Tamon's B-Side

Episodes 1-3

Do you remember the “Sold to One Direction” fanfictions of the early 2010s? If you don't, well, they're pretty much exactly what they sound like: It was a type of (One Direction) fanfiction where the plot was something along the lines of, “For some arbitrary reason, the teenage reader has been sold off by their parents to One Direction, and we're probably not going to think too hard about the real-world meanings and implications this would have.” Tamon’s B-Side, which has our teenage protagonist coincidentally working as a housekeeper for her oshi, feels like the Pokémon-style evolution of Sold to One Direction 'fics. And I think that's beautiful and hilarious.

It's ironic that an anime about such a gloomy, anxious idol is already shaping up to be the funniest anime of the season. There is no greater burden than being an introvert who also loves doing some form of performance art (or any other activity that inherently involves being publicly perceived). And that's to say nothing of Tamon's lack of self-confidence, which is something I guarantee all your favorite actors, musicians, YouTubers, and so on have struggled with at some point. Playing this all for laughs worked for Bocchi the Rock!, and if these first three episodes are any indication, it's working for Tamon’s B-Side as well.

Indeed, the humor of Tamon has, I think, been working as well as it has been in large part because it's not coming from a mean-spirited place—especially toward Utage and fans more broadly (who would, in many other shows, probably feel like easy targets). Quite the opposite, actually—if anything, this anime is celebrating the obsessed fan and their unparalleled passion for their oshi. To reiterate what I said earlier, it very unambiguously feels like an indulgent, self-insert 'fic with no interest in obscuring that part of itself, and I find that very endearing. That, alongside an over-the-top element, is what this anime brings to much of what it does (especially with regard to Utage), making the whole thing an absolute joy.

Standing in very stark contrast to this show is Oshi no Ko, whose third season is also currently airing—and, funnily enough, also has its new episodes coming out on Wednesdays, just like Tamon. If you're watching both this season, consider watching their new episodes back-to-back each week for a Barbenheimer-esque experience. The private lives of idols are key components of both shows, yes, but they couldn't be further apart in the way they go about handling it. Whereas Oshi no Ko generally errs grim, mysterious, and it at least tries to portray things in a realistic way (I think it has extremely mixed results on that front, but I won't derail this with my Oshi no Ko takes), thus far Tamon’s B-Side is pretty unserious, silly, and downright cartoonish.

That being said, both shows do at least have one thing in common in their approaches to discussing the private lives of idols: they paint fame as much more miserable and difficult than most people give it credit for, for reasons some might find unexpected. Oshi no Ko obviously examines that through a much darker, Perfect Blue-esque lens, but even Tamon’s B-Side isn't glorifying fame. Granted, I wouldn't necessarily say it's vilifying it either, but still. Point is, it's a show that doesn't feel the need to be bleak and stern when it tries to say fame isn't all it's cracked up to be—quite the opposite, it can accomplish that while being lighthearted and pretty funny, which is an interesting change of pace.

This is all to say that I don't think you're watching the right idol anime this season if you went into this show hoping to see something more dark or grounded—especially with regards to romance with idols, which is something I have little doubt we're going to see talked more about as this series continues, albeit not in a serious way. But if you were hoping to just lose yourself in a fluffy idol rom-com, or even just a good comedy in general, you're in the right place. Take this with a grain of salt, since the anime season has only just begun, but so far this has easily been one of the shows I look forward to most for new episodes. If things continue like this—let alone if they get better—this could very well be one of the best anime of the season (Note: I said “one of,” please put the Frieren-slash-Jujutsu-Kaisen-branded gun down).

As a closing note, I'd just like to give a shout-out to how excellent “Tamon’s B-Side” is as a title localization. More specifically, the translation in the whole show so far looks great. But the title, in particular, deserves to be highlighted for how clever it is. I'm not sure if that's the work of the subtitle translator (I don't think I saw any credits for them in the episodes, but please let me know if I'm just missing it) or someone else—and I wish I could know who came up with it!—but it was an A+ translation choice all the same. “Which Face Does Tamon Have Now,” which is the English title you can see in the bumpers and opening and ending themes, is a bit wordy for the sentiment, and sounds pretty clunky and unnatural in English (well, unless Tamon was either a shapeshifter or cut people's faces off so he could wear them himself, but still). As a title, it just doesn't work for this series, and I don't care for it. “Tamon’s B-Side,” meanwhile, is snappy, captures the tone of the show completely, and gets its point across so much better and easier. A check on every box!

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Tamon’s B-Side is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.