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Kin-iro no Corda (金色のコルダ, Kin-iro no Corda? also known as Kin-iro no Koruda and La Corda d'oro (Italian: "The Golden String")), is a role-playing game from Koei's Neoromance series.

The story has been adapted into a shōjo manga series by Yuki Kure serialized in the Japanese shōjo manga magazine LaLa. Currently, eight volumes have been released in Japan with more on the way. The manga series has also been licenced by Viz Media and released its first volume on October 3, 2006.

An anime series based on this manga called Kiniro no Corda ~primo passo~ aired its first episode on October 1, 2006.

Episode guide

Episode one

Title: ありえないプレリュード aka: An Unlikely Prelude

Episode one introduces the main characters, Lili and Hino, and the Seisou Academy setting. Lili is a fairy involved with the school's music contest, the Intramural Concours, and Hino is a student who is chosen to enter the competition by Lili, despite not being a music student, because she is able to see Lili. Lili presents Hino with a magic violin which can be played by any true lover of music.

Also introduced is Fuyuumi, a first year student who is bullied by other music students because she was entered into the Concours. When Hino defends Fuyuumi, the music students challenge Hino to play, and she agrees to play before the Concours in one week's time.

Episode two

Episode two introduces Tsukimori, a highly talented but very conceited second year music student who is disdainful towards Hino and her friend Tsouchirou, a member of the Soccer Club, when they meet. Despite this, when she hears Tsukimori play she is greatly moved and give him great praise, which he haughtily dismisses. After hearing him play, Hino is able to recall the feelings and with the magic violin she is able to play the piece, which Lili tells her is Schubert's Ave Maria. Hino tells Lili that since the magic violin enables her to produce such beautiful sounds without effort, she feels that it would be unfair to others to enter the Concours.

Episode three

The six participants of the Concours meet for the first time, introducing themselves and their instruments. Hino has decided to help Lili and practice hard.

Hino also meets the friendly, outgoing third-year music student, Kazuki Hihara, on the rooftop. Hihara tries playing the Gavotte, Hino's practice piece, on his trumpet, but is puzzled that the melody sounds different from when she plays it.

Hino rescues Tsukimori from being cornered by two other music students, by splashing them with water from a vase, but the vase breaks and cuts her fingers. Tsukimori shows concern, though ostensibly because this will affect the overall performance of the Concours, and not on Hino's behalf. Later the cocky Tsukimori and Tsouchiro get into an altercation over Hino and music. Tsukimori informs Tsouchiro disdainfully that general education students have no right to say anything about music.

Afterwards, Hino discovers Tsuchirou playing a piano beautifully in a music shop. When Tsuchirou notices Hino, he becomes upset and makes Hino promise not to tell anybody about it.

Episode four

Hino seeks an accompanist, which proves difficult because she is a general education student. She is wary of an offer by Yunoki to find her an accompanist, suspicious of his motives. Eventually another girl offers to accompany her and she accepts.

She visits the shop after practice, where the manager offers to show her a video recording of a young prodigy, who turns out to be Tsouchiro. She is amazed at his piano playing, and is overwhelmed with emotion which makes her cry. She laments that as a violinist she cannot play Chopin, but the manager finds the score for Chopin's Allegro. She makes up her mind to play this in the Concours.

Later, Hino encounters Tsuchirou, and on her request he plays for her. When she tells him about the video she saw, and the feelings about his playing, and her regret that he no longer plays the piano in public, Tsouchiro becomes upset and leaves.

Episode five

On the day of the first selection, Hino turns up dressed informally through her ignorance, and in her dressing room Lili uses magic to provide her with a selection of dresses. At one point Hihara enters without knocking and sees her wearing a nun's habit, but Lili quickly switches her back to the school uniform and Hino attempts to pass it off as "seeing things". Hihara is then directed away from the girls' dressing room by a teacher. Hino and Lili eventually choose a knee-length white dress.

During the performance, Hino's accompanist ducks out, criticising Hino's lack of commitment to music practice. Tsukimori defends Hino. Hino goes on without accompaniment, but after a few notes she is asked to leave the stage because all participants must be accompanied. Tsuchirou steps forward and announces that if they want an accompanist he is there. Tsuchirous tells Hino to forget their arguments. Hino plays Chopin's Tristesse, but she feels that it is not an ending but a beginning, and everybody, even the judges, remarks on how joyful and vibrant the piece sounds when Hino plays it. The Concours members are overcome with emotion. Then Tsukimori goes on and gives a powerful performance.

