The series ended and we couldn’t stop ourselves from crying. One school could made it to nationals and this time it was Tokise. This win can be considered as the victory against all obstacles that they have been facing since the beginning. When we look back to the time when it all started, it was a just a group of different people who had no idea about their life or where they belong. People around them couldn’t understand them or, not treated well due to their past, or left alone but when they had each other by their side, they formed a very strong friendship and a bond that can’t be broken. That bond did not only helped them overcome that misery but also made them realize their own worth. It was also the support of Takinami, Akira, Granny’s permission for late hour’s rehearsals in her shop and their enthusiasm, willpower and hard work that they were able to make it to Nationals through their beautiful performance.
In addition to that, we finally got to see Satowa getting to close to her mother and now they will be able to reconnect. The other beautiful moment was when Kota came running to embrace them and the appreciation of her mother which is precious moment for the group. It was good to see that she sees Chika as a person he has become now. It’s a good start for their reconnection
Let’s talk about Chika. It was a great moment when he proudly visited his grandfather to show his trophy. It was indeed a heartwarming moment when his grandfather expressed his appreciation by patting him on head. It was a moment we all wanted to see for a long time that followed another moment we waited for and that was when his aunt hugged him. Chika had been through a lot and this makes me so happy that he finally found the happiness in the form of his new family that Koto club gave him.
Although I am thrilled and exhilarated by the victory of Tokise and their selection for the Nationals. But that happiness does not made me less sad for Himesaka and Hakuto. We all know what cost them for their loss so it makes me sad for them as much as I am happy for Tokise. When Kazusa saw Tokise performing she had realized that Himesaka had already lost. Their perfect syc and speed to perform such a hard piece couldn’t compete Tokise’s performance. She not only appreciated their performance twice but also felt burdened and guilty for not keeping the promise of getting Hozumi a chance to get to nationals and so she couldn’t stop apologizing
Not just for Hakuto I also felt sad for Mio when he cried. My eyes filled with tears when I saw him crying for not participation in this competition earlier. He was regretful and was guilty for that. The team felt his pain and cried with him. Their group is as special as Tokise and that credit goes to Yamamoto for his support. I don’t like it that he will become an advisor as he is really good at leading the group. It was good to see Mio showing his love for the piece and the group as well.
It wasn’t an easy competition to win. It was a difficult decision for the judges to choose the winner among the groups like Hakuto, Himesaka and Tokise. They all were good in their own ways and each had abilities to represent Kanagawa. The reason why they chose Tokise was because of their high level performance and the way they were able to reach the hearts of everyone whether or they knew about koto. Mr Matsunaga acts as a decision maker with his remarks that he want to see this talent in Nationals. Tokise were also lucky when it comes to judges. If the judges had a different taste and different criteria then they may have preferred Hakuto or Himesaka. So it does depend on the judges after all
For Takinami, it was a risk but he didn’t mind taking it because he had confidence in that decision He also mentioned that to Akira that although he seemed calm but he knew it was a risky arrangement. If it wouldn’t have worked he would have been blaming himself for not being able to make good arrangements.
Since now they will be performing in the Nationals while officially representing Kanagawa, Takinami is set to go for a new piece that they will be delivering in Nationals. It will indeed be the hardest piece they have ever played as it is still not tilted and not completed yet, He is working on something big this time and hopefully we will get to see them performing that untitled piece in the next season.
Final Thought
Kono Oto Tomare is a wonderful shoe about the people who were not seemed to be likeable in the start but eventually we learned to love them. This part was good when it comes to character development particularly Akira and Kazusa who were hated by many fans. It was good to see Akira getting out of that dark personality by being such a great support by not just keeping the club away from the grandmother’s deceitful plans but also by making Satowa and her mother get close to each other.
Another such character is Kazusa who was such a hostile character in the beginning. She had all bad qualities a person could have, she was mean, full of hatred, bossy, irritating and loud. It’s the kind of character who had to get out of her overstated self-esteem for being superior and this part did that. Kazusa’s ego broken into pieces when Hakuto broke the winning record of Himesaka– it was the performance that she skipped for being busy in letting out her anger on Chika after the performance of Tokise. It felt great to see her being guilty about her behavior and realizing her own actions. She seems to have become a better person after that and have been improving since then that started with her appreciations for her competitors and understanding the relation Chika and Satowa. Due to her violent nature, she had been in conflicts with almost everyone. Regardless of what her intentions are.
Sane is other character that we can’t miss to talk about. He is an admirable character but was not focused enough. He had our attention in the beginning when Akira saw her reflection in him and how she feared that he would become like her. He was not as good as Chika and Satowa that made him similar to Akira. He had to give it his all to get it right and even then couldn’t be as good as them. The only thing that differentiate his situation from Akira is that he had supportive friends who were patient till he make it. This positivity also helped Akira improve.
When it comes to the story, the main focus was on Satowa’s backstory which is associated with Akira. The untitled composition of Tenkyuu means a lot to both of them. It was made to cheer others but only brought sadness in their lives. For Satowas, it was supposed to be the path to get close to her mother but did the opposite. While for Akira, it was an endless devotion that she had given to that one piece but it was all useless when all people could remember was hoe Satowas performed which technically disqualifies her regardless of the victory. But in the end it’s nice to see them getting close for the same piece that healed their scars.
This part was also great in terms of romantic moments. We could see from the start how Hiro and Satowa started to understand their feelings and it was interesting to see how they acted upon it in their own way. Since Hiro have already been through such situation so had some clue about it but did her best to keep it hidden for the sake of club. However, for Satowa it was all new and had no experience like Hiro. For that reason Chika had a misunderstanding but he stayed calm and patient. But he made a good decision to face her and get things straight. What’s funny is that no matter how hard Satowa and Hiro tried to keep their feelings hidden, Takezou and Chika knew something is fishy. I can say Takezou is not as stupid as Hiro thinks but can’t really say that for Chika but he will get better at this.
Now to talk about the animation quality of this anime but it won’t be wrong to say that animation is one of the worst aspect of this anime. Comparing it with the performance of koto, I changed my mind of rating this anime seven out of ten. The animations of the fingers and hands work were not that great, although the instrument itself in the zoom-ins may have 3D components. And for me it makes the anime alluring, observing these sorts of high definition in a while where tons of studios are using 3D animation or something of that kind to animate these kinds of moments. Not to mention the effort they made in changing the opening of the series not once, but on four different events involving Himesaka, Satowa’s mother, Akira and Himesaka. It looks like they really made some efforts to make it look nice.
The last thing that I am going to mention is one of the best aspect of this anime that is music. The music is on point but Tenkyuu is the best of them all at least for me. It was and heartwarming performance and it made me feel relaxed. The Opening and ending theme were also beautiful and amusing.
It’s sad that it had to finish but I’m pretty sure that for season 2 as they mentioned Episode 26 instead of blank space. It’s the beginning of a new journey as they are heading to the big stage. There are going to be some new things like new people, new pieces, and new club members. They have to take new members to prevent it from getting back to where it was earlier.
