Final Impressions / First Impressions / TARI TARI

「晴れたり 泣いたり あとは時々歌ったり」 (Hare tari Nai tari Atoha Tokidoki Utatta ri)
“Sunny Days and Crying and Sometimes Singing”

Like they say, good things must always come to an end. After thirteen episodes and a great run as one of the best series this season, as well as the entire year, TARI TARI finally arrives at that end. And what an ending it is. Granted, nothing particularly screamed “surprising” this episode, but it was still a joy to watch and had me tearing up occasionally too. Other times, I just found myself with a stupid grin on my face, and well, that’s just the beauty of this series—you can know what’s coming and it might not break any real new ground in terms of its genre, but what it does it does well, and it does it so well that you just can’t help but be drawn in. This episode showed that once again, and it’s just a perfect way to culminate a series that’s given us so much these past few months. Just wouldn’t have it any other way.

Going into the episode itself, I have to say, the beginning had me screaming at the screen. I mean, seeing Wakana stand there, watching the rain with that face… you just can’t help but hope that everything works out, even though you knew nothing would stop them from getting this concert out. Regardless of the weather, regardless of the locked school building, and regardless of the Chairman of the School Board standing in their way, you knew they’d find a way. And that way came in the form of the Principal, whose pants-ing of the Chairman, passionate plea, and willingness to be fired for his actions at least made up partially for his inaction the previous episodes. Followed up with a clutch backup by the Vice-Principal, who brings along a few other clubs to the party and dismisses the security guards at the gates, the concert goes on—and so do the storm clouds, setting the stage for perhaps one of the most emotional musical performances I’ve seen in a series. And before I get into the greatness of that performance, let’s not forget to mention the touching moment between Konatsu and the Vice-Principal too:

“Would you let me conduct this stage you’ve set up?”

And gosh darn it, I should’ve known that the final stage would be the very same place shown in the ending all this time!

But moving back to the concert, it wasn’t great only because it was an amazing culmination to the many episodes of quality development. And it wasn’t not only due to the fact the song was simply amazing as per usual, and used some bits of the song written by the Vice-Principal and Wakana’s mother either. It’s because it continued TARI TARI’s propensity to have deeper references within its dialogue and in this case, its music too:

“We’ve overcome many difficulties.
But now we’re finally here.
Though we lost much along the way.
Friends and family. Dreams and pride. Even our beloved homeland.
Now, we’re alone in a world shrouded in darkness, on a path that can’t be seen.
Fear not.
The sound of singing will show us the way.
So let us sing.
So that we may be each other’s humble guides.
Even if it won’t bring about a miracle, for that single moment of rest…
We’ll pour our feelings into this song… and start walking again.”

Case in point, this was the dialogue before the song starts, and it’s just an amazing, subtle summary of our main cast and their journey until now. Wakana lost her mother along the way. Wien lost contact with his friend Jan. Everyone took a hit to their pride as they faced the obstacles to their dreams. And now at the end, they’re even losing their school, their beloved homeland and the place they’ve spent the past few months forming their memories at. And the rest regarding the singing, that pretty much just speaks for itself. Let’s go into the actual lyrics of the song too:

“Under the blue sky, we spread out arms wide.
Doubt and pain are proof that we had hope.
We’ll go at our own pace.
We’ll always have faith.
A passing shower will eventually come to an end.
Even filled with tears, our hearts can be free.
Because, look, someone will be there to pat our backs.
This melody will bring out the light and reflect tomorrow in these sparkling eyes.
Filled with dreams, our hearts will always be free.
Because, look, someone will be there to laugh with us.
This melody beckons the light.
Even if the path is a winding one, everything will be all right.
We can set out with smiles on our faces.”

Really, it’s amazing how well the lyrics also cater to the events that’ve happened in the series. I mean, the part about the passing shower coming to an end especially, and the part about the future and going out to tomorrow with smiles on their faces… there really was just a shower earlier this episode, and they’re just literally going onward with smiles on their future, guided by their dreams and the memories of the friends that laughed with them all throughout this time. I could go on and on about just how representative these lyrics are, but there’s just so much else to discuss, so I’ll move on for now.

