Veronin

There's something about anime which allows us to derive entertainment from the mundane events of an ordinary person. Coincidentally, ordinary is the best way to describe Tamako Market. Starring the young lady Tamako and a flamboyant talking bird, Tamako Market is yet another anime that attempts to cash in on the slice of life phenomenon. It is not an anime that prospers through the strength of its plot, setting, or themes, but instead subsists through the cuteness of its characters. Should we criticize an anime for not going beyond that? Maybe not. But there is certainly a problem when such a simple anime still fallsshort of its potential. Tamako Market's biggest weakness is regrettably its characterization. Each characters has about the same depth as wrapping paper, as none of them even once prove to be more than their established archetype. Tamako is merely your ordinary, dense heroine (think Chitanda with pigtails) who is no more memorable than any other generic slice-of-life lead. There is little to make her stand out aside from the fact that she is cute and naive. Even when the story shows small signs of her developing as a character, it will simply fall back on her denseness in order to prevent any growth. The result is not pleasant. You cannot have a character-driven slice-of-life anime told through the perspective of a weak character. It does not work. Though one might think: if not the protagonist, the rest of the cast may be better, right? Not here, it seems. For nearly all of the side characters are a superfluous addition to an already large cast. The biggest offenders are Tamako's school friends: Midori, Kanna, and Shiori. They do not serve any purpose but to quickly provide a sense of friendship in Tamako's daily life. While there are a couple of episodes that focus on these characters and attempt to give them personality, once the next episode starts, the show will treat it as if nothing even happened. This is especially an issue in the case of Shiori, where an entire episode is spent introducing her to Tamako's group of friends— yet afterwards she is not seen for almost the entire story. What was the point? You could remove these characters from the show and nothing would change. Tamako's childhood friend, Mochizou, is yet another victim to the weak characterization. His character design at least carries some degree of promise, but the lack of screen time compounded with his unfortunate role as a plot device do not do him any favors. There are a few heartwarming scenes between him and Tamako, such as when they talk at night through a string telephone, but the overall execution of this romance is invariably poor. It is entirely composed of Mochizou woefully attempting to convey his feelings to no avail, with Tamako conveniently being blind to Mochizou's evident feelings. In many ways, their relationship is reminiscent of the cliches from harem anime. To be fair, this isn't a story that focuses on its romance. But can one forgive what could easily have been so much more? The show's mascot, Dera, will either amuse or infuriate you. Considering that he has more screentime than any other character in the story, this can potentially destroy any entertainment value that the show might otherwise hold for the viewer. There are a few witty moments here and there, but most often he is simply detracting from time that could have been better spent developing the human characters. While you may hate him, the one thing that can be said in his favor is that he creates personality within the show: he is anything but a bland character. Whether you lean towards hatred or endearment, Dera will leave some lasting impression on you by the end of the story. Hopefully a positive one. On a more positive note is Tamako's younger sister, Anko. She does not receive much screentime in comparison to Tamako or Dera, but what little she receives is written considerably well. Her two episodes focus on the innocent crush that she has towards a classmate, and the way in which the anime conveys this is surprisingly subtle. Anko does not outright state her feelings, but through her body language they are made very clear to the viewer. As well as being sickeningly adorable, Anko is surprisingly the most believable character in the show. Too bad she is treated as irrelevant in all but two episodes. Aside from the characters and romance, there are small problems within the story itself. Most notably is during the last few episodes. After an abrupt twist at the end of the 10th episode, the show immediately tries to rush in some semblance of a story at which it fails quite miserably. Not only does this undermine the slice-of-life aspect of the previous episodes, but the writing is marred by contrivances such as when the Prince somehow travels (or is it 'teleports'?) from a distant country to appear at the most convenient time possible. The ending is scarcely better either as it completely disregards these events in order to revert back to the mundane slice of life. I am not sure that KyoAni knew what kind of anime they wanted to make with Tamako Market. While the content of the show feels uninspired, at least there is some charm in the presentation. There's an interesting contrast between the mundane activities of the shopping district and the unique carnival aesthetic they are presented in. The soundtrack compliments the style of the show especially well, while even the shopkeepers and background characters are given distinct (often eccentric) personalities in order to breathe life into the world. Not that you will remember them, though. Artistically the anime shines, but those looking for something of the same level as previous KyoAni works will likely find themselves disappointed. The animation is fluid, the facial expressions and scenery are fairly detailed, and the color scheme is vibrant— though little is actually done to enhance the experience. It is an anime that looks and sounds pleasant, but the lavish budget often feels more excessive than beneficial. In the end, Tamako Market is another disposable slice-of-life anime to be consumed and forgotten. The fundamentals are intact, and while there are still signs of potential waiting to be realized, this is an anime that will probably leave you with a bitter feeling of emptiness once it is over. One would think that after KyoAni's success with K-ON, they would understand what is needed to create a quality slice-of-life anime. Apparently not. Perhaps KyoAni should stick to animating existing material from this point on. Tamako Market may not be a bad anime. But it is certainly a lacking one.

