Despite the fact that Tamako Market started with the introduction of a very strange bird, I had a nagging feeling that there were very familiar elements in the series.
It took about half an episode when I realized that the character designs and personalities were reminiscent of K-On!. With a little research, I found out that the similarities were due to the fact that the two anime series shared the same writer, Yoshida Reiko, and character artist, Horiguchi Yukiko. And I suddenly found my interest for Tamako Market grow exponentially.
Not that Tamako Market wasn't enjoyable on its own without the fun K-On! connection.
Kitashirakawa Tamako is a cheerful girl who enjoys helping out at her family's mochi shop in the Usagiyama shopping district. It was during one of her many usual stops in the district that led to her first encounter with Dera, a strange talking bird who has traveled a long distance from his tropical island home to find a bride for Prince Mecha Mochimazzwi. After accidentally sneezing on Dera, an action that's considered a declaration of love, the strange bird decides to live temporarily with Tamako and her family, and finds himself appreciating the taste of freshly made mochi. Dera becomes an unusual addition to the household composed of Tamako, her father Mamedai, her grandfather Fuku and her young sister Anko. Dera also becomes familiar with Tamako's neighbor Oji Mochizo, son of a rival mochi shop owner and who is also a long-time admirer of Tamako, Tomiko Midori, Makino Kanna, and Asagiri Shiori.
Tamako Market aims to be a fun series, which it does well.... as long as you're not expecting the same emotional payoff that K-On! (and its eventual second season K-On!!) produced for viewers. Though I never intended to do a comparison, I can't help it because of the rather superstar production team-up I mentioned earlier.
The series was consistent on dishing out the funny, as long as you don't mind a little silliness. Whether it's due to Tamako's airhead quality or Dera's pompousness, there's much to laugh about when watching Tamako Market. Yet, the anime series does hit a dramatic note every now and then, especially when talk revolves around Tamako's experience of losing her mother and the lullaby that she doesn't know the title of.
Tamako Market ran for only twelve episodes, but the short run didn't stop the anime series creators in introducing a large number of characters, which included the rather colorful group of shop owners in the Usagiyama shopping district. While I may never remember their names (there's the flower shop lady with a guy's voice, the emo cafe owner, tofu dude, elderly croquette woman, etc.), I found that I enjoyed the many scenes that these characters were featured, because they gave the audiences a wonderful perspective on how Tamako, whose mother died when she was young, ended up growing up into the cheerful individual that she is. Their participation, whether as spectators, gossip-mongers or well-meaning neighbors, made it easy to relate to Tamako's love for the shopping district and its people.
While there are supporting characters that were designed to become more than just background characters like the shop owners in the district, only a few were actually fleshed out individuals and would invoke a connection with the audience. At the end of the series, it was still Tamako and Dera who held the spotlight, though I did favor scenes that included Mochizo, Shiori and Choi, a servant girl from Dera's home country who came searching for the errant bird.
Even though I labeled Tamako Market as a must-watch, I do feel that it could have benefited from a longer run and a better exploration of characters.
Yet, I feel that if I wanted a little bit of silliness in the future, it would do me a lot of good to watch the antics of Dera.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Anime, Comedy, Must-Watch, Slice of Life, Tamako Market, TV
