Tamako Market - Reviews

sort
Evelynnnny's avatar
Feb 19, 2022

One of the most Chill animes I've ever watched! The Characters are adorable and the story is so lovely. Tamako has such good character development and its a great easy watch. Took me a while to finish as I did get a little bored half way through as I usually watch animes with a faster passed plot line but still, glad I finally finished it!! 

8.5/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
9.5/10 characters
9.5/10 overall
0 1 this review is Funny Helpful
DGFischer's avatar
Dec 28, 2021

Tamako Market is an anime which combines the quest for a royal bride with the mundane life of the shopping arcade.  And all this centered in the personality of the title character Tamako Kitashirakawa.  So much focus on one character.  And this is why, presumably, the whole concept falters in places.

There is something remarkable about Tamako.  Positive, upbeat, lively, constantly enthusiastic about all the facets of the Usagiyama (Rabbit Mountain) Shopping Arcade.  And this could be perceived as poison for a series if one takes the MC as too good to be real.  Tamako resembles in many ways the character of Cure Heart of Dokidoki Precure (2013), the same timeframe when Tamako Market was produced.  There was something annoying, even irritating about Cure Heart in her vim and vigor.  This rubs off adversely on Tamako.

Thank goodness that Usagiyama has other characters in the mall to balance the exuberance of the liveliest girl on the planet.  Classmates Midori (suave), Kanna (crazy) and Shiori (shy) add to the possible characteristics that Tamako lacks.  Little sister Anko is an elementary school student whose young crush is moving away.  Tamako is little aware of the love angles coming her way in these 12 episodes.  Kaoru is the florist who resounds well with Tamako's zest for life.  Tomio is the hefty merchant looking for love himself.  Fumiko sells croquettes, and she is never happy unless you sample her wares.  Kunio is the coffee shop owner whose ability to match mood with music (spun from 78-LP's on his record player) is downright eerie.  Dai and Fuku Kitashirakawa, Tamako's father and grandfather (respectively), are the parent figures who handle Tamako harshly and gently (respectively).

But of these character of Usagiyama S.A., the three pivotal characters are Mochi, Dera, and Choi.  These develop the themes of unspoken and unrequited love.  Mochi is the boy next door, the son of the mochi-making Ooji clan, competitors to the mochi-making Kitashirakawa family.  The fathers hate each other, but Mochi and Tamako are close childhood friends.  Mochi would like to confess his love for Tamako, but he chokes terribly each time.  Enter into the picture the parrot Dera who is on a mission to find a royal bride for his prince who lives on a far-away island.  He believes that Tamako is the select girl due to a mole on her neck.  But Dera thinks all the girls are madly in love with him, so we are dealing with one delusional avian.  But Dera's discovery brings on Choi, the prince's fortune teller.  And, from the way she admires the prince, one can see that she is in love with the prince.  And she can't bring herself to confess her love to the prince, much the same case with Mochi and Tamako.

Oh, what would happen if the prince came to Usagiyama?  Predictable plot, but not that simple a resolution.  Tamako's whole life is with the arcade, seen that she has earned the highest award for patronage to the shopkeepers who run the shops.  But the life of a princess has its appeal.  As Tamako meets prince, as Mochi and Choi choke down their own feelings ... how to see this through?

The animation and music are solid enough without being flashy, kind of like the life of the shopping arcade.  The whole concept of Tamako Market is an almost month-by-month account of the daughter of the local mochi-maker celebrating her life in the mall.  Her feelings are not the 'daily grind' but the festivity of a lifestyle where many people unite to support each other.  Their support for Tamako as she ponders the life of a princess vs. that of a shopkeeper's daughter has comedic elements as well as dramatic as even Mochi wishes Tamako to be happy, but his dour face tells another story.

A brilliant story of interplay among people that have every right to be dear to each other, and an ending that is well in line with this solidarity.  No pizzazz, but sometimes pizzazz is over-rated.

8/10 story
9/10 animation
9/10 sound
10/10 characters
9/10 overall
0 0 this review is Funny Helpful
TropicalSwirl's avatar
May 21, 2013

This review contains no spoilers.

Story [8/10]

Cute. It was relaxed, charming, often funny, and occasionally emotional. They kept everything light and enjoyable. Even when the series touched on heavier topics, it was done in a way that brought no negativity upon the viewer, but was endearing instead. The concept was nothing special, but it had enough uniqueness and was executed in a way that made it interesting and fun to watch.

Vibe: Animation + Sound [7/10]

Simple and suitable for the show. The animation was cute and colorful. They managed to incorporate the music as a part of the storyline itself, which was cool. A lot of the time the characters were listening to or knew of the songs being played, which had an interesting variety. The opening was a good representative for the fun, energetic series while the ending was more mature and artistic, and yet still perfect for the charm of the show.

Characters [7/10]

The characters were fun to watch. Even though most didn’t have any back-story, it was easy to feel like you knew their personalities well. Tamako, the main character, is just lovely. She’s so simple and yet it was easy to fall in love with her. I feel that there was some room for a bit more character expansion, mostly for Tamako’s friends, but the way they cleverly and subtly provided some history on Tamako and her family was informative, yet not overbearing or distracting. I was hoping for a bit more regarding certain relationships between characters, and there was one that I didn’t feel very clear about.

Overall [7.5/10]

If you can sit back, take a breath, and appreciate a feel-good series that makes you smile, Tamako Market is a great choice. After finishing an episode or two, I always felt more positive, friendly, and like I wanted to go give someone a hug and tell them nice things.

8/10 story
7/10 animation
7/10 sound
7/10 characters
7.5/10 overall
0 0 this review is Funny Helpful
Xerren's avatar
Nov 17, 2015

This anime actually turned out better than I expected it to be. Granted, it does lack a focused story and a succinct plot which could have it score better in the story department. But a light hearted and comedic anime such as this has its own merits as well. 

The anime starts out slow and almost failed to grab my attention to continue past the second or third episode. But it does pay off and the show gets more and more interesting after that and you can really see how all the characters in the anime have their own unque personality and something fresh to add to the cast. In the beginning, I was skeptical about one of the main characters being a talking bird, but it does grow on the viewers after awhile. 

It could have improved if the ending was better as it felt a little too abrupt. Definitely recommended for viewers who just want a simple anime to pass the time, its funny and engaging in its own way. 

7/10 story
9/10 animation
8/10 sound
9/10 characters
8.3/10 overall
0 0 this review is Funny Helpful
RedFox222's avatar
Jul 17, 2022

when are the babies coming and also the sequel

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
0 0 this review is Funny Helpful