(L) Kiniro no Corda (La Corda d'Oro) ~ primo passo ~

[domino]

Starting a thread for the Kiniro no Corda anime that will be airing later this year!

This is a shoujo anime based on a shoujo video game about music. The game was also adapted into a manga. The manga will be released in English by Viz later this year (October 2006).

Summary of the manga (from AnimeNewsNetwork):
Kahoko Hino's high school is sperated into ordinary classes and music classes. Kahoko, who is in the ordinary classes, is nominated to enter into a music contest after meeting Lily, the music fairy, who gives her a magic violin. Thus her step into the music world begins as she interacts with the other contestants.

I haven't read the manga yet but I've heard nothing but good things. The series looks beautiful. And since it's about music, the music in the anime should be great! (I first heard about it after listening to the game's beautiful soundtrack).

The official site for this anime just opened here, though there isn't much there yet.

2006 has been a great year for shoujo! The trend will continue ~ ^_^

[domino]

Official site now has content! Yay.

Voice cast:

Takagi Reiko (main character)
Itou Kentarou
Kishio Daisuke
Fukuyama Jun
Taniyama Kishou
Morita Masakazu
Mizuhashi Kaori

The opening theme will be done by Kanon. I look forward to this series' OST, since it's been awhile since I've seen an anime about music. And I don't think I've EVER seen an anime about classical music-style instruments instead of a pop or rock band.

The ending theme will be by the main cast of characters, each playing the instrument the character plays in the series. They are calling this group the "stella quintet".


Viz has also opened its page for the English version of the manga here. It comes out October 3rd under the Shoujo Beat label.

On September 20th a character album will be released (probably more to come in the future, since this album is numbered).

[domino]

Air date was announced!

This anime will begin October 1.

I recently started playing the game and it's very cute so I can't wait to see these characters animated. It's very sad that there are no English websites ANYWHERE for this series... I should make one... T^T

And more news:

Characters page was updated with new characters:

Fuyuumi Shouko (voice: Satou Aki)
Amou Nami (voice: Masuda Yuki)
Kanazawa Hiroto (voice: Ishikawa Hideo)
Ohsaki Shinobu (voice: Konishi Katsuyuki)

[eggplant]

Being based on a game for women, with a comic adaption serialized in a shoujo magazine, I didn't think Kiniro no Corda would be the kind of show I would see interest in.

Spoiler for Episode 1:

But upon viewing episode one, I'll gladly take back whatever sterotypical thoughts I had. I suppose the abundance of bishies made me think this was going to be another Angelique, but the character of the protagonist Kahoko really stands out, due to the wonderful voice acting job by Takagi Reiko (probably most famous for her Kaolla Su role in Love Hina). And the fairy Lili wan't as annoying as he looked like, although being voiced by Mizuhashi Kaori definitely had Aria-shachou percussion going through my head.

Best of all, the music is promising, starting out with the wonderful opening song by Kanon. The animation can only seek to improve, especially with the instrument playing scenes (or else it'll just be compared to ENOZ from Suzumiya Haruhi).

With Yoshida Reiko in the wings as the series composer, I can only be optimistic about the future storyline. Looks like we already have a good title for the fall season.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Well, that was fun! Maybe it's just the thrill of seeing the first new show of the season, but I agree completely with eggplant's praise. It will take me a while to distinguish the bishies from one another, but I'll certainly be watching next week.

It seems a standard plot, but that could be said of anime in every genre -- mecha, game conversion, monster-of-the-week -- not just shoujo. I can easily let myself be carried along on the emotional tide. The OP was wonderful. I do wish there was more classical feeling in the BGM, but I'm sure performances in the story will fill that gap.

The animation is definitely so-so -- reminds me of Angelique, for many reasons. But there are some good voices and the feelings are very nice. Takagi Reiko as the lead communicates those shoujo feelings beautifully.

Yoshida Reiko does give me confidence, being involved in the writing of so many good shows: Marimite, School Rumble, Scrapped Princess, Saiunkoku, Shinigami no Ballad, REC, Blood+, etc., etc. She did do series composition for Canvas2, but I won't hold that against her. The series was quite good until that last episode.

