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!