The capacity for change is an incredible force.

I am not speaking about changing your personality or the core of who you are, which in itself warrants discussion that I won’t be dealing with in this article. What change I am referring to is the outlook in which we see things, or in short your own perspective. How do you actually see life?

Do we see the glass as half-full or half-empty? Do we actually think things can get better as time goes on? Or are things always bound to get worse as time goes on? Are we sitting in the darkness, refusing to move forward? Or are we reaching towards the light to find meaning in life? Of course life isn’t easy. It is often cruel for its contradictions, colossally unfair, and one may never find the recognition they deserve. Still life must go on regardless of the situation one finds themselves in. What I love most about Kono Oto Tomare isn’t the music, which is amazing, but more the change that the music brings in the lives of those characters. The change to the characters that the music brings is what makes Kono Oto Tomare great.

The music alone would be static if the world around the music didn’t change. Focusing on the music might make for an average or good anime at best. Great writing is dynamic and brings change based on experiences characters have whether individually or collectively. A great story forces change for its own characters and in the case of Kono Oto Tomare it’s the perspective that shifts.

The perspective gained by characters is amazing. The transformation of each character deserves its own article. I loved watching characters step out of the darkness and embrace the light or the positive in their own lives. Each transformation was different for the character that the anime addressed. Each character had their own needs, and those needs were met in different ways to bring the change. It was nice to  have a story that didn’t have just one transformational moment that changed everyone at the same time. Just as each character is different there is no one size fits all solution for everyone.

The characters are responsible for overcoming their own darkness, but it doesn’t mean they couldn’t reach out to others for help. Sometimes the light just needs a helping hand. Other characters need to be forced into the light to see it. The music is responsible for helping to bring about that change, but it’s not the music that changes the characters. The characters change their own perspectives as the collective force of will of the koto club ignores any and all detractors and nay-sayers. The club members have a goal, that goal changes them and forces them to rethink the way they see life. The club is able to overcome any obstacles in their way through their diligent efforts and their willingness to improve. The club had every reason to fail, but they didn’t.

There is no judgement in Kono Oto Tomare. Characters are accepted for who they are. Characters are given a chance to find their own light in the world of darkness they come from. No one is without mistakes or failures, the characters overcome their flaws and find the motivation to improve. In the course of the anime each character makes their own world a better place. The world of music and a shift in perspective are the magic that propels Kono Oto Tomare into its own category of greatness. Positive change is always possible when the characters individually allow it in their own lives.

 

Agree? Disagree? What are your thoughts? I want to know!

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