この音とまれ！

KONO OTO TOMARE!

MANGA

STATUS
RELEASING
VOLUMES
35
RELEASE
August 4, 2012
CHAPTERS
158

DESCRIPTION

Since the graduation of the senior members of the club, Takezou ends up being the sole member of the "Koto" (traditional Japanese string instrument) club. Now that the new school year has begun, Takezou will have to seek out new members into the club, or the club will become terminated. Out of nowhere, a new member barges into the near-abandoned club room, demanding to join the club. How will Takezou be able to keep his club alive and deal with this rascal of a new member?

CAST

Chika Kudou
Satowa Houzuki
Hiro Kurusu
Takezou Kurata
Suzuka Takinami
Natsu Momoya
Kouta Mizuhara
Saneyasu Adachi
Michitaka Sakai
Atsumu Yoshinaga
Tetsuki Takaoka
Akira Doujima
Isaki Kudou
Mio Kanzaki
Kiriyuu Ousuke
Gen Kudou
Kazusa Ootori
Sei Uzuki
Takeru Kurata
Keishi Doujima
Miran Saotome
Chiharu Houzuki
Sentarou Miya
Luka Chevalier
Mashiro

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO KONO OTO TOMARE!

Cover Art for Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life

ANIME DramaKono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life

Cover Art for Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life Season 2

ANIME DramaKono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life Season 2

REVIEWS

liujincheng2002
95/100
An emotional and relatable music romcom with the hype and intensity to rival sports mangas.
Disclaimer: I am writing this after having read up to chapter 111.

To preface this review, I’d like to first write a short summary and recommendation for those who haven’t read the manga, but may be interested. \_
Kono Oto Tomare! takes place in Tokise High School’s Koto (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument) club. Takezo Kurata, the only member left after the start of the new year, is desperately trying to recruit members to keep the Koto Club from being disbanded. In his dedication to the promise he made to his seniors to keep the club alive, Kurata runs into the most unexpected of applicants: a delinquent who was rumored to have been charged with criminal activity, Chika Kudo. However, the surprises are far from over - a few days later, Kurata receives an application from a Koto prodigy, Satowa Hazuki. Through the chaotic interaction between this unlikely combination of characters, the Tokise High School’s Koto Club begins to take on a new shape for better or for worse.
\_
What stands out about this manga:
Kono Oto Tomare!, more than any other romcom I’ve read, is able to straddle a particular balance between drama and romance + comedy, interweaving the emotional tensions within the context of Koto playing in a way that makes the series climax when it needs to. The characters both inside and outside the club are as varied as it gets, and yet each one of them is extremely relatable: they cycle through moments of happiness, joy, stress and anger, and experience periods of uncertainty that they eventually learn to grow out of.

Unlike 99% of other rom coms, there is no central “main” character. While we start with the perspective of Kurata, both Chika and Satowa add their own stories and personality to the narrative, developing as story leads rather than simply being a colorful personality for variety’s sake. Oftentimes in other manga, this may lead to the characters being underdeveloped; however, Kono Oto Tomare! is able to balance this interplay of leads such that each of them have their moments in the spotlight, with none of them outshining the others.

The drama tag is on there for a reason - there are definitely moments in this manga that have some heavier connotations than your average slice-of-life light-hearted manga. However, I will disclose (without mentioning specifically for spoiler reasons) that the drama involved has little to no bearing on the romance side of things. You get to have the character and emotional development that comes with these things without having a bitter taste that other drama-romance shows have.

There's so much to be said for the art as well; Amyu is able to depict scenes that rival the hype of Haikyuu and Blue Lock at their peaks. From moments of painful intensity

to the color and imagery of a flowing melody,

the art itself gives almost a tangible feeling to the music being experienced by the characters.

I will now discuss my general review of the story/characters, which will contain some minor spoilers \_
Story: Overall, the story is very solid. One of the most important things I think that Kono Oto Tomare! does well is how it builds characters with realistic and relatable thought processes that fit into the setting provided. At no point does the Koto club feel like a place that exists only as a place for the characters to meet up; rather, the characters are only made complete through their love of the Koto. The romance that arises between the characters is done beautifully: we see the characters initially mischaracterize, work with, and eventually understand if only a bit of each other. Rather than being upfront and center, the romance plays more of a supporting lead - the time the characters spend growing with each other, the awkward interactions that eventually develop into feelings of love - all of these come to form an attraction that feels absolutely genuine and that is well integrated within the plot itself.

