The Initial Colours of Tsuritama

     Tsuritama, is the new series by A-1 Pictures, and is about fishing, which happens to be one of my favourite past-times. I was naturally intrigued by a show that involved fishing, and it is also coincidentally directed by Kenji Nakamura, so it's naturally going jam packed with enough colours to keep even the most severe ADD riddled person will be entertained. Nakamura for those who don't keep up with names, was the director of Kuuchuu Buranko, and Mononoke, both shows with strange and colourful direction. The show has Nakamura's fingerprints all over it, and is very reminiscent of his other works, both in the art direction, and general strangeness of it all.

He makes this face a lot.

     The series is about a boy named Yuki, who makes this horryfing face when ever he goes under too much stress. Yuki meets Haru, a boy whom claims that he is an alien, and forces Yuki to fish for some unknown reason. They are taught to fish by Natsuki, a classmate who is dubbed the "Fishing Prince." This whole time, they are being monitored by a man named Akira, and his duck Tapioca, who are connected to somekind of duck based organization. Together the three boys go fishing to find a large fish hidden in the ocean. The show is rather strange, and the plot is interesting, but there is a slim chance the series will take a dark turn, but until then, it's a fun little comedy/sci-fi series. The series has a much more interesting plot than some other series this season, such as Hyouka.

      The animation is unfortunately sub-par. The series looks choppy, has a lot of off models, and there are quite a few errors. The fishing scenes, particularly the one in episode 4, have very little motion and are mainly static images. The problem Tsuritama has, is that fishing isn't a static event. The build-up to the catch is, but the struggle with the catch is intense, and involves a lot of motion, which is something Tsuritama doesn't have. The problem is the same as Nakamura's other work, where he has no budget, but he does the usual and makes up for it with his strange direction. Not only is the plot strange, so are the visuals. The series has a lot of strange sights. The main character's face, an Indian man hiding in the sand with a duck, and garishly dressed woman lieing in a neon pond of water, that is enclosed in somekind of mushroom thing, all appear in this series, and are treated as normal events. All of these scenes are added to with a colour pallete that includes every colour known to man, as well as a few Nakamura has just discovered. The characters, particularly a man who may be the villian of the story, are just as colourful as the scenery, both in a design and a personality sense. The colourful art direction more than makes up for the poor animation.

The potential villian is just FABULOUS!

     The music in Tsuritama is just as strange as the art direction. The series has this really bizarre soundtrack, that not only sets the mood, but also sets itself apart from most animated series. The music is really upbeat and and catchy for the most part, but can be serious when it needs to be. I'm not too musically inclined, but it sounds like most of it is done on a flute, and aa gazoo of all things, but don't take my word on it. The opening and ending songs are also very catchy, and are two of the best of the season.

      Tsuritama will be a series I will be keeping up with. The show has good direction, music, and mysterious air to the plot, that all make up for the poor animation. The characters colourful peronalities, and the upbeat and mysterious plot will keep most veiwers entertained. Tsuritama is my early prediction of series of the season. I recommend watching Tsuritama.