Tamako Market – MALTamako Love Story – MAL”Everybody loves somebody.”TL;DR:Tamako Market is about how one girl, her friends, family, and neighbors go about their everyday lives in a year. Marked with humor, lovely music, touching moments, and KyoAni’s trademark high quality animation, Tamako Market is a welcome addition to the moe/Slice of Life genre.Tamako Love Story, the sequel film to the TV series, focuses on a first love, that ever daunting yet oftentimes so defining moment in one’s life. Brilliant writing and cinematography serve this movie well, as it so deftly and realistically handles how it feels to be on the cusp of sharing the unknown with someone else.From here on out, Tamako refers to the show and the film, while Tamako is the titular character.Some Background(Go to “Mo’ Moe, Mo’ Mochi” if you want to skip to about the show itself):It’s strange to think that I would find myself writing a WT! thread on Tamako Market. Even a year ago, I would have found it difficult to believe that I’d ever watch something considered “moe,” nevermind write a piece trying to convince others to watch a particular show from it. Yet here I am, because I believe Tamako Market and Tamako Love Story deserve to gain more recognition.My first encounter with Tamako Market did not do it any favors. I had seen some salty comments about how it had taken the place of a possible K-On! Season 3, and having heard so little of it in comparison, thought, “Huh, I guess the show just wasn’t that good.”Boy, were my expectations exceeded. Reader, you might be wondering, “Are those twelve episodes necessary/worth it in order to get to the movie?” The answer is: Yes. A thousand times yes. The series is good on its own legs, the story made a masterpiece thanks to the film. So yes, you should watch it.Here’s why:Mo’ Moe, Mo’ MochiSometimes, the current anime environment can feel a little too corporate. So many of the shows coming out nowadays can be seen as serving as nothing but advertisements for light novel and manga sales, and later, figure and BD sales. And with the success of this model, especially financially, not many companies are willing to take a risk.It’s hard to think that Kyoto Animation, or KyoAni, took much of a risk here. After all, Tamako Market came right on the heels of K-On!!, the anime that really kicked off the moe/cute girls doing cute things craze in earnest. It makes sense that the company responsible for popularizing it would want to capitalize on the wave. And yet, KyoAni decided to pass on the sure thing of a third season of their cash cow by trying out an original anime. Sure, it is headed by many of the same people behind K-On! (including Yamada Naoko as the Director, Horiguchi Yukiko as the Chief Animation Director and Character Designer, and Yoshida Reiko as a writer), but Tamako strives to establish its own identity.Tamako follows our eponymous heroine in the stories of her everyday life over the course of one year. Tamako isn’t blessed with supernatural powers, she’s not incredibly intelligent, she’s not made to seem anything other than exceptionally ordinary. The daughter of a mochi shop owner, she lives in a shopping arcade and loves it there. Her friends, Midori and Kanna and Shiori, have her back. Her father owns the mochi shop because his father owned a mochi shop and HIS grandfather owned a mochi shop. Her little sister Anko would prefer if you’d just call her An, thank you very much. The boy across the street (whose family also owns a mochi shop!) has a gigantic crush on her, but Tamako isn’t ever going to pick up on it. Nothing out of the usual really happens… until she comes across a talking bird in the local flower shop. Wait, what? A talking bird?Yes, dear reader, a talking bird. His name is Dera Mochimazzui (which roughly translates to “Mochi is digusting”) and he’s got an attitude, a high sense of self-worth, enough moves to charm the feathers off a girl (or at least, he thinks so), and a mission: to find the future bride of the prince of his faraway land! But before he gets to that… more mochi please!We are (not) PerfectThe strongest parts of Tamako can be split into three sections: characters, storytelling, and production.What impressed me right off the bat about Tamako was the cast of background characters and how “flawed” they were. It’s refreshing to see a show where not everyone fits into the same kind of body type, and as you can see here, the members of the shopping arcade come from all walks of life. You have the lively meat shop owner, the cool and wise music shop guy, the ever-smiling and doting grandfather of the bathhouse, Midori’s grandfather and the generous toy shop owner, the shy and easily flustered tofu shop owner with an afro (and a rubber ducky in his hair) with a crush of his own, the husband and wife pair who’ll get you the best sashimi around (and still go out on date night!), and flower shop owner who always has a flower to give Tamako and her friends. These aren’t all skinny, moe-ified cliché character designs; you could really imagine a shopping arcade filled with this exact group of people.The one thing all these people have in common? They’re grown-ups. When problems arise and questions abound, there are those with experience who can lend a helping hand, who can help guide the younger ones. Of course, this leads to humorous situations on its own, including when the adults are absolutely convinced that the shopping arcade is cursed, which means not only do that they have to purify it, but also make sure the kids find out nothing. Hilarity ensues.And of course, the main characters stand out in their own ways. Tamako loves her mochi and her friends and family. She can be more than a little dense sometimes (especially when it comes to affections…), but she genuinely cares for other people and wants to see them smile. You can always count on her smile, her laugh, and a willingness to share mochi with the people she meets. Sometimes she gets nervous with how other people see her and has trouble speaking in public and expressing herself, but her heart is always in the right place. Tamako also loves to hum a certain melody, and just wishes she could find out where it’s from…Her family includes her father Mamedai and her sister Anko (yes, they really love their mochi if you couldn’t tell). Tamako’s dad is very traditionalist, and it takes a lot of prodding from Tamako and Anko to get him to budge on anything, whether it’s new items on the menu or finding out more about their family. Anko is in elementary school, but she might be the most perceptive person in the household. Wise beyond her years with a spunky personality to boot, Anko is very much trying to take charge of her path. And if you want to include Dera into this mix, he’s always hungry for another