Tamayura (たまゆら) is a Japanese anime series written and directed by Junichi Sato. The initial four-episode original video animation (OVA) series was produced by Hal Film Maker and released over two Blu-ray Disc and DVD volumes in November and December 2010. A 12-episode anime television series produced by TYO Animations, titled Tamayura: Hitotose, aired in Japan between October and December 2011. A second TV anime season, Tamayura: More Aggressive, aired between July and September 2013. A four-part animated film series, Tamayura: Sotsugyō Shashin, was released between April 4, 2015 and April 6, 2016. Two manga adaptations illustrated by Momo have been published by Mag Garden.
Plot
Tamayura centers around a young girl named Fū Sawatari who moves to Takehara, Hiroshima to begin her first year of high school. Her late father grew up in Takehara and this is her first time back in the town in five years. Fū enjoys photography and is often engrossed with taking pictures with her father's old Rollei 35 S film camera. A shy girl, Fū tries her best to make friends early on, spurred on by her childhood friend Kaoru Hanawa. She quickly becomes friends with two other girls, Maon Sakurada and Norie Okazaki. After a year has passed, Fū forms a photography club and meets fellow photographer Kanae Mitani.
A high school girl with a love of photography. She uses a Rollei 35S camera passed on to her by her late father and is particularly interested in finding pictures containing specks of lights which she refers to as 'Tamayura'. She is a little clumsy and often trips and falls while trying to find the perfect shot. She has a habit of adding 'na no de' to her sentences. She especially likes to try to photograph Momoneko, a cat in the neighborhood. Her friends call her "Potte" (ぽって) after the noise she makes when she nervously walks.OVA ep. 1
Fū's childhood friend who used to play with her back when Fū first lived in Takehara. Her reddish-brown hair is styled in a ponytail. She has a self-proclaimed 'smell fetish', taking interest in all sorts of smells, and her hobby is making various blends of pot pourri. She has not decided on that for a career though.OVA ep. 1
An excitable girl with light brown hair and twin tails. She is infatuated with Fū's little brother, Kou. She enjoys making various sweets and cakes, and thinks about becoming a patissiere.OVA ep. 1
Introduced in Tamayura: More Aggressive. A local girl who is Fū's senior in high school, who joins her photography club. Like Fū, she also enjoys photography and uses a Pentax Q camera.
Family members
Kou Sawatari (沢渡 香, Sawatari Kō)
Voiced by: Kanako Miyamoto
Fū's little brother, who is sometimes mistaken for a girl. He is the one who rekindled Fū's love of photography following their father's death.OVA ep. 1
Fū and Kou's mother who decided to move to Takehara after Fū expressed a desire to return there. She works in her mother's café, often trying out new recipes.OVA ep. 1
Fū's grandmother (楓の祖母, Fū no Sobo)
Voiced by: Yoshiko Matsuo
Fū and Kou's grandmother who runs a café where Fū and her family live.OVA ep. 1
Kazuma Sawatari (沢渡 和馬, Sawatari Kazuma)
Fū's father, who died before the start of the story.OVA ep. 1
Kaoru's older sister and the one who gave Fū her nickname. Her hobby is exploring small, undiscovered places and she often takes Fū and her friends on lengthy trips.OVA ep. 3
A professional photographer who took an interest in Fū after she sent her some of her photos. She gave Fū a train ticket with no destination, which is a symbol of the direction one wants to take in life.OVA ep. 2
Fū's middle school friend during her time in Shioiri, who nicknames her "Fū-nyon". She often makes various stuffed animals and often cries easily. She made the cat shaped camera case that Fū keeps her father's camera in.
A new teacher at Fū's school who becomes the advisor of her photography club. She is also quite excitable and often tries to get Fū and Kanae to enter various contests.
Chihiro's friend and classmate, who helps her design characters based on her ideas. She speaks in a kansai dialect and gets over-excited when something piques her interest.
Takumi's friend who also joins the Photography Club. She is rather shy.
Media
Manga
A manga adaptation titled Tamayura, illustrated by Momo, was serialized in Mag Garden's online Eden magazine between October 8, 2010 and March 11, 2011. A single tankōbon volume was released on May 14, 2011.[6] A second manga adaptation titled Tamayura: Hitotose, again illustrated by Momo, was serialized in Eden between October 5, 2011 and January 20, 2013. Three volumes were released between February 14, 2012 and February 14, 2013.[7][8]
Tamayura was first produced as a four-episode original video animation (OVA) series produced by Hal Film Maker and directed by Junichi Sato.[9] The episodes were released over two Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD volumes on November 26 and December 23, 2010. Each episode is about 15 minutes long and is combined in a single video in two parts: the first two episodes in volume one, and the latter two episodes in volume two.[10] The episodes had previously aired on AT-X between September 6 and December 6, 2010.
A 12-episode anime television series based on the OVAs titled Tamayura: Hitotose (たまゆら〜hitotose〜, Tamayura: The First Year) aired in Japan between October 3[11][12] and December 19, 2011. The TV series is produced by TYO Animations and directed by Junichi Sato. The TV series is being released on seven BD/DVD compilation volumes between December 21, 2011 and June 27, 2012.[13] A 13th episode for Tamayura: Hitotose, which takes place between episodes five and six, was released on the final BD/DVD volume.[14][15]Nozomi Entertainment released both the OVA series and Hitotose in North America on October 6, 2015 via distributor Right Stuf Inc.[16][17]
A 12-episode second season, titled Tamayura: More Aggressive (たまゆら～もあぐれっしぶ～, Tamayura: Mo Aguresshibu), aired on AT-X between July 3 and September 18, 2013.[18][19] An OVA episode was released on June 14, 2014.[20] A four-part animated film series, titled Tamayura: Sotsugyō Shashin (たまゆら〜卒業写真〜, Tamayura: Graduation Photo), covers the final year of the story.[21] The first of these films was released in Japanese theaters on April 4, 2015, with the second film released on August 29, 2015, the third film released on November 28, 2015, and the fourth and final film released on April 2, 2016.[22]
Music
Opening themes
"Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta nara" (やさしさに包まれたなら, Wrapped in Kindness) by Maaya Sakamoto (OVA)
"Okaerinasai" (おかえりなさい, Welcome Home) by Toshiyuki Mori (Hitotose)
"Hajimari no Umi" (はじまりの海, The Sea of Beginnings) by Maaya Sakamoto (More Aggressive)
^"OVAスタッフ・キャスト：アニメたまゆら・公式サイト" [OVA Staff/Cast: Anime Tamayura Official Website] (in Japanese). Tamayura Production Committee. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
^"BD/DVD (OVA)" (in Japanese). Tamayura Production Committee. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
