Anime sure loves its high school drama, doesn't it?
Tari Tari was a little hard to pin down at first, even as a slice-of-life show. There's usually some kind of through line in these things--which are usually pretty general, like "growing up" or "friendship"--but for a while I wasn't sure what it was in Tari Tari. Was it the club? The ongoing struggle against adults who don't agree with them? Wakana's unresolved angst? At the end, I think the closest thing we got to a through line was "music," yet I'm not sure if I'd call this a music show. My point is that Tari Tari had a lot of balls in the air, and I don't think it came together very well.
Don't get me wrong; Tari Tari is a decent slice-of-life show. The problem comes in when it toes the line between that and drama. There's nothing wrong with this approach--life has its dramatic moments--but there were times when it felt more cheesy than authentic. Wakana's backstory and sudden turnaround from loner teen to enlightened songwriter is the biggest culprit in this because the story tried too hard to sell it. Yes, what she went through was sad and horrible, but that does not mean that by getting through it she suddenly has the answer to every situation, even those that don't concern her. If the story had stepped back just a little bit from connecting everything to Wakana's tragedy, then the character would've had more of my sympathy.
The cheese doesn't stop there, though. Overdone reactions are all over this show, from the hilariously good ("I don't money") to cringe-inducing bad (singing a Power Rangers-style song in front of a conveniently placed sunset). How these will go over with you depends on personal taste, but personally I found a lot of it unnecessary even when I did like it or find it funny. This show skirts the line with joining the "club that does anything but their title" group of anime. Even though they were singing and practicing (and sometimes badminton), their activities and the amount of effort put in doesn't really seem to match up with their indignation at not being treated like a real club.
This ties in to how the show treats them as characters. I found the main cast likable, but for each character it was either too much or not enough. I mentioned above the problem I have with Wakana, and Sawa and Wein get similar overdone treatment. However, Wein's drama gets played as more of a joke. In fact, both Wein and Tachi are mostly ignored, and when they aren't they're the butt of a joke. Tari Tari got some attention at the start of the season for having *gasp* male main characters, but "main" is stretching it. As much as I like the two, the show is much more concerned with Wakana's angst, Sawa's looks, and Konatsu's random behavior. The side characters don't fare much better; with the exception of the parents, they all seem to be overblown caricatures, whether comedic or ridiculous. The later fall into the role of the villains, standing in the way of the main characters doing whatever it is they want to do. This gets particularly silly towards the end. Again, this would've been a good place for the show to step back and try to evaluate what it was doing.
However, when the show isn't acting cheesy or overselling itself it can be entertaining. The idea that you should do something because you like it strongly resonates with me, even though at times I didn't understand what drove Konatsu. The subplot involving the vice principal and how she gradually remembers what it felt like to be a high school student doing something you loved, not because you thought it was important for your future or would make the school look good, was well done in my opinion. And while I found the way they wrapped up the West Shop Rangers arc to be really silly, it was my favorite arc overall just for how the way it played with tropes and got a genuine laugh from me. The music and songs for this show were good as well, if you consider them outside of the cheesy context. Also, the visuals are second-to-none. P.A. Works delivers again.
Altogether, this is an "okay" show, but one of the better examples of the slice-of-life genre at its best points. Since this show shares the same studio and a lot of the same staff as Hanasaku Iroha, I think that there was some pressure for Tari Tari to also juggle dramatic elements in the same way that show did. In my opinion, the drama was the weakest part of the show. Establishing a club against the wishes of the jaded vice principal was more than enough of a premise for a slice-of-life show to work with. After a certain point, it felt like the show was adding cheese just for the sake of cheese. However, there are times when the characters and optimistic spirit do shine through. If you're a fan of slice-of-life and can forgive the overdone moments, then this is a charming show to watch.
Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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