'tis the season to be jolly, no matter how you go about capturing the spirit of Christmas. Perhaps it’s listening to Christmas music. Maybe it’s walking out in the winter wonderland. Or mayhaps it’s watching Christmas themed movies or shows. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found it harder and harder to get into the holiday spirit. Watching Toradora! injected me with jolliness and cheer, so I wanted to keep the train going.
Even if Tokyo Marble Chocolate isn’t outstanding by any measure, it was a cute little anime, regardless.
Tokyo Marble Chocolate tells the story of a young couple consisting of Yuudai and Chizuru. Both have been quite unlucky in the past when it comes to relationships. Yuudai’s negative trait is specifically being cowardly and mousy, while Chizuru is afflicted with rotten luck. Their date is suddenly halted when Yuudai gives Chizuru a present. To both of their shock, it’s a mischievous (and adorable) miniature donkey. The events surrounding this donkey brings the two lovers closer than before. Both episodes portray the same two days, just with differing perspectives. The first episode is Chizuru’s perspective and the second is from Yuudai’s. Watching one won’t spoil the other, so the order you watch them doesn’t matter. If you plan on rewatching the show, it might be fun to switch up the order.
First thing to note is that the art is absolutely gorgeous. It’s so short that I have no problem telling you to watch it for the art alone. The backgrounds are simple, yet elegant. They remind me of a painting. The character designs are also quite striking. Again, they’re simple, but that’s what I find so charming about them. The “dot eyes” remind me of the characters from the Mother series. It’s a small detail, but I thought it was cool that the tips of characters’ fingers turned red in the cold.
The music is fine. The tracks that will most likely grab your attention are the two insert songs. Chizuru’s insert song is great for being an anime hip hop track and describing her inner turmoil perfectly. Yuudai’s is...fine, I guess. The lyrics don’t fit that well, but at least it sounds nice.
The story itself is good enough.A big part of a romance is development and with just short of an hour, the anime simply doesn’t have the time to pull that off. We don’t really see why the two characters love each other. We don’t really get much chemistry between the two.
Still, I can’t fault the OVA too much. With only so much time to tell a story, something had to be cut, and the story’s cute, regardless. Part of this cuteness comes from the miniature donkey, whose refreshingly non-invasive. He could have been quite obnoxious, but he’s just a cute little animal that lightens the mood. The producers really knew when to make him scarce, and I appreciate it. The characters themselves are also adorable, and I was rooting for them every step of the way.
Besides the art, part of what makes this OVA so unique is its split-perspective storytelling that allows us to see the full-picture of the couple. Its interesting to see the difference in their motivations at the beginning and then seeing them come together at the end. However, in terms of character arc, the OVA was a bit lopsided. We actually see Yuudai overcome his problem and that plays a part in the climax and resolution. Chizuru doesn’t really change and as such, the resolution can feel a bit unearned on her end. It’s probably because “has rotten luck” isn’t really a character flaw, or at the very least, not one someone can actively fix.
Overall, the anime most likely won’t blow your socks off, but it’s heartwarming regardless. You can skip it, but I recommend it on the basis of it being adorable. It might not be the best anime you’ve ever seen, but I promise that it’ll make you smile.
So, did Tokyo Marble Chocolate turn me into a Christmas fiend? Swinging around light poles as I sing carols?
No, but it did make me happy, so it succeeds in my book.
7.3/10
C