Reviews for Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life

Quite literally the dark horse and the best hidden (diamond) gem of the Spring season that not a lot of people are giving it the recognition it severely deserves. In my view it's no AOTS nor a masterpiece, but it's a really satisfying watch. And this journey to stardom isn't quite over yet, as the 2nd cour airing in Fall 2019 will continue this journey of the Tokise High School Koto Club. And the TGI-Saturdays of highly-intensified music marathon is over for this period. Like can you believe that the 2nd cour was planned right when the show just started it's pilot episodes? That's some fiercedetermination right there.

But first, a quick background about the Koto, which is the centerpiece of the series. Made in 13 or 17-string variants, the koto is a rendition of the Chinese Guzheng, and is the Land of the Rising Sun's national instrument, having heralded first in China over many centuries. It is a marvellous piece of instrument with sounds unlike any other (the stringed "Angels" harp doesn't even come close). And so far, no music series has so far encased the use of the koto (as much as I've seen anime and read manga for so many years).

The story goes of the Tokise High School Koto Club, once a club of mediocrity, and with seniors playing for the fact that the tone doesn't strike as "Aim for Nationals!", the small reminder poster in the tattered practice room. To make matters worse, a second-year by the name of Takezo Kurata, is the ONLY surviving member of the club, with his seniors graduating all at once. Not being outdone, as the new president of the club, he tries to recruit people to continue the tradition of playing the koto, though with that said, Takezo is an amateur player. Not to mention that his cowardly-self also impacts the club, right down to his own brother having to coerce him into determination and courage not to back down, and raise the club's morale he (eventually) did.

And then...in comes the school's most notorious person, responsible for in and out-fighting of people, and labelled a delinquent: Chika Kudo. Funnily enough, if you paid attention to the meaning of his name (in Hirakana), his name means 爱, or "love", speculating that his friends call him names for his childish personality. Being a delinquent in his younger years, plus the fact that his grand-dad made Koto instruments for people, IMO the Koto would have saved his younger years (but it wasn't meant to be), but through his harsh lesson to learn and understand to express himself as time passes in this series. But, he's not alone.

With his good ol' bud Tetsuki Takaoka, he was the right-hand man and close friend of Chika whenever he couldn't weaver his way out of any trouble, both major and minor. But Takaoka isn't just Chika's advocator. He also helps addresses issues with Takezo on Chika's past, and whilst helping Chika rekindle his grand-dad's pursuit on the Koto and get back in the groove, for replacing his anger management and violence issues. And I say that Takaoka is best support character, really wished we all had a close friend like him in the deepest ranches of the furnace.

With the duo set in motion, plus the three followers/stooges (Saneyesu, Sakai and Mizuhara) joining in the venture, there stood a powerful figure, one of the most hardworking but underappreciated figures in the Koto world: Satowa Hozuki. Born a prodigy in a harsh family enviromment that is built upon skill and tone, she was abandoned by her mother and the entire family group and left to her own devices, whilst still maintaining a super-strong calibre that at most times with a very stuck-up attiude (that slowly becomes neutral overtime), takes a very heavy toll on both her physical and mental being. As you can tell, being a prodigy, also meant being a teacher to essentially everyone in the club, since they are learning from scratch. As time passes, she becomes the quintessential member of the club, spurring everyone to do their best...

And it would be a BIG sin for me to leave out the truly short but cute and romantic moments between Chika and Hozuki. It's her having a crush on Chika, but at best hiding it from his naivety. I LOVE THESE stress-relieving MOMENTS A LOT.

Hiro Kurusu, the classmate of Takezo's class, is what I imagined to be the series' Malty/Bitch. A stuck-up character caught within the "Waves of Desolution", trying to bring down the club with her double personality. Fortunately, Takezo sees through that personality and warns her to give up this thought, while processing the benefits of the club.

And the final character, the not-as-hopeful Suzuka Takinami-sensei, the club advisor. Knowing the desolute days where the Koto club would not suffice, he has placed less emphasis and brought more criticism to Takezo. But however, like past experiences, with his facade intact, as he saw the Koto club improve overtime, so does his negative thoughts that subsequently faded away. Not entirely, but surely.

To me, this series does a super great and tremendous job at the character development of each and every member related to the Koto Club, be it family members or even rival schools in the Nationals, their quest of overcoming their past identities and forging new links of their own, and it definitely has shown that and more. I can even consider this the "golden (Harry Potter) Snitch" of the series.

To the studio responsible, this is like Studio 8-bit's Magnum Opus (which was the Slime Isekai series), to which this is Platinum Vision's Magnum Opus, the flagship series representing the studio's best and talented efforts. Artwork and animations are super detailed thanks to renowned directors Junko Yamanaka and Toshimitsu Kobayashi who did the manga source material justice, and a whole lot more. Some rough details but nothing too off, and the full experience is wholesome.

