Not sure if this is an actual series or just an animated version of Pokemon Snap
Tamayura is a strange beast. Created by the studio that made Dokuro-chan, which in anime is essentially a Salvador Dali painting in the midst of French Impressionist landscapes, Tamayura also follows the more shoujo-oriented path that Hal Film Maker studios has been walking for quite some time. Although I did say that this would be the Hanasaku Iroha successor, I now have doubts about whether it can live up to its name.
The graphics are plain and nicely lined, but still with lots of cute characters (especially the little kids that run around all the time in this slice-of-life series). Nothing too clean and modern, but it's essentially a more realistic rendition of the style Yuruyuri used last season. Again, this still provides some decent eyecandy.
Ayana Taketatsu (of Nakano Azusa fame) voicing a girl that had twin tails as an elementary school student? Yes please.
The sound is ok - the ED is unnoticeable and the OP is the stereotypical uplifting song. Yes, it's fuzzy and nice, but the gripe I have with it is that it simply doesn't stand out for this type of song - and the songs from these soft, delicate styles are the ones that need to stand out the most. The OP doesn't have the cozy, insular comfort that, say, the Amagami SS OP 1 provides, nor does it have the brightness and energy that the Hanasaku Iroha OPs have. In this way I'd say that while not bad, this series' OST is also quite unsatisfactory.
Then we come to the splendid lack of plot. I feel that Tamayura is going very awry. The basic premise is, in essence, this:
1) Kid comes with trauma and distress and queer hobby (picture-taking)
2) She gets healed by some random incident (getting to see all the photos her dad took)
3) She becomes normal and has bunches of character-developing activities with her friends.
Well, you say. That's exactly what's going on right now. The friends are playing with each other and it's a normal slice-of-life. What's wrong with it?
That's exactly what's wrong with it.
I CHALLENGE YOU TO A D-D-D-D-DUELLLLLLLLLL
The premise that makes this series not entirely mediocre trash is the fact that the main girl (Fu Sawatari, now referred to as Fu) takes pictures and enjoys everyday life. She develops every day along with her friends. So where exactly is she every episode? As a side-character. I mean, yes, the individual cast developments are excellent and I think they'll help, but Tamayura needs to find a way to include it in a less obtrusive manner. That is, they need to focus on what drew people into this series in the first place: THE HOBBY OF THE MAIN GIRL. For how many minutes do they really focus on the photography per episode? Maybe....2 minutes? I mean yes, it can get boring just looking at a girl taking photos every day, but that's the series' job to spin it so it becomes fun. What's the point of having a creative premise and not using it?
In the end, this series becomes just another show to satisfy my need for a quiet, very slice-of-life focused 20 minutes of my life. With regards to this season, Tamayura firmly plants itself in the middle of the pack. Take a peek if you have time, especially if you prefer a slower pace.
Now something like THIS is better at tugging those old heartstrings...may I have s'more, please?
No comments:
Post a Comment