First Impressions / Tamako Market

「一夜を共に過ごしたぜ」 (Ichiya o Tomoni Sugoshita ze)
“We Spent the Night Together”

Did Tamako Market just turn into a romcom? The subtext around Midori, Tamako, and Mochizou gets louder as Midori and Mochizou go head-to-head in a thinly veiled competition for Tamako’s affection. Come on you two, you’re not fooling anybody!

Mochizou vs Midori

I knew this was going to be a good one when I saw Midori cockblocking Mochizou from going to the pool under the pretense of modesty (“We’re going to be wearing swimsuits” my ass!). Her little spurts of jealousy when his name came up, his protestations when someone called him out on his feelings…puppy love was practically dripping from every line of dialogue, and I loved it! The crowning moment of rabu-funny had to come when Dera waltzed into Mochizou’s room and pulled all his most closely guarded feelings right out of him. Only Mochizou could get made fun of by Dera-chan! You really are easy to read, shounen.

Good Guy Dera did some work pushing the action forward, though. Perhaps this is a random aside (you’ve been warned), but I enjoyed the construction of the scene where Mochizou reads Dera his letter and Midori overhears it. In a standard romcom, the Mochizou character would still have been overheard, but he probably would have done it because he was talking to himself. It would have been a silly but forgivable snafu, a small price to pay to move the story forward. But here, KyoAni doesn’t do that. They don’t let little, unintuitive, “convenient” events slip by when they can justify them (such as Mochizou talking to his wingman Dera). They did the same thing with chu2koi, and I applaud it.

But Dera was not done. Here’s the big question – does Mochizou suspect Midori’s true feelings? Dera spoke about their similar “scents”, and Mochizou immediately backed off, excusing himself from an invitation from Tamako because he had “something [he] needs to do”. KyoAni’s storytelling is so subtle that I find myself honestly unsure as to what’s going on in the character’s minds – and I love that, by the way.

I’m not sure whether Mochizou realizes, but things fall into place better if he does. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t make sense why he would tell Midori he’s not going to confess to Tamako, other than his usual chickenshit and tsundere behavior. But if he does? Then it sounds like he’s taking the easy way out by “letting Midori have Tamako” (as if that’s your choice, you egotistical young’un!).

And what about Midori herself? She suddenly tells Mochizou to tell Tamako whatever he needs to say. That, I think, is more guilt than anything, and an acknowledgement that if she’s not going to take that step, she doesn’t have a right to stand in his way. Mind you, it could be that Tamako’s declaration of love might be the reason, and that she’s now so sure she’s captured Tamako’s affection that she can afford to let Mochizou get his feelings off his chest…but I don’t believe that for a minute. As she said it, I don’t think Tamako’s love for Midori is the type Midori holds for her. It’s still a possibility, but I don’t think Tamako has considered it any more than she has a relationship with Mochizou. No, fear and guilt make more sense, but I think they both now know what the score is, and that more than anything else has changed the playing field.

Swimsuits without Fanservice

I’m about to blow some of your minds – I wholeheartedly approve of this being a pool/beach episode that had practically no fanservice. Counter to some people’s perception of me as an unrepentant pervert, I’m actually a huge feminist. (Though can’t I be both?) Fanservice is fine when it fits the story, but should it be in everything? No! Likewise, while I love my fanservice full of bouncing boobs and delicious thighs, what’s wrong with giving the ladies a few male characters who take off their shirts to expose flawless abs? Equality, says I!

But Tamako Market took a different route and just cut out the fanservice altogether. No surprise there – with an almost all female staff and a cast full of awkward (and realistically proportioned) teenagers, I would have been surprised had this turned into a boob-fest (though a female staff does not preclude this – Sekirei was written by a female manga-ka, after all). The characters end up being treated a lot more respectfully, and titillation doesn’t get in the way of the true purpose of this episode, which is to get our romance on. Roundly approved.

