Fangirl post alert!

In the recent conversations me and Seleria had about the Christmas Countdown, the idea of a Christmas wishlist popped into the hamster’s mind. Wishlist with either, trademark stuffs in various series we’d like to have (like Konata’s choco-coronet), or guys or girls we’d love to spend Christmas with. Given that, do expect that there might be some of this wishlist items coming out of the 12 days of Christmas posts, like right now

Being a Corda fan, I immediately thought of Tsuchiura and Tsukimori, in the list of guys I’d want to spend Christmas with. But after much thought, I settled on Tsuchiura, who I’ve been proclaiming as the BF material amongst the Corda guys. Anyone disagrees? =P

Tsunde-Len is cute when he gets all dere-dere, but in a real-life perspective, I don’t think I’ll be able to stand someone as obnoxious as him. Attraction to real-life tsunderes will greatly depend on whether you can trigger the dere factor in them. Otherwise, seeing all tsuntsun is so not cute.

So there, Hino can have Len all to herself~

I would’ve fangirled over the Corda series yet again in this retrospective post, but I think I already did that here :3 Instead, I bring you do this mini analysis on the Tsu-boys (tsu is actually ‘two’ in japanese / engrish) of Corda~

Analysis of the Tsu-Tsu relationship

No rivalry amongst the Corda guys is as intense as Tsuchiura and Tsukimori. Technically, all the guys in the show are rival in two aspects: music and the love of Hino, but the antagonistic vibes of rivalry is felt greatly between the two Tsus (this is a tongue twister of some sort >_>). Among the participants of the concours, they are the ones almost at par with each other in terms of music skills. Both are child prodigies, faced with complexes which prompted them to take different routes in their musical career. Tsuchiura gave up the piano when he experienced bitter defeat in his first concours, comdemning how unfair the world of music is. Tsukimori on the other hand struggled most of his life, breaking free from the shadow of his parents who are renowned musicians, only to deprive himself of the love and enjoyment for music. And of course everything changed when Hino came to their life~ <3

Deep beneath the mask of rivalry between the Tsu's however, lies great admiration and respect they have for each other. They are just too shy and prideful to openly admit this, until the recent chapters where we finally see them having casual conversations rather than their usual banter and sarcasm. To highlight some events in volume 9:

Who would’ve thought that these two will be able to perform together!

In chapter 40, Tsuchiura volunteered to become his accompanist during one practice, interested as he was to see how it’s like to perform with the great violinist, apart from how Tsukimori’s accompanist quit after getting into an argument with him. The extra chapter in volume 9 also showed how the young Tsuchiura was inspired by Tsukimori’s performance, to participate in the concours which he supposedly doesn’t take interest in.

Throughout the concours, Tsukimori recognized Tsuchiura’s music prowess, albeit being tsuntsun about this. Tsukimori has seen through his passion, and knows well the efforts he exerted to become what he is now, despite “quitting” the concours and shutting his heart from music.

Contrary to what other people might be thinking, I am not intending to pair up these two for a BL love affair. I want them paired up with Hino, and I would’ve been fine if the anime ended with either of them (though I’m Tsukimori-biased =P). I have played the Corda game on PSP, and these guys’ endings are the ones I managed to get, aside from Hihara’s. So you can say that adds to the overall bias I have for these two

It’s been quite some time since I went into major fangurl mode, and now is the time to rekindle that flame! :3 This post is almost a week in the making, caused by delays due to slacking off, and reading Elements of Style by Strunk & White, which made me all the more see how bad of a writer I am. It allowed me to reflect on my writing sins, compelled me to revise my post, making it less horrendous, but still far from good. ok, enough of that first. *ahem*

I missed you Corda! Though it’s more like, I’ve been driven by my guilt for postponing this post for about a month now (because I supposedly received my DVD last month) >.> I loved this anime, and I still do, despite how it made my wallet run dry, as I found myself unable to resist buying the game (Encore2, PS2), mangas (both the official manga and the anthologies), DVDs (1st and the last), illustration books, fanbooks, Lala Magazines bought simply for the Corda furokus… what the?! I’ve already bought this much?! O__O *faints*

Allow me to narrate a little of my Kin-iro no Corda story first, before I proceed to the Summer Special episode.

Mio Colore

Aside from the fact that Corda is the first anime I “blogged”—with “quotes” because I used to post the summaries in animesuki forum, before it spawned into my own blog—I believe it is what drove me into joining the blogosphere, with the initial intent of spreading my Corda fangurlism (hence the name “Mio Colore” for my first ever anime blog, inspired from the title of the Kin-iro no Corda Character Illustrations book) but later on evolved into something else. Apparently, it also brought me back to the anime track, since I was getting contented with my regular dose of manga (and otome games) a few years back.

What made the anime even more memorable is how I got dengue fever in the middle of the series (what a way to celebrate the new year~!), which somehow inspired(?) me to spread the Corda <3, and the blog was born several weeks after. It took a few more months before I got into AB, thanks to Seleria <3, so my posts have then been transferred to this site. My last Corda post was way back May… wow, it’s been that long o__O

So, without further ado, the La Corda d’Oro Summer Special~!

La Corda d’ Oro ~primo passo~ Summer Special “One Summer of Encore”

The Seiyo Academy concours opened Hino to the world of music and its beauty. Inspired by her love for music, Hino continues her violin studies, pressing on with her own strength.

Kanazawa-sensei gathers the participants of the concours for another music camp despite the end of the competition, giving them the task of finding the unique melody. Nami, Mio and Nao tease Hino that this is a chance for a summer violin romance fling, and it goes without saying that it will indeed turn out this way :3

The camp is scheduled for three days and two nights, giving the participants enough time for sightseeing.Or allow Hino to spend time with each of the guys, rather

Date #1 Hihara

Hino heads out by herself, clueless on where to go first, until Hihara invites her to the park on the hill with a view of the wind, where they once again play the duet of Gavotte, as the wind dances with their music. Hihara continues to be fascinated by how playing with Hino makes this experience all the more enjoyable, and gets into mushy-mode as he tells her “…It’s most likely because I’m with you” * ^-^ * On a side note, Hihara’s shirt had “Corda” in it :3

Date #2 Ousaki

Hino ends up wandering by the roadside, after a failed solo souvenir-buying attempt, where Ousaki-sempai finds her. She takes this opportunity to thank him for all the support he gave throughout the concours, especially for cheering her up when she was down. Ousaki however, feels even more thankful to Hino and her music, which certainly shows in his violin love confession: “I really like your violin.” orz. They talk about the violin romance rumor, started most likely during the time of Ousaki’s concours—a rumor that had yet to come true, but that which Ousaki has so desired himself. Ousaki also mentions about doing part-time job in a seaside clubhouse, which is really surprising.

Date #3 Yunoki

Yunoki welcomes Hino upon her return to the lodge, inviting her to the garden, where he shows the「月下美人」(gekka bijin), a flower which only blooms on one summer night each year—a little thank-you gift in return for making him enjoy the concours. “I’m going to play this one song especially for you”, says Yunoki, as he dedicates her a song, reminiscing how she allowed him to stand up for his own decisions, with which he can finally enjoy his life to the fullest. The flowers bloom in tune with his flute, leaving Hino speechless and mesmerized by the performance, which Yunoki finds really cute.

”Date” #4 Kanazawa-sensei

Unable to sleep—probably because of Yunoki—Hino heads to the kitchen where she finds Kanazawa-sensei cooking up his midnight snack. Hino was amazed at how a great cook he is, but Kana-yan simply returns the praise with modesty, finding this skill something but natural for a single man like him. He changes the topic to Hino’s love life, which he finds rather lonely, seeing how she’s not particularly interested in anyone because there are just too many guys. If he only knew.

Then we see the gang have some fun under the summer sun~ w00t!

Date #5 Shimizu

Hino comes across Shimizu-kun, who dedicates to her an in-church cello performance, in return for making him discover his own music, the music of his heart. Amazed by the influence Hino had in his music, Shimizu thinks, “What a wonderful sound I weave whenever I think of Kaho-sempai…” Hino finds solace in the warmth of Shimizu’s cello, who seemed one with the angels, right at that moment.

