Tamako Market
Publication date 2013-01-09

Introduction

Tamako Market is a Japanese anime television series produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada, and written by Reiko Yoshida. Tamako Market centers on a young girl named Tamako Kitashirakawa, the daughter of a mochi shop owner located inside a shopping district in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward as her life becomes complicated with friendships, rivalries and the arrival of a peculiar bird, named Dera Mochimazzi, from a nearby tropical island.

The series aired in Japan between January 10 and March 28, 2013. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and adapted into English. A film sequel, Tamako Love Story, premiered in Japan on April 26, 2014, paired with a short film titled Dera-chan of the Southern Islands. In 2023, Kyoto Animation announced a new project to celebrate the anime's 10th anniversary. The Tamako Market series and the Tamako Love Story movie were later screened in theaters in June 2023.

Story

Tamako Kitashirakawa is the eldest daughter of a family which runs the Tama-ya mochi shop in the Usagiyama Shopping District (うさぎ山商店街, Usagiyama Shōtengai). One day, Tamako encounters a strange talking bird named Dera Mochimazzi who comes from a distant land searching for a wife for his country's prince. After becoming overweight from eating too much mochi, Dera ends up becoming a freeloader in Tamako's home.

The series follows the everyday life of Tamako, her friends, family and neighbors, and this peculiar bird. As well as keeping track to the main course of events, Tamako Market and the following Tamako Love Story film cover the emotional lives of the characters, particularly Tamako's childhood friend Mochizō's crush on her and both of them being too shy to open up to each other.

Units & Uniforms

Character List