But being a musical series, what is there to say if I didn't "Stop This Sound!" about the music, which is the anchor for the series. And I have to give a shoutout to sound director Hajime Takakuwa. Being the SD for the current Black Clover and classics such as Spice and Wolf, there is no one person perfect for this job as this talented man (albeit with a few mediocre ones). The Koto pieces were truly indistinguishable from the IRL ones (albeit with some differences), and this made all the difference. Not to mention that both the OP and ED are great too. And it's been awhile since I've heard a Shouta Aoi song, and his OP song "Tone" really fits the (literally) tone shift of the series. The ED "Speechless" by Chika's VA Yuuma Uchida is a damn perfect ending, as music renders us "Speechless" at its play, and this is my ED of the season. Plus, spectacular jobs and props to the VAs, marvellous and convincing acting.

The only thing I'm sad for is that with the sesasonal battle between this and Shinichi Watanabe's "Carole & Tuesday", I'd wager which series garnered the most attention (and it's an obvious one to boot). Regardless, even if you're NOT an anime fan of the music genre, I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you give this series a second chance to not skimp on it.

Because the journey of Takezo, Chika, Hozuki and the others aren't done yet.

Because of the split-cour decision (2nd cour in Fall 2019).

Because of such an underrated series like this.

Because of all the above, no one series is perfect to a T, but watching it makes your time worthwhile.

Because I believe (and you should too) that it could be more than this, and expectations run high.

More importantly, because being casual is the easiest way to strike a chord, and being comically serious strikes THAT chord into something beautiful.

Awaiting Season 2 / 2nd cour in Fall with greatness.

Glancing at the promotional poster for “Kono Oto Tomare!” had me confused, that’s because I thought the students were holding bazooka’s. Which could have made sense given the American name, “Stop the sound.” Despite my lack of knowledge of the koto, however, I soon realized that splattered body parts would be a rare occurrence. Quite a shame, I know. Musical-centered anime follow a similar framework to sports anime. The participants usually start with mediocre talent and low expectations, but through the power of bullshit (i.e. friendship), they overcome all/most obstacles in pursuit of their goal. Like when the vice principal challengedthe crew to learn the koto in a month and play a song in front of the student body. The subsequent veneration from the student body was a cliched response that has been utilized more times than a crack pipe at Charlie Sheen’s estate…or car, or on the set of “Two and a Half men,” or at Wendy’s as he wears his Burger King crown with glee — “Smoke it your way, bitch!”

Manufactured plot points aside, the characters are recycled tropes of the worst kind. Chika (he’s actually a dude — outré, I know) was the archetypal ‘tough guy’ with a concealed gentler side. With the wisdoms of his father constantly ringing in his head, and the strengthening bonds of friendship, he blossomed into an amiable companion who supported his fellow koto enthusiasts. Satowa, the resident bitch, deceived the various men in her life to do her bidding. One might liken her to a succubus, but let me assure you, she’s not putting out. Similar to Chika, her aggressive demeanor cloaks her insecurities and longings to have friends. Both character arcs proceed accordingly, with no meaningful nuance to distinguish itself from its predecessors.

Takezo Kurata was an apathetic, meek boy who didn’t establish himself as someone worth caring about. His character arc was rather predictable, with a gradual rise in self-confidence as the series progressed toward its finale. The other, initial koto members — Kouta, Saneyasu, Michitaka — were stock characters with no discerning characteristics worth mentioning. Miya Sentarou, a member of a rival koto team, did have a humorous moment when he started ‘powering’ up during a live performance, and reached a state of kaio-ken (or, maybe he was having an aneurysm — tomayto, tomahto). Otherwise, though, Sentarou was rather tropey.

An interesting facet about “Kono Oto Tomare!” was the lack of koto music. Performances were often cut short or relegated to a considerable amount of internal dialogue/flashbacks from the main characters. Frankly speaking, evading the primary focus of the show for a contrived love story and frequent reminiscing seemed like lazy, bland storytelling. The difficulties of learning a new instrument is fascinating in its own right, without the ‘aid’ of superfluous, emotional conflicts. Eliminate the soap opera and focus on the trials and tribulations of the learning process.

this is the second time I have watched anime music, this anime is very good by presenting a dramatic storyline and each character has a story behind each of them, I really enjoyed the story from the first episode to the end.every episode has interesting conflicts and is not bored to watch for me.the visuals displayed are very suitable with the conditions that are told and make the audience seem to be fixated on the conflict presented. I'm really waiting for the continuation and this is my recommendation for those of you who want to find anime with dramatic stories and music.

Beautiful and heartwarming series that surprises us in each episode. Who will thought that we will have regular boy an deliquent and koto prodigy in one place and they will create a "space" that will reach us all? As much as story brings us enjoyment there is one thing that's most interesting and it's sound. Voice acting and instrument sounds are really nicely done here. I like art and I rated it high even if animations aren't top notch, at least this isn't a series when it's hard to recognize characters because they all look the same and act same. The maybe one thing thatseries lacks is small amount of female characters but opening gives us a hint that there will be one more girl showing up in later part of season.

