Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Yuki Kure
Translated by: Mai Ihara
What They Say
The first round of the music competition is about to begin, and Kahoko’s accompanist reveals her plot to get Kahoko disqualified! Unsettled by this betrayal, Kahoko can’t truly enjoy the music, even when Ryotaro gallantly steps in as her new accompanist. Kahoko’s performance is mediocre, but Ryotaro so impresses Lili that he soon finds himself added as a second-round contestant. Will Kahoko and Ryotaro’s budding friendship be ruined by the heat of competition?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
All of Kahoko’s efforts nearly go down the drain when her accompanist abandons her just as the curtain rises on the first round of the Seisou Music Competition. However, rescue comes in the unlikely form of Ryotaro! He takes the stage as Kahoko’s accompanist, thereby allowing her to perform and stay in the contest. Afterward, Kahoko is somewhat disheartened by how things played out, but Lili’s delighted! In fact, he’s so delighted he has Ryotaro added as a participant to the contest! So it is that two Gen Ed students find themselves headed off to a training camp for the music competition contestants over summer vacation.
Petty grievances, awkward moments with bishounen, and a last-minute rescue by a really good looking guy… La Corda is proving to be as much a shoujo manga as it is a music manga, and the music camp chapters exemplify this. The characters spend about as much time goofing around and being distracted by the charms of the opposite sex as they go discussing musicality and famous composers. Kure even goes so far as to include a Kazuki panic attack when he inadvertently takes a sip from Kahoko’s tea bottle (considered an “indirect kiss” in shoujo culture). While cute, his overreaction is a bit juvenile for a high school senior.
While things are getting more interesting as Kure reveals more details about our characters, the “magic violin” and competition premise of the story is still weak. Despite the acclaim the contest supposedly has, there doesn’t seem to be much training or competition going on at the music competition training camp. Kanazawa, the chaperone for the trip, pretty much lets the students do whatever they want, and all the other competitors (with the exception of Len) are more than willing to share their knowledge with Kahoko. The interactions of quirky musicians as skillfully depicted by Kure’s pen are fun to watch, but it’s questionable as to whether that will be enough to carry the story.
This volume includes a table of contents, cast of characters (which oddly excludes competitor Shoko), 16 page peek into Kazuki’s and Azuma’s backgrounds, character profiles, notes from the mangaka, and notes about the music and topics mentioned in this volume.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: April 3rd, 2007
MSRP: $8.99