Comedy – More Than Just Dera

Once again, Dera did the heavy lifting as far as the comedy. I already mentioned him outing Mochizou’s feelings and then making fun of him, but there was more. Dera-ojouchan and Dera-Mochizou cracked me up, as did him almost passing out from carsickness after being stuffed in that bag. Then there was him getting chased all over the island and slamming into a window while wingmanning for Mochizou…that tori just can’t catch a break!

But it wasn’t all Dera-chan this time. Tamako also did some work in the comedy realm, mostly by being terribad at swimming. Okay, I’ll admit, Tamako was part cute, part funny, and a whole lot of dense, but it all ended with me having a huge smile on my face, so whatever. The weird thing about Tamako is, for one of the main characters of this whole shindig, she rarely seems to have much involvement in the actual plot, such that it is. Oh, sometimes she’s the focal point of it (as was the case this episode), but she doesn’t actually do anything a large percentage of the time. I wonder…erh, I was supposed to be talking about comedy, wasn’t I? Uhh, uhh…yuri hand-holding! More on that other thought later.

Looking Ahead – What Is This Show?

So is Tamako Market a romcom now? Not quite. Like last year’s Acchi Kocchi, it remains a slice of life with romance in. Why? Because no matter how much seemed to have happen this episode, in a very real sense, nothing much really did. More than being about “normal everyday events”, slice of life stories are typified by an extreme focus on the journey, almost to the exclusion of the destination. Once again, changes happened within the minds of select characters (this time, Midori and Mochizou), but in every outward sense the status quo still rules. Will we get a resolution by the time this series ends? Perhaps, but it’ll come slowly, gradually. Though we may get a bit of a leap forward next week. Only maybe, though.

I’ll end with Dera-chan’s words once again, for they encapsulate my own hopes for this series better than I could say:

Fireworks of love, and fireworks of the heart. A midsummer night’s dream, and feelings bursting into colour. May they not burst and fade like a fleeting dream.

Should I be worried that I think like Dera-chan? No matter. May this not be the last we see of Midori and Mochizou’s feelings. I don’t think it will be though, not for a minute.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Mochizou & Midori go head-to-head for Tamako’s affections, in that awkward way that only teenagers can #tamakomarket

Random thoughts:

  • I love how even Mochizou realizes that he’s a useless tsundere. Now fix it, you baka!
  • Oh man, plotting Dera is the best. I would pay good money to see a buddy cop movie where Mochizou is the serious newbie to Dera’s outrageous but strangely effective veteran. Or maybe a show where cupid-Dera goes around helping couples get together, while Mochizou runs around fixing everything he screws up. There’s so much potential in these two! Get on it, KyoAni. I’ll be expecting my royalty check in the mail.
  • Tama-chan: “Midori-chan? Midori-chan wa… daisuke da yo!” YURI FOR THE YURI GOD! SHIPPING FOR THE SHIPPING THRONE! *nosebleed*

Full-length images: 05, 13.

 

Preview

117 Comments

    1. Midori/Tamako/Mochizou: The Love Triangle of the Year.

      Midori/Tamako vs. Mochizou/Tamako: The Ship Battle of the Century.

      Who is going to win over Tamako and her heart in the end? Midori or Mochizou?

      JohnHayabusa
      Reply

      1. Midori x Mochizo in the end ! Wait before , you can thumb this down , 80% of osanajimi don’t end up with MC even in Movie call “My girl”(epic romcom heart breaking movie in 2003) Osanajimi married some unknow identity- Prince-kun will end with Tamako-chan, don’t count him out just yet , new encounter everywhere , Masuzu will take Mochi away lol XD

        pokpok
        Reply

      2. whaaa you forgot Tomoko + Dera D: *is teasing* lol though I will facepalm if in the end instead of mochizou or Midori, Tomoko goes back with dera to marry his prince and becomes a princess, that would just be too obvisous/letdown haha… besides u___u An-chan is the princess anyway!!!!!!!

