Episode 07 – “She Went to Be a Bride”

It may be autumn in the Usagiyama shopping district, but the plot is finally starting to get heated up. Hinted at during the preview from last week’s episode, Tamako’s mysterious island visitor reveals herself to be Choi Mochimazzi and appears to be quite a fearsome force, despite her harmless appearance. She comes to the shopping district in order to check up on Dera who hasn’t been picking up his transmissions. One of the most pressing questions I have is why can both he and Choi speak and understand Japanese? Ah well, it probably would do little good to belabor such an insignificant point.

Fearing Choi, Dera explains that the reason he couldn’t go home was that Tamako trapped him there with food. This makes Choi cautious of all the friendly advances that she receives from everyone in the marketplace. Still, Tamako’s family lets her stay at their house so Choi naturally feels indebted to them. She pays them off by doing chores and even telling fortunes for all the townsfolk using Dera (apparently she’s some sort of bird whisperer). It’s also nice to see some mini-development for the inhabitants of the town, like the afro guy and the girl from the bath house.

Speaking of the bath house, Tamako, Anko, and Choi make several trips there throughout the episode, and Choi passes out in the bath every single time. I, and the rest of the townsfolk, feel bad for her because she’s essentially all by herself in a completely foreign land away from home. This, along with overworking herself doing chores, causes her to get sick. By the episode’s end, Choi learns that Dera was lying about being trapped by Tamako, and she appreciates all that everyone’s done for her.

I’m really liking Choi as a character, though. She’s the only character, besides maybe the two mochi shop owners, who acts really aggressively which is kind of breath of fresh air for a relaxed setting like Tamako Market. Choi also seems to have the ability to see a particular scent that the ideal bride for her prince carries, and apparently Tamako has that special scent. Interestingly, it seems that Choi may have some unspoken feelings for her prince though, which may end up complicating the romance even more than it already is. It’s nice to see more conflict and a throwback to the main plot line, though whatever direction the show will take now is really anyone’s guess.

B.W.