Tamon’s B-Side Episode 12 & 13 [FINAL]

Episode 12

It was nice to see everyone having fun at the cultural festival. With the exception of Keito, none of them ever really got to experience it due to their own circumstances. It was great that Utage was able to forget being a fan for the day because she was genuinely having such a great time with Tamon and Ouri. It was especially hilarious to see them all walking around with various characteristic masks, Tamon with his signature paperbag, Ouri as a gorilla, Keito’s constructed with milk cartons, Rintaro who hasn’t really touched on at all except for the ONE scene of him being an otaku, and then Natsuki with a freaking construction cone so he can smoke!

I’m glad that Asuka and Natsuki were finally able to clear the air and get the much needed closure for each other. Natsuki finally was able to fulfill the promise of making a song for Asuka, and this time, since her dream has changed, he made it so it would cheer for her and her students. It was a very thoughtful addition to include in his intention behind the song.

As for Utage, it has gotten to the point where she cannot ignore her feelings any longer. She was very close to confessing in the classroom, but perhaps for the best, she had been interrupted by the after-all wrapping up. The only downside to this is that Tamon’s about to be blind-sided when he learns that Utage has quit her job, because she’s afraid that because she has officially breached the line she (as a devoted fan) has drawn between them, that she’ll bring harm to him. And it’s understandable, especially since they’ll be releasing their main album soon. They’ve worked very hard for this moment, and she doesn’t want to ruin it.

Finally, I’ll be honest about how I feel about FLY. It wasn’t really my taste for a song. Kinda felt all over the place for me, so I didn’t like it very much. Though it was kinda funny because I honestly wasn’t expecting that kind of vibe from it, especially following a freaking ballad like Rain. It made it quite a serious whiplash. I kind of understand now why consistency is important for these things hahaha…

Episode 13

The finale episode was definitely… not one you’d expect since Tamon didn’t exactly leave the best of impressions, if you get what I mean… There has been a couple of instances over the course of the show where he had shown red flags behaviour, and Utage has always had the appropriate reaction of horror in response to it. Although Tamon was suffering from hallucinations and was delirious from the fever, the scariest part was the way he grabbed her into her his apartment, and then started going on about her “other selves” present. I’ve never liked this Dark-Hara side of him, and this and the suicidal talk to coherence her to never leave him always left a bad taste in my mouth rather than finding it remotely funny.

And to make matters worse, Tamon was unfortunately very creepy this episode. I know most of it was from the fever, but the part where he wanted answers from Utage as to why she had abruptly quit so he follow her home from school? Dude… It would’ve been better just to meet her outside of the gate with the paperbag on the head instead of being a creep. (Okay standing outside of the gates with the paperbag probably wouldn’t have been great either, but IT’S STILL ARGUABLY BETTER THAN WHAT HE DID!) Then he just had to be a freak to sniff the fucking baths? Like dude? Stop that now. These are the types of jokes that don’t vibe with me very well, so it’s unfortunate the arc gets wrapped up in this manner.

However apart from that unpleasantness, when Tamon’s not in that delirious and hyperbolic nihilist personality… It was good to see him actually telling Utage to put herself first for an exchange. Do what she wants to do, she deserves that much.

Through that, Utage has come to realize that she genuinely enjoys her job as a housekeeper. It wasn’t simply about making money to buy all of Tamon’s merchandise and concert tickets, but it was because she enjoys being helpful to others. Before she became a fan of Tamon, Utage didn’t really have anything she did in her life for herself. She was regarded as boring because of it. During that time, the moments she enjoyed most was when she would be preparing meals for her young siblings. She’d make a whole home-made recipe book compiling of what she made. And while she had worked for Tamon, she had done the same for him. It was thanks to Tamon who found her recipe book she made for her sibling’s meal while he cleaned on their behalf, that she was able to reconnect with that passion of hers. So it was nice to see Tamon was able to help her for an exchange, not as an idol, but simply as a person through kind gesture.

And this was important because the main reason why Utage had quit her job was because she thought she was purely working to fund her hobby of supporting her Oshi. That’s why Utage had decided to put away all of her Tamon merchandise. She thought the best way to suppress her feelings is to take a break from being a fan and try to stop thinking about him for a while. But that proved to be harder than she expected, because being a Tamon Fan was her main hobby. It also didn’t help that she had quit her job, making the void that has emerged from this that much larger. So she was at loss of what she did to make herself happy or what fulfilled her before she had devoted her passion to fandom. Thankfully, she has come to terms that she doesn’t need to give up the job. She can keep doing what she loves, and instead she’ll do her best to hide her feelings.

Final Thoughts
8/10

Tamon-B Side was an absolute blast. The production team did such a fantastic job of elevating what was already great comedy nailing all the effects, especially with the way they played with the sound.

That being said, I did get caught up to the manga so I was able to notice a lot more of what had been cut out, and how these final four episodes were rushed to some degree. It wasn’t terribly sliced up, they made it work , but I feel like this last episode was the one that suffered the most of it. Even if I hadn’t caught up to the manga, it would’ve been quite apparent with how quickly things were moving along.

It looks like they have set things up for a continuation should it get one in the future– and in all likelihood, it probably will. There’s still Rintaro to introduce, who has been more or less completely overlooked during this period. At least it didn’t leave smacked in the middle of an arc. This is the conclusion of the present arc which deals with Utage accepting her feelings, but not revealing it. While it may frustrate some people, it does make a lot of sense for her not to. She understands very well what’s at stake for Tamon and F/ACE, especially with their upcoming album release. So once again she has drawn the line between them, but this time she has accepted her feelings, but will do her best to hide them. Not to mention, Tamon hasn’t quite yet come to terms what kind of feelings he harbours towards Utage. Right now, he sees her as a precious friend, but hasn’t quite come to realize where his jealousy is coming from with the way Ouri beats him to the punch for many things.

With that said, I had a great time and I look forward to Season 2 if/whenever it comes out!