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Dec 25, 2014 11:27 AM
#1

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Apr 2013
11992
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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Lovely ain't it?
Jan 11, 2015 10:04 AM
#2

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Feb 2014
337
Its unfortunate that the trilogy project didn't happened, but this film alone is a huge achievment for the two-person t.o.L. The soundtrack is impressive and they don't cut the frills, its everywhere and surprisingly explores most of the "independent" genres of its time plus some of the popular trends like trip-hop.
The content is a little confusing if you're seeking for logic and "objectivity" in every frame. The story is really interesting and could enjoy a lot of fame if released as TV series or if the sequels were worked on.

In the end of the day, Tamala remains only as an "underground gem", it will hardly leave this spot.
Feb 5, 2015 11:37 PM
#3

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Jan 2010
7144
After watching Tamala, I've got this unpleasant feeling in my mind and gut, similar to how I felt after watching Eraserhead, but just not as intense. Perhaps it's due to some cultural distance that prevents me from getting it fully, or maybe it's because this film was animated, but it's mostly due to me just not fully understand what I just watched.

So, What do we have here...

I see anthropomorphised animals, space travel, dystopia, sexuality and violence, anarchy, a cult-turned megacorporation, elements of Greek and Roman mythology, crucifixion imagery, and lots of surrealism linked to a dark city, mechanized and monopolized. The plot aside, I know there's something being said here, as per usual with such a surreal film. It's just difficult figuring out its intent, as I hesitate to believe it's something so base as relating capitalism to a cult-like control over the youths of the city.

Anyways, I can't say what I watched was good or bad, as that would require knowing what's going on. That being said, it's certainly something to mull over for a while.
Aug 19, 2015 2:22 PM
#4
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Mar 2014
2421
Interesting. I wish I could give it a higher compliment than that, but I can't.
Feb 8, 2017 2:11 AM
#5

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Aug 2007
1490
To sum up this film in one word, I would say "jarring." From the themes, imagery, characters, music... It's a very unique piece.

First off, the music was AMAZING and easily my favorite part about this movie. I want to say the animation is lack luster, but considering it was only two people working on it, it's passable. I think this story would have done a bit more justice if it was polished a bit more.

It's a shame the other two were never made. As a stand alone, it doesn't quite appease anyone who's hoping for a conclusive ending. You also have to be in a punk mindset because Tamala is rejecting her non-consensual symbolism to just live as she pleases. It give a big screw you to capitalism and two party politics (the cat and dog party), which is always a plus. Tamala wants to own herself and refuses to let anyone take that away from her. She's desensitized, and oddly both naive and visceral due to her surroundings.

I think the biggest downfall of this movie is the background information dump near the end. I was hoping to get this in pieces throughout the movie rather than a single character explain it to you. (This character happens to be the same individual as Tamala's boyfriend.) You get the whole postal service cult narrative shoved down your throat as soon as you are starting to piece things together.

Overall I would recommend to watch this just once if only for the novelty. It's a mind trip that could be much greater, but still has nuggets to be thought provoking and a conversation piece.

7/10

Jan 10, 2018 11:20 PM
#6

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Sep 2013
3373
Nah, it was just bad. They just threw a bunch of weird imagery into a blender and didn't worry about a cohesive plot at all and then called it an artistic,independent film. If you drop some acid and watch it, you'll probably have a great time. If you want to watch something actually good, go elsewhere.

2/10

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Jun 2, 2019 2:31 PM
#7

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Sep 2017
628
This was a lot worse than I thought it would be. I was at least expecting something I would call "okay," but this was just bad. It wasn't awful, and I have certainly seen worse movies and pieces of animation, but it definitely wasn't good. The best part was the soundtrack, which was actually really good. I liked it a lot. However, the film's voice acting, animation, storytelling (I had literally no idea what was going on the entire movie), and direction was just terrible. The film was really boring too. The old zombie guy was just listing exposition points for ten fucking minutes, which are ten minutes that could either be cut (not like it helped my understanding of the movie) or where something could actually, you know, happen. I wouldn't recommend. My score is higher than it probably should be, held up by the soundtrack and the fact that this was such a small project. 4/10

GytanzoJun 29, 2019 7:56 PM
Jun 8, 2019 8:37 PM
#8

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Apr 2018
43
a fucking strike.
✧・゚:* space is the place *:・゚✧

Nov 7, 2019 6:27 PM
#9
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Nov 2019
1
is there a version english subs? how did everyone else here watch it?
really excited for this movie :3
Apr 13, 2020 2:08 AM

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Nov 2010
646
I would give this higher score if the kitty massacre they kept foreshadowing (or so I thought) happened in the end, but instead it was just boring resurrection. Other than that, Tamala is probably one of most annoying characters I have witnessed in anime. Maybe it was intentional. I appreciate the artistry, but the feeling the movie left me with was just annoyance. 4/10.
Sep 15, 2020 7:56 AM

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Nov 2013
2693
In terms lf Story Cat Soup has better message and much easier to understand.

