Tamayura: Hitotose

There's a few different types of anime. There's anime that's written to excite, and there's also animes that bring out laughter. And then, there's animes like Aria the Animation (and it's sequels) and Tamayura: Hitotose, where there is only one purpose behind it - to make the viewer smile, and to bring joy to their hearts. I suppose Tamayura, is an anime that you could call heartwarming, and there's no doubt that that's quite the fitting descriptor. Because it really, really is quite heartwarming indeed. Watching Tamayura, brought me so much joy and warmth that no shounen or seinen anime has ever brought me. Ican’t even begin to describe the warmth that Tamayura poured into me through it’s telling of the stories of a group of friends. That being said, because Tamayura really is, when you boil it down, a slice-of-life anime, it really isn’t for everybody. If you like your anime girls clad in armor wielding legendary swords and fighting epic assassins and overthrowing evil families, Tamayura is probably not for you. If you like animes where every single episode is a cliffhanger, and you’re absolutely dying to see what happens to the kid ninja next, this anime’s probably not for you. But, if you like to enjoy the stories of the lives of four high school girls, and like to enjoy an anime where you can relax and plaster all your worries away, then absolutely watch this anime. Because realistically, that’s all Tamayura was meant for. It wasn’t meant to be a massive blockbuster in the anime world, it wasn’t meant to be an adaptation of some famous manga, no, not at all. In fact, I’m pretty sure (no, I’m absolutely sure) that Tamayura: Hitotose, was written for the sole purpose of helping people find good in life. It seems like the entire anime as a whole, constantly aims to show people the positive sides of life, and fill their hearts with warmth as they display possibly the most positive of emotions only to be bested by the final season of Aria. In that sense, there really is no plot - there is no suspense, no rising action, no climax, no finale, there really is only daily life, a daily life that’s filled with the joy and happiness of four high school girls. In fact, the development of said girls, is probably the greatest achievement if Tamayura: Hitotose. The wonderfully told story of Fuu and her friends, as well as her photographic past, was not only heartwarming, but extremely motivating. Actually, I’m sure that's exactly what Junichi Sato aimed to create - an anime that fills people with joy, hope, and motivation, just like his previous creations, namely Aria the Animation and it’s sequels. Of course, having watched both, it was pretty easy to draw parallels in style. Both animes, have this incredibly peaceful feel that nothing else can replicate. It seems like I could just wash my worries away and immerse myself in the world of Fuu and her friends forever, and remove all the weight off my shoulders. Unfortunately though, since I watched Aria, I can also see why Tamayura is not as good as Aria. The reason why I brought Aria up, even knowing that reviews should not include other animes, is because it proves my point very well. The place that's “lacking” per se, in Tamayura, is it’s setting. Obviously, a quiet town definitely fits Tamayura very well, but the problem with this is, is that it narrows the audience, as it makes the anime “less interesting” for a certain demographic. But, this goes both ways. Personally, I wouldn’t have changed a thing - while the setting may have been monotonous, and slightly boring, I found that not only did it fit the anime quite well, the way it was described painted a very peaceful and quiet atmosphere, something perfect for Tamayura. On the other hand, having such a normal setting means that the anime has to rely on it’s other aspects to make it interesting - and daily life like the one seen in Tamayura, isn’t always the best medium of choice when trying to create a great anime. Of course, if I had to name one thing every decent anime needs, is great animation. And Tamayura has good animation. Although not as artsy and incredible as Aria, Tamayura has that modern, smooth, and flowing animation that also comes off as quite peaceful. Of course, like the setting, it’s also quite normal. Which personally, I liked. The same goes for this series - I quite enjoyed it. It filled me with a soft, warm happiness that no other anime, save for Aria, gave me. To me, it was the anime that I would sit down and truthfully enjoy, no matter what happened to me that day, Tamayura would still have made me smile. And it did, quite often. So, thank you, Junichi Sato, for putting a smile on my face. Thank you, for an anime that gave me a warm happiness that seems to be easily forgotten in this fast-paced, action-packed world. I’ll definitely look forward to Tamayura: More Aggressive.