The foundation of school clubs have been an ongoing trend in many anime involving school life. But reality is, you probably haven’t heard of koto club being part of a central plot, have you? At first, I came into this show with some cautious optimism. The concept of Kono Oto Tomare itself reminds me of anime like Chihayfuru. That anime became a rare breed that capitalized on a unique competition. Kono Oto Tomare walks a similar path for its first few episodes. Right from the start, we are introduced Takezou Kurata, the president of the koto music club. The timid young man has no strikingly impressivetraits. As the sole member of the Koto club, his love for koto music is evident although it’s hard to make his club into a sensation. The fact is, his club is on the verge of shutting down until Chika Kudo submitted his application to join. The first episode shows a world of difference between two characters – Kurata being the weak character who you may feel sympathetic for and Kudo, the straightforward delinquent-looking guy who isn’t afraid to express himself. When you put these two characters together into the same club, what can really go wrong?

Voiced by Atsukmi Tanezaki, it doesn’t take long for the audience to meet prodigy Satowa Hozuki. There’s no doubt about it. She is gifted and is considered a professional player in the world of koto music. Unfortunately, her personality is that of a stuck-up girl with a degree of egotism. On the bright side, she is also a hard worker and is determined to reach her goals. With the Koto club, her goal may have a ray of hope. Something to pay careful attention to in the show is her slow yet progressing character growth. As she grows to understand its club members, she also begins to trust in others more. The first season doesn’t fully explore this so you’ll have to be more patient.

It was announced that the show would be split into 2 cours, with the second half to air in Fall 2019. To be honest, this should make it obvious as the first 13 episodes aims get viewers comfortable enough to understand the story. The main goal of the koto music club is to reach the nationals. This goal is shared between all of its members and becomes their endgame. The real question is how far they can reach that goal, or if at all. Throughout the story, it’s evident that some of its members need more training and a lot of room for improvement. The trio of Sakai Michitaka, Mizuhara Kouta, and Takaoka Tetsuki is a very obvious example. In fact, the first few episodes shows Satowa showing disappointment at the state of the club. As their mentor, there’s no doubt that she wants them to succeed with her but it’s a difficult task. A part of the show consists of showcasing their hard work and proving the world what they are capable of as a club together. Individually, each character has their personal traits that adds a bit of flavor to the growing roster.

And of course, school life often deals with drama. When we are introduced to Hiro Kurusu, she shows a cunning side to her character with hidden motives. In fact, this show seems to dance around drama at the early stages. Satowa’s personality is like a fuse to a fire when she sometimes clashes with Kudo. In the meantime, Kudo isn’t afraid to back down because of his own thick personality. When you see the two together in early stages of the show, it’s like the two are at a mental wargame. I honestly feel sorry for Kurata since he wasn’t equipped to deal with this. Although as time passes on, Kurata also begins to grow out of his shell since his days of being bullied.

Using its visual language for communication, Kono Oto Tomare does a surprisingly wonderful job at expressing itself. The anime knows what it wants to be – a mixture of school life, drama, competition, and growth. There’s an evident of character youth in this show with its casts’ personalities. Beyond that, the technical style of animation production is probably one of the weaker sides. Character designs aren’t very eye catching except when the show gets into the mood for competition. It shine best during windows of moments that showcases the art of koto music. Sometimes, you may be awed by Satowa’s character design if you have a thing for long black haired beauties. And even as a show with heavy doses of drama, there’s room for comedy. Character expressions draw on the humorous effects of interactions. But at the end of the day, it’s not really that funny.

This is a world where koto music is more than just an art. It’s a way of showing talent to the world while understanding the true meaning of koto music. Anime viewers who are new to the show’s ideas should be prepared for dramatic ride. You won’t need a bucket for tears but do be prepared to be cast into a world where sounds is a way of life.

This is the first anime I thought I needed to review it, super underrated in my opinion, I'm at episode 5 and already cried twice. To be honest, I get it, is an anime about playing Koto, a classic Japanese instrument, I always thought koto, kinda weird and stupid, and I wouldn't watch it if it wasn't recommended by a YouTuber that I watch, but they can make you emotional anyway, really great, looking toward watching everything, if my opinion changes I'll edit this review. The story is great, the editing is great, the animation is Ok, nothing I wasn't expecting from a slice of lifeabout playing an instrument, music is great too.

The best part is the way that the director tells you the story, I've seen before directors not bringing the best out of a good story, but that is not the case, I feel like this anime would lose a lot of potentials if it was directed "wrong".

This is it for now, bye.

NON SPOILER REVIEW: First let me start by saying I love this anime because I love the manga. The manga is near and dear to my heart with such amazing character development and storylines and it does not fail to give great art as well. As for the anime, I believe that it holds up to the standards the manga has set up. After only having watched five episodes so far I can tell that its going to be great. I will be updating this review once there are more episodes to compare to, I just felt compelled to write a review since this anime deservesall the attention it can get.

