Kono Oto Tomare! Part 2 この音とまれ！

2019 fall | Episodes: 13 | Score: 8.4 (101709)

Updated every Sundays at 01:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Synopsis

The Tokise High School Koto Club has courageously pushed through their fractured and unsynchronized performance at the Kanto Region Traditional Japanese Music Festival. Club members Chika Kudou, Satowa Houzuki, Takezou Kurata, Hiro Kurusu, Kouta Mizuhara, Saneyasu Adachi, and Michitaka Sakai are devastated to learn the negative results of their performance, leaving them crushed. Nonetheless, the group recognizes their potential and enthusiastically agree to collectively sharpen their skills, improve their flaws, and develop higher caliber playing to succeed in the upcoming national qualifiers in winter. With the help of their now willing club advisor Suzuka Takinami, the group's goal gradually becomes achievable as they begin to grasp the foundations of good music and refine their koto-playing abilities, with the suggestion of performing more often to gain what they lack most—experience. However, as their journey to nationals is underway, the koto club members face challenges that obstruct their focus and progress. Not only does the threat of other powerhouse schools and musicians remain, but the high school issues of budding romance and soon-to-be-graduating seniors also begin to push the limits of the determined group of teenagers and the future of the koto club. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Ishiya, Haruki

Tanezaki, Atsumi

Uchida, Yuuma

Enoki, Junya

Matsumoto, Sara

Iguchi, Yuuichi

Furukawa, Makoto

Namikawa, Daisuke

News

Reviews

CyanCheetah
11/25/2023, 09:06 PM
Kono Oto Tomare was a magical anime. There are only half a dozen music-focused animes that I can think of: Bocchi the Rock Your Lie in April Hibike! Euphonium K-On Belle Bang! Dream. These are the ones I can think of. But Kono Oto Tomare is the ONLY anime that not only focused 100% of its energy on the actual music but also was very good at it. Bocchi the Rock was hilarious but not as music-focused. YLIA was depressing but again not as music-focused as Kono Oto. I know YLIA had some AMAZING Piano music selection, but not as focused on the music as Koto. K-On! was a cute Moe animethat had amazing moments but then again that was a Slice of Life with not as much focus on music. Belle was a dramatic movie but did not as much focus on music as it did not just save the world. Finally, Hibike Euphonium did have a music focus but in my opinion (cancel me) it was not that enjoyable and frankly was quite boring. This one though, this one had a ton of emotional baggage. The sheer backstories of these people are amazing. From the delinquents to the main lady, they were all amazing! The teacher had an amazing backstory, hell the rivals EACH had their own amazing backstories. It was all scripted PERFECTLY with little-to-no time wasted, it was truly magnificent. The animation is beautiful. Many times I see animes not actually sync the music played to the animated note played. This one however did. The character designs are nice, and everything from the backgrounds to the Koto's string shining when played were beautifully and meticulously animated. The Music: Need I say anything else. Nope. The final performance was some of the best music in anime. Not the best sounding per say, but the most emotional baggage in ANY music piece. Akin to the final YLIA piano performance when Arima played his heart out. The Plot: Amazing. The Koto club at their high school wanted to go to nationals so they all practiced their hearts out. In that time they were improving a ton! I liked this season since it had this focus unlike the first one where the plot moved at a snails pace. The Bad; WHERE IS MY SEASON 3. Also while this is amazing, I feel like there couldve been a little more plot in the season. Final Score: 8/10 Thanks! -CyanCheetah
AnaelAnimanga
02/09/2023, 07:52 AM
I'm not a big fan of anime talking about music (apart from Bocchi The Rock). I never thought that '' Kono Oto Tomare '' would prove me wrong. I was able to discover a new instrument and the ost are fabulous especially "Tenkyuu" which is sublime. The characters are endearing and have their own story that influences the way they play and their feelings about the koto. There is humor and more serious moments, and we can, according to our own experience, identify with a character, which intensifies my interest in this work. I can only recommend seeing this anime can't wait to see a third season.
AppleDangani
03/20/2022, 03:45 PM
(Kono Oto Tomare Season 1 and 2 by Amyū Sakura) Non-Spoiler Review (March 21, 2022) Have you ever felt the excitement and joy of doing what you really love? Facing your weakness head on, admitting that you are hundred or thousand steps away from what you want, but you still take each and every experience to learn and be better. Loving the process with unwavering belief that you can reach what you're aiming for. Kono Oto Tomare is a story about high school kids who came to love playing a Koto. A traditional Japanese instrument which also called “Kin”. Koto is a long Japanese board zither having13 silk strings and movable bridges. The library's makers describe the Koto's sound thus: "It has a lightness of flying butterflies and the sputtering of fish, but has the strength of thunder.” For me, it only means one thing, the sound it produces can pierce hearts, express emotions, reverberates feelings, depending on how and who plays it. Knowing a new type of music is refreshing and interesting. Back to the series! Chika is a young man who turns in a new leaf. From a delinquent who became an empty shell after being thrown away, to being exposed to light, he finds his new dawn in Koto. Though the anime revolves around him, one cannot say that he is the only core of it. The Koto Club and each of them follows a path in which makes them special in their own way. They're characters you will come to love. You'll be seeing them as a whole, but each piece is significant. What I love in this series is how each character has been exposed on different scenarios, from juvenile acts to family issues, as well as insecurities and rock bottom situations. Unlike any other tournament theme anime or stories which revolves around the development of characters on their respective skills, this anime both focuses on excelling their skills playing Koto, and resolving their personal issues alongside their companions. Thus, getting their bond stronger which allows them to play and understand their feelings better. I admire how Amyu presents different teenage circumstances. How she shows the struggles of a person due to the expectations of the people around them, how a child can break with careless words and actions of an adult, how people you trust can easily damage you, or how you can also able to smile again after all the pains you've gone through. It's wonderful to see those child's growth, build their confidence, open their hearts, influencing others by showing their enthusiasm and sincere feelings. It pokes on different kind of emotions. The tournament itself is just an aftermath of their character developments. Oh! I watched it only in one night. I was so engrossed on the series that it only took me one sitting to finish it. The manga is still ongoing and there's, I think, a lot more unresolved cases that needs to be tackled. But the anime itself it really great. Personally, I first heard and knew Koto through this series, but I'm loving it to the point that I listen other audios playing this instrument. Depending on the music, it will make you happy or give you a heartache. I'm an amateur when it comes to music, but it's impossible not to feel anything after hearing the music they play along the series. It melts heart, it'll give you joy, will make you smile, or sad. In multiple cases, I kind of feel envious on how happy their faces make even if only they make one right keys on the play they're making. Imagine how happy you can be, doing what you really love. Their faces are the representation of that. The efforts and struggles they do, and the result they achieve even just a little bit, shows it all in their faces. They’re living in the present time, cherishing and holding the memories and people around them. The animation of the series is quite average. It’s not something that you will really be amazed of, but it’s won’t make you that disappointed either. I must say this, but it’s really cute to see cool and handsome character but with a very talkative and innocent personality. Chika is that. He has the face of a male lead romance character with a cold and cool personality. But watching him and his stupid acts is really refreshing. Though the animation is normal, there’re multiple scenarios where they show beautiful emotions, heartwarming sketches of the characters, or even painful faces that hits right to the heart. It's an ongoing manga with currently 111 chapters. There haven’t been news about the Season 3 of the anime but it is highly possible. I think, the contents of the manga are still not enough to showcased the next season of the anime. Thus, it will most likely be released at the end of this year or next year. Hopefully!
akmal8
12/24/2021, 01:58 AM
I had been looking for a laid back comedy/slice of life type anime after finishing a few other titles. I came across Kono Oto Tomare by chance after watching a different anime in the same genre, and seeing this title in the recommendations list. I was hooked by the end of the first episode of the first season and binged this series in less than a week. This anime is deeply moving. I'm a 33 year old man and no other work of fiction has brought me to tears as much as this series. This anime is not principally about music, or musicians. Music is themedium used to tell a story. But it's not some run of the mill coming of age story either. Each episode leaves you wanting more. The characters grow with each episode. I was totally sucked into this world, and I felt a strong protective instinct for the Tokise Koto club. I wanted the club to grow, and flourish. Although it's a predictable feel good story, its the journey that matters not the destination. There are many complex themes in this anime and it likely shines a light on some of the negative aspects of contemporary Japanese society. Namely the crushing burden placed on the youth to live up to the expectations of their parents, teachers, and society. It would be good to read a review by a Japanese viewer to get another perspective on the story. These issues are addressed and handled with maturity. The show doesn't simply gloss over complex issues with "will to power"/positive thinking/good vibes nonsense. The show doesn't revolve around a single character who is some sort of genius or "the chosen one" and overcoming adversity isn't simply about training harder. If anything the main theme of this show is that It is OK to be human. It is OK to make mistakes. Nobody can stand on their own. Geniuses and prodigies have problems too. They are human too. Everybody suffers. Many suffer quietly, for a long time. Finally the show is also quite educational. The Koto is a beautiful instrument. The show will be instructive for younger viewers on how one should approach an art. With discipline and respect. You must respect and revere the instrument.
amandont
10/28/2021, 08:41 PM
Pretty equal if not a teensy bit better than the first season, just a culmination of all the sweat and tears of the gang and a finale that was just stunning really. This season in my opinion was better than the first due to a few reasons, I think that the character of Akira Dojima was just beautiful. I think that her character is so intriguing, it's so worth the time to explore further, it really propelled the group to be better and it was really the main reason this series got better and better. I also liked that we got a bit more Koto this timeround, especially about learning the basics of Koto. I feel like this series really underplays just how difficult playing music is, and knowing that most of them are newbies, it's pretty unrealistic for them to be as good as they are. So I really enjoyed the basic training and also just the exposure of dedication that one must have to play such an instrument. The conflict here was more heated with Dojima, but I enjoyed the romance related dilemmas the two girls were having. I thought it was really funny and amusing and I liked seeing their vulnerabilities because Kurusu and Hozuki are such strong characters. Especially with Kurusu, I really felt her development since season 1 and I grew to really like her character and really root for her. Sane was explored a little bit more here but Mitssu is still left in the dust! I really don't know why they did this because I think Mitssu could have been given some funny alternate plot or some conflict with Takezo. So I'm a little annoyed about that because he's now the only character without a real story, or even a perspective. I also thought that it was rather annoying to pile the performances from other schools and theirs per-episode. I think throughout the story we could have gone to each school to see their struggles and their progress rather than giving them a full episode filled with flashbacks + the performance. I mean, we already met them in the first season so I feel like they earned some portion of the story before the finale. So, it definitely felt more choppy this time round. Still, it was pretty equal to the first and that's a hard feat. The ending was extremely satisfying as well and I loved the piece they played! Definitely an anime that you would miss watching just because of how light and grounded it was. If you liked the first season, then you're bound to enjoy the second !
vault-dweller
09/05/2021, 01:45 AM
Just one of the most likeable main casts in any anime in years. That right there should be the reason you watch this show. I could end the review there and 90% of my entire point will be reached. But I'll flesh things out a bit. The plot, honestly isn't important. It's about a struggling high school classical music club and their dreams to reach nations. But honestly, even though this is the story we follow throughout the two seasons, it's not why you're watching and not what truly matters. It all comes down to a genuine, pure, lovable groupof characters that all have their struggles, be it big or small, and how they overcome them together. They believe in, support and care about one another in such an honest way that you can't help, but feel the same towards them. So you rout for them. Again it could be any reason, it just happens to be music. You want them to succeed and find their places. And watching this happen was simply awesome. I feel like when people talk about anime casts they love they will often say, "you want to be their friends". Honestly I don't find that to be the highest form of praise. I feel it's when you genuinely care about them and what happens to them and in this show, I full heartedly did. Yes, the premise of reviving a struggling club and bringing them to glory was interesting and fun and proved a great backdrop, but that was just the canvas that held the beautiful painting. And that painting is made up of the incredible main cast. The reasons I couldn't rate it higher was partly it's own doing as well as something that wasn't the shows fault. I'll start with that. Expectations can really be unfair and they were here. Straight up, this isn't a romance anime. Romance is listed as a genre, but it isn't. Don't expect any. If two scenes of beating hearts and red faces equals romance, than your standards are quite different then mine and perhaps this will be fine. I don't call every show that has a character throw a punch an action show or where someone has a dream psychological. So I went in expecting something that wasn't there in the first place. Perhaps your views on this will differ, but I feel this must be mentioned. The other two issues are on the show. First there are no less than half a dozen cartoonishly evil characters (I get calling drawings "cartoonishly" weird, but hear me out). After a point just let the struggles and drama come more naturally, organic. It reaches the point of absurdity when every new character introduced is portrayed so evil and towards a simple high school club. The second issue also deals with the large extended cast. I mentioned how this show is like a beautiful painting. Well the secondary cast almost acts like too much clutter taking away from a masterpiece. It's good to know about the revival schools and their members, but I don't need episodes worth of backstory for characters who I've met once before. Leave the beautiful painting as is and focus on what truly brings it out. This proved to really slow the show down towards the end. I'll end with something I wrote early because it's the most true statement about this show. "You want the characters to succeed and find their places. And watching this happen was simply awesome."
cocolita22
06/20/2021, 01:56 PM
Imagine watching this show and not giving sound a 10. You don't have to love every aspect of this show, but you physically cannot tell me this wasn't the most beautiful music. I had never heard of the koto before this show and now I can't stop thinking about those haunting notes. Few music anime can touch a chord like this, pun intended. I promise you will love this show once you give it a try. It took me two episodes to realize it was special and I was dreading the end. Luckily, both seasons are incredibly solid and gorgeous. The character development is preciselywhy you need to watch this show: they grow together and change so obviously, but it is the type of change you root for the entire time. Story: Chika is a delinquent who grew up around the koto, since his grandfather would make them. In an effort to understand his late grandfather, he joins the Tokise High Koto Club and meets the fellow members in an unorthodox way. As all these different personalities struggle to get along, they also have to become amazing at the koto in as short period of time since the senior students want to go to nationals. This is a beautiful story of love, friendship, and how music brings us together. What are you waiting for? There is no thinking about it. Once you hear the first time someone plays the koto, you will be hooked.
ijen
04/27/2021, 12:44 AM
This review is based on the whole 26 episodes. Let me give you some touch of reality, sugar+spice+everything nice = powerpuff girls, is only fiction not reality. When you mix Music+ Shounen+ Sports?= Diarrhea, that's the reality. Kono oto tomare is nice anime but the tags of the genre and concept, is really flawed. I guess i have to be blame the original mangaka and the producer for this, for them being out of touch with how the world works. You see, it's hard to feel something if you don't get involved with field and mangakas who does research with google to get ideas and watch hisor her predecessors, get only the outline not the actual themes. And with no experience and just the shallow ideas plus wild imagination= Diarrhea. Get these points, as a jack of all trades, I'm saying this, Music is not like this. Sports is not like this. I can't blame them cause the fundamental concept of these two fields are weak in Japan itself, considering their worldwide results in contrast to their economy. Anyways, that's the reality now back to fiction. This is a nice anime and i quite enjoyed it. The story is really good from outside. But, if i nitpick, i get some terrible flaws. This is a shounen anime, yes there is blood and sweat, and the so called nakama bullshit and also team work, so it justify shounen tag! So, why are we conducting the story in shoujo genre? Almost everything about this anime has typical punchlines of shoujo stories. The reason is the managaka is SAKURA Amyuu, a freaking girl, doing a shounen theme. You can't be boy and girl at the same time so mixing shounen and shoujo in the same anime is seriously flawed. Like i said, Japan has a flawed concept about music and sports. If you're a baseball player for example, there will be time when you have to hit home runs to win and you won't have liability to get on base, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly then get the run. You just have to hit the damn home run. But, typical Japanese fan service thinks that doing all those shits is better than individual ability. They think there is bunt specialist who only bunts. No one is that trivial in real life and sports aren't that simple. Both in sports and music you have to up your individual ability then do your parts and things will automatically connect. You don't need to connect with nakama bullshit, or your fighting spirit. Just fighting spirit wont give the home run , you will need skills and power. That's why you need to limit your shounen delusions first. 10 loser homies=losers, no matter how much fighting spirit you got. The thing about skills is also true for music. But, the environment of music is composed of drugs, girls, depression and all dark sides, and this is true in every corner of the world and somehow music is combined with sports here. It's like simpson became super saiyan. This misconception is hilarious. Another flawed concept of mixing music sports is, the competition. There is qualifier then national in koto, i highly doubt that is possible. This is not koushien or super bowl. Just because you force shounen and sports with music, you don't have to deform reality too. Then there is the number of occasion where you do live performance, why only 3? Qualifier, nation and school festivals! You can't do gigs? live stream? house shows? cultural shows? Like i said forced delusional concept of the mangaka. Art was bishounen style with shoujo romance and blushing, and it was fair i guess, Sound, here it comes another flaw. Most of the performances aren't that good but they still make it awesomeISH. We have ears bro! We judge music too. And one string note doesn't cause flood or lighting as they want us to see. At least go close to that. I enjoyed the last tokise performance as it was truly sakuraISH. Other than that, it was weak considering it was music based. Characters were really good, every valuable characters also the 3 stooges were distinct. Main characters had character developments as well as back stories. I pretty much enjoyed the anime, despite the flawed author with misconceptions cause the arrangements were well organized. The plot is touching and i want to see where it goes. That is the most important thing. I recommend watching this.
LoneAce
10/11/2020, 07:24 AM
