[General Spoiler Warning]
The first episode feels like an entirely different show than the one that the following 11 episodes seem to show. The main character, Setsu, is shown wandering around, and being overwhelmed by, the bright city lights of Tokyo, and after accidentally falling onto some boss, is taken to an apartment by a young aspiring actress/pinup model, Yuna. What follows is Setsu getting caught up in Yuna's personal life which ends up with him giving an impromptu performance on his shamisen at a club/concert venue that a rock band was scheduled to play. To me, this first episode is a 9 out of 10, with the main downside being ultra-quick pacing that might be a bit hard to follow.
However, this first episode feels like a bait and switch compared to the rest of the series. What I originally thought was going to be a story about a shamisen player trying to make a living in Tokyo ended up being a slice-of-life dramedy about said shamisen player joining a high school shamisen club, and having said club practice together for a 6 episode long competition that felt like it dragged on for way too long. Not to mention, the slightly mysterious Yuna is replaced by a slightly annoying high schooler named Shuri, who's main goal is to try to bring back sound to her grandmother's memories. To have a character who plays a major role in the first episode and originally seems to be the main supporting character, only to never be seen again aside from a 1 second cameo in the last episode feels like a complete waste to me.
Then comes the last episode. If this show gets a season 2, the last episode is a perfect segue into the next part of the story. However, where the show currently stands, with only 12 episodes, this ending is frankly rather unsatisfying. Our main protagonist has come a long way from the first episode, so to have everything basically destroyed by 3 of the most important people in his life, and to not resolve that internal conflict, honestly feels like the ending was mishandled. But as I said, if this show gets a season 2, this sudden drive that Setsu gets from being put down by these 3 adults is going to make his playing even better, I believe. So to recap, if this gets a season 2, I love this final episode. If this does not get a season 2, I hate this final episode.
Also, I really, really dislike Setsu's mother, Umeko. If you had shown me her in the first 2 episodes, I would have thought that she was going to be a massive help for Setsu, booking him all sorts of gigs around Tokyo to get his name out there. However, what she ends up being is an obsessive mother who wants nothing but to gain the fame and fortune of the shamisen world by taking advantage of Setsu, and forcing unreachable goals on him.
[End of General Spoilers]
All in all, I found Mashiro no Oto to be a slightly underwhelming show that what I had originally anticipated. However, the music is this show is absolutely incredible, with the titular instrument of the show being a treat to listen to whenever they were being played. I think this show has a good chance of getting a better rating from me if it gets a season 2, but until then, it's just a mediocre storyline with meh characters that just so happens to have some killer music.
6/10
