino
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.2/1098 votes#10 - Dacchi Ikode
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 9/13/2014
After Handa submits his "Star" calligraphy despite some trepidation, he gets roped into helping to build a stone wall and then into taking the girls to the summer festival. Meanwhile, Kawafuji gets the exhibition hall director to agree to welcome Handa back to Tokyo. How will he bid farewell to the kind islanders who've taught him so much?
Director: Shinya Iino
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.9/10108 votes#11 - I am in Tokyo
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 9/20/2014
Handa has returned to Tokyo, to show his new "STAR" calligraphy to the gallery director he had punched and ask for forgiveness. However, Handa doesn't feel quite right about the work, and ends up smearing it before the director can. Could some inspiration from his time at the island help him create an even better work before the deadline?
Director: Taketomo Ishikawa
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
8.8/10107 votes#12 - Glad You're Back
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 9/27/2014
With his calligraphy exhibition entry finished, Handa wants to return to the island and the people he cares about there. Unfortunately, his mom is dead set against it. How will he convince her to let him go?
Director: Masaki Tachibana
Writer: Pierre Sugiura
The Best Episodes of Barakamon Season 1
Every episode of Barakamon Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Barakamon Season 1!
After punching a famous curator in the face for criticizing his work as "textbook and lifeless," Handa Seishuu is sent to Gotō Island to calm...
Genres:AnimationComedy
Network:Nippon TV
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Cheerful Child" is the best rated episode of "Barakamon" season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 127 votes. Directed by Masaki Tachibana and written by Pierre Sugiura, it aired on 7/5/2014. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Annoying".