Tari Tari 1-2: It’s like K-On!, but with music

So after waiting longer than I would’ve liked after the fact, I finally watched the first two episodes of Tari Tari (MyAnimeList). In short, high school senior Konatsu Miyamoto looks to reconcile past mistakes by starting her own choir group after the vice principal refuses to let her sing in the school’s choir. Joining her are friend and horse rider, Sawa Okita, and gifted musician Wakana Sakai. Though they’re not particularly important to the story yet, Taichi Takana and newly transferred student Atsuhiro Maeda seem to be holding some part in the episode to come. Referring back to the title, Tari Tari very much seems to be structured like K-On!, where a group of characters coming together through music grow and mature as they approach the end of a chapter in their lives…but with them actually playing music and singing.

The visuals are top notch and really compliment the quality of the music. The characters, while not exceptionally notable, have a very realistic feeling to them, which I really appreciate. Each one seems to have their own varying pasts and expectations for the future, but they don’t scream them from the outset. Subtlety is a very good touch for Tari Tari that I’m expecting to turn into more depth by the end of the story. I’m looking forward to this series for its slow-paced plot around growing up and learning to reconcile yourself with your past while defining your future. I’m also hoping for more lyrical, as well as visual, treats.

Tari Tari – BeldenOtaku’s Photobucket

Also, behold the lord of violin dancing….

Saki:Achiga-hen Episode of Side A: Dont’ Worry, Mahjong is Just a Plot Detail

Back with the first two episodes of the Spring 2012 series, Saki:Achiga-hen Episode of Side A (for future ease, I’ll just refer to it as “Saki”). Saki follows the story of Shizuno, Ako, and Nodoka as they become friends playing mahjong together with Kuro and the once ace-mahjong player now advisor, Harue. Until one day, Harue gets an offer to join the major leagues of mahjong, so the club had to be disbanded. Slowly, the girls started to drift apart and Nodoka even had to move away, joining another school’s mahjong club.

One summer day, Shizuno stumbles across a middle school mahjong tournament being shown on TV, with none other than Nodoka as the reigning champ. This excites Shizuno to restart the mahjong club at their school to try and reach the mahjong finals and play with Nodoka once again. She drafts Ako and Kuro, along with Kuro’s older sister, Yuu to join the club. Kuro also tracks down a legendary mahjong player and fan of Harue, Arata, who had given up mahjong when she saw that Harue no longer played. She decided to give the club a try when she saw that Harue had returned to the game and was on a corporate team. Unfortunately (or “fortunately”, depending on how you look at it), Harue’s team was disbanded and she’s visiting the school again when she finds the girls playing mahjong in the old club room. Now she’s agreed to help take the team to the nationals by playing them non-stop in preparation.

Fortunately for people (like me) who are ignorant of the workings of mahjong, the game itself is merely a set piece for the story of friends trying to reunite. Not much time or attention is giving to the girls actually playing the game, instead focusing on the character and plot development. The animation and visuals are pretty good, coupled with a lively cast of characters who draw your attention but show potential for growth. And any details related to the game that are used are either easy enough to pick from watching the scene, or the characters explain what’s going on.

I look forward to following Saki on it’s journey to the nationals, the players from Bansei (the elite-to-beat school) seem like a formidable first step to entering the tournament. Hopefully Harue’s training will pay off and Achiga’s girls can beat Bansei again like Harue did years ago.

Until next time,
- BeldenOtaku

Acchi Kocchi: Why does Tsumiki remind me of Konata Izumi?

Time to kick off the Spring 2012 season! And Acchi Kocchi is a great place to start. The first episode of this slice of life, romance series introduces us to the quirky cast of what seems to be the primary cause of blood stains on my carpet for the next few months. Starting with the adorable (and Konata Izumi reminiscent) Tsumiki Miniwa, certified tsundere, and her crush, Io Otohashi, kind to Tsumiki, but oblivious to her feelings toward him. These two love birds are joined by the air headed Hime Haruno, frequent to nose bleeds when Tsumiki goes nyan-mode with Io, the mechanical prankster Mayoi Katase, frequently lodged in walls for trying to embarrass Tsumiki in front of Io, and last, but certainly not least, Sakaki Inui, Io’s friend and also a prankster alongside Mayoi.

As mentioned, this first episode was mainly focused on the different attributes of the characters and establishing their placement within the show. I can’t shake the feeling that Tsumiki is a shyer version of Konata Izumi (Lucky Star). More than just her shortness and blue-ish hair, she’s very energetic on occasion and is a bit of a maniac. (Though the tsundere-ness is more reminiscent of Kagami Hiiragi.) Io is a lucky ba****, I really hope he wises up and sees how much Tsumiki likes him. But at least he’s already so nice to her, not like other male love interests who don’t get the hints and just douche around.

I like this series so far, it seems really fun and fast paced, with an equal share of sweet moments, coupled with Tsumiki’s unbelievable levels of cuteness. I’m curious to see if the series will follow Io slowly realizing Tsumiki’s feelings for him, or if it’ll just be a round-about story with fun characters and minimal development. I’m okay either way, but you can probably guess which I’d prefer.

Until next time,
- BeldenOtaku

Another: Bland and Scary, Interesting Combination

Back with the premier of another Winter 2012 anime, the horror series I was oddly drawn to (not kidding, I couldn’t explain why, but I really wanted to see this), Another. Centered around the untimely death of a 9th grader in Yomiyama Middle School’s class 3-3 in 1972, the story picks up as Koichi Sakakibara moves to Yomiyama while his father travels as a researcher, nearly 40 years after the death of the beloved student.

Koichi is the blandest of the bland, if the entire episode wasn’t singularly focused on him, I would doubt he’s the main character (he really has a background character look to him).  After meeting Mei in the elevator of the hospital, he’s convinced he sees her again in the classroom, and then on the roof of the school, where she doesn’t recall seeing him in the hospital. She also warns him to not get close to her, and that it’s best he didn’t talk to her. Meanwhile, everyone is either overly casual or has an air of conspiracy, there is definitely more to this town’s story than meets the eye.

Now that I’m interested, I can’t wait to see where Another goes.  The animation is good, and the character design seems to do a good job of capturing the general mundaneness of the everyday cast, while, at the same time, lending some credence that they’re all part of some larger conspiracy.

Until next time,
- BeldenOtaku

Sidenote: I’m glad they didn’t use the same look for Mei that’s on the cover of the novel, that picture scares me too much…