I didn’t check out the second episode of Tamayura immediately, because I wasn’t really that motivated after its disappointing first episode. Still, on Firechick’s recommendations I did end up giving it a whirl, and I’m glad I did: Tamayura’s second episode is much better than its first. This OVA really redeems itself here.
To me, a good slice of life series is one who fleshes out its characters well. A great one actually manages to use them well. I realize that this OVA still remains in the shadow of Windy Tales, but this episode really was more than just a bunch of random girls talking. Despite being slice of life, it tried to put a lot into just 20 minutes, and instead of animating a bunch of random events, it instead explored the lead characters’ passion for photography, showing how she’s always trying to get a good shot, how things relate to her past, along with the person she looks up to. Oh, and THANK GOD the whistle girl actually knows how to speak.
I still have a bit of a problem with the way in which cats are portrayed as moe blobs, though. I’m not sure, but my guess is that Azumanga Daioh once started simplifying these cats (or at least popularized it), and ever since it seems like everyone and his dog has been drawing these cats in blob-like ways, making them much less interesting than real cats. On top of that, the characters still rely a bit too much on their quirks at times, but the dialogue was well written for once, and really makes up for this.
OVA Episode Rating: 8/10
Yay! You mentioned me in the post! Yes! And I don’t really think Momoneko-sama’s gonna be the focus of the show so I don’t think he’ll be a really big problem (even though I still think he’s so durned cute!). And to be honest, Maon actually DID speak in the first episode, albeit VERY briefly and easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention. And yes, I also dearly loved this episode too! Mainly because of…
1. Kou getting more screentime (yes! He ACTUALLY sounds better than he did in the first episode!)
2. Fuu’s awesomeness and cuteness.
3. Shihomi-san’s kawaii reaction to Fuu.
4. The morals behind that blue ticket.
5. Maon-chan! I wanna cuddle her and Fuu and Kou!
I enjoyed this show. I’m glad I forgot to check it out until episode two appeared, because I agree that it was more effective than the first episode.
I liked the whole idea of the camera. It reminds me of Alpha’s camera in YKK, and anything that reminds me of YKK is a good thing.