Tari Tari - 02 - Lost in Anime

So far, Tari Tari is a pretty good illustration of how you don’t necessarily have to do something new in order to do something good.

I don’t intend to belabor the comparisons of this show and Kokoro Connect – they’re obvious enough without me harping on it, and I don’t want to seem as if I’m beating up on KC, whist still has a chance to be a good series. I do find it fascinating, though, just how much more of an impact Tari Tari is making despite being a completely derivative premise. Unless you’re going completely off the grid like Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, you can’t build a really good show without going from the ground up – and that’s with the characters. And the three girls (mostly) and two guys here seem much more alive than the ones in KC. Despite the fact that they aren’t really doing anything all that interesting, I’m much more interested in watching them. The cast has a lot to do with that too – in Kokoro it’s an older cast than sounds a little forced and weary, but this group does a better job of convincingly bringing actual high-schoolers to mind. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that the visuals here are so much more vibrant and detailed – it can’t be P.A. Works without a little Shrine porn.

Make no mistake about this either – there are some problems with Tari Tari, above and beyond the fact that it seems to be almost totally lacking in originality. I’m having a few issues with Konatsu, first of all. I’m irritated at the way she bullies her brother, and her out and out stupidity sometimes – like breaking out screaming in the back of a moving car driven by a very pregnant woman – tries my patience. She’s also dancing a little close to the annoying side of the “plucky heroine” scale. So far she’s basically a selfish person who may have strong ideals but isn’t too concerned with the feelings of others – she has the negative traits of Ayase Chihaya, but so far without as much charm. It’s early though, and none of that has made me dislike her. I’m also not seeing any indication yet that Wien and Daichi are here as anything more than window dressing, though they’ve both made solid impressions in limited screen time. If they’re not going to be important characters I’d rather just ditch the pretense that they are, but my hope is that once they’ve actually joined the Choir Club they’ll be allowed the same opportunity to be actual characters as the three girls.

More important than those concerns, though, are what Tari Tari isn’t doing wrong, and what it is doing right. It’s not acting too much like a HanaIro clone, first of all – though it’s close enough to still be a concern. The pacing in the first two eps has been impeccable, keeping my solidly involved in the on-screen developments from start to finish. It’s giving each character enough quirks to make them interesting and three-dimensional, and there’s a real knack for humor, too – I especially enjoyed the scene where Sawa was waiting for Takahashi-sensei in the maternity ward, with the unspoken implication playing out in the faces of the other patients. Very sharp and just a little edgy. I also laughed at Taichi’s “After we eat we’re getting you a better book” and Sawa referring to Konatsu as her pet.

In term of actual plot advancement, things moved rather more quickly than I expected, and that might be a good thing too – like a relationship series that gets to the confession early, TT gets us over Konatsu’s stage fright plateau right away. After blackmailing Makoto to get a few friends to join the club she gets the Principal – vaguely a Colonel Sanders lookalike (Houki Katsuhisa, an old-time seiyuu who was great in Zettai Shounen) – to sign off as advisor. He seems most interested in Sakai’s name on the roster and in the presence of the “Dancing Violinist” at the group recital coming up – an event that comes upon us much faster than one might have thought. After the Principal has an accident and Sawa has to scrounge up Takahashi-sensei to supervise, the rest of the kids are stuck in traffic and it’s up to Konatsu and Sawa to sing alone – until, that is, Sakai joins them on piano. And what that phase one of the story is already over, seemingly.

The backstory is plainly going to start to flow now, with the clear implication from the OP that the Vice-Principal was a friend of Sakai’s late mother. It appears to be memories of her mother that keep Sakai from singing in public, and the VP has serious issues with the song Konatsu chooses for her new club to perform at the recital – probably another connection with Mom, as we share Sakai’s flashback of singing it with her mother. I hope we don’t go too overboard with the VP turning out to be a misunderstood softie with a heart of gold (even here, I have a maximum quota of clichés I’ll tolerate), I hope Konatsu learns a little sensitivity, and I hope Taichi and Wien get the chance to actually join the cast rather than being props. But given all the potential reasons for this show to struggle, I’ve been surprised by how fresh it feels and how much I enjoy it.

17 comments

Fencedude

July 9, 2012 at 6:32 am

Sawa completely and totally stole this episode. Not even a competition.

Its the hat. Definitely the hat.

I'm very interested in seeing where we go from here because the main goal Konatsu set out to achieve has been, well, achieved. So now what? Other than Sawa having massive amounts of swag with a girl on each arm.

Anonymous

July 9, 2012 at 7:40 am

I especially enjoyed Sawa's ass slap, when for a second I though they might go with the cliche face slap/double cheek slap or something. It reminds me of what me and my friend do to each other.Also seriously contemplating making Suwa's fabulous outfit but i don't think i have enough boob to fill it lol… 🙁

Anonymous

July 10, 2012 at 1:33 am

I agree, ass slap is more suited to Sawa than a face slap. It suits her personality more and I guess it prevents that scene from becoming a bit too over dramatic.

