English Dub Review: Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life “Their Determination”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The koto club has a new instructor! But it’s not someone they were expecting. No, the new koto tutor is Miss Akira Dojima, the new protege who took Hozuki’s place at the Satowa School. Though suspicious of her at first, the club members decide to take her offer of help seriously until she shows them otherwise.

Meanwhile, Grandmother Dojima instructs Akira to tear down the club’s confidence as quickly as she can. She’s doing a good job, showing them how terrible they are even at playing the basics. But there’s one thing she didn’t count on: these club members are serious about wanting to improve. In the end, Akira still can’t believe that Hozuki left the school for this club, but she might be coming around to understanding.

Our Take:

After last week’s episode where Hozuki confronted her past, the past is now coming to confront her on her own turf. That’s right, Akira Dojima is the latest person trying to infiltrate the koto club. It’s a fairly unsurprising episode, but it was still entertaining due to how interesting Akira’s motivations are, and it’s nice to see the club members respond with resilience in the face of her rude criticisms. Chika especially put aside his pride in order to learn, and Satowa does the same.

Though this episode wasn’t very exciting in the traditional sense of the word, there was one big surprise at the beginning when Mr. Takinami brought Akira in to be the club’s new instructor. To be fair, it wasn’t exactly his idea. It’s pretty obvious that she’s got ulterior motives for teaching when she is a young up and coming player who is dedicating two days a week of koto instruction for free of her own free will. Akira is a person with a hard exterior to breakthrough. While she’s with her grandmother, she plays a diligent, dutiful granddaughter. While she’s with the club, she pretends to be a strict, but supportive instructor. It’s only when she’s alone that we see her true self come out – she thinks all this business with sabotaging the club is annoying. Basically, the reason she is teaching them isn’t that she necessarily is going along with her grandmother’s plan to sabotage them. It’s more like she has no idea why Satowa would give up her place at the school to be with these losers.

Her tone with them is very harsh from the get-go, and it’s clear to see why Hiro and Kota are so defensive at first. When questioned about her talent when compared with Hozuki, she informs them that she was in the competition where Hozuki played Tenkyu as well – and she went home with the win. It’s a great little moment of understanding. She’s better than all of them, and she has the power to help or hinder the club’s chances at Nationals. Satowa herself understands this, as does Chika. Their response to her arrival shows how mature they’ve grown to become. Hozuki, in particular, is so kind and open to teaching that Akira can’t quite believe she’s serious about wanting more practice on the basics.

This week’s dub was good, with some nice performances from everyone. Akira’s arrival allows for more drama, and the cast delivers accordingly. “People cry for different reasons. It doesn’t have to be limited to sadness.” Mr. Takinami possesses a surprisingly mature perspective on embracing tears. “So awesome! We were like dominos!” The contrast between this joke and his request to Akira later shows how much range Chika gets in this episode. “I bet you anything she’s trying to mess up our club; just like I was before!” Hiro is suspicious because she used to be suspicious of herself! “Is it possible that none of you realize how muddled your sounds are?” Akira isn’t used to teaching other less-talented people, and I think Takinami is keeping a close eye on her. “Good thing he’s so dense.” Gotta end with Hiro barely surviving being seated close to Takezo… that romance is still hanging on.

Their Determination shows the koto club doing what they’re best at overcoming how terrible they are. Akira’s arrival poses a severe threat to the club, but also she could be their ticket to improving. This dynamic makes for a tense episode that kept me on the edge of my seat. Chika and the others showed her just how committed they are, and she’s beginning to see what Hozuki sees in them. As for what Akira’s plan is moving forward, I’m not sure even she knows. But I’m excited to find out next week.