Series Review: Tari Tari (a drama with too little drama)

Instant Summary: A bunch of people forms a choir club... and high school drama.

...maybe I'm too literal with the summary, but there's really no point going further than that. I'll explain why.

Well, I going to compare this to Hanasaku Iroha, like everyone else. Being HanaIro's "spiritual successor", both titles have a lot in common, even if the premises suggest otherwise. To simply put, they are original storylines produced to work for the very unique storytelling associated with studio P.A. works. I had a different opinion than most people though, because while I loved HanaIro, Tari Tari ended to be a bit of a letdown for me.

HanaIro has its really boring segments, but it has its moments. Tari Tari on ther other hand, seems to be intentionally straying away from opportunities to create such moments. Why didn't they go for an epic dramatic fight for the festival? Why didn't they create a dramatic battle for recognition? The chances are definitely there, any writer can see it. Taking the chances would make the plot a little more predictable than they like, but Tari Tari needed the impact, because that's what it sorely lacks.

The style of Tari Tari, (and HanaIro) uses very different dialogue from other anime, a more "realistic" method of storytelling that relies on the lack of exaggeration, and the little details in actions and words to make it work. They probably think that that gives them the excuse to refrain from the twists and tropes that creates the necessary impact, but I had to disagree.

I'm full of praises for the show early on for one reason, and that same reason allows me to enjoy the show right till the end. It's the characters. In fact, I'll say that Tari Tari would be un-watchable without characters like these. I had to point this out even though the story style I mentioned above is literally about how the character worked. They were especially successful with the character Okita Sawa, which is why she appeared 7 times in this post, although it's still hard to point out why this character is so interesting. She's a mature, go-getter, fun girl with a sense of humor and huge tits and the spiritual leader of the group. And damn, if any girls actually smiles like that, I'll fall helplessly in love with her.

You can't see it, but she has already fired her moe beam. Taichi knows what I mean.

Tari Tari is one satisfying ending short to be one of the most memorable titles I've seen. Remember that before the season started, people were complaining about how generic the premises were? While that would have worked with the story style, they never escaped the drawbacks of it. Right up to the end, the story strayed away from all the paths I wished it would take. Like, damn, why can't they give us the couple, even if they've just shipped it for one episode?

Plot/Concept: Upsetting...
Story Style: Awesome!
Audio/Visual: Excellent!
Value: 8

P.S. Finally had a chance to create a proper pic for Sawa in the top 3 bishoujo post!

Top 3 Bishoujos of Summer 2012

I figured that this could become a regular thing. It's fun photoshopping the pics anyway.

3. Takamura Yui (Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse)

Despite her good looks and impossible figure, I liked how humbled her character is, without any intent on faulting her assets. Except for the body suits, of course. The studio would be insane not to service her to the viewers in some way.

I loved how incredibly strong her character was. The horrible events in her past almost broke her down, but what emerged after that was a unsympathetic, stubborn, and intimidating character. The story is playing on her tsundere tendencies though. Gap moé, right?

I always see Nakahara Mai as VA who are meant for "soft" roles, so I never imagined that she would be this good when she brought Tokiha Mai (Mai-HiME)'s voice to a deeper, angrier tone. Hopefully, we get to see more roles like these for her in the future.

2. Okita Sawa (Tari Tari)

Konatsu might be the heroine of the show, but I feel that Sawa is one who really made an impression. But rather than her personality, it's usually because of her role in the story. She always seems to be the one to offer a different opinion, a funny line, or a push in the right direction. You can even say that she is the adult of that group. Though, I wished she had a more distinct and stable personality for the story.

1. "Watashi" (Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita)

This nameless protagonist is probably one of the most unique characters you are ever going to see. It's strange, because despite being the main character, she rarely has input into anything that happened in the show. Usually all we get from her is a cynical remark that is almost reminiscent of Kamijou Touma's "Fukou da~". Even though she is more of a narrator than your usual character, she became the reason for the show's unique brand of comedy. Too bad it's pretty much impossible to replicate such a character in other genres.

"Watashi" is voiced by Nakahara Mai too. Maybe I'm giving her too much credit, but I've began to see how good Nakahara Mai really is. Takamura Yui and "Watashi" are polar opposites in character, but she did such an amazing job for both. Why didn't I realize it before?

Tari Tari Ep3: I could hear Sawa and Konatsu talk all day...

Y'know, if they would make a Joshiraku with just Sawa and Konatsu talking the whole episode, it would instantly be my favourite show.