Date #6 Tsukimori

Hino heads next to the aquarium, to buy the rest of the souvenirs for her friends, right about the same time as Tsukimori, who was asked a favor by a friend of his father’s: to play for the dolphin and relieve its stress. Tsukimori had qualms about his ability to accomplish this, but Hino’s words dispelled his doubts. Reflecting on Hino’s music as he plays, a gentle smile is painted on Tsukimori’s face, as he envisions how a poignant melody like hers will be able to pierce through the dolphin’s heart. Moved by Tsukimori’s violin, the dolphin regains its vigor, exhibited in the high leap it made. Hino was delighted at this turnout, a success which Tsukimori owes to no one else but Hino. Reminiscing what Hino has brought to his life, Tsukimori is filled with gratefulness. “Hino, your melody opened up the door to a new world for me” (*^ ^*)

Date #7 Tsuchiura

Tsuchiura finds Hino by herself at the front garden, taking this opportunity to have her accompany him someplace. They first have a little chat about the assignment Kana-yan gave, which Hino is still unable to figure out, before arriving at the piano hall. Tsuchiura tells her a little history about the place, how famous pianists like Hamai Misa performed here, then dedicates a song for her. Thoughts of Hino filled Tsuchiura as he played the piano: “Hino, you opened up the door to the music kept sealed in my heart, that’s why I’m dedicating this song especially for you. To enrich your music…”, as a romantic mood fills the place, made even more enchanting by the unfolding of the planeterium.

Hino’s Love Greeting

The gang have a barbeque picnic for the last night of their camp. Hino, especially, found this a worthwhile activity, since it allowed her to see the guys in a different kind performance. Nami makes a surprise visit and joins them for dinner, teasing Hino about her summer romance fling. As for the answer Kaho had for their assignment, it’s an insightful thought which came to her after all that has happened in this camp: that the uniqueness of a melody lies in the moment in which it was played or heard, encompassing a set of factors affecting its interpretation, the place where it happens, as well the feelings involved at that moment. Kana-yan interprets what Kaho meant as 「一期一会」(ichigo ichie), a famous saying which translates to: one meeting one opportunity or treasure every moment for it will never recur, whichever is your preference. In Hino’s case it’d be “One moment, one melody” or something

The guys request Hino to play for them (in return for the performance they dedicated to her throughout their stay :p), and the episode ends with the tune of her “Salut d’ Amour” (Love Greeting) :3

Thoughts

Corda still hasn’t lost its power to move me and of course, mesmerize me with its bishies *___* It was great to see the guys back in its animated glory, after months! I thought I was gonna be disappointed with the special right after I saw it wasn’t the ending I was anticipating: the multiple-ending special route HaruToki took. As it turned out, looks like this one-shot summer special was much better after all. We have the game for the multiple endings anyways

Similar to my sentiments in the Corda series, I was hoping there will be more violin romance vibes, as I love the Len x Kaho pairing. They’re like the canon pair of the series, with the most dramatic scenes and character development involved, especially that of Tsukimori. A duet violin performance would’ve worked wonders for that dolphin scene, like the balcony scene of the anime. In any case, seeing Tsukimori’s gentle smile and blush somewhat made up for that. Cute! *^-^* But then it seems that the love is *gasp* one sided, since Hino didn’t blush a bit with Tsukimori o__O

Compared with the cute little scene with Tsukimori however, I found Tsuchiura’s much more romantic, with the splendid performance of “Romance”(?) and planetarium setting, and of course the mushy words…*sigh* /me faints

There goes my top two Corda guys, the bitter rivals in music and love, the two Tsu’s, both of whom Hino didn’t show a blush to in this episode. The rivalry wasn’t focused on as well; it was just filled with lots of love, with no tension between the guys. I think that’s both a good thing and a bad thing. But you can only do so much in one episode special.

Hihara’s scene was really sweet, filled with his usual genkiness, and a touch of mushiness. Yunoki’s was smutty and smexy, as expected, whilst Shimizu’s was beautifully… radiant. In the end, Hino returns all the guy’s performance and feelings with the “Greeting of Love”, without giving us a definite ending. I remain hopeful that the manga will provide us with more violin romance~

Kin-iro no Corda is a great anime, not only because of the bishielicious factor, but because of the solid development of the characters and relationships in the show. Despite the lack of definite ending, the show was able to impart what it so desired from the beginning: making people, both with or without musical abilities, appreciate and love music from the bottom of their heart. If you can stand the glaring shoujo-ness of the show, due to the amount of bishies, as well as its mushiness, I’d recommend you to watch this. This might be a really late (and random) review, since I didn’t indicate my rating for this show in my earlier review of the series.

Scrumptious Meter: 4.5 (-0.5 due to the lack of more violin romance icing; deduct more points depending on your tolerance to shoujo-ey stuff, especially bishies)

P.S. By the time of this writing, SMS (Strawberry Mint Subs) has already finished subbing the entire series, together with the Summer Special I featured in this post. So whoever wants to watch this can now do so in its fansubbed splendor~ (but please don’t ask me where and how to download the episodes, and use your resourcefulness instead.)

And so you’ve finally reached the end of this post~! Here’s a little reward for your effort, either for reading the entirety of this post, or for simply scrolling down the page to look at the pics :p

Two wonderful, and supposedly shiny, postcards included in the DVD:

Meanwhile, Hino’s practicing on the rooftop still worrying about Hihara, when Shimizu calls out her name and makes her snap from her thoughts. It seems that Shimizu fell asleep there, and heard Hino playing the whole time she was practicing. Hino tells him that it must have been painful listening to her horrible playing, to which Shimizu honestly agrees, but then smiles as he’s finally able to hear her own music again (“sempai’s music”).

Yunoki on the other hand thinks about his earlier conversation with Kanazawa-sensei regarding his plans to pursue his studies in economics instead of music, and remembers what Hihara asked him earlier, about wanting to confess his feelings to the girl he likes. This makes Yunoki think about himself, and his “own feelings” (his love for music).

The next day, Hino goes to the park to practice, when she sees Hihara practicing as well. The mood around them is a little more tense than usual because of what happened on the rooftop, but this gradually fades away as Hino tells Hihara that she’s playing Gavotte, making them reminisce that time they first played it together. Hino asks him if they could play it again, telling Hihara that it was he himself who first taught her how to enjoy playing music. “I like Hihara-sempai’s trumpet, because it cheers me up (or gives her encouragement)”. This makes Hihara forget about his [unnecessary] worries, especially with regards to comparing himself with Tsukimori who he knows is beyond his level, and reminisce his love for the trumpet. He recalls his first encounter with the trumpet, the efforts he exerted to get into Seisou Gakuen, where he was able to meet wonderful people, and most of all, he was able to play music with the girl he likes, just like now. With this, Hihara’s motivated to strive to become even better, to convey his feelings to Hino through his music.

Read the summary here:

It was the day of the competiton, and Hino rushes off to school because she slept late (as usual). She sees Yunoki standing on top of the stairs on the way to Seisou Gakuen, and was surprised by the fact that he’s there. “What’s with that stupid face this early in the morning?”, he said. Hino was surprised to see that he’s back, and Yunoki tells her that he came for the final selection. He just went to England to cancel his plans for studying there. Hino could not believe that it was true, with which Yunoki told her “Gullible people are really stupid.” Hino was at first a little irritated by what he said, but became glad now that Yunoki was there. Yunoki sees her smiling and asks what’s with that look on her face (it gives me the creeps, he said ^^;; ). Hino tells him she’s looking forward to his performance, and Yunoki gives his usual reply, “You really are an annoying person.” Hino was just glad that he will be able to participate in the concours now…

Yunoki arrives at Seisou Gakuen, much to the surprise and delight of his fans. Soon afterwards, Yunoki goes to the dressing room where all the male participants are, and were all speechless (as though they’ve seen a ghost). Hihara especially, was glad to see him, yet wondered what happened to his plans to study in England. It is only then that Kanazawa-sensei reveals to them that Yunoki only went to England to cancel his plans (or rather his grandmother’s) of studying. They were surprised that Kana-yan knew it all along, yet decided to keep it from them because he thought it was interesting (and indeed it brought interesting results :p) Yunoki apologizes for surprising everyone, to which Tsuchiura tells him that it’s not such a big deal. Tsuchiura even tells him that the competition has become more interesting now that he’s participating.

