Kahoko Hino was just an ordinary student at Seishou Academy. Without a glimpse of warning, a magical fairy, Lili, drops a magical violin into her lap. The very next day, her name pops up on the list of entrants for a music competition. Reluctantly, Kahoko gives way to Lili's nagging and eventually joins the concours.
Progressing through the story, Kahoko must learn to deal with the prejudice of her fellow concour members, and her growing love for the violin, as well as music.
Synopsis: Lariel
Story & Characters
Kiniro no Corda is an anime which portrays the story of Hino Kahoko, a perfectly average student at the Seishou Academy.
Now, our academy here is divided into two classes (fans of VK, do not be
confused) the General Education (Gen-Ed, for short) and the Music Department. Students in Gen-Ed study as regular
students, while those in the Music Department choses their own particular instrument as their course of study. Our
heroine happens to be a 2nd year student of the Gen-Ed who understand nothing whatsoever about the elegance of music.
Naturally, Kahoko would be instantly freaked out when a mischievous fairy, Lili, drops a magical violin into her lap.
The next thing she understands -or at least, conscious of- she's being forced to take part in a music competition
the prestigious Seishou Academy holds annually. Well, it can't be that bad... except that throughout her life,
Kahoko has never ever played or touched a violin. So what does that leads to?
Next on to my rantings. It's basically another typical anime with a big bunch of bishonen; we shall term that as
male harem. Or specifically, another Ouran. You have, yet again, a not-much similar plot which focuses upon
Kahoko's growing attachment to her violin and music, not to mention her concours peers. There is nothing to venture
beyond that carefully planned story, so fans of suspense and adventure might find this a bore. No major
"baddie-guy" to discover, nor an irreplaceable treasure discovered after episodes and episodes of watching;
Kiniro no Corda simply offers a slow pacing plot that tells of... well, refer above.
Characters... as spectacular as they were, were extremely fake. And when a fake
comes from me, there is nothing good. The manga might have changed my perspective slightly, but the anime was
horrendous. There was only meager, if not, no development whatsoever from the boys, and I was forced to think that the
producers had already graded them perfect. "No sense of reality" is what I desire to spat out, but that would
be insulting.
Rating: 5
Art
Decent, nothing outstanding, but nothing to frown at either. Though I have stated before that bishonen boys are always
worth another tipping glance, they just possess the same qualities. Ehem. Flawless, scar-less skin. Certain
personalities- they're either happy-go-lucky, an ice man, and your regular guy. Somehow, four of of the five
bishies in Kiniro no Corda fits the description like a shoe thong. But let's get back to the art part. Throughout
the entire series, rarely have the characters' expression changes. Initally, I didn't pay much concern to the
art, but as the series dragged on, I found myself saying aloud "Gee, are they lacking in imagination or budget or
What?"
Not to say that the quality was poor. But you have a pretty sucky presentation and a not-so satisfying OST. At least
they could have done well with the art.
Background? Just your little ol' Seishou Academy and a few places scattered here and there. No changes, and
extremely repetitive. While constant is good, I wished they'd altered the BG of certain well-deserving scenes.
There is frankly, almost nothing to review about upon the art. I cracked my head into wondering what to yap about in
this section.
Rating: 6
Sound
Are you a fan of Bach? Chopin? Or the famed Mozart, even Beethoven? Then Kiniro no Corda is the perfect anime for you.
Well, at least the music is. Being a violinist and one who enjoys classical music myself, I enjoyed these sections most,
and somehow... winced at how much they actually altered. The OP theme, performed by Kanon, was a variety of
sentimentality and pop. Good, and worth listening to. Her voice isn't actually attractive, but it's the
hip-hop of the song that might pique your interest. I can say differently for the ED theme. Conjured by our five boys of
the show, the Stella Quintent, Crescendo is as likable as... a worn teddy bear.
With a metaphor like that, I'm not actually sure if I'm convincing you to listen to Crescendo or to run far,
far away from it.
The seiyuus. As usual, I will give my standard "fairly tolerable". But occasionally Kahoko's whining
about her fate makes you possess the instant itch to wrangle her. And Jun Fukuyama, famous for voicing a world-wide
known character, Lelouch Lamperouge, was given the role of a sleepy cellist. He barely has ten sentences in one episode.
Ten! The rest of the casts are tolerable, and the best? The seiyuu of Yunoki Azuma, whom I possess an extreme dislike
for. Despite my hatred for the bishie, his seiyuu, Daisuke Kishio, perhaps best known for his role as Kaname Kuran from
Vampire Knight, has an obvious talent for voicing both the black and white side of Azuma. Split personalities which
totally screamed whoa. How Kishio pulls that off, I will never know.
Rating: 7
Presentation
Let's say I've wasted three days finishing Kiniro No Corda, which certainly dragged on like a snail.
Eventually I decided to grade this a "it was fun while it lasted, but I am never going to watch this again. No,
good sire. Not even to drool over Len Tsukimori and his genius skills with the violin."
For the society members out there who enjoy harem shows, I would definitely recommend Kiniro no Corda. Ignore my blasted
insults above and go ahead. You might think differently. For you guys who are values sensibility and practicality out
there, hear my advice: head straight for the manga and never the anime. Even better, don't touch anything related
to the series, with the OSTs as an exception. For some absurd reason, this series was extremely draining. Not out of
pure suspense, see. More or less a sense of boredom that will leave you mentally exhausted.
Somehow, Kiniro fans will end up butchering me for this review.
Rating: 6
Final Verdict
5.8333 (average)
Reviewed by Lariel, Jul 15, 2008