In the end, Hino comes last in the selection and Tsukimori comes first.

Episode six

Lili showed up again and told Hino that he is dismayed that she end up being last but with Hino looking angry, Lili apologies and told her that he has a surprise for her and a way to make the concour even more interesting. Not really understanding it all, an announcement is made and that is, the concour will be having another participant and that is Tsuchirou.

A town trip will be held for the seven and it will be held at the villa of Fuyuumi's family. They all ended up with a room mate and to Tsukimori's and Tsuchirou's dismay they are roommates. They immediately demanded that they must be swap with someone else and Tsukimori ended up with Yunoki and Tsuchirou with Sumizu and Hihara.

Hino apologized to Tsuchirou that he had to join the concour as well because of her but Tsuchirou touched her head and told her that it is his decision to go on the stage after all. Hino tried to choose another piece to listen to when she decided on Kreisler. Then Sumizu commented that Kreisler is a liar. Hino asked why and he told her that it is because Kreisler told everyone that the pieces he was playing was a composition of famous composers but it is actually his compositions. Hino got affected by this because for her, she is still a fake who plays using a magic not skill. But she resolve on doing her best to be close to being real and ended up having a sored body because of it.

At the hall way he met Hihara and told him that she is having a sore body and asked if he do exercises. Hihara told him some tips and offered her a good way of relieving sores. They ended up at Hihara's room with Tsuchirou and Sumizu. Tsuchirou commented on how much she is eating sweets. She told him and that she has a huge stomach for sweets. Hihara and Tsuchirou then argued on where they are going to sleep until the pillow they are fighting for broke. Just when Hihara is about to fall, Hino saved him by pulling his hand and they landed on a very compromising way. Hihara being dumbfounded cannot move. Tsuchirou then grabbed him and asked him how long are you going to stay there. Just when he got up, Hino told them that it is late and they have to sleep and left them.

Hihara then told Tsuchirou that girls smells and feels different. Tsuchirou startled by the comment asked him what he meant. HIhara trying to clear it up couldn't find the right way to say it and ended up asking Tsuchirou if he ever gone out with a girl or is Hino his girlfriend since such rumor is starting to spread out. Tsuchirou said that that is not the case between them and Hihara exclaimes "great" and got startled by his own comments.

Episode seven

Hihara apologizes to Hino and they understood that it is indeed nothing. Then Kanazawa-sensei asks Hino to come with them shopping for souvenirs leaving Tsuchirou, Hihara, Yunoki and Tsukimori at home.

Tsukimori shows the note left from Kanazawa-sensei to Tsuchirou, and Tsuchirou decides that he'll go looking for Yunoki and Hihara and asks Tsukimori to heat the food up at the oven. When Yunoki and Hihara shows up, Tsuchirou is cooking some fried rice. Yunoki asks why Tsuchirou is cooking. Tsuchirou looks pissed and Tsukimori says "I already said sorry." Then Tsuchirou says to him, "I only asked you to heat it up- why did it end up this way?" Hihara looks at it and sees how burnt it is.

Tsukimori dreams of his parents playing together. (His mother is a pianist and his father is a violinist.) He tells himself that his parent's music is sweet. When he wakes up, he hears someone playing and sees Hino playing outside below his balcony. Her hair playing with the wind, tempting him to play with her. They played together and he told himself that Hino's music is heartwarming. (They played Ave Maria together.) Just when it ends, Hino tells Tsukimori "Don't you think a wonderful sound just came out?", but Tsukimori quietly leaves the balcony to go to his room. When he goes to his room, Yunoki comments on how they played the song and tells him that it is not like him to play such heartwarming music and that it surprised him. That was the first time he played with feelings.

Episode eight

They are back at the school, the teacher told Tsukimori that they invited his parents to the second selection. HE then told her that his parents had written him and said that they will be back the day before the concour. The students thought of how favorable it is for Tuskimori and Hino heard it. The students saw her and asked her if she is listening since it is about Tsukimori. THen they commented that Hino must be inlove with him and asked her what is it about Tsukimori that Hino loved she then said "He is not like you." The guys got offended and grabbed her wrist just then Tsukimori came and saved her. Tsukimori told him not to speak with such persons again and she asked if he came just to save her and he said " NOt really, it is just that i gotten used to it"

Tsukimori looked different from usual and then out of no ill-intention intended she commented that "maybe you are nervous since your parents are coming." and they realized that she had stepped on a land mine.

On this episode Hino got into a small misunderstanding with her friends but later on, after her friends stood up for her, they ended up helping her decide on what to play on the next selection.