I did a review on the first season. I did it for both seasons so might as well copy paste: When i first heard of Kono Oto Tomare, I was quite curious as to how the anime would fare in comparison to Your Lie In April. I am thoroughly surprised at how the story developed, and simply how deep each character development is. The prejudice that hovers around each character is slowly but surely unpacked and what you get is a masterpiece in terms of character development. Unlike Your Lie In April, there are just so many competitors which viewers might adore and despise in the KotoClub's journey to the Nationals. Some of the issues that are addressed very well in Your Lie In April are also explored and addressed beautifully in Kono Oto Tomare, from parental expectations to not liking one's own play in music. As for music, Kono Oto Tomare excels in depicting how beautiful Koto music is. Having listened to Guzheng performances, I can say for sure that the music played is very emotional even when compared directly to live performances. To be honest, 2 distinctive performance were so beautiful they actually brought me to tears. The art in Kono Oto Tomare is not perfect, yet exceptional. Everything is depicted beautifully, even the not-so-beautiful scenes to watch. The character art ranged from realistic styles, to cartoony styles when it comes to the funny parts. The story is what makes this one of the best animes I have ever watched. The plot in which the characters get involved in also involves the viewers experiences just because it is just so relatable. Unlike the special circumstances in Your Lie In April which doesn't allow Kyousei to listen to his own pieces, everything in this anime is relatable. The journey in the anime is one of the best I have ever seen. As a matter of fact, I love this anime more than Your Lie In April. Would really recommend you to give this a shot. You will be absorbed in the first few episodes, that I can guarantee
Misbah_shah
09/22/2020, 10:40 AM
Highly recommended! Go for it! A good story with a unique theme always catches the attention.✔️ STORY: 10/10 I'll only explain 6 points regarding story. 1. REALLY INTERESTING THEME, That is "Koto Club" Now what exactly is this koto? It's a musical instrument and focus of this anime is Music. Members of this Club play this instrument KOTO, since all of them have their reasons to be in this club because this club is quite underrated in the school. Once they join the club, they get along well, due to the president of this club Kurata.2. 7 Members of Koto Club: Kurata, who's a very well spoken and mannered guy. He wants to collect at least 5 members in order to save this club from being disbanded from the school since a club must have at least 5 members to be recognised. The person who contacts Kurata first is Kudo Chika, who, by appearance, doesn't seem serious enough to be in the club because his image is ruined already due to being involved in fighting always and being ill mannered due to his company with bad boys, so Kurata (the president) couldn't believe when he wants to join the club. Instead he's scared & keeps on pushing him out of the club room saying that he's not welcome at all, because he's not serious about Koto. Kurata misunderstands him but Chika, despite being serious couldn't convince him, unless Chika's friend tells him, how truly he's wanting to be a part of KOTO club. His image becomes the major cause of Kurata's mistrust, but when he trusts him finally, he Leaves Chika speechless! From then onwards, Chika respects him, protects him, more than anyone, like a friend. Then comes another girl member, SATOWA HOUZUKI, VERY PROFESSIONAL KOTO PLAYER who has been winning national awards and been participating in various competitions, daughter of a Koto Head master. This influence of Satowa Houzuki's background was enough to doubt Kurata who couldn't even imagine that he'd get a member like her in his underrated club, without any problem. She doesn't befriend anyone in the beginning but she accepts this challenge of collecting 5 members because for her, it wasn't difficult to win and participate alone so she thought she could invite anyone who doesn't know how to play koto, to join that club, easily. Other 3 members are Chika's friends who join without thinking of Playing Koto since Satowa asks them to join only for the sake of Club not being disbanded due to less numbers. They join only for Chika. 5 of them, practice day and night and in a month, they've to prove to the school's vice principal how they're suitable enough to be in the Koto Club. Looking at them, playing together, another girl, Kurusu, also wishes to join the club. Her actual intention was to break this friendship bonding between club members because she was kind of jealous not to be a part of this Club, but she ended up loving them as well because of kind Kurata. Characters 10/10 3. THEIR PERFORMANCES 😍 I can't explain how well the Animation style and quality is. Especially me, who never had any interest in this traditional music, is enjoying each and every moment of these stage performances. So I think anybody would love them. Seriously! I used to wait for the performances, even though I don't have any interest for such traditional music pieces. When I heard Hozuki playing the first high note, on the stage, It felt so mesmerising. Since she was the one who had more knowledge in Koto's field, all the members used to depend on her a lot, while playing. Their whole piece used to become a masterpiece because of Hozuki. She guided them, without hesitating and realised how enjoyable it is to play with the syncing ryhtms of Kotos. The Remark of a girl "I didn't realize Koto was so..", I, as audience, completed in my head "So soothing to the ears". 4. SHY AND CUTE ROMANCE: I've always been fond of Shy romance, (And particularly hate Bold romance). Very graceful Satowa, who never did anything before joining this school, except playing Koto, didn't know how to respond when she encountered unknown feelings, that's why She was quite rude with Chika in the beginning, (because being nice with Chika wasn't easy for her). They used to fight a lot, but Chika respected her anyway because of her talent and grace. She started respecting him too, when she came to know the reason of him joining the club. Kurusu, who didn't want to see these club members together, started liking it because of Kurata, who listened to her, knew her intentions, yet he didn't hate her. 5. FRIENDSHIP scenes are SURELY WORTH WATCHING. Some emotions that one feels only with friends, were depicted so perfectly. Before performing, they used to practice a lot. Competing in a very positive way they used to have a lot of fun (quite nostalgic) Chika never forgets how Kurata Accepted him wholeheartedly in Koto Club and trusted him when nobody else did. He respects him in many ways (just exclude the fact that he calls him FOUR EYES because of his glasses 😂) He always knew how kind Kurata is, still he gets touched by his words every time. Feeling of having a victory with your friends, feeling of losing and being apologetic without realising and All of them, being nervous, before the performance seemed so True. I felt as if I'm feeling exactly like them, whenever I'm about to perform on stage. I've always been a person who's not confident on stage 😅 so I could relate a lot,( I think audience can relate a lot) by how they were reacting before the performance, especially Kurusu, who had never performed on stage before and Sano Reacting on every little thing such as "Hearing the school before us play makes me even more nervous" And when they finished, he was like "O-o-our turn's next. C-calm down." 😅 they were actually showing the real personality who's nervous before the performance. I loved those scenes. I loved their bonding, they supporting each other indirectly while playing and Chika's "Giving his best" attitude. 6. "Koto Club, Practicing and aiming for national competitions and performing with all their might" this was something I loved during the whole series. It was a major goal from the start, the focus didn't shift. This series had a STRONG plot. During those practices, their memories were the sole reason this story becomes interesting. This all clearly demands 10/10 of a story. Right? Animation:10/10 Animation style was SUGOI (TOO GOOD that I can't explain). Koto performances were ENOUGH to explain the brilliance of animation. Because of the Blushing scenes, crying scenes, girls were so cute (normally I hate the red lines on the cheeks whenever girls blush 😂) but this animation style was so outstanding that I couldn't stop myself from admiring it. Oh yes, another thing I loved and found unique were the pants and skirts of this school. Their uniforms were very different from the usual ones that we watch almost in every other school. MUSIC: 8/10 no doubt, some scenes were way too emotional, and music had a great role in enhancing them, still music didn't catch my attention. Opening OST of season 1 is refreshing, but I didn't like other OSTS and ending songs of season 1 and 2. But if I consider the music and pieces of Koto which they played on stages, they were brilliant. I can listen to their performances without a doubt, do many times without getting bored. So music is good because of those pieces. ENJOYMENT: -10/10 I would gladly say that it's the 2nd anime after Fruits basket that I enjoyed so much. Highly HIGHLY recommended!
veemon23
09/14/2020, 04:44 PM
I will put spoiler warning because I will talk about what I like and didn't like about this show. I want to honestly believe this is a 10/10 but I can't find myself to say it is. Since there's just one part of it that really didn't sit too well with me. As for the plot of the anime, it's nothing special, pretty typical and predictable but I watched it not because of the plot but because of the characters. I think that's the main reason I really kept watching because I enjoyed the characters. This mainly meaning I enjoyed Chika and Hozuki a lot!I honestly thought the President was kinda of boring lol.... no offense to those who like him. I treated the three friends as side character or supporting more then main. The other characters I really like are the teacher, Kurusu, and Akira. I like Kurusu because I feel like she's the most real character. I mean real as in, she seems the most human and realistic character in the anime. Though personally I think Chika and Hozuki are the two best character. Here's the main problem I had with the anime and this is just me more personally then it being bad. I'm not a big fan of the whole "friendship" power in anime. I would've been more happy watching this anime if they had a few more like second year and they got better then a bunch of random people who just trained for months and getting amazing, even surpassing those who has trained their whole life. I don't really like that, that the second most powerful ability in anime after plot armor helps them win. Yes you can argue but they trained so hard... but let's face it, even though you trained so hard for months, it doesn't compared to years. Apart from Chika, who is a talented person, I can understand out of the 4 new members. I can give a pass to Kurusu because she's someone who at least had some experience and same with the President. Hozuki is written well and I love her character. So yeah apart from that one minor issue I have with this anime, I would've given this a 10/10 possibly. I believe that hard work + talent will always surpass just hard work alone. That's how I see reality too that those who work hard doesn't always means success. There will be those who are just talented and they will rise above those who just work hard. Now talent is nothing without work put into it either. So yes that's just a minor complaint I had about this show. Apart from that, I really enjoyed this show overall. I think the most interesting character apart from the two I love, the teacher would be the other one. And for the side characters from the other school, I do enjoy Kazusa. This is a fun anime to watch, I don't think it's terrible if you read this post thinking I think it's bad. It's just more of a part I didn't find enjoyment in watching. I like the whole friendship how they help each other in life out but I didn't like how somehow it translate to their music to make them good. I can get that it can translate to their sound how they can reach out to each other.... but I don't think it will be like somehow we got amazing!!! More like just they get better but don't win nationals... but if they lose at national in the future.. I'll be okay with that lol... yes I'm a hater, but I think it would be better for a story that way.
Tomoe_Hotaru
04/22/2020, 09:28 PM
As for me, it must be said that it's almost the best anime I've seen last year. It wouldn't be so bad though the tempo is too fast. Both the youth atmosphere and the characterization are excellent. Although there are some regrets about the cheap ppt production, the interweaving of the mutual support atmosphere in the community and the story of the character itself conveys the charm of the whole work. Whether it's narrative or character setting, it's a bit reminiscent of Chihayafuru. And it feels like the best youth group besides Chihayafuru. The division of CP is simple, the conflict of story is simple,some old-fashioned plots make me laugh bitterly, but generally speaking, the ramarkable characterization still keeps it a good look and feel. All supporting actors have a fresh personality and the plots of other schools are also brilliant enough. The 2nd season have shown the real meaning a musical anime should have. After several high-quality tunes, "Tenkyuu" is really touching to tears. Whether in plots or on music, it reflects the standard of a winning school. Just for this tune I think it's worth watching.
AgileAstonish
04/02/2020, 04:27 PM
I completed this series on 4/2/2020 6:29pm The progress of time; a tale of change This anime was a well needed change of pace, skimming through my list for something new and coming to watch this goes to show that we don't know everything in the sense of what's "good". The show I had no previous reason to watch it, but the preview frame caught my eye and I gave it a shot. C H A R A C T E R S I want to talk about the most important aspect of this show, which is the characters. I didn't really care for any of them when Ifirst looked at them, which is a common theme in this anime for me personally. My favorite aspect when it comes to the characters is that the anime makes you get to know each and individual person who has even a fraction of a major role. There isn't a single protagonist in this show, but Chika started with the biggest upfront interest for me, but also had the most impact on how the development of the show went. A boy with no future, no hope had only 1 person in his life who had faith in him that he could be a better person. Chika always seemed to care about others, but he changed because he truly knew others cared about him for him and not what he brought to the table. He cares the most about everyone's feeling, it's present in multiple arcs through out the show and highlighted towards season 2 where he goes out of way for others without thinking a countless amount of times. Moving on I want to talk about Satowa, the genius koto player; she's up there with Chika with the impact she had on the show as a whole. A girl who was kicked out of her school, friendless, and alone "a running narrative within the show", she was scared of interacting with those around her due to the part time ending she had with her mother. Satowa changes so much from the start of the show to the end when she became strong, passionate, and show cased so much appreciation for what she does and for others around her. Takezou & Hiro I'll lump togther since they both had major impacts on the club. Takezou, is an unsure but smart boy who leads the club during season 1 and turns into a spoken leader who's words are met with assurance that they are understood. Hiro is a girl who was alone like Chika after some events took place in her past which turned to her turning sour. She doesn't start off as someone who should be shown any good emotions toward, but she becomes an amazing girl for how wholesome things turn for her. Kouta, Saneyasu, and Michitaka were all of Chika's friends from late middle school. I didn't expect much from them, I thought they would be fill-ins for the shows club and the focus would go onto Takezou, Chika, and Satowa. Gladly I was wrong though, and all play a factor into the enjoyment of the show. The trio is best described as a whole; Kouta, Saneyasu and Michitaka are super hard working who had zero experiences with the koto and only joined due to a previous experience they had with Kouta. They become engulfed in the passion that the other 3 members "before Hiro" put into their work, and even before any big experiences on stage they fell in love with the idea of getting into something and being praised for it. Suzuka and Dojima are just as important as any other protagonist from the show on the impact and development of the club members and the show as a whole. Suzuka's back story is super interesting, he changes when he finally see's the potential and hard work behind the club. Dojima is amazing in her development, she lived in dark times since her teenage years and still had the desire to keep moving even at the cost of bringing others down. She lost her humanity in a way, but that call came roaring back once she became the koto clubs teacher and saw what light was waiting for her all these years. A N I M A T I O N The animation in this was surprisingly well, especially during koto performances. The colors, shading, and movements were all amazingly done through out the entire show. Scenes where there were feelings on despair were very dark while happy moments were as light as possible with colors of blue and yellows; honestly it felt like two different shows but the same art style. The characters are very well done and not over the top, everyone in my way could be considered realistic with the way they are presented unlike a decent amount of other anime's. M U S I C & S O U N D This show is entirely about Music, it's about the koto after all. An amazing aspect about the show is when they aren't playing their instruments and talking to each other during critical moments, the music is very, very well fitting and lasting. When I heard that Tenkyu, the ending for this show was going to play a major factor for season 2 I was so happy; an amazing piece like that which will be the lasting song from the show on anyone who watches this show. O V E R A L L This show has no major flaws, I don't really care for any simple flaws which don't take away from a show overall even if I did have any to complain about. The characters are great, especially Chika and Satowa being amazing with the group as a whole being one of my favorites portrayed in anime so far. The animation and music are top tier, while the supporting cast are also better than alot of protagonist from other shows due to the depth that they go into some of them. My favorite aspect in life deals with the change that comes with human nature and this anime portrays that perfectly.
flazzing
03/20/2020, 07:20 AM
The anime is a wonderful piece of storytelling, which really touch me personally. The story means a lot to me in some way, because it relates to me during my early phase of childhood. That being said, without any spoiler, I do really hope that someday, when I grow older, I will be able to have the opportunity to watch another season of the anime. It really touches me, the storytelling is amazing and it may be biased of me to say this but because it tells a story which I personally can relate to at the beginning of my music learning experience.
DNGlist
03/09/2020, 11:56 AM
When I found this anime, I thought. Will traditional anime music be as good as some drama music anime such as "Hibike euphonium" or "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso" which is very popular, especially seeing studios where there are not many projects like this, but I was wrong. Art 8: In my opinion the colors shown are a bit too faded even for the bluray version. This is not a mistake, because it adapts to the art in the manga. But still the audience will compare it to the anime music drama of "Kyoto animation" which we know is very impressive visualization. Story 9: I like this,for those who don't know the "Koto" music instrument. You don't need to worry, this anime introduces you to the musical instrument "Koto" well. the division between music and romance is also very interesting, the romance typical of the "shounen" story. The author managed to direct me to follow the path of each character, from the character who was hated until the character began to be liked. A good closing episode, which leaves no questions, because the conflict has been resolved properly. Sound 9: I was disappointed with the performance of season 1. Not because of his poor performance, but because for the final show, too many parts did not focus on the stage performance. But it all paid off well in season 2. Full performance during the competition which was more than 8 minutes, was successfully executed well, and I followed with enthusiasm. Character 9: This is what I like, usually what I complain about in anime groups is that character building is not good, which causes some characters to look useless. But for this anime, I have no complaints about the characters. Each character gets the right part, and character recognition is also very good. Enjoyment 9: Before watching, I thought. Traditional music, the story must be boring. But it turns out when combined with "shounen, Romantic" actually I am very enthusiastic watching it, seeing their daily life in the club, the funny behavior of each character, and the conflicts they face. Overall 9: I have no significant complaints for this anime except colors that look faded, maybe because this anime must definitely deal directly with legendary anime music such as those from Kyoto animation, which makes me hope that the visuals will be that good. The rest is good and the story is not mainstream.
FearedKnight
12/30/2019, 11:18 PM
This is just my personal opinion and review of the anime/series. This season definitely lived up to the first season in every aspect and gave life to the series. I'm not one for instrumental/musical anime, however this series definitely gave me a lot of excitement to continuously watch it and jump for the next episode release every week. The story drives you into each and every episode and feel connection with each character and plot. The sound of the music, gave you life and emotions you won't feel in a lot of other animes. Rivalries that makes you cheer for each team, due to their efforts andconnections with each other, with their peers and rivals.
JiangHaoyi1979
12/29/2019, 10:46 AM