        Akarin
        Reply

      6. I just watched it at my college a few hours ago. Great episode as usual. Looks like the rivalry between Midori and Mochizou for Tamako has officially started. Midori is acting like the selfish girlfriend, trying to stop Mochizou from confessing to Tamako. Mochizou appears to be the underdog, trying to confess his love for Tamako while denying to Midori about it. As for Tamako, she is the oblivious… uh, well, girlfriend.

        I have watched romantic films and drama shows with a similar situation. I am going to assume that, if KyoAni ever goes for the romantic ending, Midori will accept Mochizou’s feelings for Tamako and let him and Tamako be together. Meanwhile, Tamako and Midori will still be friends. Thus, in the end, Mochizou will win over Tamako while Midori gets friendzoned.

        JohnHayabusa
        Reply

  6. I’m actually warming up to that damn bird. Maybe because the whole animal kingdom is after his hide.

    Ok, Midori is actually in love with Tamako. I had though it might be Kana.

    Wow, who would have thought to ship Midori and Mochizou? I like it! After the shipping wars on RC, seeing a non cliched romance would be a real breath of fresh air. Of course this could start a yuri/het war, but I really think they might be heading this way after Dera’s comment. But then if I’m right, that does leave the door open for Shiori….

    Bear
    Reply

      1. That’s what’s probably going to happen. Judging from the scenes in the ED, Tamako might end up with that Indian/Brazilian/Whatever foreign prince (Dera’s master), so it’ll probably leave room for Mochi and Midori to get together, provided Midori isn’t a full-on lesbian.

        Sol
        Reply

    2. All I know is that if this devolves into shipping wars on the level of my J.C. Staff romances (Ano Natsu de Matteru, Sakurasou) then I’m going to be piiiiissed. They’re both good ships people DON’T FIGHT AHHHH!!

      *hides in his ship-proof bunker and cries himself to sleep*

      Stilts
      Reply

    1. Okay, now that I am done flipping out over how much I adore Midori…

      There’s something really effortless about this show that I love. It’s as if these ideas come naturally and with ease, when you know those at KyoAni work their arses off to create that subtlety. You have to applaud Yamada Naoko for having such a great vision.

      The cockblocking timing was absolutely hilarious. I was honestly surprised they went there, but as you said, they’re awkward teenagers still. Even when I’d already ‘graduated’ from my teenage years, I’m sad to say that I definitely pulled childish antics just to stop confessions from reaching the object of my affection. It took me much longer to get over my immaturity and jealousy than Midori, though…

      Midori has my support just because she went for it and asked what Tamako thought of her and Mochizou (as much as possible without just dropping the “I love you!” bomb, anyway). I guess she also has the advantage of being a girl, so another girl won’t find it too suspicious, let alone Tamako being quite dense in that department in the first place. I doubt Tamako sees anyone in a romantic way since she’s pretty shoutengai-minded for the time being. It’d be interesting if the status quo changes, but for now, I’m quite happy with the way developments are executed.

      I’m about to rewatch, but I wasn’t convinced Mochizou caught on to Midori’s feelings. I feel like he would’ve had more of a reaction, especially at a potential rival appearing. Speaking from experience, I did think Midori was feeling guilty at the end, though.

      R
      Reply

      1. Ahhhh such is the beauty of KyoAni. Smooth dialogue, natural character interactions. They remove the usual awkward, perhaps jarring, moments that most animes have; and instead they make it flow. This provides for always an entertaining show, but as a result they tend to be less daring.

        Rigelin
        Reply

      2. Less is more, easy is hard. Take it from someone who writes fiction in his free time – making things seem this natural is fuckin’ difficult. I think that’s why KyoAni excels at slice of life; it’s a genre where a lighter touch is better, and where you can’t hide flaws with outrageous events or innovative ideas. It rewards the diligent, editorial workhorse which KyoAni embodies.

        They still haven’t managed to put out an original show that had that stirring flawed genius to it, though. I say original because they made Clannad, and I think we can all agree that going at it with that kind of source material just isn’t fair, hah!

