Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Ream22
The anime short film Bâan (2025) by Gigguk tells the journey of two people, Rin and Daichi, who leave their homeland for a fantasy world called Euthania to find a new life and a place where they truly feel accepted.
Overall, it’s really an anime made with beautiful visuals, crafted with professional voice actors and animators, but unfortunately, the story is relatively simple and confusing. It’s also mentioned that this anime brings in Southeast Asian culture, but which one? Just Thailand as far as I can see. As someone from Southeast Asia, I don’t see many Southeast Asian references in this film (maybe just the rice fields, which is somewhat relatable).
Thanks for the short film, I’m really late catching up because I haven’t followed the channel in a while. Story-wise, it’s pretty bla…
Read at the sourceHalcyon13
A clear case of just because you can doesn't mean you should. Bâan frankly shouldn't exist, and conceiving an idea is not justification for putting pen to paper. I could sort through a list of explanations as to why it didn't turn out the way it should have, like time or money, but ultimately, what's on the screen is what we have, and it's offensively rubbish. The story follows Rin and Daichi concurrently, two people leaving home and crossing over to a different world, and in this universe, the two places are Japan and Euthania—a terrible name for the latter, might I add, or perhaps a fitting description of what they tried to do to viewers. Both of these characters phase through their new life, and while the eventual goal is to symbolize home being wherever you make it, it's also just anot…
Read at the sourceKranst
Heart and passion are unfortunately not enough to overcome a limited budget and or time constraints. And yet, despite saying this, the personalized storytelling, touching themes, and intriguing worldbuilding, or their potential, are enough to captivate the viewer into wanting a more realized project. That is a noteworthy accomplishment in itself. Bâan: The Boundary of Adulthood is an original work by Garnt Maneetapho, or Gigguk on YouTube. The run-time leaves much to be desired in the character development, emotional impact, and broader narrative, but the sincere craftsmanship in production, from the script, designs, animation, and music, is commendable. Everyone involved strived to make something special.
Read at the sourceOlorin666
Proud of my boy Gigguk. As they say, dreams do come true. And it's great. I have this strange feeling from watching it. The realization of one person's dream inspires thousands of others to achieve their own feats. Perhaps this is the power of anime: it inspires, unites and gives hope. I’ve seen the guys’ podcasts and how hard it was to make even such a short film. It’s really interesting how an ordinary person could break into the world of animation—after all, the creator is just a YouTuber. It’s fun to watch him crack jokes, but is that enough to write a good script? I don’t think so. I don’t regret spending those few minutes, but overall, it’s nothing phenomenal.
Read at the sourceNfBadge
Watch it out of morbid curiosity because it was made by a youtuber. To my surprise it was pretty decent; can't really say much as with 18 minutes it was pretty obvious it couldn't have something spectacular animation or storytelling (not that it was bad).
The twist in the story is something I liked; the way the story is tell to get to that moment was good even tho felt rush due the time. Animation again wasn't the best but had some good shots.
Best part was probably the OST, really made you feel that world was alive.
Not something I would recommend unless you don't really have nothing to watch and have a spare 20 minutes (unless it gets more content, that I understand it's hard). It would have been a 7/10 if it wasn't of the length; so a solid 6/10 still think is good for something I h…
Read at the sourceOtaku_Senpai
I sometimes watch videos made by the Youtuber who was involved in making this movie. He produced the movie with his own money and worked on the story with the studio. The initial story draft was made by him.
I did like it. I wished it was longer, with the characters fleshed out. But the movie was too small, but cant be helped as the budget was limited. I liked the visuals and and art. The animation is also good. However I dont think I got the story. By the time the movie ended I was confused.
This is a good 1st attempt at a movie. I hope he makes more.
My Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Read at the sourceunmi714
Fantastic premise, the story had the correct ingredients. However, those under the Japanese animation system as expected, have had no freedom over the project as much as an indie environment would. Budget constraints gutted the potential of this story, but it's not like it is a lost cause. The story can, and must be redone, this time, by exploiting the indie animation or manga industry. At the end, the comparison between a Japan-produced Baan vs. indie-produced Baan would be as interesting a story.
