Story: 10
The plot, concept, and originality.
Tsuritama has a plot that may originally come off as simple and not worth the time. An anime about fishing? Sitting on a dock, boat, beach and waiting for a fish to bite? If you think about it that way Tsuritama may not be the most appealing to some people, but if you discovered it the way I did, the atmosphere it gives off is alluring. I went into watching it completely clueless as to what awaited me in these 12 episodes. The concept had me from the very beginning. Yes, there was fishing but it wasn't in the least uninteresting. It was actually quite exciting. Now, combine that with aliens? For as long as I'm around, I would've never thought of an anime combining fishing and aliens. And not the stereotypical aliens either. There's nothing new under the sun, but combining this idea of extraterrestrial life and sport came pretty close for me. I wasn't at all expecting some of the twists thrown in there but they weren't jarring enough to be repelling. The originality of it was almost striking.
Art: 10
The colors, style, and animation.
I am one to love a nice bright variety of colors, so I may be a bit biased, but it really was this selection of colors that drew me in. Add that to the unique art style and it was almost hypnotizing. I was captivated by all the different shades and brilliant hues exercised within the art without being hard to look at. It was a very nice variation from the darker animes I watch that use mostly a pallet based off of varying shades of black or other ominous, shady colors. The coloring brightened the atmosphere and made it generally more comfortable and more enjoyable. As for the style, I, myself, have tried to mimic it without very much success which usually isn't the case. It is simplistic in a way, but also quite detailed when it comes down to the tack and gear. Now, I will say, it may just be my computer, but I did find the animation to be a bit choppy in some places.
Sound: 9
The opening and ending themes, soundtrack, and voicing.
I don't think there was even an episode where I dared to skip to the opening theme. Combined with the art, I'd say the theme song is perfection. I didn't pay too much attention to the end though, as I was eager to move on to the next episode. I did really get to enjoy the ending theme though on the last episode before the afterward. Usually, I pay much attention to the soundtracks playing in the background. In Tsuritama I found it difficult to do. The art, and subtitles distracted me from really giving it too much thought. That and the fact that it just blended right in with the anime. In this case, that's a good thing as it boosted the pleasant atmosphere and went very smoothly with the rest of the effects and voices.
As for the voice acting, I'd have to say it was average. My expectations weren't previously set by a manga version, so all the voices seemed to go with the characters nicely. The only thing thing that bothered me, and perhaps the sole reason this category received a nine was the fact that there'd occasionally be a scene where the voices were either not expressive enough or too expressive, more so the later.
Character: 10
The design and development.
I enjoyed the characters' designed as none of the main characters had a generic design. Haru has a unique appearance, background, personality, and wardrobe which I find to be pleasant. While there are other characters with similar personality traits out there, Haru does these little things that set him apart from those other characters, whether it be noise making or otherwise. And how many characters do you know like Yuki? Bright red hair, a troll face, awkward voiceovers and behavior, and the fact that he makes up these scenarios where he's drowning when socializing or being the center of attention. Other than his name, his character just radiating uniqueness. Now Natsuki may first appear like some generic student, serious, wears glasses but his grouchy attitude definitely spiced things up. Now we come to Akira. I have seen other characters similar to his, but what defines him is Tapioca, his duck. As for the character development, Tsuritama had a lot of it. A majority of the development was done by Yuki and Natsuki. Gradually Yuki became more comfortable and gained courage thanks to Haru forcing him into being social. Natsuki too changed throughout the course of the anime, going from cold and grumpy to more open. The other characters grew too, just in less obvious ways.
Enjoyment: 10
As I've said, after watching so many intense, depressing, and dark animes I thoroughly enjoyed Tsuritama. The characters were entertaining, funny, adorable and I felt like this anime was definitely worth my time. In fact I regret not watching it earlier! It's definitely my feel-good anime of the year.
Overall: 10
Great, original story, great original characters, unique art, wonderful opening and by far one of the most satisfying animes. For an anime with only twelve episodes too, they really pulled it off well and ended it well without rushing it. It was so heartwarming it was impossible for me to not enjoy it. I look forward to re-watching it when I have the time.
