Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai – 01 – Meet Cutes and Coincidences (First Impressions)

“Oh Hai! I’m not weirded out by you taking my picture AT ALL!”

There are three basic kinds of anime rom-coms: those that do something totally unique and/or unexpected, those that hew close to the well-worn conventions of the genre, and those that stride the two extremes. From the moment Tada Mitsuyoshi catches his love interest Teresa Wagner in his viewfinder, it’s clear we’re dealing with the well-worn variety.

That means it’s up to things like the execution of the romance, the quality of the comedy, the likability of the characters, and the technical aspects that determine whether I’ll watch it. And if I do, I’m still looking for surprises somewhere to liven up an otherwise boilerplate affair. So let’s see what TKS has going for it, and what it doesn’t.

“We meet AGAIN? It’s almost like we’re supposed to be in the same anime!”

Regarding execution of romance, the title says it all: “Tada doesn’t fall in love.” That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t, can’t, or won’t, mind you; it just means he usually/typically/classically…doesn’t. But it’s almost immediately clear from the Imperial Palace Sakura Photo Meet Cute that Mitsuyoshi is struck by Teresa’s beauty, if nothing else. First impressions matter, and can make the difference between “doesn’t” and “could.”

Mitsuyoshi is most likely someone who has never fallen in love because a.) he’s young,  b.) hasn’t found the right person, and/or c.) he’s focused on photography and school. I’m glad he doesn’t fall head-over-heels for Teresa from the start—he knows next to nothing about her—but at the very least, the air-headed foreigner is an intriguing  new presence in his life.

Alec kicks the overcaffeinated sidekick (THANK you…)

As coincidences continue to pile up that bring the two together, Mitsuyoshi brings Teresa before his whole family, consisting of his cafe-running grandfather (who likes the same old samurai tv show as Teresa) and little sister/waitress Yui (obligatory Minasi Inori presence). The shrine in the Tada residence indicates the loss of one or both Tada parents, one of whom was a photog like Mitsuyoshi.

Before long, Mitsu’s best mate and self-professed “Adonis” Ijuuin Kaoru shows up and tries to put the moves on Teresa as soon as Mitsu tells him she’s not his gf, but he’s quickly thwarted, not just from the cafe cat Nyanko Big (who amusingly resembles a friend’s cat), but by Teresa’s traveling companion, Alexandra “Alec” Magritte, who assumes Kaoru is attacking Teresa and swiftly deploys her itchy trigger leg.

Alec and Kaoru look like a dead ringer for the “opposites attract” trope, but while I appreciate what Miyano Mamoru does with his voice at times, his performance as Kaoru feels a few notches too extreme for this milieu (which is probably intentional).

If you were surprised by this development, you don’t watch many anime rom-coms

Why, do you ask, do two Luxembourgish women in Teresa and Alec have perfect command of Japanese? I imagine it’s the same reason Teresa almost gives another surname other than “Wagner”, and why Alec is so well-versed in martial arts and is protective of Teresa: it’s likely she’s royalty, and Alec is her bodyguard/valet.

She’s come to Japan, likely her favorite foreign country, to soak it all in. That means transferring to Mitsu and Kaoru’s school, and even their class. Ye gods, the coincidences…

Of course, they don’t want to broadcast that fact, but it will be interesting if a.) I’m right about this and b.) it creates a conflict with Mitsu, because at this point, there are no conflicts beyond Mitsu’s general normalness and heretofore non-existent love drive. Maybe she has a betrothed? In any case, this was an establish and introduce episode, and for the most part I’m on board.

Advertisements

Just Because! – 08

Komiya Ena took Izumi’s photo before getting his permission, but after an extensive yet completely organic charm campaign, she eventually got it…and developed feelings for Izumi along the way. Perseverance and optimism won the day.

Komiya does the right thing by asking Natsume permission to ask Izumi on a date, but Natsume’s stern “no” doesn’t discourage her. Komiya knows intrinsically that she’s responsible for her own happiness and can’t wait around for things to happen on their own.

Natsume may have thought she’d bought a little time with her “no”—itself a huge move for her that confirmed she’s at least not indifferent towards Izumi—but she does nothing with that time. Izumi even asks her what she wanted to talk about, but she gives him the “never mind, it’s nothing.”