Hino goes to the women’s dressing room to prepare for the competition, then Lili comes out and tells her to do her best without any regrets. Lili offers her the “best dress” (according to him), and was just about to cast some spell on her when a girl from the music academy barges in and tells her of a bad news. Mori-san, her accompanist, got into an accident and left her hand injured. Amou defends Mori and explains to Hino that she witness how this reckless car run past her and causing her hand an injury. Mori deeply apologizes for this incident, as she won’t be able to accompany her in this final selection. Tsuchiura offers to be her accompanist, but then he wasn’t allowed to do so since he’s one of the competitors for the concours. Tsuchiura further insists on doing so, especially since Hino was supposed to be the first to perform. Just when they thought they were out of other ideas, Shoji-san arrives and offers to become Hino’s accompanist.

Everyone was surprised by her appearance, since she was the one who left Hino alone in her performance before. Shoji tells Hino that she knows she doesn’t have the right to ask her this, yet she deeply regretted what she did before, to the point of wanting to even quit playing the piano. Listening to Hino’s recent practice reminded her of the enjoyment she had when she was just starting to play the piano. “I love music, and now I’ve decided to once again face this love I have for music”, she says, and asks Hino to allow her to fulfill that by becoming her accompanist. Hino gladly accepts Shoji’s offer, which brought her to tears. Kana-yan worries over the fact that they never got to practice before this, and Hihara tells Kana-yan to let them switch places and make Hino perform last, to give her ample time to practice with Shoji. Everyone agrees with this, and Yunoki who was supposedly next to Hino, was to perform first instead.

The judges announce the change in the sequence of performance, and Yunoki’s fans were ecstatic to find that he became the first to perform. Yunoki thinks that it is indeed true that he lacked practice, but that just makes things more interesting. As Yunoki performs, Ousaki comments on how he performs magnificently as usual, but now it has had more depth. Hino proceeds with her practice as the performance is going on, and was reminded of what happened between her and Yunoki before. “I’m really glad that Yunoki-sempai was able to come back… I was shocked when I saw sempai’s true personality, but thanks to that, I was able to gain the courage to face the fact that I’ve been deceiving other people too… and allowed me to take a close look at my true feelings.”, Hino said. The judges comment on how delicate yet magnificent Yunoki’s performance is. Hihara welcomes Yunoki after his performance and tells him how impressed he was with his performance. “You’ve really come back! It’s great that you were able to join the competition”, says Hihara.

Hihara was the next to perform, and tells himself (and also Hino), “Do your best Hino. I’ll do my best too, because I love the trumpet”. Hihara starts performing and was filled with thoughts of wanting his trumpet to reach his loved ones. “I want to encourage the one I love with my own music… and give her courage”, he said. Hino then remembers his memories with Hihara, that he was the first one who taught him about music - that it should be done to one’s enjoyment. “I wonder how much I’ve been relying on Hihara-sempai up until now… I want to be perform such that I will be able to return the [feelings of] encouragement [sempai] has given me. Thank you for always being by my side, Hihara-sempai.”, says Hino. The judges were impressed by how Hihara’s performance not only gives a feeling of encourament / reassurance, but also allows them to feel the warmth of the music’s “soul”. Kana-yan greets him after his performance, saying how he seemed to be contented with his performance. Hihara agrees, and says that he couldn’t believe he will be able to play that well.

Fuyuumi’s turn comes up, and Hino comments on how she is able to relax during her performance now (and doesn’t get nervous anymore). Hino thinks about Fuyuumi, and tells about how she has thought about her as a little sister, but it doesn’t seem so anymore now that she shone brightly than anyone. “…As the concours progressed, you too have grown to be a gorgeous woman.”, says Hino. Ousaki and Hihara commment on how Fuyuumi’s performance gives out this light melody, as though it is made of feathers. Even the judges are amazed by her performance, and says that both her technique and expression of the music is great.

The fourth to perform was Shimizu, who the judges notice to have changed his instrument in preference to a Baroque cello. Kana-yan realizes the reason as to why Shimizu chose the Baroque cello… it was because it was more suited to the music of Bach’s timeline. “His performance accurate beyond doubt, yet at the same time shows his own original expression”, said the judges. Hearing Shimizu’s performance also brings back memories to Hino, how he was able to learn a lot from him too. “I deeply respect Shimizu’s seriousness towards music. From now on, let’s do our best to perform with the music within our hearts, ok?” Just then, Ousaki-sempai calls out Hino as her turn to perform is coming soon. Tsuchiura asks her if she can make it to her performance, to which she simply replies “I’ve done what I could, all that’s left for me to do is to do my best”.

Tsukimori performs next, and as Hino listens to his performance, she couldn’t help but feel as though the music is resounding, yet impending in her heart. She was filled with thoughts of Tsukimori, and remembers that the first person who made her realize the beauty of the violin is no other than Tsukimori. “But now it’s not simply its beauty I feel… [his music] resounds in my heart, and makes me feel the reassurance and warmth in his feelings. Despite the fact that he tells me about harsh truths, I am drawn to Tsukimori’s music, and that became a key instrument in making me go this far”, says Hino. The judges says that both Tsukimori’s technique and expression is marvelous, and that his level of performance has greatly improved within the one year time he spent at Seisou Gakuen. Returning from his performance, Tsukimori asks Hino as to how her preparation went. Hino tells him that she was able to make the necessary preparations, though she can’t say that it’s perfect. Tsukimori then advises her to simply perform with her own style of music.

As Tsukimori walks away, Tsuchiura tells him “Looks like I should be saying, I accept your challenge, eh… I’ll say it again, I won’t lost to you”. Tsukimori’s reply was simply “It’s your turn”. Tsuchiura starts his performance, and now Hino thinks about how Tsuchiura has always helped her out. “You’ve always been by my side, constantly worrying (caring) about me. At times, he gets really mad because of things I do. This performance which is certainly filled with warmth, is just like Tsuchiura. I believe it’s because of him that I was able to do my best up until now.”, says Hino.

As Tsuchiura continues with his performance, the shadow of his past self (his past self who joined the concours before) appears, and Tsuchiura tells him “How long are you planning to keep that [sorrowful] look on your face? You’re a man, right? Stop moping. I’ve gotten over that, and it’s all thanks to Hino. And now there’s nothing else that gives me more happiness than playing the piano”, then the little Tsuchiura looks at him with gleam in his eyes. Tsuchiura continues playing with everything he had… and the judges comments on how Tsuchiura’s performance exudes fineness / subtlety in the midst of its intensity. Hihara greets him and tells him how impressed he is by his performance. Tsuchiura then looks at Tsukimori, who tells him “That performance was just like you [your character]. You’re going to continue playing with your own style from this time on, right?” Tsuchiura replies, “I’ll return those words back at you”

And finally, it’s Hino’s turn to perform. Amou and the others were surprised that Hino is going to perform wearing simply her uniform, and Hino tells them that it’s alright, since she will be performing “just as she is”. Everyone agrees that such a decision is indeed like Hino. As she comes out the stage, Mio and Nao notice her accompanist, while the other ones notice how she’s wearing her uniform for the selection. Lili was a little worried as to how her performance will go, yet Hino didn’t feel the slightest fear, since her violin is with her. “This day has finally come, my violin”, Hino tells her violin, “This bond which brought me to the world of music… it’s now time to return my thanks to you [violin].” As Hino performs, she continues to convey her thoughts to the violin, and says “So many things has happened… Ever since the time I was given this violin, I had lots of wonderful encounters - wonderful memories that music has bestowed me. There have also been painful memories which brought me to tears, but may it be memories of sadness or happiness, I treasure them all. Indeed, I fell in love with this violin, and also fell in love with music. To my friends who have constantly watched over me, comforted me, and became my support… And, to Lili, who brought me to the world of music. I dedicate this song to all of you, this Ave Maria. This marks the beginning of this [journey]” Hino’s performance ends, and all the students (including Yunoki’s fans) applaud her for he splendid performance. Lili and everyone in the concours was really happy for her too. Hino was overjoyed by how her performance was accepted by all these people, and tells her violin, “Can you hear it? Everyone’s applauding this much [for our performance]. Thank you, for staying with me [and having been through all this with me] all this time.” Tears of joy run down from her face to the golden chord of her violin, making it shine.

