Fall 2010 Impressions: Tamayura

Today's post was originally going to be a GAC. But then I realized that the GAC I would be posting about would require actual searching for pictures, so I changed my mind. Instead, here's my impression of a fall anime: Tamayura. When news first broke about Tamayura, it hit everyone's yuri lists right away. I mean, come on, slice-of-life with a bunch of girls? That's only the most used genre for yuri fanboys ever. (K-On!, Marimite, StoPani, Lucky Star, etc.) Of course, this means that the yuri is probably fake. That's not so much of a problem, though. Set your Yuri Goggles high enough and you'll see yuri in everything. But even I, whose Yuri Goggles are always on the highest setting, was defeated.

Tamayura has absolutely no yuri in it. Shocking, I know. When I finally figured it out, I was like this:

What do you mean there's no yuri??

I mean, seriously, how could I have not found yuri? I found subtext in Ponyo, for goodness' sake!! But indeed, there is no yuri, and to explain, I'll have to tell you about Tamayura itself.

Tamayura is set in a small town somewhere in Japan. The story is about this girl who loves photography and somehow manages to catch weird glowing lights in some of her photos called Tamayura. As a slice-of-life anime, there isn't much other plot needed, just characters, so on to character sheets!

Apologies for bad screenshots, but DailyMotion is being dumb. The rest of the 'shots will be like this too. Orz

Sawatari Fu, aka 'Potte'

Fu-chan is the main character. Like Yui from K-On! and Yoshika from Strike Witches, she's one of those innocent types who spaces out at every opportunity. Unlike Yui and Yoshika, though, she actually has some idea of what she's doing (in this case, photography). She isn't some innate genius either; some of her photos actually suck! Her nickname is 'Potte' which I think is an onomatopoeia for either stepping or hopping. 'm not quite sure. Anyway, the nick name comes from her friend, coming up next!

At least she's honest...

Hanawa Kaoru

A typical childhood friend type, Kao-tan is probably where the limited yuri points hang out. If not 'cause of that last picture of her, she knows all sorts of things about Fu-chan, as expected. Her quirk is that she loves the scent of things.

Norie and Whistle Bug

I'm sure I'll remember their names sometime, but as it is, only Norie's was said outloud in the first OVA. Norie is the one with twintails, by the way. Anyway, Norie and Whistle Bug's quirks are that Norie is a shotacon and Whistle Bug... Whistles. Constantly. She can and does talk, though, so it isn't completely irritating.

But anyway, as I was saying about the yuri. THERE IS NONE. The only hints we had of it are in OVA 1, in the scene between Fu-chan and Kao-tan. But all that is gone by OVA 3. JUST FACE IT. THEY'RE ALL FRIENDS. If they expect me to continue watching because it's 'yuri',' they'll have to do better than that.

Don't know if I'll keep watching, but it's pleasant, so who knows. Til next time!