Frog-kun

(NOTE: This review is written for general anime fans and assumes no familiarity with other series. If you dislike moe, I still think this series is worth watching, for reasons I will discuss below. After episode 5, I decided to bump up the rating to an 8.) Kyoto Animation is very well known for their cute character designs and on the whole, Tamako Market seems like it was a consummate effort on their part. It's not new and it's not original, but it seems like it was created very easily and with great refinement and polish. So what is this series about? Not a lot, ifI'm going to be honest. Tamako is the daughter of a mochi (a kind of Japanese rice cake) maker and the episodes seem to revolve around what kind of new mochi she makes for each different occasion. There's a certain educational appeal in this. Tamako Market also focuses on the bonds Tamako has with her friends and family. It captures the feeling of living in a small yet close-knit community. People from all walks of life populate this town and they all interact with each other in simple yet heartwarming ways. This series is a slice of life in the purest sense of the word. The most praiseworthy aspect of the anime is the cozy atmosphere it manages to create. It's as if nothing bad will ever happen in this town. It's definitely escapist - but in a different way from most anime. The world of Tamako Market is one where you want to escape to and live in because it's so simple and innocent. If the world was just a little bit more like the one in Tamako Market, it would be a much better place. That's the appeal in these sorts of shows. In addition, KyoAni seems to have crafted their ultimate cute girl in our heroine Tamako; she is nice, polite and liked by just about everyone in the series. Though she is not a particularly quirky or memorable character (besides being totally dense when it comes to romance - I pity her love interest), her traits are very balanced and she has an air of genuine sweetness that's impossible to dislike. I do not think Tamako Market is "moe pandering". That is an unfair slight against the anime. Yes, the girls are cute, but so is everyone else in the series, even the old men. One particularly charming episode focused on Tamako's FATHER of all people. If anything, this series is targeted for general audiences and has a family friendly feel. It is not an otaku series and it is not trying to be one. I am neither a moe fan nor a moe hater so I would prefer to look at this series through the merits of its STORYTELLING. The problem I detect with this series isn't so much in the content so far but in people's expectations of it. I believe the first episode was not a strong indicator of what the series is about. The first episode was high on energy and comedy, mostly through the slight supernatural aspect of the show. A talking bird is the main comic relief mascot of the show and this character featured prominently in the opening episode. But Tamako Market isn't really a screwball comedy, even if it does have a quirky sense of humour. It is really a laid-back sort of anime that takes its time to develop the various characters and let the mood sink in. While the premise of the bird character's subplot reappears in the second half of the series, his main role in the series is for a bit of laughs and to support the character development. The few subplots and promises of development lead to nothing in the end, and while it's not necessarily a bad thing to see a story that isn't so focused on a tight storyline, Tamako Market feels particularly light and frothy, all the more so because what plot it manages to build up is deemed irrelevant by the end. Tamako Market sets itself up to be one thing and turns out to be something else. I do consider this to be a flaw in the writing. Even slice of life fans should take note that the dialogue isn't particularly witty and the charm comes across as somewhat calculated. As I said before, it's not moe pandering, but there's a certain "been there, done that" aspect to a few of the more emotional scenes - most likely because seasoned anime fans may have already seen them done in previous KyoAni shows, or just in anime in general. That doesn't stop this series from being good at what it does, but there is a distinct feeling that it could have been stronger. Some episodes do drag in their pacing. Still, it's a nice slice of life show, very clean and perfectly harmless, even though it doesn't do anything new with the genre. Do give it a shot.