The story is pretty generic. Guy meets girl, and they both want to get better at dancing, and there's an underlying motive to reach the level of some celebrity. No real marks for that. However, it's about street dancing and that makes it fairly "fresh" compared to other children anime about pop. Hip hop supremacy.
The dance component is unique, and they mix in a lot of different styles even though it's hip hop, but tends to repeat.
The art style is really good. It's charming and appealing, with bright, fun colors. The background characters aren't off model, and the main characters seem consistent. The only problem I had was with the 3D for the dance numbers-- it's a bit bland and boring.
The sound is pretty good, but it's not great. The music is fitting and catchy, but some get redundant. The voice acting is solid. There are no standout, really popular voice actors, but they portray the characters well.
The characters are probably what make this show so delightful. The main characters have dynamic interactions. While Haneru and Kanon are the main characters, the rest of the 5 man team have their own share of depth and dreams. It's interesting to see an adult majority in a kids anime, and they have a fun and healthy relationship in mentoring and supporting the main characters. They have good banter and conversations too.
The character design is very unique. It's unlike other music/dance anime which feature only pale and thin characters. TCC has a wide range of body types in this show, showing you don't need to be model thin to dance well and have fun. The diversity of the characters, appearance and personality, support the colorful show really well.
TCC gives a positive message on body image and gender roles (Haneru really doesn't care. Dude has an off shoulder top and his role model, Jey El, is fabulous as heck). It really doesn't downplay the standard children anime themes of teamwork and hardwork and friendship either, but it's nice to see it introducing some concepts that are rarely ventured in kid's shows too.
It's fun, and definitely fresh. It'd be nice to see other children's anime to tackle new areas and themes like TCC does too.