Genres: Comedy, Slice of life, music, Subtle hints of romance (further down the line)

Story: The story so far has closely followed the manga, and I expect it to well into the second season as there are 70+ chapters available for the anime to follow. The storyline grabs you in the first episode as you follow the story through the eyes of one character. The story progresses into following 3 of the main characters in their point of view.

Art: The only thing I do not like about manga is that it gives you an unrealistic expectation of how the anime art should be. The manga is so beautifully drawn that the anime art has lost some of its original luster. With that being said, the art is still beautifully done on its own if you don't compare it to the manga. My only wish would be that some of the background was a little more detailed along with the characters, but it still has its own charm.

Sound: I like the anime opening and ending, I just dont love them. This is a person preference so it's really up to you. As for the koto, you dont hear the sound until the second episode. And I must say I had high expectations for it because of how much the manga hyped it up....and it delivered. I've never heard the koto before but the way the koto sounded when Satowa played was amazing. The anime did a good job of displaying the koto because there are characters who are not as good at playing the koto and characters who have been playing the koto their whole lives, like Satowa. I'm really excited for the way the instruments sound further down the line as the pieces get harder and more dynamic (as explained by the characters in the manga).

Characters: I'm only going to write about the character development in the anime so far and not the manga because it would contain spoilers. With only five episodes in you can get a good grasp of how the characters are going to interact and grow within the storyline. The characters start off weak or misunderstood and continue to grow from their past mistakes and learn more about themselves and about what the Koto instrument really means to them.

Enjoyment: The manga/anime is down right hilarious so if you're looking for something to laugh this is definitely the place for you. Be warned there are also times when you really feel sorry for the characters or are frustrated by some actions the characters do. Overall the character development so far is starting to build. Each character has their own personal color and sound, im excited to see where they go next

Overall: I hope that if youre STILL reading this, that you give the anime a chance because I believe it has a lot of potential to be one of the best animes in a long time (is it just me or lately the new animes been nothing but ecchi and poor storylines).

I usually don't write reviews (this is my first one actually), but after seeing this anime I couldn't help the urge to do it because I felt that more people should consider giving it a try. I feel that when seeing "Kono Oto Tomare!" for the first time, some might be turned off by the fact that it's in the music genre. I myself am not a big fan of these kinds of anime, but "Kono Oto Tomare!" really surprised me by just how much I ended up liking it to the point where I started reading the manga just because I couldn't get enoughof it. I’ll do my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum in this review.

Story:

The story revolves around a high school's koto club that's about to disband and is in dire need of new members. That's where a large portion of the cast decide to step in and join the club and, together, the members all aim to reach nationals. The story is similar to a lot of sports anime in the sense that the club isn't all that perfect at first and through hard work and failure, they rise and get to where they want to be. The element of romance is also evidently a big part of the story and a lot of tension and drama is created between the characters for this purpose. And while at this time, neither of the couples actually get together, it is their interactions and their struggles in first, trying to admit their feelings to themselves, and second, in trying to keep them in check so as to not get in the way of their club activities, that really pave the path for the romance to shine. The romance aspect is, all in all, pretty sweet and I very much enjoyed seeing the relationships between the characters develop. There is also a lot of drama involved in this anime which might put some people off, but personally, I thought it was something that added to the plot and helped both the characters and the plot progress in a positive way. The inclusion of koto as the instrument of choice was also very refreshing, especially since I believe it’s an instrument that not too many people outside of Japan are familiar with.

Art:

The art is well done and nice to look at. The way they chose to animate and show the movement of hands while playing the instruments was quite welcome and pleasing to look at. Thankfully, they opted not to use CGI for animating the scenes where koto is being played and that's something I'm grateful for. The art seems to have done a very good job at translating the manga into anime format and jumping from one medium to the other isn’t hindered by the difference in art style.

Sound:

As this anime belongs to the music genre, the sound becomes increasingly important and I think they did a great job of delivering songs that are an absolute treat to listen to. The opening is very good and I still listen to it after having finished the anime. The ending is also enjoyable. However, where I think the sound shines the most is during scenes where the characters are playing the koto. Each and every song can simply be described as mesmerizing. It really makes you appreciate the unique and beautiful sounds that a koto can produce. "Kuon" was a song that really resonated with me in the anime. It's as if you can feel the emotion put into every sound. What's interesting is that the people who were tasked with playing the koto music in the anime were actually not that experienced in playing the instrument and ended up having to learn it, just like some of the characters in the show.

Character:

I think one of the most important aspects of this show, and this style of anime in general, is the characters. Their interactions and struggles are what make the viewer more engaged in the story and more willing to see the characters succeed. They did a very good job in making every character interesting and thus making the viewer actually care about them. Throughout the whole story (this includes beyond the first season of the anime) each character from the club, and even from rival schools, gets a certain amount of time dedicated to fleshing them out, whether that be through providing backstories for them or through making them face a series of conflicts in the present timeline. The focus I would say is very much on creating stronger bonds between the characters in the club through these conflicts. The fact that each character feels very different from the other makes it possible to relate to at least one of them during the course of the story. As I mentioned previously, elements of romance also play a big part in the story and, at least to me, they don't really feel forced, but rather flow quite nicely with the tone of the story. They really make you root for the characters to get together, though they never actually go as far as kissing or anything like that (perhaps in the future though *wink wink*).