Natsume and Izumi’s situation takes a back seat when they join Souma and Inui for lunch at Morikawa’s house, which could and probably should have been just a Souma-and-Morikawa (and her little brothers) lunch.

It’s a cordial meal, but there’s something distancing about the way Natsume speaks of the support she got from everyone when Izumi provided the lion’s share of said support during the snowy exam day. It’s like the warmth of that day has been replaced by the more familiar coolness of earlier episodes.

That said, it’s not all Izumi’s fault; Izumi is the one so stealthily demonstrating his feelings for her by applying to the same school, where they’ll presumably be able to see each other. But if that’s what he wants, what the heck is he waiting for? Like Natsume, he simply lacks the proper amount of gumption to act on his feelings, or even put them in forthright words to the necessary party.

Komiya, meanwhile, has a lot more gumption, which is why she comes so tantalizingly close to asking Izumi out via LINE. She wants to send something, but gets caught up on the structure, formality and perceived tone (another reason to just talk to someone).

She needs a little nudge—or in this case, the paw of her big fat cat—to send it, and when it’s read immediately, I really related to the waiting game she had to endure, as well as her elation upon getting a positive response from Izumi.

Komiya doesn’t know exactly what she’s feeling or what she wants, but she does want to move forward with exploring it, and more importantly, has the wherewithal to follow through in a timely, direct fashion. It would help her out a bit if Izumi wasn’t so dense—asking Siri (or a Siri equivalent)  what “date” means? Really?

Then we have Haruto, who like me, sees the wonderful chemistry Izumi and Komiya share, and see Komiya get so pumped about her date, and I just can’t help root for Komiya.

Naturally, on the morning of the date, Izumi runs into Natsume first, and Natsume is on to him; they’re so in sync, she even asked Siri the exact same question. Natsume’s on her way to cram school; she wasn’t trying to break up a date; but she looks awfully bitter when Komiya shows up, leading to one of the better-delivered exchanges of the episode, if not the whole show:

—”I told you no.”
—”Do I need your permission?”
—”Then, why did you ask?”
—”Well, just because.”

In addition to Komiya finally delivering the TITULAR LINE, this dialogue so nicely encapsulates the differences between Natsume and Komiya. Komiya didn’t ask permission just so she could do it anyway; she didn’t think Natsume would say no, or feel so strongly about Izumi at all.

After all, who’s spend more time with Izumi of late? Komiya. She’s not saying “shit or get off the pot,” but her way of doing things just naturally runs roughshod over Izumi’s more deliberate approach.

Also great? Natsume and Komiya having a moment of solidarity when they both tell Izumi that their cryptic discussion is “none of his business.”

Natsume doesn’t protest any further; she has to go to cram school. So Komiya carries on with her date with Izumi. And it’s such a nice, low-key date! She takes him places where she snaps photos…and he snaps a photo of her, which she then makes his wallpaper!

They look like they’re having so much goddamn fun, even sitting in the dark clubroom looking at photo albums. One of those albums show a first-year Natsume with her older sister Mina…

…Who we then segue to! Mina asks Mio why she wants to attend the same university as her, telling her she should go to the one she wants. Seems a bit late in the game to be telling her this, but it does expose a certain “running on inertia” style to Natsume’s life.

Right now, she defines her purpose, first and foremost, of entering college, which is the same one as her sister, probably just because! What’s wrong with just because?

The sisters don’t happen to spot Izumi walking Komiya home after their adorably awesome date…which is for the best; enough coincidences, already! But that album photo reminded both Izumi and Komiya that there’s another side to their triangle, and it’s a side Izumi is studying hard to stay beside in the future.

With that in mind, Komiya asks Izumi why the heck he doesn’t just confess to her. His answer—”I would if I could”, doesn’t satisfy anyone; particularly himself.

So Komiya does what she’s always done to reasonable good effect: go her own way, proceed, persevere, hope. Now winning a prize at the photo competition isn’t just about keeping the club alive, it will determine whether she confesses her love to Izumi.

And no, Izumi, she’s not making a funny joke, she’s picking a direction and going. If you don’t like it, say something; do something. Otherwise, enjoy the journey.

