Kono Oto Tomare: Sounds of Life (2019)
Genre: Music, Romance, Drama
Kudo, a high school, branded teen delinquent decided to join a Kono club in his school where he meets a girl (Hozuki) whoâs a genius and the heiress to one of the reknowed Kono schools, and his senior
Kono club president, who wanted to keep the club alive after being left as the only member when his seniors graduated. Together, the three recruit more members to prevent their club from being disbanded and in turn develop a bond over playing Kono.
I donât know if you understand my summary, but basically itâs about music, and high school, life and problems.
Iâve watched a few musical anime in the past like Nodame Cantabile, Your Lie In April, Lost Song, Love Love, and such, but I have not had a strong feeling like I have for this anime.
Think of it like a sports themed anime where they have competitions for prefectural, regional and finals. Thereâs a thrill to that kind of theme, right? Same goes for this anime. Add a sprinkle of romance and comedy, with a dash of drama to hold it all together and I am entranced by the series!
Note that it has 2 seasons, and I personally bawled over the second season more than I would have expected.
There is a lot of background story to the characters in the show and you wonât get overwhelmed by it. In fact, it adds to the charm of the anime and youâll learn to see where theyâre coming from and able to empathize with them.
The main reason why I was attracted to watching it even if I had my wavering doubt to its greatness is because of the artwork / drawing. It reminded me of the good old days when every frame would be drawn by hand. Despited having the anime only released recently (2019) it has a nostalgic feel to it with the watercolor and pencil art.
The romance genre also isnât lacking. What I love is that, itâs not leaning towards that theme but is just icing to the cake. A few hints in the whole series will leave you gushing for more that youâd want to read the manga to know their development.
Now, to the main dish, the music. The anime has a great score and you can get motivated to actually play the Kono. The melodies are easy on the ears and fun to listen to that I end up searching for them! As a pianist, I am curious to try the instrument. Itâs like a mix of piano, guitar and harp!
Overall I would give it a rating of 5! đđđđđ
Even if you have no Kono or music knowledge, I would recommend this anime for the feels and storyline.