Slice of life anime have a way of creating characters that make the very act of feeling reverberate within you. In some cases the premises may seem strange, something that normally would never get your attention, and yet relying on good characters they compel you to continue watching. In the case of Those snow white notes the story focuses on a shamisen (traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument) player and his struggle to find his sound and himself; it is a musical slice of life anime and yet it delivers so much more.
I won’t say necessarily that it’s a perfect anime; from a certain perspective it gives too much in the first episodes and then loses that part of its original charm. It is however worth the watch.
In the first episode, we learn that the main character’s grandfather has died, the man who had cared for him since he was a child and who had taught him to play the shamisen. In the protagonist’s words:
When gramps died, my sound disappeared too. The sound I love isn’t here no more. There’s nothing here anymore.
There is not only grief and loss within him, but also the awareness that his role model will not be there to guide him and he will have to understand where to go from there. It is the search for something in our lives, in this case depicted as the search for a ‘sound’. The main character decides that there is nothing left in the mountains for him, the place where he had been raised, and transfers to Tokyo. The dichotomy of the animation between an isolated snowy mountain village and a city that resonates through neon lights and chaos instantly overwhelms him. He feels intoxicated by this excessive glow and this creates a juxtaposition with his intimate dimension. The clash of mentalities and styles between the mountain village and Tokyo create layers of internal and external unrest: monochrome landscape vs. colourful lights, tranquillity vs. noise, moderation vs. opulence, they all add to that feeling of dread.
The search for a purpose is central in Those snow white notes; a search for something that is never perfectly explained because even the main character does not fully understand it. What is depicted perfectly is how memories and music are directly interconnected. Once he starts playing, the animation changes and the listener is transported within the personal dimension that emerges through music. The song conveys the imagery of the shamisen player’s heart. The protagonist understands that he is bound by the shackles of losing his grandfather but it is exactly this fact that gives him the determination to continue searching for his own sound.
Another dynamic that this anime explores really well is a philosophy involving the unique relation between the player and the listener. A bridge forms between these two parts, one that is created through melody, one that becomes a two-way conversation. The piece that is played is not meant for a group, but rather for an individual, every note tailored for that listener.
As a side note, I would like to point out that if you are interested there are other great anime that deal with music. One of the first that come to mind is Beck Mongolian Chop Squad, an anime simply about some guys forming a band – one fantastic band with one of the best final concerts ever depicted. Other honourable mentions are Kids on the Slope and I think I am contractually obligated to at least mention Nana. Other than that, one animation that will always have a special place in my heart and that deals with music and sorrow will always be Your lie in April.