Episode nine

Episode starts off with two people praising Tsukimori and then he wakes up from the dream. When Shimizu is going to school Hino saves him when he is about to walk on the road when the signal turns to red. When Hino sees Tsukimori she remembers back to the day before, when she had said something about him being worried about the next selection because his parents were coming and he actually did look worried. So when she saw him she quickly hid and started rehearsing how to go up to him and say hello. Hihara is watching all this, when Hino realises that he saw her talking to herself she says that she was image training. When Yunoki goes for practice he talks with Tsukimori and puts the pressure on him by saying now Tsuchiura is also in the competition. Hino sees Tsukimori practicing but doesn’t go to talk to him instead she just thinks about different things, Tsuchiura asks her if something is wrong and wishes her luck saying that now her rival is also Tsuchiura. When Hino is going to practice she sees Shimizu on the ground and is worried but he is only sleeping. When he wakes up he tells her that he sleeps, wakes up and plays the cello, Hino is shocked to hear this. Then she says that he must really like playing the cello. This causes him to smile and Hino blushes telling herself that when he smiles he loks just like an angel. Then her friends come with snacks as a break between her practice and Mori-san joins them too. The next dad Hino goes to practice outside but Amou sees her and Fuyuumi is also there and she ends up trying on different dresses with them. When she is going back home she meets the guy who knows Tsuchiura (don’t remember his name) he tells her about a concert so she goes to watch it. There she meets Shimizu and they watch the concert together. They also get to meet the players. Hino is asked to play her violin. Then Shimizu says that he wants to hear her play the avemaria. The next day when the selection is there Hino listens to Canon D and says that she will do her best.

Episode ten

Everyone comes in to see the concour even Tsukimori’s parents come to see him play. Tsuchiura is blushing when he sees Tsukimori’s mom. She tells him that as a fellow pianist she is waiting to see him perform. Tsuchiura performs first. Next up is Hino. She is playing Pachabel’s Canon. She also says that she doesn’t know if this is a fake or a lie and that today she is going to play for what she believes in. Tsukimori goes to practice after hearing Hino play. Next up is Hihara. When Tsukimori is putting some of his things in the closet some guy comes out of nowhwere and pushes him in and locks the closet. Next up is Fuyuumi. Hino notices that Tsukimori is missing so she goes to look for him. She finds only his violin. Tsuchiura and Hihara go to look for Tsukimori. Shimizu goes to perform. Kanazawa tells him to slow things down. So Shimizu walks very slowly.

Tsuchiura and Hihara search outside for him b/c some 2nd year music class students said they saw him outside. Hino suddenly realizes after remembering the violin lying in the room and what the 2nd year music students said, that they were the same ones who before had said bad things about Tsukimori. Yunoki goes up next. Tsukimori tries to open the door but it doesn’t open and he has to perform next. He is thinking he won’t make it in time and that no one will come looking for him since they are rivals. But Hino comes in screaming his name. She notices sounds coming from the closet. Tsuchiura over hears the 2nd year music students talking about not keeping the key in and he confronts them. His parents tell Kanazawa that they shouldn’t wait longer as this is a competition. She tells him she will get the key from Kanazawa but Tsukimori tells her that it doesn’t matter b/c he won’t make it in time. He tells her that there is no use playing when he goes back, Hino tells him that she was waiting to hear and see his performance.

Hino and Tsukimori reach but it’s too late everyone is leaving. He apologizes and doesn't say what happened to him. Hino bumps into Tsukimori’s mom and she praises Hino for playing really well. They both hear a violin playing, it’s Tsukimori. Also he is not playing the way he usually does. His mom is shocked that he is at that level. She tells Hino that he gets to uptight when it comes to the concour and that he should play freely sometimes. Hino says that Tsukimori and her worlds are totally different. But he is somewhere in her world.

Episode eleven

Hino begins to feel guilty about getting 2nd place when she's not using her own talent but the magic violin's. She's cheered up by Hihara when he asks Hino and Yunoki to help him find a present for his older brother. As they talk, Hino reveals that she herself also has an older brother. After shopping for the present (a cap), they rest for a while near the harbor, where Hihara explains to the curious Hino how he and Yunoki met. After the flashback, Hihara reveals that after high school, he will be attending an university that has musicology. Yunoki, on the other hand, will abandon music to study business, which surprises Hino, who believed Yunoki will pursue music. The next day, Hino goes to the roof to practice, hoping to immerse herself with practice other than drowning in her guilt, discovers Yunoki already practicing on the roof. After exchanging pleasantries, Yunoki begins to get hosile. He calls Hino annoying.

