Tamako Market Discussion Thread

[ndm]

Originally Posted by bear

I must be in a bad mood. It just didn't work for me. Kimochiwarui indeed.

I thought it was decent but focussed too much on the bird at the expense of Tamako's time on screen. Personally I've never been a fan of animal characters in anime and I'd rather watch Tamako's antics than the bird's.

[scineram]

Fun introductory episode, but I wasn't blown by it. Has lot of potential though, depends on where the story will be going, especially with the prince.

[Nico87]

God help me but I can't get through the first episode. Bird guy fucked me unexpectedly and it's too much kawaii without substance. I really want this to get better over the next few episodes. Wish I had watched through the first episode before Kotoura-san, Maoyuu and to a lesser degree Vividred. All three had major (maybe not major in Maoyuu's case) plot development and twists throughout their respective opening episodes.

Maybe Yuruyuri, Hidamari Sketch and more specifically K-On was enough.

[something]

Originally Posted by Nico87

God help me but I can't get through the first episode. Bird guy fucked me unexpectedly and it's too much kawaii without substance. I really want this to get better over the next few episodes. Wish I had watched through the first episode before Kotoura-san, Maoyuu and to a lesser degree Vividred. All three had major (maybe not major in Maoyuu's case) plot development and twists throughout their respective opening episodes.

They were all doing the same thing Tamakoma is: establishing a setting, introducing characters, and laying out the premise. Maoyuu described the current state of the human/demon war and created a pretext for the protagonists to get together. Kotoura-san started off with a condensed run through a character's past as set-up for the changes her life is about to take as she enters a new environment. Vividred offered the most hilariously (and enjoyably) generic "mysterious monsters attack and only our protagonist teen has the special powers to defeat them" opening episode ever. Tamakoma started introducing a large cast of characters, establishing their places in the shopping district and their relations to one another, and oh by the way there's a talking bird seeking a wife for his mysterious prince in a faraway land.

It's fine if you don't like the episode but claiming it was somehow "without substance" compared to the others sounds a bit strange. Especially lolVividred, which just pasted cute girls in tight pants over the standard opener of every other "mysterious alien invaders" show that's ever existed. Not that I am complaining about that, mind you.

[MelancholicMariya]

Originally Posted by Nico87

and it's too much kawaii without substance.

I don't know about that. There was a lot less mushy moé stuff in this compared to Kyoto Animation's other works. It was mostly about the sassy cockerel and Mochizo who took up the screentime from what I remember, less so Tamako and other girls.

I don't know, point is I think this is way less "moé centric" than Kyoto Animation's other works, personally.

[Nico87]

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether "substance" was the right word to use. I guess I'm trying to refer to my bottom line in my previous post that.... I don't even know. It's hard to explain. Normally I'm not a fan of super-moe-cute-is-70%-of-the-anime type stuff but the three examples in my previous post won me over. I might have reached some sort of invisible barrier or whatever when it comes to stuff like that. I don't really watch enough anime to make those types of anime my "breaks" from err.. heavier stuff. Fuck it, I don't know how to explain it, really, but it's like this:

I could never watch the following animes one after another without watching something entirely different in between:

K-On!
Dog Days
YuruYuri
Hidamari Sketch
Hidamari Sketch x 365
K-On!! (first cour)
Dog Days'
YuruYuri♪♪
Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu
...
...

and so on. I think it stems from the days when I played a lot of video games. I loved JRPGs but I couldn't play three 80-hour JRPGs in a row.

Like I said, it's hard to explain and maybe the words came out the wrong way or something. Language barrier and whatnot. It certainly didn't give me as much as K-On did. Maybe it's the talking bird-guy, I don't know.

I never argued that Vividred is super-original or whatever, but I never watched Strike Witches!

Maybe I should just wait for the second episode and "marathon" (yeah, huge marathon) the first two episodes and perhaps offer a more sensible judgement after that. Like I said, I haven't completed the first episode yet. I think I turned it off when they all gathered in the mochi shop after around 12 minutes or so because I was dead tired. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

[something]

Originally Posted by Nico87

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether "substance" was the right word of choice. I guess I'm trying to refer to my bottom line in my previous post that.... I don't even know. It's hard to explain. Normally I'm not a fan of super-moe-cute-is-70%-of-the-anime type stuff but the three examples in my previous post won me over. I might have reached some sort of invisible barrier or whatever when it comes to stuff like that. I don't really watch enough anime to make those types of anime my "breaks" from err.. heavier stuff.

That makes more sense. It was mostly the "no substance" refrain that caught my attention, because it's a common criticism, but rarely if ever explained. Usually when people say that, they really just mean it wasn't a genre they like, or the story wasn't dark and/or serious enough for their tastes. But even weirder is when KyoAni gets singled out for these claims, when I see them as more committed to conveying a substantive message in their works than just about anyone else, no matter what kind of story they're trying to tell. The message may at times be a lighthearted, gentle one about the deep ties of friendship and community, but that is certainly a substantive and meaningful sort of message too.

Just to clarify again, me liking this show doesn't mean I can't see why others might not. There's a lot of quirkiness in the humor and visuals, especially in Dera, that is not going to engage some people. Since Dera is basically looking like the real protagonist, if you don't like him it might be a slog to get through an episode. I'm not a big fan of talking animals in major roles myself, but what really sold me on it was how everyone else reacted to him (plus the hilarity of imagining F/Z's Kayneth while he's talking).

I'm still going to be hoping for a lot more focus on Tamako herself going forward, with Dera in more of a supporting role, but I suppose we'll have to see what they have in mind.

[Nico87]

Originally Posted by something

[tastes. But even weirder is when KyoAni gets singled out for these claims

That wasn't my intention at all. I love KyoAni to death and almost everything is a blind import for me. The only reason I hesitate with Tamako is because I'm behind on anime from past seasons and some BD boxes. I imported Clannad, Hyouka, Haruhi and Lucky Star (and K-On! vol. 7 for the box) + Chuunibyou on pre-order, so it's nothing against them at all. Maybe it was an expectation thing, but I can't really say.

Like I said, I will definitely give it a fair shot sooner rather than later, but when I can't get through an episode it's usually not a great sign.

*Just remembered that the no substance-thing is the most cliche anti-KyoAni argument ever so I officially withdraw that comment*

[something]

Originally Posted by Nico87

That wasn't my intention at all. I love KyoAni to death and almost everything is a blind import for me. The only reason I hesitate with Tamako is because I'm behind on anime from past seasons and some BD boxes. I imported Clannad, Hyouka, Haruhi and Lucky Star (and K-On! vol. 7 for the box) + Chuunibyou on pre-order, so it's nothing against them at all. Maybe it was an expectation thing, but I can't really say.

Ah yeah sorry, I know you're definitely a fan of KyoAni's work generally, so that was intended more as a general comment.

[Nikopol]

Huh. Personally, when i can't even finish a first episode, i walk away from a show. Especially, if there are plenty of other shows i like or think i will like. (I tend to weed out a lot each season and mostly just watch around five or six shows to the end. So 'plenty' is very subjective here.)

I like Tamako Market so far and i think, it might have the most three-dimensional world of the recent KyoAni shows thanks to the diverse and developed supporting cast. Also Tamako's character herself doesn't seem to be determined by one big defining trait (like Yui=airhead, Chitanda=clueless, Rikka=chu2byo etc.). That is one of the big reasons, why i will keep watching this show.

But i think one thing becomes clear for me: the copy&paste K-On! artstyle in all their shows is becoming a bit stale for me. Sure their shows keep selling, but from an artistic point of view, it's rather too repetitive.