(L) Tamayura ~Hitotose~

[FireChick]

Marble's the person who sang in episode 4?! I didn't know that!

But yay! A vocal album?! I wanna nab it!!

[Midonin]

Spoiler for Tamayura 05 - Tamayura the Five:

I wouldn't mind if some plot circumstances caused Chihiro to become a full time cast member. Her brief visit today made her a great addition to the circle of four. Perhaps she is the "touch" of the group, after all. Seeing her try to get used to what's in Takehara was great. The scene where Momoneko lands on her head comes to mind. We even got a look into her and Fuu's past. They're so much alike, yet so different. Then there was Sayomi and her hiking trips again...

What really stood out about this episode was something musical. Fuu's character song, "Himawari", played just before the ending credits. The vocal album's filling itself more and more before its release.

Next week looks to be two half-episodes instead of one full one. Just like the OVAs again.

[MeoTwister5]

Hayz I haven't had the time to even see/blog episode 4 and the 5th one comes out.

[Raiga]

Spoiler:

Oh Chihiro and her naming sense. But I love her all the more for it. Five minutes into the episode and I was already grinning my face off. It's hard not to get sucked in by the mellow, heartwarming atmosphere in this show.

And we discover Fuu-nyon's mom used to be a biker gal. o__o Talk about unexpected.

More real locations pop up this ep, such as Takehara's famous Okakae Jizou-sama. Of course Kurotaki-zan is a real mountain, too.

[ars89]

Seeing Chihiro again was great, hope she becomes a regular. Like how she made new friends. Of course her scene with Momoneko was the best.Lol another one of Kaoru's sister's expeditions. Potte's mom got even more awesome.

[Kanon]

So relaxing...

I too wish Chihiro could become a regular, but it's unlikely she's going to move to Takahara, sadly. At least not before she finishes high school. She got along well with the rest of the cast as expected. I didn't realize she had troubles making friends until they mentioned it in this episode. That made me feel sorry for her; her best and only friend since elementary school moved away and has found herself tons of new friends. Anybody would feel lonely. This episode set things right - now all of them are friends!

Furthermore, there is a girl in her class with similar interests who could become her friend soon, so she might not remain alone too long.

& holy cow @ Fu's mother. Never thought she used to be a biker

[Flower]

You know ... death by kawaii is steadily creeping closer and closer to me with every ep of this series I watch.

Ep 5 was great material - I am really enjoying this series....

Chihiro fit right in! And I agree - I loved the scene with Mononkeo.

I must admit though, I also was REALLY surprised at Fu's mother being a biker....

8/10 vote from me for ep 5.

****

Before I forget, little note I recognized on a second watching of ep 4 ... there is a scene where Norie is running through the tunnel that is supposed to grant your wish when you pass through it and she mentions something about Kao-tan and her being a mahou shoujo. That was a nod to content from the drama cd!

[Master_Yoma]

Chihiro was just so cute but she did cry a lot hope to see her again

[Flower]

Just noticed the info about the "vocal album" ... hmm. I guess Fuu's seiyuu has sung a fair amount (iirc - didn't she sing some for Ore no Imouto as Kirino?) ... but off the top of my head I don't know much about the other sieyuus.... Hmm.

Where is Kaoru Chujo when you need her? She could answer questions like this in 2 seconds!

[sikvod00]

I always thought Kaoru Chujo was male...
Anyway, this is easily the best episode for me so far because of the return of the adorable Chihiro. It doesn't hurt that she's voiced by one of my favorite sieyuss.
What a shame it looks like she won't be a regular cast member. Too bad biker mom can't "kidnap" her.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by sikvod00

I always thought Kaoru Chujo was male...

Maybe so - apologies if I made the error!

[vansonbee]

Episode 4 didn't do much for me, but episode 5 on the other hand, was touching. Chihiro x Heroine = gives off a yuri feeling

Hope Chihiro make some friends!

[Flower]

So ... thus far the series has been focused on "expanding" the backgrounds and setting of all the characters therein and introduced a few new ones. It has made the "world of Tamayura" more detailed.

To this extent in terms of ... erm ... feel and material presented, I guess ... it is similar to the OVA's in general. [Which is fine with me, btw. ]

One character that has not been re-introduced, though, is Fu-chan's older professional photographer friend Riho Shihomi. I wonder if she or something related to Fu-chan's dad will be the "occasion" for a mini-arc story?