In keeping with the whole discussion about subtle references and powerful dialogue, I also have to mention how the Chairman of the Board throwing his cigarette and stomping on it… just really stung, because it felt like he was just stomping on their dreams, and I can’t help but think it was also an intentional addition on the part of the creators. In addition, I also have to talk about the Principal’s quote about how the school might just be an asset to him, but that he should take into account how the school means so much more to our main cast. Just another subtle reference about how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as well as a commentary on how people (especially those with power), should think of others before making decisions that affects more than just themselves.

Also, Wakana’s dad rocks by the way… and it was nice seeing Taichi man up at the end and let Sawa know his feelings, despite the fact we sadly didn’t get to hear any of the particular dialogue (WHAT A TEASE THIS SHOW!).

And ultimately, what else can I say? I feel at this point, there aren’t just enough words to describe the feelings this episode and this series conjured up. I’ll try to in the final impressions below, but for now, I’d like to say “I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did” and that “I also hope you’ve enjoyed my coverage of this series as well, and will continue to follow my coverage in the coming seasons.” And last, but perhaps the most important, I’d like to give you viewers my thanks, for taking the time out of your busy lives just to read my posts, so… “Thanks!”

Full-length images: 01.

Epilogue:

 

ED1.13 Sequence

 

End Card

 

Final Impressions:

You know how after you’ve experienced something amazing, you just can’t really put it in words, and you’re kinda just standing there with this dazed look on your face? Yes? No? Maybe? Yeah well, that pretty much expresses how I am right now. No, I can’t say TARI TARI was a tremendous masterpiece, but it was at least a darn great experience.

And well, that makes me all the more disappointed at how low the expectations were for this series in the beginning. Yes, there was the physical resemblance to Hanasaku Iroha, which seems to have disappointed a vast majority of viewers out there, but as I said many times before, it’s just unfair to toss out a series just because of such a passing resemblance. And it’s sad, because many people seem to have not bothered with this series or dropped it way too early as a result, and just really missed out.

Regardless though, if you’re reading this now, I reckon you’ve probably completed the series, and so I’d really just like to thank you guys again. I know I’m not one of the creators of the show and it’s strange for me to thank you for watching the series, but that’s just how strongly I feel about TARI TARI and about giving series a chance despite their external appearance and the comments/pre-season impressions of others. So thanks. Speaking about pre-season impressions, it also brings back memories of how I called TARI TARI the surprise/dark horse of the season, and it’s pretty much lived up to that billing. KoiChoco makes a strong case too, but that’s another story altogether.

The bottom line in the end is this: TARI TARI might not have been the most innovative series, especially within its slice of life genre, but it did slice of life right and had more than enough charm for it stand above other series of the same genre, as well as many other shows this season too. The cast ended up exceptionally likable, despite a few rocky moments during their developmental periods. And as a character driven series, they really bought the series to heights that even exceeded my initial, fairly high expectations. There are just aren’t many casts (and series in general) on a daily basis that are this memorable, and I’m really going to miss this series.

And let’s not forget about the other aspects TARI TARI gave us too, as the choir music (though some may have different subjective favorites in terms of music) and the subtle references and commentary on life were also amazing bits that just resonated not only with real life events, but especially with events in my own life. It’s gotta be one of the first times a slice of life has really hit the spot in terms of realism so personally, and it’s also probably a big part of why I enjoyed TARI TARI so much, and also teared up so many times for too. Really, I’ve watched so many series in my life time, but only a handful have made me tear up at one point during the series, let alone multiple times, yet this series did so with only its 6th episode!

In any case, with the post now getting well into “lengthy” territory, I suppose it’s a good time as any to stop. By now, it’s pretty obvious how much I loved this series, and hopefully those of you reading loved it just as much. And so, I’ll conclude by just saying we could use more great series like TARI TARI, as well as requesting that those of you out there who did liked TARI TARI, recommend this show to others, so they too can see what they missed. With that, I bid thee adieu!