As this anime that has given us a breath of fresh air for this last season of 2019, I just can't help but be amaze that something like this was aired, so kudos for Platinum Vision and Original Creator, Amyuu Sakura for coming up with something like this, so here are my ratings for this "Very Good" anime: Story- Very Good 8: Unlike animes with a slice of life genre this basically takes the cake , though this is a continuation from the 1st season, it still hasn't lost it's touch as the member of the Tokise High School koto club aims for the nationals andit wasn't just that, this was also how them underdogs got to prove themselves to other school with renowned koto club members that even the underdogs can have it's day of victory........ Art-Decent 4: Frankly I really hate the boy's school uniform pants, I just don't thing that they should not have been given a plaint design, it would have been much fashionable if they sport a single color pants either black or blue , plaint should belong to them girls not to them boys.....Then again, this wasn't an anime that one should expect to see any fan-services on Satowa and with Hiro. Sound- Very Good 8: That's for the koto being played in this anime and the opening and closing theme. Character- Very Good 8: Even though we still see the whole gang from the 1st season , we did saw some character development around here as we see Chika who was at first ridicule to be a good for nothing delinquent to a person who was able to disgusting himself , there Satowa who seems to have a liking for Chika, well IMAO they're a good match since Chika would someone whose personality can match his and has no qualms of doing it. From the 1st season we saw watta failure Takezo Kurata was from keeping the club open despite of calls from the faculty to have it shut down, and as fate have it it took a delinquent like that of Chika to have it revived and now we see Kurata become the club president, and we also see the bitch turned serious girl Hiro Kurusu, I kinda wish that Kurata confesses his feeling to her. So, far the biggest impact around here was Satowa as we see how much she had develop from a selfish kuudere to a helpful dere dere and what was touching was how much she and her okaasan reconciled after she and the rest of the koto member gave an impressive performance. There was also Akira and the club adviser,Suzuka Takinami whom at first we think were gonna give them club member hell but turns out that they''re very nice after all. Enjoyment-Very Good 8: Very much enjoyable that when I watch this from its first season up this 2nd season's clean ending as I felt touch as to how them underdogs were able to distinguish themselves. Overall- Very Good 8: I need not say more.
Shingster
12/28/2019, 10:38 AM
Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Kono Oto Tomare and while care has been taken to minimise story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. Intro and premise Based off a popular manga of the same name Kono Oto Tomare is a music, drama and school-based anime that gives us the unique opportunity to see the kinds of challenges that Tokise high schools Koto club faces in an era where ancient instruments like the koto are increasingly being forgotten by their fellow students and worst its players being seenas nothing more than jokes who are wasting their time with ancient instruments. While music and school-based animes themselves are not a rare occurrence as shown by the popularity of the famed K-On and Fuuka series the inclusion of the drama genre into this pairing of genres in this case I felt was appropriate as while it allowed the anime to show the many types of struggles that the club members face within the school from students and teachers alike it also allowed us the viewer to see the many kinds of personal struggles that each member of the club wrestles with unknown to their friends and club mates. This combination of struggles I felt was rather special as it allowed us to see not just how the club manages to not just prove to both the school and their various detractors that despite being old the Koto is still an effective instrument when played correctly but at the same time allow its various members to realize the core problems of their struggles and overcome it with their friends aid and in the process making not just themselves but also the club stronger and giving both the club and themselves the sense of unity and focus that they so far have been sorely lacking. This itself was one of the primary reasons as to why I was drawn to this anime and I'm glad that I decided to stick with it to the end. The first episode of the series. I felt was a excellent one that while doing well in introducing two of the main leads for the series also served to not just allow us to see how dire things have become within the koto club as a result of the graduation of much of their senior members but also how difficult it is for the club to appeal to the school body as a result of both the students disinterest in what they see as a relic instrument and the schools desire to close a club that they see as not being useful. Seeing such a unique club that despite losing much of their members and facing great difficulty in both recruiting new members and justifying itself to the school stand its ground and fight hard to both recruit new blood and grow the talent of its members I felt was quite the interesting premise and ensured that this was a series that I will watch until the end. The overall story of the series takes place in Tokise High school a seemingly average high school in Kanagawa Prefecture and follows the life of Takezou Kurata a second-year student of the school and the sole remaining member of the schools Koto club. While not as glamorous as the schools soccer or Tennis clubs the Koto club still in its prime had a fair number of members who not only learned to appreciate the kinds of harmony and fun that can come from learning to play difficult pieces together but also use that to forge lasting bonds and friendships with its members a revelation that can be said to have made a potent impact upon Takezou. However, time can indeed be a cruel mistress and despite having an enjoyable time with his seniors within the club their graduation into the real world soon made Takezou’s life empty once more while simultaneously making him the de facto leader of the club on account of the fact that he is the only remaining member. As the new year starts however and Takezou begins his attempt to promote the koto club and hope to not just recruit enough members that not only show genuine interest in the playing of the koto but would also be willing to help expand knowledge of it to the wider school population never did he expect that his beloved club would not just gain many new and unexpectedly skilled members whose skills and passion at Koto were every bit his equal but also reawaken within him the kinds of joy, passion and the bonds of friendship and trust that can form between like-minded people who like him are determined to use koto to not just overcome their past demons but use this as a means to not just change themselves but also allow them to realize and embrace the one thing that they all passionate about in their lives which is the opportunity to play the Koto with people who share their passion and a desire to bring this wonderful sound to the wider world. Takezou Kurata Takezou Kurata portrayed by Junya Enoki of Digimon tri fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main protagonist of the series. A second-year student of Tokise high school and the lone surviving member of the schools Koto club and by default its club president Takezou on initial impressions is seen to be a quiet, dedicated and hardworking person who despite being ridiculed daily by both teachers and classmates is shown to have a genuine passion for both the koto and playing it. Due to his quiet nature, Takezou was shown early on to be someone that was nervous, had low self-esteem and was someone that tried hard to avoid confrontations of any type. However, unlike many people who experience these traits, Takezou was someone that didn’t hide it from others and indeed was someone that bore his weakness with honesty. While from an external perspective being the president of an otherwise dead club may seem counterproductive to the aspirations of a second-year student it can be seen that Takezou’s passion for the koto actually comes from the fact that to Takezou it was more than a mere instrument as not only did learning and playing the koto with his club mates give him a clear purpose in life but also provided him with many moments of joy and pride that he can display to both his classmates and to his family. A joy that unfortunately only served to disappear once the rest of the clubs members graduated from the school. As the series goes on however and Takezou gets to not only meet many like-minded schoolmates that share his passion for the playing of the koto as well as the view that Koto can be used to convey different types of emotions and feelings towards others that will otherwise be difficult to put into words his personality gradually starts to change. As noted previously in the beginning Takezou was noted to have a rather low sense of self-esteem that when combined with his quiet nature and preference to avoid interaction with others served to make him not only have a rather bleak view on his skills as a player but also cause him many difficulties in trying to recruit new talent for his club. However, as the series progresses and Takezou gets to not only meet like-minded as well as equally skilled players such as Chika and Houzuki this view of his gradually starts to change. While at first somewhat dismayed at the fact that freshman like Chika and Houzuki not only have a deep interest in Koto but are also able to show both genuine skill and a desire to improve said skills as they come across challenges Takezou also starts to realise that even if his skills at koto were lacking and even if outside of the club there are not many within the school that view his club with positive feelings none of that matters for as long as the fire that is Takezou’s passion to reform the club and spread the beauty of koto through the hard work of both himself and his new members continues to burn then that is enough for the true fun of koto is being able to play together with friends while aiming to reach for the goal together. While reenergized on a motivational level this change in attitude also served to change Takezou’s personality as well. While still retaining his quiet nature and preferring to stay away from trouble when possible Takezou gradually begins to become not just braver but also more assertive in both the attitude that he shows to the school as well as in the way that he manages the club as shown in his willingness to offer advice to his friends that are based on careful observation and understanding of the problems of both sides as well as him taking a more leading role in training Chika and the newbies. While still showing some nervousness to some degree it can be seen that unlike in the past where Takezou would let this nervousness overtake him after his awakening Takezou as a result of seeing not just the hard work that both he and the members of the club have put in as well as the many happy memories that have resulted from them that Takezou would not just be able to stand up for his club and his friends but also show a sense of self-confidence and pride that many of his peers would no doubt be surprised about. The character of Takezou I felt was an interesting character that I felt was both well designed and developed with his gradual development from a quiet, nervous and easily rattled teenager that was being hamstrung by his own qualities in his defence of the club to one that was not only more confident in both himself and his skills as a leader of a club but also one that had realised that while the members of the club may not have the same level of skill as each other they are all equal in both their passion and commitment to not only playing koto but also in using it to forge stronger bonds with each both each other and their audience. Watching Takezou gradually mature in both his skills as a koto player as well as awaken his innate ability as a leader I felt was an excellent development of his character. Chika Kudou Chika Kudou portrayed by veteran voice actor Yuuma Uchida of Classroom Crisis and Ryuuou no Oshigoto fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Tokise high school Koto club. A newly enrolled student of Tokise high school Chika from initial appearances is seen to be someone that’s akin to a classic troublemaker due to both his attitude and his general appearance both of which within the series combine to give that impression to all that he meets within the school. From initial appearances, Chika was shown to be a quiet and direct person by nature that while not afraid of expressing his own opinions was also someone that was noted to have quite the temper for his age. However, despite these traits and his repute as a troublemaker Chika was someone that was shown to be somewhat honourable towards others and was someone that was seen to display fierce loyalty towards both his friends and to those that he respect’s as shown in the loyalty that his friends show towards him that was borne out of him saving of them in the past. At the same time while his reputation as a troublemaker may give the impression that Chika was someone that openly showed his feelings as well as being one that had a short attention span and was someone that will give up once he encounters a trial in which he cannot best it can be said that rather the opposite is true. On the surface, while certainly someone that was rather direct with their words and actions Chika was shown to be someone that can be said to be surprisingly good at hiding his inner thoughts behind his default image of a rebel and indeed behind his mask it can be seen that Chika is someone that’s kind, caring and honest in nature and is someone that will show both loyalty and respect towards those that have earned his trust as shown in his gradual change in attitude towards Takezou who he viewed as unsuited for the position of president at the beginning of the series. This sense of hidden self is also shown in the fact that unlike the expected archetype of a troublemaker Chika when confronted with a challenge that he cannot easily overcome would instead of giving up as many would have expected of him early in the series instead would seek to instead dig his heels and try and understand the problem as a whole before attempting to overcome it a process that while potentially taking a long time also showcases one of Chika’s core traits of stubbornness and show his determination to play the koto no matter who stands in his way. As the series goes on and Chika’s personality is gradually expanded upon as he encounters not only unique situations but forge strong connections with like-minded schoolmates Chika’s personality gradually starts to change. From the beginning of the series, Chika was shown to be someone that was both confident and had great amounts of pride both in his surface qualities as well as in his determination to overcome any perceived difficulties that he encounters. However despite this, as the series goes on that this sense of confidence is revealed to be one that was not built on solid foundations and indeed was one that can be seen to be quite fragile as shown during his first encounter with Houzuki a girl who despite being of the same age as him has skills and knowledge of koto that was leagues beyond him. However while certainly a rude shock for Chika that can be seen to shake him to the core this development also served as a potent wake up call for Chika as well for this allowed him to not only realised just how naive he was at not only the skills that he believed that he had but also make him realise that until this point Chika unlike Houzuki did not have a clear reason for wanting to excel at playing the koto other than his quest for atonement. As a result of this revelation, Chika’s attitude towards Koto gradually began to change as he slowly began to mature from one that only used Koto as a form of atonement towards his gran to one that was genuinely interested in Koto as shown in his desire of not only wanting to learn from Houzuki and Akira but also in his determination to learn how to also maintain and repair them as well showing well the sense of passion and determination that had been developed inside him. While showing well his determination towards koto this newfound attitude also served to change Chika’s attitude on a social level as well as it also served to illustrate just how lacking Chika’s social qualities were for while he was honest and loyal towards his friends to the other members of the club Chika still represented something of an enigma to them due to his preference for hiding his own feelings instead of sharing them with them. While itself the result of a protective measure of Chika’s that was borne out of his desire to protect himself from bullies Chika soon began to realise that while it served effectively in its intended role it also had the side effect of creating distance between the club and himself and hindering their efforts to coordinate and improve as a whole something that Chika immediately regretted and began to change. While still remaining quiet to a degree Chika gradually began to express his own feelings and opinions more openly instead of suppressing them as he did previously. At the same time while still remaining loyal to his friends this small circle of his gradually began to expand as the members of the club slowly began to understand Chika as a person and in the process discover that beneath Chika’s tough exterior that in reality, he was actually someone that was both considerate of others feelings as well as being perceptive to the inner turmoil that may lay beneath someone’s heart as shown in how he managed to break Houzuki out of her shell as well as in his desire to help get the club through the nationals and give the seniors a memory worth remembering. In the beginning of the series, Chika as a result of the stigma that comes from being labelled and treated as a troublemaker by society was seen by someone that while understating well the value of having friends that you can trust and confide in was seen to be someone that didn’t place much value on forming lasting bonds with others and as a result made no effort to understand the kind of problems that others were secretly facing. However, as a result of opening himself up to the members of the club, Chika not only realised just how much fun forming friendships and bonds with like minded people can be but also how rewarding it can be as you struggle together and improve your skills together while aiming for a goal that they all aspire to attain. This within the series is best shown in Chika’s relationship with Houzuki as while the two of them in the beginning had a complicated relationship that served to make them rivals the sense of rivalry that developed instead of serving to create a negative relationship was instead the opposite as it served to push both to improve their skills as koto players while also allowing them to mutually help each other overcome the walls that stand in their respective paths. As a character Chika I felt was a well designed and developed one that while rough and direct in the beginning that served to unnerve many served to gradually become someone that was responsible, determined and loyal to his friends as the series went on and becoming not only a valued member of the club but also one of the vital foundations that served to support the rest of the club a role that I felt matched well with Chika’s awakened desire to have fun with people that he can trust while enjoying an activity that he’s determined to excel at. Satowa Houzuki Satowa Houzuki portrayed by veteran seiyuu Atsumi Tanezaki of Granbelm and Rascal Does not dream of Bunny girl sempai fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Koto club. A freshman that joined the school at the start of the school year Houzuki on initial appearances is seen to be a quiet, confident, honest and direct person by nature and someone that’s shown to have a personality that’s highly adaptable. While at first motivated to join the club as a result of seeing the clubs performance from the start it can be seen that Houzuki is no mere rookie when it came to playing the koto. Indeed unlike the other members of the club, Houzuki can be said to be far more connected to the world of Koto than they are for unlike them Houzuki is not only a member of a prestigious family that is well known within the koto world but also one that has many victories to her name despite her young age. As a result of this impressive record, Houzuki was not only not afraid of pressure and intimidation but also able to parry it effectively by using appropriate levels of punishment for those that annoy her as shown in her early fights with Chika. However, it's important to note that while this level of fame has served to bestow upon her with a great deal of experience and confidence that Houzuki is someone that’s the opposite of what such people are usually like for while confident she’s also understanding and cunning in equal measure adept at both focusing someone’s attention on a given goal while using the best methods to get them there. This aspect is also shown well in the manner in how she treats her instruments and the belief that only those that have the required mindset can hope to use an instrument and play it at an optimal level. As the series goes on however and Houzuki’s character is expanded upon it can be seen that beneath the surface that Houzuki like Chika secretly wrestles with a secret emotional pain that has made her life more difficult than it should be. While certainly the eldest daughter of a renowned Koto family it can be seen that this while serving to gain her plenty of recognition within the field also served to have an unintended side effect of creating distance between Houzuki and her family and peers as despite being a high school student Houzuki has not only never got to interact with classmates and hang out with them but also never had the opportunity to have any form of fun at all such was the pressure that came from being part of such a distinguished family. As a result of this at the beginning, Houzuki was someone that can be seen to lack real-world knowledge of how to interact with others that girls her age should have been masters of that served to distant her from her classmates within the school. However, as the series goes on and Houzuki’s interaction with the club deepens this served to make Houzuki realise just how much fun and enjoyment that she had been avoiding from her life as a result of trying so hard to follow the path that had been laid down before her by her family. A revelation that proved to be a perfect catalyst that served to open Houzuki’s eyes to just how much fun koto can be if she was playing not by herself but with like-minded peers that not only understood the beauty and emotions that came from playing the pieces on the koto but also shared her determination to develop their passion for it and demonstrate to not only the world but themselves as well the beauty that comes from playing the koto with friends that you can trust. As a result of this Houzuki’s personality gradually began to change shifting from her default solo mode to one that was not only more friendly, honest and open with her feelings but also one that was more considerate of the feelings and circumstances of others a change as well as a willingness to change her opinions a attribute that is shown best in the relationship that she had with her fellow club mate Chika. At first due largely to both her initial attitude as well as the fact that both she and Chika had personalities that were polar opposites to each other the relationship that existed between them can be said to be frosty, to say the least, a fact that served to not only cause them to have many arguments but also cause the initial impressions that both had of each other to be on the rather low side. However as a result of both the change in attitude as well as having the time