The foundation of school clubs have been an ongoing trend in many anime involving school life. But reality is, you probably haven’t heard of koto club being part of a central plot, have you? At first, I came into this show with some cautious optimism. The concept of Kono Oto Tomare itself reminds me of anime like Chihayfuru. That anime became a rare breed that capitalized on a unique competition. Kono Oto Tomare walks a similar path for its first few episodes. Right from the start, we are introduced Takezou Kurata, the president of the koto music club. The timid young man has no strikingly impressivetraits. As the sole member of the Koto club, his love for koto music is evident although it’s hard to make his club into a sensation. The fact is, his club is on the verge of shutting down until Chika Kudo submitted his application to join. The first episode shows a world of difference between two characters – Kurata being the weak character who you may feel sympathetic for and Kudo, the straightforward delinquent-looking guy who isn’t afraid to express himself. When you put these two characters together into the same club, what can really go wrong?
Voiced by Atsukmi Tanezaki, it doesn’t take long for the audience to meet prodigy Satowa Hozuki. There’s no doubt about it. She is gifted and is considered a professional player in the world of koto music. Unfortunately, her personality is that of a stuck-up girl with a degree of egotism. On the bright side, she is also a hard worker and is determined to reach her goals. With the Koto club, her goal may have a ray of hope. Something to pay careful attention to in the show is her slow yet progressing character growth. As she grows to understand its club members, she also begins to trust in others more. The first season doesn’t fully explore this so you’ll have to be more patient.
It was announced that the show would be split into 2 cours, with the second half to air in Fall 2019. To be honest, this should make it obvious as the first 13 episodes aims get viewers comfortable enough to understand the story. The main goal of the koto music club is to reach the nationals. This goal is shared between all of its members and becomes their endgame. The real question is how far they can reach that goal, or if at all. Throughout the story, it’s evident that some of its members need more training and a lot of room for improvement. The trio of Sakai Michitaka, Mizuhara Kouta, and Takaoka Tetsuki is a very obvious example. In fact, the first few episodes shows Satowa showing disappointment at the state of the club. As their mentor, there’s no doubt that she wants them to succeed with her but it’s a difficult task. A part of the show consists of showcasing their hard work and proving the world what they are capable of as a club together. Individually, each character has their personal traits that adds a bit of flavor to the growing roster.
And of course, school life often deals with drama. When we are introduced to Hiro Kurusu, she shows a cunning side to her character with hidden motives. In fact, this show seems to dance around drama at the early stages. Satowa’s personality is like a fuse to a fire when she sometimes clashes with Kudo. In the meantime, Kudo isn’t afraid to back down because of his own thick personality. When you see the two together in early stages of the show, it’s like the two are at a mental wargame. I honestly feel sorry for Kurata since he wasn’t equipped to deal with this. Although as time passes on, Kurata also begins to grow out of his shell since his days of being bullied.
Using its visual language for communication, Kono Oto Tomare does a surprisingly wonderful job at expressing itself. The anime knows what it wants to be – a mixture of school life, drama, competition, and growth. There’s an evident of character youth in this show with its casts’ personalities. Beyond that, the technical style of animation production is probably one of the weaker sides. Character designs aren’t very eye catching except when the show gets into the mood for competition. It shine best during windows of moments that showcases the art of koto music. Sometimes, you may be awed by Satowa’s character design if you have a thing for long black haired beauties. And even as a show with heavy doses of drama, there’s room for comedy. Character expressions draw on the humorous effects of interactions. But at the end of the day, it’s not really that funny.
This is a world where koto music is more than just an art. It’s a way of showing talent to the world while understanding the true meaning of koto music. Anime viewers who are new to the show’s ideas should be prepared for dramatic ride. You won’t need a bucket for tears but do be prepared to be cast into a world where sounds is a way of life.
papacificreaper
May 27, 2020
Recommended
I usually don't write reviews (this is my first one actually), but after seeing this anime I couldn't help the urge to do it because I felt that more people should consider giving it a try. I feel that when seeing "Kono Oto Tomare!" for the first time, some might be turned off by the fact that it's in the music genre. I myself am not a big fan of these kinds of anime, but "Kono Oto Tomare!" really surprised me by just how much I ended up liking it to the point where I started reading the manga just because I couldn't get enoughof it. I’ll do my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum in this review.
