Review of Taisho Otome Fairy Tale
I want to preface this by saying that this is a HISTORICAL piece of fiction. Meaning that the customs, cultures, and events of the story are both integral to the plot and very outdated for the modern era. Because this is a point that I’m going to be talking about at length and for the most part, does affect my feelings towards the show. Story: During the height of the Taisho era of the 1920’s, a man of 17 named Tamahiko Shima becomes a victim of a car crash with his mother passing away because of the incident. Tamahiko himself loses the use of his right handas a result of the incident, and is thusly deemed by his family as useless and is sent away in order to prevent any further embarrassment for the family. There, he becomes bitter, resentful, and depressed as a result of his isolation. On one wintery night, he hears a knock on the door, where a young girl by the name of Yuzuki comes in and introduces herself as his future wife, having been bought from her family by Tamahiko’s father for a sum of ten thousand yen in order to repay her family’s debt. Here, the two foster a new life together and grow ever closer in spite of the rather troubling circumstances that brought them together.
Now, is buying a 14 year old girl to become an unknown person’s wife extremely suspicious and morally incorrect? Definitely. But in context to the story with the time period being a time where women married and bore children very young with their main purpose being the household caretaker, I’d say it’s a lot more bearable for this reason alone, though still incredibly shady. In spite of this, Taishou Otome is a sugary romance doused with the ideas and events of the time with the main focus of the story being on Tamahiko as he slowly opens himself up to the world around him. Every few episodes is centered around a new character that steps into Tamahiko’s home, whether or not that be his family or random people that show up on his doorstep. Wherein thanks to some gentle pushing from his wife and a lot of pushing from other parties, slowly has Tamahiko blossom out of his enclosed shell in order to become his own person instead of the abandoned son with a disability that no one is willing to give a second chance.
In addition to that, a good chunk of the story is dedicated to solitary moments with his betrothed, turning a what would otherwise be a monetary transaction into a love story that has the two people involve make you forget at times that Yuzuki was bought to repay a substantial debt. Logistics aside, the romance is a lot better than I expected to be. There’s a lot less ‘I love you’ and generic ‘love’ words said, as the show focuses more on the actions and gestures that Tamahiko and Yuzuki have with one another to show the kind of care and affection that comes with a well-mannered couple. I do wish that the show didn’t just skip through several years of the Taisho era in order to relay its story so things could settle, but it’s not really that much of an issue because it does end up making the relationship between the two easier to digest with a few years together being shared between them.
Something I personally wasn’t a fan of though with this show was just how much the show likes the beat the audience over the head with the various talking points of Tamahiko and Yuzuki as if the audience doesn’t already know them. Time and time again, the series really likes to remind Tamahiko that he has a lame right arm and the fact that his soon to be wife is a bought commodity. Truths in name, but feel incredibly cumbersome to listen to again and again on account of how little that stuff matters later on due to the characters trying their best to grow out of those initial starting points. As if the show is really trying to hammer in the fact that there’re some fucked up situations even though we already know that things were never 100% peachy to begin with.
Personally though, I think the story of Taishou Otome is one that uses its romance tag well without overbearing the audience too much with sugar and sweetness that a lot of examples in the genre like to use. The story of Tamahiko’s growth is one that definitely feels earned and the relationship that he has with his wife feels surprisingly genuine in spite of some gripes I do have with Yuzuki’s character. And as someone who really likes historical stories, seeing the culture just ooze throughout the whole series from its customs to its way of dress and societal concepts just made watching this show a lot more fun than I had initially expected.
Characters:
While I have talked about Tamahiko in length already, I want to first start out with his wife, Yuzuki. As I think there’s a bit of an unfortunate dichotomy with the show that I’m not particularly the biggest fan of. Yuzuki, being the wife and homemaker of this little family, is entirely a character that’s both devoted to her future husband and wishes well on his prospects and future. Her undying support and eventual love for him is one of her biggest character traits, alongside her unwavering ability to be strong for him in the face of any adversity that they may face together alongside actual durability because the woman is somehow just a tank. In other words, the ‘perfect wife’ and maiden with no real ambition of her own. Yuzuki is effectively tied to her husband by the hip, and is ironically the anchor point/motivation that keeps Tamahiko going. It’s a very sexist dynamic, but again, historical context. Personally though in spite of the history of ‘traditional Japanese values’, I wish there was something more that Yuzuki was working towards. Having an ambition that wasn’t just being the homemaker for the family I think would’ve done wonders for her character and give her a sense of individuality. As it stands now, Yuzuki, while not a terrible character, is also not a very compelling one aside from being the ‘ideal wife’ that keeps the story going. She is cute, but cuteness can only really go so far.
Tamahiko on the other hand gets the majority of the character development as he becomes a more open (and happier) person instead of the self-proclaimed pessimist that he starts out as no doubt thanks to the unwavering support that he gets from Yuzuki. A lover of books and a loner at heart, it was honestly a joy seeing the depressed, vulnerable, and aimless boy become someone who wanted to work towards something brighter and happier, and gradually cherish the person that became his pillar of support in order to make sure that he becomes someone worthy of her in the long run. Which is why I feel comfortable with calling their dynamic a lot more satisfying than the series really likes to call it contextually speaking. There’re a few bumps, but ultimately the series showed that they had honesty and care for one another, making sure that the other is ok and that in spite of the cultural/societal roles that they may have, their relationship has equal ground that works best when there’s communication and attention towards one another.