By the way, don't be afraid to read eggplant's spoiler. It doesn't give anything away, really, and he has some interesting things to say.

[Omniscient]

Episode 01 Screencaps and Summary

Spoiler:

Mixed feelings about the first episode, mainly from the fact that I wasn't originally planning on watching this. The premiere was decent, has a great OP, and a few funny moments along with a few classic shoujo moments. It looks like this story might take a little while to get going.

[SinsI]

The story in episode one was OK, but that disgusting hyper-bishounen fanservice really put me off.

[Srin Tuar]

Originally Posted by SinsI

The story in episode one was OK, but that disgusting hyper-bishounen fanservice really put me off.

I felt to me like a cross between Ouran host club and a theme show. (some are themed around cooking, this one is themed around classical music)

The main thing that worries me is that the main character is starting from zero musical inclinatian and zero motivation. No matter how successful she is, it'll be hard to sympathize or cheer for her.

I don't know if I'll follow this one or not, because there are so many series to choose from, but I'll give it a shot at least

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Srin Tuar

The main thing that worries me is that the main character is starting from zero musical inclinatian and zero motivation. No matter how successful she is, it'll be hard to sympathize or cheer for her.

Hikaru no Go? Kahoko no Violin?

Anyway, watched first episode. Seems like a standard shoujo-cheese flick with some minor twist here and there. I suppose the next 1 or 2 episodes will decide for me if this show will have any amiable value for me to keep watching. As of Ep.1, meh.

[domino]

Originally Posted by SinsI

The story in episode one was OK, but that disgusting hyper-bishounen fanservice really put me off.

There was no fanservice at all, really. The men are attractive, of course, but that's because it's based off of a dating sim. But the girls are equally vibrant and attractive, so does that mean there was bishoujo fanservice too? It's a shoujo series, so of course EVERYONE is going to look unusually pretty.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the first episode! (but then again I played the game it was based on before seeing this so seeing the characters/events/settings come to life was more than enough to make me excited through the whole thing)

I was worried that it would be too plain, but they really did a good job.

The music is beautiful. I love classical instruments and music. Watching the characters play them is so nice~ (reminds me of the bubbly feeling I got when watching Tamaki play the piano in Ouran High).

The animation is excellent (especially for a shoujo series! Shoujo anime done this well are so rare!). The art is just my cup of tea, too -- the art is sharp and attractive. It's a happy medium that's perfect for me. A style that's not-too-cutesy while not-too-realistic. Eyes, hair, and motion are all animated fluidly throughout the entire episode.

The characters look dull and generic at first but are all quite likable. Their personalities shine and intrigue me. They even made the fairy more likable than he was in the game! So cute~ TwT

I enjoyed this a lot! Please, someone... for the love of shoujo, SUB THIS! *beg*

Looks like this will be perfect for filling the empty void left by Ouran High ending...

(oh, by the way: the first volume of the manga was JUST released in English by Viz this week. Did Viz time it like this on purpose, I wonder...?!)

Video previews:
Commercial
Anime Opening
Commercial for the video game

[SinsI]

There was no fanservice at all, really. The men are attractive, of course, but that's because it's based off of a dating sim.

And that's why it's FULL of fanservice.

But the girls are equally vibrant and attractive, so does that mean there was bishoujo fanservice too? It's a shoujo series, so of course EVERYONE is going to look unusually pretty.

This anime goes far beyond the level of "unusuall pretty". It's not just the characters being unusually pretty - the girls look normal, but the guys are way-over-the-top "Moe" (c) Renge. It's the whole method of displaying them like some kind of male *jigolos, they totally look like they can start confessing their love at any moment.

*had another similar word here, but self-censored to make it less harsh.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I agree with domino. Is it "disgusting" to have pretty girls in a harem anime? In that genre, the term "fanservice" is reserved for pantsu and other more obvious tricks, rather than just a particular style of beauty. Sounds like an anti-shoujo double standard to me.

