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Recipe for a Perfect Tokyo Marble Chocolate Experience
- Relax and unwind, do not set any expectations. Allow yourself to be immersed into the show, and appreciate the love it brings~
- Watch the guy part first, which I felt to have better transition despite the missing girl’s story part in between. And, I think it’d be better for you to see the girl as a mysterious character first, then discover who she really as you get to watch the story from her vantage point (I sort of spoiled this excitement, because I watched a little of the girl side first
). This, and also because I found the girl’s ending scene more touching and ‘complete’ - Take note of the missing details. Having questions, being dumbfounded as to how things happened is a good thing for this show, so long as you keep those in mind.
- Watch the girl part, and you’ll magically find the missing puzzle pieces in the story, and hopefully, be amazed by how the story of fate unfolded. Be moved by the ending scene, if you may. I found myself crying at that scene each time I watch it
- If you have the time, watch it again. It becomes even more amazing once you’ve rewatched it; watching the guy side with the girl side in mind, and vice versa.
- Understand the message of the ending songs, be immersed if possible.
If you’ve done all this, read all the reviews and raves for this series (and perhaps the bits of explanation I gave regarding some symbolisms), and still find yourself unable to fathom what the hype is all about, then I’m afraid I can no longer do anything about that 
The greatest factor affecting the achievement of the perfect Tokyo Marble Chocolate experience still lies in the audience after all. Because, as I’ve also mentioned a bit in my review, there are several factors inherent in every people which affects their enjoyment of a certain anime. What made me so delighted and indulged in this OAV might not elicit the same excitement from some people. But of course, it’ll be wonderful if we become kindred spirits who all share a great love for Tokyo Marble Chocolate 
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Hmm, I should be watching this over the weekend, or maybe tomorrow. D: Thanks for a wonderful no-obligations guide to TMC, this is probably one of the most reliable pre-watching posts (also because no one’s done anything like this!) I’ve read so far.
I was thinking of watching it in airing order, i.e. with the Girl’s side first, just for the heck of it. I know that everyone’s been recommending the Guy side first, but… I’m wondering about the path less taken. Is the Guy side really less climatic as an ending? How different would you think TMC would be if I saw the Girl side before the Guy’s?
I watched TMC earlier this week after the review by Lupus (THAT Animeblog) who also loved it.
Lupus suggested watching it guy side first but I watched it girls side first because that was the supposedly correct running order.
Either way I loved it and hope that a lot more of you out there will too.
Despite the shortness of the two episodes there is time for the characters to be well fleshed out so that you really care about them.
PS I want a mini-donkey!
@Owen: I got so inspired by TMC I actually managed to come up with something like this lol.
hmm… let’s just say the guy’s side wasn’t able to show some integral parts for the “ending”, the closing scene felt really incomplete, like a movie with an abrupt O__O ending. Hence I found myself crying over the ending of the girl side instead.
I really think watching the girl side first will spoil some of the fun and excitement, as though you’ve seen the “spoilers” beforehand.
@strichone: hehehe, Lupus and I share a great love for this show. We’re the two people in the ab channel raving about this, pimping other people to watch it
mini-donkey ftw~ \o/
Nice tips. The title of this OVA is quite curious (reminds me of cake and makes me crave for one) I suppose after watching it, I’ll have an idea why it’s called TMC(?) I also think I might need a box of Kleenex while watching this, no?
Production IG did a totally awesome job with Moribito. With them behind TMC and your recommendation, I think I’d check this out sometime soon. =)
Got it. That’s what everyone’s been saying, actually, but I was thinking of watching them in “reverse” as an exercise in… experimentation? lol. You could call it that. Anything to stand out.
Maybe it’s a traditional v.s. modern storytelling method thing, where the Guy - Girl viewing presents a more classic way of exposition, as opposed to the more contemporary Girl - Guy conundrum where, what with shows like Haruhi, Touka Gettan and all, chronological order becomes irrelevant. I was thinking along those lines.
Of course, I totally understand how and why everyone’s saying that the Girl side is more appropriate and “right” to end with, but I’ve never been one for the ordinary anyway.
@hazy: hehe, you don’t really need a box of Kleenex. it’s a tear-jerker, but not the emo-kind
just a single tissue will do 
@Owen: hahaha. actually, the order wouldn’t matter, so long as you rewatch it after
the experience will still be great 
(I mean, I actually spoiled myself by watching some of the girl part first lol).
If you don’t mind losing a little “aww”-ness factor, then go ahead and “experiment” on watching the girl side first
-possible spoilers-
I did it exactly as you said (actually I even watched it before reading this), but I fail to see how this OVA is so special. Srsly, the characters are boring and cliché as hell. Most of all, they aren’t even likable. I hated the guy. He is a spineless loser, who somehow still managed to get in all sorts of relationships. His biggest problem though seems to be that he can’t express his love. Wtf? I almost stopped watching there. If the guy is enough of a stud to get the girl, there is no reason why he can’t continue the relationship. Anyways, if the creator’s plan was that we should sympathize with him because of his o so tragic (like hell no..) love life, then he sure wasn’t trying very hard at doing an adequate job at it.
The girl isn’t much better. At least she doesn’t have these trivial problems as the guy, but she fails in other departments. Being a creepy whore is one of them. Stalking the guy you’re seeing might seem thoughtful to some, but to me it’s not. And no, I’m not sympathizing with her either, because she isn’t pitiful or anything. Her failure in love is mostly due to some silly accident, and being the melodramatic girl that she is, we now supposed to feel sorry for her?
We’re now led to believe that somehow the relationship between these two failures will work out. Well, it must be me, but all the partners they previously had seem more reliable to me. Putting two love failures together and hoping that it will work out just doesn’t seem realistic. Anyways, I wanted to type more.. but this show is just way too silly for me. This is fine usually, but it also tries to be realistic at the same time, while incorporating some drama which it just doesn’t pull off right.
@Required: As I’ve mentioned in my “disclaimer”, each of us have different principles and values, and the like, which affects our enjoyment of a series. I do understand where your complaint is coming from, and all I can say is that I managed to accept those faults in the two characters. wtf-ish as their problems or personalities are, there are people IRL who experience them, and it takes an open mind, an understanding heart to be able to accept them.
the girls in the guy’s past relationship wasn’t able to accept his weakness / lameness, imo. they all gave up on the relationship, thinking that it’s not going anywhere. Chizuru was also on the verge of giving up, but I really think that out of all the women in Yuudai’s relationships, she was the one most open to accepting Yuudai for who he is.
Melodramatic (which is another subjective term, btw) in its portrayal, I found Chizuru’s feelings but realistic. We can’t blame her for thinking that way about her love failures, considering what she’s been through. The “melodrama”, the pessimism, that’s what makes Chizuru Chizuru. People who can’t accept that will really feel disappointed, the way you did.
Hurrah, what a cool guide! I’m glad I found this before I watch it today. I was wondering which one I should watch first, and your method sounds perfect for what I love– lots of questions! Dramatic endings!
Can’t wait to see it now. Hahaha, I’ll probably cry buckets. ♥
@litchi: The ordering won’t really affect your love for the show, as Owen has also said. It’s just a personal choice, I guess