TAMAKO MARKET

DESCRIPTION

CAST

SPECIAL ComedyTamako Market Specials
MOVIE RomanceTamako Love Story
NOVEL ComedyTamako Market
SPECIAL SportsKyoto Animation: Suiei-hen

REVIEWS

• 

  OVERPOWERED99

  79/100
  As simple and soft as a mochi. The family and community vibe of this cute slice-of-life will greet you in cordial ways.

  

  You know how when you see cute things, you wanna squeeze and cuddle and protect them? Well you see, this overloading of positive emotions in the brain is apparently called 'cute aggression' and yeah, Tamako Market definitely knows what it's all about.

  Comparing this show to a mochi is honestly not too far off. It's sweet, it's soft, and the lack of what one would call a story means Tamako Market is more like a simple slice-of-life to indulge in when you want to relax. Just like mochi! It's basically an adorable escape to a joyful shopping district where the story, characters, and bubbly atmosphere take place in.

  Mochi comparison aside, however, there's one main drawback when it comes to being too simple, and it's called blandness. Certain parts throughout the show, such as the dialogues and comedy, come off quite weakly. Like a very trivial trivia. The characters also didn't change much in terms of development but for this one, I didn't think it was a bad thing at all. In fact, I felt it emphasizes this show's collective fun and lightheartedness! Which pleasantly speaking, is something I greatly adored.

  

  Look here. We have a pretty big cast of characters with each of them having their own jolly personality. There's even a talking bird who looks very much like a mochi with an attitude. Funnily enough, despite all the wisdoms he loves saying out of his beak, he always gets the shorter end of the stick, befitting himself as the main source of comedy gold. Other than that, the rest of the characters are pretty much sweethearts. They energize the atmosphere up like a festival, creating a dynamic with plenty of family and community in it. It adds more substance into a story that would've been too bland without them. And with the small romantic subplot adding one last touch on sweetness and innocence, the cuteness is definitely strong with this one.

  Truly the most adorable.

  Now I want to present to you Kyoto Animation, the moe-nized version. Because without their artistic love, Tamako Market wouldn't have become the cute and lighthearted show I enjoyed watching. The bright use of colors here sets up a cheerful tone that wonderfully fits the characters. It's a mood lavished by qualities tinged with a family aura. This show also has an animation that is full of youthful energy, giving everyone, even the adults, their own adorable sides. Ok, maybe everyone except for the bird, but he certainly knows how to pose. I can give him merits for being a pretty good entertainer, especially for an avian. Got a comedian voice too.

  

  Speaking of voice, the overall voice acting complements the characters in a way that is both fun and friendly. When they well up with positivity, it's infectious. I could easily absorb all the emotions in the air. The soundtracks in particular are very playful and sweet-sounding. They blend nicely with each scene and there are even times when you can feel some profoundness, making certain moments more special in a hearty way. One last pleasant thing from this show is the playful opening and warm ending. Both are tuned with a catchiness that really fits what this show is all about.

  So, in the end, Tamako Market didn't hold back in attacking me with a lot of cuteness. While the simplicity does get bland at times, it's still a show that knows how to please, like a welcoming community. And it has mochi too! Maybe it'll make you want to eat one after every episode.

  
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• 

  Random17

  95/100
  A delightful show that exemplifies the best parts of slice of life

  Tamako Market is the most perfect slice of life anime I’ve ever watched and I am bewildered to why it’s not a highly acclaimed classic in the genre. It not only has most of the aspects that make this genre good, but equally as important is that it lacks the characteristics that are not supposed to define this kind of show but nevertheless plague too many of them.

  There are three parts that I want to highlight about this show: the animation, the characters, and the storyline.

  Tamako Market has really good animation. It’s not stunning action or beautiful scenery, I’m talking about the animation of the characters just going around their daily lives. I’ve always noted that KyoAni character animation is significantly better than the vast majority of the competition, so saying that this is typical KyoAni quality is the highest praise. You can tell the difference in quality and liveliness just by witnessing the characters casually strolling around. The style is strikingly similar to K-On, but there is a larger variance of character designs. I especially loved how expressive and cute all the characters were, whether they were sad or anxious or excited or anywhere in between.

  The characters were all delightful in Tamako Market. All the side characters had their own personality but the development and characterization is definitely focused on the small group of main characters, as some of the side characters were unique but rather one-dimensional. Tamako, the main character, is cheerful but also dynamic. Dera, the talking bird, is haughty but also lovable, a careful balance that injects the show with both foolishness and warmth. In addition, Tamako's shy and compassionate little sister Anko, her childhood friend and neighbor Mochizo, her tsundere father Mamedai, and the fortune teller Choi all have their moments to shine in the show.