71 Comments

    2. If you haven’t been keeping up with AGE, know that it really wasn’t worth keeping up with. I wouldn’t call it the worst thing ever (by a long shot), but it was still pretty awful, not just as a Gundam show, but as a show in general.

      Toto
      Reply

    1. It could very well be. It does seem like it could be significant because of her “I’m home” comment, which possibly implied she hasn’t returned for a bit… or it’s significant because those high heels for some reason reminded me of the Vice Principal and that she’s teaching music now too perhaps.

      Zephyr
      Reply

    2. That scene is significant because it shows that now that she’s older Wakana’s become a lot like her mother. Besides, the series needed to end with Wakana, since she was the closer to a protagonist the series had.

      Lin
      Reply

  4. Dora the fat cat sat on a mat!

    While I’m not an avid fan of the SoL genre, I have to admit that this is how SoL should be done .At times certain scenes got a little over dramatic, but at the end of the day I really appreciated the underlying message (along with the music) which is to “not give up on your dreams” as silly as it sounds.

    Here’s hoping for a sequel..focusing on Sawa! 😉

    PS: So the sometimes badminton part..seems legit?

    LightnDark
    Reply

  5. So basically everybody had an epilogue except the principal who fought with the girls and got fired.

    I know the school was going to close down and he was going to retire and all, but not a single scene of him afterward.. kind of a let down

    Kuro
    Reply

  6. Tari Tari was okay, but honestly I didn’t feel it was that special. I wasn’t one of those people who called it a HanaIro clone, because honestly it isn’t. HanaIro was more memorable, had better animation and had a better cast than Tari Tari. The last point is mainly because it had a lot of more episodes to work with, but the first two points were something TT could have brought, had it done a better job with the characters ESPECIALLY Wien and Tanaka. Instead of treating them like morons (or in this case, frogs), I really wanted them to be treated just like the rest of the gang instead it was mostly “Shut up, Tanaka” “Oh, Wien, you were here?”. Sigh, guess not every anime can be like Tsuritama and treat the guys more than just equals.

    The music was good, but could have been better and I did actually like the whole story of Wakana and her mom, that was indeed very touching but the other stuff definitely wasn’t. It’s purely an average show in my book, it was nice and all but that’s all I can say about it.

    webkid94
    Reply

    1. I quite agree with you, webkid, although I would say the reason HanaIro had a better cast than TT was because it actually had a larger cast to work with. HanaIro was more memorable because the stakes were considerably higher than TT. We’re talking about closing a store, we’re talking about people’s livelihoods at stake, their homes.
      But believe me, TT was a great show. I just don’t think we’ll be remembering it 2 months from now during award season for 2012. Best SOL for 2012 is going to be Hyouka and not TT, because that series is willing to go places that TT is too conservative to go. However, what it does, it does really well, they’ve just played it too safe.

      plushkin
      Reply

      1. “Best SOL for 2012 is going to be Hyouka and not TT, because that series is willing to go places that TT is too conservative to go.”

        but as good as it was, Hyouka wasn’t a SOL series as much as a mystery series.

        besides where exactly did it go that TT wasn’t brave enough to go.
        Hyouka was wrapped in more unrealistic purely fiction set-ups. but it didn’t approach characterization any deeper.
        just did it fancier and prettier and with more unreal scenarios, with a KyoAni budget to back it up.

        the whole point was, compared to Hyouka, TT was supposed to be a more down to earth series. that’s not being “too conservative”, it just wasn’t meant to be “savant detective god-kid solves all the world’s mysteries”.
        the kids in TT were meant to be for the most part, real.

        as for HanaIro, its problem wasn’t its setting (though arguing a setting inherently makes a series better is a fairly flawed angle for criticism. we might as well just toss out Hyouka then, after all what stakes did Hyouka have other than a bunch of busy-body high schoolers being busy-bodies). it’s problem was it simply wasn’t particularly well done.
        it may have had a better animation budget, more time to flesh out the entire cast, and more overwritten drama (but i would argue over the top purely fiction drama does not make a series inherently better any more than saying “adult livelihoods make it better than high school”. if that were the case than there is not better example of drama in medium than daytime soap operas); but if any series suffered simply poor writing, directing, and pacing, it was HanaIro.
        it certainly had potential, but got nowhere close to executing it.

