Utakoi
Plot Summary: The "Hyakunin Isshu" are an anthology of
one hundred poems found in a trational Japanese card game called Karuta. The
show is introduced by the person who selected the writings, Fujiwara no Teika.
This is a glimpse into the origin of some of them. Since the majority of them
are love compositions, the focus remains on romance in ancient Japan.
First, I picked up Utakoi
because of Chihayafuru, which is
another anime based on the game of karuta. I didn’t quite know what to expect
out of Utakoi, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The show itself works in arcs and I believe it has three
major arcs. The first one I remember being interesting, but it kept my interest
week-to-week and didn’t really do anything else for me (though if that story of
Munesada visiting Yoshiko 100 nights in a row was good). That lasted five
episodes and it was interesting enough to a history buff like me, especially
one so interested in Japanese history, which I am. The best part about this was
the first episode, which explained the history behind the “Chihaya card” from Chihayafuru.
[For those of you who don’t know what this is, here’s
several translations. “千早ぶる神代もきかず龍田川 からくれなゐに水くくるとは” “Chihayaburu/Kamiyo mo
kikazu/Tatsuta-gawa/Kara-kurenai ni/Mizu kukuru towa” “Impassionate gods have
never seen the red that is the Tatsuta River.” The impact from the poem itself
comes from watching Chihayafuru.]
The second arc was preceded by a pointless filler episode
and then it really got into it. Again, it was episodic with no real connecting
factor until a few episodes in. It kept me interested through because Japanese
history and the 100 Poems. Fellow literary contemporaries may recognize the Pillow Book the Sei Shonagon, which was
mentioned and even had its own episode. It’s not until later when you start to
get to know everyone that it has real impact.
The third arc is Fujiwara no Teika’s own arc and lasted the
final episode. Since this one was about the guy who collected the 100 Poems
(and has been pointlessly narrating the show throughout), it had more immediate
impact and it was a nice wrap up to the entire show.
Though the show was of very episodic nature, it kept me
hooked through its history of Japanese culture, especially the juxtaposition
now of how women were treated and were expected to act then and how much that’s
changed since…well around the 10th century.
Rating: 6.5/10
Tari Tari
Plot Summary: Konatsu Miyamoto was rejected to sing with the
other members of her chorus club by the teacher because she was missing
"something special". Being her last year in high school, she felt
like doing something crazy: She quit. In the place of her former club, Konatsu
comes up with the idea to make a new chorus club, inviting the people around
her to join. With dreams in each of the member's hearts, they live out their
high school lives.
This was a show that took a while to find its footing. But
if you stuck with it, it’d be a lot greater than it started out as. It kept me
hooked with music and I’m a sucker for shows with lots of music.
But you get some superficial backgrounds to the five main
characters and the Vice Principal, who only seems to be the antagonist to be
the antagonist. You get further and further into their lives and find out that
they actually do have more to them and it isn’t just cute girls singing for the
pleasure of the fanboys.
Particularly striking are the stories of Wakana and Sawa,
who both have not extremely troubled, but certainly very sad pasts. Once these
stories were told, I was hooked to the show like a fish to water (or some
better simile).
This is just one of those shows where you get hooked to the
characters and just want to watch more of them and see them succeed in whatever
they’re trying to succeed in. It struggled in the early going, but it got its
footing and never looked back. It’s a simplistic show where Konatsu (the main
character) is driving everyone toward her endgoal (just to sing and have people
enjoy it) and by way of that, pushing everyone else toward their own endgoals.
And you have to love it for that, or probably not at all.
Rating: 8.5/10
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