Tamon's B-Side

Episode 11

Another week, another absolute banger episode of Tamon—which, once again, is centered around Natsuki first and foremost. I predicted last week that he was the broke friend Asuka was referencing, and that money is probably at the core of why he's in F/ACE. And I was right, asterisk. Simply leaving it at him being broke, while substantially true, is the understatement of the century, and I certainly didn't predict that he blames himself for Asuka getting a life-changing injury and that even now he's still wracked with guilt over the whole thing.

Put more simply, this was another darker episode of Tamon—even if it did start on the optimistic note of Tamon and Utage. More specifically, we have Tamon continuing to own up to his actions, and he's making a very visible effort to be more selfless and considerate toward Utage (love to see it), and Utage having a much harder time denying the reality that she has feelings for Tamon that go beyond those of a fangirl and her oshi. It's obviously something difficult for her to come to terms with, since she seemingly has a pretty rigid idea of what a fan should be and how they should act. If she didn't, after all, she might've recognized this obvious reality sooner.

Still, again, Natsuki was the main attraction of this episode—his backstory, more specifically. In hindsight, I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this. Life dealt him a much harder hand than the other F/ACE boys. Come to think of it, they only just learned last week that Keito is doing F/ACE so he can send money back to his family—I wonder how many (if any) of them knew about what was going on in Natsuki's life? In any case, did this anime accidentally propel Natsuki up to “most interesting character” status? I think so, yeah. Despite all of them being roughly the same age, Natsuki's been through a lot more and has a lot more at stake than the others—yet simultaneously, of the four F/ACE boys we've met so far, he's also the one who cares the least about fame and fortune. Not necessarily because he just naturally doesn't care, but because he's still dealing with, of all things, a life altering amount of guilt. Needless to say, it's no longer any wonder why he's so hesitant to actually work, and why he's seemed to be perpetually in a bad mood when he's not in his idol-sona mode. Even in an anime that's full of what you could generously call unconventional idols, Natsuki is instantly set apart in just about every way imaginable.

And then there's Asuka—who we've only just met, but is nonetheless at the center of this. The exact timeline of how long it's been since this injury is still a little fuzzy, but it's obviously been at least a couple years. Still, she's supporting Natsuki as hard—nay, harder—than ever. And hilariously, the reason she was so cold to him when he appeared at the school was out of concern for him. She has a heart of gold, and is quietly establishing herself as such an excellent side character. Suffice to say, I love her thus far. Character writing has been such a consistent strength in this show, and the fact that it's even obvious in her—a character with hardly any screentime at all so far—is testament to that.

I can't bear to think that we only have two episodes of Tamon left now that this one's done, no matter how well the stage is set for another hilarious episode next week. This has easily been one of the biggest highlights of the season for me, and I'm going to miss having a new episode waiting for me each week. The animation is gorgeous, the comedy is A+, the characters are such a joy, and it's just been such a delight all season long.

Rating:

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