It puts you right back in the shoes of every new hire who walked in thinking competence would be enough. Botchan arrives fresh out of school with his chin up, and the country town starts sanding him down immediately: students who tail him, spy on him, and set up stunts just to watch him lose his temper, and a landlord who keeps shoving worthless antiques at him like it's rent. The gut punch is the fishing trip, the one moment meant to lift his spirits, where he starts eyeing Hotta, the only person in the village who has been decent to him, as the source of everything. That's the Soseki sting, done in 1980 hand-drawn craft that's the real reason to sit down for this one. It's a separate take from the Seishun Anime Zenshu telling, and it earns the hour.

A recent graduate called Botchan takes up his first teaching post in a village, with no idea of what lies ahead. His students spy on him and play cruel tricks, and his landlord keeps pushing worthless antiques on him. On a fishing trip meant to lift his mood, he comes to suspect Hotta, his only friend there, of being behind his troubles. When the staff meet to discuss the students' conduct, the punishment put forward is surprisingly light, and the colleague he suspected stands up for him. As signs of the dean's dealings come to light, Botchan must decide whom to trust. This TV special adapts Natsume Soseki's 1906 novel.