The other girls that pop up in the series: Tamako, Ryo, and Kotori all vary on the spectrum of characters by either starting out bad to becoming good or starting out really bad to only becoming mildly tolerable. Personally though, I think Tamako has the best arc of the three, but all of them feel somewhat rushed oddly enough and that if given enough time, could’ve become more compelling characters arcs in the long run. Ryo is definitely the worst of the lot given her contribution was just to be an obstacle for the series, but I think in spite of any downsides to the series that ended up happening as a result of their involvement, the relationship between Tamahiko and Yuzuki ends up being strengthened in the end in some way as a result. Which I guess is a boon, but I can’t help but think that there was another way that could’ve been achieved without having most of that be wrenches into their relationship.
Other characters in the side cast aren’t really that prominent, but do have their places. The kids in the village that the couple live in as well as some members of Tamahiko’s family are more notable background characters, but there’s not really that many people to speak of cause they’re more setting placers instead of notable side characters that matter to the major plot.
Aesthetics:
I’ve never heard of SynergySP prior to this show, but man they really nailed that slightly old-timey aesthetic of this show. While yes the character designs are kind of generically cute no thanks in part of Yuzuki being a shortstack with big eyes, the overall aesthetic of the show just has this comfortable charm about it that makes it an enjoyable piece of media to look at. The backgrounds are done with this slight texture like it’s paper, and the everything has this kind of paintly style to it that make it all the more unique to look at.
More than that, the architecture and style of everything from the clothes to the buildings really nail the time period. And the details just hits that right note of being complex but not too complex so everything keeps that gentle storybook feel.
The OST is not entirely what I thought it would be because I didn’t expect Garnidelia to be the person who did the OP for this show. It seems a bit out of her style, but surprisingly enough it’s a fun song if not a little ill-fitting considering the big band feel of the song not…really lining up with the more gentle emotions in the show. Still, “Otmoe no Kokoroe” is a lot better than I thought we were gonna get for an opening song, so I’m satisfied. “Makagoro ni Kanade” by Shunichi Toki is by comparison a lot less energetic than its OP sister and is more of a palette cleanser to end the episode off than anything else. It’s a lot less memorable by comparison but serves to fulfill that comfortable ballad that helps along the comfy image of the couple resting on each other on a cold night.
And what else would a historical series have but more traditional music to go along with it? I think the real kicker to this OST is having the entire series be flooded by a set of songs sung with strings and bells to give that gentle and daily slice of life vibe that I had expected coming into this series. Thanks to Kotori being an idol singer of sorts for the series, we get a lot of these showing up over the course of the show’s runtime, and I for one really liked having the show take the time to just not say anything and sing so that the OST shine as brightly as it needed to.
Final Thoughts:
In spite of rocky circumstances, Taishou Otome Otogibanashi is a sweet, historical piece that echoes a time nearly a hundred years ago during the height of the Japanese industrial age where tradition and modernity were meshing with each other. True, a lot of the values and customs that were present at the time are incredibly frowned upon and even illegal today, but in respect to the time period, what we ended up getting in spite of that is a period accurate couple trying their best to care for and love each other in the best ways that they could.
Tamahiko’s story is one of growing confidence and losing that initial cold-hearted pessimistic attitude he once had so he can cherish those around him. And while Yuzuki didn’t nearly get as much development as her soon to be husband and is arguably worse off because she’s just kind of the ‘perfect girl’, I think what she represents for Tamahiko and the values she keeps for herself to do her best for him is a fitting compliment. Would I prefer that she had some kind of ambition of her own instead of just hoping to have a lot of kids and continue her housewife role? Absolutely. But oddly enough, I would file that under lost potential for the series instead of something that actively hurts the series in the long run.
As for me, I just really like sweet romance stories. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one, and the historical factor is just an added cherry on the top. Yes there’re a few bumps that I’m not particularly a fan of, but the whole is a lot more enjoyable to me than any minor infractions that the series had. Especially since the history means that tragedy is 100% going to happen, and the characters will have to work around that fact no matter how perfect their lives are. And given that this show only adapted about half of the main story for the Taishou Otome Otogibanashi manga, I really hope we get a second season to close off the story. Because I need more sugar for my cold, dead heart damnit to keep it going.
If you’re a romance lover like me, I would highly recommend this show in spite of any period accurate flaws or any faulty character writing it may have. Yes the unfortunate sexism of the 1920’s is a major contributing factor why I think Yuzuki isn’t as developed as I would like her to be, but it oddly enough doesn’t detract from the show as much as I think it does, and Tamako certainly does make up some of that by being a more independent woman with her own goals in mind by comparison. Hopefully we do get a proper ending for the story in animated form because man, I just know there’s much more crazy shit for Tamahiko and Yuzuki to deal with with the 1930’s coming up.