Happy Valentine’s Day! If you’re looking for something to watch today, I’d suggest Tamako Market’s second episode, “The Love-in-Bloom Valentine’s.” Below is a blurb from VRV/HiDive.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
Tamako Market is one of my absolute favorite animes of all time. It’s a slice-of-life, with humor, friendship, family, a touch of romance, and did I mention a talking bird named Dera?! I watched the subtitled version first, but enjoyed the dubbed version with my family later. They did a great job selecting the English cast, especially Dera, who sounds very fancy (which suits his personality). Kyoto Animation did a wonderful job. This series is heart-warming, wholesome, peaceful, amusing, and relaxing.
In this episode, Tamako and her father butt heads regarding the way their shop should celebrate Valentine’s Day. Tamako believes their mochi shop would have a sales boost if they incorporated Valentine’s Day themed menu options. Even her grandfather seems in the spirit, despite his son’s reservations.
Of course while making breakfast for her family, Tamako doesn’t want to let the heart mochi go to waste!
As Tamako discusses her idea for their mochi shop, Dera is perplexed hearing about “Valentine’s Day.” It is an unknown concept to him. But he learns from television how they celebrate in Japan.
Some of the girls at school discuss buying chocolate, or making it at home. When Tamako’s friend Kanna draws up plans to design a house of chocolate, her friends support her endeavor. Plus we get to see her finished results at the end of the episode! I want to know who was the recipient of that giant chocolate house?! Did she share with the entire class?!
This episode is great for Valentine’s, because it celebrates family, friendship, and romance. While we’re surrounded by love in various forms, it may not be a great day for everyone. There is character growth, as they learn to be open minded, and allow themselves to be vulnerable in showing their feelings to others. It shows how we can support each other as friends. And that it’s okay to like who you like.
Tamako and Mochizou used their cup phone to discuss their plan to liven up the shopping arcade. Later, at the meeting with all the shop owners, Mochizou had the idea for a commercial. He worked really hard on the commercial with Tamako, their friends, and the shop owners, to showcase their Valentine marketing and sales.
After Mochizou flicked Dera off the phone line, he’s flying for his life!
Do cup phones really work?! I mean, if there isn’t a bird sitting on the string.
After seeing how hard Tamako worked with her friends, and the other shop owners, her Dad has a change of heart.
Because this episode discusses various aspects of love, I think this is a great show to watch if you’re looking for something for Valentine’s Day!
LOL so dramatic Dera! Especially for a bird who didn’t know what Valentine’s Day was, thirty minutes ago.
I stumbled upon Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up / Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera on VRV/Crunchyroll. I was intrigued so I watched the first episode. It is so cheesy, but it was worth a few chuckles. In the first episode, Harumi is trying to help her friends. They snuck into school for toilet paper (???) but ran across a spirit of ill intent. Harumi is frightened, and almost drowns in the school pool, but is saved by a kappa named Kappavier.
We completely understand. In 2020, toilet paper was very elusive. But that does not excuse stealing it from school!
Kappavier brings Harumi to meet his friends, after assuring her he would not steal her face. At the Helliday Inn, she meets a band of demon hunters, led by Prince Enma. They bring evil spirits to justice. Her friends need their help!
The demon hunters have a plan, sort of. But they need a decoy. Kappavier explains why he can’t volunteer.
That must be kappa lingo, because I have no idea what that means.
Prince Enma and the team save Harumi’s friends and defeat the evil demon. However the fight includes scenes reminiscent of middle school humor. I may watch an episode or two between other shows. But if you’re into slightly inappropriate humor, and supernatural beings, you may want to give it a chance.
I am loving the anime Horimiya. It’s the epitome of what a romance anime should be! It doesn’t have that awkwardness that many in this genre have, it has a good pace, great humor, and the characters are relatable. I’m sure the manga readers and webcomic fans already know about the Horimiya OVAs, but I just found out about them. They were created before the anime. And what a delight they are! Some of the scenes we’ve seen in the anime already, and other parts we might get to see soon. There are some differences between the OVAs and the anime currently airing.
In the first OVA, we have meaningful moments like the ones below:
Hori, and Shindou (who we meet later), are confident and self-assured. They approach Miyamura with a sincerity that he isn’t used to. They don’t care what others think, and befriend whomever they feel drawn towards. And Tooru, while slower to warm up, has embraced Miyamura as a friend too. The judgements, critiques, gossip, and negative behavior of others can have detrimental effects on the recipient. Thankfully Miyamura is open to making friends and building relationships.