to get to understand Chika as a person Houzuki soon began to realise that despite the differences between them that she and Chika were more alike than she initially suspected as despite being on opposite ends of society they both shared a common burden in that both carried a pain and regret that came from family. However unlike herself Chika despite being seen and labelled as inferior by not just society but herself as well not only did not give in to despair as many would have but instead worked hard to overcome his own weaknesses and lack of skill in koto through sheer determination and hard work that while serving to show just how serious he was at Koto also served to prove to Houzuki that while her ability to judge someone by the quality of the sound that they play on the koto was not wrong it is not absolute as it cannot judge someone’s heart and the feelings that lay within it a fact that when used in conjunction with her revelations served to transform the relationship between them as both now saw each other as worthy members of the club that can be counted upon when needed. As a character, I felt that Houzuki was one that was both well designed and developed with her transformation from a skilled, confident and determined if one tracked person that only saw the club as a mere stepping stone to one that was not only more positive, friendly, caring and considerate but also one that found just how enjoyable and fun it was to not only be able to play an instrument that she prizes with like-minded people but also in the process discover just how much more fun life can be when shared with friends that you can trust and rely upon for advice and help can be being especially well done. Hiro Kurusu Hiro Kurusu portrayed by new seiyuu Sara Matsumoto is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the koto club. A second-year student and a classmate of Takezou Hiro from initial appearances is seen to be a positive, friendly and intelligent person by nature that was relatively popular within the class. However, beneath the surface, it can be seen that this is merely her surface personality for beneath her mask Hiro was someone that can be seen to be vastly different to her surface self in that she was someone that was not just manipulative but also cunning and patient as well always trying to take advantage of others at their expense as shown in her initial actions within the club. However, as the series progresses and we get to understand Hiro’s personality more it can be seen that this personality of hers is something that’s akin to a protective measure of sorts that was formed due to a painful experience with her friends in the past. Beneath this mask of hers, it can be seen that Hiro while confident and positive on the surface is someone that’s emotionally fragile as a result of past betrayals actions that served to create within her a sense of hatred for friendships and bonds as she believes that the only thing that they represent is pain. A pain that in the beginning caused her to not only hide her true feelings but also stay away from forging genuine bonds with people that she was genuinely curious about. However as a result of observing the effects that the bonds that are forged between the members of the club have on not only their skill at playing the koto but also the effects it has on their interactions with each other this mask of hers begins to gradually slip as for the first time Hiro was confronted with a realization that not only can friendship and bonds bring genuine warmth to you but also give you the strength that you need to overcome whatever trial stands in front of you. Though at first hesitant at revealing her own genuine feelings regarding both koto and the members of the club this sense of hesitation gradually began to vanish as unlike in the past the members of the club not only accepted her warmly but also sought to teach her everything that she needed as a club member a development that served to not only convince Hiro to finally let go of her mask but also cause her to develop a strong sense of loyalty to both her friends and the club as well as shown in her desire to learn more about Koto as well as in her efforts to shoulder the responsibility that comes from managing the club as its vice president. At the same time as a result of discovering the value that can come from having genuine bonds of friendship with others Hiro not only becomes more perceptive but also becomes more sensitive to the feelings and moods of others always willing to step in and help when needed unlike how she was in the past a development that I felt reflected well on how much the strong bonds of friendship within the club had served to crack open the mask that Hiro had worn for far too long within her life. Akira Doujima Akira Doujima portrayed by veteran seiyuu singer Nao Touyama of Beatless and Gate fame is one of the main supporting characters of the series and is one of the advisers of the koto club that assumes her station in the second season. A member of a house that serves Houzuki’s family school Akira from initial appearances is seen to be a kind, gentle, polite and patient person by nature that while confident exhibited an arrogant attitude towards others and was one that was rather direct with her words. However, despite this attitude, Akira was someone that was shown to have a high level of skill at koto that was both genuine and powerful that showed well the kind of training that she had been through to attain it. While somewhat hard to see at first Akira was someone that while arrogant was someone that admired genuine hard work and skill that was borne out of it. At first, due to the relations between her house and Houzuki’s own the relationship between the two of them and by extension with the rest of the club was a frosty one due to both her own admiration of Houzuki’s skill at koto as well as the fact that this caused her own skills to be continuously compared against her own which served to create for Akira a rather tough childhood all of which served to make their relationship a poor one despite attempts to solve it by others. However, as the series progressed and as Akira bore witness to the many changes that Houzuki goes through as she interacts with the members of the club her opinion of both Houzuki and the club gradually starts to change in parallel with her own views on herself as she starts to realise that while learning and trying to master koto by yourself and winning competition after competition can be an amazing experience was it fun at all and was it worth it to make all that sacrifice in the name of your family when conversely you could have played koto with like-minded people that share your passion and have fun while improving your skills all the same. As a result of these revelations, Akira not only realised that rather than merely playing around Houzuki and the members of the club were not only serious about improving their skills at koto but also equally serious about their love for it a love that they are determined to show to others when they get to the nationals revelations that served to not only show just how foolish her grandmother’s ambitions were but also convince her that with without her guidance the koto world would not only lose a potent team of talented players but also cause herself to remain trapped in her own nightmare once more all of which served to be a potent catalyst that allowed Akira to for the first time in her life to take a path that she chosen by herself one that not only freed herself but also one that served to bring a new light to the world of koto in the form of the team. AMV In terms of character design, I felt that the individual designs were both well designed and developed with each matching well with their assigned personalities. Arguably within character design the individual uniform designs for the many schools that take part in the koto competitions are an important aspect as this is the primary method that allowed us, viewers, to identify the schools that are playing on stage. In this, I felt that the uniform designs while similar in many respects were also sufficiently different so as to allow each school to be defined by both their school colours and the uniforms that they wore with notable examples being Himesaka’s uniform that while smart was also notable in their unique composition. As a whole, I felt that the animation was excellent and while crisp also made some great use of still frames which within the series was used to showcase the effects that the music had on the audience an aspect that I felt only served to enhance its effect on us viewers. In terms of music, the two seasons made use of a total of 2 opening and ending themes for each season with these being Tone and speechless that was performed by Shouta Aoi and Yuuma Uchida and Harmony and Rainbow that was performed once again by Shouta Aoi and Yuuma Uchida respectively. Each of these songs I felt were excellent ones with my favourite ones being Harmony and Rainbow that served well to illustrate just how much of a strong bond the members of the club have managed to forge as a result of overcoming countless challenges and achieving both sweet victory and crushing despair as they aspire to achieve their dreams. Apart from the openings and ending themes and the Ost it's also worth mentioning the various pieces that were performed by the various schools during the competitions as each while unique was bolstered by the skill and playstyles that each school made use of that served to give each performance not only a powerful impact but also a degree of surprise as well as we get to see not only a new piece but also see the fruits of the labor that the schools have been through in their training as well as the effects that it had on the audience. In terms of voice acting, I felt that as a whole the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters whether they were main or support ones. In particular, I felt that Junya Enoki, Yuuma Uchida, Atsumi Tanezaki, Sara Matsumoto and Nao Touyama all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters of Takezou, Chika, Satowa Houzuki, Hiro and Akira respectively. In addition, I felt that the series also featured a well-rounded cast of support characters that I felt served to enhance the story with their various contributions to the story. Notable ones in my opinion included Himesaka girls schools lead Kazusa Ootori that was portrayed by veteran seiyuu Ayane Sakura, Club adviser Suzuka Takinami who was portrayed by Daisuke Namikawa and Hakuto’s lead player Mio Kanzaki who was portrayed by Shouta Aoi. Overall conclusion In overall I felt that Kono Oto Tomare was an excellent anime and was definitely one of the true gems of this season with its main strong points, in my opinion, being its unique premise, excellent story, well designed and developed characters, excellent animation, excellent voice acting and its skilful infusion of music, feelings and revelations into its main themes that served to make each character that much more interesting and making us root for them more within the series. The series overall story and its unique premise is without a doubt one of the main highlights of the series. While music-based animes are not as widespread as they once were I felt that Kono Oto Tomare’s success lay in the fact that while music is naturally the main theme of the series it is not the only one as in this case the reformation of a rapidly fading music club that few people remember within the school is paired with not just the recruitment of new talent to its halls but also their development as individuals that is achieved via the learning of the art of playing the koto. In this case, it can be said that koto not only serves as a primary focus for the club members but also serve as a solid foundation from which the individual members can stand upon and face the demons and struggles that they have so far kept hidden from their friends. This method of using koto to not only overcome the struggles that have existed within one's heart but also use it as a means to change your existing life path I felt was both excellent and creative as it allowed each character to not only realize and understand the core problems that dictated that struggle but also determine via the support of the bonds and friends that they had made within the club the optimal way to solve it. While reflecting well on the individual lessons that each character learned by interacting with the club this also served to reflect the strong character chemistry that gradually starts to take root in the club as the individual members gradually starts to make peace with their respective regrets and develop as individuals a fact that is shown well in the development of the characters of Takezou, Chika and Houzuki. While the first season of the series did an excellent job at establishing the foundations of both the club and the individual club members after they overcome their initial hurdles I felt that it’s the second season that really served to elevate this series to the top as it took excellent advantage of both the lessons and skills that they had learned from the club and the bitter taste of defeat that they had experienced and reforged it into a weapon that they will continuously refine as they set about the path to the nationals. This development I felt was helped greatly by not just the looming wall that the nationals represented but also of revelation that while individually their skills may be high that only by embracing their passion for koto and the bonds that they have managed to forge with each other will the club be able to attain the cherished wish that they all aspire to achieve a fact that is shown well within the series as they demonstrate to the audience the power of the skills and bonds that they have managed to attain via their powerful performances that when used in conjunction with the threat posed by the other schools truly made the second season a memorable experience. Overall Kono Oto Tomare was an excellent series that featured an excellent premise, story and cast of characters that were both well designed and extensively developed through not just solo development but also shared development via their experience with the koto club and their friends, excellent animation, voice acting and skilful combination of feelings, music and revelations all of which served to make the core struggles of the series main cast not just more memorable and relatable but also serve to make me more invested in both the story and the characters as well a feat that is aided greatly by the series skill at creating effective and emotional backstory for its characters. As a final score I would say that Kono Oto Tomare easily deserves a final score of 10/10.
Ethan_07
12/28/2019, 09:24 AM
Music is a strange thing. Sometimes, its melody carries a bit of fun and sweetness, making everyone listening immerse in the happiness. Sometimes, it is tinged with a bit of sadness, a pain and hidden feelings bursting out to be heard. But as the melodies intertwine, they bring forth a mixed feeling. As if, the sky is crying. And this is the embodiment of Kono Oto Tomare. It's a story composed of romance, drama, slice of life and music without the sadness in that April. A story where romance doesn't dominate and comedy doesn't take away the serious tone it is set for. It's balanced, it's refreshingand it's damn touching. As it continues from that dreadful cliffhanger, the characters are still up with their quirky interaction. And each frustration and subtle support they have for each other pulls their bond closer. The last chance to get to the national competition rises up the stakes even more, forcing them to present their best performance yet. The romance continues to blossoms, even sailing two ships at a time. The emphasis on eyes are fiercer than ever, reinforcing the saying that eyes are the windows to the soul. Frustrated eyes, shocked eyes, manipulative eyes, disappointed eyes, determined eyes are the soul tools to be accompanied by music to evoke emotions, and this is executed perfectly. But among the all, the ultimate tool is a pair of eye that can radiate sadness with kindness that requires way more than just superb animation. And this proves that. One of the main merits of the show is the chibi cartoon style that changes the mood for the comedy. The blushes and bubbly art style that enchances the mood for the romance. The eyes covered for the characters that elevate the suspension and uneasiness. The moment of resonation when they expressed their feelings frankly, only to receive a weirdly-wide smile. The studio has done such an amazing job with the distinction of art style that completely build up the ambience to suit the story. It’s not perfectly done, but it’s right on time in a way that you can expect it but it will still carve a smile on your face. As for the opening, ‘Harmony’ is compiled with such small details that is very rewarding if you watch every single one of them as it adds much more attachment to the characters. And as you slowly immerse in it, you wondered. Could you feel their emotions even with empty words? Can you even catch their feeling by watching their hands moving gracefully? Will their hard work actually pay off in the end? Did that last note reach you? Kono Oto Tomare, is one of the best slice of life I’ve ever seen that can blend romance, music and shounen genre almost perfectly. A music composed of hard works, friendships and passion from their heart. And I'd like to invite you to listen to their very own, Sounds of Life.
KANLen09
12/28/2019, 08:45 AM
2019 has been a blessing for musical anime, not so much on the Idol side of things, but purely on the sensational rides of emotional feels. With the introduction of Kono Oto Tomare's 1st cour in Spring to set up for the lesser of things, then in Summer, Given's Shoujo-ai outclassed adaptation of a masterpiece, and then back towards this series' 2nd cour to finish up the race that has been built up from the 1st half. And I'd have to say that the experience is totally worth it from start to finish, I can still readily and heartily give this a 10/10 just likethe 1st half for the same exact reasons it hooked me in the first place: the musical scores of the Koto and its players' many diverse skills that create lasting impact in tears. The series overall had such a good story plot and better characters for the lack of namesake, NOT a single character is there for comedic relief nor just there for placement reasons, everyone works together as a team, even in the most insignificant of changes and at times being the weakest link, just as implied in this quote by Henry Ford: "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." Assuming that you haven't watched Season 1, the story in a recap is about the Tokise High School Koto Club, on the verge of collapsing after seniors failed to make results. Takezou Kurata, the only member left, has to recruit members for the sake of keeping the club alive, while Chika Kudou, the delinquent grandson of a prolific Koto maker, and Koto prodigy Satowa Houzuki, who was exiled from her family due to fear and repulsion from family members, both come into terms with their suffering and atoned for their sins to understand their anthem of the heart for what they do and the inspiration of playing the Koto. Along with Takezou's bitchy classmate Hiro Kurusu and Chika's band of "The Three Stooges" friends, the 1st cour takes them to Preliminaries to see where they stood with rival schools and improvements are definitely on the wall (not to mention the romance "ship" between Chika and Hozuki which grows stronger overtime, along with Kirisu's contending crush towards Takezou). If that was Season 1, you're definitely NOT prepared for what Season 2 has in store for you, as it takes what Season 1 has laid the foundation with, and gradually refines with the club's failure in making a stand-out dent in the Preliminaries, as a stepping stone for the Nationals to proceed within the upcoming span of months. Suzuka Takinami, the Koto Club's relenting "failure preacher" of an advisor suddenly sees the improvement in them, but with the Nationals requiring a whole different set of high-standard caliber, he adopts someone whom Hozuki knows that infers the bad blood of family relations further: former middle school rival and current Hozuki Family heir Akira Doujima. Slowly and surely, the relations of both Hozuki and Akira worsen from the get-go due to how much complacency that Hozuki's excommunicated mom and manipulative grandmother have cast a dark shadow within each other's lives. Even to the point that the current situation of the Koto Club has to be on the upper echelons of unrealistic expectations set by Akira, to which Takezou knows that with the lesser of experiences they had, it was a tough uphill race to improve, reflect and practice like hell. But practice they did, and to an extent, Hozuki opened up Akira's heart to see the majesty of playing the Koto while the tightening-down of skills and expertise are still required as focus for the Nationals, for the sole purpose of one aim: to give their best and perform admirably. To summarize, the 2nd cour had better pacing than the 1st cour, along with the intense character drama, mostly between the rival schools that have made their mark and strive to be better than before, all in the purpose for reconciliation and reformed hearts of determination. As I've said in my 1st Cour review, this series has been studio Platinum Vision's Magnum Opus of a production, but to think that the 2nd Cour has managed to improve and refine on what the 1st Cour lacked, is a tremendous improvement on its own. Kono Oto Tomare would forever be anchored as the "Platinum" status that the studio has ever achieved, it's vision being so remarkable with loopholes from the get-go and what has been done here is nothing short of impressive. The highly detailed light-shaded visuals got significant upgrades that hid the lesser of the animations in this 2nd half, and it's a delight to have the improvement needed. The music itself is a WHOLE OTHER ballgame, as the Koto pieces get more rich-sounding but skillfully hard in technique, the combination of the two brings a whole new world in the music that plays and for every musical piece, it just brings nothing but feels, emotions and most importantly, teas of joy. I cannot emphasize enough that the music in Kono Oto Tomare has always been its valiant strength of why we say that "music is the universal language of mankind". If nothing touches music, nothing ever will, and in this case, emits that music to great effect. Same goes with the OST, with Shouta Aoi and Yuuma Uchida's respectively new OP and ED, both are equally as great songs as the 1st Cour, I'd say that while I liked the former OP more than the latter, its ED is infinitely better than the former, so much that I love it on repeat. The music genre has its fair share of good and bad anime, but I'd must say that Kono Oto Tomare as a series overall is just splendid, bar none. Instant recommendation for music lovers and those of the (lesser) romance and completely Shounen aesthetics. I sincerely can't praise this series enough, truly one of the best anime of 2019 that's no AOTS, but rather, a dark horse for the year.

