TsumaSho
a review by passingwitness
a review by passingwitness
...we will meet gain, when that time comes tell me everything, what you've seen in life, what you've experienced, and what you've felt, as a thank-you, I'll make you another delicious meal. - Takae Niijima
Never did I expect that this 2024 fall season has in store a wonderful gift hidden under a seemingly 'generic' title. If not the best of the season (in its category) It is probably one of the best we had for many years. If you're looking for a heartwarming show look no further, this is the one. Did I exaggerate? rest assured, as I have prepared some critiques for it, but small compared to what they got right.
Somehow this show has close resemblance to "Sweetness And Lightning", a similar story where a father and daughter had to lost a mother figure early in their life. (you might want to check that as well)
What is this show about? As you probably have read it's about how far an idea of a family bond could be, a familial love in its purest ideals. Takae is like the sun, the warmth and the life of the Niijima's family, her sudden passing devastated Keisuke and Mai which further drifts apart the family's bond. Fast forward 10 yrs, a 'miracle' knocked upon the family's residence: It's Takae in a child body. Niijima's family soon takes turns for the better, they once again could live as a perfect family. Bentos every morning, weekend's travel, or simply chatting around the living room, all things that Keisuke could've asked for and traded for his life were granted. Takae's wish is only to see her family to move on with life, but turns out she had to stay longer until they could finally stand on their own, a Godsend reunification and a beautiful start.
See that this starts to be very sentimental, as the story brought up a significant real life emotional experience of losing a loved one. The story signals strongly that this happiness will be a momentary event, however rest assured as the writer somehow can afford to balance out during the course of the episodes. So it's still sad right ? yes it is still kind of sad but to a certain standard, and considering all factors: it is a sad end, not a bad end, hence It still counts as a satisfactory end.
Moral of the story? (yes it has) to me it's about a long lost virtue of love revisited; especially the word devotion appeared many times in the show as if it's a keyword for the show. However I'll encourage each of you to decide what is the story itself means to you, because my interpretation might not be satisfactory (it's already rich with substance). TsumaSho is an outstanding story about true love, and you'll discover even more chunks of wisdom along the way. -
Seems like a generic sad show, where is the catch? you're right, under an unskilled inexperienced author, this show might drift towards something else, it could lack of substance or something. Fortunately the author is quite a masterful storyteller, such that each plot served a reason. Even the plot twist wasn't just for show, or even worse intentionally for NTR-ing audiences. For example-
The key take is: it didn't try to act like a jerk towards its audience just for the sake of being different, it didn't assume we are dumb or social outcasts that can be fed any subpar reasoning or with fetish content while thinking we would still beg for it. It simply wishes to tell us, teaches us, guides us, where the end is something the story guaranteed to be worth the while. It's generous. It's simple.
Characters any good? you'll find them all are decent characters with realistic flaws, like most people are rarely too evil or too good, they are just flawed. Keisuke is an idealist hero type, Mai is an innocent introvert and Takae is the extroverted pragmatic. Isn't it adorable? Moreover, they are reasonable, and you won't dislike any of them for long. The supporting characters also played significant contributions to the story progression, as a matter of fact they were written like a living person (the good ones) it scared me,
How's the animation? animation is fine you wouldn't scratch your eyes of bad drawings or broken proportions, not as good as Mappa like animation but overall it's something good enough to get you focused on the story.
random fact: TsumaSho first debuted as a film (you can find it on Netflix) years before this anime adaptation.
The sound and music? it is done in minimal fashion and always plays at the right moment to elevate the mood, squeeze your heart or induce tears. The ending also without doubt the best that we can get. MS.OOJA - Hidamari herself, one of the JPOP Diva has graced us with her soulful music.
My critic:
For you guys who had watched it and actually touched by it, by moving on just like the narrative; we ought as well... move on.
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