Enjoyment:

I have to say I really enjoyed the time I spent with this anime. It succeeded in evoking an emotional response from me and I think that's part of what makes an anime worth watching. If you feel nothing when viewing an anime, then I think that takes away from the overall enjoyment. Many of us tend to forget that the biggest reason to watch anime is for the sake of enjoying what we're watching. This very enjoyment sometimes even helps us look past some of the minor flaws that every anime undoubtedly has and thus I believe it is the most important factor to consider when deciding to watch something like "Kono Oto Tomare!".

Overall:

All in all, I think "Kono Oto Tomare!" is an anime worth watching through at least once as it is very enjoyable and I'm sure many will have a great time experiencing it. It's worth saying that while I do praise this anime quite a bit, it definitely isn't for everyone. If you're looking for cutting-edge action or heart-pounding dramatic moments then I don't think you'll find what you're searching for here. However, if you're looking to enjoy a story that builds its foundation on music and character interacions, then I doubt you'll be disappointed. Watching the first 2-3 episodes will pretty much give you a feel for the tone and direction of this anime so I would suggest trying out the first few eps before you decide on whether you'll like it or not.

** Update: Okay, so I've finished the series and I think because of pacing issues I would rate this a 9.5, but since that isn't an option I'm dropping it to a 9. I'm so happy that season 2 is already out so I can start binging it! I'm a huge geek for music anime and Kono Oto Tomare hit the spot. A must watch for fellow musical anime lovers. I will update this review once the series finishes airing-- but, 5 episodes in, I'm pretty sure this is a masterpiece. Just a heads up: I've never written a positive review on this site andI've been a MALer since 2010. Besides writing the occasional Yelp review, I'm not really a "reviewer" so please bare with me.

After my preface, I'm sure you could gather that this anime is quite exceptional. Kono Oto Tomare! moved me in ways that Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) never could. There's something so pure, and original with this concept of musical anime. I was a big fan of Nodame Cantabile back in the day, and yet even Nodame does not pull at the heart strings like Kono Oto Tomare! does.

This series is focused on a high school Koto club. The concept is quite obscure since the Koto instrument is not really well known outside of Japan. In a sense this anime really connected with my Japanese heritage. The characters are out of place playing such a traditional instrument, but the producers of the Kono Oto Tomare make it work. I don't necessarily find it helpful when reviews just summarize the plot of an anime, so I won't be doing that here. I'm just here, trying to bring light to a very underrated anime of the season. Don't sleep on this beautiful and touching anime.

If you want to experience the true essence of Japanese culture presented through a goofy, high school anime. Kono Oto Tomare is for you. It will make you laugh, cry, and view music in ways you could've never imagined (and never fully realized through Your Lie in Anime)-- watch this anime.

After rewatching this show two times, I want to dedicate my first MAL review for Kono Oto Tomare! which in my opinion, is the most underrated and underappreciated anime that I have ever seen. I will mainly focus on the first season but I will also touch on the second season a little bit because if the first season was great, the second one was just outstanding. Since I just rewatched both seasons, the rating might be slightly biased and apply to both the first and second season. Also, this is a general review and thus, can be considered spoiler-free. Plot: 8/10 Do not judge ananime based only on the first episode. You could watch the first episode and thought that the flashbacks and backstory are all over the place, but trust me, it is essential for the character development which is the strong aspect of this anime. The plot is quite simple and straightforward. In short, it is about the Koto club which aimed for nationals while facing problems and difficult circumstances by each member. However, the simplicity of the plot allows the anime to highlight the other aspects of this anime such as solid characters, beautiful performances, and delightful visuals which I will explain more in the following paragraphs.

Music: 10/10

“A truly wonderful performance can go beyond experts and reach those who don’t know about Koto”.

I did not know anything about Koto before watching this anime nor did I play any instrument, but the music in this anime is just breathtaking, especially if we talk about the amazing performances. Each performance has its own meanings, values, and emotions which they want to convey to others. You cannot help but feel those emotions from each performance and this helps with understanding each character better (how did they lead their lives, what did they feel, what do they want to achieve, and what are they feeling) during the performances. The combination of the music with the visuals is enough to make you cry. It is just simply beautiful.

Characters: 10/10

Very, very solid characters. You could get overwhelmed at the beginning due to the constant flashbacks and backstories by some of the characters. However, once you get over it, it feels like you get closer to each of them and understand their motives and emotions. Personally, for me, being able to relate to characters is vital and it seems like this anime allows you to do that and as a result, it feels like you are together with them for the whole series. While the first season focuses on the character development of the few characters in the club, the second season brilliantly focuses mostly on Satowa which I assume is the most popular character in this series. The second season really does an incredible job in narrating her story to the point that you can understand her incredibly well.

