Tari Tari - Episode 7

Having overcome the doubts which previously plagued her, Wakana now finally finds he place as a fully fledged member of the choir/badminton club - and not a moment too soon, with the school's culture festival just around the corner.  Or is it a white rhinoceros festival?  I forget.

As if choosing what the club should do for this festival isn't difficult enough as it is given their disparate interests, the news that the school's vice principle will be choosing which clubs are allowed to perform on-stage only makes their choice even tougher as the group searches for inspiration wherever they can find it.

All of this, however, pales into comparison with the issues that one of their number faces, as the dramatic spotlight turns its gaze upon Sawa.  Having already been regaled of her falling out with her father when it comes to future career plans earlier in the series, it's no surprise to see him hitting the roof as she continues down the path towards becoming a riding professional, leaving her to come to verbal blows with the rest of her family.  But just how great an effect is this argument and Sawa's desires having upon her?  As she stops eating and even worse, it soon becomes clear to her friends that something is very much amiss with their pale and disinterested friend.  But whether they'll be able to figure out exactly what's wrong seems altogether a different story, especially with Miyamoto's "love radar" seemingly malfunctioning.

Having served up a surprisingly sharp dose of emotional drama over the past couple of weeks, this latest instalment of Tari Tari looked all set to return to a more light-hearted and fun outlook via an episode that was delivering laughs aplenty as its main cast bounced off of one another wonderfully.  Enjoyable though it was, such moments were short-lived, and we've soon found ourselves sinking deeper into Sawa's emotional turmoil - a depression and lack of self-confidence that was decidedly well-realised in its nature and progression across the course of the episode right through to its (spoiled by the next episode preview) cliffhanger.  After dealing with Wakana's grief and guilt so well previously, I'm really hoping Sawa's problems will get a similarly well-written treatment, and so far the signs are good that the coming episodes could provide just that.