Your Lie in April
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| Lol the song about the bastard husband was pretty funny. |
| (|__/) Never give up, aim for the top! (='.'=) Top wo nerae! o(")(") Anime music: http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=777199 |
| Saki needed to show a lil more suffering in this adaption,for people to really feel her pain that got her paranoid. Also the dialogue with Kousei kinda changed, coulda been a lil less cheesy if they didn't rephrase that one line during his play-style change. Really good but not quite there. Still 5/5 for nearly perfect adaption, just, not as dramatic as it really hyped up to be :/ Liebeslied adaption didn't disappoint tho at least, cuz got what I needed at 11:25 Sharing the same expression as Emi @ 12:44 Emi @ 12:09 - the "shit I wet my self" face lolol |
 "For the sake of humankind, I forsake my humanity." - Cherry |
tingy said: Thank you for talking about this aspect more. I particularly liked the distinction you made between physical punishment and physical abuse, and how this was abuse disguised as punishment. Big +1. mayukachan said: TripleSRank said: Do you know what abused children go through? Do you really know what it's like in order to make that claim? Have you experienced it, or has someone you know experienced it? If not, I rest my case. You're greatly trivializing how traumatic and evil both psychological and physical abuse is, much like the story does. It reveals a fundamental lack of understanding. Your justification is that she had a goal? That "the end justifies the means"? Again, if that's the case, I have no more to say to you. Real abusive parents and spouses usually refuse to accept that they're abusive, so claiming they have a self-justification doesn't mean much. In fact, you're making my point here. Abuse is completely destructive, yet the story isn't portraying it as such. Sorry to step into this debate, but I'd like to add that physical abuse very common in Asian households. Like, all the Asian kids, including myself, have been beat up by our parents for trivial reasons. I don't necessarily think this anime is trying to portray it in a positive light, but to justify that his mother isn't just a one dimensional villain but had a motive for doing so. Like Takuan said, its just "tough love". We all grow up normally, get over our traumatic past and face a new light. And yes, most Asian kids were forced into piano at young age. tl;dr the person or people who wrote the story have different cultures and values/morals than us watchers It's not a problem. Your perspective is always welcome. I would go so far as to call this a cultural problem if that is the case. Abuse, women's rights, and other issues are problems worldwide, and I don't think "it's a different culture" is enough to justify it. Just because something is typical doesn't mean it's normal or healthy. Getting over it at some point doesn't make what happened right or okay. I'm not really criticizing Saki as a character. I'm criticizing how the show portrays her actions, as well as how Kousei moves on. Alex's post is relevant. I would point to surfboard's reply as well. |
TripleSRankJan 16, 2015 9:06 AM
| So emotional.........MEH!..... |
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| God, this episode destroyed my heart. "Look at me!" and the end... + the ending... "He might have to lose someone to move forward". Damn. DAMMIT. OH MY GOD MY KAORI PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME THAT ENDING ;_; LIKE *Kaori crying in the water* *Kaori flying in the light* *Only the water* CAN YOU PLEASE STOP WITH ALL THESE DEATH FLAGS MY FEELS ARE BROKEN IF THEY CAN EVEN GET BROKEN AND AND AND I CANT |
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| I'll reply to you guys' post when I get a computer. surfboard_ said: Would you abuse your children with a clear mind? I'm strongly against physical discipline on children because I've been through it and now I'm terrified of my father whenever we're home alone without my mom. So yeah, I don't like abuse in general. I think in most cases, it doesn't end up serious though. |
| Idiot husband song was so funny kousei being so dam cute Omg I cried so much with this episode. The flasbacks to his mother the piano song is beautiful song I cried when Kousei said goodbye to his mother,awwww And when he cried on the shoulders of his teacher I felt that pain I know it is acting but to feel that pain woah. |
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| death flag confirmed |
| The feels in this episode were strong. I was sad seeing Kousei crying. He is one of my favorite anime characters in recent memory because he is so relatable. |
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| This show is actually decent when it's not about Kousei's friends bullying him. But I'm supposed to sympathize with the mother? Nice try, anime. |
| "His growth is spurred by sorrow... If Kousei is to walk that path, he might have to lose someone to move forward." That is a nasty prospect. Though, it is indeed rather likely. Slightly anxious, whatever lies up ahead. |