Animation: 9/10

The animation might not be the best that you have ever seen, but it fits perfectly with the music, characters, and situations. I believe that the strongest point of this anime is the cohesion between music, visuals, and dialogues which forms a beautiful and emotional animation that warms your heart. For example, the visuals are always beautifully aligned with the music in the performances and this helps you to understand the emotions embedded into the music which is important to understand the characters in the series better. In other words, all aspects in this anime are interconnected with each other to create a beautiful anime.

Overall: 9.25/10

As I mentioned before, the first season is great but the second one is just amazing. More focused character development, better visuals, and also better performances. I genuinely believe that is a hidden gem and more people should watch this anime.

Thank you for reading my first ever MAL review and it will make me delighted if you are willing to consider this anime after reading this review. Cheers.

Kono Oto Tomare! SPOILER WARNING: Most of the characters personalities/stories are mentioned First of all I’d like to say that this is by no means a bad anime and that is not what I intent to portray with my score. In fact I thoroughly enjoyed Kono Oto Tomare!. That said I would wholeheartedly disagree with anyone saying this is a masterpiece of originality. In fact I’d argue the literally only original thing here is that they are playing Koto’s instead of *Insert whatever other instrument/sport here*. From this point forward I’m going to be regarding sports anime and music anime the same, and while this might rufflesome feathers I believe it’ll help to show my points about the unoriginality. Considering that most music animes are set in high-school clubs with the same goals of making it to nationals just like most sports anime are I don’t think it’s that bold of a claim to consider the two genres for this purpose the same.

So let’s begin with going over the story shall we? We have the high-school setting, which obviously has become a staple in all genres of anime these days. We have the club-without-enough-members-therefore-possibly-leading-to-the-disbandment-of-the-club plot point, another classic within the high-school setting, but more specifically in sports anime. We have the obvious overall plot of making it to nationals, “let’s be the best whatever woooo” kind of thing. And we successively find out about each members sad backstory and why they act like they do, blah blah blah, they fix it and now they are besties. We have the injury-trope, another classic in all our sports favorites.

Again, at this point I’d like to reiterate that I don’t dislike this anime. While my tone might be rather condescending it’s more so that these tropes are present in most, if not all high-school sports animes, and not that I dislike them in and of themselves.

With that said, let’s check out the characters. First we’ve got our main character, your typical low selfesteem, pushover 4-eyes loser. But wait, he actually has convictions, and speaks up (sometimes I guess)!!! Then we got our other main boy, mr. misunderstood delinquent who’s actually a nice guy and his whole scandalous past was just a misunderstand. We got the lonely prodigy who just wants friends, we got the mysterious teacher with a hidden past who turns out to be some big brain genius boy, the side characters who can see past our bad boys mean side and see the good within him, the sexy big sister… do I need to go on?

The art and music are both fine. For the art nothing really stands out neither in a positive nor negative way. The OST had some pretty clarinet tunes I thought but besides that it’s rather unmemorable a part from the kotos obviously. I can’t say I knew much about the instrument prior to this but it produces a very pretty sound and the performances during the show were some of my highlights for sure.

That all being said, while this show makes use of probably every trope in the book, it does so pretty well. It certainly isn’t anything new or groundbreaking but it does what it does very well, and if you’re a fan of these music/sports animes set in high-school then here is another one of sufficient quality that you can spend some time on.

Kono Oto Tomare is not just a music anime, it intricately presents a lot of issues faced by people in general and therefore a lot may relate to the characters experience. It has a lot of “potential” which it couldn’t fully use however that shouldn’t demotivate you from watching it. It’s become one of my favourites for sure. The animation felt a bit awkward during the start but they really improved a lot as the series progressed. Loved the art from the startglad I didn’t drop it, infact it compelled me to read the manga too.

I’ll digress a bit but Ohmygod you need to read the manga. It is Amazing. A masterpiece. The art is absolutely breathtaking and except for the fact that you can’t hear the koto music everything’s on point. Even about the music part, separate music CD has been released so you can get an idea of what they play. And it’s absolutely mesmerising. The manga is a must read if you like the anime or the concept of the anime but aren’t able to watch because of the issues.

Anyways coming back to the anime,

Since I’ve read the manga I’d say they actually did a good job adapting it because they didn’t change much of the storyline and it seemed similar and all. Anyways read the manga my fellow people. You will not regret :’)

Some of the things which I’d like to point out are (I’m not mentioning these to not make you watch it but so that you’re “aware” about it. Infact I very much recommend you to check it out atleast)

Firstly, the personalities of a few characters reallyyyyy annoyed me at first but I’m glad it got better.

Now I can say I’m quite fond of all of them.

The character developments are really strong in here!

Secondly, one thing that I didn’t like was they barely gave you 1-2 second glimpse of koto sound during practice sessions and members exaggerated reactions. I mean I do get they left it for main event but like just one touch of string is too less? And how do you react like that just from one second sound. It was funny yet annoying at times.

