Kono Oto Tomare! Part 2

In both the anime: 1. Slice of life and comedy is quite similar. 2. Protagonists are high schoolers. 3. Female protagonists are strong characters. 4. Female protagonists are concerned about their mothers. 5. Male protagonists are shy and can't express love easily. 6. Male protagonists are loved by their friends and saved by female protagonists. 7. Friendship scenes are worth watching in both the series. 

Both have incredibly similar premises, I'm surprised it hasn't been recommended yet. -Lead character(s) begin music-related activity with little to no previous experience or really any knowledge of what they were getting in to. -Taught/trained by mentors with national-level talent. -Enter tournaments that potentially lead to higher level tournaments. -Lead(s) are more naturally talented than other beginners in some areas, but struggle in others. -Naturally talented characters are able to learn something about each activity and themselves through the beginners. -Main characters of both shows are mainly first-year high school students. -Shades of potential romance in the background that slightly influence the story, but doesn't play a huge role.  

- Japanese classical instrument. - High Schoolers. - Group competitions. - Veteran that has to grow as a musician and a group of rookies. - A lot of crying and comedy gags. - Mysterious rival. - Irritating female rival. 

Both shows are music-themed and have a great story and character development. Kono Oto Tomare has a pretty slow development at the start but it's necessary. It really starts shining in 2nd season of the show. 

Both animes involve unusual topics (Koto instrument and fashion industry) that aren't mainstream and where most people are simply not interested. However, despite these unusual topics, all the characters from both shows have a passion to achieve their goals against many obstacles. The characters' passion, dedication and enthusiasm draws in the viewers and makes us cheer for them every step of the way. Highly underrated shows in their receptive seasons.  

Both were sequels that involves the club members continuous struggle to be on top.  

Both anime are centered around students in a specific Japanese style school club (Karuta and Koto) and both start feeling like "real" romance anime from these seasons onward. The various connections between characters start to get deeper and the story slips somewhat into the background and relationships come forth.