[wontaek]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I don't see the anime Corda D'Oro (Kin-iro no Corda) mentioned in this thread. It just includes bits of some well-known concert pieces, but they seem fairly well played to me, and it really conveys a love of music. Or I should say "conveyed" since the broadcasts just ended. I don't think there is a sub. It's a shoujo reverse harem in which the main girl gets a magic violin and takes part in a competition with several talented boys at a high school specializing in music. After the end credits of each episode there is a little bit of music education for children. I think this show is going to encourage some kids to play -- or to keep playing.

I will speak my personal reason why I was disappointed with the Corda D'Oro and decided not to watch beyond ep.1 of the anime and book 4 of the manga. It is very likely most people will be puzzled at why I am so critical of an enjoyable anime series, but when it comes to 'classical' music, it is hard for me to think like common folks.

Spoiler for if you do want to read my complaint:

1. The manga series dragged somewhat, and the focus became more about whom should the girl be coupled with, instead of how each approached the music piece they were to play. Other than the music contest setting, it just felt too much like generic girls' romance novel/manga/game. Being elderly male, I got bored.
2. Most of the music work mentioned in the anime were those that are frequently heard in daily life if you are in Japan or Korea. They concentrated too much on what you would likely find in some of those cheap CDs label 'light listening' and/or 'easy classic'. Consequently, those music are variety that doesn't require much concentration to enjoy, nor those that evoke profound emotions. One of rather foul and improper way of describing these music is 'restroom music' which means, in Korea, music played to mask the 'sounds' while being soft enough to not catch people's attention.
3. In episode 1, only the violinist played something worthy of music contest. Others all played some of the easiest piece that you will likely play within two to three years of learning the instrument. These were supposed to be best of best in the music high school and when they play the works that is fit for beginner or, at best, low middle school level stuffs, it just broke my suspension of disbelief.
4. The pianist makes a sudden entrance with limited practice; I doubt he touched the piano since about two weeks ago. There is a duet between violin and trumpet. If you know how loud trumpet is, you know there is no way a violin can be heard over a trumpet unless trumpet plays really, really soft, severly limiting its range of expression, unless you deliberately adjust the volume of the sound by mixing them electronically. There are too many scenes where mangaka displays his/her ignorance of classical music performance.
5. Those music educations reminds me of small, minor tidbits they force you to memorize for tests in Korean/Japanese schools.

I'm afraid that the show probably added to the fantasies common people have about classical music, but was likely be scoffed by anyone who have seriously studied music for more than two years. It could have let kids try to play an instrument, but there also is a possibility that the presence of magical instrument that can allow inexperienced person to play great tunes may actually have discouraged them. In contrast, Nodame Cantabile shows many deeper inner workings that goes into music making, and emphasizes how any good player has to practice hard to perform just acceptably. Chiaki may be called genius, but it is shown many times that most of his times are spent either thinking about music or practicing/studying music, ever since he was a little kid. Nodame has shown many times where she practices for prolonged period of time forgetting everything else, and still there are some problems with her playing. Corda D'Oro concentrates mainly one romanticized fantasies normal people have about classical music. Nodame Cantablie gives equal weight to the hardships involved with classical music, along with how wonderful a musical experience can be. One of sad but true line from Nodame Cantabile was the one where Mine thinks 'They are this good yet they all are having trouble finding employment.' Such a dark mood, which I encountered many times with young musicians, isn't given proper weight in Corda D'Oro, which makes me think less of it. Strange thing about classical music is that you may be uplifted by a performance of rather dark and serious-feeling works like Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto #2. While Nodame Cantabile touches many different flavors of classical music, bringing out the enjoyment of the characters who plays them and others who listens to them, Corda D'Oro concentrate too much on the 'happy' and/or 'comfortable' works. Nodame Cantabile feels like good, five course meal with variety of flavors, some somber, some light, some dark and sad, some brilliant, and some just other-worldly. Corda D'Oro, feels like good Chocolate Chip Cookie; it taste good and sweet, but it can't make a nutritional meal. I do not think it is a coincidence why Nodame Cantabile has much wider following, based on presence and popularity of its live action drama, compared to Corda D'Oro which seemed to have attracted less anime bloggers compared to Nodame Cantabile anime series.