And even in the main performances they’d start showing flashbacks. Flashbacks are fine by me if they just showed slides but they’d even stop the music and there would be dialogues. It really put me off lmao because I love music and I’m here for music but then you cut it off in between. I mean yeah flashbacks are important but why put it in between the actual performancesssss.

Apart from this everything else was fine.

I’m not someone who looks for perfection. My philosophy is to see the beauty of imperfection and that’s what I was doing while watching this anime. The imperfection made me realise that we all are human afterall. It’s easy for me or others to condemn and criticise about it while I can’t even draw one scene out of it properly. Also as I said the manga is very good so there’s always that option for you.

The ending didn’t seem like an ending but since the list says 13eps I guess that was it. Can’t wait for season 2 which will come out in October I believe. I’m sure they’ll make a lot more improvements by then. I’m quite happy to see how much it improved within the first season itself. I’m really glad I watched it, hope you can feel the same~

My first review, which is due to the outstanding quality of this anime. They are able to take a instrument that i know nothing about and thoroughly entrance me with the story. They are able to convey feelings to which you find yourself smiling along with or conversely crying. The awkward budding romances are perfect and leave you wanting more and more. They make the performances feel epic and will have you on the edge of your chair with the audience. Another mark of a good anime is when you get to the end and you immediately go binge the Manga to continue the feeling. You willnot be able stop watching this so just do it!

Good animation, decent plot and music, although the plot seems to work itself into rather predictable paths at times. Personally, I feel that the series could do more to connect viewers with the characters. Perhaps it has to do with the koto being a relatively unknown instrument to us foreigners, or maybe it is because the plot seems to revolve entirely around this koto club, and so there aren't many opportunities to explore the various interesting characters in situations which do not involve any kotos. Yet.. I'm only at episode 7 now and it seems like the show may now be placing a greater focus on individualcharacters after getting a major plot point over and done with.

Also, it does provide a fairly accurate portrayal of learning and playing music, which makes it better than most of these music anime. At one point, one of the characters gives a better explanation of interpreting classical music than my music teacher! lol

I SWEAR YOU GONNA LOVE THIS ANIME IF YOU WANT TO WATCH A MUSIC GENRE ANIME! It is satisfying to watch them grow, learn, and win! What I really love about this anime is their love about they are doing; to play a Koto! I also love the dynamics of the characters as it feels they are complete set of personalities! I love the highs and lows of the story and still gives me inspiration to love something in music haha (as I am part of a musical group). The art style is like traditional that has some modern blend since we are talking about Koto (a traditionaljapanese instrument) so it has to connect to traditional side. Also, it has vibrant and soft color palette! Mostly, the settings are in school, and the interpretation is good.

There is also an emphasis on music so the music from their plays is good too! I hope I can learn Koto someday haha.

I HOPE THERE IS ANOTHER SEASON FOR THIS HUHU

Not a Romance Anime btw Thought that would be my main point to make from this The anime has an interesting niche into Japanese culture showing of the Koto. The story is based around a Koto club in highschool with a set of new members. Most learning from little experience. The story well played out well, as they aim for nationals. The Story is a little slow at the start and some of the characters don't fit so well the slow and pace of the story. The story picks up well during the middle but slows down again a bit too much near the end. 7/10 The Artstyle is nice but sometimes it slacks off with emotional-less faces for copy pasted faces. 7/10

For an anime based around Sound I felt it lacked besides the performances but even they were a little plain. 7/10

The characters were a bit all over the place, some main characters got no development, some development was badly grounded and some one episode character got more development than the main characters. 6/10

I did Enjoy this anime but sometimes it got a little boring at times but I got lots of the vibes I got from Hibike Euphonium especially during the middle ("UMAKU NARITAI") and it is why I picked up this anime and it enjoyable to watch some of the better parts of the anime play out. 7/10

Overall an interesting anime that slakes in its character development and doesn't really show off the koto. It is also labelled as a romance anime which is not true, it not even an underlying theme, there are only 2 or 3 scene with real romance that lead to nothing by the end of the season. Although the performances are well animated with good sound at times and while character development lacks in some areas it is quite good where it is strong. Overall 7/10

Story and Characters: Kono Oto Tomare is my favorite anime for Spring 2019. The story revolves around Chika Kudou, a misunderstood high school student who struggles to find his identity, he has been disowned by his father leaving him with his grandfather a Koto luthier. Through a series of unfortunate events Chika's grandfather dies, feeling guilty, Chika vows to join the Koto club in order to make amends for his mistakes and create a legacy in honor of his grandfather with the help of his club members. Despite Chika having a primary role in this anime, every other character has an equally important subplot whichadds to the overall complexity and completeness of the story. Every character in this anime is interesting and likable.

Art:

On the animation and artistic side, this anime has a very nice blend of very beautiful and realistic style, mixed with a very cute chibi art style. During the musical performance sequences we can see some great attention to detail with the animation. Overall excellent artistic presentation.

Sound:

On the sound department, Kono Oto Tomare excelled thanks to the beautiful Koto pieces played through the season. On the opening and ending department I would say the opening is adequate and catchy, however not the best I've ever heard. The ending on the other hand fits perfectly with this anime!

