Tari Tari Episode 4&5 Thoughts

Wien demands things to be AWESOME. AWESOME TACKLING. AWESOME EVERYTHING.

This is one more thing I need to get over with. Forgive me if I skimp on episode 4 – I just really want to talk about 5.

Alright, so the spanish dude can speak Japanese. Not a problem, we were entertained… even if Wakana wasn’t. Luckily, Wien was there (being AWESOME) so whatever. The Condor Queens all knew Wakana’s mother during a song collaboration, so I guess it sort of justifies why that guy chased her. Sort of. I’m honestly surprised that the police weren’t involved; however good his intentions were, he must’ve been breaking several laws there. I do wish, though, that they could’ve done more than just some pep talk. Tutor the young singers! …Or something. I seriously doubt that taking the stage for yourselves just because you’re about to “graduate from life” is gonna do them any good.

Despite all that, everything works out to some degree. I still have to question Konatsu’s motivation throughout the entire episode – in one fell swoop, she went from a girl of action & passion to a fangirl & spectator. From what I seen so far, Konatsu is the kind of girl who’ll never give up no matter the odds, letting her love & passion for music guide her. She stated before that she doesn’t have alot of time left with graduation approaching, so it made me a little disappointed. Good thing Sawa was there to slap her back to her senses.

Alot of singing here and there, some Aloha-themed dancing and we’ve got ourselves another feel-good episode. Konatsu’s personality is beginning to fade on me, which is why Wakana’s still here. I said this before and I’ll say it again – I see a potentially great & dramatic story from her.

Not pictured: Wien being awesome.

Well, you can ignore “potentially” part since this is a double post.

Wakana’s past trauma is unveiled at last, and it was really, really tragic. It’s difficult to watch a child lose a parent, and as time passes, the child learns to bottle up the pain as she tries to move on, yet, can’t help but feel that lingering loneliness. Because she’s caught between burying and preserving those memories of her mom, she alienates everyone around her and continues to push them away. And can you blame her? I wouldn’t, even if she believes she could’ve made a difference had she only knew about her mom’s illness. It’s hard to blame the parents as well, given the situation Wakana put herself in; she was a little too eager to get into the high school of her choice, and even now she’s desperate to grow up, much like the show’s theme implies – not exactly adults, but not exactly children either.

However, if you set your sights on only one thing, you’ll forget what’s truly important. Wakana ends up regretting the past knowing she couldn’t even say “goodbye”, “I’m sorry”, or even a casual “I’m leaving” to her mom, and as a result she becomes too distant, maybe even from herself. I feel she needs to be a little girl every now and then so that her friends (and everyone else who loves her) can surround her and embrace her. And she may need that embrace now more than ever. Because after reading that letter, Wakana comes to the horrible realization that her mother’s death was her fault. Her pain and sadness turned to hatred – hatred towards her former self – and a vain attempt to “kill off” her past self, she throws out everything that so much as reminds her of it. It’s as if she wants to forget everything in order to move on, and by doing that she’ll lose an important part of her life.

Wow, it’s hard compressing all my feelings in just one post. Wrapping up, I like how the rest of the cast had a nice balance of appearances. Sure, they crammed in Taichi’s tournament and Sawa’s dreams in such short time (not to mention some Taichi X Sawa ship teasing. Yay), but it didn’t feel out of place. I also especially enjoyed the singing and dancing courtesy of Konatsu, Wien and Sawa, living up to the club’s peculiar name. As awesome as Wien is, I certainly hope his role in the story is further extrapolated on in the near future. Now that the long-overdue drama has kicked in, here’s hoping the club can save Wakana from getting hurt.

Thanks for reading!