La Corda D'Oro Blue♪Sky [Overall Review]

La Corda D’Oro Blue♪Sky
Animation Company: TYO Animations
Website: http://www.ntv.co.jp/corda/
Genres: Music, Shoujo, School
Airing Date: April 2014
Number of Episodes: 12
Trailers: PV 1
Summary: Soon after transferring to Seisou Gakuin, Kanade finds the orchestra club in the middle of preparing for the National concur. Teaming up with the other members, she will improve her skills, meet new rivals and create memories for what will become an unforgettable summer…

 
Story/Plot: 5/10
What waste of potential. There was a fine plot to go with here, but they completely put it to waste. La Corda d’Oro Blue Sky’s plot revolved around a high schools’ Ensembles from all over the country competing in the summer concours. It was a great opportunity to dig into the more competitive side of the game, especially since all the characters are all talented musicians and there is no magic in play going on to make the competition seem unfair. Unfortunately the plot of the competition fell flat on it’s face. The main reason why was there was no real competition, or at least I couldn’t perceive them as rivals. That is actually because we didn’t even get to hear almost any of the competitors play. In La Corda d’Oro Primo Passo, we heard every. single. competitor. perform their piece. And you know what the joke is here? Primo Passo had seven characters competing against each other and here, we only heard one or two songs of the said competitors. Could Blue Sky have been better if there had been twenty-four episodes (like Primo Passo)? There is no doubt in my mind that yes, it probably would have been so much better, not just for the plot, but for the characters and their development as well.
Then there was the story about Reiji’s grudge against Kanade (the heroine). It was somewhat stronger and more solid. The only thing I didn’t like was how they handled the scenes when the truth was out. I just wished it wasn’t as choppy switching around to the other characters instead of just solely focusing on Reiji and Kanade while they work that out.
Of course that wasn’t all. My biggest pet peeve of this category was the unnecessary bombardments of *DRAMA*DRAMA*DRAMA* and how they dragged it out for so long. There are only twelve episodes, and same bloody shit that was going on where they had Kyouya taking a hissy fit about Ritsu doing what he wants whenever he wants for almost half of the show was very irritating to watch. It didn’t help that they had the whole “Oh poor Kanade” drama where she can’t get her shit together- boy was I glad when that was finally over.
Characters & Development: 2/10
Now that is a pretty nasty score don’t you think? But I can’t and won’t change it. I am rating this catagory a 2/10 because (and I am not kidding you) it was an absolute disaster.
La Corda d’Oro Blue Sky had a significantly larger cast. For starters there are three major schools that was the mains. Seiso Academy (Kande (Heroine), Kyoya, Ritsu, Haruto and Daichi), Amane Academy (Reiji, Sousuke, Amamiya, and Hido (a minor character)), Shiseikan High School (Hozumi, Yagisawa, Arata, (also Kanou and Iori who were minor characters) and then Jinnan High School (Chiaki, Housei and Mutsumi (a minor character in this show).
That is quite a mouthful isn’t it for a twelve episode series! And I haven’t even mentioned a few of the other secondary characters yet!
This is only the first problem, you have a cast is greater than the number of episodes that the show has. What happens when you have so many characters and too little time? You are not given the opportunity to learn about some of them. I can count only four characters that have received the benefit of decent screen time, Kanade, Kyouya, Amamiya and Reiji. That’s it. Only a few others were able to have a moment but most… didn’t get anything at all. This is precisely why the majority had no character development whatsoever (and who am I kidding, Kanade and Kyouya were the only ones who had any development!). I can’t look past for that, so I have can’t give them anything higher than 2/10.
I mean let’s be real here: it is outrageous to even put characters like for example, Haruto (a member of the Seiso Academy ensemble) on the bench and tell us nothing about them. I was so frustrated because, how am I supposed to be happy for their victories, or feel their struggles and cheer for them to win the competition if I know nothing about them? This brings us to the third problem: There is nothing to feel.
And isn’t that sad? I do, especially since I am the type of person who connects to characters very easily but in La Corda d’Oro Blue Sky, I couldn’t- in fact, I don’t even have a favourite!!! That’s how little impact they have on me! If I were forced to choose, it would have to be Hozumi because he is naturally a precious baby, but that is it.