In terms of Uniqueness of the art it was easily outdone by Kaiba which was came out after this.

It was dementia anime being dementia but I just don't want to watch or even remember it anymore. I echo the user above me this anime was an unpleasant watch.
I'm too weird to live but much too rare to die.


Feb 11, 2021 12:57 PM

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Jun 2014
4127
This is definitely one of the worst anime I've watched, if I could, I would rate this lower than a 1/10.
:3
Apr 10, 2021 9:24 AM
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Apr 2021
1
Ngl i kinda felt uncomfy while watching it..
Feb 2, 2022 2:55 AM

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Feb 2012
767
The first half was fine. The world building was interesting, feline cyberpunk had a lot of potential, and it felt like the story could go somewhere interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't really deliver, for it felt like the story ended halfway through the movie, and most of the second half was spent on explaining what we saw before that.

The final feeling was that the creators had a lot of good ideas that were left unpolished or didn't fit in a coherent narrative, like they had many thoughts about the world they wanted to create, but decided to animate a lot of the stuff that should have been left as background work. Unfortunate, since this world was more fascinating than those of more popular series today.

Nice reference to Oscar Wilde's story The Happy Prince at the end (1:24:40), the swallow and the golden statue which try to help people until they both meet an unfortunate end. Not sure if it related to the story, except in a generic way as a reflection of how futile it was to try to fight the all-pervasive Catty Corp when even Tamala, the great rebel, was herself a product and a symbol of the company. Maybe the reference was there to underline the cynicism, how the opposition to capitalism and punk aesthetic became a part of the system as something that could be marketed and consumed.
Jun 4, 2022 10:09 AM

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Oct 2015
6915
I was looking forward for Tamala to kill Kentauros, kinda disappointed he got killed by kids. The other thing I was really looking forward to was for Tamala to meet her mother on Orion. The movie just ended before That, I'm really bummed since this was the only good thing about the movie. What about Moimoi, is that it for him? Damn this was bizarre.

Overall it felt only bizarre with no real intent, the animation was lackluster also. I felt like there were messages the anime was trying to convey, but ended flat due to trying to confusion by the writers themselves.
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove

Aug 28, 2022 6:33 PM

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Aug 2013
37
i loved it. though, i tend to enjoy this kind of disjointed story telling and weird visuals. i absolutely adored beyond all adoration the visual homage to 1960's manga art. every character was pleasing to look at, the soundtrack was fantastic, and i can't express enough how impressed i am that this movie is basically a one-person effort. i actually really liked the animation, i think the use of Flash mixed with the black and white visuals really added to the feeling that the story stretched through time. plus, hey, i'm always a sl*t for an anti-capitalist art project.

i do agree with others above though that the drawn out exposition scene in the third act of the movie really tore down all the great buildup that it had going for it before. i felt more confused about the plot after the exposition. it was also frustrating because Tamala spends most of the movie trying to create her own independence and break free of her legacy, so for the bulk of her life story to be told by someone else immediately after she dies was tragic.

yes, the ending feels abrupt and there's little payoff plot-wise. i feel the narrative is cohesive (yes it's a bit hard to understand what's going on at times but there is a real story in there that does make sense), but there's no ending. but honestly, how can i let that detract from my feelings about the movie when Kentaro Nemoto so badly wanted this to be a series of movies? he didn't intend for this to be a standalone. in fact, if you check the Tamala Twitter (@TAMALA_catanime), you can see he's still working on a new Tamala movie, TAMALA 2030, and posting test animations for it occasionally.

i really loved this movie, and it makes me sad to see people ragging on something that is obviously someone's life's work. not saying you have to like something just because someone went through great pains to make it, but still... just as Tamala has existed since time immemorial on Cat Earth, so too has she always existed in Nemoto's life. i think that's really meaningful, to me at least.

(extra add-on: someone above mentioned disliking the voice acting, but i think even if you don't like the voices themselves, the casting is really interesting. Tamala is played by Hisayo Mochizuki, who was just starting her seiyuu career and wasn't even a year into her most iconic role as Mew Pudding on Tokyo Mew Mew yet. Professor Nominos was voiced by Takeshi Katou, who had acted in tons and tons of films by directors like Akira Kurosawa, Kon Ichikawa, and Toshio Masuda. actually, now that i mention that, i'm starting to see why Nemoto put that long-ass exposition in the movie... he was probably excited to have a seasoned actor on board.)
Dec 18, 2022 12:28 PM

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Apr 2019
245
Cool movie, would be better if it wasn't made in Scratch but that's part of the charm. Also it was made by two people so it's more than understandable. A 10/10 on the pretentious scale
Jan 10, 2023 3:24 PM

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Dec 2022
30
I didn't enjoy Tamala 2010 when I watched it some years ago. And without the sequels that were supposedly supposed to happen, the ending just sticks out like a sore thumb. I will say that the music and character designs are very good, but that's about all I can say, really...

It's cool that apparently some people managed to get some enjoyment out of it though.

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