        on the other hand, no one claims TT was high drama, but it wasn’t trying to be.
        and high drama isn’t automatically “better” (Steinbeck made a living keeping his fiction down to earth and often completely aimless, and he’s considered by most literary critics to be one of the great authors of the world).

        what TT DID do is what it set out to do, be a grounded realistic SOL series set in high school, and completely executed the concept.
        or at least executed its concept better than most series can claim.

        Joe
        Reply

      2. “poor writing, directing, and pacing”

        One of the words I’ve stopped using is “pacing.” That and the word “rushed” because the criticism is so vague and so many people like to throw those words around, I’m worried most of them that use it don’t even know what they mean.

        In any case, I’m not saying TT wasn’t entertaining, but I’ll be sorely disappointed if it wins Best SOL of 2012. There’s just so much better series out there

        plushkin
        Reply

    2. Tari Tari was okay, but honestly I didn’t feel it was that special. I wasn’t one of those people who called it a HanaIro clone, because honestly it isn’t. HanaIro was more memorable, had better animation and had a better cast than Tari Tari. The last point is mainly because it had a lot of more episodes to work with, but the first two points were something TT could have brought, had it done a better job with the characters ESPECIALLY Wien and Tanaka. Instead of treating them like morons (or in this case, frogs), I really wanted them to be treated just like the rest of the gang instead it was mostly “Shut up, Tanaka” “Oh, Wien, you were here?”. Sigh, guess not every anime can be like Tsuritama and treat the guys more than just equals.

      The music was good, but could have been better and I did actually like the whole story of Wakana and her mom, that was indeed very touching but the other stuff definitely wasn’t. It’s purely an average show in my book, it was nice and all but that’s all I can say about it.

      I agree with visuals (Tari Tari looked like a HSI inferior knockoff in terms of visuals actually), but better cast? Definitely not. Hanasaku Iroha had one good character and that was Ohana herself, and yes she was better than any of the Tari Tari characters individually. But as a cast? Tari Tari hands down. Minko was a angsty lovestruck tsundere for the majority of the series and Nako was little more than a big breasted, shy girl. In comparison to TT’s the comparative characters, Wakana went through tremendous character development after her arc, and Sawa had a playful personality to back up her sexy looks.

      And I find it ironic that you complain about Tari Tari’s male characters whilst completing ignoring Hanasaku Iroha’s. While I won’t defend that Tari Tari males got less development than their female counterpart, it was at least largely inoffensive. Iroha. My god. The males in that show were constantly made fun of. Jiromaru? Perveted failed ero-book writer that tried to tie Ohana up in episode 3 and stayed pretty much the same. Enishi? Constantly hit home at how much he failed at running an inn. Kou? Couldn’t forget about being lovestruck Ohana if his life depended on it not to mention he’s voiced by Yuki Kaiji (Shu, Haru …) Heck even Beanman didn’t get relief as he was found crossdressing towards the end of the episode alongside Kou in some random dream scene. And every random male teenager was seen as some desperate loser and also made fun of.

      Otherwise, ymmv. I found Tari Tari better because it was genuine, pure of heart, unpretentious and largely consistent in quality minus the Sawa arc. Iroha on the hand was all over the place. Some episodes were brilliant and some episodes were god awful and its male characters were totally unlikable. It did however, have a superior ending to Tari Tari’s, but Tari Tari’s was still solid.

      PocariSweat
      Reply

      1. Mean to quote this:

        “Tari Tari was okay, but honestly I didn’t feel it was that special. I wasn’t one of those people who called it a HanaIro clone, because honestly it isn’t. HanaIro was more memorable, had better animation and had a better cast than Tari Tari. The last point is mainly because it had a lot of more episodes to work with, but the first two points were something TT could have brought, had it done a better job with the characters ESPECIALLY Wien and Tanaka. Instead of treating them like morons (or in this case, frogs), I really wanted them to be treated just like the rest of the gang instead it was mostly “Shut up, Tanaka” “Oh, Wien, you were here?”. Sigh, guess not every anime can be like Tsuritama and treat the guys more than just equals.

