Tari Tari revolves around a group of five high schooler's who even though they all have very different goals in life do share a common interest, music. Singing, in particular. They all find themselves in a newly formed club to sing together, for the joy of singing, and not under the structured rules of the other related clubs. As expected we have plenty of drama and squabbling with the power that be as they try to crush our little upstarts at every chance. But despite the clichéd sounding themes of the main plot it does manage to deliver an overall story that is pretty well rounded and within the realm of reality.
Probably what Tari Tari does best is give us five believable protagonists who all struggle with their own problems, mostly typical of your average teenager on the cusp of adulthood. They have realistic and achievable dreams and goals that I think the average viewer can relate to, unlike many of the fantastical settings most anime are based in. Not to say this is a bad thing in all cases, I just think that it’s refreshing now and then to have more down to earth characters. The storylines featuring Wakana and Sawa were clearly the highlight of the series, and even though some of the smaller subplots weren’t really adequately wrapped up I found myself with little to complain about overall.
Because it doesn’t allow itself to get buried underneath a girth of over exposed side characters, Tari Tari's cast really shines. I would challenge anyone to find even one of the main cast that they couldn't like. Even though the show does not really have any one character in which the story is told through, the majority is seen, not unexpectedly through our three female leads. Mostly because of the strength of their own personal arcs, Wakana and Sawa really stand out from the rest. In particular I found myself drawn to Wakana who has the most heart-wrenching back-story. The whole dead parent plot device has been done to death but I felt her story was very moving and powerful.
Of the series antagonists and side characters really only stands out, the vocal club advisor and Vice Principal Naoko Takakura. While she is at first glance just you’re run of the mill constipated anime bitch, she has a humanity about her that makes you feel for her. Too be honest I felt her story was just as interesting as any of the main characters, perhaps because it was also tied to Wakana's story.
The vocal cast features a good mix of seiyuu veterans and newcomers. While I enjoy hearing some new voices, it’s always nice to hear a couple of my favorites such as Saori Hayami and Ayahi Takagaki and a great deal of my overall enjoyment of Wakana’s and Sawa's characters was due to their performances. As a show about music you would also expect a great deal of songs, which there are. Most of these are performed by the cast. The ED theme in particular was my favorite and never found myself growing tired of it. The OP, sung by AiRI is a veteran of many other anime/game projects people are likely to be familiar with but this was best song I have heard from her yet.
I loved all the character designs for the main cast, as they all had believable body types and mostly looked their ages. Konatsu looked a tad young but a pretty minor complaint. The backgrounds and settings were gorgeous; however some of the animation looked a little stiff and awkward (Such as Konatsu's running). Some of the adult characters looked pretty strange and unappealing to me as well, particularly the adult characters that all had some really creepy looking lips. It's just a style that generally does not appeal to me.
So despite my high rating of Tari Tari is it a really amazing anime? No it isn't. But it is very good. In a year that really hasn’t featured a lot of really great shows, Tari Tari stands out as one of the years' better ones. If you’re in the mood for light hearted school drama, you should find plenty to enjoy with this one.