Story:
The story revolves around a high school's koto club that's about to disband and is in dire need of new members. That's where a large portion of the cast decide to step in and join the club and, together, the members all aim to reach nationals. The story is similar to a lot of sports anime in the sense that the club isn't all that perfect at first and through hard work and failure, they rise and get to where they want to be. The element of romance is also evidently a big part of the story and a lot of tension and drama is created between the characters for this purpose. And while at this time, neither of the couples actually get together, it is their interactions and their struggles in first, trying to admit their feelings to themselves, and second, in trying to keep them in check so as to not get in the way of their club activities, that really pave the path for the romance to shine. The romance aspect is, all in all, pretty sweet and I very much enjoyed seeing the relationships between the characters develop. There is also a lot of drama involved in this anime which might put some people off, but personally, I thought it was something that added to the plot and helped both the characters and the plot progress in a positive way. The inclusion of koto as the instrument of choice was also very refreshing, especially since I believe it’s an instrument that not too many people outside of Japan are familiar with.
Art:
The art is well done and nice to look at. The way they chose to animate and show the movement of hands while playing the instruments was quite welcome and pleasing to look at. Thankfully, they opted not to use CGI for animating the scenes where koto is being played and that's something I'm grateful for. The art seems to have done a very good job at translating the manga into anime format and jumping from one medium to the other isn’t hindered by the difference in art style.
Sound:
As this anime belongs to the music genre, the sound becomes increasingly important and I think they did a great job of delivering songs that are an absolute treat to listen to. The opening is very good and I still listen to it after having finished the anime. The ending is also enjoyable. However, where I think the sound shines the most is during scenes where the characters are playing the koto. Each and every song can simply be described as mesmerizing. It really makes you appreciate the unique and beautiful sounds that a koto can produce. "Kuon" was a song that really resonated with me in the anime. It's as if you can feel the emotion put into every sound. What's interesting is that the people who were tasked with playing the koto music in the anime were actually not that experienced in playing the instrument and ended up having to learn it, just like some of the characters in the show.
Character:
I think one of the most important aspects of this show, and this style of anime in general, is the characters. Their interactions and struggles are what make the viewer more engaged in the story and more willing to see the characters succeed. They did a very good job in making every character interesting and thus making the viewer actually care about them. Throughout the whole story (this includes beyond the first season of the anime) each character from the club, and even from rival schools, gets a certain amount of time dedicated to fleshing them out, whether that be through providing backstories for them or through making them face a series of conflicts in the present timeline. The focus I would say is very much on creating stronger bonds between the characters in the club through these conflicts. The fact that each character feels very different from the other makes it possible to relate to at least one of them during the course of the story. As I mentioned previously, elements of romance also play a big part in the story and, at least to me, they don't really feel forced, but rather flow quite nicely with the tone of the story. They really make you root for the characters to get together, though they never actually go as far as kissing or anything like that (perhaps in the future though *wink wink*).
Enjoyment:
I have to say I really enjoyed the time I spent with this anime. It succeeded in evoking an emotional response from me and I think that's part of what makes an anime worth watching. If you feel nothing when viewing an anime, then I think that takes away from the overall enjoyment. Many of us tend to forget that the biggest reason to watch anime is for the sake of enjoying what we're watching. This very enjoyment sometimes even helps us look past some of the minor flaws that every anime undoubtedly has and thus I believe it is the most important factor to consider when deciding to watch something like "Kono Oto Tomare!".
Overall:
All in all, I think "Kono Oto Tomare!" is an anime worth watching through at least once as it is very enjoyable and I'm sure many will have a great time experiencing it. It's worth saying that while I do praise this anime quite a bit, it definitely isn't for everyone. If you're looking for cutting-edge action or heart-pounding dramatic moments then I don't think you'll find what you're searching for here. However, if you're looking to enjoy a story that builds its foundation on music and character interacions, then I doubt you'll be disappointed. Watching the first 2-3 episodes will pretty much give you a feel for the tone and direction of this anime so I would suggest trying out the first few eps before you decide on whether you'll like it or not.
Mixed Feelings
Kono Oto Tomare! SPOILER WARNING: Most of the characters personalities/stories are mentioned First of all I’d like to say that this is by no means a bad anime and that is not what I intent to portray with my score. In fact I thoroughly enjoyed Kono Oto Tomare!. That said I would wholeheartedly disagree with anyone saying this is a masterpiece of originality. In fact I’d argue the literally only original thing here is that they are playing Koto’s instead of *Insert whatever other instrument/sport here*. From this point forward I’m going to be regarding sports anime and music anime the same, and while this might rufflesome feathers I believe it’ll help to show my points about the unoriginality. Considering that most music animes are set in high-school clubs with the same goals of making it to nationals just like most sports anime are I don’t think it’s that bold of a claim to consider the two genres for this purpose the same.
