Tokyo Marble Chocolate - Zenryoku Shounen & Mata Aimashou

Production I.G., along with GAINAX, are bastions of my anime fandom. Without them the deep-seated passion I have for anime, the faith that it is capable of producing entertainment unlike any other medium, would be diminished to the point of nonchalance. I would be one of those irritating casual types that evangelises about how cool that ‘manga’ bit in Kill Bill part one was and presume everything else is either tentacle sex or animated for paedophiles (a phrase coined by Bateszi long ago and something still despairingly appropriate when shifting through AnimeSuki today). Luckily, Evangelion happened. Then Cowboy Bebop happened. Then Studio Ghibli happened. And then, most importantly, FLCL happened. The rest is easy to surmise; my journey of appreciation is nothing unconventional, even if it resulted in a preference for the darker, weirder avenues that I write about here.

So, I tend to associate quality with these two particular companies. Even though they’ve frequently, time and again, upset and shaken that faith, I’ve never wholly dismissed their ability to completely ruin the competition. Enter Tokyo Marble Chocolate and again I am astounded.

I was Tokyo Marble Chocolate’s simpering bitch from the very first orchestral swell and aerial swoop of the gloriously sketchy scenery that opens the 'Zenryoku Shounen' instalment. The camera glides over suburban Tokyo, looking as though as it was drawn by a very talented, very cool twelve-year-old, and we zoom into Yuudai’s bedroom. Its owner anxiously dresses to meet his girlfriend for dinner, reminiscing of past failed relationships and deciding to break the cycle by telling his current girlfriend he loves her. The memories of Yuudai’s previous partners are mostly peppered with humour, but the final one, a pale, mysterious girl sitting worryingly apart from Yuudai on a park bench, is the most curious. She asks if they are in a relationship, to which Yuudai agrees, and she begins to ask, ‘Then why . . .’ only to break off, deciding to leave. While not as funny as the prior three this memory is perhaps the most crucial in understanding the current predicament Yuudai finds himself in with Chizuru. That being, as we find out, his inability to commutate his feelings.

The gimmick of this OAV is that each episode (of which there are two) is one perspective of the same set of events: one from the point of view of Yuudai, the clueless dolt attempting to make a grand gesture to secure the relationship with his girlfriend, and another from Chizuru, the girlfriend tired of her unrequited love, her unreciprocated iloveyous, deciding to that this day will be their last together. Throw in a miniature donkey, lots of humourous, touching shenanigans and you have a demonstration in pitch-perfect pacing and involving, schmaltz-free romance. Not since Honey & Clover have I been this enamoured by an anime that didn’t want to rape my mind and hurt my feelings. How on earth is anyone going to maintain a cynical front with these incremental sucker-punches to the heartstrings? Quick, fetch me Ergo Proxy so I may scowl again.

Both visually and audibly Tokyo Marble Chocolate is stunning. The character design is reminiscent of Chika Umino, Honey & Clover’s mangaka, suiting the listless melancholy that permeates throughout the OAV with a wonderful grace and beauty. Everything is hued with sumptuous washed-out watercolours and warm pastels; the characters’ extremities are constantly raw from the cold; snow constantly falls evoking an aching, indiscernible sadness. Every detail is seeped in a nostalgic domesticity that makes the experience impossibly charming and something that only the Japanese seem capable of achieving. It's starting to seem redundant to say this, but Production I.G. once again prove themselves to be the zenith of anime production with Tokyo Marble Chocolate. Another masterpiece to slip casually under their belts and another benchmark for everyone else to aspire to.

Tokyo Marble Chocolate is excellent. Short but sweet, it’s akin to eating a thin slice of gourmet cheesecake: you presume it won’t be enough to satisfy but by the end it feels like the best decision you made all day. 'Mata Aimashou' was probably my favourite of the two instalments because Chizuru seemed to have a touch more substance than the dimwitted Yuudai and it elevated mini-donkey from annoying mascot to RAGEFUL GUARDIAN OF ROMANCE. But both, in combination, are peerless examples of elegance and beauty. Ignore and lose out dramatically.

Comments

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