The emotions and thoughts of the characters are explored constantly throughout the story as well. Rather than peacefully resolving issues within a chapter or two, they constantly struggle with external and internal conflicts all throughout their goal to reach Nationals, much like a real club. Later in the manga, there is an entire arc/character introduction that deals with clashes between club members, their collective goals, and the miscommunication of intent that is relatable from all perspectives of the issue.

Despite the many things it does well, there were still some flaws that stuck out to me: while I mentioned the excellent usage of drama in developing the characters above, there are points at which I feel the plot was overdramatized. The introduction of Hiro Kurusu mainly served the purpose of exposing Satowa's background to the other club members, but I found the whole "revenge" thing a bit dramatic. Later on, the entire situation with Uzuki and his motivations also seemed a bit cliche:
(How he instigated the fight against Chika's grandfather only because he wanted to keep Chika to himself)
Aside from this (which is mostly just my own taste), I found everything else about the story very enjoyable.
\_
Characters:

What really carries this manga is the quality of the characters. Kurata, Chika and Satowa each have their own backgrounds and goals, yet they learn to work and grow off their experiences in the club together. Through their own mistakes and arguments with each other, they become cognizant to their own shortcomings: Kurata and his confidence to lead the club despite not being the most skilled player, Chika and his abrasive personality that masks his true feelings, and Satowa with her barred nature due to being abandoned by her family. Their issues with each other are not resolved perfectly after a few club meetings: rather it takes practice after practice for them to begin to notice, and address the problems. What this results in is character development that feels real: issues in the real world are not resolved with the end of a chapter or the culmination of some grand event. They appear time after time even after you feel like you've resolved them - this feeling is mirrored in interactions between all the club members.

Beyond this, what really separates this manga from many others is the similar attention to detail given to the side characters:
- Koto, who appears to be a cut-out character of childish innocence and happiness goes through a trial of self-doubt and frustration
- Michitaka, who always performed but never excelled, becomes trapped in a situation that forces him to consider his own abilities, aspirations and pride.
are only two characters among many others in the club who go through similar developments.

Retrospection and doubt are not things experienced only by the leads: they are experienced by every single person in the club. In the end, this all culminates to make the scenes of high intensity that much more enjoyable, as, alongside the characters, you were able to experience the hours of toil it took to produce a single minute of glory.

Conclusion Overall, I would recommend this show to anyone interested in a romance/drama/music manga. Even if you don't typically like one of the tags, give this manga a try - you won't regret it!