*****

With all this talk about the triangle, I almost forgot about Souma and Morikawa! It’s…fine, they’re fine; they’re just not quite as compelling. She still owes him an answer. It was good to see Souma continue to get along with the bros, and Morikawa’s little makeover, which Izumi of all people sees first (and does a double take), was a cute and unexpected way to close the episode.

Girl Friend BETA – 04

GF Beta is a pleasant, ultra-lightweight show, but it’s also oddly ambitious; never more so than this week. Cutting us loose in a universe of roughly fourteen million characters, it appears to clearly favor quantity over quality. And yet, there’s still a quality about that quantity; with such a big, diverse cast, the possibilities for storytelling are almost endless. So far, despite pretty much switching up the order and hierarchy of the focus cast each week, its fresh stories have consistently held my interest.

Our “anchor” this week is the school radio emcee Sakurai Akane (Satou Rina, who also voices Misaka in Railgun), who finds Shiranui Isuzu (Yuuki Aoi, also Madoka in Madoka) looking over five abandoned kittens. She decides to help Isuzu find them homes, but the students who volunteer need to get good midterm grades to earn their new pets. This is a collection of students whose lives are already packed with extracurricular activities, jobs, and housework; so their grades suffer accordingly. Only the night before do they manage to arrange an all-night study session; Isuzu offers her sprawling home to host it.

That night, the girls do, well…pretty much everything but study. They’e in awe of their classy traditional surroundings, spend lots of time on introductions, cook dinner, go out to buy snacks, get stuck in the rain, go to a bath house, and return to Isuzu’s home to tell ghost stories.

When Isuzu comes in to see what the screaming is about, they see the cat on her obi and are reminded of why they’re really there: For the Kittens. The studying then commences in earnest. The night is a fine depiction of the myriad forms of procrastination that can transpire in such scenarios. There’s an epic quality to it that often accompanies all-night scenes where a deadline is nigh.

The study session proves to be more than just a means of raising the girls’ scores to win kittens (which they do); the group also gained friendships (including the shy Isuzu), and making friends (or exploring why people are friends) is what this show is all about. And everyone was united by Akane, who, wishing to help both the kittens and Isuzu, made the radio announcement.

 

 

Girl Friend BETA – 03

Oddly enough, we begin with Murakami Fumio examining a book of nudes by “Gilbert Royal Thorpe,” who Fumio knows is her friend Mochizuki Erena’s favorite photographer. Those who know Fumio are a bit surprised Fumio is friends with someone like Erena, and Erena’s friends are surprised she’s friends with Fumio. After all, the energetic, gregarious, impulsive Erena and the solitary, quiet, bookish Fumio look on the surface like complete opposites.

In this case, opposites attract, as we go back and learn precisely why Fumio and Erena aren’t just friends, but good friends at that. It all started when an initial encounter on the subway got Erena to notice Fumio, who tends to keep to herself and read. Erena, a photog-in-training, is enchanted by Fumio’s quiet good looks, and appoints her as her muse.

Erena asks Fumio to be her model for an upcoming contest, but Fumio never really gets a clear response out, and gets caught up in Erena’s rhythm. This could be construed as a form of stalking and voyeurism if it wasn’t being done by the innocent, well-meaning Erena, who’s oblivious to the possibility Fumio has something to say but just can’t say it. The communication logjam gets so back, Fumio ends up smacking Erena’s camera away and the wrong words come out.

Things are a little awkward for a while, and Erena considers giving up on the contest  now that her muse has rejected her. But when she invites Fumio on a cake date, the truth comes out: it isn’t that Fumio didn’t want to be her model; it’s that she thought she wouldn’t be good enough, since she’s always seen herself as plain, inexpressive, cool. All Erena has to do is show her a photo she took just a moment ago to see how wrong she is. Erena isn’t interested in fake smiles or poses, but genuine, candid emotion.

Wait…there are GUYS in this school?!

Fumio has more of that than she ever imagined, and Erena was the one who helped her clear up a misconception about herself. Fumio changes her mind about being her model, and Erena ends up wining the contest. And because the rest of the school sees a warm and joyful side of Fumio they’d never seen before, she ends up meeting more friends as a result. This isn’t exceedingly complex stuff, but it hit some solid emotional notes about art, inspiration, and friendship that resonated with me.