| We finally get understand Saki in this episode (which was great in the manga) yet I feel there could be more to it. And no "This is goodbye" line instead of "Goodbye" only? :( But great performance, Kousei. Next week, all I can say is...Tsubaki. |
| The world shall know the truth soon. |
mayukachan said: I'm strongly against physical discipline on children because I've been through it and now I'm terrified of my father whenever we're home alone without my mom. So yeah, I don't like abuse in general. I think in most cases, it doesn't end up serious though. I see. Thats a hard life you got. Takuan_Soho said: Yes. And it is unfortunate, but there are far far worse people out there than Saki You might be very well aware of it but the fact that worse cases exist doesn't invalidate any other. Takuan_Soho said: What traumatized Kousei wasn't what his mother did, but rather the last thing he said to her was that he hated her. He never forgave himself for that, and his making peace with his mother was his getting over that as well His trauma is regarding not being able to hear his own notes when playing, which wasn't triggered by forgiving his mother (at least it isn't exposed that way in the anime). Due to his stockholm syndrome, he managed to get a lot worse when he couldn't forgive Saki. In fact, he still can't properly hear the notes, but learned to deal with it. |
| This episode is soooooo good! <3 There's fcking dust in my eyes :(( |
| im glad kousei was able to come to terms with his mothers death and was able to begin to enjoy the piano but that ending though D; |
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| really happy they explained the meaning of Saki's actions, took away that hate NTR feeling kinda sorta. i feel that scene of him finally letting go just put a really big smile on my face and that warm vanilla just filled me up. |
| No no no, I don't like where this is heading to :( Another 10/10 episode, this show truly is something else. |
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| Meh.. so predictable it isn't funny. Why am I not even surprised that they soiled the music with a dragged out emo monologue. Of course since blonde bitch is gonna die next this will ensure we'll get more repeated occurrences of this and (sadly) probably never get another proper music-focused episode like Emi and Son Goku's performance last time. Kaori, please just fucking die next episode already so Arima can get his shounen power up and then we can move on from this emo self-pitying shit.. oh and take baka Tsubaki with you please. A love triangle involving Emi and Seto's daughter for Arima would be far more entertaining and unpredictable. AlexTheRiot said: Now they try to force flip our perspective on Saki because it's convenient for Kousei's development. Nope, not after half the show's screentime has been spent antagonizing her. Can't just try to portray someone in such a new light when convenient so as to manipulate the viewers emotions anew. Not when you've already spent so much time forcing a different perspective for the sake of said emotional manipulation. I like what the end result was with Kousei embracing his memory of her, faults and all, but the way he got there felt so cheap and half assed. Thank you! |
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| So many feels in this episode.... If people who read the manga are saying this episode's adaption was disappointing, I wonder how hardcore the feels were crammed in that...... |
| That satisfying moment when everyone else on the forum slanting Arima's mother for being a slave-driver finally realizes how wrong they've been, whilst you've been saying it the entire time XD That said, I was pretty moved by how they portrayed this part. Arima finally releasing his own self-made demons in order to say goodbye to the specter of his mother, the subsequent question to Saki of whether his intentions were able to reach his mother, all very touching scenes. And to stop us all from bawling like babies, they added the first flashback and Saki's daughter's headbutt XD "Danna no Aho~" Just can't get enough of this part. Arima actually has a pretty sweet voice as a kid, maybe they should've made him a singer instead. Still, I do have to agree with the general opinion that the manga managed to portray it even better. I really shed tears for this part reading it. |
HESTIA   APPROVES |
| All them feels! loved it. |
Live, Laugh, Love.  |
| That death flag just inflated ever so much. |
:)  |
| I was expecting it to be more moving since it's his final goodbye to his mom. I guess they didn't use the right visual effect and music fills to get the desired impact it should have based on what Ive had reading the manga that is. Kaori-chan get better soon, and |