        The music was good, but could have been better and I did actually like the whole story of Wakana and her mom, that was indeed very touching but the other stuff definitely wasn’t. It’s purely an average show in my book, it was nice and all but that’s all I can say about it.”

        PocariSweat
        Reply

    3. I think Tari Tari was slightly flawed in how it developed. It was mostly flat then ended with a half bang after it seemed to want to have some type of epic ending. It feels very slice of life in its presentation. The characters never really had a chance to meld like Hyouka. I guess if I were to summarize TT seems to be a SOL about 5 “strangers” coming together, so in that regard it I would say it was a nice story but lacked impact.

      Hanasaku Iroha had its own problems. It started out pretty interesting then it just started falling flat. Almost no development for the cast and they never figured out the key to showing how it was fun to watch them run a inn. Ohana kept acting like it was amazing fun to work in an inn, but I feel it needed to be conveyed much more fundamentally. It really lost direction by focusing on economics and the movie among other events.

      I wouldn’t say there is much in common between the two series. I would say Sakamichi no Apollon is definitely still the best slice of life 2012. Hyouka was really fun to watch too, but it is missing the complete romance and closure that Sakamichi had.

      shin
      Reply

  7. I think the ending rose above my expectations. At first I never thought the group would ever face a situation such as the school going down, which I thought would’ve stayed since it had so much memories of Wakana’s mom. Anyways, like LightnDark, not a huge fan of Slice of Life, but I like the course of how they sung together, followed what they believed in, and I hope that there could be an ova or special of their reunion with each other.

    I also think that maybe Wakana’s arrival reminded me of her mother, what with the heels, the longer ponytail and the motivation to follow music like her mother. I’m seeing a lot of great endings for my favorite shows 🙂

    Dualash
    Reply

  8. This finale would have been perfect if it weren’t for the unnecessary Snidely Whiplash Chairman. He had no reason to stop the concert other than to have a giant “DOUCHE” sign above him. He was ridiculously out of place.

    The rest of the episode was great though, and I liked the added touches of the actual concert song, like showing the band playing. And it ended the way it should be, how people move on and life goes on.

    Overall I find this show to be….okay at best. Not particularly memorable, other than Epic Wien and Hot Sawa, but enjoyable as a down-to-earth show. Suffice to say I don’t regret watching it all the way through.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Now, I disagree with opinion about the Chairman, and that might be due to the generational gap. Highschoolers see him and go, “wow, he’s cartoonishly evil and a giant douche and he’s trying to ruin our lives. We gotta fight the power to save the rec center, er, I mean school.” Grown-ups will see him and go, “wow, he’s a jerk and giant douche, but above all, he’s just a soulless businessman. It’s not personal, it’s business. Delaying construction is killing his profits. It’s a dick move, chairman; c’mon man, go easy on them, they’re just kids.”

      plushkin
      Reply

      1. maybe this is coming from growing up in basically a developer’s town (i.e. most of the city’s commercial business revolves around land development), but simply because they’re adults doesn’t mean they don’t get just as angry and nasty and personal about development projects.

        “It’s not personal, it’s business.” is far from the common response in my experience to controversial city development projects.

        Joe
        Reply

      2. Oh, c’mon. The guy is just one black cape and twirled mustache from chaining Konatsu to rail tracks. Barring kids from using the school grounds one last time he gained nothing but the really bad PR. Maybe if he was fleshed as a character a little it could work, but without any kind of backstory he’s just the guy holding villain ball (Trope!).

        puppygod
        Reply

      3. No, the chairman was the most cartoonish guy in the whole series. And I kind of thought that was a shame, because everyone else was written very realistically. All the teens acted like real life teens. All the adults acted like real life adults. And then they bring in the chairman who acted like a caricature. I was surprised he didn’t break out in a “Muahahahahaha!” after saying “You kids need to learn how powerless and immature you are.” He was as broad brush villain as you’re going to get in this kind of show.