 

Tamayura: More Aggressive – 10

After sorting through their photos for the coming exhibition, Kanae suggests Potte and the group go on a photography tour. Maon suggests her home island of Oosakishimo, where her parents run an inn, and Kaoru suggests they all use the trip to get inspired for a second We Exhibition down the road. While on the trip, Kanae worries about not having a direction after graduation or a turning point to tell her which way to go and when, but after interacting with the girls and talking with Maon’s folks, she realizes her turning point was joining the photography club, and that she, like everyone else, will “cast off” to their future when the tides are right.

This week the upperclassman Kanae was the focus, as for the majority of the episode she is consumed with feelings of nostalgia and of remaining static and empty as everyone else whisks past her into the future. Of course, she’s worrying needlessly; she’s far too young to be worried about such things, but this is Kanae we’re talking about, who’s no stranger to overthinking things into oblivion. As fate would have it, the very name of the island she and the others visit to get their creative juices flowing provides her with the metaphor she’s wrestling with. She’s worried that the tide will never come for her, but it will; just not necessarily the same time as the others.

Each of the girls is into a craft that locks the past in a form we’ll always be able to sense, whether it’s Norie’s tastes, Kaoru’s smells, Maon’s sounds or Potte and Kanae’s pictures. But those things are only echos of a past we can’t go back to, and we can choose to regard them with fondness or remorse – or heck, both at the same time. Kanae was considering not graduating because it’s easier, safer, and less scary to rewind one’s life, and jump back into those pictures. But she knows that’s not the right way to go. Her tide will come, and the seas may not be calm, but as sure as the sun rises, they’ll take her where she needs to go.

Rating:7 (Very Good)

Tamayura: More Aggressive – 01

It’s been a year since Sawatari Fuu (AKA Potte) moved back to Takehara. Her friends Hanawa Kaoru, Okazaki Norie, and Sakurada Maon notice her spacing out more than usual. Fuu tells them she’s reminiscing about the last year, and repeats her goal to be “more aggressive.” She later admits that she’s been thinking a lot about starting a photography club at school. after the success of the “We” exhibition. Her friends, including Miyoshi Chihiro from afar – and her family all support her in this, and she decides she’s going to give it her all.

The Tamayura slice-of-life saga picks up pretty much where it left off, with Potte and her friends hanging around town, being very open with their feelings to the point of making each other tear up with emotion. The show remains just as lovely, warm, calm, breezy, and welcoming as before, and plenty of flashbacks are provided to refresh our memories. As for the rather surprising sub-title “More Aggressive”, no, Fuu is not starting MMA club! Back in the very first episode of ~hitotose~, when Potte and Chihiro parted ways, they both vowed to become more “aggressive”, finding their passions and applying maximum effort and energy to them.

“Aggressive” is a far more nuanced adjective than its typical use to denote anger or hostility. The “target” Potte aims to “attack” is her passivity, indecision, longing, and melancholy from loss. She chooses to stay positive while carrying her father’s camera about, the object, even totem by which she’s made friends and found her passion. To that end, she’s starting a photography club, which will be tough, like the exhibition, but ultimately will allow her to explore and share her love of photography while meeting more people.

Rating: 8 (Great)

Stray Observations:

• It was nice to hear about Potte’s return to Takehara from the perspective of Kaoru, who was worried that Potte might hate the town and still be depressed about her father. To her relief and joy, Potte is just fine, thanks in part to her camera, which is almost a character in and of itself at this point.
• A random classmate who happens to be passing by catches word of the photography club. We checked the cast list ahead and found out this is probably Mitane Kanae (voiced by Kayano Ai), one of this season’s new characters.
• Chihiro seems to have gained her own “Norie” of sorts in the energetic Tomo-chan, but we don’t know who voices her yet.
• That white cat is so damned abstract and weird-looking, but we still love him/her.
• The dialogue between Potte, Kaoru, Norie and Maon continues to pop and bubble with a nice rhythm and energy. We know all of these seiyus by now and they have good chemistry.
• Along with the impending Swim Club in Free!, this is the second straight episode in which a “normal” (read, not silly, random, or useless) club is started by one of the characters.