| 4/5 or 9/10 Episode. I find this episode lacking and just failed to grasp 100% of my emotions compared to the previous episodes but I can't quite explain why. I always didn't like Kaori from the start. Thank fucking God that forced drama is gonna die. The perspective on the mother really didn't bother me that much since I've called it since day one.That and there's some evidence leading to that conclusion. Like there were some scenes portraying the mother to be happily teaching Arima and when her terminal illness got severe she suddenly had a massive personality change. Although I do understand what the others has been saying about it. |
NeutralSideJan 17, 2015 5:36 AM
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| Too predictable. Well it's shounen after all. Why am I even surprised. I guess I still was hoping I wasn't right. Maybe they surprise me at the end... |
| The thing is, we never knew everything about the relationship between Kousei and his mother. Until now, we only saw scenes where he was physically and mentally abused by his mother. We never got to see the whole story in the perspective of his mother, no surprise, because she died long time ago. And that’s the main problem which finally got solved in this episode: Kousei’s mother was cruel, no doubt, but she had a motive for being so harsh with Kousei. She wasn’t „evil“ just because she wanted to be that way and the show needed some kind of antagonist, cause you know, it’s a shounen after all. Wrong! She was kind AND unforgiving, like every human being could be. With her death, Kousei experienced a devastating trauma which led him to think it was all his fault, resulting in picturing his mother one-sided as a ghostly phantom who haunts him during his performances, being the pure demon who wants him to fail at all times. Of course everyone would just hate her. In Kousei’s case, even fear (don’t forget, he was only eleven back then, who wouldn’t be shocked when one’s parents are gone forever?) His fear got out of control and he forgot all the positive moments with his mom. You remember the scene in episode 11, when Kaori presented him Kreisler’s “Liebesleid”? The doubtful look of his eyes? He wasn’t unsure only because “Liebesleid” wouldn’t fit to the gala concert, but mainly because he got reminded at something important, which we didn’t know back then. During episode 12, even Kaori noticed his struggle, until he said “Because it reminds me of my mother”. We got tricked - by thinking logically - that “Liebesleid” reminded him of his evil mother. In this episode, at last, we get to know the truth. At first, Kousei’s playing is exactly the one we expected, full with hate and fear. But then, he realizes: “Liebesleid” wasn’t the reminder for the bad moments, it was a happy scene, with a caring mother and a joyful son. “The ghost of my mother was a shadow of my own creation.” With that, he can say goodbye to his mom, freeing himself from his trauma, standing on his own feet. And rest assured, we will not see the dependent, shaky Arima again. So, was it an asspull, when you had 12 episodes with a seemingly obvious „enemy“, and in the next episode it wasn’t that all along? Not quite, because we saw the life of a trauma-struck guy only, who had a distorted vision of his surroundings, in addition to some minor scenes which gave some little hints. This episode was brilliantly executed in terms of direction and atmosphere. And although A-1 exaggerated the showing of all the death flags, this one in the end was necessary and blended so well with the conversation between Hiroko and Ochiai. |
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| best anime T_T |
Takuan_Soho said: TripleSRank said: Do you know what abused children go through? Yes. And it is unfortunate, but there are far far worse people out there than Saki. As surfboard said, the presence of worse cases doesn't make this one not-bad. Takuan_Soho said: TripleSRank said: Your justification is that she had a goal? That "the end justifies the means"? No, and I specifically said I wasn't doing that in my post. What I am saying is that there is a difference between those who are doing something because they think it is for their children's ultimate good, and those who do it because they don't care about their kids. Now this distinction doesn't make what happens right, but it does raise into question your calling Saki "evil". You saying that the end doesn't justify the means then proceeding to say the end justifies the means is contradictory, hence the comment. You're still doing it right now. Thinking it's for the child's good might be the "end", but the "means" (abuse) is still evil. So, if the end doesn't justify the means, then Saki's having a goal doesn't take away from her abuse of Kousei. Are you really sure you don't think the end justifies the means? You can't justify the abuse with a motive if that's the case. Her actions were evil. I'm don't want to get into whether good people can do evil things, because it's mostly beside the point. I've already acknowledged that she could have changed after this incident (although we have no reason to assume so at this point), but she had a history of abusing Kousei both physically and verbally, so we can't call this specific incident a mistake. She was an abuser. It's just more