piece of mochi and always willing to impart his wisdom upon whoever is closest.Across the street live another family of mochi owners, including Mochizou Oji, a childhood friend of Tamako’s. Mochizou has had a crush on Tamako for as long as he can remember, and while he always tells himself that this will be the time he tells her… well, he’ll settle for being her best friend and being a part of the film club.Her friends, Kanna, Midori, and Shiori round out the cast. Kanna describes herself as someone who loves right angles, and with her deadpan humor and affinity for building and carpentry, she can quickly become a favorite for the viewer. Midori puts on a take charge attitude, but inside, she struggles with many of the same insecurities that a girl her age goes through. Shiori can come off as too cool and distant, but she really just has a lot of difficulty putting all her thoughts into words. No matter, her friends can tell what Shiori means to say. Together, they have fun and sometimes do awkward things, but they're together.And as great as these characters are, it’s in how they grow that Tamako really shines.Storytelling: Sweet and SubtleBoth Tamako Market and Tamako Love Story know exactly what they are and aim to be, and you can chalk that up to KyoAni’s brilliant group of creators.Tamako Market is definitely a moe show, reader. There are more than enough cute and adorable moments throughout its twelve episodes to give any viewer diabetes. It also tells a story within the context of cute people doing cute things. Thanks to Dera, the group finds themselves in hijinks one after the other, whether it’s creating a haunted house, promoting Valentine’s Day, or finding that elusive song. And over the course of their adventures, we see these characters grow up. There are faced with very real problems and situations, and as the seasons pass, they learn how to evolve and how to handle themselves.Additionally, what’s great about Tamako Market is that it sticks to its own pace. Plot lines get resolved at their own pace, and it never forces the issue. Side characters get their own min-arcs, focusing on the depth and growth of those around Tamako. There are definitely moments where you can feel the writers going, “Okay, we’re going to give you this much. And we could definitely push it more. But we won’t. Because it’s enough.”And really, it is. There’s more “show, don’t tell” than you would imagine from a show like this, and it works out to Tamako Market’s benefit. There are things you might never learn, but it’s okay because the characters are okay with it. Life doesn’t always wrap up everything in a neat little bow; you have to learn to be accepting of things the way they are.KyoAni Delivers … AgainI’ll admit it: I’m an unabashed fan of KyoAni’s works. Their trademark touches are everywhere in Tamako. The characters feel so real, so authentic, that you can find yourself lost amid the story. The art, as always, is so beautiful and bolstered by the cinematography. We can also see at work here the original budget smile, but KyoAni has never just been about a few picturesque frames. Tamako uses color so deftly; notice how bright and vibrant the majority of the scenes are, and what happens when it’s missing. See how the characters are disheveled when they’re home, when they’re with people they trust.If you’ve watched any of their other shows, you’ll know how much effort KyoAni puts into the music. Plenty of franchises pour in money into their OPs/EDs because they know they’ll get plenty of airtime, but Tamako’s music is top-tier. The background music jumps from happy-go-lucky to occasionally somber, always fitting the mood. And of course, the insert songs are amazing. Spoilers if you click, but they are so worth a listen when you get to them.It’s a small thing, too, but if you’re a fan of the business side of anime, Tamako is interesting because despite being a risk, KyoAni placed their bets on relative unknowns for the majority of their main casts. Tamako’s voice actress in particular was in bit parts previously before getting the role as well as singing the OP and ED. If nothing else, it brings fresh faces/voices into the industry, and makes it so that the next star has their chance to shine.It’s a Love Story, Baby, Just Say YesI’ve refrained from saying much about Tamako Love Story because, while the details of the storyline aren’t huge spoilers, they might still take away from the experience of Tamako Market. Reader, if you wish to go into Tamako Market blind, you can skip to “The Final Verdict.”Tamako Love Story takes place shortly after the events of Tamako Market, and focuses more in-depth on Tamako and her place in the world. She’s reaching the point in her life where she’s got to make a decision on what to do next. And it’s not just her, her friends are debating what they might want to do next.Mochizou, he of that eternal crush, decides he wants to go to Tokyo, far away from their humble shopping arcade. He’ll go to university so he can study film… even if it means he’ll be far away from Tamako. Will he tell Tamako how he feels before he leaves? And how will she respond?Tamako Love Story is quite simply a masterpiece. It handles the emotions of young adults so well, so softly, so poignantly. The film expresses just how important an event like a confession of love can feel when you are young and experience these strong emotions for the first time. Yamada’s brilliance flows through in each and every frame of this movie, and as the characters take the plunge towards their bright futures, you can’t help but feel brought along for the ride and excited to be there.The Final VerdictLook, I understand. You, reader, are a busy person. You’ve got things to do! You’ve got shows to watch, LNs to read, fanart to draw, and comment faces to champion for. Who’s got the time for “just another” moe slice of life show? And even if the movie is all it’s cracked up to be, why go through twelve episodes to get to one movie?Watch Tamako Market. Watch Tamako Love Story. Watch it if you like cute girls doing cute things. Watch it if you enjoy seeing people discover their place in the world. Watch it if you support original anime, appreciate artistic touches, if you’re in a funk and need something to pick you up. Watch it if you’re happy and wonder if it’ll come tumbling down. Watch it if you’ve ever loved somebody (and everybody loves somebody).Because, reader, I may have told a little white lie. I didn’t write this up for Tamako Market and Tamako Love Story to gain more recognition. I wrote this up because I feel that it can have a positive impact on your life, that it can make you a better person. I wrote this because Tamako deserves it. http://ift.tt/1JzLO4b
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