A calligrapher exiles himself to a rural island to find himself, then immediately gets adopted by every kid in the village. The humor doesn't punch down at small-town life or treat the locals as quirky props. It finds comedy in genuine warmth, in a grown man learning he's been empty the whole time, in the joy of teaching someone something small. These shorts exist in the spaces between the main story where the real growth actually happens.

Barakamon: Mijikamon collects short comedy specials made as companions to the Barakamon television series. Each runs about two minutes and presents the cast in chibi form. Thirteen were released in 2014 as an online series, counting an Episode 0, and they streamed on the official YouTube channel alongside the regular broadcast, available only to viewers in Japan.