public in this case; of course she would make excuses. Also, just in case someone misunderstands, I'm more judging of characters in stories than I am of people in real life. We have a full picture and generally greater understanding of the former, while we usually lack one or both with the latter. I agree that, in real life, to just say someone is an evil person is a lot more weighty and difficult, in part because we aren't in a position to understand someone's life, what they had to go through, what influenced them, what they really think/feel, and so on. Don't confuse my (harsh) criticism of Saki with a criticism of someone you know irl, even though the former relates to the latter. Takuan_Soho said: What traumatized Kousei wasn't what his mother did, but rather the last thing he said to her was that he hated her. He never forgave himself for that, and his making peace with his mother was his getting over that as well Again, I point to surfboard's reply. I probably don't need to quote, but I will anyway: surfboard_ said: His trauma is regarding not being able to hear his own notes when playing, which wasn't triggered by forgiving his mother (at least it isn't exposed that way in the anime). Due to his stockholm syndrome, he managed to get a lot worse when he couldn't forgive Saki. In fact, he still can't properly hear the notes, but learned to deal with it. So he hasn't overcome his trauma; he's just gotten better at coping with it. Takuan_Soho said: But ultimately we are in agreement, though for different reasons. We both believe that how the abuse and resolution were shown in this animation was unrealistic. We do agree here. |
TripleSRankJan 17, 2015 8:02 AM
| Welp, I think this is the first episode of this series where I cried for like 75% of the episode, where I usually only tear up every once in a while. Ugh. I think the adaptation of the manga material was great, actually. Even though they did cut a few minor details out, the emotional content was more than there and having it coupled with the music totally overwhelmed me. The manga seemed like it gave this scene a more mournful (of funeral-like if I remember correctly) feel than the anime, but I still think that feeling was there for this representation too, except it seemed like moving on was at the forefront of the anime adaptation. I love both and I think this is easily the most beautiful series of scenes from the manga and the anime. Ahhhhhh I love this anime. |
bakcheiaJan 17, 2015 11:11 PM
| This anime/manga is really an awesome one. To me, rather than the romance between two people, I feel like this anime really shows a lot of a love between a mother and her child. It's kind of sad how Saki was so scared for her son's future where she had to result to abuse though. |
MAD_Minori said: The thing is, we never knew everything about the relationship between Kousei and his mother. Until now, we only saw scenes where he was physically and mentally abused by his mother. We never got to see the whole story in the perspective of his mother, no surprise, because she died long time ago. And that’s the main problem which finally got solved in this episode: We did see some good scenes with his mother, just not many. That's not the point though. MAD_Minori said: Kousei’s mother was cruel, no doubt, but she had a motive for being so harsh with Kousei. She wasn’t „evil“ just because she wanted to be that way and the show needed some kind of antagonist, cause you know, it’s a shounen after all. Wrong! She was kind AND unforgiving, like every human being could be. "The end justifies the means" -> "She had a motive (end) so that justifies her abusive nature (means)". No. She made excuses for herself when she was confronted with her problem. That's a whopping red flag for an unrepentant abuser right there. MAD_Minori said: With her death, Kousei experienced a devastating trauma which led him to think it was all his fault, resulting in picturing his mother one-sided as a ghostly phantom who haunts him during his performances, being the pure demon who wants him to fail at all times. Of course everyone would just hate her. In Kousei’s case, even fear (don’t forget, he was only eleven back then, who wouldn’t be shocked when one’s parents are gone forever?) His fear got out of control and he forgot all the positive moments with his mom. No, his trauma stems from the abuse and manifests in his inability to perceive the piano's notes. See surfboard's reply (last quote). He merely learned to cope with his trauma in this episode; it's still present. Having a positive moment doesn't make up for the abuse. Taking your logic to a greater extreme, can a surgeon rightfully murder people because he saves lives every day? I think not. MAD_Minori said: You remember the scene in episode 11, when Kaori presented him Kreisler’s “Liebesleid”? The doubtful look of his eyes? He wasn’t unsure only because “Liebesleid” wouldn’t fit to the gala concert, but mainly because he got reminded at something important, which we didn’t know back then. During episode 12, even Kaori noticed his