I heard of this manga series before the anime came out, but as an anime-viewer and less of a manga reader, I decided to jump on when the anime adaptation hit. However, I couldn’t wait every week to find out what was going to happen, so in an uncharacteristic decision, I decided to catch up on the manga which just so happens to mean I read 52 chapters in one evening. I felt engaged by the story (although done before, I’m a sucker for these kinds of mysteries) and the aesthetic.

But I wanted to post this for two reasons:

1. I finally got over the rejection, and after three rejections from the same place that gave me the same copy and paste emails regarding its reasoning (or lack of), I felt like I was comfortable posting this beta computer-recorded version.

2. The reason above is completely trivial and unimportant. I wanted to share my music. During hard times like these, it’s easy to feel isolated and depressed, and whether you’re staying at home (good job if you are) or you’re working and doing your best on the front lines (if you are, you’re amazing), I wanted to contribute in a way that can hopefully give some enjoyment or some relief to anyone who needs it right at this moment. Not guaranteeing my music can do that though haha.

This song is a series of mini movements stemming from Kamome Academy.

1. Introduction to Kamome Academy / Tsukasa

- This sets the mood and acts as an introduction, but it’s an echo of the final movement of this piece too. We start and end with these twins as they are pivotal parts to this story. Both Tsukasa and Amane set precendence here, and Kamome Academy wouldn’t be the same without them so we will hear both of them.

2. The Clock Keepers

- I wanted this movement to reflect the realizations and epiphanies made during this mystery’s arc as the characters are faced with many situations and futures that they can’t predict or recover from. I left this on a bittersweet note where everyone comes together, and I almost didn’t want it to end.

3. The Misaki Stairs

- I wanted to portray a gradual sense of escalation and change in character, and even though this is a short movement, I wanted it to set precedence as time goes on.

4 & 5. Hell of Mirrors & Shijima-san of the Art Room

- I felt these two went hand-in-hand, and I think the impact that No. 3 has in the arc that focuses on No. 4 is crucially important. I tried to portray the hidden darkness and horrendous monstrosities that reality would have in store for these characters with a sense of urgency and desperation, but I didn’t want it to end there. This arc ends in a happier and almost “ideal” way.

6. The 4PM Bookstacks

- Unlike how the last section ended, I wanted to reach in a portray the twisted echoes and dark memories of the past. I wanted to showcase the teacher who cared and the young boy with a future that was taken.

7. Nene Yashiro

- I tried my best to make this sound romantic and sweet. I wanted to appeal to the hopeless romantic side of here, and I wanted to give her the happiness that I think that she deserves.

8. Kou Minamoto

- It’s suddenly far more upbeat here! I had a lot of trouble with his section because I didn’t know how to breakout from all the burdens and troubles of the past movements along with the stuff that Kou carries himself. I ultimately chose to showcase his more bubbly and optimistic side because that’s what I know him for (after all, the kanji in his name means “bright” or “light”)

9. Hanako-san of the Toilet / Amane

Although this section is shorter than Nene and Kou’s section, I wanted to leave it up for interpretation and mystery (that and I was reaching my time limit for the submission… whoops). It’s a direct reflection of Tsukasa’s beginning because we end exactly how we begin… with these two twins and the mysteries behind them and the school of Kamome Academy.