larson.mckenna - 2016-07-11 08:11:22

My first review.. Be gentle!

So I decided to write a review on Tamako Love Story just to gather my thoughts all together. A lot of things are running through my mind and I have decided to just talk about them here. There will be spoilers here of atleast Tamako Market, the series you'll need to watch before this movie so tread carefully. If you want to know if this film is worth watching, the overall section is spoiler free.  And lastly before my review, please note this is more for me to just express everything I felt when watching the movie and not necessarily a professional or proper review of the movie.

Story: 9/10 Simple but masterful

I guess this is what I considered the weakest part of it. The plot of Love Story is pretty simple but it is done really well. Mochizou wants to finally confess his life long crush. The twist here is that it's not the regular "confess at the end, kiss and close curtains", Mochizou's confession is in the middle of the story and the rest of the plot deals with Tamako's feelings towards it and how she responds. Pacing is done pretty well in Tamako Love Story. A minor gripe I had with it is that there is some fluff involved that could be cut down a bit, or the other answer would be to give the movie a slightly longer run time to flesh out some characters more. (more on that in the characters section)  Although the general plot is generic, the folks over at KyoAni know how to set an example for simples and generic that others will surely copy.

Animation: 10/10 KyoAni at its finest

Not too much to say about the animation. KyoAni show why they're one of the top studios out there in terms of animation with the beautiful aesthetics of Tamako Love Story. Even though the jump from Market to Love Story might not that big, KyoAni does a lot of smaller stuff that really highlights the moments of the show. In Market, we get close up shots and generally less of the environment. Love Story gives more scenic and beautiful shots of the environment at hand and the emotion can just be felt by the animation alone; from the bright, vibrant colors of Usagiyama shopping district to the the softer sunsets and night times, KyoAni really fleshed out the world from stills only. Whats lacking in movement is more than made up for with camera angles and beautiful lighting. 

Sound: 9.5/10 

The voice acting was on point, characters display their emotion heavily through their voices in Tamako Love Story and the voice actors killed it. My favorites through out were Tamako, Midori and Mochizou all of whom you could tell their general mood and emotions throughout the movie based off the voice. The OST in Tamako Love Story did its job to complement scenes that would have otherwise felt dead. The music doesn't overpower scenes and it's turned off for the serious moments, meant to feel like real life. The main attraction of course is the love song Mamedai (Tamako's dad) wrote for his wife, Koi no Uta. Tamako listens to it throughout the movie, loving the song as its a memory of her mother. The usage of this song potrays love and it shines differently for Tamako depending on her point of view. 

Characters 10/10 The best part of the film

Like most slice of life, Tamako Market is really carried by the characters and their interactions more than anything else. In Love Story, they shine brightest. The most noticeable change in the film is the deuteragonistness (this is probably not a word..) of Mochizou as the film's meat comes from his actions. I wont go too much into detail about that due to its importance to the film. Even the small characters who you would think do not have much of a place for this film and its direction, really fit in well. The comic relief of the other shopkeepers at the Usagiyama market fit in well to keep the mood at a constant for when its needed. These characters keep it down to earth and give off the feel of family that is so heavily used for Tamako Market.

Overall: 10/10 Absolutely recommend to all 

I'll keep this part brief and spoiler free. Its hard to find flaws in Tamako Love Story, it tells a beautiful story through stunning visuals, great soundtrack and some of the best characters in slice of life anime. Love Story is the reason most people watch Tamako Market and for good reason, as without Love Story, Tamako Market is just another enjoyable slice of life. 

Hey if you got this far, thanks for reading! This is my first review and I kind of just typed out things I thought and I didn't have a general direction. If you have suggestions tell me! I would love to do more reviews, they're really fun.

johnson.leann - 2015-06-08 18:22:24

(Adapted from my MAL review)

"Everyone loves somebody."

Has there been anyone you loved? If you had to tell that person that you will soon leave them, did you confess them on a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing? I have been looking forward to Tamako Love Story for the longest time. Not only did I really love Tamako Market for its cuteness and the fact that it was produced by KyoAni, I also wanted to hear Mochizou finally confess his love for Tamako. I won't give away any spoilers (other than that previous sentence, if it really counts as a spoiler), but I can really say that I truly enjoyed Tamako Love Story.

For those of you that don't know what Tamako Market, the prequel for this masterpiece, is, it's an anime that premiered in January 2013 that centers around a girl named Tamako Kitashirakawa. She is actually the daughter of a mochi shop owner, and every day in her life is pretty much filled with sunny happiness. One day, she meets a talking bird named Dela Mochimazzui. Dela has claimed to have come from a far away land in search of a bride for his prince.

Wait. Dela has already left the shopping district at this point. Let's move beyond that. Anyway, Tamako has a childhood friend, Mochizou Ooji, whose family runs a rival mochi shop. Throughout the course of the series, Mochizou has been in love with Tamako but is unable to say it. I have always been rooting for Mochizou, and even though Tamako Market wasn't able to satisfy me, Tamako Love Story, being a movie centering around romance (hence the title), did.