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(10/10) Story: Amazing premise. It fully shows both the producer's maturity AND naivete. (but partly coz we've watched him for long)
(7/10) Setting: Southeast asian myself, REPRESENT! Minus 3 points for having isekai qualities.
(5/10) Character Designs: Passable and more i…
Read at the sourcedivinnihilation
It’s not offensively bad. It’s just bland. The whole thing feels like a filler isekai anime, offering nothing profound or memorable. There isn’t any real sense of distinctiveness or artistic intent, and the result simply comes across as bland in the end. Even the parallel word scenes play out like side-by-side comparison tables in a corporate PowerPoint slideshow, which only highlights how little the anime has to set itself apart. I don’t think the length is an excuse either, because Shelter managed to deliver more world building and emotion in just 6 minutes.
That said, others might enjoy a non-Japanese anime for a change.
Read at the sourceGamiKhan
When you make a short you want to have a cohesive meaninful message behind it, baan doesnt really have anything.
The gmc escapes his world because of a controlling mother and ends up adopting a random orphan which is the fmc, she feels like a burden and escapes to the original gmc world, gets frustated, gets a job, is told to not use magic, she accepts her magic, she comes back to her world to reunite with his father, the gmc.
At no moment it is clear if the fmc quit her job or not to come back with her dad, which makes the whole experience more confusing. If she didnt leave her job the whole premise is visit your parents? Meanwhile hypocrital gmc wont visit his family even once?
If she left the job, the premise is drop everything for your family? Which is still even more hypocritical f…
Read at the sourceBoredJournal
Review on Bâan: The Boundary of Adulthood
(Gigguk short film – YouTube)
From Reviewer to Creator: Why Bãan Matters
Gigguk is a well-respected critic, YouTuber, and podcaster in the anime community. Starting his channel on YouTube with a love of anime, making reviews that garnered millions of views for his thought-out and personal opinions, he touched and made many think of anime as more than just a Japanese cartoon, but also a literary and cultural medium.
Bâan is a 19-minute short film created by Gigguk professionally, with real and known studios, animators, voice actors, and musicians. From Kevin Penkin (who composed tracks in A-grade anime series like Made in Abyss and The Apothecary Diaries), to Studio Daisy, and voice direction from professional voice actor (and his friend) Connor…
Read at the sourceNomaed
I watched both the anime and the video about making the anime, and with all seriousness I recommend the latter.
Baan was animated by professional animators, voiced by professional seiyus, given soundtrack by a professional composer, and written by a YouTuber who makes videos about animes. As a result: it looks and sounds amazing, but it's a mess underneath it all, even for a short anime. You need to have skills to write a competent story, you need even better skills to tell a short story, and Garnt is actually good at telling about stories, but not stories themselves. An average viewer won't even understand what has happened in the span of these 18 minutes, neither did I. When I first watched Baan, I thought it was just a beautiful animated sequence without an underlying story, and only a…
Read at the sourceSuperAdventure
Baan is the creation of globally famous Gigguk, a Youtuber who wanted to make his own anime, it’s under 20 minutes long, made by a studio who have never made an anime before.
Summed up this way, it’s not a description that inspires much enthusiasm. And the Gigguk Youtube channel was never one I personally liked, I merely watched this when it showed up in my feed one day; and so with all doubts (and a smug half grin on my face) viewed this little anime, and was completely blown away.
There could be a lot of reasons something resonates with some people more than others; maybe the cynicism after having seen any number of brain-dead, Light Novel adapted isekai that barely attempt anything truly meaningful or profound- led me to expect something equally cheesy and low-brow. Like some kind of…
Read at the sourceMrPrince_06
What is home?
I did not know a story could make me feel nostalgic for memories I do not have. This original work blossomed feelings that I find difficult to put into words.
Bâan, a short film focused on illustrating the concept of coming home, inspired by culture and nostalgia.
The visuals are gorgeous, with a subtle touch of east-asian roots. The story is simple, but compelling. The music is superb. The timeframe fits this project perfectly. I can't help but imagine what this team can achieve with increased funding and more screen time. I cannot wait for more projects from the man himself - Gigguk.
This story is a culmination of what it means to be inspired by media. It is short, sweet and leaves an indescribable impact on viewers.
