Taisho Otome Fairy Tale - Reviews

Listen. I wish I could get amnesia and watch this again.

It is heartwarming, idealistic and a beautiful story.

I will note that though this is tagged iyashikei, there are definitely stressful moments and times for tears and anxiety.

But if you want a story that will fill your heart with warmth and your stomach with butterflies, look no further.

10 stars. Now someone hit me over the head with something please.

What a blast! Initial impression just from the settings of the early 20th century Japan before even watching kept me rather sceptical, because one could expect a Japanese historical drama for history nerds and Japanologists. Or even worse given the circumstances of the main characters it could be yet another sermon on women’s right, equality, etc. Surprisingly it goes in exact opposite direction. It spits in the face of that very idea by having main female character, who is content with the fact she has been put into arranged marriage and tries to do her best to fulfil that role. Her attitude is very optimistic to contrast with very pessimistic male lead. Her state doesn’t make her bitter. To insult even more common modern sensibilities, she is the ideal house wife – cleaning, cooking, sewing, etc. A strong sense of virtue, kindness and good is radiating from Yuzuki throughout the series. It turns desert into green pastures. No wonder the main male character feels unworthy of her and he has no choice but to fall in love with her. I like the romance in the series. It isn’t as sterile as usually shounen anime romances are. There were some parts, that were bit boring even, if necessary, in a sense [1]. The male lead is banished by his father and he feels very useless, but he finds his place (life purpose and goals) not just by meeting the Yuzuki also by his interaction with other characters. Overall, the story of two people, who in misfortune fall in love and find happiness together is very sweet and enjoyable. I recommend the series to anyone who wants heart-warming story with simple romance and friendship without much drama.

The animation and visuals are ok, music is good and the OP is quite nice.

Spoilers

[1] The arc with school and friendship with Shiratori.

Taisho Otome Fairy Tale is a very heart warming, and wholesome anime that tugs at my heart strings. 

To begin with, Tamahiko is very pessimistic about life after losing his mother , and getting a disabled arm in a car accident. He finds it difficult to sleep at night. He is constantly distressed, and suffers from insomnia. His household is wealthy but lacks the warmth and tenderness of a family. This character is really easily relatable to people who suffer from constant family problems. One day his father buys him a wife named Yuzuki. Yuzuki's family was in debt. They sold their daughter to repay their debt. Her small and petite figure makes it hard to reach tall and high places. 

Yuzuki is like a spring storm  bursting with energy, cheerfulness, and optimism. To me, she is like a glorious ray of sunshine that illuminates despair. When she encounters Tamahiko, she sees his clumsy kindness. Tamahiko covers her in winter garments to keep her warm during the snowy winter weather. Yuzuki and Tamahiko experience really romantic moments. Yuzuki teaches Tamahiko to let go of his pessimism. He gradually learns to care for others, and his world becomes warmer and brighter. 

The anime describe Yuzuki as an otome - a maiden, sweet smelling as a flower. A single bud blooming in a tranquil garden, pure and dignified. Too shy to even speak of love or romance, she dares not allow herself to dream of a kiss. Even so she blooms again dreaming of happiness beyond the stars. 

Overall, I thought this anime was really romantic. Yuzuki reminds me of Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket. She is very wholesome. She is grateful and appreciative for what she has. She is also very gentle, and has a positive outlook of life. They both remind me of an ideal house wife. They both let you experience unconditional romance,  and the gentleness of love

This anime has a lot of character development. Even characters that were originally evil and twisted became likeable characters like Tamako and Ryou. I was satisfied with seeing the characters mature, and Yuzuki's wholesomeness. 

Satisfying Conclusion?✔️
Emotional? ❓ (for the most part, no. A scene or two might hit a certain type of person hard though.)
Actual Romance?✔️
Actual Comedy?❌
Fanservice/Nudity? ❌
Recommend? ✔️

What is this anime?
MC is disowned by rich family. They send him to live in country and soon after send a wife they bought for him. This is about their relationship and him changing his viewpoint on life.

Did I enjoy it?
It had potential for me to really enjoy it. And although I did enjoy it for the most part, there are just too many vibe-killers. The anime is focused on the people around them about as much as its focused on the two main characters. This wouldn't be a problem if the side characters weren't so annoying, and do things that make no sense, and then their personality takes a 180 for some reason. Without those it would have been about a 7. Sweet anime. Nice finale.

This is my first review, and while english is my first and only language, god am I horrible at it. So please take this review with a grain of salt. It will have spoilers, so read if you've already watched the show or don't care. Thank you!!! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

To begin with I want to mention I absolutely loved this anime, I get it's probably a basic "mediocre" romance but those are the types of romances that pull at my heart strings. The ML & FL love story was heartwarming. The challenges they went through not only as a couple were idealistic and made them look like real people to me. Tamahiko who is the ML is extremely pessimistic & depressed after he lost the use of his right arm, and his mother. His family basically kicks and is like kill yourself bro (well his dad is atleast) because they now think he is useless cause he lost his arm. Which is dumb to me cause while he would need assistance they could at least treat him like he's human. His father sent him to the mountains (atleast I think that's where he was sent, I don't really remember because at the time of writing this review I watched the show like a month & a half ago and I suffer from sort term memory loss) and sent him a wife to take care of him because the family doesn't want to be bothered with him.

Speaking of his wife now we move on to Yukuki who was bought by Tamahiko's father to take care of him, her backstory is sort of simple but sad. She went to an all girl school and had friend group which she took care of as the mother of the group. However since her family was in debt she was sold off to pay the debt they owed to Tamahiko's father's family buisness (I think??) I felt bad for her because Tamahiko's depressed self kind of just shut her out when she was trying to be there. But overall she was a wholesome character who had a good story arc, I found myself relating to her thoughout the entire show. I love her.

However moving onto the things I did not like. Something I did not like was how the show kept introducing new characters basically every episode or two. Most of them really not serving anything for the plot like the singer girl, and her brother. While I guess the dude's sister & Ryou served purpose,that didn't stop me from disliking them. The sister was basically there to be a pain and harrass the brother, she constantly used the excuse of "he already hates me so why not remind him he's useless". Keep in mind the guy only hates himself, not even the dad that sent him away. While yes she did get character development and became a better person she was basically just rude as hell for no reason just to be rude. She didn't actually add anything to the plot now that I think about it in the long one besides when she took care of Yukuki cause Tamahiki couldn't . Moving on to Ryou....I hated her, that's literally it.I know she has a sad backstory, and her dad is abusive towards her, and her brothers but that doesn't stop me from absolutely hating her. Ryou basically got away with attempting to ruin the Ml and Fl's relationship. I get she was there to add conflict but she should have atleast gotten a slap or yelled at, but instead she just said sorry to Yukuki once and then everything was good again. But wait even when she apologized she still continued to flirt with Tamahiko through out the rest of the damn series, for some reason and I love Yukuki to death she thought it'd be a good idea to have Ryou "babysit" her to be husband while she was away. I get they didn't really have anyone else to call, but still what the heck. 

But that's enough ranting, the show overall was wholesome. Not really a show you need your brain for, but it's short & sweet. Due to my short term memory lose I will be watching again