Car Cameos:

• Audi A6 (C5)
• Toyota Comfort Taxi

Nazo no Kanojo X – 06

Oka bumps into Tsubaki downtown, and they discuss first names over ice cream. Oka mentions it to Urabe, who blushingly tells her it’s not her business. While taking a break in a park, Tsubaki tries it out, calling Urabe “Mikoto” in her ear while she’s dozing; she wakes up blushing again and smiling. Tsubaki hesitates when trying to call her Mikoto while she’s awake. Tsubaki dreams of snapping picture of her smiling, but the next day, though she agrees to having her picture taken, she won’t give him a fake smile.

While Tsubaki is waiting for a late Urabe, his junior high crush Hayakawa passes by, and invites him to have coffee with her. He politely declines, and after she leaves, discovers Urabe was hiding behind a column. When he asks her if she’d be angry if he’d ditched her to have coffee, she gives him saliva that makes him shed tears, indicating she’d be sad, not angry. Tsubaki promises that while Hayakawa’s offer was tempting, Urabe is who he likes now. That makes her smile again, but when Tsubaki whips out the camera, she sticks out her tongue instead. He says he’ll treasure the photo anyway, making her even happier.

There are many mysterious things about Urabe Mikoto, but one thing that’s no mystery is that she’s about as shy and innocent as they come. Oh sure, she’ll flash you with her panties, but that’s only a physical symptom of her elaborate scissors-wielding routine. She’ll also say with certainty that Tsubaki Akira is the first guy she’s going to have sex with…but provide no further information about how and when that’s going to happen. Her role has been the passive one, while Tsubaki has been responsible for every step forward, starting with tasting her drool in the beginning. That she’s passive doesn’t mean she’s not interested pursuing a relationship and progressing in it; it’s just that for the most part she’s left Tsubaki in charge of how and when things happen.

In doing so, each step has been a lesson and a test for Tsubaki, most recently his being faced with the girl whose picture he tore up. Rather than show up and create a confrontation, Urabe hides and observes. And like the time she disrobed in front of him while his eyes stayed closed, he performs admirably, like a loyal boyfriend should. Tsubaki knows an old crush could never compare to what he has here and now: a cute, sweet, innocent, and eccentric girl who likes him as much as he likes her, if not more. The adorable Oka’s interventions in their relationship deserves mention too; she’s proving an interesting supporting character.

Rating: 9 (Superior)

Tamayura ~hitotose~ – 12 (Fin)

New Year’s Eve, the day of the exhibition, finally arrives. When the doors open, no one comes, but gradualy people trickle in, and before long, the venue is packed with people soaking in the photography, baked goods, potporri, and storytelling. It’s a rousing success, as they recieve lots of glowing surveys from attendees: both friends, family, and the general public. Afterwards they celebrate a new year, and with her father’s camera, Potte continues to capture treasures that would otherwise get lost to time.

And so ends a very good, laid back slice of life series, ending in top form, just like it begun. This exhibition was not only the culmination of the group of friends’ artistic efforts, but also an excellent way to involve pretty much the whole town in the show’s finale. It ended with everyone doing what they love (at the moment), and actually being praised and acknowledged for it, which goes a long way towards shooing away those feelings of uneasiness and self-doubt.

There’s a point while Shihori is looking at Fu’s pictures when she tells her she may have figured something out about photography without even knowing it. Fu always admired Shihori for taking pictures that everyone can love, while Fu believed she was being selfish in her choice of subjects. But the goal of a photographer need not simply be to appeal to one’s audience, but to take capturing images that matter to you and having the feelings shine through in your work for all to see. After all, that’s what happened when Fu first saw her father’s images, and got her interested in following in his filmsteps.

Rating: 4

Tamayura ~hitotose~ – 08

Fu learns that her fellow photographer, Shihomi Riho, has become fast friends with Hoboro and is staying with her for the time being. When Riho tells Fu she doesn’t photograph the sky anymore, Fu is worried Riho may quit photography altogether. Fu joins Riho and Chimo on a trip to Kure to visit Riho’s senpai Misano, an illustrator who now owns a cafe like Chimo. Misano often experiments with strange food combinations, because she likes the diversity, just as Fu likes taking pictures of everything she can. The lesson is to never limit oneself to one rigid dicipline or one dream.