struggle, until he said “Because it reminds me of my mother”. We got tricked - by thinking logically - that “Liebesleid” reminded him of his evil mother. In this episode, at last, we get to know the truth. At first, Kousei’s playing is exactly the one we expected, full with hate and fear. But then, he realizes: “Liebesleid” wasn’t the reminder for the bad moments, it was a happy scene, with a caring mother and a joyful son. “The ghost of my mother was a shadow of my own creation.” With that, he can say goodbye to his mom, freeing himself from his trauma, standing on his own feet. And rest assured, we will not see the dependent, shaky Arima again. You're acting like "evil Saki" and "good Saki" are two different people. They aren't. It's all Saki. Again, he merely learned to cope with his trauma; he didn't overcome it. See the above. MAD_Minori said: So, was it an asspull, when you had 12 episodes with a seemingly obvious „enemy“, and in the next episode it wasn’t that all along? Not quite, because we saw the life of a trauma-struck guy only, who had a distorted vision of his surroundings, in addition to some minor scenes which gave some little hints. It was an "asspull" from an emotional standpoint; as Alex said, this was flipped at this point for emotional impact, and I find it more insulting than anything. If they were really trying to get us to sympathize with Saki legitimately (Kousei is damaged, so we couldn't quite sympathize in the way he does), then the narrative should have built up to this rather than pulling a sudden reversal at the last moment. MAD_Minori said: This episode was brilliantly executed in terms of direction and atmosphere. And although A-1 exaggerated the showing of all the death flags, this one in the end was necessary and blended so well with the conversation between Hiroko and Ochiai. They did a good job of making this dramatic, but without a proper backing the drama loses its effectiveness. I also feel they're getting a bit heavy on the poetic presentation anyway. |
It was an "asspull" from an emotional standpoint; as Alex said, this was flipped at this point for emotional impact, and I find it more insulting than anything. If they were really trying to get us to sympathize with Saki legitimately (Kousei is damaged, so we couldn't quite sympathize in the way he does), then the narrative should have built up to this rather than pulling a sudden reversal at the last moment. We had all the evidence to prove that it would lead to this point. From previous episodes like Terminal illness got worse then sudden drastic personality change,etc. If that isn't enough.Episode 10 Saki smiling at Kousei's performance. Episode 12 is all about hinting at the Truth about Saki's actions.Maybe its not what it seems? "No mother despises her own child" We catch a glimpse of Saki being proud of Kousei retaliating against her after she whacks with him with her beating stick. I've at least interpreted it as there must be some underlining here that We've yet to find out.Which is revealed in this episode.Its not much of a build up but its definitely not a sudden reversal at the last moment. I don't know if that amounts to something in your discussion but just pointing that out. |
NeutralSideJan 17, 2015 8:46 AM
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I agree with some of what both of you are saying to some degree. If anyone is trying to negate the fact that Kousei's mother was both emotionally and physically abusive, they are being ridiculously naive. She definitely became an atrocious parent who emotionally manipulated her son, used her power as a parent to latch him to the piano, made him feel worthless and like he was accomplishing nothing, and punished him regularly with both verbal and physical force. It was absolutely abusive and no one should view it as otherwise. Just because "other people" have been in far worse situations of abuse over time does not mean that Kousei's character wasn't abused. So I totally agree with you TripleSRank on that. However, I think it is good that the anime/manga tried to at least provide some perspective on her side of the story, and no I do not think it was an "asspull" at all. Kousei's mother was a person too and one that deeply loved her son. However, she became sick, and, in turn, incredibly fearful for her son's future without her. I think it would have been cheap if they had depicted her only as a faceless aggressor who only tormented her son. Her reasons weren't justifiable in any sense for abuse (nor is abuse justifiable or acceptable ever), but at least they are trying to show us how her good intentions for making him so good he would be successful spiraled out of control because of how scared she was. Nothing she did was acceptable in the slightest, but at least now we can see where she went wrong, and why Kousei has felt so conflicted about her. It is character development, and I think it was very necessary. Does this excuse any of her clearly abusive behavior? Absolutely not. Does it devalue any of the pain and trauma that Kousei had from the