The concours ends, and Hino decides to stay a little longer inside the concert hall. Lili pays her a visit, and thanks her for making the concours this wonderful / marvelous. Hino also thanks Lili for everything, and tells him that she’s going to continue playing the violin from that moment on [till the end]… to continue playing with the music in her heart. Just then, they hear the sound of someone playing, and were surprised to see that the “Cresendo” guys has prepared a little ensemble performance just for her, and each of them calls out her name

Shimizu: Kaho-sempai

Yunoki: Kahoko

Tsuchiura: Kaho

Tsukimori: Kahoko

Hihara: Kaho-chan

The Stella Quintet, performing “Salut D’Amour”
A little bonus Crescendo piccie (patched up / edited version of the screenshot) :p

Lili rings the school bells, as a sign that the concours (for that year) has ended. Hino sort of narrates a “semi-epiloque”, with her words, “From this moment on, I’m moving on towards a new path (in my life). Then scenes of Hino and the others helping out the kids in their mini-concert is shown… As the episode ends, Hino leaves this last words to the audience: “It will be great if we’ll meet again someday” -> *hint hint* :p

- THE END -
Nooo~ >o<

Thoughts:

I can’t believe this is the end of Corda~ ;___; *sniff* (can’t wait for the special episode in the last DVD! >.<). To think that this is one of the rare few animes I’ve diligently and faithfully followed every week… and the first anime I blogged about~ *sniff* you’ve left me great memories, Corda~

Anways, I really think the ending was great, even without a definite pair ending (Although that would’ve made me, a Tsuki x Hino fan, more delighted :p But then again that’ll make all the supporters of other Hino x guy pairing… XD). It was able to bring out the message of letting people appreciate and love music~ which is actually the main intent of the makers right from the start (the romance would’ve been an extra bonus :3).

Despite the lack of a definite ending, I’d say that the development of the relationship between the characters and Hino, especially how they played an integral part in making her realize her love for music, was clearly shown. With how things ended, all fans could actually just pick a guy for Hino, without the need to question as to how Hino would love that guy, since it’s clearly depicted in the anime. We just have our own biases, that’s all… in my humble opinion :p

For people who wants to know songs played in this episode, here’s the list:

Yunoki: Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14 (Rachmaninoff)
Hihara: Jupiter, movement from The Planets (Holst)
Fuyuumi: Clarinet Polka (Poland folk song)
Shimizu: Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 (Bach)
Tsukimori: 24 Caprices by (Paganini)
Tsuchiura: La Campanella (Liszt)
Hino: Ave Maria (Schubert)

The Stella Quintet: Salut D’Amour(Elgar) -> this is the “special song” in the game… although it wasn’t what I expected, it’s great that all the guys performed this~ >o<

Corda, you’ll forever be in my heart, in the same way as music lies in the depths of Hino Kahoko’s heart :p

Afterthoughts:
Ok… so what’s going to happen after this? Will I continue blogging summaries like this? Hmm… perhaps if I find something among the animes that would be “close to my heart”, and something that’s not too technical so I can manage to understand it without the english subs… then perhaps I could continue on blogging like this. Though perhaps not as detailed as these summaries I’ve made for Corda, coz it takes up too much time… >.<;;; We’ll see~ (I’ll be on another blog by then, blogging with fellow anime fangirl otakus :3)

poor Hihara is all confused…

Summary:

Since the pacing of the manga is not as fast as the anime, and also because a few chapters diverted from concentrating on the concours to give us fun “side stories”, it’s only now that we once again see the glimpse of Hino and the others in Seisou Gakuen. Hihara’s semi-depression happens in this part of the manga, where he was unable to do anything to help Hino. He is worried about Hino, his performance, and his love…

Rumors spread around the school about the change in Hino’s performance, and Tsuchiura and Tsukimori talks about it in the school rooftop (much like the one in the anime).

Hihara spends some time practicing with a senior (though I’m not really sure who it is), and he can’t concentrate on practicing because there’s a lot on his mind… He spends some time alone on the rooftop, and ends up falling asleep. Hino also goes to the rooftop and sees that he was sleeping. She goes to look at him, when he suddenly wakes up, surprised to see Hino in front of him. Just then, some students also arrive on the rooftop, talking about the rumor about Hino… then leaves after they see Hino there. Hihara was about to go after them when Hino stops him and tells him not to mind. Hino tells him that he doesn’t need to worry about her since she has decided to do her best after what happened.

Hihara asks her if she was able to find someone to accompany her in the amusement park, and was surprised to know that Tsukimori was the one who accepted her invitation. He thinks it’s unusual for him to have agreed to do such a thing… then thinks about what happened before (the one where he sees Hino and Tsukimori inside the classroom, in the midst of Tsukimori confronting Hino about hearing her play the ordinary violin), then says his thoughts out loud: “Can’t it be me?”. Realizing what he just said, he quickly tells Hino not to mind it.

As Hihara looks at Hino, he couldn’t help but compare himself to her. Unlike Hino who is now trying her best to recover from what happened in the 3rd selection (and the fact that she didn’t even need his help), he couldn’t get over it and continued to wallow in his sorrow. Hino notices that Hihara is in a daze, and was about to tap his shoulder (to perhaps ask if he’s ok), when he suddenly reacts by shoving off her hand. Hihara was also surprised by his own actions, and decided to run off. Hino was about to run after him when he sees him all flustered. He apologizes about what he has done, then leaves.

- end of chapter 38 -

I believe Hihara felt so useless, since he wasn’t able to help Hino, and also because his self-pitying / wallowing gets the better of him… >.<

Episode summary:

Hino goes to the rooftop then sees Tsukimori standing there, waiting for her. He gives her an invitation to the charity concert where he and his mother will be performing. Hino remembers the time before the 2nd selection where she told Tsukimori about how he must be nervous because his parents would be in the audience… and then realizes how Tsukimori is now inviting her to this concert despite that anxiety he has. “I want to let you hear / see my performance”, he says. Hino reflects on this sudden change in Tsukimori and realizes that perhaps he is trying to bridge the gap between them. Seeing the effort that Tsukimori has put into not only inviting her, but also on deciding to join this concert, she accepts his invitation and tells him she will surely come. Tsukimori was quite stunned by Hino’s full-acceptance of it (surprise of joy ^^), and leaves. Hino tells herself to do her best as well.

Hino spends some time in the garden, reading Ave Maria’s music score. Lili pays her a visit, and then Hino tells him that she’s going back to the basics, that is, performing it according to how it is in the music piece. She believes that this score reflects the composer’s thoughts and feelings [and intentions], and that it would be better if she would be able to express those feelings in her performance. Lili tells her that it’s good that she’s going back to the basics, but reminds her that the one’s who’s going to play it is no one else but herself (as though telling Hino that she should perform it by conveying her own feelings, and not of others). Lili came only to tell her that, then encourages her to do her best.

