TABIMACHI LATE SHOW

DESCRIPTION

CAST

REVIEWS

• 

  GrandPanacea

  100/100
  Love, loss, what could have been, and what could be...

  Tabimachi Late Show is a surprisingly emotional, four part anthology series dealing with love, loss, the past, and the future. The description given on the page says that it covers the theme of goodbyes and journeys, which it absolutely does, but it can also mean so much more. This review will cover the animation, music, art style of the anthology as a whole, and then a quick breakdown of the themes of each episode.

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  # ANIMATION The animation style used is rather unusual, in that it's a series of still images instead of a fluid animation. It was likely used as a way to keep the animation costs down, but it also presents a rather interesting feeling to the overall mood, an almost story book-like quality. The backgrounds have a white mottled look to them, which further enhances the story book feeling. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm definitely fond of it. # MUSIC None of the music particularly stood out. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. The emotional scenes had appropriate music that really helped enhance the overall mood, without taking too much of the spotlight. A subtle balance that some other shows could really learn a lesson from. # ART STYLE While every character is distinct, the art style itself isn't overly detailed. The simplicity is sort of comforting, in a strange way. This is obviously a personal bias, but to me, it feels relaxing, and helped draw me in with its unique charm.

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  # EPISODE BREAKDOWNS There will be minor spoilers, but everything will be as vague as possible. *Episode 1: Recipe* A story about a young man who aspires to be a chef, and the woman who trained him. We get to see the love and pride the young man has put into learning his craft, and how his life and hers intersect. A wholesome twist at the end leads to a heartwarming conclusion. *Episode 2: Transistor Smartphone* A memory of two high school girls who could have been so much more. We're shown what could very well have been a beautiful friendship (or more), had things been just a bit differently. A sorrowful yet realistic ending, with just a glimmer of hope. *Episode 3: Summer Festival* A familiar scene with a young girl getting ready for a summertime festival. Her mother tells her that the festival is for people to get a chance to see the spirits of lost loved ones one last time. She finds the friend that she had hoped to see, and the majority of the episode shows them doing typical festival activities. This is by far the most heart-wrenching entry of the anthology, and is also the entry where I started crying. This entry touches on love, loss, what could have been, and what things could be. *Episode 4: Clover* A teacher reminisces on her career as she readies to retire. A lifetime of teaching leads to a lifetime of memories, naturally. This entry starts in the past, and finishes strongly looking towards the future, with a lovely surprise. It also shows bits from the first three entries, tying everything together as a visual journey through love, loss, goodbyes, and journeys. A very satisfying conclusion.

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  Overall, Tabimachi Late Show is a very wholesome and heartwarming anthology that is definitely worth the 30 or so minutes it took to watch. Even if you don't end up liking it, 30 odd minutes isn't too bad, eh?
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• 

  Zedlin

  80/100
  "Maybe you only realize who you should have been friends with after it's already too late."

  Tabi Machi Late Show is a collection of four short stories around seven minutes in length with each story being different in narrative but are woven together in central theme. Each episode has its own section to separate my thoughts accordingly.

  Episode One: 8/10
  A great introduction to the collection of narratives presenting a story about Azuma a chef who has been teaching Nagi a chef in training for three years. Nagi truly looked up to Azuma as a chef and was a massive role-model for him. When making pomodoro for Azuma he asks what's the secret that makes her pomodoro better than his but the funny thing about it is there is no secret to making Azuma's a better dish. Azuma was the same way as Nagi when she was around his age and also looked up to her mentor when learning how to cook and wondered the same thing of what her mentor's secret was. But ultimately the true secret was that putting someone on a pedestal is selfish as you automatically believe them to be better than you and in someway could even be looked at as cowardly as you're putting so much responsibility on that mentors shoulders. Nagi leaves afterwards to continue studying cooking just like how she once did and how her mentor once did too, a cycle if you will. And as I'll mention later in the review, the central theme starts here saying farewell. Episode one is a great introduction to this short series and I appreciate how well written it is. One could argue that the animation is lackluster but I believe it adds charm plus the art-style in general stands out almost looking like its from a picture book so it fits the theme.

  Episode 2: 7/10
  "Maybe you only realize who you should have been friends with after it's already too late." - Akemi Kumeno
  High school is awkward and rough around the edges and that's how this episode felt. It's a short story about two high school girls with the first being one who's of few words, Koizumi, and another girl with a fake smile playing a phony game Akemi, and how they reminisce about how they could've been friends. After high school Akemi looks back at her time in school and realizes what could have been and also that Koizumi's words were right. Her fake smile shattered and the world around her fell apart. Only when she became older and she changed as a person did she realize her mistakes. But Koizumi was also in the same boat, she deep under her unsocial shell she wanted to be friends as well, both of them should have been more honest with themselves. I respected how the story made me feel so annoyed in the moment when Akemi and Koizumi were fighting, I knew that things could be different if they were honest with themselves! Regret is a feeling that lingers and persists into adulthood making always question what could have been. It's sad to think that many of our lives could be entirely different if we simply apologized which would have given Akemi and Koizumi a real chance at friendship. A pretty good episode but felt round around the edges.

  Third episode: 9/10
  That plot-twist at the end left me SPEECHLESS, a beautiful short story about the festival in which one can see those who've past. The twist being at the very beginning we see it from the perspective of the dead girl and her family making it seem that they are the ones who are alive and the boy she meets is the one who is dead. The overall vibe and art style in this one is so damn comfy, it left me feeling really melancholic. That reveal at the very end put the whole story into perspective and made the boys actions throughout the short story make much more sense and left me gut punched. Who knew a seven minute story could be so good?

  Fourth episode: 7/10
  4th ep: The fourth episode is about bringing the core message, the integral theme between each of the four short stories. Saying goodbye, not being able to see those people you care about you once more, or not being able to form a relationship and never seeing them again, to wave goodbye to those you love just like those in the past did for you, a goodbye is simply the ending of one part of your life. With that goodbye you transition into another and it could mean becoming a better person than you were before or it could mean regretting those past choices making you wonder what could have been like in episode two, but by saying goodbye you're moving on forward. All these stories were intertwined to such a high level, I adore all of these short seven minute episodes.

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