Kono Oto Tomare! Part 2 この音とまれ！

2019 fall | Episodes: 13 | Score: 8.4 (101709)

Updated every Sundays at 01:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Ishiya, Haruki

Tanezaki, Atsumi

Uchida, Yuuma

Enoki, Junya

Matsumoto, Sara

Iguchi, Yuuichi

Furukawa, Makoto

Namikawa, Daisuke

News

Reviews

CyanCheetah
11/25/2023, 09:06 PM
Kono Oto Tomare was a magical anime. There are only half a dozen music-focused animes that I can think of: Bocchi the Rock Your Lie in April Hibike! Euphonium K-On Belle Bang! Dream. These are the ones I can think of. But Kono Oto Tomare is the ONLY anime that not only focused 100% of its energy on the actual music but also was very good at it. Bocchi the Rock was hilarious but not as music-focused. YLIA was depressing but again not as music-focused as Kono Oto. I know YLIA had some AMAZING Piano music selection, but not as focused on the music as Koto. K-On! was a cute Moe animethat had amazing moments but then again that was a Slice of Life with not as much focus on music. Belle was a dramatic movie but did not as much focus on music as it did not just save the world. Finally, Hibike Euphonium did have a music focus but in my opinion (cancel me) it was not that enjoyable and frankly was quite boring. This one though, this one had a ton of emotional baggage. The sheer backstories of these people are amazing. From the delinquents to the main lady, they were all amazing! The teacher had an amazing backstory, hell the rivals EACH had their own amazing backstories. It was all scripted PERFECTLY with little-to-no time wasted, it was truly magnificent. The animation is beautiful. Many times I see animes not actually sync the music played to the animated note played. This one however did. The character designs are nice, and everything from the backgrounds to the Koto's string shining when played were beautifully and meticulously animated. The Music: Need I say anything else. Nope. The final performance was some of the best music in anime. Not the best sounding per say, but the most emotional baggage in ANY music piece. Akin to the final YLIA piano performance when Arima played his heart out. The Plot: Amazing. The Koto club at their high school wanted to go to nationals so they all practiced their hearts out. In that time they were improving a ton! I liked this season since it had this focus unlike the first one where the plot moved at a snails pace. The Bad; WHERE IS MY SEASON 3. Also while this is amazing, I feel like there couldve been a little more plot in the season. Final Score: 8/10 Thanks! -CyanCheetah
AnaelAnimanga
02/09/2023, 07:52 AM
I'm not a big fan of anime talking about music (apart from Bocchi The Rock). I never thought that '' Kono Oto Tomare '' would prove me wrong. I was able to discover a new instrument and the ost are fabulous especially "Tenkyuu" which is sublime. The characters are endearing and have their own story that influences the way they play and their feelings about the koto. There is humor and more serious moments, and we can, according to our own experience, identify with a character, which intensifies my interest in this work. I can only recommend seeing this anime can't wait to see a third season.
AppleDangani
03/20/2022, 03:45 PM
(Kono Oto Tomare Season 1 and 2 by Amyū Sakura) Non-Spoiler Review (March 21, 2022) Have you ever felt the excitement and joy of doing what you really love? Facing your weakness head on, admitting that you are hundred or thousand steps away from what you want, but you still take each and every experience to learn and be better. Loving the process with unwavering belief that you can reach what you're aiming for. Kono Oto Tomare is a story about high school kids who came to love playing a Koto. A traditional Japanese instrument which also called “Kin”. Koto is a long Japanese board zither having13 silk strings and movable bridges. The library's makers describe the Koto's sound thus: "It has a lightness of flying butterflies and the sputtering of fish, but has the strength of thunder.” For me, it only means one thing, the sound it produces can pierce hearts, express emotions, reverberates feelings, depending on how and who plays it. Knowing a new type of music is refreshing and interesting. Back to the series! Chika is a young man who turns in a new leaf. From a delinquent who became an empty shell after being thrown away, to being exposed to light, he finds his new dawn in Koto. Though the anime revolves around him, one cannot say that he is the only core of it. The Koto Club and each of them follows a path in which makes them special in their own way. They're characters you will come to love. You'll be seeing them as a whole, but each piece is significant. What I love in this series is how each character has been exposed on different scenarios, from juvenile acts to family issues, as well as insecurities and rock bottom situations. Unlike any other tournament theme anime or stories which revolves around the development of characters on their respective skills, this anime both focuses on excelling their skills playing Koto, and resolving their personal issues alongside their companions. Thus, getting their bond stronger which allows them to play and understand their feelings better. I admire how Amyu presents different teenage circumstances. How she shows the struggles of a person due to the expectations of the people around them, how a child can break with careless words and actions of an adult, how people you trust can easily damage you, or how you can also able to smile again after all the pains you've gone through. It's wonderful to see those child's growth, build their confidence, open their hearts, influencing others by showing their enthusiasm and sincere feelings. It pokes on different kind of emotions. The tournament itself is just an aftermath of their character developments. Oh! I watched it only in one night. I was so engrossed on the series that it only took me one sitting to finish it. The manga is still ongoing and there's, I think, a lot more unresolved cases that needs to be tackled. But the anime itself it really great. Personally, I first heard and knew Koto through this series, but I'm loving it to the point that I listen other audios playing this instrument. Depending on the music, it will make you happy or give you a heartache. I'm an amateur when it comes to music, but it's impossible not to feel anything after hearing the music they play along the series. It melts heart, it'll give you joy, will make you smile, or sad. In multiple cases, I kind of feel envious on how happy their faces make even if only they make one right keys on the play they're making. Imagine how happy you can be, doing what you really love. Their faces are the representation of that. The efforts and struggles they do, and the result they achieve even just a little bit, shows it all in their faces. They’re living in the present time, cherishing and holding the memories and people around them. The animation of the series is quite average. It’s not something that you will really be amazed of, but it’s won’t make you that disappointed either. I must say this, but it’s really cute to see cool and handsome character but with a very talkative and innocent personality. Chika is that. He has the face of a male lead romance character with a cold and cool personality. But watching him and his stupid acts is really refreshing. Though the animation is normal, there’re multiple scenarios where they show beautiful emotions, heartwarming sketches of the characters, or even painful faces that hits right to the heart. It's an ongoing manga with currently 111 chapters. There haven’t been news about the Season 3 of the anime but it is highly possible. I think, the contents of the manga are still not enough to showcased the next season of the anime. Thus, it will most likely be released at the end of this year or next year. Hopefully!
akmal8
12/24/2021, 01:58 AM
I had been looking for a laid back comedy/slice of life type anime after finishing a few other titles. I came across Kono Oto Tomare by chance after watching a different anime in the same genre, and seeing this title in the recommendations list. I was hooked by the end of the first episode of the first season and binged this series in less than a week. This anime is deeply moving. I'm a 33 year old man and no other work of fiction has brought me to tears as much as this series. This anime is not principally about music, or musicians. Music is themedium used to tell a story. But it's not some run of the mill coming of age story either. Each episode leaves you wanting more. The characters grow with each episode. I was totally sucked into this world, and I felt a strong protective instinct for the Tokise Koto club. I wanted the club to grow, and flourish. Although it's a predictable feel good story, its the journey that matters not the destination. There are many complex themes in this anime and it likely shines a light on some of the negative aspects of contemporary Japanese society. Namely the crushing burden placed on the youth to live up to the expectations of their parents, teachers, and society. It would be good to read a review by a Japanese viewer to get another perspective on the story. These issues are addressed and handled with maturity. The show doesn't simply gloss over complex issues with "will to power"/positive thinking/good vibes nonsense. The show doesn't revolve around a single character who is some sort of genius or "the chosen one" and overcoming adversity isn't simply about training harder. If anything the main theme of this show is that It is OK to be human. It is OK to make mistakes. Nobody can stand on their own. Geniuses and prodigies have problems too. They are human too. Everybody suffers. Many suffer quietly, for a long time. Finally the show is also quite educational. The Koto is a beautiful instrument. The show will be instructive for younger viewers on how one should approach an art. With discipline and respect. You must respect and revere the instrument.
amandont
10/28/2021, 08:41 PM
Pretty equal if not a teensy bit better than the first season, just a culmination of all the sweat and tears of the gang and a finale that was just stunning really. This season in my opinion was better than the first due to a few reasons, I think that the character of Akira Dojima was just beautiful. I think that her character is so intriguing, it's so worth the time to explore further, it really propelled the group to be better and it was really the main reason this series got better and better. I also liked that we got a bit more Koto this timeround, especially about learning the basics of Koto. I feel like this series really underplays just how difficult playing music is, and knowing that most of them are newbies, it's pretty unrealistic for them to be as good as they are. So I really enjoyed the basic training and also just the exposure of dedication that one must have to play such an instrument. The conflict here was more heated with Dojima, but I enjoyed the romance related dilemmas the two girls were having. I thought it was really funny and amusing and I liked seeing their vulnerabilities because Kurusu and Hozuki are such strong characters. Especially with Kurusu, I really felt her development since season 1 and I grew to really like her character and really root for her. Sane was explored a little bit more here but Mitssu is still left in the dust! I really don't know why they did this because I think Mitssu could have been given some funny alternate plot or some conflict with Takezo. So I'm a little annoyed about that because he's now the only character without a real story, or even a perspective. I also thought that it was rather annoying to pile the performances from other schools and theirs per-episode. I think throughout the story we could have gone to each school to see their struggles and their progress rather than giving them a full episode filled with flashbacks + the performance. I mean, we already met them in the first season so I feel like they earned some portion of the story before the finale. So, it definitely felt more choppy this time round. Still, it was pretty equal to the first and that's a hard feat. The ending was extremely satisfying as well and I loved the piece they played! Definitely an anime that you would miss watching just because of how light and grounded it was. If you liked the first season, then you're bound to enjoy the second !
vault-dweller
09/05/2021, 01:45 AM
Just one of the most likeable main casts in any anime in years. That right there should be the reason you watch this show. I could end the review there and 90% of my entire point will be reached. But I'll flesh things out a bit. The plot, honestly isn't important. It's about a struggling high school classical music club and their dreams to reach nations. But honestly, even though this is the story we follow throughout the two seasons, it's not why you're watching and not what truly matters. It all comes down to a genuine, pure, lovable groupof characters that all have their struggles, be it big or small, and how they overcome them together. They believe in, support and care about one another in such an honest way that you can't help, but feel the same towards them. So you rout for them. Again it could be any reason, it just happens to be music. You want them to succeed and find their places. And watching this happen was simply awesome. I feel like when people talk about anime casts they love they will often say, "you want to be their friends". Honestly I don't find that to be the highest form of praise. I feel it's when you genuinely care about them and what happens to them and in this show, I full heartedly did. Yes, the premise of reviving a struggling club and bringing them to glory was interesting and fun and proved a great backdrop, but that was just the canvas that held the beautiful painting. And that painting is made up of the incredible main cast. The reasons I couldn't rate it higher was partly it's own doing as well as something that wasn't the shows fault. I'll start with that. Expectations can really be unfair and they were here. Straight up, this isn't a romance anime. Romance is listed as a genre, but it isn't. Don't expect any. If two scenes of beating hearts and red faces equals romance, than your standards are quite different then mine and perhaps this will be fine. I don't call every show that has a character throw a punch an action show or where someone has a dream psychological. So I went in expecting something that wasn't there in the first place. Perhaps your views on this will differ, but I feel this must be mentioned. The other two issues are on the show. First there are no less than half a dozen cartoonishly evil characters (I get calling drawings "cartoonishly" weird, but hear me out). After a point just let the struggles and drama come more naturally, organic. It reaches the point of absurdity when every new character introduced is portrayed so evil and towards a simple high school club. The second issue also deals with the large extended cast. I mentioned how this show is like a beautiful painting. Well the secondary cast almost acts like too much clutter taking away from a masterpiece. It's good to know about the revival schools and their members, but I don't need episodes worth of backstory for characters who I've met once before. Leave the beautiful painting as is and focus on what truly brings it out. This proved to really slow the show down towards the end. I'll end with something I wrote early because it's the most true statement about this show. "You want the characters to succeed and find their places. And watching this happen was simply awesome."
cocolita22
06/20/2021, 01:56 PM
Imagine watching this show and not giving sound a 10. You don't have to love every aspect of this show, but you physically cannot tell me this wasn't the most beautiful music. I had never heard of the koto before this show and now I can't stop thinking about those haunting notes. Few music anime can touch a chord like this, pun intended. I promise you will love this show once you give it a try. It took me two episodes to realize it was special and I was dreading the end. Luckily, both seasons are incredibly solid and gorgeous. The character development is preciselywhy you need to watch this show: they grow together and change so obviously, but it is the type of change you root for the entire time. Story: Chika is a delinquent who grew up around the koto, since his grandfather would make them. In an effort to understand his late grandfather, he joins the Tokise High Koto Club and meets the fellow members in an unorthodox way. As all these different personalities struggle to get along, they also have to become amazing at the koto in as short period of time since the senior students want to go to nationals. This is a beautiful story of love, friendship, and how music brings us together. What are you waiting for? There is no thinking about it. Once you hear the first time someone plays the koto, you will be hooked.
ijen
04/27/2021, 12:44 AM
This review is based on the whole 26 episodes. Let me give you some touch of reality, sugar+spice+everything nice = powerpuff girls, is only fiction not reality. When you mix Music+ Shounen+ Sports?= Diarrhea, that's the reality. Kono oto tomare is nice anime but the tags of the genre and concept, is really flawed. I guess i have to be blame the original mangaka and the producer for this, for them being out of touch with how the world works. You see, it's hard to feel something if you don't get involved with field and mangakas who does research with google to get ideas and watch hisor her predecessors, get only the outline not the actual themes. And with no experience and just the shallow ideas plus wild imagination= Diarrhea. Get these points, as a jack of all trades, I'm saying this, Music is not like this. Sports is not like this. I can't blame them cause the fundamental concept of these two fields are weak in Japan itself, considering their worldwide results in contrast to their economy. Anyways, that's the reality now back to fiction. This is a nice anime and i quite enjoyed it. The story is really good from outside. But, if i nitpick, i get some terrible flaws. This is a shounen anime, yes there is blood and sweat, and the so called nakama bullshit and also team work, so it justify shounen tag! So, why are we conducting the story in shoujo genre? Almost everything about this anime has typical punchlines of shoujo stories. The reason is the managaka is SAKURA Amyuu, a freaking girl, doing a shounen theme. You can't be boy and girl at the same time so mixing shounen and shoujo in the same anime is seriously flawed. Like i said, Japan has a flawed concept about music and sports. If you're a baseball player for example, there will be time when you have to hit home runs to win and you won't have liability to get on base, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly then get the run. You just have to hit the damn home run. But, typical Japanese fan service thinks that doing all those shits is better than individual ability. They think there is bunt specialist who only bunts. No one is that trivial in real life and sports aren't that simple. Both in sports and music you have to up your individual ability then do your parts and things will automatically connect. You don't need to connect with nakama bullshit, or your fighting spirit. Just fighting spirit wont give the home run , you will need skills and power. That's why you need to limit your shounen delusions first. 10 loser homies=losers, no matter how much fighting spirit you got. The thing about skills is also true for music. But, the environment of music is composed of drugs, girls, depression and all dark sides, and this is true in every corner of the world and somehow music is combined with sports here. It's like simpson became super saiyan. This misconception is hilarious. Another flawed concept of mixing music sports is, the competition. There is qualifier then national in koto, i highly doubt that is possible. This is not koushien or super bowl. Just because you force shounen and sports with music, you don't have to deform reality too. Then there is the number of occasion where you do live performance, why only 3? Qualifier, nation and school festivals! You can't do gigs? live stream? house shows? cultural shows? Like i said forced delusional concept of the mangaka. Art was bishounen style with shoujo romance and blushing, and it was fair i guess, Sound, here it comes another flaw. Most of the performances aren't that good but they still make it awesomeISH. We have ears bro! We judge music too. And one string note doesn't cause flood or lighting as they want us to see. At least go close to that. I enjoyed the last tokise performance as it was truly sakuraISH. Other than that, it was weak considering it was music based. Characters were really good, every valuable characters also the 3 stooges were distinct. Main characters had character developments as well as back stories. I pretty much enjoyed the anime, despite the flawed author with misconceptions cause the arrangements were well organized. The plot is touching and i want to see where it goes. That is the most important thing. I recommend watching this.
LoneAce
10/11/2020, 07:24 AM
I did a review on the first season. I did it for both seasons so might as well copy paste: When i first heard of Kono Oto Tomare, I was quite curious as to how the anime would fare in comparison to Your Lie In April. I am thoroughly surprised at how the story developed, and simply how deep each character development is. The prejudice that hovers around each character is slowly but surely unpacked and what you get is a masterpiece in terms of character development. Unlike Your Lie In April, there are just so many competitors which viewers might adore and despise in the KotoClub's journey to the Nationals. Some of the issues that are addressed very well in Your Lie In April are also explored and addressed beautifully in Kono Oto Tomare, from parental expectations to not liking one's own play in music. As for music, Kono Oto Tomare excels in depicting how beautiful Koto music is. Having listened to Guzheng performances, I can say for sure that the music played is very emotional even when compared directly to live performances. To be honest, 2 distinctive performance were so beautiful they actually brought me to tears. The art in Kono Oto Tomare is not perfect, yet exceptional. Everything is depicted beautifully, even the not-so-beautiful scenes to watch. The character art ranged from realistic styles, to cartoony styles when it comes to the funny parts. The story is what makes this one of the best animes I have ever watched. The plot in which the characters get involved in also involves the viewers experiences just because it is just so relatable. Unlike the special circumstances in Your Lie In April which doesn't allow Kyousei to listen to his own pieces, everything in this anime is relatable. The journey in the anime is one of the best I have ever seen. As a matter of fact, I love this anime more than Your Lie In April. Would really recommend you to give this a shot. You will be absorbed in the first few episodes, that I can guarantee