Man! I can't pick my favourite anime of the season between this and Kokoro Connect. Two of the best high school drama I've seen in a long time, and they both in the same season. Maybe it's just my kind of show? There's a ton of similarity between them, from the style to the casting. Well, but Kokoro Connect try to make use of more generic characters; Tari Tari's cast are nothing short of unique.

A new thing that caught my eye (or ear) this episode, is Sawa's (Hayami Saori) accent, or say, manner of speech. I've mentioned that the characters of Tari Tari talks very differently compared to other anime, and Sawa seems to be the most prominent one out of the group. And now that I look at the dialogue of some other title, it all feel so scripted compared to Sawa's nonchalant chat. I've never really took notice of Hayami Saori before; the last time I heard her was in Wagaya no Oinari-sama where she voice a loli miko, and she didn't leave an impression that time, other than being genuinely young. Is it that the seiyuus are taking it up a notch with Tari Tari, or did the script pushed them to perform something different and better? Because I don't remember Seto Asami perform like this either. Maybe it's just the way they kept cutting into each other's sentences, because you don't often see anime dialogue like that. Either way, I should keep an eye out for Hayami Saori's future roles.

I should have guess that this is just the beginning of the choir club, as after the performance last episode, the nameless characters all quit en masse. It should be obvious that the five would be the club, but given their different interests I never saw how. I'm flabbergasted at the choice of "Choir and sometimes badminton club", but I guess that makes sense. It's very Konatsu-like.

Sometimes I feel that I'm enjoying the presentation so much that I don't care what the plot is really about. But now that the stage is set and all the actors are on it, we'll finally start to see the best Tari Tari has to offer. (ooh, bikini Sawa next episode!)

Tari Tari Ep2: P.A's little quirks

The way the first episode puts it, I'd thought that the joint recital would be the final part of the entire season as a climax or conclusion. I didn't think it would come so soon after they managed to put a club together, since the joint recital is the supposed biggest event for the club after all. But now that you look at it, I guess it's a good way to kick start the club, since they've already gotten off a late start in their third year.

The plot of this entire episode is where they somehow managed to get the recital going even after a series of disasters. It feels pretty cliched because of how well these problems are timed to occur together, but it didn't feel like that in the episode. It's difficult to describe how well it came together, but I'd like to say that it stems from story style/directing that seems to be unique to P.A. works. Well, just HanaIro and this, actually. It might not have been the same director, but the style share a lot of similarities that makes it very different from other anime. Sometimes I feel that they deliberately make the character speak fast and avoid chewing on their words. It is their realistic manner of speech? Is it the lack of exaggerated expressions that is a supposed anime norm? Is it the little quirks with their reactions that I feel that I can relate to if I was in the conversation? I've mentioned this with HanaIro before, but still can't quite put my finger on it.

As with HanaIro, I don't think I'm watching the anime for the story, but more for their deliverance of story delivery and expression of its characters. The characters didn't draw me in like Ohana did, but the chemistry between the five did. Well, just three actually, until the guys actually fits into the picture. Overall, it was just very satisfying to feel something very different from what you'll expect from anime.

From the looks of the preview, maybe Tari Tari isn't all about the choir club after all?

(my god, Sawa is huge)

First Impressions of Tari Tari

Instant synopsis: A girl who blew her chance to sing with the school's choir tries to start her own club.

Man, the ANN synopsis sure makes this sound boring. But if you're trying to figure out what this show is about, you don't have much to go on; my instant synopsis pretty much covers everything that happens in the first episode.

But within the first 5 minute of the show, Tari Tari quickly reminds me of HanaIro and how much I love it. It might not be HanaIro's director and writer at the helm, but P.A works still shows the same intricate attention to detail and the animation that separates each character. In short, the production quality is superb.

The way I see it, the show would probably about these teenagers finding their dream, working hard towards a goal, overcoming obstacles... usual stuff like that, but they might surprise me. I don't suppose it would be too different from the story style of HanaIro, although I don't think that would be well-received by many people.

Still, it's getting off an excellent start. And I love Seto Asami's portrayal as the energetic Konatsu.

Verdict: Watching

Summer 2012 Pre-season Impressions

I stopped writing "season previews" because for all the info you will want for the upcoming seasons, there's only three places you need to go to (except for MAL and such): Random Curiosity (probably the most famous anime blog there is), The Cart Driver (probably the most popular anime blog there is) and Star Crossed Anime Blog (probably the best anime blog there is). There's no point in recreating all that background info when someone else has already done it, and done it better; so from now on, it'll just be Pre-season impressions.