https://anilist.co/anime/103302/KonoOtoTomareSoundsofLife/ I like music. There are so many instruments musical pieces that I dont 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 next unheard Japanese instrument. But theres one thing I really dont 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 thats mainly because the characters talk saying it out loud or monologuing themselves about someones 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 ejection. These are just my made up examples not really from some music Anime I hope but these dont sound like some artistic metaphors or beautiful language its just cringe. If the music is really that impressive or if some character really has such talent then Let their music speak for itself. Now I know that it isnt quite possible and that partly comes from the reason these Anime are adaptations of Manga where the only elements they have are art story and their talent. Since manga is restricted to not having any music the mangaka try their hardest to convey the essence of the music or instrument via mesmerizing art or some storytelling techniques but even then technically speaking they cant create music. But in Anime you have voice acting to let the musicians express their thoughts animation to make the movement of the instruments feel more lifelike and most of all you can add music. Anime is far from any restrictions to hold back but theyre still adapting the Manga and thats where the problem seems to arise. Theyre still adapting those metaphors and other restrictions that are imbedded in the manga when I think its not necessary to do so. Worse theyre adapting these dialogues right in the middle of someones performance. Its like youre listening to music but your noisy friend is constantly shouting right beside you. Its annoying. Kono Oto Tomare is the same it does all these things I dont like. But there are also moments I really like that dont stick to complaints I had above. Mild Spoilers Theres an episode where our gang are finally giving their first performance in front of all the students. And towards the end of that episode theres this moment where the Anime plays the Dragon Meteor Shower the piece the characters wanted to play in the background while showing the memories these characters made on the screen WITHOUT any dialogue. This one moment really feels powerful quite literally can give goosebumps. While I was amazed by the audiovisual storytelling here I also wondered why they havent used the same method during the remaining moments. Mild Spoilers End I kinda understand that also use metaphors to make viewers get certain meaning that might not reach them but I much prefer if they did that at the end instead of forcefully including them during musical scenes. Strings of the same instrument The characters are not that impressive really. Chika is your tsundere husbando whos suffering with not having any talent a harsh past Hozuki is your tsundere waifu whos suffering with too much talent a harsh past Kurata is a weak club president who shows growth but can be found annoying Kurusu is a lot more annoying with a harsh past but grows out of it and the rest of the cast are literally there to fill the space they say that themselves but gets some moments because...well theyre MC friends after all. Art The art style is beautiful. They add this smooth texture to the character faces during music performances which elevates the scene a bit and which is where the Anime really gets good. Apart from that there are few moments where they add some pencil lines on character faces to create some intensity supposedly generated due to the intense music. I like the idea but that didnt worked well. Its more awkward than intense because it definitely wasnt conveyed the intensity its trying to create. The flashback scenes worked pretty well though still generic. Conclusion Overall its alright. Not the best in music or drama but definitely have some moments. Hopefully it gets better in S2.