        Highway
        Reply

      4. @Highway Even more cartoonish than the guy in the curly wig and looks like Colonel Sanders? If anything, he’s the most cartoonish character in the series, and he’s so pivotal to the story too in supporting this club that shouldn’t really have been made.
        Leading up to this conclusion, my opinion of him was like “yea, he knows he’s messing up these kids lives. He just doesn’t care.” That line “you need to learn how powerless and immature you are” was actually 100% true. They thought they could just hop the fence or break the bars, but the only real way to break the barriers is through the forces beyond their comprehension, the people who’ve had their backs and supporting them every day of their lives. It was really immature of them to think they could host a cultural festival without the Principal/Vice-Principal’s cooperation.

        To be Snidely Whiplash cartoon evil (btw, I love that reference =D )he’d have to do it on purpose JUST to piss them off (“the I don’t care if it’ll cost me my project, as long as I get you” kind of cartoonish evil). The Billy Zane “I’m on the sinking ship of the Titanic, but I have to kill you right now” sort of cartoonish evil is what I find the worst and most unreal kind of character. I don’t think you can make the case that’s what the chairman was trying to do.

        The Corporate villain only ever feels cartoonish and cliched when there is that group of “fight the power” kids that gather to stop him, which now that I think about it, actually makes this series worse unfortunately. It just compounds the fact that he’s a poorly written character and makes this arc poorly conceived.

        plushkin
        Reply

  9. I don’t know why but I was not overly impressed with his episode. It just seemed sort of plain to me, nevertheless I did enjoy the show as a whole. Though I wish they would show more of Taichi and Wien, if only Wien could develop into a more mature person and marrying Wakana, then this show would be complete for me.

    Btw was Hyouka dropped? It ended and there are still lots of episodes left untouched by Randomc.

    Lampa
    Reply

  11. Thanks for blogging the show.

    You know how after you’ve experienced something amazing, you just can’t really put it in words, and you’re kinda just standing there with this dazed look on your face?

    This was exactly how I felt when I watched the finale earlier. I’m one of the few people who wasn’t extremely in love with HanaIro — didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it, either. However, Tari Tari caught my interest very quickly and managed to get me more emotionally involved with their characters in a way that no P.A. Works show has done until now. Sure, it wasn’t a masterpiece or the best thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life, but it wasn’t a clumsy, bumpy ride, either. Everything came full circle and they were very wise with what little time this series had — very rare for a 1 cour series, as well. I thought it was a great show overall and one of the stronger shows of the season, right up there with Jinrui wa suitai shimashita for me. Tari Tari managed to make the very small list of shows I have little to no gripes with.

    TL;DR
    I initially watched Tari Tari because P.A. Works/Takagaki Ayahi (and Hayami Saori)/Houkago True Tears and I regret nothing.

    Crossing my fingers for a director’s cut on the BD release of the final episode ー that damn airport scene was such a tease!

    R
    Reply

  12. This was a wonderful series and I’m glad to have followed it. I agree with you when they didn’t let us in on that confession XD. P.A. Works do their graduations well. Thank you for blogging TT.

    Mutare
    Reply

  13. I really enjoy the series and your coverage, thanks for the work Zephyr!

    At first, the only thing I don’t like about the series is the pacing and it’s 13 episodes series (I hope they slow down and elaborate more on stuffs/have 24-26 episodes to work with). But after episode 5-6, I think this is actually the right pacing and the right number of episode. It just feels right and watching Tari Tari has been extremely enjoyable ride. I hope PA Work keep making series like these. Hanasaku Iroha is in top ten of my all-time favorite anime series, and now Tari Tari is as well.

    Serapita
    Reply

  14. its the onion man.. i swear Q_Q great finale.. its like realistically sad as everyone part ways… but somehow done in an optimistic way where it’s not to sour… only complain is i didnt get to see Sabure 🙁 but i guess a horsey plush with sawa’s tie will do.

