Manga Review: Barakamon, Volume 12, by Satsuki Yoshino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: October 2016

Volumes: 14+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 11. 13.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Santa, huh...? Guess each household tends to have its own customs....
Jingle jingle jingle jingle....Christmas has come to the island!Handsome young calligrapher Seishuu Handa tries his hand at the Santa business for the first time! But could it be that Handa Claus isn't the only one who's come to visit all the nice little children...? The love of every dad warms the world in Volume 12 of this hot 'n' hearty island comedy!

Review:

Oh man, I didn't expect this to be so emotional.

Most of this volume is rather lighthearted. Naru and Hina are learning new things in school, it snows in town and everyone gets excited, no matter how little there actually is. Christmas comes. The big surprise here, though, is that Naru's father shows up in town. But he won't talk to Naru, and instead stalks her, because she doesn't remember him.

This whole plot line is extremely sad to me. It's mostly used lightheartedly, of course, but there's one scene that just got me. Aw man. I just love Naru and her relationship with Handa. It makes some sense, as well, since we've never heard anything about her parents, and we still don't know anything about her mom. The volume ends with the new year, and Naru and Handa's coming trip to Tokyo. That should be really fun.

I love this series. We finally got some character depth here, and it just hurt it was so sad and adorable. I'm excited for the next one.