***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Your Lie in April. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Kosei Arima (voiced by Natsuki Hanae) was a piano prodigy. There was a time when he was unbeatable. More machine than human. But that was two years ago, and Kosei has not touched a piano since.
A horrific breakdown has left Kosei’s world colorless. And once beautiful melodies have brought him nothing but despair. He has all but given up on the world he was once the king of. Or at least, that would have been his fate.
Kosei's life changed forever the day he met Kaori Miyazono (voiced by Risa Taneda). A brilliant violinist, Kaori lives for her music. Her passion resonates with Kosei, although he's unwilling to embrace it. Something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Kaori.
Come hell or high water, Kaori will reawaken Kosei’s love for the piano. Together they plan to reach the hearts of everyone who hears their song. Unfortunately, life has other plans.
He was taught to play perfect. She was born to play free. Kosei and Kaori couldn’t be more different. Yet this is a pair that’s meant to be. Soon their question becomes this. Who is it they’re really playing for? And can that person hear them calling?
Series Positives
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| Kosei |
At first, it was due to the longer episode count. Not the best excuse seeing how that hasn’t stopped me before. I know a big setback came after watching and subsequent disappointment of Golden Time. There were a few on-the-surface similarities that made me hesitant. A comparison that was both baseless and unfair.
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| Kaori |
But regardless of the reasons, even though they were all quite dumb, it got done. And…damn it was good. Like holy s@#$ was it good.
Even in some of the best twenty-plus episode anime, there’s a tendency to drag near the end. Many start off strong, but sometimes a show loses steam near the finale. Particularly in more down to Earth series like Your Lie in April. That wasn’t a problem here.
You know how I said I was a little put off by the episode count. Well, this was a one session anime. Time flew by. From beginning to end, Your Lie in April grabs your full attention. It was funny and charming. Sad and dark. This series went from tremendous joy to deep despair. But it was never random. Everything was purposeful and had a reason behind. While it ran the gauntlet of emotions, it never lost control of them.Your Lie in April was a fantastic series. One that I put off for way too long.
The Story Arcs
At its core, Your Lie in April was a love story. A decent one I'll add. But also, rather standard. While I did enjoy the romance, it wasn’t what wowed me. The steps it took didn’t deviate from the well-established path. In fact, I would argue this show was being rather blatant about that. It had a goal in mind and I'll get into that later.
Regardless, this wasn’t enough to sustain a series this long. Had it been only that, Your Lie in April would’ve of ran out of juice quickly and this review would be quite different. So, what happened?
Your Lie in April took a route, or in this case several routes, I didn’t see coming. The relationship between Kosei and Kaori was always present. It never went away. But it wasn’t always the main focus.
This show explored other stories. It did other things. By doing so, it kept the series alive. It never had to overuse an angle. And it gave a great understanding of Kosei’s character. By the end, you'll understand the full extent of what he had to go through.Along with that, we got real insight into many of the other characters. Characters who may have stayed in the background in other shows.
All these stories tied in. When one ended, it didn’t go away. The impact of a given arc fueled the rest of the show.
The first was of Kosei and Kaori’s meeting and her getting him back on stage. This would’ve been more than enough. It was everything we needed to know. The story showed us Kosei’s lack of confidence. And it was clear how much of an influence Kaori was in breaking down his wall. Yes, more than enough. For a twelve-episode anime. It couldn't carry anymore.
Instead of slogging and dragging it out to the point of ruining the message, the show shifted gears. It became a competition anime. Kosei made his grand return to the competitive world. But God damn was it a lot more than that.
From before, we knew Kosei had gone through a lot. Here we learned what that meant. And oh my. He wasn’t bluffing. He wasn’t being weak. He was in a dark spot. You wanted him to win, but that wasn’t what you were rooting for. You wanted him to come back.
Not only because of his past, but because of the people he unknowingly inspired. This wasn’t a character in battle by himself. This was someone who was central to people’s whole being. Kosei was their goal. He was their inspiration. Your Lie in April captured this intensity.
From there it went on to Kosei and Kaori preparing for their recital. But again, there was more to it. This was Kosei’s chance to free himself from the shadow that hung over him. I was shocked on how legit creepy this series got here. It didn’t feel out of place. It was right where it belonged.
Then the show focused on Kosei’s best friend Tsubaki (voiced by Ayane Sakura). And a round of a-f@#$ing-pplause. I love what they did with Tsubaki’s character. She was the childhood friend. The next-door neighbor. The person who knew Kosei the best. And without fail, I gravitate to this type of character. I always feel this person gets the raw end of the deal. But Tsubaki was treated fair.
Her feelings weren’t trivialized. The show never compromised the person it had been showing. Yet she still got a chance. The way her arc ended honored her character. She never got thrown into the deep end.
Next, we moved on to Kosei becoming a teacher. I will say this. Of all the arcs, this one was pointless. It didn’t need to be here. It could’ve gotten removed. Nothing would’ve changed. That said, it was one of the more solid parts of the show. Yeah, it didn’t need to be here. But I’m happy it was.
In these arcs, characters were going through one of the most tumultuous parts of their lives. It was funny. It was sad. It was uplifting. It was devastating. It was a struggle. But at times it was also peaceful. This show was so well crafted.
Your Lie in April then wrapped everything up and headed into the endgame.
And that was when it happened.
Animation at its Best
I won’t say when. I won’t say why. But you won't miss it.
There was this one moment. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that long. Compared to the entire show, it was a fraction of a second. Yet in this one instance, Your Lie in April displayed the power of animation.
Emotions don’t need words. A series can go silent and still say everything. I’m not joking. This one scene brought tears to my eyes. I don’t give a f@#$ how corny that sounds. It was a beautiful moment in this series.
It was so good. Had the rest of the show been crap, this would’ve been enough for a recommendation. And luckily, this show wasn’t crap. This was the high point of an already amazing series.
Series Negatives
I already said it. Your Lie in April was a romance anime. And the romance itself was the lesser of the show. It wasn’t bad by any means. Kosei and Kaori were great together. The romance just wasn’t as good as the rest.
Kosei and Kaori’s relationship played out step by step as you would expect. It was so hardline with this it felt almost deliberate. To me, this indicates when a story has something in mind. It has something it wants to do.And a story will do what it needs to in order to get the result it wants.
This is a high risk, high reward scenario. If the gamble pays off, it pays off big. But if a show can’t, it’s a huge slap in the face.Your Lie in April achieved what it set out to do. It won its gamble.
What it did to get it I must bring up.
This was Kosei’s story. He led us through everything. The problem is, this should have been Kosei AND Kaori’s story. Kaori wasn’t around all that much in the second half of this series. It got to the point where I had to ask, “Was she necessary?”
That hurt because I did like Kaori. I wanted to see more of her. I wanted more time between her and Kosei.
But the ends justified the means. While I will bring this issue up, I also have no problem ignoring it. Your Lie in April did more than enough to cover its bases. And it worked out in the end.
Final Thoughts
Why are you still reading this? I’m happy you are, but you should be watching this show. Trust me, waiting is only doing you a disservice.
Your Lie in April did so many things right. Scratch that. It did so many things perfect. It sucks you into its world and keeps you there. It fires at you an endless stream of development. You get to know this show’s characters. You get to feel what it is they’re going through. At times, it was a lot of fun. At other times, I was clenching my chest. It hit it all.
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