I appreciated Miyamura, acknowledging his inner child/past self, that was hurt and isolated. How many moments growing up, and even as an adult, do we feel stuck in a bad moment, or life circumstance, and a positive solution seems elusive. Having that feeling of “it’s going to be okay” and better days are around the corner, and that we’re not alone, can help us bridge that gap. From a feeling of hopelessness, turmoil, to hopefully arriving at a place of peace. Acknowledging that inner child is important. Doing so, in my opinion, h,elps us appreciate our growth, and the challenge we worked through. If we have any associated behaviors that may no longer be helpful to us, or self-sabotaging or harmful tendencies, we can be aware of them, acknowledge them, and address those issues. Behaviors may be good or bad for us, depending on the intention, and what it brings to our life (example: a form of self-expression versus seeking physical pain as an unhealthy coping mechanism). There are many layers to why life experiences affect our behavior, and the ways we handle life’s curveballs. But it’s good to be aware of what’s helpful to us now, and what behaviors we may want to change, or release.
AnimeRude Tuber on YouTube shared the OVAs below, if you’re interested in watching. There may be a spoiler or two, if you haven’t read the source material.
OVA 1
OVA 2 has cute scenes, like the part with the sidewalk.
And Hori’s brother, Souta, loves Miyamura so much that he wants him to move in already!
But it also had moments that were frustrating. I have not read the source material, so I’m not sure which depiction is accurate. But the scenes with the student council in the anime annoyed me, but the way it was portrayed in the OVA infuriated me. I used to participate in student council, I know it has merit. What frustrated me, is seeing how diligent, reliable, responsible, and hard-working Hori is, and how others get a free pass. I like to think I’m as hard-working as Hori, so the scene that unfolded with Remi was familiar. The application of different rules and different expectations for people in similar roles of responsibility, is an unfortunate reality. Hori is responsible in her school life, and at home caring for Souta, that taking on additional duties so Remi can slack off seems incredibly unfair.
But as frustrated as I was for the situation that unfolded, ultimately the power lies with Hori. I like to be helpful to others and I tend to be a workaholic. So I get where Hori’s coming from. I’m also learning to have balance in life. Hori could’ve established boundaries to prevent the student council from dumping their work on her. As illustrated below, Hori had a chance to reclaim her time and force them to handle their own workload and “the mascot’s” errors.
The second OVA is below. I like that Miyamura is in tune with Hori and noticed her anxiety planning for her future and was supportive. And of course the way he handled the student council and their misdeeds! Not that violence is the answer.
It seems President Sengoku had some dirt on Hori. So I’m sure she regrets her past behavior and the way she treated him.
OVA 2
Below is OVA 3. The way they translated the scene with the drinks makes more sense, than the way it was translated in the anime on Hulu. I cannot bear to watch scary movies, so I can relate to Miyamura’s feelings. We got to see a jealous Hori! I hope she appreciates that Tooru has extra supplies she can use.
We also meet Shindou and I love how he describes Hori as self-assured. What does that look like? Is it how one carries themselves? Their posture? What they wear? Eye contact? Body language? All of the above? The energy they radiate? I agree with Shindou’s description of Hori, she carries herself with confidence, and is sincere in her interactions with others.
OVA 3
OVA 4 kicks off with Hori being less than truthful about her favorite genre of movie.
In this way, Hori reminds me of Yukino Miyazawa from His and Her Circumstances/Kare Kano. When it comes to integrity and character, Hori is the same person. But she acts embarrassed over trivial things, that I wouldn’t think requires her to feel ashamed, or that she has to hide it. Not wearing makeup at home, watching horror films, and beating five guys at arm wrestling doesn’t sound embarrassing to me (although as mentioned earlier, I have no tolerance for scary horror films, my reaction would be similar to Miyamura’s!).
Perhaps someone who has read the manga or webcomic can explain, but why is Miyamura so harsh towards Shindou? He genuinely cares for Miyamura and befriended him when others wouldn’t, yet Miyamura has a short temper with him. In the middle of the street, Shindou gets punched and yelled at to stop wondering the streets year round, and to go back to online shopping! I am curious about this girl Miyamura used to like! Was she similar to Hori? It seems Shindou’s title of Best Friend may be self-declared.
We also got to meet the fellow below! Well kind of.
This episode had heart warming moments, and more of Jealous Hori. Sengoku was having flashbacks of Hori when she used to be a bully, and did not have any comforting words for Miyamura.
Hopefully as the series progresses, Hori learns to work through her anger and jealous tendencies. I am forever grateful for the person I had in my life, who helped me grow past my emotional outbursts. I used to have knee jerk reactions to everything. Perhaps it’s having Aries as my sun sign. Ultimately I learned that emotion can cloud the message you want to convey, and in relationships clear communication is paramount. Not only in romantic relationships, but all relationships. Connections with our family, friends, co-workers, and others, benefit from each of us being able to express ourselves clearly. Meditation, Reiki, and being present, has helped me tremendously. Sometimes just getting fresh air for five minutes helps. Every day is another chance for us to try again at communicating clearly, and appreciating the positive relationships in our lives.
OVA 4
I’ll continue watching the anime currently airing, but I did enjoy watching all of the OVAs! I’m thankful they were posted on YouTube otherwise I wouldn’t have run across them when I did.
Empath Meets Anime 
You must be logged in to post a comment.