experiences? Absolutely not. Does it provide some development to her character and show us that she was not always cruel? Yes. I don't think Kousei would have felt so conflicted and torn up over his mother's death if he didn't love her so much, and this episode only served to show us the times of kindness and love that Kousei's mother imparted on him that he shut out because he could only remember the pain. They nicely tied in lines that we've heard before like "touching the keys like a baby's head" (or whatever that line is) and the sleeping under piano while his mother played as things that he picked up from being around his mother. NeturalSide listed some other instances above that I feel subtly depicted that Saki wasn't always a terrible parent, Kousei just buried these times under his rightly deserved emotional turmoil. Regardless, I am sure they could have tried to allude more to these instances of love to balance it out more, but those little gestures were definitely some instances of hints in the manga/anime that clued us in to the fact that it wasn't bad all the time for this mother/son relationship (thus why I have a hard time crying "asspull"). There was some good in there too, and as much as Kousei deserves to feel wronged and angry towards his mother and should still feel that way, he has to accept that she was a person who made many awful mistakes and try to move on, little by little, if he wants to grow up. That's easier said than done and this series is trying to show that in my opinion, and I think they are ultimately succeeding. I feel the manga/anime had a true climax and resolution here, and I felt it was well-deserved and a nice payoff. I was never under the impression they were trying to get us to sympathize with Saki, I think they were just trying to show us the breadth of her character. She loved Kousei to the point of suffocating him with her fear, emotionally and physically. I think that context is really important. I do not, however, believe the series was trying to ever make her seem like a good person. Kousei and Hiroko both admonished her in many scenes, and they made an effort to show that here. I feel they were just trying to show that Kousei had to learn that while his mother was cruel to him, she also gave him many gifts and taught him many things (as shown in that scene were he tells Hiroko how she lives on in certain parts of him). Just because he was abused doesn't mean he has to hate his mom for forever and live in the shadow of her brutality, but he can also love parts of her too, and I think that is ultimately what this episode wanted to show us. If Kousei wants to grow and move on like he says, he needs to take what little good from his previous experiences and become his own person, not his mother's puppet. I feel like I repeated a lot of points other people have said, but whatever. /rambling |
bakcheiaJan 17, 2015 9:26 AM
babymimi said: silverwalls said: hm, i can't help but dislike the way kousei's mother is portrayed as a good person, after all the abuse he's been going through.. Can't believe people are falling for it. She's still a shitty mom AlexTheRiot said: Now they try to force flip our perspective on Saki because it's convenient for Kousei's development. Nope, not after half the show's screentime has been spent antagonizing her. Can't just try to portray someone in such a new light when convenient so as to manipulate the viewers emotions anew. Not when you've already spent so much time forcing a different perspective for the sake of said emotional manipulation. I like what the end result was with Kousei embracing his memory of her, faults and all, but the way he got there felt so cheap and half assed. this is exactly one of the biggest problems I'm having with the show. For 12 episodes they make us "hate" his mom and now suddently... |
 "In the past few months since we met, I've shared many memories with Nagato. Though I've also shared memories with Haruhi, Asahina-san and Koizumi, I found that I've experienced more events with Nagato in particular. In fact, every situation seems to involve her. I might as well mention this, she's probably the only person to cause the bell within me to shake the most vigorously..." ~ Kyon, TMOSH |
-mirai said: babymimi said: Can't believe people are falling for it. She's still a shitty mom AlexTheRiot said: Now they try to force flip our perspective on Saki because it's convenient for Kousei's development. Nope, not after half the show's screentime has been spent antagonizing her. Can't just try to portray someone in such a new light when convenient so as to manipulate the viewers emotions anew. Not when you've already spent so much time forcing a different perspective for the sake of said emotional manipulation. I like what the end result was with Kousei embracing his memory of her, faults and all, but the way he got there felt so cheap and half assed. this is exactly one of the biggest problems I'm having with the show. For 12 episodes they make us "hate" his mom and now suddently... Not really. Like I've said,There's loads of evidence scattered that there was an underlining to Saki all along.Let's all forget how she was caring Mother before her Terminal illness got severe! Surely there's some meaning behind that irrational drastic change in personality! Oh Let's also not forget everything about the good scenes regarding Kousei's Mother and just focus on everything that makes her Bad in our eyes! Also we were only watching from the perspective of Kousei.In Episode 12 even his Sensei is hinting on this. Not my fault you guys failed to latch onto it. |
