One anime series that is criminally underappreciated at the moment is the traditional Japanese music series, Kono Oto Tomare. Hopefully, that will change in the very near future, because earlier this week it was announced that the series would be getting a second cour, starting on October 5!
Based on the manga of the same name, created by author Amyu, it has been serialized since August 2012 in Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine. It currently has 20 volumes in print in Japan, with the most recent having been released in April, 2019. The first twelve-episode anime cour was animated by studio Platinum Vision (Devils’ Line, Saiyuki Reload Blast, Servamp).
Also announced were details regarding Kono Oto Tomare’s second opening and ending theme songs. Starting with the second cour, the new opening theme song will be a song titled “Harmony” performed by Shouta Aoi, who happens to be the actress behind the character Mio Kanzaki. The new ending theme does not have a title as of yet but it will be performed by the actor behind the character Chika Kudo.
The story for this series is a sweet one, all about redemption from one’s previous self and learning lessons about moving on with your life. At the start of the series, the setting is Tokise High School, which has a koto club that is down to its last remaining member, a second-year student named Takezo Kurata.
Desperate for new members to keep the club open, Kurata is willing to accept anyone who wants to learn how to play the traditional Japanese string instrument. What he finds, however, is a first-year with a reputation as a delinquent named Chika Kudo and a musical prodigy named Satowa Hozuki. At first, Kurata is unsure about these new members (particularly Kudo) but after learning about their histories and upbringing, he welcomes them along with various other new members who all join for their own reasons.
Now Kurata must figure out how to not only make the club members harmonize with their instruments but also with each other as they aim to win the national koto championships!
Via Ota-suke
