Baka no Tabi [バカのたび]

Yo! Rotfuchs here, and I'm gonna do a review of Tamayura. Please note that this is the first time I've done something like this, so please bear with me. Also please note that this review is about the four episode OVA, released before the two twelve episode series. I might make a follow up review of Tamayura: Hitotose and Tamayura: More Aggressive in the future.

So, Tamayura. Watching this Slice o' Life anime left a warm and fuzzy feeling inside me. It's so light and heart warming that it turns anyone's frown into a smile. The setting, music and characters really come together to well, basically make you "feel good" after watching it. And who doesn't want that?

Story:

Tamayura is about the "healing story" of a girl who lost her dad. One day she discovers her father's camera, and decides to take pictures with it. Having found a special connection with her late father through the photos she took, she later decides to move with her mom and younger brother to the town her father loved to visit when they were younger. It's heartwarming and inspiring. The show is light on the comedy side of things, but the jokes are hilarious and the funny moments are well thought out.

Characters:

The characters of Tamayura are well laid out. There's the cliche' SoL characters normally present with the genre, like the childhood friend, wise old lady, etc., but the thing that makes the characters stand out from other SoL series is that each of them have a warm, lovable aura radiating from them. This gives the series its dreamy, warm and cute vibe. 

Art and Animation:

The city of Takehara (in Hiroshima prefecture), the setting for Tamayura, is well portrayed and illustrated. The backdrops have a very dreamy feel to them, and the animation is fluid. The photos took by the protagonist are very realistic, and give you a 'fuwa fuwa' feeling inside, which is great.

OP/ED:

Ohh, the soundtrack.. The music of Tamayura is just awesome. The very calming OP and ED plus the background tracks are really mellow and puts the viewer in the right mood, and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Overall, I rate this four episode OVA 5/10. Why the rating after that review? Well, simply because the sequels to it are just better. I enjoyed watching the OVAs, and I enjoyed watching the two series after them even more. I highly recommend this to Slice o' Life fans who needs to escape the monotony and dullness of everyday life. So if you want to cheer up, go watch this!