Tari-Tari is a high school slice-of-life anime series. It has a pretty typical storyline for a slice-of-life story where there’s hardship and that the main characters would have to solve it. However, as typical as the story may be, it is still pretty enjoyable. Why do I use the word “enjoyable”? In short, it is because I actually enjoyed the story of this original anime series. I think it is pretty realistic and the events and occurrence that takes place in the story may happen to anyone in real life and not only in fiction. It gives viewers the feeling of familiarity. It is not hard to feel agreeable towards a hardworking and diligent person even though he or she may be stubborn at time, not knowing the limits to his or her abilities or powers. I believe that it is normal for human being to challenge oneself and get frustrated when faced with obstacles. The story of Tari-Tari tells the story of how five high school students gathered, and together, they formed an unlikely club, the “Choir and Sometimes Badminton Club”. For some reason an anime that uses a school as its background couldn’t run away from involving a club, as if classmates are of lower standards compared to clubmates and have nothing to say to each other – like for example, in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya there’s the SOS-dan, in K-On there’s the Keion-bu, and in Hyouka, there’s the Koten-bu. These five students in Tari-Tari, namely Konatsu, Wakana, Sawa, “Wien” and Tanaka, almost have no connection to each other. Konatsu wants to form a choir; Tanaka wants to form a Badminton club; Wakana wants to avoid music, Sawa likes horse-riding and wishes to enter a jockeying school; and finally, “Wien”, a new transfer student who just came back from aboard who just wants to learn more about Japan and make friends. There’s no true protagonist as the story is told from all five character’s point of view, and at different parts of the story. Each characters will have a background story of their own to tell, like for example how Wakana’s late mother is a classmate of the Vice-Principle of the school and both of them were members of the disbanded Choir Club, and how Sawa’s Priest father objects to her wanting to be a horse jockey. Unfortunately, the club was not recognized as an official club of the school as there is already a club that carries out the function of a choir. In fact, the main reason the new club was established is that Konatsu was barred from singing with the choir despite being a member. Konatsu is the short hyperactive girl with long silky yellow hair you see in the images above. She wasn’t happy so she started to gather around members to form a new choir, just so that she could sing. Konatsu managed to persuade Wanaka and Sawa to join the club, but could not find more members to fulfill the minimum number of students required to form a club in the school. At the end, she had made a wager with the boy Tanaka who wanted to form the Badminton Club – whoever loses in a badminton match would have to join the other side. With 3 girls against 2 boys, the result is quite obvious that Tanaka and Wien lost and so they had to join the choir. However, it seems that Konatsu had the following in mind, that if she lost, the club would be named the “Badminton and Sometimes Choir Club”, and therefore offered to form the “Choir and Sometimes Badminton Club”. Either way winning or losing, she would have had the choir club formed. Quite cunning, I must say. Despite satisfying the required number of students to form a club, their application was nevertheless rejected by the Vice-Principal, who herself being the advisor of the school’s official choir club. Overcoming the obstacle, Konatsu and gang went to the Principal and got his approval – he even offered to become their advisor. The “Choir and Sometimes Badminton Club” being a club that is not officially sanctioned by the school (i.e.Vice-Principal), did not get any subsidies nor any funds from the school to carry out their activities nor compete in any competition. As a result, the members of the “Choir and Sometimes Badminton Club” decided to take up a job at the local shopping districts… as a promoter to promote the stores in the shopping district, the “Shopping District Rangers”. Wearing custom made Power Ranger suits, they carried out performances attracting customers to visit shops at the shopping district. But of course, doing part time job was not permitted and so they got into trouble with the Vice Principal again…It has merely 13 episodes which I think is pretty unfortunate. Yes, every story has to end, buts in my opinion the storyline could have easily developed further. It is just too bad that neither the teachers nor the students could stop the demolishing of the school, and for it to be replaced with an old folk’s home. Indeed in Japan it is true that with the advancement in medicine and knowledge, people tend to live long and refuse to make babies. As a result, there would be more old people than youngsters. In fact, one statistics projected that up to 25.6% of the population in Japan would be of the age of 60 and above by 2030! However, no matter how bad the situation is, I still think it is not a good idea to close down schools and make young people suffer. Want to build old folks’ home? Go elsewhere in the countryside where the air is fresher and the water is cleaner.I would recommend Tari-Tari to anyone who like slice-of-life stories. There are important values that one could learn from the characters in this anime. Like for example, Konatsu. Konatsu is a character who is stubborn and does things her way. She is not allowed to sing, so she created her own club to sing. On the way there are of course obstacles, like for example, the club's application, and then to look for members, and then to persuade a teacher to become an advisor, and to actually present the club forming proposal to the school authority, etc. It is important to insist on doing what is important to you and not give up easily to pressure. If there is no road ahead, make a road. I know of someone who is currently trying to revive/form a club in my former High School. Not only she has her studies to take care of, but to reform a club that was disbanded, all I can say is that it wouldn't be that easy. This is why I have more respect for such people who would take the effort to build up something from scratch, and less respect for people who goes around discouraging people and destroy the things that have been built up by others. To end this article, I would like to share the following song “Kokoro no Senritsu”. It is the second ending theme of the anime. It is also one of the main pieces performed by the club throughout the story. In the anime this is the song which was written by Wakana’s late mother when she was a member of the choir in the school, and the choir won a competition with the song. Do enjoy. :)
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