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Let me begin by saying I've been waiting for this movie for a little more than 4 months, so although there is bound to be some bias in this review I will try to keep it as balanced as possible and write as if the anticipation was less. I will also try my best to include as little spoilers as possible, but if you have yet watched the trailer, you might get spoiled in the smaller parts

Plot - 10/10
As you might have read in the synopsis, Josee met Tsuneo by a chance encounter (check out trailer if you want to know what happened) and decides ... that despite her disabilities, she wants to see the outside world. If you have seen the trailer beforehand, you will know that both of them sneaked out when her grandmother took her naps, and they explored the world Josee had never seen or had not seen for quite a long time. It was during those times that she experienced more of the outside world, an experience that she found very exciting and scary at the same time.

I think the best part of the movie was when everything goes wrong, one after another. I know there is bound to be people who say something along the lines of "oh, but the climax was cliché" and I won't say they are wrong. But the way it is depicted in this tale is not very usual, and some scenes forces you to try sympathize with the characters due to how heartbreaking the implications and the events can get. Also, I can safely say that this is the only movie in which the storytelling of a children's book can be phrased in a way that makes the audience very emotional, so look forward to that.

Art - 9/10
The art in this movie is average at best. If you have seen Garden of Words or Your Name, then you might feel that the art in this movie is mediocre. This is where I disagree. The art serves as a support for the plot that we are paying our money for, and the art in this movie actually supports the plot well. You will not find yourself feeling left out by the characters who look so unrealistic that they seem to be of a different world. In fact, you might actually be drawn to the characters because the art makes them feel real, and the fact that a simplistic art style makes it feel realistic is a selling point of a movie.

Sound - 10/10
Now many people might be reviewing this based on the ending song Ao no Waltz by Eve since the Eve music video in Youtube had been very popular before the movie's release and had been the reason why many people watched the movie in the first place. While that song itself was good, we can't discount the fact that you only get to hear that during the last few minutes of the movie. So instead I will share about the ambient sounds and the speech patterns of characters in the movie.

The sounds in the movie are engineered in a manner that will leave you breathless. Some scenes include a lot of atmospheric noises which will improve the already realistic feel of the movie, while others uses the strength of silence to emphasize the feelings each character holds true within themselves. The way each characters spoke really reflects what is actually on their minds, rather than the words they actually used and the message they actually tried to deliver.

Character - 9/10
In terms of character development, I feel that it was done in a rushed manner and although it explains every character, their personalities, and their behaviors well, it does not give you time to process the string of information. However, I can’t say that it was done in a bad manner, it isn't. The main goal of this rapid development is actually to let you immerse yourself in their world and experience and understand more about the characters with the characters themselves. Confused?

Let me give you a rundown of my argument. Would you find watching a movie which tells everything you need to know about a character or one that makes you go in the same pace as the characters? I think the fact that we do not know everything about a character is realistic in the sense that, in the real world, we do not know everything about people we interact with, and instead only know what had been displayed by that person.

As for the characters themselves, there is not many to talk about, but there is much to talk about them, but I won't, you have to see for yourselves. There are some you hate but will grow on you, some you enjoy looking at, and some you might loath so much because of how rigid their minds work. It is this good blend that reflects how the real world actually is, and that’s how the movie makes its characters so relatable and not flat.

Enjoyment - 10/10
Won't go into too much details here since I've been waiting for this movie and it’s only natural that I will enjoy myself. However, in the theatres I was watching at, people cheered at the end of the movie so I guess it was enjoyable enough even if you watched it without any background information.

Overall - 10/10
Summary of this review, it's worth it to watch. Give it a shot.

This is one of the best anime I have ever watched due to the issues it addresses. Unfortunately, seeing the MAL reviews made me think that not many viewers understand what it is trying to achieve, resulting in them getting bored and criticising the show in a biased manner. There is little to no relatability in the plot itself, but I think the best part about this show is that it tries its best to make the said issues more relatable and more literal. For example, Mai being invisible is a very visual representation of how a person who is not seen by people behave ... and feel.

