First Impression: Tadaima, Okaeri

To say that Masaki and Hiromu Fujiyoshi have an unusual relationship would be an insult to the word “unusual”…and it’s not because they’re both males. In this world, people are given the classification of being Alphas or Omegas, with Alphas seen as a higher social class than Omegas. Marriage between the two divisions is extremely rare, which makes the union of Alpha Masaki and Omega Hiromu pretty controversial, to say nothing of the two of them having a young child named Hikari. But they somehow made it work and moved to the suburbs to start their own lives as a family. Of course, they must deal with the stigma of being a “mixed couple” while trying to raise a prodigiously precocious toddler. How will these two guys be able to raise their precious bambino while living in a world where some believe they shouldn’t even be a couple? Cue the adorable shenanigans!

It’s no secret that when it comes to romcoms in anime, so long as the story is prodigious, I could care less if it’s a same-sex couple. A good story is a good story—gay, straight, or otherwise. That being said, while this was a solid first episode, at this point, I’m a little hesitant to add Tadaima, Okaeri to the ranks of Sasaki and Miyano and The Stranger by The Shore. At least not without seeing more of where this story goes.

Don’t get me wrong, this first episode was cute, and seeing the mature and loving relationship between Masaki and Hiromu is heartwarming, but there are just a few things that left me a little confused from the onset. Having never really come across the phrase “Omegaverse,” I had to do my research just to get the idea. As I can see it, we’re dealing with a dominant (Alpha) and submissive (Omega) style of relationship with the later having the ability to get pregnant (Hiromu states that he carried Hikari for 10 months). Truth be told, when I first saw the phrase “Omegaverse,” I was thinking this was some sort of Marvel/DC Comics thing. Unless Spiderman got pregnant in one of the comic books and I didn’t know about it, I think I was WAY off the mark. Don’t judge me. While this is an interesting concept to be sure, it does leave a lot of questions, but I get the feeling that the show will explain a bit of this later on, as it does trickle in a few clues about the divisions between Alphas and Omegas in this premiere episode. It would’ve been nice, though, if they gave us just a bit more information or clues as to what’s going on and why exactly Omegas are discriminated against. I think it would add a bit more substance to the narrative outside of the cute antics of the adorable Hikari.

I know it sounds like I’m downing this one, guys, but I promise you, I’m not! This looks like it’s going to be an interesting watch that will, at the very least, fill the void left by Cherry Magic. Watching Msasaki and Hiromu interact with each other and their kid is just too cute for words. The antics of two parents going through the day-to-day with their little toddler is something a lot of people can relate to. Production-wise, this one is pretty standard fair. Nothing to write home about animation-wise or music-wise. It seems like a lot of BL anime have the same sounding OP as of recent—just some generic J-Pop Boy Band. Yawn.

So where does that leave us with Tadaima, Okaeri? Well, I’m interested enough to continue along with it for a few more episodes to see where it goes. Now that I’m a little more versed in what exactly the Omegaverse is and the rudimentary concepts of it, I’m very intrigued to see how that will play out in the narrative. How will the whole Alpha and Omega thing be used to push the story along? Will the show itself explain what this means? For what it’s worth, I’m glad that there is a BL story that goes beyond our lead characters finally consummating their relationship, and shows them in a domestic role that has been a hetero-only narrative for years now. It could be said that Cherry Magic walked so Tadaima, Okaeri could run…or at the very least take some tentative steps forward. Where will it end up? We shall see!

Tadaima, Okaeri is streaming on Crunchyroll. Check out this article about our approach to yuri and yaoi media.

Josh
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