Kotos connect the heart of the players and the audience

\- Satowa Hozuki.
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Pratypus
100/100
Kono Oto Tomare! The Sounds of Life….
Hello Everyone We are so back, I haven't wrote a review in almost a year, my first ever review on this site was about [Yotsuba&!](https://anilist.co/review/32898), although my skills as a reviewer isn't as good as I would have liked, I still have that feeling of writing on my favourite manga of all time. As of me typing this, there are currently 156 chapters and the series would end in 2 chapters from now, when the time comes I will update on the conclusion when it ends but before that I wanted to talk about how I feel about the series as a whole, **this is also spoiler review.** There is a lot of things I appreciated as a reader When I first read the manga 2 years ago, I still find this the best premise of the manga I’ve read so far, yes it is a very basic premise but in the long run it truly makes a huge difference in my opinion, it takes place in Tokise High School’s Koto (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument) club. Takezo Kurata, the only member left after the start of the new year, is desperately trying to recruit members to keep the Koto Club from being disbanded. In his dedication to the promise he made to his seniors to keep the club alive, Kurata runs into the most unexpected of applicants: a delinquent who was rumored to have been charged with criminal activity, Chika Kudo. However, the surprises are far from over - a few days later, Kurata receives an application from a Koto prodigy, Satowa Hozuki. Through the chaotic interaction between this unlikely combination of characters, the Tokise High School’s Koto Club begins to take on a new shape for better or for worse. We meet a lot of new members in the process, Chika’s friends: Adachi, Kouta and Michitaka, Then Takezo’s classmate Hiro, who really had a hard time getting used to the club, her initial impression wasn’t positive but as the series progressed she truly shines as one of the best characters in the manga for me, just by their first performance alone, it truly struck me as a reader and I knew this series would change my life forever the moment I read that first performance, it moved me so much, there’s so many moments that make you feel like you can relate to what they went through in their lives - - - When it comes to the instructors, I personally think this is as good as they get Suzuki Takinami: He’s one of the best characters in this manga for me, his background wasn’t the strongest and that applies to any character in this manga, the fact that we learn his background as we progressed, his parents were renowned musicians, he was never interested in playing music but his passion for the club is really powerful to me, him wanting to write music notes and giving general advice towards the club while leaving the koto teaching to Akira. his smile means so much to me…. - - - Akira Doujima: Another Club instructor who has a really strong connection towards the Koto Instrument, her background is quite messed up, before that her brother was very passionate about koto and he really loved playing it, but after their parents passed away, things changed drastically, her brother decided to stop playing the koto, abandoning his promise to become a koto player, dropped out of college so that he can financially support Akira and his grandmother, Akira’s growth after meeting the club members, her initial thoughts were not positive towards them, but by golly they made me love her so much, it feels so natural, her friendship towards the club is really powerful that it just made me tear up the moment I read the performances, it truly makes the club members complete with Akira and Suzuki by their side… - - - When it comes to the Heart of the manga, it’s honestly the Koto club, each and every member is done so well here that I honestly couldn’t tell you who I like the most, even the newer members like Yoshinaga and Momoya have their moments to shine and they’re so well written, from the performances to the writing is just on point, there’s so much of chemistry, so much of love and passion that this author has for the series, it feels like a love letter to me personally. Hozuki and the others truly makes the series so special to me, her and Chika really have that strong chemistry between each other and it makes me feel so lively in my heart, her relationship with her mother wasn’t very positive, she moved out after her performance she did when she was just 15 due to her playing a different tune, after that things really changed when her mother finally accepted her again in the family after listening to the nationals qualifier performance… The motivation Chika and Hozuki have together feels so genuine towards each other and it really signifies the manga for me - - - My only gripe with the main story is the whole Uzuki conflict, while I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing since it does fit his character, but I did find it a bit cliche myself, because he wanted Chika for himself and he was the one who destroyed Chika’s grandfather’s house and Chika was later to be blamed for that, but later after Chika finally confronting Uzuki’s gang members, I think this can be forgiven for me because it really does give Uzuki a redemption arc and he does get pretty good after his arc, which is why I’m not so negative about it. Before his grandfather’s passing he told his daughter to take care of Chika, since Chika’s father was a very busy man and he wasn’t able to take care of his son and he wasn’t in good terms with Chika after his mother left him, he told one thing to Chika that truly just completes Chika’s character. The club members all stood up for Chika and this arc ends on a strong bond between the characters. I honestly really love this arc despite that small nitpick I have. Tetsuki Takaoka is also one of the best supporting characters in this series for me, it really deepens his and Chika’s long term friendship and it really makes things lively to read - - - I also like that the series focuses on other schools, especially Ichiei High school, it gives that strong impression on their performances and some of their backstories were really well presented and well implemented, it gives our club a lot of confidence and motivation in doing a way better performance than their opponents Some of the other nationals performance panels, these really show that the author is not holding back When it comes to the best one, oh my god there is so many moments that feels so REAL, the art work is incredible it gradually keeps getting better every chapter I read and these pages are just breathtaking to view These ones are my personal favorites, it really shows the bond these two had for a very long time….and also the cast being so powerful - - - In my personal opinion, I have experienced many series that doesn’t even come close to what this manga has to offer, it’s a very satisfying read, one of the greatest series I’ve ever experienced and I don’t think I’ll ever experience that same feeling in a very long time, I recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a read, trust me, it is a very amazing read "The koto connects the hearts of the players and the audience. I believe it embodies this."
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