Tokyo Marble Chocolate

In late 2007 Production I.G. released a 2 episode OAV set titled Tokyo Marble Chocolate that tells the tale of two awkward lovers and how they come to terms with their problems.

    Each episode follows the exact same time frame. The first, Mata Aimasho, is from the narrative perspective of Chizuru, the girlfriend. The second, Zenryoku Shonen, is from the narrative perspective of Yudai, the boyfriend. Chizuru and Yudai have had horrible relationships in the past, causing each of them to think that they are forever doomed to misery and failure in love. Chizuru has determined to break up with Yudai to save herself any more heart ache and to move on with her solitary existence. Yudai is trying to muster his confidence and explain to Chizuru his true feelings. They agree to meet for dinner. Both plan to exchange gifts, unknown to the other. Yudai’s gift is a way to help explain his love, Chizuru’s is a gift of parting. Upon their meeting Yudai’s gift to Chizuru, a miniature donkey, wreaks havoc and causes Chizuru to chase after it while Yudai has stepped away from the table. The wild donkey takes her on an adventure through town that causes her to loose her cell phone and the parting present. The donkey, smarter than either of the adults, knows where the present has ended up and helps to protect Chizuru from any perceived threats.

    Yudai on the other hand goes searching for Chizuru, the donkey and her phone. The present was supposed to be a bunny but there was a mistake at the pet store. Upon calling her phone Yudai discovers that a strange man has found it and is meeting up with Chizuru to return it. After hours of scouring the city for his girlfriend and the donkey, he returns to his own home to find an old fling needing a place to stay after a fight with her boyfriend.

    Will these completely compatible yet completely awkward people come to the realization that they are what the other needs or will misunderstandings and unspoken feelings drive them apart into loneliness and unneeded solitude?

    This is a quaint and cute story that has a total run time of about an hour. The animation is simplistic and actually reminded me of the old anime The Adventures of the Little Prince for some reason. The piece was created wholly by Production I.G. staff and is not based on any other source material. The timeline of the story is about 24 hours and as stated above each episode follows the same events but from the different perspectives of the main characters. Aside form the main characters, there are less then a handful of supporting characters that play minor roles. There is really no in depth development for any of the characters but you get a good sense of Yudai and Chizuru as the series shows their personalities and the troubles they bring. From beginning to end it is satisfying and while it would be nice to see more of the characters, which are a bit funny, there is no need for anymore of this story to be made. This is a nice and low key romance story with a bit of madcap comedy. If you like romances this is a nice little story to watch that won’t take too much time and will leave a warm feeling in your heart.

UPDATE: It appears that an English subtitle of the series exists, perhaps on the Japanese DVD, but does not seem to have been licensed or officially released in North America.