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We’ve talked about Tamon’s B-Side here at Siliconera before, back when the manga got localized. I raved about how well its characters are defined and the great moments we see from the very start. Now that the Tamon’s B-Side anime started streaming on Crunchyroll, I’m delighted to say J.C.Staff did not miss. It’s a fantastic show, and I think it might even be better animated than it is in print.
For those new to the series, Utage Kinoshita is in high school and loves the idol group F/ACE. Her oshi is the singer Tamon Fukuhara. To get money to attend concerts and buy merchandise, she works part-time as a house cleaner after school. When filling in for someone else at the agency, she finds herself assigned to be the housekeeper for Tamon. Except… he’s nothing like his effervescent, charismatic, bad boy self on stage and at appearances. He ended up “assigned” that role in the group and actually has incredibly low self esteem, spends a lot of time hiding away in his house, and seems incredibly depressed. Utage ends up becoming his permanent maid, and because of her love for the group and his work, she basically becomes something of an assistant and personal cheerleader who helps him with his idol tasks and life and gets him to essentially realize how great he is.
Now, a big part of why the Tamon’s B-Side anime works is the commitment to the bit. Both sides of Tamon go to extremes. When he’s “on” for work, he’s positively glowing. He does relish singing and performing, and he’s great at it. It’s just he has trouble accepting who he is and slinks back into himself when alone. So part of the humor comes from seeing that. Meanwhile, Utage seems reasonable and normal until it comes to F/ACE and Tamon stuff, at which point she goes over the top, gets extra expressive, and blossoms. Due to their two personalities playing off of each other, we basically get to see them develop as individuals and grow in positive ways. And the anime adaptation never shies away from showing (not telling) at every turn.
This also applies to the music. Like Kpop Demon Hunters, the group in the animation is who’s “music” we’re hearing. F/ACE, the boy band Tamon is part of, “supplies” the opening and ending theme songs “Sweet Magic” and “Hana to Yume.” They’re pretty catchy too, as you’d expect! It really helps with in-universe building.
As does the anime adaptation being true to the Tamon’s B-Side manga when it comes to character development. The original story is absolutely hilarious, with different members of the cast occasionally behaving in extreme and overly dramatic fashions. But a part of why that works is because there’s actual heart behind all of them, and real emotions that come through and get you caring about them. This is absolutely true about the leads Utage and Tamon from the outset. But when we do get to the point where we see other members of F/ACE and the facades they sometimes put on when at work, there are similar situations. It’s bringing us joy and making us laugh while also allowing for those connections.
Not to mention, J.C.Staff went above and beyond for the designs for this adaptation. It’s flashy, but in a gorgeous and well-executed way! The characters designs are incredible. There’s real effort put into the idol moments. It can go over the top and rely on some fun visual effects to help sell the humor. There’s so much care put into the adaptation, and it makes me feel like the people behind it perhaps enjoyed the idea and working on it so much that it came through.
Tamon’s B-Side is just a fantastic adaptation of the manga and, as a result, is one of the most exciting anime running at the moment. Even if you aren’t into shojo stories that definitely seem to be building up to a romance, it’s fantastic. The character development is great. The execution is lovely. The animation quality looks stunning. It should be on your watchlist.
The Tamon’s B-Side anime is streaming on Crunchyroll now, and the manga is available via Viz Media.