    N0216332
    Reply

  15. well just finish watching it all yea nice good series in slice of life glee style anime.

    really it good series some ha ha especially sentai/power rangers eps doing & final performance very good.

    overall good series & good end.

    tari-glee
    Reply

    1. Red Data Girl. Adaptation of a fantasy light novel series with art by Kishida Mel.

      Also in the works is anime original Nagi no Asu Kara which brings back Mari Okada (dear god… for the love of god plz be done with your crossdressing fetish 🙁 ) of True Tears, Anohana and Hanasaku Iroha fame. Premise is unknown but hopefully it will be slice of life/drama since Okada is rather bad at writing non-slice of life premises (see Black Rock Shooter, Fractal, Aquarion EVOL, AKB0048).

      And highly speculated is Kagura Sakura which has Hisaya on board (ex-Key writer for Kanon 2006 and Sola) due to having the same producer as the last 3 titles PA works have produced.

      PocariSweat
      Reply

  19. Tanaka finally get to train with real people, so long wall!!! Great ending, one of the best for the summer season. However, I have one question, what happen to Wien? He can’t possibly just go and find Jan and nothing else? The principal managed to find balls, but still did not go very well for him… Never like Slices of Life genre before since everytime I watch anime I let my imagination run wild and dun want to relate to real life situation, but Tari Tari changed my view, great show, will miss it.

    Tingster013
    Reply

  20. PA Works has done it once again. And unlike their previous titles, this one rather starts off with little fanfare, but still ended up strongly, with all the loose ends neatly tied up.

    (The same can be said with Hyouka, another sort-of slice-of-life show which Kyo-Ani made little effort to advertise prior to its release, but still finished strongly with its characters well developed and the pacing well done. )

    Reality still doesn’t change (as the school is still closed in the end), but at least our characters got what they wanted and are able to move on.

    This being a slice-of-life show about music, it was perhaps just as well that the show “glossed over” Taichi’s confession to Sawa near the end, as it’s not supposed to be that sort of show – just show us enough of Taichi’s growing fondness for Sawa and the end result of him manning up to confess, but not let it get in the way of the main plot – which is the trials and tribulations of the Chorus Club.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. Much as I always like a confession, you’re exactly right here: the show’s not a romance show (although it is about love of music). Having that be a thrown in aside was perfect for they type of show it was, and didn’t distract at all from how much fun the rest of the episode was. If they’d made a big deal out of that scene, it would have ended up sucking up too much of the time and attention.

      Highway
      Reply

  23. wien and jan reunited lol. Also Taichi confessing to sawa was great. Although I really enjoyed the show it was just too short. Especially since the guys seem to be a side show most of the time. It was a nice ending for what was there. The music was nice though. But yeah definitely will miss my weakly dose.

    I’m hoping P.A works will continue doing well. I’ve come to really count on their shows for good time.

    Sherylfan
    Reply

  24. Bravo P.A. Works. Shame on you people who dropped this series. Definitely my one of the two best series this season alongside Horizon. <3 all the soundtrack and like everyone said….damn those confession scene!!

    briex
    Reply

  25. This show was just so nice, all the way around. And the finale was the perfect way to end it: a slight hiccup, rallying around, having their performance (which was gloriously high school and cheesy), and then a bit about what happens afterwards. I was really glad they didn’t have it just end with the performance. And that they threw in a few more singing performances.

    Highway
    Reply

  27. LOL when Takanaka said “[and sometimes] badminton club”

    I think it was a nice series overall. I agree with most people about the pacing. Could have been better fleshed out with a full season.

    shin
    Reply

  29. Lovely show to watch and certainly ranks among those nice school shows.

    So Taiichi finally gets the courage to confess to Sawa. I think this was already in the plans since early on when Sawa volunteered to look for him after his badminton match.

    Overall, nice series. Good job PA Works. Though the only sad thing was that there were no tears. Only warm fuzzy feelings.

