Following last year’s television series “Tamako Market”, the “Tamako Love Story” movie was released throughout theaters in Japan earlier in April, but only got to watch the movie recently with its release on Blu-Ray.
An original anime project by Kyoto Animation, enjoyed watching “Tamako Market” but regretted the series wasted much of its potential by emphasizing on the silly gimmick of talking bird Dera and the uninventive comedy it spawned.
Enjoyed the series’ leisurely pace and slice-of-life atmosphere, it was a shame nothing much became of the suggested love triangle and the studio let slip the opportunity to delve into the main characters to explore their personalities, bonds and emotions.
When they announced the “Tamako Love Story” movie, felt excited we might finally get the moving, character driven romantic story that the show’s setting and its characters deserve.
While Kyoto Animation definitely delivers an excellent, sweet tale of innocent youth romance, feel they still left us longing for more of what could have been. More time should have been spent on Tamako, Mochizou and Midori’s, allowing them to blossom during the story (especially considering the original promo video of the movie spoiled the major events).
Even Midori who plays a key role and had several well-written scenes, still felt rather underused.
Despite these reservations, do wholeheartedly recommend “Tamako Love Story” if you’re looking for a sweet, romantic anime to watch.