Misbah_shah
09/22/2020, 10:40 AM
Highly recommended! Go for it! A good story with a unique theme always catches the attention.✔️ STORY: 10/10 I'll only explain 6 points regarding story. 1. REALLY INTERESTING THEME, That is "Koto Club" Now what exactly is this koto? It's a musical instrument and focus of this anime is Music. Members of this Club play this instrument KOTO, since all of them have their reasons to be in this club because this club is quite underrated in the school. Once they join the club, they get along well, due to the president of this club Kurata.2. 7 Members of Koto Club: Kurata, who's a very well spoken and mannered guy. He wants to collect at least 5 members in order to save this club from being disbanded from the school since a club must have at least 5 members to be recognised. The person who contacts Kurata first is Kudo Chika, who, by appearance, doesn't seem serious enough to be in the club because his image is ruined already due to being involved in fighting always and being ill mannered due to his company with bad boys, so Kurata (the president) couldn't believe when he wants to join the club. Instead he's scared & keeps on pushing him out of the club room saying that he's not welcome at all, because he's not serious about Koto. Kurata misunderstands him but Chika, despite being serious couldn't convince him, unless Chika's friend tells him, how truly he's wanting to be a part of KOTO club. His image becomes the major cause of Kurata's mistrust, but when he trusts him finally, he Leaves Chika speechless! From then onwards, Chika respects him, protects him, more than anyone, like a friend. Then comes another girl member, SATOWA HOUZUKI, VERY PROFESSIONAL KOTO PLAYER who has been winning national awards and been participating in various competitions, daughter of a Koto Head master. This influence of Satowa Houzuki's background was enough to doubt Kurata who couldn't even imagine that he'd get a member like her in his underrated club, without any problem. She doesn't befriend anyone in the beginning but she accepts this challenge of collecting 5 members because for her, it wasn't difficult to win and participate alone so she thought she could invite anyone who doesn't know how to play koto, to join that club, easily. Other 3 members are Chika's friends who join without thinking of Playing Koto since Satowa asks them to join only for the sake of Club not being disbanded due to less numbers. They join only for Chika. 5 of them, practice day and night and in a month, they've to prove to the school's vice principal how they're suitable enough to be in the Koto Club. Looking at them, playing together, another girl, Kurusu, also wishes to join the club. Her actual intention was to break this friendship bonding between club members because she was kind of jealous not to be a part of this Club, but she ended up loving them as well because of kind Kurata. Characters 10/10 3. THEIR PERFORMANCES 😍 I can't explain how well the Animation style and quality is. Especially me, who never had any interest in this traditional music, is enjoying each and every moment of these stage performances. So I think anybody would love them. Seriously! I used to wait for the performances, even though I don't have any interest for such traditional music pieces. When I heard Hozuki playing the first high note, on the stage, It felt so mesmerising. Since she was the one who had more knowledge in Koto's field, all the members used to depend on her a lot, while playing. Their whole piece used to become a masterpiece because of Hozuki. She guided them, without hesitating and realised how enjoyable it is to play with the syncing ryhtms of Kotos. The Remark of a girl "I didn't realize Koto was so..", I, as audience, completed in my head "So soothing to the ears". 4. SHY AND CUTE ROMANCE: I've always been fond of Shy romance, (And particularly hate Bold romance). Very graceful Satowa, who never did anything before joining this school, except playing Koto, didn't know how to respond when she encountered unknown feelings, that's why She was quite rude with Chika in the beginning, (because being nice with Chika wasn't easy for her). They used to fight a lot, but Chika respected her anyway because of her talent and grace. She started respecting him too, when she came to know the reason of him joining the club. Kurusu, who didn't want to see these club members together, started liking it because of Kurata, who listened to her, knew her intentions, yet he didn't hate her. 5. FRIENDSHIP scenes are SURELY WORTH WATCHING. Some emotions that one feels only with friends, were depicted so perfectly. Before performing, they used to practice a lot. Competing in a very positive way they used to have a lot of fun (quite nostalgic) Chika never forgets how Kurata Accepted him wholeheartedly in Koto Club and trusted him when nobody else did. He respects him in many ways (just exclude the fact that he calls him FOUR EYES because of his glasses 😂) He always knew how kind Kurata is, still he gets touched by his words every time. Feeling of having a victory with your friends, feeling of losing and being apologetic without realising and All of them, being nervous, before the performance seemed so True. I felt as if I'm feeling exactly like them, whenever I'm about to perform on stage. I've always been a person who's not confident on stage 😅 so I could relate a lot,( I think audience can relate a lot) by how they were reacting before the performance, especially Kurusu, who had never performed on stage before and Sano Reacting on every little thing such as "Hearing the school before us play makes me even more nervous" And when they finished, he was like "O-o-our turn's next. C-calm down." 😅 they were actually showing the real personality who's nervous before the performance. I loved those scenes. I loved their bonding, they supporting each other indirectly while playing and Chika's "Giving his best" attitude. 6. "Koto Club, Practicing and aiming for national competitions and performing with all their might" this was something I loved during the whole series. It was a major goal from the start, the focus didn't shift. This series had a STRONG plot. During those practices, their memories were the sole reason this story becomes interesting. This all clearly demands 10/10 of a story. Right? Animation:10/10 Animation style was SUGOI (TOO GOOD that I can't explain). Koto performances were ENOUGH to explain the brilliance of animation. Because of the Blushing scenes, crying scenes, girls were so cute (normally I hate the red lines on the cheeks whenever girls blush 😂) but this animation style was so outstanding that I couldn't stop myself from admiring it. Oh yes, another thing I loved and found unique were the pants and skirts of this school. Their uniforms were very different from the usual ones that we watch almost in every other school. MUSIC: 8/10 no doubt, some scenes were way too emotional, and music had a great role in enhancing them, still music didn't catch my attention. Opening OST of season 1 is refreshing, but I didn't like other OSTS and ending songs of season 1 and 2. But if I consider the music and pieces of Koto which they played on stages, they were brilliant. I can listen to their performances without a doubt, do many times without getting bored. So music is good because of those pieces. ENJOYMENT: -10/10 I would gladly say that it's the 2nd anime after Fruits basket that I enjoyed so much. Highly HIGHLY recommended!
veemon23
09/14/2020, 04:44 PM
I will put spoiler warning because I will talk about what I like and didn't like about this show. I want to honestly believe this is a 10/10 but I can't find myself to say it is. Since there's just one part of it that really didn't sit too well with me. As for the plot of the anime, it's nothing special, pretty typical and predictable but I watched it not because of the plot but because of the characters. I think that's the main reason I really kept watching because I enjoyed the characters. This mainly meaning I enjoyed Chika and Hozuki a lot!I honestly thought the President was kinda of boring lol.... no offense to those who like him. I treated the three friends as side character or supporting more then main. The other characters I really like are the teacher, Kurusu, and Akira. I like Kurusu because I feel like she's the most real character. I mean real as in, she seems the most human and realistic character in the anime. Though personally I think Chika and Hozuki are the two best character. Here's the main problem I had with the anime and this is just me more personally then it being bad. I'm not a big fan of the whole "friendship" power in anime. I would've been more happy watching this anime if they had a few more like second year and they got better then a bunch of random people who just trained for months and getting amazing, even surpassing those who has trained their whole life. I don't really like that, that the second most powerful ability in anime after plot armor helps them win. Yes you can argue but they trained so hard... but let's face it, even though you trained so hard for months, it doesn't compared to years. Apart from Chika, who is a talented person, I can understand out of the 4 new members. I can give a pass to Kurusu because she's someone who at least had some experience and same with the President. Hozuki is written well and I love her character. So yeah apart from that one minor issue I have with this anime, I would've given this a 10/10 possibly. I believe that hard work + talent will always surpass just hard work alone. That's how I see reality too that those who work hard doesn't always means success. There will be those who are just talented and they will rise above those who just work hard. Now talent is nothing without work put into it either. So yes that's just a minor complaint I had about this show. Apart from that, I really enjoyed this show overall. I think the most interesting character apart from the two I love, the teacher would be the other one. And for the side characters from the other school, I do enjoy Kazusa. This is a fun anime to watch, I don't think it's terrible if you read this post thinking I think it's bad. It's just more of a part I didn't find enjoyment in watching. I like the whole friendship how they help each other in life out but I didn't like how somehow it translate to their music to make them good. I can get that it can translate to their sound how they can reach out to each other.... but I don't think it will be like somehow we got amazing!!! More like just they get better but don't win nationals... but if they lose at national in the future.. I'll be okay with that lol... yes I'm a hater, but I think it would be better for a story that way.
Tomoe_Hotaru
04/22/2020, 09:28 PM
As for me, it must be said that it's almost the best anime I've seen last year. It wouldn't be so bad though the tempo is too fast. Both the youth atmosphere and the characterization are excellent. Although there are some regrets about the cheap ppt production, the interweaving of the mutual support atmosphere in the community and the story of the character itself conveys the charm of the whole work. Whether it's narrative or character setting, it's a bit reminiscent of Chihayafuru. And it feels like the best youth group besides Chihayafuru. The division of CP is simple, the conflict of story is simple,some old-fashioned plots make me laugh bitterly, but generally speaking, the ramarkable characterization still keeps it a good look and feel. All supporting actors have a fresh personality and the plots of other schools are also brilliant enough. The 2nd season have shown the real meaning a musical anime should have. After several high-quality tunes, "Tenkyuu" is really touching to tears. Whether in plots or on music, it reflects the standard of a winning school. Just for this tune I think it's worth watching.
AgileAstonish
04/02/2020, 04:27 PM
I completed this series on 4/2/2020 6:29pm The progress of time; a tale of change This anime was a well needed change of pace, skimming through my list for something new and coming to watch this goes to show that we don't know everything in the sense of what's "good". The show I had no previous reason to watch it, but the preview frame caught my eye and I gave it a shot. C H A R A C T E R S I want to talk about the most important aspect of this show, which is the characters. I didn't really care for any of them when Ifirst looked at them, which is a common theme in this anime for me personally. My favorite aspect when it comes to the characters is that the anime makes you get to know each and individual person who has even a fraction of a major role. There isn't a single protagonist in this show, but Chika started with the biggest upfront interest for me, but also had the most impact on how the development of the show went. A boy with no future, no hope had only 1 person in his life who had faith in him that he could be a better person. Chika always seemed to care about others, but he changed because he truly knew others cared about him for him and not what he brought to the table. He cares the most about everyone's feeling, it's present in multiple arcs through out the show and highlighted towards season 2 where he goes out of way for others without thinking a countless amount of times. Moving on I want to talk about Satowa, the genius koto player; she's up there with Chika with the impact she had on the show as a whole. A girl who was kicked out of her school, friendless, and alone "a running narrative within the show", she was scared of interacting with those around her due to the part time ending she had with her mother. Satowa changes so much from the start of the show to the end when she became strong, passionate, and show cased so much appreciation for what she does and for others around her. Takezou & Hiro I'll lump togther since they both had major impacts on the club. Takezou, is an unsure but smart boy who leads the club during season 1 and turns into a spoken leader who's words are met with assurance that they are understood. Hiro is a girl who was alone like Chika after some events took place in her past which turned to her turning sour. She doesn't start off as someone who should be shown any good emotions toward, but she becomes an amazing girl for how wholesome things turn for her. Kouta, Saneyasu, and Michitaka were all of Chika's friends from late middle school. I didn't expect much from them, I thought they would be fill-ins for the shows club and the focus would go onto Takezou, Chika, and Satowa. Gladly I was wrong though, and all play a factor into the enjoyment of the show. The trio is best described as a whole; Kouta, Saneyasu and Michitaka are super hard working who had zero experiences with the koto and only joined due to a previous experience they had with Kouta. They become engulfed in the passion that the other 3 members "before Hiro" put into their work, and even before any big experiences on stage they fell in love with the idea of getting into something and being praised for it. Suzuka and Dojima are just as important as any other protagonist from the show on the impact and development of the club members and the show as a whole. Suzuka's back story is super interesting, he changes when he finally see's the potential and hard work behind the club. Dojima is amazing in her development, she lived in dark times since her teenage years and still had the desire to keep moving even at the cost of bringing others down. She lost her humanity in a way, but that call came roaring back once she became the koto clubs teacher and saw what light was waiting for her all these years. A N I M A T I O N The animation in this was surprisingly well, especially during koto performances. The colors, shading, and movements were all amazingly done through out the entire show. Scenes where there were feelings on despair were very dark while happy moments were as light as possible with colors of blue and yellows; honestly it felt like two different shows but the same art style. The characters are very well done and not over the top, everyone in my way could be considered realistic with the way they are presented unlike a decent amount of other anime's. M U S I C & S O U N D This show is entirely about Music, it's about the koto after all. An amazing aspect about the show is when they aren't playing their instruments and talking to each other during critical moments, the music is very, very well fitting and lasting. When I heard that Tenkyu, the ending for this show was going to play a major factor for season 2 I was so happy; an amazing piece like that which will be the lasting song from the show on anyone who watches this show. O V E R A L L This show has no major flaws, I don't really care for any simple flaws which don't take away from a show overall even if I did have any to complain about. The characters are great, especially Chika and Satowa being amazing with the group as a whole being one of my favorites portrayed in anime so far. The animation and music are top tier, while the supporting cast are also better than alot of protagonist from other shows due to the depth that they go into some of them. My favorite aspect in life deals with the change that comes with human nature and this anime portrays that perfectly.
flazzing
03/20/2020, 07:20 AM
The anime is a wonderful piece of storytelling, which really touch me personally. The story means a lot to me in some way, because it relates to me during my early phase of childhood. That being said, without any spoiler, I do really hope that someday, when I grow older, I will be able to have the opportunity to watch another season of the anime. It really touches me, the storytelling is amazing and it may be biased of me to say this but because it tells a story which I personally can relate to at the beginning of my music learning experience.
DNGlist
03/09/2020, 11:56 AM
When I found this anime, I thought. Will traditional anime music be as good as some drama music anime such as "Hibike euphonium" or "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso" which is very popular, especially seeing studios where there are not many projects like this, but I was wrong. Art 8: In my opinion the colors shown are a bit too faded even for the bluray version. This is not a mistake, because it adapts to the art in the manga. But still the audience will compare it to the anime music drama of "Kyoto animation" which we know is very impressive visualization. Story 9: I like this,for those who don't know the "Koto" music instrument. You don't need to worry, this anime introduces you to the musical instrument "Koto" well. the division between music and romance is also very interesting, the romance typical of the "shounen" story. The author managed to direct me to follow the path of each character, from the character who was hated until the character began to be liked. A good closing episode, which leaves no questions, because the conflict has been resolved properly. Sound 9: I was disappointed with the performance of season 1. Not because of his poor performance, but because for the final show, too many parts did not focus on the stage performance. But it all paid off well in season 2. Full performance during the competition which was more than 8 minutes, was successfully executed well, and I followed with enthusiasm. Character 9: This is what I like, usually what I complain about in anime groups is that character building is not good, which causes some characters to look useless. But for this anime, I have no complaints about the characters. Each character gets the right part, and character recognition is also very good. Enjoyment 9: Before watching, I thought. Traditional music, the story must be boring. But it turns out when combined with "shounen, Romantic" actually I am very enthusiastic watching it, seeing their daily life in the club, the funny behavior of each character, and the conflicts they face. Overall 9: I have no significant complaints for this anime except colors that look faded, maybe because this anime must definitely deal directly with legendary anime music such as those from Kyoto animation, which makes me hope that the visuals will be that good. The rest is good and the story is not mainstream.
FearedKnight
12/30/2019, 11:18 PM
This is just my personal opinion and review of the anime/series. This season definitely lived up to the first season in every aspect and gave life to the series. I'm not one for instrumental/musical anime, however this series definitely gave me a lot of excitement to continuously watch it and jump for the next episode release every week. The story drives you into each and every episode and feel connection with each character and plot. The sound of the music, gave you life and emotions you won't feel in a lot of other animes. Rivalries that makes you cheer for each team, due to their efforts andconnections with each other, with their peers and rivals.
JiangHaoyi1979
12/29/2019, 10:46 AM
As this anime that has given us a breath of fresh air for this last season of 2019, I just can't help but be amaze that something like this was aired, so kudos for Platinum Vision and Original Creator, Amyuu Sakura for coming up with something like this, so here are my ratings for this "Very Good" anime: Story- Very Good 8: Unlike animes with a slice of life genre this basically takes the cake , though this is a continuation from the 1st season, it still hasn't lost it's touch as the member of the Tokise High School koto club aims for the nationals andit wasn't just that, this was also how them underdogs got to prove themselves to other school with renowned koto club members that even the underdogs can have it's day of victory........ Art-Decent 4: Frankly I really hate the boy's school uniform pants, I just don't thing that they should not have been given a plaint design, it would have been much fashionable if they sport a single color pants either black or blue , plaint should belong to them girls not to them boys.....Then again, this wasn't an anime that one should expect to see any fan-services on Satowa and with Hiro. Sound- Very Good 8: That's for the koto being played in this anime and the opening and closing theme. Character- Very Good 8: Even though we still see the whole gang from the 1st season , we did saw some character development around here as we see Chika who was at first ridicule to be a good for nothing delinquent to a person who was able to disgusting himself , there Satowa who seems to have a liking for Chika, well IMAO they're a good match since Chika would someone whose personality can match his and has no qualms of doing it. From the 1st season we saw watta failure Takezo Kurata was from keeping the club open despite of calls from the faculty to have it shut down, and as fate have it it took a delinquent like that of Chika to have it revived and now we see Kurata become the club president, and we also see the bitch turned serious girl Hiro Kurusu, I kinda wish that Kurata confesses his feeling to her. So, far the biggest impact around here was Satowa as we see how much she had develop from a selfish kuudere to a helpful dere dere and what was touching was how much she and her okaasan reconciled after she and the rest of the koto member gave an impressive performance. There was also Akira and the club adviser,Suzuka Takinami whom at first we think were gonna give them club member hell but turns out that they''re very nice after all. Enjoyment-Very Good 8: Very much enjoyable that when I watch this from its first season up this 2nd season's clean ending as I felt touch as to how them underdogs were able to distinguish themselves. Overall- Very Good 8: I need not say more.