NeutralSideJan 17, 2015 10:38 AM
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| Good, the bad direction led people to wonder if Saki was a good or bad person. |
NeutralSide said: Sorry to try and refute this whole ''Your argument is inferior because I think I noticed things that you didn't" thing you got going on, but the problem isn't that there was zero build up. I acknowledge that there were 'hints' toward her not being a shit mother all along(they were pretty clear), but there certainly wasn't enough build up to take such a leap in Kousei's emotional perception of her. WE saw the subtle hints in flashbacks, not Kousei.Like I've said,There's loads of evidence scattered that there was an underlining to Saki all along.Let's all forget how she was caring Mother before her Terminal illness got severe! Surely there's some meaning behind that irrational drastic change in personality! Oh Let's also not forget everything about the good scenes regarding Kousei's Mother and just focus on everything that makes her Bad in our eyes! Also we were only watching from the perspective of Kousei.In Episode 12 even his Sensei is hinting on this. Not my fault you guys failed to latch onto it. It wouldn't be a problem if the show didn't spend half to entire episodes focusing on Kousei's trauma and how it affects his ability to perform. Since it did, it makes it very hard to buy into this flip of his perspective since it's all about emotional impact. The subtle hints and time spent with his sensei could have led to a more 'middle ground' conclusion where he gets over the trauma but still has his reservations towards his mother's memory, he just is able to accept all of that and move past it. That wasn't at all how it was portrayed though. It's not as if the writing isn't there. Like surfboard is saying, it's the bad direction making it come across half baked. |
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Gr33ncar said: just like every other episode for me ^^; couldnt stop crying so brilliant and I don't think they flipped it around to make her seem like a good mother - all the bad stuff still happened. they were just showing you the other sides you didn't see before. there was some good along with the bad, but it doesn't change the bad or make it any better. she even SAID, "I'm a terrible mother" why does everything have to be so black and white? the episode was even making a point about how everyone, everything is connected. no matter what, she was still his mother and he still loves her even after everything. she always loved him despite everything. she just chose to show him love's sorrow instead of love's joy... and that's what they showed us too. that's what's been in Kousei's head the most because it's traumatizing! that's why it was emphasized so much. but how many more years is he going to let it ruin him? this was him reaching acceptance... of EVERYTHING. and now being able to move forward... it's like being a pessimist vs. an optimist. yes, she was horrible, he was pretty much abused, but on the bright side, she DID leave him the world of music that he's now a part of. |
mika_chuJan 17, 2015 12:39 PM
| Amazing episode as always, A completely new viewpoint of Kousei mother, Kousei amazing performance "put the audience on there feets", such a deep backstory felt like watching the last episode of the anime..... just hoping Kaori will be alright with her illness, look like Kousei finally back to is own self and finally get to say goodbye and get out from this endless crying circle. simply one of the best anime i watch in a while. 5/5 for this episode. |
NisxJan 17, 2015 1:03 PM
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| What a beautiful episode. So much feelings from so many different characters at once. I'm glad Kousei is now overcoming his anger towards his mother and realising that she is still part of him and his music. I'm wondering how things will go for Kaori and Tsubaki. There's still a lot of drama coming I'm afraid.. 5/5 for this episode. It's been a while since I've seen some true and pure episode. |
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| So she is ok for now.. till something happens again. And did she hit her head in sudden anemia? At least he finally know by now. I wonder how he reflect on that, I bet he would be overly protective of her right now (I guess that's the thing she wanted to prevent). I have ominous feeling that she won't last this summer that just began, that next school year would be without her. Only memories remain. But they'll play in duo with each other before that, that's given. For me this episode's play wasn't as powerful as before, it felt like music and video was in disharmony (maybe it was intentional). It left no impact for me. Beach episode next time? |