On the other side of the garden, Amou takes pictures of Fuyuumi, and thanks her for allowing her to make great shots. Fuyuumi is as bashful as ever, and was embarrassed by this remark. Amou tells her to work hard in the final selection, and comments on how she’s not as shy as she was before anymore. Amou thinks that it must be because of the growth that she’s had throughout the concours (music skill-wise, and social-skill wise). Fuyuumi completely denies it and says she hasn’t really progressed that well yet, to which Amou-san tells her that she doesn’t have to outright deny it ^^;; Amou reminds her that saying those things will make Hino worried, since Hino is the one who’s been having a hard time advancing in her practice. Just then, a couple of guys (Fuuyumi’s fans perhaps :p) sees Fuyuumi and tells her that they’ll be cheering for her. Fuyuumi thanks them in reply but ended up stuttering and hiding behind Amou. With this, Amou san comments on how this side of of her is indeed far from better.

In the faculty room, Kana-yan stares out the window while singing an opera song [whose name escapes my mind at the moment] (that he probably used to sing). He was having a hard time singing and ended up coughing, unable to finish what he was singing. Just then, Hino comes in and asks him if he’s alright. Kana-yan was surprised by her sudden appearance, to which Hino apologizes, and tells him she came to return the music stand. Hino then asks him, “Are you not singing anymore?”, which surprises Kana-yan. Hino continues, “The one singing in the casette tape we heard before, it was Kanazawa-sensei, right? It was such a beautiful voice…”. This renders him speechless, as he’s not able to sing like he used to anymore.

Hino notices the sadness in his face, then realizes that perhaps the reason why he’s not singing anymore is because of his throat. “Not being able to find a new path, is really painful” Hino remembers those words by Kana-yan, as she realizes exactly what he meant that time. Hino deeply apologizes for what she just said, and was about to leave the room when Kana-yan tells her, “Seeing you guys working so hard seems to have healed this wound of mine… something like that”… Hino tells him that he wants (or hopes) to see him singing again, then leaves the room. Kana-yan continues sitting by the window, and was about to take a smoke then stops his urge to do so (since it’s most likely just his escape from all his problems). And then we see a flashback of Kana-yan when his opera singing career was still at its peak.

The following day, Hino continues practicing in a park, when she notices Hihara looking at her behind a tree. Hino was quite surprised to see him there, and Hihara tells her that he’s been there just a little while ago and was waiting for her to finish practicing. Hihara treats her for some dessert, and tells her that it’s her reward for working so hard. “Eating sweets is a good stress [fatigue] reliever”, he says… and tells Hino that’s what Yunoki tells him. This makes them wonder what Yunoki might be doing at that very moment. Brushing off that thought for a moment, both of them indulge in eating the cake [sweets] they have. Hihara was really happy that Hino liked it very much. Hihara stares at her for a few seconds (smiling as he sees her so happy) , then snaps out of his dazed state. “I was just thinking… that it must be something a guys yearns for [dreams for], treating [the girl he likes] to a cake.” (now this is what Hihara intended to say, but ended up being so embarrased and ends up saying “…if cake can be likened to a music [that you like], I wonder what music that will be”) He was trying to say “Cake wa ne, suki na on[na] no ko…” (cake… the girl you like) and says “…ongaku…” (music) instead :p

Hino wonders about this “…music that you like” that Hihara said… Hihara tells himself “What the heck am I saying?”, when Hino suddenly mentions her reply to what Hihara said (which wasn’t what he was intending to say) “…perhaps Gavotte (the one they played together in the first or second ep), because it’s cute and makes your heart flutters”. Hihara smiles as he remembers the time they played it together. “For the last selection, I’m going to perform for the person I treasure most. For the sake of that person whom I want to support, I’m going to continue pursuing music to cheer up that valuable person.”, he says… then Hino blushes. “For some reson, I thought of wanting to tell you these words. Let’s both to our best”, says Hihara.

The next day, Hino practices with Mori-san, where Mori tells Hino that she has improved a lot. Hino tells her that perhaps she still has a long way to go in terms of technique, and Mori agrees. But then she tells Hino that she feels more assured of her performance now, with the way things are going. “It’s because of I thought of playing it according to what the music piece states”, says Hino, and Mori tells her it’s good that she’s going back to the basics. Then they have another round of practice.

On the rooftop, Hino continues practicing, concentrating on the parts that are difficult to play, “.. as it is stated in the music piece”. Just then, Shimizu approaches her and tells her that’s not her music anymore. Hino tells him that she thinks it’s important to play it according to the piece, with which Shimizu tells her that her “musical score” is not that sheet of paper, but rather her heart. “I’ve also found my own ‘musical piece’, and I owe it all to you, sempai”, says Shimizu and gives out a bright smile.

The day of the concert comes, and Hino arrives at the place too early. She decides to take a scroll along the beach close by, and was surprised to see Tsukimori gazing at the sea. She calls him out, before he noticed her presence. Hino thanks him for inviting her, and Tsukimori says it’s not a big deal. Hino looks at Tsukimori and tells him, “I didn’t quite expect to see Tsukimori to be at this place before the concert” Tsukimori honestly agrees with what she just said, and says “I’ve never done this before… I wonder what came into me and I suddenly felt like it.” Hino was thinking of what to reply to him, when she sees a cherry shell lying on the sand. She was about to pick it up when Tsukimori grabs her hand and tells her “A cherry shell breaks easily… what if you end up wounding your hands again? The reason why you are able to play music is because you have these hands, so treat it with more care.” Hino thanks him for his concern and carefully picks up the shell. “It’s so beautiful”, Hino says “Being able to touch, feel, and experience things like this, and getting hurt… it’ll be great if everyone will be able to convey all those feelings in their performance.” Tsukimori then tells her “…performing with the feelings drawn out from your heart will make your music shine through, bringing out a melody from the depths of your heart… That is your music” with this, Hino remembers the words of Lili and Shimizu, and realizes what they mean about “her music”. “This is a good diversion… Looks like I’ll be able perform well today”, Tsukimori says.

The performance was about to start and Hihara arrives in the concert hall. “Did you also receive an invitation ticket, Kaho-chan?”, he asks, and tells her that he was astounded when he received the letter of invitation from Tsukimori’s mother. Hino was surprised to know that Hihara received it from Tsukimori’s mother, whereas she received it directly from Tsukimori. Tsuchiura arrives after, and says that he was also invited by Tsukimori’s mom. He was just as surprised as Hihara was, as he never thought of receiving such invitation from Hamai Misa (Tsukimori’s mom) herself. Shimizu and Fuyuumi-chan were the last ones to arrive (among the concours participants), and it was by coincidence that they came together. Hino realizes that the only one Tsukimori has given the ticket to is her. Noticing that Hino was the only one seated in front of them, Hihara asks Hino why she is the only one seating in a different row than them (and of course we know the reason why ^^). Hino reluctantly replies (as she didn’t know how to tell them that it was because she was invited by Tsukimori) and just laughs it off. Then the concert starts…

After a wonderful performance with Hamai Misa and the singer by the name of Kanon (voiced by Kanon), it was Tsukimori’s turn to perform with his mother. Tsukimori performs splendidly, and as the participants of the concours were watching him play the violin, they imagine this scene where they see Tsukimori playing in a beautiful garden while the rain falls. Hino could especially feel the heartfelt performance that Tsukimori is showing in this performance of his. After their performance, Tsukimori looks at her mother and brings out a gentle smile. The scene focuses on Hino, which I believe reflects Tsukimori’s sight, as he looks at her from among the audience.

All of them goes to the dressing room to greet Tsukimori and his mom, to thank them for the invitation and also for their splendid performance. Fuyuumi comments on how Tsukimori’s performance was wonderful, to which Hihara mentions how Tsukimori seems to shine brightly as he performed. Tsuchiura reacts to what Hihara said about Tsukimori “shining brightly”, and thinks that it doesn’t quite suit him ^^;; Hino mentions that Tsukimori seems to have enjoyed playing this time, and Hihara agrees, since the performance he showed was different than before. He chose a [completely] different suit, and that it now comes with a necktie (something like that :] ),” as Hihara puts it. Shimizu also comments on how his performance was relaxed and intimate. Hino agrees with what they all said, and was happily smiling.. and all the while Tsuchiura seems to be looking at her (perhaps because of how her happiness shows through her face).

