Taishou Otome Fairytale continues to be the most ridiculously sweet anime of 2021 and takes the sweetness to near cavity inducing in episodes 9 and 10. As folksinger, Kotori, stays with Yuzuki and Tamahiko to learn about love and Tamahiko starts to get closer with his classmates it kind of seems like everything is finally going well for the pair.
Then episode 10 happens and honestly the two are still super sweet but Yuzuki goes to Tokyo to visit a friend and on the day she’s due to return an Earthquake strikes.
Now, I’m pretty sure this isn’t the kind of anime that goes for a tragic ending but it might and we really have no way of knowing until we get into the next episodes.
Taishou Otome Fairytale knew exactly how to escalate its tension for the final episodes.
While Taishou Otome Fairytale isn’t the most exciting anime to watch, it really does show some understanding of when to build up tension and when to let your characters take a breath and it balances the sweet moments with bitterness in an almost perfect mix to leave you feeling that the story never really gets too dull but you walk away feeling happy and relaxed.
Even Ryou’s return and gentle teasing of Yuzuki after she’s asked to help Tamahiko with food while Yuzuki is away isn’t enough to spoil the overall mood. Admittedly, that character is a lot less annoying in her current form then she was after she was first introduced.
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Episode 9 of Taishou Otome Fairtyale continues to develop Tamhiko’s friendship with Hikaru and Tamahiko is actually surprisingly perceptive for once, realising that Hikaru was avoiding visiting his house while his sister Kotori was there. The reason why doesn’t make a huge amount of sense but Tamahiko and Yuzuki weave their sweet magic and by the end of the episode everything is fine.
Kotori meanwhile takes over Tamahiko’s tutorial with the village kids and we get a sing-song moment that drags on a little too long but fits in with the general sweetness of the story.
Likewise, by the end of the episode we have both Tamahiko and Yuzuki really considering where they are in their relationship and the final shot with the two on the bike is just super adorable.
But in order to not let things get too cutesy, episode 10 has Yuzuki receive a letter notifying her that one of her friends is now pregnant and going to move to her partner’s home town. Given the era and difficulty travelling, Yuzuki is worried she won’t see her again but also doesn’t want to leave Tamahiko.
And Tamahiko, demonstrating just how much he’s grown from those first few episodes, encourages her to go and even takes her to a local shrine and buys a charm for Yuzuki’s friend.
The farewell scene at the train station is yet another cavity causing moment but honestly this anime is really built on those so we’ll go with it and realistically I love this couple so much even if the anime itself is only so-so.
But Taishou Otome Fairytale is aware we are coming to the end of the season, and also that things are going way too smoothly for out main characters, and so disaster strikes in the form of an earthquake. Pre-mobile phone era Tamahiko has no way to contact Yuzuki to ask if she is okay or even where she is (given she was meant to be returning) and so he is about to set out to look for her.
The one thing I was a bit miffed about with Taishou Otome Fairytale was when Tamahiko tried to help the rescue efforts in the village and was more or less shoved aside. Seriously, you are in the middle of a crisis and you are going to chase away help? It would have made more sense to send Tamahiko to a job he could do rather than telling him to go away.
Anyway, looking forward to the final two episodes.
Images from: Taishou Otome Fairytale. Dir. J Hatori. SynergySP. 2021
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Karandi James