        Stilts
        Reply

      3. While not the most ambitious vision (though this remains to be seen), it’s certainly quite lovable and quite funny. Looks like that’s always been KyoAni’s modus operandi.

        That said, it may be premature to discount the studio pulling a Chu2Koi drama punch in a few episodes.

        hoiut
        Reply

      4. I’m glad I found a group of people who don’t mind Midori, it seems like everyone else hates her after episode 5, even going so far as to say that her kindness and guilt in the end was fake ;_;

        JustAGirl
        Reply

  8. Lots of Midori looking good in this episode. I admit, though, I wasn’t expecting her to resort to actual sabotage. Fortunately she got over it fairly quickly, as that could easily have turned her fans against her if she kept it up.

    I, of course, support Midori. Not just for the yuri (although yuri does make everything better), but because I like her personality better. Even before episode 2 I wasn’t really that big of a fan of the idea of the Mochizou x Tamako pairing, so I was quite pleased when this other option opened up.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. I’m for whoever makes Tamako happy, which I think could be either of them. She gets along with both of them (and everyone else, for that matter) so well that it really just comes down to whether she’s straight or gay.

      And if she’s bi? HAREM MASTER TAMAKO, ENGAGE!!

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Well, Dera definitely is best WINGman out there… Sorry for lamest pun, in a long time, but I could not resist. Other than that, Stilts could start using him as gravatar, methinks… BTW thanks for the coverage!

        ewok40k
        Reply

  10. Another funny episode, Dera remains the best character thus far in my opinion. Also, did everyone else find that last scene where Kanna and Midori both give Mochizou a thumbs up and a wink before walking away like Tamako did hilarious? (it was really cute to me for some reason, oh to be that young again…)

    8-bitPenguin
    Reply

  13. Oh lord, this is probably the first time that a show has ever made me ship THE FULL TRIANGLE.

    Mochizou x Tamako

    Midori x Tamako

    Mochizou x Midori (With those commonalities of love and the clash of rivalry, those scenes (especially them sitting under the fireworks, hooo, I got to admit there was some chemistry there!)

    and as always ALL ARE SHIPPED WITH EQUAL INTENSITY

    The Amateur Alchemist
    Reply

  14. Ah, damn you, Tamako Market, taunting me with summer…I’m freezing my butt off here.

    Anyway, this episode was probably my favourite after the second, and as they dealt with the same characters, I can see a correlation. Tamako is, like you said, more of a focal point that binds them all together rather than a character who does a lot to advance the plot – that is all on the shoulders of other characters (Mochizou and Midori for romance, Dera for the prince-subplot etc). Hence, when they focus on the characters with the most interesting subplots, I like the show the most. And this episode proved once again why I liked these subplots the best.

    Mochizou is kind of a self-aware tsundere, at the least, and at least tries to win the girl. His chickening out, much like Tamako’s denseness, thus doesn’t annoy me like it would in an actual romcom; situations in this show rarely feel forced and the slice-of-life nature causes me to look at this as just daily happenings in the lives of some awkward teenagers. And then there’s Midori…gotta love them yuri goggles. I’ll be sacrificing a piece of cheese for the yuri god later. I wonder what will happen now as well – now that they seem to understand that they’re in the same boat, the situation’s obviously changed. Wonder if there will be some resolution near the end, anyway.

    Also, Dera was glorious. He was freaking hilarious this episode, mostly by being either a complete buttmonkey, or by making fun of Mochizou. Not to mention he’s such a bro – say what you want about the arrogant, pompous bird, but he’s always ready to lend a hand. Or wing. Whatever.

    This show sure has grown on me. Didn’t see that coming.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  15. Rooting for Midori is going to hurt if Mochizou gets the upper hand or if the triangle is left unresolved.