Inside the dressing room, Tsukimori’s mom thanks Kanon-san for her wonderful singing, and replies that she’s also honored to have been able to perform together with Hamai Misa. Hino and company arrives in the dressing room, which makes Tsukimori have this [T__T]-like expression :p Tsukimori’s mom thanks all of them for coming, to which Tsuchiura says that she doesn’t have to mention it, since it’s an honor for them to be invited. “It was really fun!”, Hihara tells her, which Tsukimori’s mother was happy to hear. She looks at Hino, with this mischievous smile on her face ^^… and then says “As I thought”. This surprises Tsukimori, as his mother had known about something… :p Afterwards, she tells all of them to do their best in the final competition.

All of them (including Tsukimori) goes to take a walk, and Hihara tells them that it was indeed a great concert. He also tells Tsukimori that he looks forward to his performance in the upcoming competition, and Tsukimori thanks him. Tsuchiura then comments on how Hihara has such composure to be telling someone else those words. He tells Tsuchiura it’s not really like that. He just thinks that since it’s already the final selection, he has to do his best and enjoy what he does, in order for him to not have any regrets, and Hino agrees.

Hino stops for a moment and looks at all of them, saying “I’ve decided to play the violin using my own style in the final selection. Playing without using the musical score as a basis, but rather my own music.” Fuyuumi cheers on Hino and tells her she looks forward to Hino’s performance. Hino was really happy to hear those words from her, and hugs her in thanks ^^ Hihara then reacts “That’s unfair, Fuyuumi! I was the first one who told her that!” (reacting on the fact that Hino hugged Fuyuumi because of that comment she made XD). Hino then drags Fuyuumi to eat some cake in the store just across where they are. Hihara says that Hino’s back to her usual self, and Tsuchiura tells them “Looks like we have to go and follow after her” (which implies a deeper meaning of course). We see Tsukimori gazing at Hino… and then episode ends

After that, Hihara, who was together with Hino and Tsuchiura, mentions about whether Yunoki is practicing or not at that very moment. Hino says that because of the time difference, he must be asleep already, and Hihara asks about the time difference between Japan and England. As they arrive in the music school building, they were surprised to see a lot of female students are down and depressed (and gives of this purple aura of depression ^^;;; ) These students are all Yunoki’s fans, and still couldn’t get over the fact that Yunoki has already left. They bump into the “trio” head of Yunoki’s fanclub, who tells them that the final concours has no meaning now that Yunoki, who they consider to be the “lead actor”, is not around anymore. They also say that the same goes for Seisou Academy, that there’s no meaning in staying there because of Yunoki’s absence… >.>;;;

Hino thinks about what they said about the concours not having any meaning, and feels down… Tsuchiura tells her not to mind what they say, since they’ll be rendered speechless once they see their performance on stage Hihara agrees, and tells them that they have to do their best in the last selection, for Yunoki’s sake as well. Then Hihara tells them that he believes that Yunoki will someday come back into the world of music again, and Hino agrees.

Hino practices on the rooftop, and gives out a sigh as she makes some mistakes again… Tsukimori hears her playing and goes to the rooftop. He tells her that the way she’s holding the violin is too light, and that there’s something wrong with the positioning of her elbows (not quite sure about this, what Tsukimori said was something like, “your elbows are way too outside”.. something like that). Then, he advises Hino to better correct this [proper positioning]. Tsukimori asks her about the condition of her violin, and Hino tells him something like “It is up to my skill (and not the violin’s) as to whether she will perform well or not”. Then Tsukomori asks her “Are you not afraid? I’m sure you have felt how the eyes of the people around are on you (or how she’s being scrutinized by the people around her)… Are you not afraid of going up the stage in such a state?” Hino tells him “I will be lying if I say I’m not afraid. But since I’m with this violin, which has paved the way for me into music, and allowed me to meet Tsukimori and everyone else, as well as gave me wonderful memories, it makes me want to go up the stage together with it.” Then Tsukimori notices Hino’s hand trembling as she holds on to her violin… “looks like I still haven’t improved much up until the end / up until now”, she says. As Tsukimori looks at Hino, he admires her for her courage, as she’s willing to fight and not give up on the competition despite all that.

Tsuchiura on the other hand, is sitting on a bench, thinking about the theme for the final selection… then tells himself “Looks about time for me to make a comeback, if not…” [then thinks about what Hino told him, about not rushing things, and improving little by little, one step at a time] “…I’ll be laughed at by her. In the final selection, I will play that song”

Hino finishes practicing and was going down the stairs when she see a film case along the stairway. She picks it up and gives it to Amou, for which Amou is so thankful for, as losing it would mean losing a big scoop She places it in a case together with other films to be developed. She closes the cabinet door too hard, and the box on top of it ended up falling… Amou goes to clean her camera lens as it was dusted when the box fell. Hino comments on how Amou herself maintains her camera. Amou tells her “Of course, since it’s with me wherever I go… This camera may be old, but for me, I consider it a great partner / buddy”. Hino thinks about “being partners”, and says that she wants herself and her violin to be buddies / partners as well.

As Amou was picking up the stuff that fell, she notices a cassette tape, and wonders what it was, since it’s quite old and the text on label is already distorted… She goes to play it, and they hear the sound someone singing what appears to be an opera song… Kanazawa-sensei hears this, and quickly runs off to the room where Hino and Amou were. Both of them were surprised, as Kanazawa-sensei barges in, and quickly takes away the tape. “Don’t tell anyone about this tape!”, said Kana-yan, which leaves both the girls in surprise and wonder. They notice the sad look on Kana-yan’s face, then he leaves the room. Hino realizes that the person singing on the tape they heard must be him (and the sad look on his face was because of something from his past)

Tsukimori arrives home, and was greeted by his mother as he came. Tsukimori asks her mother about the charity concert that she told him about before, and expresses his wanting to participate in the concert. His mother tells him “So you’ve finally accepted it.”, which he corrects by saying “No, it’s just that there’s someone I want to hear my music” His mother was quite surprised by this (since it denotes that he has found a ’special someone ), and wonders who was that person who opened up his heart… As Tsukimori walks away (on the way to his room perhaps), he tells himself that he has to overcome / get over [this] (more like overcome himself… his own devils… perhaps the way he pressures himself and shuts himself from people).

The next day, Tsuchiura practices in the old uncle’s (sorry, don’t know his name ) music store. He notices that the piece Tsuchiura was playing was the one that he played in the concours before. Tsuchiura tells him that it was the song he chose, since it is the final selection, and he wants to play the best song. The store owner smiles as Tsuchiura has gotten over that event in the past and has come to terms with playing it again. And then he asks about Tsukimori (whom he has seen together with Hino as they went to buy some stuff for her violin), and wonders if he was a friend of Tsuchiura. Tsuchiura corrects him and tells him that he’s just someone he knows from school

Tsuchiura wonders why he asked this, and the store owner tells him that his face seemed familiar to him… wondering where he was seen him before. Just then, Hino comes to the store to buy a tuning fork. Tsuchiura tells her “So you’re going to tune your strings? It’s quite late buying that now” Hino agrees, and thinks to herself “Tuning strings and maintaining my violin… I have to [gradually] keep in mind these things, because this violin is my partner”. Then, Tsuchiura tells her he’ll be helping out in tuning her strings (temporarily, for that day)

That time, Hihara who has just came out from a fastfood, thinks that he heard someone playing just then.. and runs off to follow where it’s coming from. He sees the music shop, and was surprised to see that there was such a store there. Hihara feels as though he was been there before, but couldn’t quite remember it. Just then, Tsukimori walks in front of the store, and was greeted by Hihara (he was dazing around as he walked, so he wondered where he was when Hihara called him out). Hihara tells him it’s unusual to see him spacing out.