[rant which may or may not be relevant here begins]I see a lot of anti-shoujo prejudice around. The term "generic shoujo" is tossed around by people who are fans of what I would consider generic mecha, generic magical girl, generic monster-of-the-week, or some other genre that they like and I don't. In general, I find shoujo anime psychologically deeper and more interesting than most other genres, dealing with subtle feelings and relationships rather than boring fights among cardboard characters.[/rant]

Having just watched ep1 again to check that I didn't see anything excessive about the male beauty portrayed, I want to alter some things I said before. The animation is not bad, and there are some very good sequences. And the background music is better than I thought. I'm not thinking of this show as a classic or anything, but I'll certainly keep watching for a while.

[Nightengale]

I know it's not specifically targeted to anyone, but I'll just say my bit.

I'm not sure how profound the overall idea is behind this particular shoujo series, but what I find it discerning about the first episode is really the vibes more so than anything else. I have zero problem with male harems and while I don't like it's stock shoujo anime style for it's characters, it's acceptable. The music is still okay as of this point, but I need more to set it's standard. My fear of this rises from how the impression of shoujo-ism seems to pour out from every production aspect of this anime, especially that scene. I've been a firm believer that shoujo anime needs not emphasis the sparkles and the flowers of the shoujo-ish scenes, and this does just that.

I'm asking those who know this particular series well, what kind of shoujo will this be? The "overcome obstacles to achieve true love" kind, the more normal kind or simple reverse harem?

[itzfurrball]

yeah, I can sneer at the bishie characters all I want, but I think Kahoko's classmates are cute, so I guess I shouldn't talk
anyway, I hope it's going to focus more on music from now on.. it has potential
I'll keep watching it because of this and because it made me chuckle

[kari-no-sugata]

I thought the first ep was fine. However, I don't think it has much staying power as a story. I can already visualise how most of the series is going to go, based on ep 1 and ep 2 preview...

PS I have nothing against "shoujo" stories. My current favourite manga is shoujo manga after all (though I mostly read shounen/seinen)

[SinsI]

I have nothing agains shoujo either, currently greatly enjoying saiunkoku monogatari and kodomo no omocha (now, there were those "unusually pretty" characters there?), I generally judge series by the story but this one gave me the same feeling of tastlessness in fanservice as some bad yaoi doujinshi. Hell, I even managed to stomach the whole Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique (TV) and it wasn't that bad in there...
My impression might be greatly influenced by Ouran Host Club - after all, they completly ridiculed exactly those types of characters - and here we have someone that is trying to portrait them seriously.

[Srin Tuar]

Originally Posted by nightengale

Hikaru no Go? Kahoko no Violin?

Hrm, are they similar to this show?
I havent seen either of them myself.

Originally Posted by kaoru

Sounds like an anti-shoujo double standard to me.

Just to be fair Kaoru, not all shoujo are dating sims where you have a gallery of bishies
Though it would feel like it was missing something if there werent at least a few of them

Originally Posted by domino

There was no fanservice at all, really.

I suppose that depends on how you define it.
I think catching her when she was about to fall down the stairs is a form of "service" or this show. (whenever they go slow motion and show stars and bubbles everywhere) At least
its completely inoffensive, whereas some people are bothered by panchira.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Srin Tuar

Hrm, are they similar to this show?
I havent seen either of them myself.

LOL, I was joking on the context of how Hikaru no Go had a Heain period ghost who teached an uninterested modern kid in Go, while apparently this one had a fairy giving a deus ex machina violin and will most like ignite self-learning interest of music in Kahoko.

Can't believe you've never seen Hikaru no Go. You need to check it out. It's about a board game, but trust me, everyone who was skeptical was blown away.

Most shoujos sport overly beautiful bishounens. It's just that male-dating sims with male harems seem to turn most people away even when it's technically no different from harem shows. I suppose the stairs scene is "shoujo fanservice", but c'mon, those sparkly flower slow-mo effects are meant either for really romantic scenes or manga, because shoujo needs flower effects every 2 pages. I hardly consider catching her before she fell romantic, especially since nothing started yet.

[gknight]

chance for shounen ai? ^^"

[ashefatal]

Well this seems like a show I'll be watching, the animation for me was pleasant enough, and plus....it's been a long while since I watched some shoujo anime . lol