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Midonin

A listing for a vocal album for the series went up. Nothing's confirmed yet, but it looks like it'll feature character songs for the main players, and insert songs too. (Like marble's cover of the OVA OP from ep. 4)

I must have this! So far I'm not particularly sold on the soundtrack with the main exception being the few vocal tracks (and most came from the OVAs).

I also feel like the first couple of episodes, in particular episodes 2 and 3, failed a bit to capture in new viewers and as such I'm not surprised to see so many people thinking of dropping the show. The show in itself is already destined to target a very niche audience even in the Slice-Of-Life fans so a few weak episodes early on would have this effect. I for one am sticking with this one, haven't had such a soothing experience since I last rewatched Aria.

One thing in particular that I found disappointing is the lack of a custom OP per episode a-la-Aria but that's understandable, budget and all that.

As for the Norie/Kou/Komachi triangle I subscribe to the opinion that it went from amusing->funny->obnoxious->hilarious. These last 2 episodes just made me laugh so much. I'm loving it!

[Midonin]

Spoiler for Tamayura 06 - Tamayura the Double Feature:

Before I get to anything related to the show, I would like to say I find it sort of amusing that Yuko Gibu is playing both a character named Maon and a character named Waon at this time. They couldn't be any more different, but once again, I love seeing her get work.

It really speaks to the strength of its cast that we can have an entire episode with barely any Fuu at all, just Maon, and it still holds my attention. Though it was technically two "episodes", they were both thematically linked. The first, a childhood story, showing us how Maon discovered her talent for whistling. The second, a story in middle school, where her friendship with Norie was formed and the whistling makes a comeback. Lots of beautiful scenery as usual, but the real treat was being able to get a closer look inside Maon's head.

Looks like next week has the festival that was set up in episode 2 finally happen. I expect fun things to ensue.

[Flower]

While I have been impatiently waiting for ep 6 to be subbed I've been listening to the OP and ED "Single" albums ... they are very good imo.

Those who have not yet might consider giving them a try.

****

Edit: Hmm ... well, well, well ... an ep focusing on the past of the four main characters but centered around Maon.

One part was when Fuu-chan's father was still alive and when Maon first learned to whistle. Another part was when Maon first got to know the ever ... umm ... enthusiastic Norie thanks to Momoneko-sama. Hmm ... I wonder if there is any kind of "logic" to whose head Momoneko-sama chooses to jump on.

Maon is turning into an interesting character - and a very endearing one. I wonder what the "logic" of the directors was in introducing this angle on the characters?

I still have hopes for a "mini-arc" story to make it's appearance, but the feel thus far is very similar to Aria.... With the slices of day to day life of the main characters from time to time, showing us inside their hearts, minds and souls from time to time and from different angles.

I love this sort of stuff.

8/10 vote for ep 6 from me....

[ars89]

Wow awesome how they all met when they were younger. They were even more adorable back then. Nice to see how Maon picked up whistling and how she became friends with Norie.

[Vexx]

Whistling back-story for the win...

[Kanon]

Kyaaah, Maon-tan is so cute it's criminal
I feel I understand what Norie is feeling when she sees Kou a little bit more now... I would totally go Norie for Maon.

Both half of the ep were delightful, but I enjoyed the second half a little bit more. The birth of a friendship is a magical moment. The two of them, despite being so different, are surprisingly in sync.

This episode cemented Maon's position as my favorite Tamayura girl. The staff probably also has a soft spot for her as well, since they've already made two episodes centered around her. I can only hope this one wasn't the last.

[sikvod00]

^ More Maon would be great, but I'd also like an episode that focuses on Norie and her older brother. It's nice to know that that her over enthusiasm for Kou is not just some silly, recurring gag. This is not to say that I was annoyed by them (nothing in this show annoys me!), but now there is an actual explanation for it, and it goes back to the love-hate relationship she has with her own sibling. This actually makes her shotacon antics sweet and endearing, because now I see them as her projecting feelings she'd like to have for big brother if he wasn't an ass sometimes! Or maybe I'm reading too much into the info we've learned about Norie???

EDIT: Maon is my favorite girl, right after Chihiro. However, that's only because I'm a big Minako Kotobuki fan. =D