    This is getting me in the mood for a good serious yuri show. Maybe it’s time to rewatch sasameki koto or aoi hana.

    qwert
    Reply

    1. He keeps saying he still can’t return to the island. Yes he hasn’t found a suitor yet, but it’s implied that while he can fly, he’s still too fat to fly up high enough for long periods of time.

      starss
      Reply

      1. I think Dera lost 20lbs after being chased back to back in this episode. I expect a skinny model bird next episode Stilts.
        And I expect Tamako to fatten him up again to obesity status for the humor factor damnit.

        Solara
        Reply

  18. Although I’m still rooting full-heartedly for Mochizou, I can’t stand people hating on Midori; she’s in love, too ;A;
    But I feel Tamako will just end up friendzoning them both, either by accident or just not wanting to choose one over the other and hurt someone she cares about. I could easily see this ending with no canon couple, or hell, Midori and Mochizou might get so caught up in swooning over Tamako together that they start to get to know each other so well they fall for one another! I doubt it, but I could totally see it.

    I was grinning like a moron throughout the entire episode, so overall bravo, as usual, Kyo Ani!

    Kiria
    Reply

    2. Preeeeeetty sure it’s been done before 😛 Whether KyoAni has done it themselves matters little; making studio history doesn’t really count as having “made history” in my book.

      Stilts
      Reply

    4. I think the thing about the way the yuri side of the triangle has been presented is new IMHO. It has avoided the usual tropes (BUT we’re both girls .. etc) and instead seems very natural. They’re showing how one person has fallen in love with another, and gender simply doesn’t matter.

      BTW I don’t think Midori was being generous to Mochizou by telling him to go ahead and confess. I think she thinks he doesn’t have a chance after her discussion during the swim as shes sure that he’s been ‘childhood friend’ zoned. Mind you she has been friend-zoned as well. Tamako just doesn’t appear to be particularly emotionally mature in that side of things. Personally I cant see this show finishing with the triangle resolved unless something drastic happens.

      Scruffy
      Reply

  20. Kyoani seems so fluffy that I don’t really see any of them getting the girl but end up in friendzone. Or they might make the transition for either to find their own happiness.

    I would personally like to see the rivals pair up, (if they do any pairing) only because it’s refreshing to see it happen for once in anime. Instead of one person suffering cause they lost the girl/guy in most cases. It would be something new.

    I’m no Kyoani expert, so do let me know this, but have they ever made shows where they really focus on such relationships? With the exception of K-On!, they just have friendship yuri subtle, but what I mean is lets say Midori ends up with Tamako, would Kyoani be that bold to go that way? To me Kyoani has always played it ‘safe’, that I’m skeptical about that route, regardless of how much I may root for Midori.

    I just don’t wish to waste my time shipping the crap out of those two if Kyoani has never done something that bold before. Like stated, if you have seen something like that by Kyoani, let me know so my hopes can come back up!

    Solara
    Reply

    1. I wouldn’t be basing your hopes and dreams off KyoAni’s track record. This is one of the two purely original stories KyoAni has ever told (the other being Munto, though you could credibly claim Chu2koi as a third, being that it was such a large percentage original). What they will or will not dare, we really have little idea…and I don’t much like reading into the “meta” much to think what the authors will dare.

      Looking at the story though? Probably end up with no resolution whatsoever for the romance subplot. This is slice of life, remember? I’m not placing a bet on that, so I may very well be wrong, but it’s not looking like the likelier outcome at the moment.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. So basically Kyoani will just troll us. Lol. Not without giving us entertainment along the way which I would appreciate regardless. But I like to believe that all of this messages and pass focus, especially the way it was done for Midori in ep 2 was all for naught. I’ll still look forward to it regardless. It would be amazing for the studio to actual take that route, not for the fanservice, but because it’s honest and it can be very relatable to many people out there.

        Solara
        Reply

  22. There were plenty of Yuri detratcotrs bashing us /u/ fans for looking to deep into Midori’s attraction to Tamako. Well who’s laughing now!?