Read at the sourcejus7aguy
This anime is beautiful and is there for the feels and the mood as much as anything in my opinion. The story is a bit simple and I get the feeling bits were cut, but "as it is" it's not the focus of the anime as much as a mood/feel of leaving and finding your place in the world(s). Regardless of if you discover that is somewhere far from home, or the very place you originally set out from. There's a few bait and switch moments on what you think is happening chronologically but I can see why it was done to get what story elements they have into a short time-frame.
The animation is gorgeous and the music is FANTASTIC. The voice actors all do a decent job of selling who/what they are in a short period of characterisation.
If I did have a complaint it would be this feels more like a 15 minu…
Read at the sourceRoninVA23
i will just say that Baan was a very good anime. I didn't fully understand it. Its was deep and a dense story portraited in under 18mins of run time. The Story was unique with a traditional vibe of festivals and fireworks like Diwali. The Art style was colorful and vibrant. I think Daichi could have a little bit more of a backstory. According to me 50% of us will like it because we support Garnt. 25% of will say its good enough for it being his first movie. Other 25% people will hate on it because they have nothing going on in their lives and helpless creatures. But in concussion it was good with a plot and story in mind with great art work and direction.
In the end it left me wanting for more. So best of luck Uncle Garnt Maneetapho. I hope I can see more of your works in the future. Hope…
Read at the sourceUserWithaName
What was the point of this other than to say "Hey look, a youtuber made an anime." I'm not looking to be too harsh on this considering it's only 18 minutes (really 16) but I have no idea what I was supposed to take away from it. The story felt like it was something much bigger before being compacted by multiple magnitudes. It was cool to look at but thats about it. I don't think there was a purpose behind any of the decisions made, and if there was it wasn't shown clearly or interestingly enough. TLDR; a youtuber made an anime.
Read at the sourceowmahknee
I could really feel the passion and love poured into this short, 18 minute anime. The animation was beautiful and polished, and the atmosphere matched perfectly with the story’s themes. I watched the English dub on YouTube, and the voice cast was impressive, with notable names in the dubbing community like Sydney and Aleks Le. Connor’s direction for the dub also felt fitting and well executed. On top of that, Kevin Penkin’s music was phenomenal. His score elevated the entire experience and perfectly captured the atmosphere Bâan was aiming for.
The central theme of Bâan was finding “home” and taking that step into adulthood was conveyed clearly despite the short runtime. The story was heartfelt and intentional, and I could sense the vision behind it.
This part is more personal, but becaus…
Read at the sourceShadowJoestar
This is more than a short film. It is a piece of art that treats its audience like intelligent people, preferring to show and not tell. The inspiration from southeast asian mythology is on full display in its art direction. And the fact that he got Kevin Penkin to do the music, mmm, chef's kiss. I can feel the passion that Gigguk put into this.
My one and only complaint is that it is too short, which is by no means Gigguk's fault as anime is expensive as hell to make, but if the only complaint I can give is that I want more, well, you do the math.
Read at the sourceError_P7
Baan comes around with an interesting concept and a big story with just a small set of tools. But if you consider just these 18 minutes as a whole, everything there was made to be perfect, each frame and each scene had 100% effort and mind put into it and for everyone, that's what matters.
The story tells two things, that sometimes you find happiness somewhere else and sometimes you already have happiness at home. Simple like that and very much true. Don't judge the story as if you are watching 12 seasons or a whole book, this ain't no book and they have no time to spare. Everyone that actually appreciates story and anime can tell, these 18 minutes went above and beyond everything it could.
Yeah sure, argue with me about character development or that the project had to be longer. Yes, we…
Read at the sourceBaanGlazer
Its very simple and doesn't feel like anything special albeit it has good animation and great music. Yet by the end, I started to have tears. I love the theme about coming home and how there's something special about it that you can't fully get anywhere else even if the place you go to is great. As a Christian I feel like this sense of feeling like you are coming home to where you belong is the exact feeling that we will have after this life when we come home to our Heavenly Parents and it helped me feel just a slight glimpse of that, so I'm grateful that I could have this for that.
The only thing I might have changed was that there was a slight "twist" if you want to call it that where I feel like it wasn't necessary. It might have been better and more clear if we just had the informati…
Read at the source
