Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
jcbordon
EXTREMELY LIGHT SPOILERS ABOUT THE ROMANCE SPECIFICALLY
As someone who decided to watch this for the romance, this is frequently listed on "Peak romance" lists ive seen online, I decided to check it out. I cannot understate how disappointed I am. There was extremely limited romance in this show, and it amounted to little more than the 2 FMC blushing for 90% of the romantic interactions. Not a single character confessed their feelings, not a single date, or substantial romantic encounters at all. There was a single "sick episode" arc in and literally nothing else of consequence as far as romance goes. I wasn't expecting a lot, But i was at least expecting one of the 4 main love interests to confess at some point. when the final episode's credits rolled, my jaw was actually wide open after n…
Read at the sourceKino55
Our lead (is he though?) Takezou is the last person remaining in the club after all the girls graduate. It's up to him to keep the club alive. He then tries to inspire others to join and plays at freshmen orientation. This doesn't go well. I haven't watched a ton of koto performances, but thinking back I've never seen a guy play it. I can't really explain why the koto is seen as a feminine instrument. The show isn't for foreigners first though, so it doesn't really try to explain much about koto basics/history. This is a unsaid part of why Takezou is so uncool and its also a reason why seeing the delinquent Chika wanting to play it is surprising.
Since this is a 13 episode season the show really does a good job of keeping focus. It could branch of and show Chika not doing well in classes…
Read at the sourcealienjacker
Im never listening to a tiktok recommendation again. This anime honked. The anime had a strong start. Introduction of the president, his encounter with Chika. That was sick. But after the first 2-3 episodes it all went downhill. The idea of koto was new to me and I was lowkey interested, however there's barely any emphasis on the performances. Theycut one performance halfway, abruptly. How could you do that when the main thing about this anime are the koto performances ! The show focuses more on plot and the cast bonding instead of the art of the koto. It feels like plot is primary and koto is secondary. The direction is, sadly, garbage. Background character lines are awful, like a poorly written play. Several scenes are poorly executed. The application of the comedic effect was so lacklus…
Read at the sourceKingoku
For the amount of glaze given to this show, I am disappointed with what I experienced. First off, Let's get off with the premise of the show. Obviously, it's a high school setting, I get that so I wouldn't have been so surprised to see drama. But oh boy the amount of useless drama in this show is restless. it can all be summed down to, wait nvm it can't cause it's just bull. For example, one of the character's was lied about and people believed the lie, you wanna know what they did? PROCEED TO DEDICATE THEIR SOCIAL LIFE TO MAKING LIES ABOUT OTHERS, LIKE BRO WHAT????? I swear this was the most random backstory with some bs justification. And it's not only that character, its prevalent with every character, the drama is just bull. It would be alright, nvm nothing can justify this crap. I was…
Read at the sourceRymirox
I SWEAR YOU GONNA LOVE THIS ANIME IF YOU WANT TO WATCH A MUSIC GENRE ANIME!
It is satisfying to watch them grow, learn, and win! What I really love about this anime is their love about they are doing; to play a Koto!
I also love the dynamics of the characters as it feels they are complete set of personalities!
I love the highs and lows of the story and still gives me inspiration to love something in music haha (as I am part of a musical group).
The art style is like traditional that has some modern blend since we are talking about Koto (a traditional japanese instrument) so it has to connect to traditional side. Also, it has vibrant and soft color palette! Mostly, the settings are in school, and the interpretation is good.
There is also an emphasis on music so the music from their pl…
Read at the sourcezettai-jin-stray
Kono Oto Tomare follows a club of koto players focused on making their way to the nationals. It follows the tried-and-true sports anime formula fit with the standard friendship and teamwork bells and whistles topped off with melodrama.