    Shipping aside I do like Midori even more now. She’s written with surprising subtlety. She’s impulsive on the thought of anyone going for Tamako’s affections. Yet her jealousy isn’t run to the ground, as she takes the time to talk to Mochizou and go be on good terms with him, after her initial jealousy. I feel sorry for her when Tamako told her she loves her, she’s very aware that that statement lacked any romantic context.

    Unfortunately, I can’t say I like Mochizou. Where Midori is a refreshing and subtle take on yuri, Mochizou is every generic cliche rolled up into one person. He’s so pathetically beta its cringe inducing. At this point he really needs an episode for himself, so that he can have a more defining trait that “That guy who has feelings for Tamako”.

    While I can’t stand Mochizou (for now) I do at least like his interactions with Dera. He’s seriously lacking a male foil and Dera provided it along with the comedy. Its nice to see that even if Dera is an overweight, fabulous bird he still ascribes to the Bro Code.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Nice bro code reference.

      And while I don’t share your feelings on Mochizou, I would like a Mochizou-centered episode. The boy is in need for some fleshing out, considering how big of a character he is. Kanna too. That’s unrelated, but it needed to be said.

      Stilts
      Reply

  23. Y’know I went into this show not knowing what to expect from it at all. I figured it would be just like K-On or something. I’m glad I was wrong, and I’m also appreciative that KyoAni is not only treating Midori like a serious character, but also making her a strong rival for Tamako’s affections. This is something you rarely see outside of the Yuri genre, and I have to thank KyoAni for that. I just hope they don’t let it go to waste, this could be a historical moment in anime where the character that was always expected to lose actually has a chance.

    JustAGirl
    Reply

    1. She has a chance. Will she win? This is still slice of life. Remember that.

      Besides, I’m leery of the “historic moment” method of storytelling. Sure, it might be relatively uncommon for a yuri couple to emerge in a non-yuri work, but is that the best story? Maybe, but also maybe not. If they decide to do it, I hope it’s not just to be historic. That fades away quickly, but a great story can be timeless.

      Stilts
      Reply

  25. Swimsuits without fanservice? What are you talking about? Mochizou looks perfectly delectable in that cute swimsuit. I’m totally shipping Mochizou and Shino from Hakkenden. Those two would make such an adorable couple *nosebleed*

    Frau Kojiro
    Reply

  26. I thought the reason that Midori decided to stop putting the block on Mochizou is cause she’s pretty darn confident that Tamako’s gonna shut him down even if he does get up the courage to confess (which he won’t, what a wuss). That’s cute up to a point, but how many years has he wanted to tell Tamako? It’s past endearing and all the way into lame.

    I’d really love for the show to end up with a nice Midori x Tamako couple, playing it straight (no pun intended) the whole way, like they are with Kaoru the Florist Princess. That’s what I think Tamako Market is doing best of all. Everyone is just a person. They’re not a role, they’re not a stereotype. They’re just people. I don’t know if Tamako will ever get around to seeing anyone in a romantic way, but that’s what I’m hoping for.

    And who knows, as fast as this show is blowing through seasons, the reason might be that they want to have Tamako grow up and recognize that she has feelings for someone.

    Highway
    Reply

    1. If that was really Midori’s reasoning then it would further add not only her possessiveness over Tamako, but also shows hypocrisy as Midori herself doesn’t have the guts to confess to Tamako or really do anything.

      Chaos2Frozen
      Reply

      1. I dunno if I’d call it hypocrisy, as much as daring him to do it while being pretty sure that it would backfire on him: If he confesses and is shot down by not-interested Tamako, he’s out of the race completely. And maybe that’s some of Midori’s hesitance to say anything to Tamako: She’s so oblivious and obviously not thinking about love, that Midori thinks the first person to bring the subject up is doomed to be not taken seriously.

        I think Midori definitely misinterpreted Tamako’s “daisuki” tho.