Episode twelve

Yunoki continues to insult Hino, telling her to quit the concours. Hino is shocked by Yunoki's sudden change in personality. The next day, Hino tries to tell her two friends about Yunoki's sudden negative personality but they interrupt her with their love for Yunoki before Hino could tell them. She encounters Amou in the stair way. As she tries to tell her about Yunoki, she hears Yunoki's voice behind her. Surprised, she slips on the stairs and falls down. Yunoki offers his hand but she ignored it and stood back up. During the fall, she had acquired a bruise on her knee. Yunoki takes her hand and drags her to the nurse's office. Putting up a smiling facade, Yunoki inquires Hino if she thought about what he said, about quitting the concour. Hino hesitantly says that she'll stay in the concour despite anything. Yunoki's facade falls off as he approaches Hino. He pushes Hino onto the bed and threatens her. Hino realizes that she has no choice but to keep Yunoki's personality to herself because she realizes that no one will believe her compared to the perfect, kind, music student, Yunoki. Tsuchira offers his friendship and tells her that she can tell her anything but Hino still kept her mouth shut. After an encounter with Tsukimori, she feels even more dejected and guilty that she's deceiving everyone. Hino decides to skip practice and leave school when she meets up with Hihara. Hihara invites Hino to his orchestra when he's interrupted by the arrival of Yunoki. When they first arrive at the Orchestra room, the girls are all smitten by Yunoki but when Hino appears, everyone's talking about her performance and how excellent it was. After hearing a first year try her hardest on a piece of music, she becomes filled with guilt and runs out, resulting in her meeting Osaki Shinobu. Osaki manages to comfort Hino.

Episode thirteen

Hino tries to immerse herself in practice to keep from feeling that pang of guilt for placing 2nd. She's so immersed in practice that she doesn't even think about the upcoming mid term exam. Lili, seeing her neglect her studies, takes away her violin until after the mid terms. Lili tells Hino that she shouldn't ignore things like sleep to practice the violin. Hino starts to catch up on her social life. As she begins to study, she realizes how much she misses the violin. After feeling like she failed the mid term exam, she goes to the music room to receive her theme for the 3rd selection, which is the irreplacable thing. After receiving the theme, Hino hurries to find Lili for him to return the magic violin but Lili has reason not to return it. On the way, she meets up with Tsuchira and Tsukimori as they get into a heated argument. After calming them down, Tsukimori shows a little compassion as he corrects Hino's hand position on the violin and advices that she look in the mirror to ensure the positioning. When she arrives home, her mother sends her on an errand to deliver something to her older sister. After delivering it, she catches sight of a museum showcase on the history of stringed instruments. She meets Shimizu there. While there, Shimizu tells her a simple truth that she herself did not know about her, She loves the violin. Knowing this fact made Lili return the magic violin, proud that she finally figured it out.

The next day, she got her exam back. Her score was 53. Yunoki interrupts her despair. After teasing her and calling her names, he calls her by her first name, indicating intimacy.

Episode Fourteen

Kazuki overhears Hino muttering about Yunoki and her and he thinks they are getting married. Actually, Yunoki told Kahoko about a fiance "candidate", Ayano, and how she was being too persistant in chasing after him. Azuma lied and told her someone else was in his heart, and asks Hino to pose as his "love". Meanwhile, Kazuki has told everyone in the concours (except Shoko) about what he heard, and they visit the Yunoki house. Hino meets Azuma's younger sister, Miyabi, and thinks that she is a bishoujo (a beautiful girl). Ayano comes, (another bishoujo) and she immediately tells him that she doesn't mind if there is someone in his heart, she would always be ready to marry him.

Miyabi says that Ayano is a 1st year in high school, and although she has a pedigree, is pretty, and studies hard, she is "terribly good at getting the wrong impression". Azuma's grandmother returns though, forcing Shimizu, Kahoko, Kazuki, Len, Miyabi, Ayano, and Ryotarou to hide. She is very strict and tells them to leave. Hino confesses to Ayano that the relationship between her and Yunoki was a lie, but tells Azuma tells her that she should try other different things, as she is still beginning high school. Later, Ryotarou meets his ex-girlfriend Sakimota. She accidently thinks that Hino is the girlfriend of either him or Len.

Music

* Opening - Brand New Breeze by Kanon
* Ending - CRESCENDO by Stella Quintet