Tsukimori realizes that he’s in front of the music store and Hihara asks him if he knows / has been there before. Tsukimori tells him he’s been there once, so did Hihara, he just doesn’t quite remember it well. As they were talking, Hino and Tsuchiura comes out of the store, and sees Hihara and Tsukimori outside. Seeing Hino and Tsuchiura made Hihara remember about the time he went to that store, it was during his first year in junior high. At that time, he was wondering about whether to continue on with the track and field, or enter the brass band instead. He was dazed out, as he walks in front of the store.. and bumps into Tsuchiura (of course they still don’t know each other that time )… Hihara sees the trumpet display outside the store, and his eyes widen in astonishment of how great the silver trumpet looks. “What am I being confused about? The answer lies within here [my heart]“, Hihara tells himself. And then after that, he quit the track and field and joined the brass band.

After Hihara remembers that event from his past, the store owner rushes outside to tell Tsuchiura that he has also remembered where he was seen tsukimori. Then, all of them watches the video of the concours where Tsukimori was part of… Tsukimori asks him why he has that video, and says “Enough of this”, as he didn’t want to see himself in the past. Hino tells Tsukimori that this chance doesn’t come that easy, so they better watch it thoroughly. Then Tsukimori tells them “It’s not as good as you think (or it’s not that great)” Tsuchiura remembers that it was Tsukimori’s video that prompted him to join the concours.

Way back elementary, the store owner was persuading him to join the concours, seeing the great talent that he had. A lot of people are telling him to join it too, but then Tsuchiura didn’t have any interest in joining such competition. He also says that he’ll be thought of as stuck-up since he’ll be joining at that early age. And so the store owner decided to show him a video of the previous concours, where a boy of the same age as his, performed really well. Tsuchiura was in awe as he saw how good Tsukimori was…

As they were now watching the video, Tsuchiura thinks that at that time, he thought that there was actually someone like him [tsukimori], who was that good, at his age. And seeing someone like tsukimori take part in the competition made him think that the concours is interesting. He never thought that it was Tsukimori.

Hihara praises the store owner, since this video he has is a “jewel” And then, he tells them that he also has Tsuchiura’s video. Tsuchiura was greatly embarrassed by this, since he doesn’t want anyone to see that video of his anymore He tells the store owner “Didn’t I tell you to get rid of that?!”, with which the owner tells him he can’t possibly do that, since it’s a precious collection of his… And then, Tsukimori says “I [absolutely] want to watch that too”. Hihara tells the store owner that he’ll hold Tsuchiura so that he won’t be able to resist, and let them watch his video.. ^^;;;;

After that, they take a walk to the park. Tsuchiura tells Tsukimori that Tsukimori is sure to win in the competition. Tsukimori tells him “Of course”, and Tsuchiura replies “But I will not lose to you”. Tsukimori accepts the challenge

Then they see Ousaki-sempai together with some kids, who are having a volunteer concert. The kids are all sad since no one is accepting the invitation they’re giving, and was about to lose hope when Hihara thought of an idea when he saw some band setting up in the park. Tsuchiura quickly understands Hihara’s idea, and thinks it’s great.

They started playing ‘Entertainer’, which gathers up quite a crowd ^^ Hino says she heard this song before, and Ousaki-sempai tells her it’s “Entertainer”, by Charlie Chaplin. “What a relaxing feeling [makes you feel free and relaxed]… I like this kind of performance”, Hino says.

The kids then gave out the pamphlets regarding their concert and all the people gladly accepted it. Ousaki sempai then says “Music sure is a mystery…. those kids who were all feeling down before, has become all happy because of music.” With those words, Tsukimori remembers some words from her mother “Ren, music is something that you should enjoy / find happiness with, and is also something that will bring happiness to other people.” Tsukimori finally understands those words from her mother and gives out a gentle smile *sigh* =P

Tsuchiura and Hino walks home (I wonder why.. ), and Hino says that she had fun. Tsuchiura asks if she’s going to play “Ave Maria”, and Hino says yes. Hino then asks if he’s going to play that piece he was playing in the MInami music store, and Tsuchiura was quite surprised that Hino heard him play. Hino tells him he heard it outside… Tsuchiura tells her it’s Liszt’s “La Campanella”, the piece he played in the concours he joined way back elementary. He has never played it again after that… until now. “I decided to get over my past and make a comeback. Seeing how you work so hard has made me realize how I’ve been running away from my past, and it’s such a pitiful sight” Hino tells him she couldn’t have possibly been working hard to affect him to such extent…

Then, Tsuchiura tells her “That piece, was originally / borrowed from a piece Paganini composed for violin (Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.2). During Paganini’s recital, Liszt, who was so impressed with this piece Paganini composed, was inspired / decided to make a piano piece of this work of Paganini” Hino was in awe as she learns about those things… and walks forward when tsuchiura stayed standing… “I never thought this time will come when I will be able to play that piece again / anew. Just like how Paganini was to Liszt, a violinist named [you] / [such as you] is here in the midst of my piano” (awww >o<)… Tsuchiura’s such a poet :3

Hihara absent-mindedly stares at the window, gazing at the sky when his classmate wakes him up from his dazed state. His classmate tells him to go practice, since the competition is coming close, and now that Yunoki’s gone, he’s the only representative of the 3rd years. After being told “how could you not give it your best”, he was reminded of being told a similar thing in the past. “Don’t give up on winning the competition”, he tells Hihara, then tells him that the seat Hihara is seating on is his ^^;;

After that, we see Kanazawa-sensei and his cat, commenting on how it has gotten fat… ^^;; Just then, Hihara approaches Kana-yan and asks him, “Is simply liking music is not good enough? …it doesn’t make sense to me… winning, being worried about who’s not here” Kana-yan tells him that the concours is indeed like that. Hihara tells Kana-yan, “But playing music to win against people…”, with which Kana-yan tells him that his enemy is not other people but himself. Kana-yan tells him, “Give it your all, continue striving to be better than what you are now… don’t give any excuses. And then in the end, you’ll be able to let go of your past self (worries in the past).” Hihara thinks about what Kana-yan said about ?past self…’ After giving this advice, Kanazawa-sensei tells himself “What am I saying? I’m saying things like some teacher again “… then advises Hihara to not simply think about it on his own, but rather think about it together with his trumpet - what his own music should be. With all this advice he gave Hihara, he reflects on his own life and tells himself “Geez… is this something I should be telling other people?”… then comments on how great youth is… ^^”

Hino is on the way to practice, when she sees Hihara practicing on the rooftop. Noticing the change in the way Hihara plays, Hino thinks about what Yunoki told her (that there’s still someone whose music is yet to changed / there’s another person whose music has changed… not sure which… >.<) and thinks that Yunoki was probably referring to Hihara.

Hino goes to the rooftop, then as she was just about to say something, Hihara tells her “You know, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately… why I actually wanted to play the trumpet. I already said it before, that I used to be in the track and field club up until junior high. I’ve been a member since elementary… I didn’t find it hard, and I was able to gain friends too…” and then we see a flashback of when Hihara was still in the track and field…

He made a new best lap record, with which his friend (Yuu) who was also an active member of the track and field, is so proud of… since they’ll be sure to win at that rate. Just then, they hear someone practicing trumpet, and Hihara was awed by how its sound resonates even until the school grounds. He wonders if it’s Miyauchi-sempai (it was not shown here, but in the manga, Miyauchi sempai is a senior girl who influenced him to gain interest in playing the trumpet), Seeing how excited Hihara is with hearing the trumpet than in the upcoming competition, Yuu frowns and tells Hihara that the competition is near, and that not all freshmen can take part in it. Then tells Hihara “How can you be a contender that way?”, then the flashback ends…

Hihara tells Hino that he started the track and field simply because he liked running, so winning and even participating in competitions didn’t mean much to him. Hino realizes that perhaps he feels the same way towards the concours.