        Highway
        Reply

    4. …a close up of Midori’s chest and Mochizou’s crotch during the argument…

      I noticed that too. The animators understand the concept of energy (chi) differences
      between male and female, and flipped the energy roles for effect. And it worked quite well.
      If you didn’t adjust yourself in you seat while watching that scene, you weren’t watching it.

      I like looking for these very subtle things in Anime. They happen way too often to be casual,
      and a good series has many which help drive the points of the underlying story. For the most
      part, this is (one of the reasons) why American “cartoons” appear so flat, no matter how good
      the story is they are based on, IMHO.

      This series has a lot of attention to detail like that – the artwork always seems crisp to me.

      I think this series has plateaued, but not in a negative sense. Maybe Dera will find a bride
      for his Prince, but I can’t see anything more happening than a slice-of-life romantic comedy
      (albeit nicely done) with some yuri vibes tossed in for interest. I mean, Dera hasn’t done
      anything exceptional other than talk and his character growth has largely been physical :).

      mac65
      Reply

  32. Oh Mochizou, you’re SO easy to read. XD

    If there’s anyone that can make a male tsundere look absolutely cute in his tsun-denial modes, Kyo-Ani is one of them.

    And concerning fanservices, Kyo-Ani rarely does fanservice, or rather, they’ve not done blatant eyecandy fanservice of the ecchi-sort, not since Haruhi anyway. Their fanservice is more towards the heart of the audience, triggering their heartstrings with precision and making them go “HNNG” or “Moe~!” or whatever (while regrettably that is exactly what their haters hate about them).

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  36. Lesson learned from this episode? Kanna is awesome *u*

    Subtle camera shot there when Dera was offering his (sage?) advice, focusing on the last part of the poster (on Paris(?) Love Story)
    Ha! and speaking of Dera, I’m sure his dance probably does have women swooning.. from lack of breath from laughing so hard XD
    Poor bird just couldn’t catch a break as usual.

    To Mochizou & Midori – hang in there. Tamako’s so dense I do believe she’d be able to give a Neutron Star a run for it’s money ^^;

    It was a nice little episode, one which the Yuri fan in me applauded. Sail that Yuri ship, sail! X3

    Digid
    Reply

  37. I think a Thai Movie called “Best friend”( not sure) it’s a story of a tsundere MC(highschooler) who is in love with his Osanajimi(school idol) and try to act cool by forming a band (just like in manga) but his Osa has been seduced by a Tomboyish yuri girl who is his Osa best friend , he feels sad and want to dissolve the Band but his friend who is Yaoi kiss him … just kindding his friend punches him and they rise up selling many CD , many years later at school reunion , his band is invited to perform at his school , MC learns that his Osanajimi who get into different university is engage and will get married with an unknow(at least to him)man and he got invite then she see that Tomboyish girl who is now a normal megane cute and super beautiful , she comes to apologize to act so childish and stole Osa away, he realize in the end that at that time he wasn’t pay attention at his osa at all but he just want to be friend with Tomboy chan , after that they meet up at dunguin Donut and eat cake lol Tomboy girl is cute too well I like cool girl myself!

    pokpok
    Reply

    1. Leaving aside the ambiguous or indefinite yuri signals, we could think of this episode that Midori does not want her beloved confesses to her friend.
      What greater problem than being in love with a guy who loves her friend.
      In the matter of not being honest with their feelings and deny them, they are two of a kind.
      I can only say that Dera is great lol XD

      Shadow74
      Reply

  45. I was totally ready to start hating Midori because of the cockblocks and the childish behaviour she was dishing out to Mochizou, but then they attempt to redeem her from being the annoying clingy type to the “i feel u bro” type and it works for me at least.

    As hard as it is to confess, once you actually do it, the hard part is over and whether you’re rejected or accepted, the one thing that is 100% sure is that you’ll be able to move on……eventually lol.