Shingster
12/28/2019, 10:38 AM
Please note this review is intended to be read by those that have finished watching Kono Oto Tomare and while care has been taken to minimise story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned. Intro and premise Based off a popular manga of the same name Kono Oto Tomare is a music, drama and school-based anime that gives us the unique opportunity to see the kinds of challenges that Tokise high schools Koto club faces in an era where ancient instruments like the koto are increasingly being forgotten by their fellow students and worst its players being seenas nothing more than jokes who are wasting their time with ancient instruments. While music and school-based animes themselves are not a rare occurrence as shown by the popularity of the famed K-On and Fuuka series the inclusion of the drama genre into this pairing of genres in this case I felt was appropriate as while it allowed the anime to show the many types of struggles that the club members face within the school from students and teachers alike it also allowed us the viewer to see the many kinds of personal struggles that each member of the club wrestles with unknown to their friends and club mates. This combination of struggles I felt was rather special as it allowed us to see not just how the club manages to not just prove to both the school and their various detractors that despite being old the Koto is still an effective instrument when played correctly but at the same time allow its various members to realize the core problems of their struggles and overcome it with their friends aid and in the process making not just themselves but also the club stronger and giving both the club and themselves the sense of unity and focus that they so far have been sorely lacking. This itself was one of the primary reasons as to why I was drawn to this anime and I'm glad that I decided to stick with it to the end. The first episode of the series. I felt was a excellent one that while doing well in introducing two of the main leads for the series also served to not just allow us to see how dire things have become within the koto club as a result of the graduation of much of their senior members but also how difficult it is for the club to appeal to the school body as a result of both the students disinterest in what they see as a relic instrument and the schools desire to close a club that they see as not being useful. Seeing such a unique club that despite losing much of their members and facing great difficulty in both recruiting new members and justifying itself to the school stand its ground and fight hard to both recruit new blood and grow the talent of its members I felt was quite the interesting premise and ensured that this was a series that I will watch until the end. The overall story of the series takes place in Tokise High school a seemingly average high school in Kanagawa Prefecture and follows the life of Takezou Kurata a second-year student of the school and the sole remaining member of the schools Koto club. While not as glamorous as the schools soccer or Tennis clubs the Koto club still in its prime had a fair number of members who not only learned to appreciate the kinds of harmony and fun that can come from learning to play difficult pieces together but also use that to forge lasting bonds and friendships with its members a revelation that can be said to have made a potent impact upon Takezou. However, time can indeed be a cruel mistress and despite having an enjoyable time with his seniors within the club their graduation into the real world soon made Takezou’s life empty once more while simultaneously making him the de facto leader of the club on account of the fact that he is the only remaining member. As the new year starts however and Takezou begins his attempt to promote the koto club and hope to not just recruit enough members that not only show genuine interest in the playing of the koto but would also be willing to help expand knowledge of it to the wider school population never did he expect that his beloved club would not just gain many new and unexpectedly skilled members whose skills and passion at Koto were every bit his equal but also reawaken within him the kinds of joy, passion and the bonds of friendship and trust that can form between like-minded people who like him are determined to use koto to not just overcome their past demons but use this as a means to not just change themselves but also allow them to realize and embrace the one thing that they all passionate about in their lives which is the opportunity to play the Koto with people who share their passion and a desire to bring this wonderful sound to the wider world. Takezou Kurata Takezou Kurata portrayed by Junya Enoki of Digimon tri fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main protagonist of the series. A second-year student of Tokise high school and the lone surviving member of the schools Koto club and by default its club president Takezou on initial impressions is seen to be a quiet, dedicated and hardworking person who despite being ridiculed daily by both teachers and classmates is shown to have a genuine passion for both the koto and playing it. Due to his quiet nature, Takezou was shown early on to be someone that was nervous, had low self-esteem and was someone that tried hard to avoid confrontations of any type. However, unlike many people who experience these traits, Takezou was someone that didn’t hide it from others and indeed was someone that bore his weakness with honesty. While from an external perspective being the president of an otherwise dead club may seem counterproductive to the aspirations of a second-year student it can be seen that Takezou’s passion for the koto actually comes from the fact that to Takezou it was more than a mere instrument as not only did learning and playing the koto with his club mates give him a clear purpose in life but also provided him with many moments of joy and pride that he can display to both his classmates and to his family. A joy that unfortunately only served to disappear once the rest of the clubs members graduated from the school. As the series goes on however and Takezou gets to not only meet many like-minded schoolmates that share his passion for the playing of the koto as well as the view that Koto can be used to convey different types of emotions and feelings towards others that will otherwise be difficult to put into words his personality gradually starts to change. As noted previously in the beginning Takezou was noted to have a rather low sense of self-esteem that when combined with his quiet nature and preference to avoid interaction with others served to make him not only have a rather bleak view on his skills as a player but also cause him many difficulties in trying to recruit new talent for his club. However, as the series progresses and Takezou gets to not only meet like-minded as well as equally skilled players such as Chika and Houzuki this view of his gradually starts to change. While at first somewhat dismayed at the fact that freshman like Chika and Houzuki not only have a deep interest in Koto but are also able to show both genuine skill and a desire to improve said skills as they come across challenges Takezou also starts to realise that even if his skills at koto were lacking and even if outside of the club there are not many within the school that view his club with positive feelings none of that matters for as long as the fire that is Takezou’s passion to reform the club and spread the beauty of koto through the hard work of both himself and his new members continues to burn then that is enough for the true fun of koto is being able to play together with friends while aiming to reach for the goal together. While reenergized on a motivational level this change in attitude also served to change Takezou’s personality as well. While still retaining his quiet nature and preferring to stay away from trouble when possible Takezou gradually begins to become not just braver but also more assertive in both the attitude that he shows to the school as well as in the way that he manages the club as shown in his willingness to offer advice to his friends that are based on careful observation and understanding of the problems of both sides as well as him taking a more leading role in training Chika and the newbies. While still showing some nervousness to some degree it can be seen that unlike in the past where Takezou would let this nervousness overtake him after his awakening Takezou as a result of seeing not just the hard work that both he and the members of the club have put in as well as the many happy memories that have resulted from them that Takezou would not just be able to stand up for his club and his friends but also show a sense of self-confidence and pride that many of his peers would no doubt be surprised about. The character of Takezou I felt was an interesting character that I felt was both well designed and developed with his gradual development from a quiet, nervous and easily rattled teenager that was being hamstrung by his own qualities in his defence of the club to one that was not only more confident in both himself and his skills as a leader of a club but also one that had realised that while the members of the club may not have the same level of skill as each other they are all equal in both their passion and commitment to not only playing koto but also in using it to forge stronger bonds with each both each other and their audience. Watching Takezou gradually mature in both his skills as a koto player as well as awaken his innate ability as a leader I felt was an excellent development of his character. Chika Kudou Chika Kudou portrayed by veteran voice actor Yuuma Uchida of Classroom Crisis and Ryuuou no Oshigoto fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Tokise high school Koto club. A newly enrolled student of Tokise high school Chika from initial appearances is seen to be someone that’s akin to a classic troublemaker due to both his attitude and his general appearance both of which within the series combine to give that impression to all that he meets within the school. From initial appearances, Chika was shown to be a quiet and direct person by nature that while not afraid of expressing his own opinions was also someone that was noted to have quite the temper for his age. However, despite these traits and his repute as a troublemaker Chika was someone that was shown to be somewhat honourable towards others and was someone that was seen to display fierce loyalty towards both his friends and to those that he respect’s as shown in the loyalty that his friends show towards him that was borne out of him saving of them in the past. At the same time while his reputation as a troublemaker may give the impression that Chika was someone that openly showed his feelings as well as being one that had a short attention span and was someone that will give up once he encounters a trial in which he cannot best it can be said that rather the opposite is true. On the surface, while certainly someone that was rather direct with their words and actions Chika was shown to be someone that can be said to be surprisingly good at hiding his inner thoughts behind his default image of a rebel and indeed behind his mask it can be seen that Chika is someone that’s kind, caring and honest in nature and is someone that will show both loyalty and respect towards those that have earned his trust as shown in his gradual change in attitude towards Takezou who he viewed as unsuited for the position of president at the beginning of the series. This sense of hidden self is also shown in the fact that unlike the expected archetype of a troublemaker Chika when confronted with a challenge that he cannot easily overcome would instead of giving up as many would have expected of him early in the series instead would seek to instead dig his heels and try and understand the problem as a whole before attempting to overcome it a process that while potentially taking a long time also showcases one of Chika’s core traits of stubbornness and show his determination to play the koto no matter who stands in his way. As the series goes on and Chika’s personality is gradually expanded upon as he encounters not only unique situations but forge strong connections with like-minded schoolmates Chika’s personality gradually starts to change. From the beginning of the series, Chika was shown to be someone that was both confident and had great amounts of pride both in his surface qualities as well as in his determination to overcome any perceived difficulties that he encounters. However despite this, as the series goes on that this sense of confidence is revealed to be one that was not built on solid foundations and indeed was one that can be seen to be quite fragile as shown during his first encounter with Houzuki a girl who despite being of the same age as him has skills and knowledge of koto that was leagues beyond him. However while certainly a rude shock for Chika that can be seen to shake him to the core this development also served as a potent wake up call for Chika as well for this allowed him to not only realised just how naive he was at not only the skills that he believed that he had but also make him realise that until this point Chika unlike Houzuki did not have a clear reason for wanting to excel at playing the koto other than his quest for atonement. As a result of this revelation, Chika’s attitude towards Koto gradually began to change as he slowly began to mature from one that only used Koto as a form of atonement towards his gran to one that was genuinely interested in Koto as shown in his desire of not only wanting to learn from Houzuki and Akira but also in his determination to learn how to also maintain and repair them as well showing well the sense of passion and determination that had been developed inside him. While showing well his determination towards koto this newfound attitude also served to change Chika’s attitude on a social level as well as it also served to illustrate just how lacking Chika’s social qualities were for while he was honest and loyal towards his friends to the other members of the club Chika still represented something of an enigma to them due to his preference for hiding his own feelings instead of sharing them with them. While itself the result of a protective measure of Chika’s that was borne out of his desire to protect himself from bullies Chika soon began to realise that while it served effectively in its intended role it also had the side effect of creating distance between the club and himself and hindering their efforts to coordinate and improve as a whole something that Chika immediately regretted and began to change. While still remaining quiet to a degree Chika gradually began to express his own feelings and opinions more openly instead of suppressing them as he did previously. At the same time while still remaining loyal to his friends this small circle of his gradually began to expand as the members of the club slowly began to understand Chika as a person and in the process discover that beneath Chika’s tough exterior that in reality, he was actually someone that was both considerate of others feelings as well as being perceptive to the inner turmoil that may lay beneath someone’s heart as shown in how he managed to break Houzuki out of her shell as well as in his desire to help get the club through the nationals and give the seniors a memory worth remembering. In the beginning of the series, Chika as a result of the stigma that comes from being labelled and treated as a troublemaker by society was seen by someone that while understating well the value of having friends that you can trust and confide in was seen to be someone that didn’t place much value on forming lasting bonds with others and as a result made no effort to understand the kind of problems that others were secretly facing. However, as a result of opening himself up to the members of the club, Chika not only realised just how much fun forming friendships and bonds with like minded people can be but also how rewarding it can be as you struggle together and improve your skills together while aiming for a goal that they all aspire to attain. This within the series is best shown in Chika’s relationship with Houzuki as while the two of them in the beginning had a complicated relationship that served to make them rivals the sense of rivalry that developed instead of serving to create a negative relationship was instead the opposite as it served to push both to improve their skills as koto players while also allowing them to mutually help each other overcome the walls that stand in their respective paths. As a character Chika I felt was a well designed and developed one that while rough and direct in the beginning that served to unnerve many served to gradually become someone that was responsible, determined and loyal to his friends as the series went on and becoming not only a valued member of the club but also one of the vital foundations that served to support the rest of the club a role that I felt matched well with Chika’s awakened desire to have fun with people that he can trust while enjoying an activity that he’s determined to excel at. Satowa Houzuki Satowa Houzuki portrayed by veteran seiyuu Atsumi Tanezaki of Granbelm and Rascal Does not dream of Bunny girl sempai fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the Koto club. A freshman that joined the school at the start of the school year Houzuki on initial appearances is seen to be a quiet, confident, honest and direct person by nature and someone that’s shown to have a personality that’s highly adaptable. While at first motivated to join the club as a result of seeing the clubs performance from the start it can be seen that Houzuki is no mere rookie when it came to playing the koto. Indeed unlike the other members of the club, Houzuki can be said to be far more connected to the world of Koto than they are for unlike them Houzuki is not only a member of a prestigious family that is well known within the koto world but also one that has many victories to her name despite her young age. As a result of this impressive record, Houzuki was not only not afraid of pressure and intimidation but also able to parry it effectively by using appropriate levels of punishment for those that annoy her as shown in her early fights with Chika. However, it's important to note that while this level of fame has served to bestow upon her with a great deal of experience and confidence that Houzuki is someone that’s the opposite of what such people are usually like for while confident she’s also understanding and cunning in equal measure adept at both focusing someone’s attention on a given goal while using the best methods to get them there. This aspect is also shown well in the manner in how she treats her instruments and the belief that only those that have the required mindset can hope to use an instrument and play it at an optimal level. As the series goes on however and Houzuki’s character is expanded upon it can be seen that beneath the surface that Houzuki like Chika secretly wrestles with a secret emotional pain that has made her life more difficult than it should be. While certainly the eldest daughter of a renowned Koto family it can be seen that this while serving to gain her plenty of recognition within the field also served to have an unintended side effect of creating distance between Houzuki and her family and peers as despite being a high school student Houzuki has not only never got to interact with classmates and hang out with them but also never had the opportunity to have any form of fun at all such was the pressure that came from being part of such a distinguished family. As a result of this at the beginning, Houzuki was someone that can be seen to lack real-world knowledge of how to interact with others that girls her age should have been masters of that served to distant her from her classmates within the school. However, as the series goes on and Houzuki’s interaction with the club deepens this served to make Houzuki realise just how much fun and enjoyment that she had been avoiding from her life as a result of trying so hard to follow the path that had been laid down before her by her family. A revelation that proved to be a perfect catalyst that served to open Houzuki’s eyes to just how much fun koto can be if she was playing not by herself but with like-minded peers that not only understood the beauty and emotions that came from playing the pieces on the koto but also shared her determination to develop their passion for it and demonstrate to not only the world but themselves as well the beauty that comes from playing the koto with friends that you can trust. As a result of this Houzuki’s personality gradually began to change shifting from her default solo mode to one that was not only more friendly, honest and open with her feelings but also one that was more considerate of the feelings and circumstances of others a change as well as a willingness to change her opinions a attribute that is shown best in the relationship that she had with her fellow club mate Chika. At first due largely to both her initial attitude as well as the fact that both she and Chika had personalities that were polar opposites to each other the relationship that existed between them can be said to be frosty, to say the least, a fact that served to not only cause them to have many arguments but also cause the initial impressions that both had of each other to be on the rather low side. However as a result of both the change in attitude as well as having the time to get to understand Chika as a person Houzuki soon began to realise that despite the differences between them that she and Chika were more alike than she initially suspected as despite being on opposite ends of society they both shared a common burden in that both carried a pain and regret that came from family. However unlike herself Chika despite being seen and labelled as inferior by not just society but herself as well not only did not give in to despair as many would have but instead worked hard to overcome his own weaknesses and lack of skill in koto through sheer determination and hard work that while serving to show just how serious he was at Koto