Okay, let's get onto the real review. I have always loved KyoAni's art and animation, so that was a big plus. There is also outstanding character development in Tamako Love Story, especially for Tamako and Mochizou. The story in the movie is also one that makes you anxious for what will happen next. As in Tamako Market, the voice actors did a great job with their roles in this movie. The ED song, "Principle", was well-performed and well-sung by Aya Suzaki. The other ED song, Tamako's version of "Koi no Uta", was also great, but of course, so was the original version by Tamako's father!

Overall, Tamako Love Story was a very satisfying and highly enjoyable movie. I recommend it to anyone who has watched Tamako Market, especially to those who desperately wants to see some romance between Tamako and Mochizou. I couldn't praise this movie enough, as it is, without a doubt, the most satisfying and probably best anime movie - no, overall movie - that I've seen this year.

murray.rico - 2015-04-30 07:01:31

I feel like I have to make a review for this. And this will also be my first one.

Tamako love story is just like a mainstream romance/slice of life anime at first glance. I enjoyed watching it, but there's something that made me love this more than any other romance/slice of life anime, its realistic and simple story.

Story - 10

This is suppose to be the sequel of tamako market and the development of both male and female protagonists. But I can say that this sequel doesn't need a prequel, it can stand alone by itself. The story is so simple yet you feel the enjoyment throughout the film and you can share the same emotions as the characters are making.

Art - 9

KyoAni's art is expectedly moe-ish but that moe-ish art makes the characters emotions a little closer to realistic. And at the same time, its cute.

Sound - 9

The sound sticks to a romance genre anime, soft, gentle, and gives off emotions. I really enjoyed the song [koi no uta] It gets right into my heart (dam*).

Character - 9 

The flow of all the main characters development is perfect, I've learned a lot in terms of love (romance genre, duh). That's all.

Enjoyment - 10

The enjoyment I felt is not something out of ordinary, I don't know if I'm crazy or not, because I'm smiling from the start until the end of the film. I might go to a hospital one of these days.

Overall - 10

This film is a must watch for romance lovers, of course you need to watch Tamako market before this, ignore the stand alone blah blah in the story part of my review. Because by watching the prequel, you will get to know the characters more and their everyday lives. And you can feel their love by watching the sequel. (Copied from my MAL account)

hackett.william - 2015-01-18 05:53:51

One of the biggest flaws that I believed Tamako Market was self-inflicted to themselves, and that flaw was the lack of the romantic advancement of Mochizou's affection towards Tamako. Personally, I watched the whole series of Tamako Market hoping for that relationship to blossom into something. Unfortunately, I was left feeling a bit disappointed.

Luckily, Tamako Love Story has come to revitalize my opinions with this movie which all about, you probably guessed it, the romantic plot of Tamako x Mochizou. I don't really want to comment any more on the story because saying anymore might spoil things, but I will say that if you liked Tamako Market, you will like this. If you were not the biggest fan of Tamako Market, but like some decent romance, try watching this. If you are someone who is in the neither category I would pass.

coty15 - 2014-10-21 05:43:48

Tamako Love Story is the movie that comes after Tamako Market the series basically showing everything that happens after Tamako Market. The show is basically the struggle of Mochizō's love for Tamako throughout the movie you see a lot of the obvious signs as in the series but as always Tamako doesn't see it due to her head always being in the clouds. This series and movie are just incredible a must watch and on the top of my favorite anime series and movies of all time. If you haven't checked this series out you are missing out on an incredible series and movie, throughout the whole thing your emotions run wild. The artwork in the anime is so good for the style, the characters are to fall in love for, and the overall story is fantastic!

tremaine.west - 2014-10-14 15:19:25

Everybody Loves Somebody
Story:
Let's get this out of the way first. The story is nothing extraordinary. A really simple and rather predictable plot. Mochizou is leaving town to study and wants to convey his feelings to Tamako before it's too late. But the magic comes on how KyoAni portrays it. Very important is the tone change compared to the original series. This isn't comedy, it's a Love Story.

Animation:
If you watched the series (and you should!), the style remains the same. It's pretty consistent, altought some scenes do stand out beautifully. I won't spoil it for ya ;)

Sound:
A personal favorite. This song, previously shown on Episode 9 of the series, returns and has heavy importance on the plot.

The OST is nice but nothing stands out.

Characters:
Tamako and Mochizou receive much needed character development, but in contrast, everyone else was left in the background, with only Midori taking a semi-active role. The rest are essentially extras. This could have been fleshed out better.

Dera althought only makes a very short appearance remains as the comic relief of the show.

Enjoyment:
A nice wrap up of the series, but for fans only.
Kyoani doesn't dissapoint but others might be put off by it's simplicity.

What are you waiting for? Go watch it!