    Magoiichi
    Reply

  48. I don’t think that Mochizu realized Midori’s feelings, I think the line when she said to him that if he were to confess to her, he has to do it himself, not use other messengers to do so, it isn’t right for Tamako, that he realized that he can’t confess to Tamako unless he has the courage to do so, and because he is uncertain if Tamako actually likes him, that he’s not courageous enough to confess to her, the thought didn’t even cross his mind, he wanted to ask her out (maybe he’s dense enough that he didn’t consider that that was actually a confession in its own way perhaps.)

    I wonder though, are the writers playing with our heads? I think Midori’s love for Tamako isn’t that of actual love, but rather a deep love for a friend that you have, I don’t know if its in reality the same as anime, but us girls we, we really love our friends and closest girlfriends that we would like to ‘not let anyone else’ have them (I’m rather emotionless so I’m out of that picture TuT’) but that is what I’m starting to think, is Midori worried for her friend? Is she confusing her love, or does she love her? I DON’T know, though its still obvious that she does ‘love’ Tamako XD…. so I’m being stupid anyway.

    Regardless, when Tamako told her she ‘loves’ Midori, so easily of course, without any worry, that you know for certain that Tamako is too dense, and her description of Mochizu versus ‘I love you’ note is more than enough to Midori to know that Tamako loves her and she doesn’t need to worry about it.

    I just felt Midori was contradicting, telling Mochizu to ‘not do it though someone else’ while she was actually acting like a ‘villian’ to Mochizu, don’t play dirty, don’t use someone else! It was solved in the end, when she accepted a healthy competition I guess.

    I love this anime, puts a smile on my face 🙂 Especially Dera, always preaching to his prince without doing nothing XD…..

    Thanks for your review! I know I write alot and my views are dumb, but well, I don’t know how to shut up sometimes! Cheers xx….!!!!!!

    ColonelMiiM
    Reply

  49. I thought Midori liked Mochizou the whole time though…
    ‘Cause she had that episode in the beginning
    And then she looked back at him after not letting him come swimming
    And then trying to stop him from confessing to Tamako (to get rid of the competition???)
    But she cares for her friends so she said he could do whatever?

    IDK

    aoi
    Reply

  51. I really don’t think Mochizou normally acts as flustered with Tamako as he does in this ep. He even teases Tamako a bit when she’s yelling slogans to sell mochi, and it’s clear they were close when they were younger (and when he wasn’t so self-conscious). He’s obviously helped her with swimming in the past, and he’s familiar with the potential downsides to her general airheadedness–even though I’m sure he finds it more endearing than anything else. The Mochizou we saw filming the commercial strikes me as more his “normal” self. As Dera puts it, his heart is boiling over from the season, and he’s a bit overwhelmed.

    While I normally dislike indecisive male characters in anime, I’ll cut Mochizou some slack here. It seems fairly certain his confession would probably go nowhere at this point; Tamako would probably be mystified by it. I don’t think it would really cause any sort of serious problem, precisely because she’d be too oblivious to be embarrassed; it wouldn’t be like a rejection, and they would still be friends, but it would be a lot of unnecessary awkwardness (mostly for him). Conceding defeat to Midori so easily is harder to excuse, but the reality is she has the advantage of being one of Tamako’s female friends, making their regular interaction less socially awkward (however one wants to interpret the real meaning of Midori’s feelings).

    This series obviously wants to avoid real romantic conflict, and the open ending with Midori and Mochizou coming to an understanding with each other, but maintaining the status quo with Tamako seemed to strike the right tone. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how the series ends, but I do want to see another episode where we see Mochizou as less a lovestruck and shy teenage boy, but someone with dreams and goals of his own. The ear-ring is an interesting touch to the character design, and during the commercial filming we saw a creative side to him, so I’m pretty sure KyoAni will make sure to flesh his character out more than what we saw here. It’d be a shame otherwise.

    Aquifina
    Reply

  53. …So am I the only one to notice that Tamako-chan’s the only one that’s wore a school swimsuit in the public pool?
    (still, they look a lot better than the one you’d see in a “typical” high school anime…)

    info600
    Reply

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