Bâan: Otona no Kyoukai

Bâan is personal.

For most people, the concept of leaving home can be very foreign. The borders we created and the feeling of community are very addictive. They bind you to the place you feel like you belong. But what if you didn't, or you felt like you didn't? Bâan is an isekai story, a story about two people leaving their birthplace behind to seek their own future.

The concept of leaving home is becoming increasingly common worldwide. However, what isn't usually spoken about is the difficulties that come with it, or maybe even the feeling of finding a new home. Bâan is like a small documentary, ... an expression of the feelings that come with such a journey. This is a personal project, the writer opening his feelings about the journey, and you can see it very clearly.

But this also means that for this short movie to tug your heartstrings just right, you need to have observed such a journey. This 18-minute journey should not be seen as a standalone movie; for its value to be understood correctly, it should be seen as a peek into one's future, a look into one's present, or a memory from one's past.

To better explain it, Daichi and Rin are not two characters you bond with because you know their backstories perfectly, or were present at a significant event in their lives. You bond with these characters because they are going to be, are, or were you at some point in your life.

The details:

Characters:

Daichi and Rin are the two main characters, and each has a distinct life; they live differently. You can see their aspirations and their wants from their life quite clearly, and that is where they feel real. They feel like self-inserts, but not because they are bland per se.

Animation:

Studio Daisy did a great job making the world feel as alive as possible. The character movements and expressions felt smooth, and the CG did not make itself known at any point. The animation got fast where it needed to be, and it did it very well. I can say it felt like a high-budget non-action seasonal anime.

Music:

One of Kevin Penkin's better works, it fits the mood very well, to the point that I don't remember any of the music individually. They are blended with the scenes in my memory.

Story:

It is personal, and how much you understand will depend on how much you have already experienced. This is 18 minutes, so don't expect a full-blown story told through character dialogue. You will need to piece some things together yourself.

Watch it. You will either have an eye-opening experience or an 18-minute, short, good anime experience.

Thank you, Gigguk. See you at your next premiere.

The creators of the anime Bâan: The Boundary of Adulthood have done the best job they could, from animation and music to visual storytelling, all around. But this kind of story cannot be told within 19 minutes. No matter how much effort was put in by every person involved, the anime is destined to cause mixed feelings.

The anime didn't resonate with me. I've never experienced homesickness. But I've never experienced a lot of things anime usually depict. So what's the difference? Obviously, length. One standard episode is not enough to empathise with characters whos experience is so different from mine. The story feels complete, ... but so quick, that it slips out of my hands.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed watching Bâan. The anime was created with a lot of love and passion, it felt with every second of animation. The music goes straight to my collection. The voice acting was perfect. The characters felt alive. The world of the anime was interesting enough that I would like to visit it personally, or at least watch another anime in the same universe.

And maybe one day, when I will be far away from home, I will rewatch this anime and I will be able to catch the feelings that were poured into Bâan.

Very happy for Gigguk to see an ambitious project to fruition. I love his content and promise to deliver from the heart.

Baan however? It's. Okay. Just okay. Not bad, but I don't feel as if I've gained anything from the experience.

The ups here is definitely the Quality that goes with Baan. I can tell that great care was put into the animation, the designs, the music, the desire to deliver some decency in its presentation for the most part. As an artist myself, I can definitely appreciate the thought and care that went into the design of things as a whole!

However, the "story" is just ... a tad too disjointed. It connects, but it's weak... likely due to the time constraint of 18 minutes (Though I've seen AMAZING stories told in single anime episodes or less before this). Focusing a little too hard on the cute girly's side and not so much the male protagonist. Things are glossed over, disjointed in continuity, or rather there's little explanation for what few characters appear. There's no emotion to really feel in such a short time span. It needs more to really stand out as something worth recommending.

I will always appreciate this attempt nonetheless. It's every anime lover's dream to see their own ideas or story in an animated form! I believe if Gigguk wants Baan to succeed and not be a one note project, the story needs to be made in written novel or possibly manga form. Because as it stands, I can't fall in love with these characters past a character design point.