Filthy Casual for Life

TAMON’S B-SIDE
Episode 1: You Need Money to Support Your Oshi!

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Idol

I’m part of a Facebook anime group that posts their recommendations/reviews/etc. The post had no commentary. It simply had the name of the anime and a single screenshot of a pink-haired idol crawling toward the female protagonist with a sexy look on his face. SAY. LESS.

I immediately went to Crunchyroll to seek out this temptation of a show. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it exceeded all of my expectations.

I am a sucker for palpitation-inducing male leads. While I normally gravitate toward the morally gray, maybe slightly sociopathic main character, I also gravitate toward the tokidoki ones, too.

Enter our female protagonist. Kinoshita Utage. Age 16. She’s a super fan of the idol group, F/ACE. Specifically, Tamon-kun, a pink-haired god of a man.

Kinoshita works as a part-time housekeeper. One day, her boss calls her in to work on her day off and informs her that the normal housekeeper is in the hospital. When she looks at the job sheet, she recognizes the name, but brushes it off as a coincidence. However, when she arrives, there, sitting on the floor, is a pink-haired mess of a man cowering in the corner oozing anxiety vibes.

Kinoshita recognizes him immediately and is shocked. She goes on to do her job, but interrupts him to ask where the detergent is. Tamon-kun is berating himself and having a meltdown.

Kinoshita admits to Tamon-kun that she is a huge fan. He apologizes to her since he is convinced seeing the in-real-life version of him is disappointing. He goes off on a negative tangent which fires Kinoshita up.

She goes into super-fan mode and exclaims how Tamon-kun is a god. Tamon-kun admits he become an idol to make people smile, but also admits how can people smile when he exudes so much doom and gloom. He confides in Kinoshita that he rose to fame so fast and people were quick to tell him things that made him question himself. Kinoshita immediately tells him that she will keep supporting him no matter what. She dubs his “off-work” personality as “Gloomyhara-san”.

Kinoshita notices that all he eats is packaged foods. She decides to take it up herself to make him healthier meals. Tamon-kun admits he doesn’t really like to eat other people’s homemade foods, but Kinoshita retaliates and tells him she can’t let him starve. Out of fear, he immediately eats a bite and is flung into “work mode.” While she fell to the floor, he seductively crawls toward her.

While he is referring to the chicken she just made him, his suggestiveness renders Kinoshita helpless. Tamon-kun flings back into Gloomyhara-san and apologizes. He admits that he has been so busy, his on/off switch is faulty.

The next day, Kinoshita is shopping and decides to make him some canned tuna spring rolls for dinner. At one of his television appearances, he is asked what he eats.

Tamon-kun runs into a problem. He was asked to take some candid photos for his fan club, but he can’t manage to get into work mode.

Kinoshita recognizes that he is all about fanservice. So, she creates fan signs that tells him what she wants him to do. On reaction, he flips into work mode and Kinoshita couldn’t be happier.

As she leaves for the day, Tamon-kun thanks her for helping him out. He admits that he thinks he is mentally prepared to handle their next show.

Tamon-kun’s regular housekeeper returns to work and Kinoshita accepts that her time with Tamon-kun is over. She’s going to be just another face in the crowd.

At the dome concert, she yells at the top of her lungs, “You’re so cool, Tamon-kun!”

He hears her voice and starts looking for her in the crowd. Then he see it. Her “Church of Tamon” sign.

It’s the break before the second half of the show. As Kinoshita passes an unauthorized entry door, someone reaches out and drags her behind the door. There, panting, is Tamon-kun. He asks her why she stopped coming to his apartment. She explains to Tamon-kun that she’s just a fan and that it isn’t right to keep him to herself. She tells him that she’ll end up troubling him. He tells her that it is for him to decide if she’s trouble or not. Then, he makes an admission:

Kinoshita can’t refuse him. She decides she’s going to be a bad fan and stand by his side.

THOUGHTS

It’s just the first episode and I already know it’s going to be my favorite show of the season for SO many reasons. As a BTS fan, I can relate to Kinoshita. I am so head-over-heels for Suga of BTS. When I see Suga smile, my heart skips a beat. When I see Kinoshita’s reactions to Tamon-kun, I totally get where she’s coming from! Will DEFINITELY continue to monitor.