Alfredo_Elric

Mashiro no Oto is a new music anime about an culturally important instrument: the shamisen. From the first episode, the audience is drawn to Setsu, a very skilled shamisen player who has yet to find his sound, leaving his home in the countryside for Tokyo after his grandpa has passed away. Throughout Setsu’s journey, there are many forced, dramatic moments to be able to meet new characters or push the story forward. While the music is gladly the strongest point to this anime, there are many flaws that come with it. Before explaining further, some cultural context of this instrument should be known. Kabuki isa very important theater within Japanese culture. There are different types of theater like Bunraku, the puppet theater, but both use the shamisen instrument as an important figure. The shamisen can either emphasize the intended emotions from the play or help with fun sound effects. Also, more so within Kabuki, the plays are known to be overdramatized to the point that the play is supposed to be seen as fake and not particularly believable. The influences from the Kabuki are impalpable and important in understanding Mashiro no Oto better. While I do agree with the majority that Mashiro is rather melodramatic, this does not come without reason. As mentioned earlier, Kabuki is a theater play dramatized to an extent that is purposely unauthentic. For the audience, these plays are not meant to be viewed as realistic but as entertainment within its ‘fakeness’. For that reason, Mashiro no Oto is not as contrived as a normal kabuki play. Not even close. But this shows how Mashiro no Oto’s story was influenced and mixed with more modern entertainment that led to the melodrama within the show. The animation style is very light and dream-like throughout the anime, helping portray the influence of the unrealistic, mythical beauty that kabuki plays have. The music along with the animation when they display the powerful sound that a shamisen player can have is also pulling from Kabuki and Japanese theater. The shamisen is at the forefront when it comes to Japanese theater music and sounds, so it must be able to perform and portray various emotions. In fact, the whole performance relies on how skilled the player is. For a more modern day audience, not as many people have experienced these theater performances. Thus, within an anime, they must be able to deliver a compromise that shares a similar feeling to real life. Thankfully, the director/crew at Shin-Ei Animation managed to display their prowess in the animation style when it comes to the shamisen parts. Watching an animation of a kabuki play will certainly not feel the same as a play in-person but by adding visuals that compare emotions received when looking at different natural scenery to the emotions the shamisen is conveying and pair that with strong music, the reception is enhanced within the anime style performance. A point that cannot be left out is how it is sad that the overall animation does not stay consistent. I do admit that there are moments where the animation seems to decline especially in the later episodes but I did not think they were particularly obnoxious. However, if there is one almost unbearable part of the show, it is also the most notable flaw of Mashiro no Oto and that is the comedy. To put it simply, it constantly feels out of place. One moment, the anime will have a calming atmosphere following Setsu before it suddenly changes to a randomly placed comedic moment. A brief example is how Setsu is thinking about how he's going to play a specific piece before some character interrupts him by either saying something supposedly funny, acting strangely, or Setsu running into an argument or awkward situation between two characters. Some of these comedic moments are portrayed as a necessity, especially in the beginning, when introducing its wide cast of characters who offer their unique chemistry in a rather niche setting. However, with this being a slice of life anime, one must place great care towards the flow of events to pace the audience for the climactic emotional impacts. Without any spoilers, an example of how the pacing gets lost is how certain scenes would begin to build up to a serious moment, like watching snow fall pile onto the ground into an untouched, crisp image only to have the some comedic stranger think it would be funny to reenact their earlier Dance Dance Revolution session only to leave many dense, messy footprints and forever ruining the could-have-been nice emotional landscape from before. In the slice of life genre, the biggest problem is almost always the illogically inserted comedy sprinkled about to lessen the emotional weight that they can bring. Mashiro no Oto is unfortunately no different. In the end, I believe the best way to use comedy in slice of life anime is to have it flow or not have it at all. Mashiro no Oto is all about its music, and I can gladly say that it is the best part of this anime because this show is about a lesser known, underappreciated instrument outside of Japan: the shamisen. Even as a person who has not had much exposure to a