The story begins with the koto club not yet formed, the president and lone member, Takezou Kurata, has a problem with a group of bully delinquents occupying the clubroom. Kurata later has an encounter with the scary delinquent Chika Kudou, who shows interest in joining the club to the surprise of Kurata. To prove this, Kudou kicks the other delinquents out. Kudou, jarringly, doesn’t have the look of a delinquent, he’s got the look of a blonde pretty boy, and this is sold by the shoujo style of the designs. With no knowledge of the series and some genre sav…
Read at the sourcePlatsEdits14
I really enjoyed the first season of Kono Oto Tomare!
When I first watched the anime I was so confused about the beginning of the story but after finishing the whole first episode it started becoming more interesting to watch that I can't stop watching. Some people might probably not like music genre anime, but for me this was my first music genre anime and I really liked it alot, and the fact that it also has some romance part in it makes it even more better.
The backstories of every character is good and way more realistic than most animes nowadays.
Kudou's smile somehow reminds me of Natsu from FairyTail and his personality too. If u have watched and like My little Monster then this is a must watch anime for you, though if you dont like music based anime then u might have to consider…
Read at the sourcepassing_through
It's a simple story about working hard with everything you've got and the power of friendship to make everything okay. And also there's koto music.
I'm really interested in learning about traditional Japanese music instruments, and I feel like this is a great introduction to learning about the koto. I especially love how you can see the sheet music and how the notation is written. The performances are also stellar, I hope whoever got hired to play in the koto ensemble gets compensated well. It's so difficult to not only play a difficult koto piece, but to purposely make mistakes in it as well. I also enjoy the animation, though I may not know how to play it myself and it may not always be entirely accurate. At least it's competent and it doesn't use CG (ahem! Ao no Orchestra).
That being…
Read at the sourcemairwaa
It's not anything flashy, but it's heartwarming and sweet
So it's about diverting expectations, proving others wrong, doing your best despite everything. what pleasantly surprised me was that the side characters who were designed to look, act and sound like mobs were actually legit characters of their own, all while still maintaining their,,, humble appearances. A lot of emphasis on hard work. The "hardwork vs genius" problem is done beautifully and despite me thinking the trope is overdone, i loved it in Kono Oto Tomare.
But also it's not the best adaptation, but the koto playing is beautiful. And by it's not the best it's just a media difference, like how a scene is perfect as a manga panel so the anime wants to recreate it exactly, a lot of the times it came out cringy instead (there'…
Read at the sourceBenx2019
Animation is average at best. Charcters are frequently sloppily drawn, there's zero flash and the action scenes are meh. Some problems are due to using computers to draw characters layer by layer. The problem is that eyes are on the layer above blushing at times, since the eyes had yet to be added the blushing is quite in the correct place and is underneath(in back of) the eyes. However, backgrounds are fairly decent and occasionally still frames look nice. Characters have depth, but the mellow dramatic nature of it makes it feel somewhat superficial. However, characters are given a nice amount of individual focus. Side characters can be irratating at times. Voice acting ranges from decent to poor with some sort of decent performances. Overall I'd say it's pretty average. Soundtrack is pre…
Read at the sourceJustykanna
Sounds of Life does some things really well, but I felt like a few of the plot points didn't hit home with, and that, couple with some subpar characters really made this fall a lot shorter than I was expecting.
Story: The basic idea of Sounds of Life is that Takezou Kurata was is member of the Koto Club at his high school. However, all of the previous members have now graduating, leaving him as the sole member of a club that is threated to be disbanded if enough members are not recruited. Enter Chika Kudou, a punk with an attitude, and Koto prodigy Satowa Houzuki, who both have a hand in aiming to get to nationals, with the help of three of Chika's friends, Kouta, Saneyasu and Michitaka. Hiro later joins the cast, and our band of seven want to make sure everyone's expectations of them rem…
Read at the sourceR_2_R
I like music. There are so many instruments & musical pieces that I don't even know the name of, so I find it a bit exciting when I see an Anime with some instrument in its key visual or in its plot summary to find out that unheard Japanese instrument. But there's one thing I really don't like when it comes to the music genre in Anime. Reading Music.
