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This series first caught me eye when I saw a picture from the manga version of this series and when I found out that there was an anime version of the series, I decided to check it out. I thought that the plot was interesting and original since I've never seen a series that have moving dolls that can move on their own (when they're wound) and can also talk.

I thought that the battle sequences were done pretty well and I found the concepts of the Alice Game interesting. The series I thought was done pretty well, though I felt that the ending was rushed and the last few episodes were a slight disappointment to me.

The music was good, though I didn't like the OP or ED (well... the ED really isn't that bad, but it didn't leave any real impression on me) songs that much and the art was done pretty well, though, it wasn't as detailed as the manga, which happens to many series when they're transferred into anime form. Overall, I liked the series, but I had wished the series wasn't as short as it was and that the ending of the series didn't slightly disappoint me like it did. read more

Note: May contain SLIGHT SPOILERS. Nothing too major though.








Now~ to the review!



Other than La Corda, the only other series that I can think of that somehow revolved around classical music (that I've ACTUALLY seen) was Piano. I won't go into that series as I did DO a review for it. Because of the fact that I haven't a series like La Corda before, that caught my attention. And also having classical music as a major theme within the series definitely sparked my interest.

My first impression of the series was that it just caught my attention because it was a bit different than many series that I have seen in the past. And I'll admit that by just watching the OP sequence, you may considered it a harem (this case, a reverse harem = more main guys than girls) anime, which it really isn't. Sure, there are several parts that have slight fanservice, but nothing major at all.

For me, from just watching the 1st episode, I was hooked and HAD to watch more episodes and I eventually made a fansite for this series, which used to be called 'Musical Secret, but is now called 'Crescendo'. Whether that had anything to do with the ED song being called that, I dunno, but yeah...

What I didn't like was that sometimes the animation would be a bit strange and look awkward. For example, in particular, I didn't notice this one thing until Meagi, one of my staff members at Crescendo, sent me a pic from episode 4 where Kahoko's talking to Lili and his feet are facing in the opposite direction to where the rest of his body was.

In some of the later episodes, many of the character's faces and such just look weird, like the lines were drawn thicker than in earlier episodes. It wasn't that big of an issue, but with the slight inconsistencies was a bit of a turn off. Overall, the animation was decent, but it wasn't uber, uber vibrant but not bland either (well.. that depended on the episode as sometimes the colors looked a bit dimmer in some shots and brighter in others...). Kinda funny considering that they look a lot more vibrant in magazines and such. XD;

A definite strong point in the series was the music. Though I did already have a liking for classical music, because of this series, I've come to like it a whole lot more and that makes me happy. And gee, I never realized how MUCH music there was for the series. I don't even think that I even own it all -- 2+ gigs and there are STILL more CDs. T.T

With the plot itself, it isn't a complex one, though it did make me wonder if the plot was going to keep my attention long enough. Luckily it did, but the music and the bishies were MAJOR bonuses. In general, the series itself, because of the reverse harem-likeness (as there are many more male main charas than female ones) it gives off is aimed more towards girls, rather than guys. But, any fanservice that even shows up in the series is nothing comparing to other series that have MAJOR fanservice in then.

Even though this series is one of my favorites, there were some episodes that were a bit boring towards the end, say around episode 20, as the episode(s) were a bit boring because Kahoko's all angsty and such and when I found out there was a manga version, I noticed some differences, like in virtually any adaptation that originated from a manga first.

I noticed that some of the events that happened in between the selections were either excluded altogether, modified, or where just different. And also, since the manga itself hasn't finish the concours (from last I looked, they finished the 3rd selection but no word on the 4th and final selection of the concours), so the ending of the concours will be different probably in the manga than in the anime.

I really hope that there is a second season as the series itself originated as a game, than manga, now anime and the anime itself opened the possibility for a second season as it was an open-ended ending. There's a second game, so it's a possibilty that it could happen, but for now it's quite unlikely as the manga isn't done with the concours (aka not enough material for a second season) and if Yuki Kure doesn't adapt the 2nd game into manga form, it'll be less likely than if she did.

Overall, this series was really good and is definitely one of those series that can be viewed again and I won't get sick of it. I can't say that it's one of those 'you'll love or hate it' series, but the first few might be a bit slow at first, depending on the viewer. I enjoyed watching it and I do recommend watching it, or at least give it a try. read more

As with all series that I watch, I try to at least watch the first two episodes, unless I really~ (and I mean REALLY~~) hated the first episode or is having trouble finding the next ones, and with this series, I completed it surprisingly. Why surprisingly?

My first impression of this series that it seemed like a series that was about classical music, the piano to be more precise, which to my knowledge the only other anime series that dealt with classical music were La Corda D'Oro and Nodame Cantabile.

As I started to watch this series, from what I noticed, the piano, much of the time played the backdrop of the series and mainly revolved more around Miyu and the ones around her. To be honest, I have no idea why I completed this series as it was really boring and seemed more like a documentary of Miyu's life than an enjoyable show. Even as a documentary that it seemed to be, I've SEEN better ones and that's sad as most documentaries bore me anyway (but I have seen awesome ones though. :P). O.o;

The only reason that I can even think up about why I finished this series would because I had really nothing better to watch at the time and I was too lazy to drop it. If I did have something better to watch, I would have most likely have dropped it.

As for the animation, character designs and such, it was alright. Unlike some other series that I've seen, the colors for the animation weren't that vivid and seemed quite bland to me. As for character designs, they were kinda plain and with Miyu herself, her hair just seemed a little wierd... I know in anime/manga/video games, characters can have gravity-defying hair, but hers just looked funny.

Nothing special stuck out in the overall sense, even though the music aspect of it was what caught my attention in the first place (as I love classical music and very few series revolve around it). I think that this series had potential to be better than 'just average,' maybe not extraordinarily good, but a series that I wouldn't forget about.

I have to say that I wasted how ever many hours it took of my life watching the whole series and is just one of those series that isn't a rememberable series that blends in, rather than sticking out from other series. Nothing too much more to say than it was quite the disappointment for me as I was hoping for more. read more