Asobi

July 9, 2012 at 8:31 am

Tari Tari is shaping up to be surprisingly watchable. I didn't seem to find as much fault with Konatsu as you did, and the characters, the main reason we're all watching this in the first place, are all genuinely likable to me. Do agree that the male characters needs more exposition, and it seems that we just might get that next episode, if the preview is any indication.

dv

July 9, 2012 at 8:51 am

So after 2 episodes and a bit more next week, choir arc is done. so next is a badminton club? Guess just as the name sounds, Tari Tari is a really random anime about clubs in school?

Altritter

July 9, 2012 at 2:03 pm

Nah, I'm pretty sure the whole show is going to be about the Choir Club. Sakai hasn't gotten over whatever caused her to stop singing, and the OP has all five main characters singing together.

Anonymous

July 9, 2012 at 10:06 am

I don't know… This episode sure is likable and everything, but also seems a bit rushed for me. Now that they have got over the choir arc and Konatsu's stage fright, I hope they won't throw it away completely, even if it seems that next arc is about the badminton club. Maybe the five MCs can join many activities at the same time or something…

Anonymous

July 9, 2012 at 10:31 am

I was a bit taken aback by how fast the recital went, but everything played out nicely.
As for Sakai's mom and the VP, I'm guessing they were the people responsible for writing the song they chose.
Hope the guys get more limelight though. Especially Wein XD

Ishruns

July 9, 2012 at 2:01 pm

PA Works just trolled all Otaku with that bath scene. Kudos to them for that. I just can't not like Konatsu since Asami Seto voices her, but she's not my favourite that goes to either Sawa or Wein.

admin

July 9, 2012 at 5:17 pm

They actually did the same troll two weeks in a row.

Kinny Riddle

July 9, 2012 at 5:13 pm

LOL at Colonel Sanders principal. Pity we won't see more of him.

Due to Sawa's show-stealing this week, for now, it's Sawa > Konatsu > Wakana for me. Though it's actually very close between the three, but Sawa edges out.

Oh, and here's the said video Sawa took of Konatsu's previous epic-fail recital, which she promptly uploaded to niconico for the lulz.
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18254765

admin

July 9, 2012 at 5:18 pm

Given that singing is deeply flagged as the one thing that ties everyone together (except Wien, so far) I think it's safe to assume the Choir Club is here to stay as a plot device.

Kentaiyoshimi

July 10, 2012 at 4:47 am

I was a bit surprised by the pacing too, although I'm glad they didn't dwell so much on the recital. For some reason, it felt like the transitioning between scenes seemed clunky.

Even if the show takes a nosedive into oblivion, I'd still watch this because of Sawa. She is by far the most interesting and enjoyable character to watch. It's nice they're taking time to develop the characters.

Sawa's fashion sense; cute, sexy, and classy at the same time.

admin

July 10, 2012 at 5:11 am

It'd be nice if they took the time to develop all the characters, and not just some of them.

Highway

July 10, 2012 at 5:48 am

I liked that they got through the recital fast. I was kind of afraid that it was going to take up the whole season, but instead they just blew past it, and now they can get on to other stuff. I think they're also going to take the opportunity to jettison the rest of the choir club that they had to round up for the recital, especially since they ended up being basically frozen out of the performance. I had thought they might do something where the rest of the choir files in while they're singing the first verse, and join in for the second, but instead they went to the ED credits.

And I adored that song. Hayami Saori is one of my favorite singers in the world (really), and it was a really nice duet and a really nice tune overall.

Beckett

July 10, 2012 at 7:19 am

Another good episode of a good if not outstanding show. This show for some reason is just so… easy to watch. A solid palette cleanser after watching episode 2 of Muv Luv.

rabujoi

July 10, 2012 at 3:54 pm

Hanasaku Iroha was among our favorite series of the last few seasons, and we were intrigued by the prospect of P.A. Works going in a very similar direction with Tari Tari here.

Konastu and Sawa running around town to get everything in place reminded us a lot of Ohana's crazy schemes in which not all the pieces fit together quite like she intended, but everything works out fine in the end.

Even though Tari Tari will only be half the length of Hanasaku Iroha, this second episode proved to us that they can squeeze a lot of material into one outing – developing characters in the process – and still deliver a polished and entertaining drama.

It did this by for the most part omitting Taichi and Wien for the benefit of maximizing the development of the relationship between the three girls. I liked this method, and the previews indicate they'll be integrating Taichi next week.

We'll end by saying we LOVED Sawa's simple, slightly drawn-out "NO" in response to Mrs. Takahashi asking if she's pregnant. You'd think it was a joke, but Takahashi's tone suggested otherwise…

Tari Tari – 02

Guardian Enzo

17 comments

Fencedude

Anonymous

Anonymous

Asobi

dv

Altritter

Anonymous

Anonymous

Ishruns

admin

Kinny Riddle

admin

Kentaiyoshimi

admin

Highway

Beckett

rabujoi

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Lost in Anime

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17 comments

Fencedude

Anonymous

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Asobi

dv

Altritter

Anonymous

Anonymous

Ishruns

admin

Kinny Riddle

admin

Kentaiyoshimi

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Highway

Beckett

rabujoi

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