shamisen, all the music that has a shamisen used is just impactful. Within the events of the show, the moments where either Setsu and others play, there is volume and heart to them. If the music was intended to be powerful and well played or by a character struggling, the difference is conveyed and better noticed as more episodes are seen. From this, Mashiro no Oto has succeeded in giving me a greater appreciation for the shamisen sound. Sadly, outside of the shamisen music itself, the music directing is rather bland. The many quick tone changes mean numerous changes in music. This includes many sudden tone shifts indicated by sad music. A part that needs to be pointed out is how these changes of music can ever come to overshadow the actual shamisen playing. I’m not here to listen to a sad piano bishounen when the shamisen is literally still being played on screen. It's workable music on its own but the quick changes do not flow well and should not overshadow the actual star instrument of the show. On the other hand, the voice acting definitely deserves applause. Mashiro no Oto has kept in mind their Seiyuus and where each character comes from. There are multiple characters that live from different parts of Japan and Shin-Ei Animation did not forget to add in the accents. Even as a non-native and non-fluent speaker, I can still clearly hear the differences between the words spoken by the characters. Concerning the characters, they are not the most in depth characters and a lot of characters that I still don’t remember the names of are all pretty flat to push the story along which may be partially influenced by the 12 episode limit constraint and not having enough time to fit everything in nicely. Beginning with Setsu, he is a character that is more of a loner with others eventually drawn to him. By trying to find a way to move on from the loss of his grandfather and seek his own sound, he is able to grow and understand himself better due to these other people. Concerning a lot of his inner dialogue, the number of times he has talked about his gramps, how he can not play the piece right, and how he can not find his sound is a chore for the audience to get through due to how repetitive his words feel. However, I can now better understand Setsu and his situation, which honestly could and should still be fleshed out more, due to his untapped potential as an authentic musician lacking both self-esteem and motivation. In the end, the last two episodes portrayed Setsu's character better, which is what I wanted from this slice of life anime. For the other characters, the important ones like Setsu’s friends, and some later side characters get like two to five minute long for backstories. For Setsu’s brother, Wakana, he’s the acceptable ‘helicopter older brother’. I do wish that they could have made more time for the audience to understand the other characters better. To sum it up, a lot of these characters are placed and have desires just to directly or indirectly help Setsu with his journey of sound, even if it causes the show to feel less believable. [Slight Spoilers in Upcoming Paragraph] Two characters that follow that description the most are the teacher, Keiko, and a fellow classmate, Shuri. Keiko acts like a teenager and is always excited to go help the shamisen club. She also is able to reach out to more well-known people easily and it is explained through how Setsu is apparently known by certain people in the shamisen community. Does that mean she just gives out Setsu’s information to people in hope of them reading her emails? For a well-known alumni, Seiryuu, Keiko was able to reach out to him so easily. Would previous alumni be so willing to meet anyone who is going to their old school? Most likely not. And then we have Shuri, who is one of the first people Setsu met at his school. She was interested in the shamisen due to her Grandma wanting to hear a shamisen song that Setsu’s grandpa played in the past so she got Setsu to play again by convincing him to try to play it and basically establish the shamisen club. After the first half of the anime, she becomes more of a side character to tell Setsu what he should hear at a specific moment as well as still being around to show a beginner's struggle of playing the shamisen, timing. Her struggle is lame in comparison and could have been done better when compared to the others in the group. During the competition, two of the group members, Kaito and Rai, were able to play effectively and well despite being beginners and the new style being told to them by Setsu moments before going on stage while Shuri is still struggling with timing. “Wa” indeed Shuri. [End of Slight Spoilers] In the end, if you don’t like how the shamisen sounds or are not interested in Kabuki influences, then I would not recommend it. I admit that I enjoyed the music and visual style, more than the actual plot and characters. This anime will not be able to perfectly replicate the feel of a Kabuki play but if you are willing to see an anime that does embrace parts of its cultural theater roots with strong music, I would tell you to give this anime a try.

