Review of Taisho Otome Fairy Tale

tl;dr Kanojo Okarishimasu 1920s loli wholesome? edition So that's not a perfect comparison since I really disliked Kanokari, but the two shows share some strong similarities. Loser guy has a lucky meeting with too-good-to-be-true female lead; romcom ensues. If they're that similar why did I rate Taishou Otome Otogibanashi higher? One of the main reasons is that premise and the relationship between the main characters is different.There is more of a feeling of being stuck together by fate, in large part due to the fact that they are betrothed and also in the middle of nowhere. There simply aren't other options.While we're on the topic of thesetting I'd like to note that while it is really uncomfortable that Yuzu is 15 (as it should be uncomfortable for anyone who grew up in the last 50 years) I'm willing to give it half a pass here for historical reasons and because it wasn't done in a creepy way. There really isn't another way to set up this story believably in a different time period.

The other thing that I think this show does well is the character development. Anyone or any relationship Yuzu interacts with changes for the better, taking one or two episodes per side character, of which there are 3 or 4. Since it only has two main characters, much of the time can be devoted to how their relationship grows and matures and how Tamahiko improves in his ability to communicate with others and becomes a responsible and thoughtful person.

Somewhere along the way though it falls flat. I can't pin down exactly why but I think it has to do with some spoiler-related issues I had with the conclusion and the fact that Yuzu is too perfect. Like I can't find any fault whatsoever in her character and that makes the show rather... bland. Don't get me wrong she's a super-likable character and certainly a fountain of emotions but as the other characters all change for the better you notice Yuzu remaining static.

Now that I write that it seems like such a shallow reason to rate an otherwise well done anime as only fine doesn't it? Yet while it was refreshing to see a useless MC become a real human being for once, something just felt off balance. I'd still probably recommend watching this, perhaps you will like it more than I did.