    P.S. Zephyr… Why didn’t you make a full length of her being swallowed by the dolphin? >> https://randomc.net/image/TARI%20TARI/TARI%20TARI%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2004.jpg

    c2710
    Reply

    1. Apologies. I had to cut down on some screenshots for the sake of having this post somewhat err, not super long, so I was debating between that swallowed by dolphin shot, a shot with Konatsu’s messed up hair, and ended up picking the one you see now with both dolphin and Konatsu as a “compromise.” :X

      Zephyr
      Reply

  30. good ending… but for me, Hyouka had a better ending. Too bad that randomc didn’t do decent reviews of Hyouka and not give due attention to this anime that in my opinion was one of the best of this year so far.

    vane
    Reply

  31. Realy a good show and good ending especialy the part when they take the picture and Sawa play the video that sent to her.

    And since you mention KoiChoco i hope it will get review. Shame it isn’t picked up here because it had good amount of comedy, drama, and school politic especialy episode 10.

    Neo
    Reply

  34. That airplane scene was a tease, but I could get an idea of how it went down.
    It wasn’t anything over the top and Taichi isn’t one to be overly dovey about it.
    I think he meant to say something like:
    “I wanted you to know that I had feelings for you but I wasn’t sure how to say it.
    I’m letting you know now so I can get it off my chest. I wish you the best abroad.”
    Something like that maybe?

    He knew she was leaving and wasn’t coming back until she was ‘satisfy’ so it wasn’t
    a crazy love declaration that would make Sawa feel guilty about it for leaving.
    So I don’t think he would say something like “I’ll be waiting for you” type of thing.
    Base on their friendship, the confession was more ‘friendly’ then anything to me.
    If it was anything deeper than that Tari Tari could had focus more on his feelings for Sawa
    than just 2 scenes of him feeling fluster for peeking at her.

    I also took the last scenes of Sawa reading the message on her computer into consideration.
    I like the fact that Taichi tried fixing himself to look more ‘presentable’, but Sawa didn’t fluster up upon seeing him on the clip either, so the ‘confession’ is more of a less tease or any real declaration for me but on a more ‘friendly zone’ confession. Either way it was a nice ending.

    solarasreign
    Reply

  38. *sigh* Great series, all things considered. Began with me wondering what the heck was going on, and the 2 ep prologue was confusing, but still feels key to the overall plot looking back on the series as a whole.

    I’m still holding out that they adapt this again as a J-Drama. Since I feel more like I’ve been watching one of those than an Anime this past season ;p.

    Goodness Wakana looked like her mom for that Epilogue ^_^;.

    kumakaori
    Reply

  39. Aww it finally ended. Solid ending to an anime I thought I would just ignore when I first saw it. I’m glad I picked it up and continued. I do like how the ending is so open ended so it’s up to our imagination as to what happens. Overall, enjoyed my experience thoroughly and I hope to see more from it in the future.

    Entrav
    Reply

  40. What a tease lol!!! Silent confession. But I’ll still take this and H-ka confession-but-not-so-confession scene.

    Well as many said, it isn’t ground breaking ending of any sorts but like H-ka, there just tht little something to make us come back weekly to see them struggle to fulfill their dream, come in term with their issues or just to see them go GLEE.

    And I like tht the musical is basically a retelling of the plot.
    But still, I kinda want to know wht happens to the principal lol.

    l3reezer, true dat.
    Zephyr, thanks for covering this series.

    D-LaN
    Reply

  43. I guess I was the only one who thinks the performance was just ok? They pimped out the song for basically the entire time and it just didn’t meet expectations. I thought the OP was better.

    Poor principal lost his retirement fund.

    hwighting
    Reply

    1. Believe me, you’re not the only one.
      People who said last episode how the Principal should stand up against the Chairman are like the worst people ever. They really didn’t care about his well being at all. It’s that immature sentiment of “doing the right thing” that’ll force him to work until his 70s if this were real life, which is at odds with the “these characters feel real” sort of praise I hear regarding this series.

      plushkin
      Reply

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