This Anime has 'Koto', a string instrument which sounds a bit similar to piano. There are many awkward moments when I watch music Anime and that's mainly because the characters talk (saying it out loud or monologuing themselves) about someone's music in some metaphorical language. Like;
>The strings! They resonate so beautifully, I can see the snow.
>What is this! The sounds. I can see the sounds!
>OMG! The piano sounds are giving me an eject…
Read at the sourceAppleDangani
(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 having 13 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.” Fo…
Read at the sourcemaplesyrup47
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 an anime 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…
Read at the sourcemath20082
Quite simply my favorite music anime and one of my favorite overall.
The plot is relatively common, with a club in a very bad state at the start of the story, evetually getting better and working towards winning tournaments. the most original part is the club itself, the "koto" which I had never heard of before watchign the anime.
I find it hard to explain why I love this anime so much, except how well done it is. Every character has some progression, the love story is relatively well made.
Contrary to some reviews might say, the story itself is rather believable without any bullshit characters becoming a genius in a single day.
I have finished both seasons, and I hope there will be a third.
Read at the sourceaaira
i never wrote any review before but damn this show forced me write a review bcoz i want more people to watch this masterpiece...first i was hesitating to watch this anime becoz im not into musical anime plus some reviews suggested that this anime is like maidsam anime becoz main female character is a bossy character like her which i dont like but no it was totally different...i didnot dislike any character(not even one character) very lovable characters with great developement....their friendship was also so beautiful..
and the main thing which i liked no lovvvved the most was the kotto songs....wow wow wow just wow...every song was so beautiful..i was mesmerized...i want to join a kootto club :P :P ...plz give this hidden gem a try....
there is not too much romance in it but this anime do…
Read at the source666
This season is basically a build-up for the sequel. Throughout the span of 13 episodes, the introduction of the cast has been introduced as well as a clear goal. To reach the nationals together as a group and not individuals playing the very distinct instrument called Koto. Every club member has regrets and wants to change their current life and to do something memorable to prove others wrong. I don't want to go into detail describing each characters personality and the reason why they're in the club. Since I think the charm is getting to know them and seeing their resolve is one of the best aspects of this Anime. Seeing the improvements of each members quality to perform with the Kato has been breathtaking and really enjoyable. I can't remember the last time I was completely out of words…
Read at the sourceAN_IME_lovers
This is my first time to see anime that focuses on musical instruments. When I watch this anime I can know traditional Japanese musical instruments. I can also imagine how difficult it is to play koto when I see this anime.
Now I will review this anime. In terms of story, I think the story is very simple but has an interesting drama to follow. I also like the character development in this anime. The storyteller can change the characters in this anime in his own way. The problems of each character can be solved well using a drama that almost makes me cry when I see it. Although they still suck at playing koto. But they still enjoy it together. I liked that part of the story
Read at the sourceElendVenture
The Story had potential but it was decided to forgo any shred of subtlety and substance in favor of melodrama. Even minor moments enjoy the full treatment, with exaggerated visuals and a swell of music making the ones that are supposed to really matter fall flat in their face. The Story tries so hard to be profound and just ends up feeling cheesy, but it also takes itself to seriously for the cheese to be enjoyable. This also hurts the characters as, outside of those moments of drama, we do not really get to see them as people making them seem flat and by extension their Relationships (what is supposed to be the crux of the entire story) are entirely devoid of chemistry.
The Fact that everything has to be grand and dramatic also work against the show as, if everything is dramatic, nothing…
Read at the sourceamandont
Kono Oto Tomare was pretty good... not too shabby indeed. It was a very youthful and hopeful melodrama that explored the themes of friendship within music. It's learning to work together and to create something beautiful, it's about hard work and it's about their drive to become better versions of themselves.
I think this anime could establish their characters very quickly and very well, characters like Chika and Hozuki were so well defined right away and we can instantly see their growth, their development and their vulnerabilities. I think for a 13 episode, it was pretty impressive that they were able to characterize a lot of them in an interesting way, without it being rushed and sloppy.
The pacing was again, pretty good. It ended with a finale that felt satisfying but it also encapsu…
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