So let’s begin with going over the story shall we? We have the high-school setting, which obviously has become a staple in all genres of anime these days. We have the club-without-enough-members-therefore-possibly-leading-to-the-disbandment-of-the-club plot point, another classic within the high-school setting, but more specifically in sports anime. We have the obvious overall plot of making it to nationals, “let’s be the best whatever woooo” kind of thing. And we successively find out about each members sad backstory and why they act like they do, blah blah blah, they fix it and now they are besties. We have the injury-trope, another classic in all our sports favorites.
Again, at this point I’d like to reiterate that I don’t dislike this anime. While my tone might be rather condescending it’s more so that these tropes are present in most, if not all high-school sports animes, and not that I dislike them in and of themselves.
With that said, let’s check out the characters. First we’ve got our main character, your typical low selfesteem, pushover 4-eyes loser. But wait, he actually has convictions, and speaks up (sometimes I guess)!!! Then we got our other main boy, mr. misunderstood delinquent who’s actually a nice guy and his whole scandalous past was just a misunderstand. We got the lonely prodigy who just wants friends, we got the mysterious teacher with a hidden past who turns out to be some big brain genius boy, the side characters who can see past our bad boys mean side and see the good within him, the sexy big sister… do I need to go on?
The art and music are both fine. For the art nothing really stands out neither in a positive nor negative way. The OST had some pretty clarinet tunes I thought but besides that it’s rather unmemorable a part from the kotos obviously. I can’t say I knew much about the instrument prior to this but it produces a very pretty sound and the performances during the show were some of my highlights for sure.
That all being said, while this show makes use of probably every trope in the book, it does so pretty well. It certainly isn’t anything new or groundbreaking but it does what it does very well, and if you’re a fan of these music/sports animes set in high-school then here is another one of sufficient quality that you can spend some time on.
mamaplesyrup47
March 10, 2022
Recommended
After rewatching this show two times, I want to dedicate my first MAL review for Kono Oto Tomare! which in my opinion, is the most underrated and underappreciated anime that I have ever seen. I will mainly focus on the first season but I will also touch on the second season a little bit because if the first season was great, the second one was just outstanding. Since I just rewatched both seasons, the rating might be slightly biased and apply to both the first and second season. Also, this is a general review and thus, can be considered spoiler-free. Plot: 8/10 Do not judge ananime based only on the first episode. You could watch the first episode and thought that the flashbacks and backstory are all over the place, but trust me, it is essential for the character development which is the strong aspect of this anime. The plot is quite simple and straightforward. In short, it is about the Koto club which aimed for nationals while facing problems and difficult circumstances by each member. However, the simplicity of the plot allows the anime to highlight the other aspects of this anime such as solid characters, beautiful performances, and delightful visuals which I will explain more in the following paragraphs.
Music: 10/10
“A truly wonderful performance can go beyond experts and reach those who don’t know about Koto”.
I did not know anything about Koto before watching this anime nor did I play any instrument, but the music in this anime is just breathtaking, especially if we talk about the amazing performances. Each performance has its own meanings, values, and emotions which they want to convey to others. You cannot help but feel those emotions from each performance and this helps with understanding each character better (how did they lead their lives, what did they feel, what do they want to achieve, and what are they feeling) during the performances. The combination of the music with the visuals is enough to make you cry. It is just simply beautiful.
Characters: 10/10
Very, very solid characters. You could get overwhelmed at the beginning due to the constant flashbacks and backstories by some of the characters. However, once you get over it, it feels like you get closer to each of them and understand their motives and emotions. Personally, for me, being able to relate to characters is vital and it seems like this anime allows you to do that and as a result, it feels like you are together with them for the whole series. While the first season focuses on the character development of the few characters in the club, the second season brilliantly focuses mostly on Satowa which I assume is the most popular character in this series. The second season really does an incredible job in narrating her story to the point that you can understand her incredibly well.
Animation: 9/10
The animation might not be the best that you have ever seen, but it fits perfectly with the music, characters, and situations. I believe that the strongest point of this anime is the cohesion between music, visuals, and dialogues which forms a beautiful and emotional animation that warms your heart. For example, the visuals are always beautifully aligned with the music in the performances and this helps you to understand the emotions embedded into the music which is important to understand the characters in the series better. In other words, all aspects in this anime are interconnected with each other to create a beautiful anime.
Overall: 9.25/10
As I mentioned before, the first season is great but the second one is just amazing. More focused character development, better visuals, and also better performances. I genuinely believe that is a hidden gem and more people should watch this anime.
Thank you for reading my first ever MAL review and it will make me delighted if you are willing to consider this anime after reading this review. Cheers.