also served to prove to Houzuki that while her ability to judge someone by the quality of the sound that they play on the koto was not wrong it is not absolute as it cannot judge someone’s heart and the feelings that lay within it a fact that when used in conjunction with her revelations served to transform the relationship between them as both now saw each other as worthy members of the club that can be counted upon when needed. As a character, I felt that Houzuki was one that was both well designed and developed with her transformation from a skilled, confident and determined if one tracked person that only saw the club as a mere stepping stone to one that was not only more positive, friendly, caring and considerate but also one that found just how enjoyable and fun it was to not only be able to play an instrument that she prizes with like-minded people but also in the process discover just how much more fun life can be when shared with friends that you can trust and rely upon for advice and help can be being especially well done. Hiro Kurusu Hiro Kurusu portrayed by new seiyuu Sara Matsumoto is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the members of the koto club. A second-year student and a classmate of Takezou Hiro from initial appearances is seen to be a positive, friendly and intelligent person by nature that was relatively popular within the class. However, beneath the surface, it can be seen that this is merely her surface personality for beneath her mask Hiro was someone that can be seen to be vastly different to her surface self in that she was someone that was not just manipulative but also cunning and patient as well always trying to take advantage of others at their expense as shown in her initial actions within the club. However, as the series progresses and we get to understand Hiro’s personality more it can be seen that this personality of hers is something that’s akin to a protective measure of sorts that was formed due to a painful experience with her friends in the past. Beneath this mask of hers, it can be seen that Hiro while confident and positive on the surface is someone that’s emotionally fragile as a result of past betrayals actions that served to create within her a sense of hatred for friendships and bonds as she believes that the only thing that they represent is pain. A pain that in the beginning caused her to not only hide her true feelings but also stay away from forging genuine bonds with people that she was genuinely curious about. However as a result of observing the effects that the bonds that are forged between the members of the club have on not only their skill at playing the koto but also the effects it has on their interactions with each other this mask of hers begins to gradually slip as for the first time Hiro was confronted with a realization that not only can friendship and bonds bring genuine warmth to you but also give you the strength that you need to overcome whatever trial stands in front of you. Though at first hesitant at revealing her own genuine feelings regarding both koto and the members of the club this sense of hesitation gradually began to vanish as unlike in the past the members of the club not only accepted her warmly but also sought to teach her everything that she needed as a club member a development that served to not only convince Hiro to finally let go of her mask but also cause her to develop a strong sense of loyalty to both her friends and the club as well as shown in her desire to learn more about Koto as well as in her efforts to shoulder the responsibility that comes from managing the club as its vice president. At the same time as a result of discovering the value that can come from having genuine bonds of friendship with others Hiro not only becomes more perceptive but also becomes more sensitive to the feelings and moods of others always willing to step in and help when needed unlike how she was in the past a development that I felt reflected well on how much the strong bonds of friendship within the club had served to crack open the mask that Hiro had worn for far too long within her life. Akira Doujima Akira Doujima portrayed by veteran seiyuu singer Nao Touyama of Beatless and Gate fame is one of the main supporting characters of the series and is one of the advisers of the koto club that assumes her station in the second season. A member of a house that serves Houzuki’s family school Akira from initial appearances is seen to be a kind, gentle, polite and patient person by nature that while confident exhibited an arrogant attitude towards others and was one that was rather direct with her words. However, despite this attitude, Akira was someone that was shown to have a high level of skill at koto that was both genuine and powerful that showed well the kind of training that she had been through to attain it. While somewhat hard to see at first Akira was someone that while arrogant was someone that admired genuine hard work and skill that was borne out of it. At first, due to the relations between her house and Houzuki’s own the relationship between the two of them and by extension with the rest of the club was a frosty one due to both her own admiration of Houzuki’s skill at koto as well as the fact that this caused her own skills to be continuously compared against her own which served to create for Akira a rather tough childhood all of which served to make their relationship a poor one despite attempts to solve it by others. However, as the series progressed and as Akira bore witness to the many changes that Houzuki goes through as she interacts with the members of the club her opinion of both Houzuki and the club gradually starts to change in parallel with her own views on herself as she starts to realise that while learning and trying to master koto by yourself and winning competition after competition can be an amazing experience was it fun at all and was it worth it to make all that sacrifice in the name of your family when conversely you could have played koto with like-minded people that share your passion and have fun while improving your skills all the same. As a result of these revelations, Akira not only realised that rather than merely playing around Houzuki and the members of the club were not only serious about improving their skills at koto but also equally serious about their love for it a love that they are determined to show to others when they get to the nationals revelations that served to not only show just how foolish her grandmother’s ambitions were but also convince her that with without her guidance the koto world would not only lose a potent team of talented players but also cause herself to remain trapped in her own nightmare once more all of which served to be a potent catalyst that allowed Akira to for the first time in her life to take a path that she chosen by herself one that not only freed herself but also one that served to bring a new light to the world of koto in the form of the team. AMV In terms of character design, I felt that the individual designs were both well designed and developed with each matching well with their assigned personalities. Arguably within character design the individual uniform designs for the many schools that take part in the koto competitions are an important aspect as this is the primary method that allowed us, viewers, to identify the schools that are playing on stage. In this, I felt that the uniform designs while similar in many respects were also sufficiently different so as to allow each school to be defined by both their school colours and the uniforms that they wore with notable examples being Himesaka’s uniform that while smart was also notable in their unique composition. As a whole, I felt that the animation was excellent and while crisp also made some great use of still frames which within the series was used to showcase the effects that the music had on the audience an aspect that I felt only served to enhance its effect on us viewers. In terms of music, the two seasons made use of a total of 2 opening and ending themes for each season with these being Tone and speechless that was performed by Shouta Aoi and Yuuma Uchida and Harmony and Rainbow that was performed once again by Shouta Aoi and Yuuma Uchida respectively. Each of these songs I felt were excellent ones with my favourite ones being Harmony and Rainbow that served well to illustrate just how much of a strong bond the members of the club have managed to forge as a result of overcoming countless challenges and achieving both sweet victory and crushing despair as they aspire to achieve their dreams. Apart from the openings and ending themes and the Ost it's also worth mentioning the various pieces that were performed by the various schools during the competitions as each while unique was bolstered by the skill and playstyles that each school made use of that served to give each performance not only a powerful impact but also a degree of surprise as well as we get to see not only a new piece but also see the fruits of the labor that the schools have been through in their training as well as the effects that it had on the audience. In terms of voice acting, I felt that as a whole the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters whether they were main or support ones. In particular, I felt that Junya Enoki, Yuuma Uchida, Atsumi Tanezaki, Sara Matsumoto and Nao Touyama all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters of Takezou, Chika, Satowa Houzuki, Hiro and Akira respectively. In addition, I felt that the series also featured a well-rounded cast of support characters that I felt served to enhance the story with their various contributions to the story. Notable ones in my opinion included Himesaka girls schools lead Kazusa Ootori that was portrayed by veteran seiyuu Ayane Sakura, Club adviser Suzuka Takinami who was portrayed by Daisuke Namikawa and Hakuto’s lead player Mio Kanzaki who was portrayed by Shouta Aoi. Overall conclusion In overall I felt that Kono Oto Tomare was an excellent anime and was definitely one of the true gems of this season with its main strong points, in my opinion, being its unique premise, excellent story, well designed and developed characters, excellent animation, excellent voice acting and its skilful infusion of music, feelings and revelations into its main themes that served to make each character that much more interesting and making us root for them more within the series. The series overall story and its unique premise is without a doubt one of the main highlights of the series. While music-based animes are not as widespread as they once were I felt that Kono Oto Tomare’s success lay in the fact that while music is naturally the main theme of the series it is not the only one as in this case the reformation of a rapidly fading music club that few people remember within the school is paired with not just the recruitment of new talent to its halls but also their development as individuals that is achieved via the learning of the art of playing the koto. In this case, it can be said that koto not only serves as a primary focus for the club members but also serve as a solid foundation from which the individual members can stand upon and face the demons and struggles that they have so far kept hidden from their friends. This method of using koto to not only overcome the struggles that have existed within one's heart but also use it as a means to change your existing life path I felt was both excellent and creative as it allowed each character to not only realize and understand the core problems that dictated that struggle but also determine via the support of the bonds and friends that they had made within the club the optimal way to solve it. While reflecting well on the individual lessons that each character learned by interacting with the club this also served to reflect the strong character chemistry that gradually starts to take root in the club as the individual members gradually starts to make peace with their respective regrets and develop as individuals a fact that is shown well in the development of the characters of Takezou, Chika and Houzuki. While the first season of the series did an excellent job at establishing the foundations of both the club and the individual club members after they overcome their initial hurdles I felt that it’s the second season that really served to elevate this series to the top as it took excellent advantage of both the lessons and skills that they had learned from the club and the bitter taste of defeat that they had experienced and reforged it into a weapon that they will continuously refine as they set about the path to the nationals. This development I felt was helped greatly by not just the looming wall that the nationals represented but also of revelation that while individually their skills may be high that only by embracing their passion for koto and the bonds that they have managed to forge with each other will the club be able to attain the cherished wish that they all aspire to achieve a fact that is shown well within the series as they demonstrate to the audience the power of the skills and bonds that they have managed to attain via their powerful performances that when used in conjunction with the threat posed by the other schools truly made the second season a memorable experience. Overall Kono Oto Tomare was an excellent series that featured an excellent premise, story and cast of characters that were both well designed and extensively developed through not just solo development but also shared development via their experience with the koto club and their friends, excellent animation, voice acting and skilful combination of feelings, music and revelations all of which served to make the core struggles of the series main cast not just more memorable and relatable but also serve to make me more invested in both the story and the characters as well a feat that is aided greatly by the series skill at creating effective and emotional backstory for its characters. As a final score I would say that Kono Oto Tomare easily deserves a final score of 10/10.
Ethan_07
12/28/2019, 09:24 AM
Music is a strange thing. Sometimes, its melody carries a bit of fun and sweetness, making everyone listening immerse in the happiness. Sometimes, it is tinged with a bit of sadness, a pain and hidden feelings bursting out to be heard. But as the melodies intertwine, they bring forth a mixed feeling. As if, the sky is crying. And this is the embodiment of Kono Oto Tomare. It's a story composed of romance, drama, slice of life and music without the sadness in that April. A story where romance doesn't dominate and comedy doesn't take away the serious tone it is set for. It's balanced, it's refreshingand it's damn touching. As it continues from that dreadful cliffhanger, the characters are still up with their quirky interaction. And each frustration and subtle support they have for each other pulls their bond closer. The last chance to get to the national competition rises up the stakes even more, forcing them to present their best performance yet. The romance continues to blossoms, even sailing two ships at a time. The emphasis on eyes are fiercer than ever, reinforcing the saying that eyes are the windows to the soul. Frustrated eyes, shocked eyes, manipulative eyes, disappointed eyes, determined eyes are the soul tools to be accompanied by music to evoke emotions, and this is executed perfectly. But among the all, the ultimate tool is a pair of eye that can radiate sadness with kindness that requires way more than just superb animation. And this proves that. One of the main merits of the show is the chibi cartoon style that changes the mood for the comedy. The blushes and bubbly art style that enchances the mood for the romance. The eyes covered for the characters that elevate the suspension and uneasiness. The moment of resonation when they expressed their feelings frankly, only to receive a weirdly-wide smile. The studio has done such an amazing job with the distinction of art style that completely build up the ambience to suit the story. It’s not perfectly done, but it’s right on time in a way that you can expect it but it will still carve a smile on your face. As for the opening, ‘Harmony’ is compiled with such small details that is very rewarding if you watch every single one of them as it adds much more attachment to the characters. And as you slowly immerse in it, you wondered. Could you feel their emotions even with empty words? Can you even catch their feeling by watching their hands moving gracefully? Will their hard work actually pay off in the end? Did that last note reach you? Kono Oto Tomare, is one of the best slice of life I’ve ever seen that can blend romance, music and shounen genre almost perfectly. A music composed of hard works, friendships and passion from their heart. And I'd like to invite you to listen to their very own, Sounds of Life.
KANLen09
12/28/2019, 08:45 AM
2019 has been a blessing for musical anime, not so much on the Idol side of things, but purely on the sensational rides of emotional feels. With the introduction of Kono Oto Tomare's 1st cour in Spring to set up for the lesser of things, then in Summer, Given's Shoujo-ai outclassed adaptation of a masterpiece, and then back towards this series' 2nd cour to finish up the race that has been built up from the 1st half. And I'd have to say that the experience is totally worth it from start to finish, I can still readily and heartily give this a 10/10 just likethe 1st half for the same exact reasons it hooked me in the first place: the musical scores of the Koto and its players' many diverse skills that create lasting impact in tears. The series overall had such a good story plot and better characters for the lack of namesake, NOT a single character is there for comedic relief nor just there for placement reasons, everyone works together as a team, even in the most insignificant of changes and at times being the weakest link, just as implied in this quote by Henry Ford: "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." Assuming that you haven't watched Season 1, the story in a recap is about the Tokise High School Koto Club, on the verge of collapsing after seniors failed to make results. Takezou Kurata, the only member left, has to recruit members for the sake of keeping the club alive, while Chika Kudou, the delinquent grandson of a prolific Koto maker, and Koto prodigy Satowa Houzuki, who was exiled from her family due to fear and repulsion from family members, both come into terms with their suffering and atoned for their sins to understand their anthem of the heart for what they do and the inspiration of playing the Koto. Along with Takezou's bitchy classmate Hiro Kurusu and Chika's band of "The Three Stooges" friends, the 1st cour takes them to Preliminaries to see where they stood with rival schools and improvements are definitely on the wall (not to mention the romance "ship" between Chika and Hozuki which grows stronger overtime, along with Kirisu's contending crush towards Takezou). If that was Season 1, you're definitely NOT prepared for what Season 2 has in store for you, as it takes what Season 1 has laid the foundation with, and gradually refines with the club's failure in making a stand-out dent in the Preliminaries, as a stepping stone for the Nationals to proceed within the upcoming span of months. Suzuka Takinami, the Koto Club's relenting "failure preacher" of an advisor suddenly sees the improvement in them, but with the Nationals requiring a whole different set of high-standard caliber, he adopts someone whom Hozuki knows that infers the bad blood of family relations further: former middle school rival and current Hozuki Family heir Akira Doujima. Slowly and surely, the relations of both Hozuki and Akira worsen from the get-go due to how much complacency that Hozuki's excommunicated mom and manipulative grandmother have cast a dark shadow within each other's lives. Even to the point that the current situation of the Koto Club has to be on the upper echelons of unrealistic expectations set by Akira, to which Takezou knows that with the lesser of experiences they had, it was a tough uphill race to improve, reflect and practice like hell. But practice they did, and to an extent, Hozuki opened up Akira's heart to see the majesty of playing the Koto while the tightening-down of skills and expertise are still required as focus for the Nationals, for the sole purpose of one aim: to give their best and perform admirably. To summarize, the 2nd cour had better pacing than the 1st cour, along with the intense character drama, mostly between the rival schools that have made their mark and strive to be better than before, all in the purpose for reconciliation and reformed hearts of determination. As I've said in my 1st Cour review, this series has been studio Platinum Vision's Magnum Opus of a production, but to think that the 2nd Cour has managed to improve and refine on what the 1st Cour lacked, is a tremendous improvement on its own. Kono Oto Tomare would forever be anchored as the "Platinum" status that the studio has ever achieved, it's vision being so remarkable with loopholes from the get-go and what has been done here is nothing short of impressive. The highly detailed light-shaded visuals got significant upgrades that hid the lesser of the animations in this 2nd half, and it's a delight to have the improvement needed. The music itself is a WHOLE OTHER ballgame, as the Koto pieces get more rich-sounding but skillfully hard in technique, the combination of the two brings a whole new world in the music that plays and for every musical piece, it just brings nothing but feels, emotions and most importantly, teas of joy. I cannot emphasize enough that the music in Kono Oto Tomare has always been its valiant strength of why we say that "music is the universal language of mankind". If nothing touches music, nothing ever will, and in this case, emits that music to great effect. Same goes with the OST, with Shouta Aoi and Yuuma Uchida's respectively new OP and ED, both are equally as great songs as the 1st Cour, I'd say that while I liked the former OP more than the latter, its ED is infinitely better than the former, so much that I love it on repeat. The music genre has its fair share of good and bad anime, but I'd must say that Kono Oto Tomare as a series overall is just splendid, bar none. Instant recommendation for music lovers and those of the (lesser) romance and completely Shounen aesthetics. I sincerely can't praise this series enough, truly one of the best anime of 2019 that's no AOTS, but rather, a dark horse for the year.

Kono Oto Tomare! Part 2 この音とまれ！

North American Anime & Manga Releases for October

Fall 2019 Simulcast List [Update 11/16]

Fall 2019 Preview

PV Collection for Aug 5 - 11

TV Anime 'Kono Oto Tomare!' Gets Split Cours

Kono Oto Tomare! Part 2 この音とまれ！

North American Anime & Manga Releases for October

Fall 2019 Simulcast List [Update 11/16]

Fall 2019 Preview

PV Collection for Aug 5 - 11

TV Anime 'Kono Oto Tomare!' Gets Split Cours