THIS was what Tamako Market was missing. This love story.
I love this movie to bits.
It was sweet, cute, funny and just such a joy to watch over and over again. I did watch Tamako Market before I had watched this movie, but to be honest you really don't need to watch the original anime before to understand this one.
Story: 7.5
Unlike its original anime, this movie focuses on what we all really care about: The relationship between Mochizō and Tamako. It doesn't have all the fluff floating around about Dera the bird and really just centers around the two MC's and how they both really feel about each other.
The story alone on a surface level is pretty basic:
Will Mochizō's feelings be reciprocated by Tamako? if so what next?
When I think about it, nothing much really happens in this anime. There are no overly dramatic moments, no intense screaming, crying or mental break downs, but the emotions captured throughout this movie didn't need all of those melodramatic themes to be felt. It was simplicity at its finest.
Delving deeper into the story, it raises quite a few questions like: Does Tamako see life outside her restaurant? Does she realise that everyone else around her is growing up?
I like these questions, and would probably like to see some character development in this area. This was done only to a small extent, but mostly leaves you pondering by the end of it.
For the main part, this anime paints young love quite well, (whether it is accurate or not is another question). It was really quite adorable watching it all unfold, and gets your shipper heart ready for sailing.
However.
I wanted more focus on Tamako's family, perhaps her mum and dad? Or maybe Mochizō's family? The story was nothing too flashy, and probably lacked the usual humour it held with its original. Although, lets be honest, if Dera the bird was there, he would be distracting.
All in all, by the end of this movie, I was left with this warm fuzzy feeling in my heart.
Art: 9.5
Beautiful. The colours worked in harmony, the backgrounds were always so pretty, the characters were pretty too. Everything about it was just SO pretty. Alas, the characters look too similar. I mean, all the girls have the same eye shape. No joke.
But you know what, the choice of colours, the designs, the lighting, the style, everything else, I really can't complain. Kyoto Animation, you've done it again.
Sound: 7
I don't really remember it, but at the time, the soundtrack was never used out of context, so I guess it works?
Character: 8
The characters were not the most original things I have seen, but this really doesn't stop me from liking them a whole lot. They were just so likeable. Mochizō is pretty ordinary as ordinary gets. I mean c'mon, he has brown hair and brown eyes. But he is just so adorable. He has a massive heart, has the guts to ask out the girl he likes, and is pretty much a sweet boy who just really likes Tamako. When I say all this it really just makes him sound hella boring, but I assure you, as you watch this, he's much more than that. As for Tamako, she is what you would call kawaii. She's not overly cutesy (hooray) but is just happy all the time, making others happy without being that one annoying character. Oh, and she loves mochi. Like, really likes mochi. Mochi is life to her, which is probably why she can't even recognise love when it happens. I know that just describing these characters, it seems almost empty, but in truth as the story plays out, you will see just how much they were made for each other. Like red beans and glutinous rice flour. Another thing that is great about this movie is that every single one of these characters are not annoying. I liked Tamako's best friend, I liked that she had substance despite not even being a main, and I liked Tamako's family too.
Isn't it great that there are no annoying characters?
Overall: 8
This anime was so enjoyable to say the least. I loved it for just being an anime movie that didn't need all of that complex story or characters to be good. This movie manages to put together simple characters in a simple story to create a great one. With this seeming like the ending point of Tamako Market, I really wish and hope it isn't. There so much more that can be explored from where it ended!
#mochizouXtamako5eva