Also, many reviews say that the anime itself hints towards more disturbing and darker aspects of being a teen. In my opinion, those 'hints' are more personal to each viewer and how you interpret certain things may not be how everyone interprets those. For example, there are certain things that may seem normal in those parts or normal to some people, but disturbing or erotic Ito another. There is not a single review that is not biased, as it is trying to depict the show in the viewer’s perspective in relation to his/her own personal experiences. Not even this review is unbiased, myself having my own experiences when I watched this show

Having said that, I think that the show deserves quite the praise, from having a really smooth art style, to the way it addresses certain issues faced by various teens. As for music, I am not really a fan of the OP and ED since it is just not my genre. However, the characters are the true highlights of this show. We have characters from various backgrounds, each facing his/her problems and each behaving in the way that is appropriate for a person their age.

I would highly recommend watching this if you like to see problems faced by teens being solved repeatedly.

I did a review on the first season. I did it for both seasons so might as well copy paste:

When i first heard of Kono Oto Tomare, I was quite curious as to how the anime would fare in comparison to Your Lie In April. I am thoroughly surprised at how the story developed, and simply how deep each character development is. The prejudice that hovers around each character is slowly but surely unpacked and what you get is a masterpiece in terms of character development.

Unlike Your Lie In April, there are just so many competitors which viewers might adore and despise in the Koto ... Club's journey to the Nationals. Some of the issues that are addressed very well in Your Lie In April are also explored and addressed beautifully in Kono Oto Tomare, from parental expectations to not liking one's own play in music.

As for music, Kono Oto Tomare excels in depicting how beautiful Koto music is. Having listened to Guzheng performances, I can say for sure that the music played is very emotional even when compared directly to live performances. To be honest, 2 distinctive performance were so beautiful they actually brought me to tears.

The art in Kono Oto Tomare is not perfect, yet exceptional. Everything is depicted beautifully, even the not-so-beautiful scenes to watch. The character art ranged from realistic styles, to cartoony styles when it comes to the funny parts.

The story is what makes this one of the best animes I have ever watched. The plot in which the characters get involved in also involves the viewers experiences just because it is just so relatable. Unlike the special circumstances in Your Lie In April which doesn't allow Kyousei to listen to his own pieces, everything in this anime is relatable.

The journey in the anime is one of the best I have ever seen. As a matter of fact, I love this anime more than Your Lie In April. Would really recommend you to give this a shot. You will be absorbed in the first few episodes, that I can guarantee

When i first heard of Kono Oto Tomare, I was quite curious as to how the anime would fare in comparison to Your Lie In April. I am thoroughly surprised at how the story developed, and simply how deep each character development is. The prejudice that hovers around each character is slowly but surely unpacked and what you get is a masterpiece in terms of character development.

Unlike Your Lie In April, there are just so many competitors which viewers might adore and despise in the Koto Club's journey to the Nationals. Some of the issues that are addressed very well in Your Lie In April ... are also explored and addressed beautifully in Kono Oto Tomare, from parental expectations to not liking one's own play in music.

As for music, Kono Oto Tomare excels in depicting how beautiful Koto music is. Having listened to Guzheng performances, I can say for sure that the music played is very emotional even when compared directly to live performances. To be honest, 2 distinctive performance were so beautiful they actually brought me to tears.

The art in Kono Oto Tomare is not perfect, yet exceptional. Everything is depicted beautifully, even the not-so-beautiful scenes to watch. The character art ranged from realistic styles, to cartoony styles when it comes to the funny parts.

The story is what makes this one of the best animes I have ever watched. The plot in which the characters get involved in also involves the viewers experiences just because it is just so relatable. Unlike the special circumstances in Your Lie In April which doesn't allow Kyousei to listen to his own pieces, everything in this anime is relatable.

The journey in the anime is one of the best I have ever seen. As a matter of fact, I love this anime more than Your Lie In April. Would really recommend you to give this a shot. You will be absorbed in the first few episodes, that I can guarantee