Hihara continues with his story, telling Hino that he ended up quitting the track and field, and joined the brass band. Yuu, on the other hand, did his best and practiced every day as he was chosen as the representative in the competition. What Hihara did was cheer him up with his trumpet on the day of the athletic meet. Yuu was quite surprised and happy to see him there, cheering for him. Hihara cheered, “Yuu, do your best!! I’m sure you’ll be alright… just do it like you always do!!” then he was chased because he was causing some commotion… (and because what he was doing was dangerous) ^^;;

The athletic competition is over, and Yuu goes to see Hihara who’s sitting under a tree. Hihara asks him about the result of the competition, and Yuu tells him he placed 2nd. Hihara was so happy for him, but Yuu tells him that Hihara would’ve done so much better, and that if he was sure to win if he joined. But then Hihara never thought about that… Yuu asked him about having any regrets quitting the track and field, then Hihara says he doesn’t feel any regrets, because quitting the club doesn’t mean he already quit running. He still likes running, but really doesn’t have any interest in joining competitions… “You concentrate hard, but then you control all your emotions as you run… it’s not that I hate it, but I just don’t think I’m up for such competition. But playing the trumpet is different! With this, I can give it everything I got and release my emotions as I blow. It feels soo great!! I want to practice more and more, then I’ll be sure to go cheer you again with my trumpet the next time you compete!” he tells Yuu.

But then after that, Yuu moved to another place, so they were not able to meet again. Then Hino tells him that winning 2nd place in the competition was a great feat, and that Hihara’s trumpet surely made an impact on Yuu and became a source of encouragement for him (received energy / gained energy from, is what she literally said ) “The sound of the trumpet resounds in one’s entire body, just like how our very cells and heartbeat overflows us with energy. I also gain strength / encouragement from Hihara’s music. With those words, Hihara remembers a similar thing said to him by Yuu, that he gains strength from Hihara’s trumpet… “You’re still not that skilled, but it was able to give me strength, that overflowed in my body. Thank you, Kazuki”

Hihara thinks about the rumors and talks about Hino, then realizes just how she’s been working hard despite all that. Hino tells him that she still hasn’t worked hard enough, and that she needs to work hard even more. Just then, Hihara plays the trumpet for her (cute~). “There’s nothing I can do but this, to cheer up Hino, with my music. To cheer you up with this trumpet of mine… I want to give encouragement to the people I cherish. Indeed, this is my music… Kaho-chan!” these thoughts filled Hihara as he played the trumpet…

Kanazawa-sensei and Yunoki are in the faculty room, as Yunoki was getting some documents from him. Kana-yan hears Hihara playing and comments on how he was finally able to get back to his old self. Then Yunoki leaves…

Then we see this sort of random (?) scene of Yunoki in the woods / bamboo… o.O

Anyways, Hino is practicing with Mori, her accompanist.. Mori tells her she’s performing better than before, but then Hino tells her to be frank with her and tell her exactly what she thinks about her current performance. Mori tells her that she thinks with her current level, she’ll have a hard time in the concours… then tells Hino “But then, I’m looking forward to it (or rather looking forward to Hino playing). Seeing you play with all your heart will make us (or everyone) think there’s more to this competition than winning. Something like that~” Hino tells Mori that the final selection will indeed be hard, then asks Mori if they could go on the stage together. Mori says “of course!”

Tsukimori wonders if Hino could bear all the rumors and gossips about her before the final selection comes. Then Tsuchiura says Hino is strong. Tsukimori remembers the event where Hino cried… then shows some worry (regarding Tsuchiura’s comment of Hino being strong) Tsuchiura asks Tsukimori whether there’s something else she knows about Hino, and Tsukimori replies that he doesn’t. Tsuchiura says “She looks like Cinderella who lost her magic, eh…”, and tells Tsukimori that’s what the store owner told him. Tsuchiura believes that up until the present, the hard work Hino’s been showing is genuine and real, not simply some magic.

Mio and Nao meets up with Hino (or rather, suprises her ^^;; ), reminding Hino not to forget to take care of her body despite working hard in practicing Kana-yan sees this, and perhaps thinks that it’s great that Hino has such friends who supports her.

Hino continues practicing during lunch time, then Shimizu and Fuyuumi exchange comments regarding Hino’s music…

Shimizu: It’s Kaho-sempai’s music…
Fuyuumi: Kaho-sempai has been practicing really hard.
Shimizu: Sempai’s [real] feelings towards music is showing in the way she plays…
Fuyuumi: It’s said that sweets are good for easing tiredness… Perhaps I should bake some cookies for sempai next time…
Shimizu: Ahh… it feels like some music which fell down from the skies.

Hearing Hino practicing reminds Kana-yan of his past…

In the rooftop, Amou-san visits her and shows her some pics of her… it includes a sleeping Hino, which Hino takes away form Amou since it was an embarrassing pic Then, Amou-san showed her this pic from the 2nd selection (where she won), and tells her that even people who haven’t known her personally would know that she surely loves violin (just by looking at that pic). Amou gaves Hino that pic, and tells her it’s like some “trump card” for her, as she will be reminded of how good she played that time… just like how soccer players replay videos of how they play to see their strengths [and weakness, though this wasn't mentioned anymore ] Hino thanks her, and Amou cheers her up to do her best in the final competition.

After school, Hihara catches up with Yunoki who was also on his way home. Hihara tells Yunoki that he must be doing a lot of preparations… in the same way as he is preparing for the upcoming competition. Hihara said he’s in a kind of “super practice mode” Hihara tells him “Music is great after all”, which somewhat strikes Yunoki.. And then, Hihara congratulates him for winning the 3rd selection…as he doesn’t remember doing so before (because of a lot of worries he had). Then tells him to do his best even in England.

Kanazawa-sensei goes to the rooftop and tells Hino that time for staying in school for practice is over… Kana-yan tells Hino that she’s been practicing really hard every day. Hino tells her it’s not so, because despite doing all this, there might be no meaning to it… then, apologizes to Kana-yan for saying such things (she said that there are really times when she just blurts out things, when she’s not at ease…). She tells him that she’s decided to practice real hard. Then Kana-yan tells her “How admirable you are… [As for me] I wasn’t able to get over it”. He leaves and tells Hino to be careful on her way home.

Just as when Hino was going to get out of the school, Yunoki arrives in his car and drags her along for dinner… ^^;;

At the restaurant, Hino thinks to herself “Feels like something like this has happened before…” Yunoki sees Hino in a somewhat dazed state, and asks if there’s something wrong with the food. Hino tells him that’s not it, it’s delicious and it’s her first time eating in such a classy restaurant.

“This is the last dinner”, Yunoki says, which makes Hino wonder what he’s talking about. Yunoki asks Hino if she’s going to continue playing the violin, and Hino tells him she was unsure of her feelings before but now she has clearly decided to continue on, and do her best in the final competition. Yunoki compliments her for her determination, with which Hino tells him it’s because she was “persuaded” / “encouraged” by him to do so…

Hino then asks if he’s still going to continue playing the flute after he goes to England… Yunoki was unable to reply, and Hino follows it up with another question “Are you absolutely not allowed to do so?” Yunoki then asks her… “Are you trying to tell me that you want me by your side?” Hino tells Yunoki it’s not like that, she just wants him to continue on playing music, and not quit… with this, Yunoki smiles (an honest, from-the-bottom-of-his-heart kind of smile~ ^^)

“I’m glad, Kahoko.” (or rather, ‘you made me have a pleasant time’) Yunoki said. “You were perfect for killing my boredom.”

Then Yunoki leaves for his flight… (he paused for a little, looked back and smiled… most likely remembering about Hino )

The next day, Tsukimori and Hino ride the station and Hino wonders where they’ll be going (as Tsukimori never mentioned anything… ^^;; ) Tsukimori brought her to some sort of violin-repairman (who also manufactures violins)… Nakata-san recognizes Tsukimori, and tells him that it’s been a year since he has last seen him. Tsukimori tells Hino that their family has been entrusting Nakata-san with their violin, starting from his grandfather. He also tells her that Nakata-san does manufacturing up until repairing of violins.

Tsukimori asks Nakata-san to check up on a violin (and also study it), and Nakata-san says he doesn’t mind doing so. Hino introduces herself, and Nakata-san asks if she also plays the violin. Nakata-san mentions that unlike playing the violin, watching him do repairs isn’t really an interesting sight. Hino looks at the violin Nakata-san is holding, and sees that it has quite a damage. He tells her that even though it has sustained a great damage, it could still be completely repaired. Unlike humans, violins could live for a very l