Luubie

Learning about Japan's artistic cultures is always a wonderful experience. How many times do we come across anime and manga that use themes that are unusual in the Western, but that produce an essential meaning in this very rich country? This season, eyes were definitely on the most popular animes and that overshadowed some titles that could deliver much more than just 12 Episodes. Mashiro no Oto is one of those hidden and silent animes within the huge catalog of titles. That's bad for the show's visibility, but definitely its relevance, even if filtered by the few people who appreciate that kind of culture, ismore than pleasing, it's surprising. Mashiro no Oto is basically a show involving an instrument and a melancholy story of Setsu, the protagonist. He lost his inspiration and his reason for existence, his grandfather. A gentleman known to everyone within the lovers of Shamisen, a stringed instrument. In Japan, Shamisen is like a guitar, however, if we go into the deeper culture of the country, it is possible to find records of the development and popularity of Shamisen as a very rich cultural artifact. Like any other instrument, Shamisen causes impact, emotion, sadness and freedom. In Mashiro no Oto, Setsu is the main catalyst and emitter of these varied emotions. He is young and having lost his grandfather recently shook him, so much so that he decided to flee to Tokyo, where his new life begins, in search of a "new sound", as the "sound" of a loved one disappeared before his eyes. eyes. At first, Mashiro no Oto honestly doesn't bring many predictions about what he really wants to tell. In fact, the anime deceives the audience. Until the first episode, you could see Setsu getting involved with Yuna, a girl who worked at an adult agency, but that's not exactly what happens. Of course, Yuna has her importance in Setsu's plot and development, she becomes a decisive factor in his resumption with Shamisen. However, if we're going to define one that awakens Setsu at its peak, it's certainly his school's Club. Maeda is an inexperienced girl from the Club and was the only one until Setsu's arrival. Even though she doesn't have great ambitions, what led her to continue with the Club is a song sung by her grandmother, but without the use of instruments. Along with Maeda, Kaito and two other members. In the beginning, their composition was not so positive. Setsu needs to develop and avoid his selfishness to harmonize with the rest of the team; Maeda has a "mental block" at times and this prevents her from advancing in songs and performances. Kaito is the most explosive of the group, and most of the discussions come from him, but this is due to frustration in football and family pressure on his future. The whole group somehow has some insecurity and it is well supported throughout the show, no matter if it's in a Championship or a show for just one person (as it was with Maeda's grandmother), everyone was building a bond of some kind. way with Shamisen. Even Setsu's relatives. Umeko, his mother, is a deprived woman and somehow doesn't deserve to be called the "mother" of a talented instrumentalist. The lack of it in Setsu's life is not felt at first sight, being often pushed aside to continue the show. But the very actions of Umeko that created a break with his children, causes a lot of trouble for them. The contrast between them is visible and sharp. Wakana, for example, occupies even more the role of Setsu's father, even though he is an older brother, something that is more demonstrated with the development of the protagonist, who starts shy, rigid and impulsive, but who starts to become aware and understand which is not unique in the music world, especially in the world of group competitions. This competence is also transmitted among the characters enshrined in the anime, such as Shouichi, Mai and Kamiki. The three have an engaging relationship with Setsu and his group over time and feed them positively with each new episode. But you can't just give merit to the anime. Mashiro no Oto is one of the shows that I most visualize the capacity of a production, from the creation of a story to its final execution. It is evident the work of the show staff, which was done by the Shin-Ei studio. Yes, the same Shin-Ei studio that made animes like "Takagi-san" and "Tonari no Seki-kun", but which today has been constantly questioned for its weak and disappointing work. It is the example of "Hachi-nan tte". Incorporating a show like Mashiro no Oto was practically a miracle. Much was said about the quality that the anime would deliver over time, but expectations were really exceeded. Congratulations to the whole show staff, I look forward to another new production, with the same quality and dedication. Also worth mentioning the amazing songwriting. For those who know and love Haikyuu, Burnout Syndromes is the band that best suits the show, both for the musicality and the lyrics of each song, in addition to its very engaging choruses. Mashiro no Oto was no different. Each episode was redefined with the openings and the band's work was the best possible to convey the sensations that the anime is. I should also mention Shamisen's own musical structures. All the melodies combined and made Mashiro no Oto a cultural grandeur. I think few people who saw this show really knew what this instrument was. I myself was completely unaware of its importance and its way of playing. Now I'm really happy to have absorbed some of this and I'm looking forward to more and more anime themed. It's been a while since we had musical animes either. It's something that had its peaks like Beck and Shigatsu wa Kimi in Uso, but lately it's been getting rarer. There are still some more unpopular works about music, but it is necessary to have a more adequate attention with the whole audience, it is a theme that can bring more history than we imagine. Finally, Mashiro no Oto is an essential show that changed my expectations with the year 2021. Many shows did not deliver a good story, nor were they even able to innovate. But this show is just the opposite. All the episodes are really good and the settings combined with the sentimentality of their own makes Mashiro no Oto an exclusive show. It's an anime that I wish it had a sequel, it was so worth every minute with this anime. If you don't know it, give it a try, it's a show that can interest even those who don't like music. It's an eclecticism in anime form. The wind blows in Mashiro no Oto, and this time it's to bring welcome.