In Kino's Journey, it is said that the world is not beautiful, which is actually said to be a reason why the world can, in fact, be considered beautiful. Tamayura is a stunningly emotional tale of a girl finding beauty in what had been the source of her sorrow before: photography. Reminded by the loss of her father, she distances herself from his former favorite activity and struggles to cope with the situation she was suddenly forced into. Tamayura sets off when she finally succeeded in accepting reality and regaining her vitality, which allows her to dive into the memories she has been keeping buried foryears. By deciding to pick up photography by herself, she enters a journey to discovering the background of her late father's passion towards making photographs to understand more about him and the emotional value of keeping mementos. This short synopsis already brings me close to tears. The premise sounds perfect for a highly emotional ride, but what you get was, unfortunately, not elaborated in detail. Tamayura is a 'high slice of life' series, meaning it is almost episodic and doesn't follow a decent story. In contrast to Aria, Tamayura lacks a firmly set goal, and the episodes just float by, so to speak, which is ultimately the reason there is much unused potential in terms of storytelling. Impressively enough that Tamayura excels in 'floating by', creating a wonderfully soothing and peaceful atmosphere that is well known from the Aria franchise. Instead of integrating plot elements with high depth that encourage the viewer to think and reflect, this show focuses on depicting peacefulness and harmony with every detail it comes with. In the same manner, emotional, mostly beautiful scenes just 'float by' and add some intensity to the entire thing, which is otherwise defined by more or less random slice of life plotlets. Although the synopsis literally cries out for character development, only traces of it can be found in Tamayura. The character development can be summarized as the process of bonding with friends and becoming more mentally stable throughout the show while discovering happiness. And this applies to all the main characters there are, namely the heroine Fuu and her close friends. It totally makes sense, in my opinion, that an atmosphere-oriented show rarely offers in-depth characters, and I don't consider this a weakness of Tamayura at all. That, what is important in this case, is the credibility of the characters' personalities, which is absolutely present in this show. Both the main characters as well the side characters provide a very consistent personality with authentic attitudes. This luckily outshines the sometimes rather clichéd dialogues. Those who know Aria are well aware of how much the soundtrack contributes to the peaceful atmosphere that was aimed for with Tamayura as well. The background music turned out as beautiful as the atmosphere created by the characters, thus implying a high fit between the content and the technical dimension. The opening song by Maaya Sakamoto is an excellent addition to that and gets the viewer in the right mood for what is to follow. A noticeable disappointment, however, is the considerable amount of unused potential regarding sceneries and landscapes. A show that focuses on beauty (esp. in nature) would be wise to emphasize this aspect by delivering more impressive images/drawings to enhance the emotional impact. Aria did this masterfully, but that was primarily thanks to a more creative sci-fi setting. Once again, the director of the Aria franchise has shown his qualities in creating an immersive experience that is defined by shallowness, peacefulness, harmony, and beauty. It absolutely meets my taste, although I would have wished for a decent storyline adding to Tamayura's density of emotional substance. If you are the type for hardly demanding and calming anime, Tamayura can be highly recommended. Rating: 8.13/10 (A quantified evaluation can be found on my page.)

Sure, I have enjoyed and laughed during a lot of other series much more so than Tamayura: Hitotose but I've never felt compelled to write a review for any other anime. Tamayura: Hitotose is best described as "special" it was so heartwarming and pleasant without being sappy or abnormally tragic. The feelings and emotions were so relateable, even for someone much older than the characters themselves. The story progressed at a nice pace, the soundtrack matched well, and I loved the art. Each character was distinct and memorable in their own right, I changed favorites every week! Also, I want to live in thattown! It seems like such a wonderful place and the art captured the natural beauty so well, I want to see it in person. Now that I have watched the anime I definitely have to read the manga.I'm really impressed with this anime overall and it is one of the best representations of the "slice of life" genre I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

Even though I began to watch a few anime since 5 or 6, but I only began to watch a lot of anime in 2011. I thought that most anime were mainly focusing on action and violence, but then...I saw a trailer on a video about Tamayura: Hitotose. I was really curious, since I see no violence or anything in the trailer, then I realized that there are more anime genres than I thought. Tamayura: Hitotose is actually the very first slice of life anime I've ever watched. I was really glad that I watched it. I never have realized, that even a slow-paced animelike this one, can be so well-executed. ----Story---- The story is really simple, easy to understand and has no complexity. It's mainly about a girl named Fu Sawatari, who likes photography and likes to spend her time with her best friends - Kaoru, Norie and Maon (and Chihiro, who Fu said farewell to in episode 1, before she moved back to where her late father used to live). She loves taking pictures of whatever she sees using her late father's camera. The story may seem boring to some people, but since there are a lot of meaning behind each photo that Fu (and her late father) took, it makes the show kind of stands out from many other anime. I like anime with great themes and this one really did a good job on it. It shows how a photo can hold so many memories, and how a photo can display what a person loves in life. Episode 1 may be boring for some people. But for me, I actually stayed watching to the end without asking myself ''How long is it left?''. Chihiro may seem annoying, as she is a crybaby. But I eventually don't mind about it anymore, since her crying is a symbol of how she cares about Fu. Chihiro doesn't want Fu to get too upset about the death of her father, so she usually does the crying for her. A great bond of friendship here, which made me want to watch this anime further, as I like anime where there is a great bond in friendship. ----Art---- I've nothing to say about the art. It's really well drawn and good quality. ----Sound---- Sound is excellent. The voices of each character are suited to their age. Opening and ending themes are excellent as well and suited to a slice of life anime. ----Character---- The characters in this anime are well developed. Each character eventually became more mature and began to wonder what they'll do in life. Kaoru became more confident on what she is about to do in the future. Maon is no longer a shy girl and began to talk more near the end of the anime instead of whistling a lot. Fu overcame the sadness of her father's death and decided to continue with photography. Norie may seem to be annoying due to her energetic nature, but her caring side was shown in some episodes, which made her a less annoying character. ----Enjoyment---- I really enjoyed this series. I recommend this series to people who like slow-paced anime. This anime is a healing anime, so there are no conflicts (like war etc.). It leaves you with a very relaxed and positive feeling in the end of the anime. However, those who like action, or fast-paced anime, then better stay away from this anime.

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