Kono Oto Tomare! Sounds of Life is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Amyu. The series began publication in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine in August 2012, and has been compiled into 22 tankōbon volumes as of April 3, 2020. It has been reported that over 2.3 million copies of the manga have been sold. An animetelevision series adaptation by Platinum Vision aired from April to December 2019.
Plot
The story focuses on the Koto club of the Tokise High School in Kanagawa Prefecture. Takezo Kurata, in his second year, is the only member left in the Koto club, after all the senior members have graduated. While he is trying his best to recruit more members into the club, Chika Kudo submits his application. But, since Kudo is known to be a delinquent, one who destroyed his own grandfather's koto shop, Takezo is apprehensive about him. Things change when he comes to know the truth. Also joining the club is the Koto prodigy, Satowa Hozuki, who has her own agenda. More members join the club in time, holding their own reasons for joining. However, in the end, they all have the same goal - to play at the Koto Nationals competition.
An anime television series adaptation has been announced, and it aired from April 6 to June 29, 2019 on Tokyo MX, BS11, AT-X, GYT, Wowow, and HTB. The series is animated by Platinum Vision and directed by Ryōma Mizuno, with Ayumu Hisao handling series composition, and JunkoYamanakadesigning the characters. It was announced that the series will be split-cour, with the second season airing from October 5 to December 28, 2019. Shouta Aoi performed the series' opening theme song "Tone", while Yuma Uchida performed the series' ending theme song "Speechless". Aoi also performed the series' second opening theme song "Harmony", while Uchida also performed the series' ending theme song "Rainbow". Funimation has licensed the series, and will be producing the dub as it airs.
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Stage play
A stage play adaptation ran in 2019 in three locations: August 17-25 in Tokyo, September 7-8 in Fukuoka, and September 14-15 in Osaka. The play starred Takuma Zaiki as Kudo, Kazuki Furuta as Kurata, Hinako Tanaka as Satowa, Kouhei Shiota as Adachi, Kotori Kojima as Sakai, and Tatsuki Jōnin as Mizuhara. In preparation for the play, the cast members trained for four months to learn how to play the koto.