  

  The final piece of the puzzle is the story. Tamako Market is not an awesome, inspiring journey, but it doesn’t have to be. In my opinion, the plot was enough to have substance while also being laid-back as expected of a slice of life show. If K-On is on one end of the spectrum where the story matters very little and there is minimal development, and Your Lie in April on the other end, where the story is the driving force of the whole show, then Tamako Market would be in the middle. The plot is important and occasionally emotional, but it’s also mostly a show about cute girls doing cute things. I will point out that the part about finding the prince’s bride felt like just a way to introduce some of the characters, rather than an actual plot point.

  These three aspects put together, the animation, the characters, and the storyline, blend together to create this delightful and captivating masterpiece. There are numerous scenes that are so sweet that my mouth was compelled to display a huge grin, and they were always due to a culmination of those three components, and would not have been possible without all three.

  Tamako Market also notably lacks some things. First, it doesn't have lewd fan service. It does have things that I would consider "fan service" in that they're included merely to satisfy the audience, things like baton twirling routines, trying on different clothes at a clothing shop, and closeups on cute character faces.

  

  Tamako Market also doesn't have any scenes that make me cringe; I attribute this to the fact that none of the characters are comically socially inept or stupid as is common in anime, and the fact that romance is not a focus for this show, eliminating opportunities for ridiculous and awkward scenes. It also doesn't have any overused cliches, the only thing that really fits into a cliche is the father who can be characterized as tsundere, but he is so much more than a tsundere, and really puts other so-called "tsundere" characters to shame with his vibrant characterization.

  If you're a fan of KyoAni's works or if you want a great conventional slice of life anime, and you're okay with not having much in terms of fan service or romance (at least until you get to the movie), I highly recommend Tamako Market.

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• 

  Protogeist

  40/100
  'Tamako Market' is a fairly cute slice of life that lacks the development to compell me

  Sometimes you just want to watch something pointless you know. As the world seems to grow more twisted, or the drawn curtains exposing just how little the people in power know what they are doing, what else are we to do than watch another mediocre anime. Maybe not to escape the world, but to just pass the time when you could be thinking about how fucked we are. Nevertheless, 'Tamako Market' is not that.

  As much as I know the studio 'Kyoto Animations' are capable of creating art that I am compelled by, the dramatic and real 'A Silent Voice' being the stand-out example alongside a reluctant 'Hyuka', they seem to be directed at a different niche which is probably a good business choice. They have garnered an intense amount of support over the years as they’ve arguably grown more mature in their content, going from high school girls discussing which way to eat a chocolate cornet, to psychological trauma and suicide, both crafts I can appreciate, the former, maybe just from a distance.

  'Tamako Market', from the director and writer of the mentioned 'A Silent Voice' and 'K-ON!', Naoko Yamada and Reiko Yoshida respectively, follows Tamako Kitashirakawa, the daughter of a ‘mochi’ baker and salesman who together with their family, run a shop in a shopping district that the series directs the spotlight at, the other shop-owners in the area being very prevalent as a supporting cast, along with Tamako’s friends from high school. As she walks home from school one day she finds a completely articulate exotic bird who the family keeps as one of their own, although maybe not through some of their own volition.

  Similar to many other slice-of-life series, this premise is not much more than a base for the series, being much more dependent on the interactions and chemistry of its lead characters. Although this is an element that 'Kyoto' is often praised for, I think this was one of my earlier issues with the series. Not unlike much of the work that is made in the anime industry and is often perpetuated by 'Kyoto' themselves, the lead characters are painfully stale. Tamako and her classmates look, sound, and act more like pre-schoolers than young adults. While there are moments where the animation team adds some sense of comradery between the friend group, there is not an especially fun chemistry between them, as they mostly just act nicely towards each other. This sort of relationship may be charming to some, I don’t see much behind it other than the screenwriter themself.

  And while the greater focus on its supporting cast relieves some of this aridity, especially since it is a much better example of character chemistry, case in point being Mamedai and Gohei having a very fun rivalry that isn’t too overdone, I do not think it is enough for me to overlook how boring I find most scenes because of the leads.

  And while the Slice-of-Life genre isn’t especially fitting for grande developments, I feel this could’ve helped improve my lacking enjoyment of the series. It certainly had a lot of opportunities to do so. But while the series has moments that get comparably personal and narratively driven, they are often not given enough time to really affect the series’ course, going back to the status quo right after most episodes. And I think this is what really represents why I find the series so fruitless and forgettable in the end. It ultimately seems confused as to what it wants to be. There is a general theme of adolescence in the series, but many of the parts that make it up seem unfinished and therefore barely making an impression on you. The series might have some interesting ideas here and there, in fact I know it has, yet it can’t tell me why I should care for them.

  Strong 4/10

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