English Dub Review: Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life “A Step Forward”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Tokise High School koto club’s performance started off terribly. Kudo’s hurt hand cost them big time, but they were able to recover in the second half of their performance. That’s still not enough to sway the judges, though. They messed up their one performance, and so they don’t get to advance. There’s some good that comes from it, however. Chika and Satowa become closer due to Kazusa’s meddling. And the club advisor Mr. Takinami really saves the day with his consolation speech. They may not have played the way they wanted to, but they know there’s a lot more to come for them if they stick with it. (After a month of recovery for Chika’s hand, of course.)

Our Take:

Kono Oto Tomare! is back, and I’m glad. It’s going to be nice to relax to some calming koto music during this school semester. These kids don’t get to do much relaxing in the season two premiere, though. Most of the episode is spent dwelling on the aftermath of their performance, with consequences abounding. Chika will be out for at least a month due to his hand. They’ve attracted the attention of Mio, a very odd dude from Hakuta High School. And Kazusa resolves to only become stronger after her club’s loss and her argument with Chika.

Chika is actually one of my big issues with this episode. He’s still not telling the truth about the extent of his injury and how it happened. I think his motivation now is protecting Kurusu from the knowledge that she caused his accident, but at this point, I feel like he should just be honest! The performance is over; it doesn’t matter now. Betraying the trust of your entire club is a much bigger deal than potentially making Kurusu feel a little guilty. What’s worse is that Takezo helps cover up the truth. If you can’t trust the club president, who can you trust? And then Mr. Takinami makes things even shadier? I’m glad we can move past this incident. Although with how much of a big deal they’re making about the cover-up, I wouldn’t be surprised if the truth gets out down the line and causes a breach in trust.

Another big moment was Chika’s showdown with Kazusa. The girl is horrified at how Satowa’s notes have altered their sound since the last time she heard her. They’re not as strikingly singular. But Chika counters that he prefers the new, “gentler” style of playing. Kazusa knows that Satowa would never have gotten to this point without her current club, and storms off. Meanwhile, Satowa was listening to the whole time, and she blushingly thanks Chika for sticking up for her, then throws a whole bundle of strawberry treats at him. Grabbing his shirt and feeding him snacks? Needless to say, this is basically getting to third base for an anime character. They’re growing relationship will definitely be something to watch going forward.

A couple of other people who stood out to me this episode was Mio and Mr. Takinami. I don’t think Mio was introduced to us last season, but he certainly makes an impression here. His maniacal laughter and borderline creepy obsession with Chika don’t bode well. I’m curious if he’ll become a disciple of his, or maybe sink into an antagonistic role. Mr. Takinami sure has changed from his antagonistic bent in the first season. He gives the group what almost amounts to a pep talk for him, leaving them crying happy tears of resolve to do better next time.

The dub starts off well this week, with nice performances from all the leads. Meg McClain also did a commendable job showing Kazusa’s frustrations and anger at Chika, her schoolmates, and herself. A few highlights from the dub: “First, don’t roll around on the floor. Second, it’s our turn next, so calm down!” Mio’s maniacal laughter was spooky. “I had an even worse case of the runs than I thought, so I couldn’t focus and dragged down you guys.” Kudou is the worst at coming up with excuses. “Not until you recover, you don’t.” The doctor who treats Chika is so sassy; I thoroughly enjoyed him. “I need to buy some strawberry flavored snacks – so I’ll take them all!” Hozuki’s concern for Chika is touching. “It wasn’t how the Satowa I know would have played! I admired her tones so much, but you amateurs have defiled them!” Kazusa’s speech packed a punch. I hope she finds happiness by the end of the show – even if it seems obvious it won’t be with Satowa. “I’m so nervous! Can’t I just not hear the results?” Kota’s nerves are cute. Glad to see him return in proper form.

A Step Forward reintroduces us to our cast and their goals in a pretty satisfying way. While there wasn’t a whole lot of action and there were a lot of people talking about how good musical performances were (I’d rather hear it myself and be impressed), we got a lot of insight into side characters like Kazusa, Mio, and Mr. Takinami. I can’t wait to see how they all intersect and collide with the main cast in the future. And speaking of the future… The next competition is the national qualifier. And you can bet your koto that the club will come ready to play.