What do Fu, Riho, Chimo and Misano all have in common? They all believe “Greed Is Good.” Through all the good times and great photos she’s taken, Fu has remained ever weary and unsure of exactly what she should be doing or aiming for. When she first interacts with all these older young women, she is visibly nervous and self-conscious, as if she feels guilty for subjecting them to her lowly presence. I wouldn’t call it low self-esteem or self-worth, but certainly a feeling of inadequacy and not meeting her full potential. In reality, none of that is the case, and as she even says to herself, she’s often simply overthinking things.

Fu wrongly assumed Riho only took photos of the sky, in the belief that when one becomes Serious about something, one concentrates on that one thing and hones it until one is better at it than anyone else. Photographing everything is self-indulgent and undisciplined, right? Wrong – Riho’s past gift to Fu of a train ticket with no destination says it all: that ticket is Fu’s future. No one can decide when and where it will occur – or what form it will take – but Fu. So she should keep trying anything and everything she can. The sky’s the limit. Diversity is good…as is greed.

Rating: 3.5

Tamayura ~hitotose~ – 03

At the Tamayura cafe, Potte & Co. are served delicious, gorgeous food, she is determined to capture it with her Rollei 35S. She isn’t satisfied with her first attempt, but opportunity knocks when Komachi a school friend of her little brother Kou, challenges Norie to a cooking contest to see who can make the best desert for him. As Komachi and Norie lovingly prepare hotcakes and peach jelly for Kou, Potte finds that photographing the process of making food is far more rewarding.

Norie is definitely the most annoying character of the core quartet, but her little rivalry with Kou’s would-be girlfriend is sweet nonetheless, and the series made sure to include Potte as the observer and recorder of their competition. There are some issues with this cafe: how does Potte’s tiny grandmother reach the register? How can Tamayura afford to give away so much food? Also, Maon and Kaoru are basically sidelined this week.

One must set aside such practical matters and just enjoy the happy vibes, which we did. We love food, and we love making food, and hell, we love watching other people making food; especially food we don’t know how to make, because then we learn. So any episode that spends time making food – and does it well, which this did – we’ll be happy. That’s all we ask of light, breezy slice-of-lifes like this: competence and positivity.

Rating: 3.5

Tamayura ~hitotose~ – 01

Junior high student Fuu has decided to make a big change in her life. She’s moving back to her birthplace of Takehara, to be near the Seto Inland Sea, attend a new high school, and make use of her late father’s camera she inherited. This episode is mostly a flashback of her life before moving, documenting how much her father and his pictures have meant to her, the build-up to her decision, and saying her goodbyes to her best friend Chihiro. Armed with a blessing from her mom and a published photographer friend of her father, he strikes out Takehara, where she goes by the nickname “Potte.”

Man, that was just a lovely, warm, calm, breezy episode of anime. The landscapes and twisting roads and stairs of the hilly town are exquisitely and imaginatively rendered. The palette is subtle, muted, but still lush, adding to the realism. But it doesn’t just look beautiful; all the people are beautiful as well. No excessive proprietary jargon; no factions, just real friggin’ life. And a girl starting fresh, like Ohana in Hanasaku Iroha…only without the yelling and no love interest. Sure, there’s crying, but it’s established that Chihiro is a crybaby…though when Fuu leaves, both of them have grown more “aggressive”.

Fuu/Potte is out to make her dearly departed dad proud; to carry on his tradition of capturing little scenes and moments often forgotten in the course of life. He taught her a lot, including how to work his very slick Rollei 35S mini-camera, and all that knowledge is still in her heart. The Camera is the tool to draw it all out, and replace her grief with happiness. She says if she can capture those warm happy moments just right, the “Children of Light” will come out. Sounds like a terrorist group, but we’re sure it’s not. Photography is used early and often to provide back-story and imagery from the past, and by episode’s end, we felt we’d learned a great deal about Fuu in a very short time. We want to learn more still.

Rating: 4