Monday 27 August 2012

Tari Tari - Episode 9

Now that Sawa's problems are resolved (or at least sufficiently abated to allow her life to return to normal), it appears that it's Wien's turn in the emotional spotlight for this latest arc of Tari Tari.

As our Viennese friend spaces out and frets over the return of some undelivered air mail letters, Miyamoto seems to have conjured up some particularly grandiose ideas for the forthcoming White Festival - a full-on musical drama, complete with costumes and all.  The trouble is, putting on such a spectacular show costs money, and where are they going to get that from?  What's more, Wakana is struggling hugely with how to go about writing a song without her mother to guide her in the right direction.


Still, at least the group's money worries seem to be resolved easily enough, as our quintet of club members are roped into a rather unusual gig by Sawa's mother - dressing as superheroes to promote the local shopping market.  This is exactly what Wien needs to be pulled out of his current funk, and our superhero-lover wastes no time in arranging everything with so much passion that it soon becomes clear that something is wrong, as he spills the beans to his friends about a young boy back in Vienna with whom he's lost contact.  While Wien looks upon his turn as a superhero as a chance for redemption of sorts, it seems as if even the higher-ups in the school are having to face up to problems of their own...

Although it has a fair few different plot threads to run with, this week's Tari Tari was a bit of a mediocre affair - it had its moments, but didn't reach any of the peaks we've seen earlier in the series in terms of either comedy or emotional content.  At this point in time, Wien's troubles feel like weak sauce compared to those of his friends, leaving the unspecified troubles featuring the school's principle and vice-principle as our main hope of something suitable dramatic as the show enters its final straight.  For now though, this feels likely to be the weakest story arc of the bunch so far, although maybe next week's instalment can somehow succeed in proving me wrong.

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