TripleSRank said: "The end justifies the means" -> "She had a motive (end) so that justifies her abusive nature (means)". No. She made excuses for herself when she was confronted with her problem. That's a whopping red flag for an unrepentant abuser right there. [...] No, his trauma stems from the abuse and manifests in his inability to perceive the piano's notes. See surfboard's reply (last quote). He merely learned to cope with his trauma in this episode; it's still present. Having a positive moment doesn't make up for the abuse. Taking your logic to a greater extreme, can a surgeon rightfully murder people because he saves lives every day? I think not. [...] You're acting like "evil Saki" and "good Saki" are two different people. They aren't. It's all Saki. Don't get me wrong, I don't call Saki's behaviour rightful or justified, and I'm sure the manga author didn't intend that either. I was recalling that because some people seem to be surprised that a sudden turn of events had appeared, and the pure-black antagonist wasn't that one-colored anymore. In this episode, Kousei's mother was not shown as a ghost, but as a human, what she did wrong, and why she did, or as bakcheia says: bakcheia said: I was never under the impression they were trying to get us to sympathize with Saki, I think they were just trying to show us the breadth of her character. She loved Kousei to the point of suffocating him with her fear, emotionally and physically. I think that context is really important. I do not, however, believe the series was trying to ever make her seem like a good person. Kousei and Hiroko both admonished her in many scenes, and they made an effort to show that here. I feel they were just trying to show that Kousei had to learn that while his mother was cruel to him, she also gave him many gifts and taught him many things (as shown in that scene were he tells Hiroko how she lives on in certain parts of him). Just because he was abused doesn't mean he has to hate his mom for forever and live in the shadow of her brutality, but he can also love parts of her too, and I think that is ultimately what this episode wanted to show us. If Kousei wants to grow and move on like he says, he needs to take what little good from his previous experiences and become his own person, not his mother's puppet. It was an "asspull" from an emotional standpoint; as Alex said, this was flipped at this point for emotional impact, and I find it more insulting than anything. If they were really trying to get us to sympathize with Saki legitimately (Kousei is damaged, so we couldn't quite sympathize in the way he does), then the narrative should have built up to this rather than pulling a sudden reversal at the last moment. I get your critique. But let's try viewing that from Arima's point: Two years have passed since his mother's death and his breakdown, and he gave himself up. Cornered by his friends and by the ghost of his mother, he was looking down all the time. The very first minutes of his performance in this episode were a perfect summary of those 2 years - full with anger, regret, and sadness. But then, he meets Kaori, and his life starts changing, like his style at the gala concert. The ultimate proof for those life-changing events can be found in the previous two episodes, especially when Kaori is telling him that he is taller than before ("Because you don't look down anymore"). And then, in this episode, with help of Kreisler's "Liebesleid", which is the crucial catalyst for his resolve, he manages to stand up and play again, without hesitation and fear. Could the buildup be different than this one? Possible, I won't deny that. But this development came at the right time, it couldn't happen earlier cause there was no emotional connection available until he decided to play the beloved piece of his mother. And especially, it wasn't sudden, the series needed at LEAST 3 episodes (espcially the last one, which was criticised as being too boring and too slow) to prepare the viewer for Kousei's final resolve. I can't see the change of view of his mother being an asspull to level up Kousei, because she never did, and Kousei's interpretation was the reason why we never got to see something else in the first half of this series. According to that, I heavily recommend reading the ANN review by Rose Bridges, who describes the purpose of this episode in a very detailed and comprehensible way. I wonder why we talk so much about Kousei's mother in general. This episode was not about her. It was about Kousei, his performance, his life, and his decision why he wants to be a "weird pianist". This episode is the de facto start of the new cour, which will show Arima as a very own character, rather than someone who gets pushed and abused all time. |
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