Kono Oto Tomare is a story that demonstrates how ones internal struggle can be remedied by the power of love, friendship, and music. Every episode in this anime is perfectly crafted in my opinion to demonstrate these qualities.

Overall this was my favorite anime of the season, the story is excellent, every character is complex and interesting, the music is amazing, and the art and animation is beautiful. An easy 10 in my eyes!

This is one of those times when I believe the summary doesn't really done its anime storyline's justice. If you like stories about developing friendship, beautiful soundtracks, and/or touching slice-of-lifes, this is for you. Story - 8/10 (very good) Ah, another story about reliving an unpopular school club. It's one of my most liked tropes, so I might just be a little biased here. A shy, timid guy wants to keep his club going for the sake of his graduated senpai. The premise is quite simple, you see. But the way the director is telling it to us, the audience, managed to bring along the stories of its characters'both struggles and simple happiness moments to be wrapped up into something simply beautiful. The storytelling style is one of my favorite parts of this. The way they revealed the flashbacks little by little in each episodes from multiple POVs makes it easier to sympathize with the characters.

Characters - 8/10 (very good)

The characters development is the big selling point in this, and the thing that keep the plot going. My favorite character in this is Kudo, if I have to say. I love how (realistically) complex his characterization is. He is a pessimist that has partly given up on himself but still yet striving to do the best because he's longing for a good future. Despite how the MAl summary sounds pretty Takezo-centered, the story itself is actually more Kudo and Hozuki-centered.

The biggest downside that hold me back from giving its characterization point 10 is how Hozuki character had written. The genius but having too strict parent is already a quite often used troupe. Without bringing anything new to her character except having dual upfront personalities (which actually not that different) her character just seems too cliche.

Overall though, I love the character developments that most of the main characters had shown.

Art - 6/10 (okay)

No lies here, the art itself is nothing than just okay. In my opinion, at least. But I think many people would agree with me, even though everyone's personal scoring might differs. Nothing special about the art. Almost all of the characters design would give you some kind of Deja Vu cause its been used similary in any other anime. The color palette is even rather dull for this kind of story, in my opinion.

Sound - 10/10 (amazing)

I'd give nothing less for the sound. The Koto instruments sounds truly beautiful. The voice actors done their job greatly, especially for Takezo's voice. They insert the right soundtracks in the right times and it really helps bringing up the overall mood. The opening and ending themes might slightly less amazing, but I'm willing to overlook that for the sake of doing the instrumentals justice because Koto really does sound amazing in the right hands. For that, I'm really glad they had made this anime.

Overall - 8/10

This is something I'd definitely continue to watch and would recommend to anyone looking for a good SOL anime.

Not even close to as good as the manga. They don't even play full songs; HOTSUKI (not Hozuki) in episode 8 plays like, 3 bars of song and then it just stops and the club members are supposedly impressed. I understand there might be time limitations on what they can do per episode, but as I was reading the manga I was wishing an anime adaptation would focus more on the actual music, kind of like Your Lie in April. The character development for Chika, Hotsuki, and Kurata is inextricably linked to the music they play, yet we never get to hear the music formore than a minute (max). I felt that the manga was a bit shonen-y in its portrayal and dramatization of musical competition, but the anime portrayal is much more lax and slice of life-y. Overall, the anime is too light compared to the manga. Again, it's very possible that they have to reach a certain point in the plot because they were only contracted for 12 episodes; I understand that making an anime is vastly more complicated than a manga, but they really missed the point of the story. I was hoping for more.

Edit: After checking ahead, I see that Fall 2019 will have the second season of Kono Oto Tomare and i rescind the only reasonable explanation for the producers' lack of awareness of the series' important themes and lack of focus on the music.

This anime was pleasantly surprising. I wanted to score it higher, but I think the one thing that held me back from doing so was that it didn't blow me away. However, I am happy I was exposed to it, so I'm gonna talk about why. Number one, the art is absolutely stunning. The colors and detail work especially are the things that really made the art shine. As far as the sound goes, it's pretty important for an anime about the koto, right? I will say I didn't think the koto music was showcased all that well. It was exciting to learn about the kotoas an instrument and to hear its sound, but there were a couple lost opportunities in the story where we could've heard it more and didn't. Other than that, though, the sound design is really well done. Especially the BGM or OST songs. They set the tone for the anime really nicely.

The story itself was pretty standard as far as plot goes. It's your typical "let's go to nationals" storyline. That's probably the part that made me give the anime the score I gave it. That being said, the characters themselves were very interesting to me. I didn't expect them to be written so well, but the main characters had good development and even better backstories. They ended up being really touching and sad and inspiring. So, I'd say the characters make up the component I was the most happy with throughout the series.

Overall, it was fun enough to watch. I don't think it'd be anything I'd watch again necessarily, but I am interested to see the sound this group can produce by the end of the next season, so maybe my thoughts will change. Anyway, if you're interested, give it a go. It's worth more than it seems.