Tamon's B-Side

Episode 5

It's a good sign when I watch an episode of something I'm reviewing and have multiple moments where I say, “Oh, that has to be the thumbnail image.” And I had that thought four times this week.

The first was barely a minute into the episode, when Ouri asks Utage if she and Tamon are going out, and she has that mental image of herself with Hottiehara—which she quickly dispels because how can she alone be Tamon's girlfriend when Tamon's going to make all of humanity his girlfriends? Her dedication to her oshi and ability to understand the brand of his public persona is commendable, and once again, we see just how much she has to offer as a character and protagonist. Moments like these make me glad that she's not being turned into the butt of the joke—that we're laughing with her, not at her.

The second hit me like a bus and got a big laugh out of me. It was when we saw Utage's grave, for alas, the sight of Ouri and Tamon—who himself had just proclaimed how he wants both he and Ouri to be giving it their all in the competition to determine the face of F/ACE—was simply too much for her, complimentary. This one doesn't really require much explanation, it's super funny, I'm sure we've all been there, the fact that the anime is so nonchalant about it just makes it even funnier.

Third, was when Utage was saying everyone felt low-res compared to Tamon, and we got that image of everyone all pixelated next to him. If the dying joke didn't solidify it, this should: The visual humor of this show is A+. And yes, that is partially helped by the fact that the visuals and animation itself have thus far consistently looked great! Still, the jokes are strong enough that even if the production value in this anime weren't as good as it is, I still think a lot of these jokes would shine through anyways.

And finally, there was Utage praying for Tamon's hard work to be rewarded in her thoroughly be-Tamon-ed room. More specifically, in addition to its usual state of being absolutely covered in Tamon merch, she's lined her ceiling with perfectly hand-cut photos of him (of which, per the beginning of the episode, she's cut at least 900). Forget Tamon's hard work, the amount of effort Utage is putting in is on a whole other level. It's a shame Utage and Tamon weren't around closer to the 90s or early 2000s—she's obviously a huge merch collector, but she also has quite a DIY streak in her expressions of fandom, the likes of which I tend to associate more readily with that era. Utage absolutely would've thrived in a world where cutting out photos from magazines and making collages out of them (which could cover anything from your school binders to bedroom walls) was such A Thing.

But getting back on track, as we now know, Utage's prayers—alas, strong and powerful as they were—simply weren't enough. Both Tamon and Ouri have lost to Keito, who described himself earlier in the series (literally the first episode) as being something of a leader of the group anyways. While I wish we could've heard how hard Tamon and Ouri bombed (well, bombed by their standards; I think the impression we're supposed to get is that they both sounded serviceable to the untrained ear, but to those most familiar with their capabilities, it was pretty obvious that both of them were too exhausted to go full throttle) Keito is the obvious next candidate for a winner. Still, I'm less interested in what that means for the future of F/ACE, than I am what it means for the love-wedge-symbol Utage is finding herself in.

For starters, how is this going to affect Tamon's confidence? And by extension of that, what does that mean for Utage's Hottiehara fandom? Is she still going to stan him as hard, even if he's a little more gloomy than he once was? And then there's Ouri, who's trying his best to leave his parent's shadow—and this, of course, can't be helping. And then, perhaps most importantly: If we start seeing Keito more often, does that mean he's also going to develop feelings for Utage? Will her reverse harem add another F/ACE member to its ranks? I hope so. I hope by the end her fangirlish charms have won over every member of F/ACE—in ways that I don't particularly care whether or not they make logical sense, as long as this anime keeps its indulgent self-insert fanfic vibe. This series is at its best when it fully leans into the silly and unserious, and this episode exemplifies that.

Rating:

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