Tamon's B-Side

Episode 13

As much as it pains me to say it, alas, thus ends Tamon’s B-Side. I'm not sad about this because the ending was underwhelming or anything—quite the opposite, it was really cute—just that, I'm so disappointed I won't have new episodes to watch each week. This was easily one of the highlights of the season for me, but more on overall thoughts later. For now, let's dig into this last episode:

Utage quit her housekeeping job, but, obviously, Tamon—who we know has a bit of a possessive streak but is working on it—was never going to accept that. So, he followed her to her house. The reactions from her twin siblings were hilarious. ”Is this guy a stalker? Wow, what a creeper.” As always, it's nice to see that this show isn't letting Tamon off the hook for his behavior—even if this time it was treated a bit more jokingly. Suffice to say, I think the siblings seem funny—what a shame we barely got to see either of them, especially now that it seems like the sister is a converted Keito fan.

The coolest part of this segment, in my opinion, is when Tamon finds her old, handmade recipe book. I've commented a few times over the course of this series that Utage has quite the DIY streak, and it seems that's not just a throwaway bit being used for comedy—she's always been pretty into crafting, even before her days as a Tamon fan. If we ever get more of this show—and I hope we do—this is something I'd love to see explored more, since up until now it was hard to tell whether the show was being intentional about showing off how good Utage is at crafts, or if it was, as I just said, a throwaway bit being used for comedy.

Anyway, with nothing short of impeccable timing, Tamon gets super sick—delirious, even. And it's up to Utage to nurse him back to health. A classic shojo trope for a reason—it's very sweet. And obviously, it's always funny seeing Utage react to Tamon being in Hottiehara mode—doubly so, now that we know it's really Gloomyhara that she has the hots for. Or to be more specific, she's physically attracted to Hottiehara, but it's Gloomyhara that she's emotionally attracted to. A visit from most of the F/ACE boys (WHERE IS RINTAROU???) and some tears later—not to mention the single most conveniently timed phone call of all time, but whatever—and Utage is back as Tamon's housekeeper.

Did we get an all-important confession scene from Utage at the end? Yes and no. Of course, we've seen Utage finally admit to herself that she loves Tamon—his real self, not just his onstage persona. And in many ways, that was harder for her than it would be to tell him that she loves her. After all, even if it's not really the same, she tells him that he's a god all the time. So in some ways, Utage finally admitting to herself that she loves Gloomyhara still fills the void of a confession scene—let alone a kiss—in this show to cap it off, and tie it with a nice little bow. So while I was hoping for one, honestly, the scene of Utage finally admitting to herself that she likes Gloomyhara, and then her allowing herself to do something for herself at the end, still lets everything feel satisfying and full-circle all the same. It ends this series on a note of: “This is a love story—romantic love, and self-love!” And I like that. There's a very RuPaul's Drag Race quality to this—like it's ending the series the way RuPaul ends each episode by saying, “If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else? Can I get an amen!”

As for overall thoughts, this was definitely one of my favorites of the season—and hey, looks like a lot of my fellow ANN writers agree! Utage and Tamon are both excellent characters, to say nothing of the side characters like Natsuki (who had such a great and unexpected story arc!) and Keito. This was a really fun and fresh take on the idea of a romance between a celeb and their diehard fan, which still acknowledged the darker aspects of such a romance, even if it wasn't a major focus. Especially during the same season—and on the same days, no less—as Oshi no Ko, this felt like a breath of fresh, more lighthearted air. That it's also super hilarious, of course, helps tremendously. The visual gags are unmatched. Speaking of which, also helping things along was the production value, which was both great and consistent.

There's so much potential content to be mined from a second season: Will Utage and Tamon get into a relationship? If so, will they keep it secret from the public? And what about their private lives—who's allowed to know (the other F/ACE boys? Utage's sister, a new Keito fan? Utage's friends at school, who threatened to kill any girlfriend of Tamon's?)? If so, how will they go about that? Also, we barely got any screentime for Rintarou! Does he also have a B-side, or in contrast to the other F/ACE boys, is he exactly who he appears to be? Suffice to say, I really hope we get a second season for this show down the road. Similarly, I also hope we get a dub. And finally, I hope we get plenty of merch. Utage deserves some fan shrines. But then again, I guess it would also be very in the crafty spirit of the show if we all had to make our own Utage merch. Either way, I just hope there's more Tamon’s B-Side on the horizon.

Rating:

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