Finally, the last problem was the lack of quality interactions amongst the characters. When characters interact, that is our chance as readers or an audience to learn about them. What are their quirks, what are their personalities, how do their react under certain circumstances. Once again, only a few characters were selected for that chance. But I must say, it is almost ironic that out of all the characters, Amamiya was probably the one who interacted the most with the heroine (Kanade) the most (thanks to the random dates they would take on the whim).
Animation & Quality: 7/10
I already knew in advance what the pattern of the animation quality was going to be like and it was more or less of what I expected. The only thing that threw me off was the theatrics of what the performances were conveying (not thanks to this annoying magical ring). I didn’t like them. There are times when I prefer simplicity over exaggeration of delivery, and this was definitely one of those times because I would roll my eyes every time it happened.
Original Soundtrack: 5/10
Very rarely do I have much to say about Original Soundtracks. It saddens me that the moment I do have a lot to say, it isn’t singing praises but heavily criticizing it. It is unfortunate to say that of all the pieces that puts the show together, the Original Soundtrack was the biggest let down.
I had actually wanted to mark this a zero because I was so upset with the results of it. With this being a music focused show- and not just any music show, it’s the sequel to La Corda d’Oro Primo Passo which was the reason why I have come to love and appreciate classical music and original soundtracks- hell music in general- as much as I do today.
One of the problems was the lack of delivery of impact and connection with the audience, which you have to blame the lack of knowledge about the performer, in this case: the characters. You need to put the two together in order to deliver. We were never told anything about why they chose so and so’s piece to play, how they were connected to it, and what it meant to them. Obviously when La Corda d’Oro Primo Passo did this, it worked like a charm. So clearly that was an important element for creating the connection in the first place.
Then there was the general part of the original soundtrack. Mind you I am no expert in the music field, but god- I am fairly certain than an original soundtrack is not supposed to annoy you. Unfortunately, this one did, the general part of it at least. The background music selection ruined a lot of moments for me throughout the show because I (very quickly) grew irritated with it. What drove me nuts was how the pieces they have selected for certain scenes are so melodramatic or would sound like one I would hear in those stupid soap-operas! There was literally nothing inspiring or motivating or encouraging about it! There would be (several) occasions where it didn’t feel appropriate for the circumstances! And it is so, so frustrating because it was La Corda d’Oro Primo Passo is what made me fall in love in classical music in the first place.
Yet despite my disappointment, because while it was far from perfect at least it wasn’t a complete disaster. The OP & ED songs in particular were fantastic, I always sat through both of them to listen to over and over again each week, and the pieces they have performed for the competitions were nice and enjoyable to listen to, so I will give this a 5/10 because it at least has redeeming features.
 

Overall Score: 4/10

Did you mean: and unforgettable disappointment
It is unfortunate for me to have to rate this show so low especially given how fond I am of Primo Passo. It was without a doubt bumpy ride and was unbearable to watch at times, but I endured and pulled through, always hoping for the best. And there were some great moments, such as the nostalgia of a few characters from the first show all grown up appearing here and there. And it was nostalgic to watch during the earlier episodes, which I suppose you could say worth a while for me to watch despite its unfavorable flaws. At least there are two mangas both in Yuki Kure’s hands to turn to read such as Linden Hall no Aria (which is completed with four volumes) as well as Blue Sky which she had started shortly before the adaption aired (though I doubt they adapted through her material as oppose to the game’s). Either way, you are better off checking those out since you can count on Yuki Kure at the very least to redeem the series and serve the characters justice.
Recommendation: Don’t bother.

Do yourself a favor and don’t waste your time with this show. If you are bored and have absolutely nothing to do and want to kill time watching a mediocre show, this is the one for you.