Yes, I firmly believe this is one of the best shows to come out in recent memory, and it's going to stay that way with me for a very long time. The emotional roller coaster I rode on throughout the show, which brilliantly depicted a young musician fighting his inner demons is one that brought me to peaks of goofy laughter to hollow emptiness. This is a story about growing up through suffering. It isn't afraid to throw in heavy exposition and amazingly tragic situations. Let me remind you that these are middle school students. Music is only a medium for the characters to grow, and as the series progresses it becomes more like a background character rather than the original main focus of the show, which was to bring our protgonist Arima Kousei out of his fear of his own piano playing.
Even though the journey Kousei takes is inherently filled with heart wrenching moments, it isn't all bad. Kousei's time with Miyazono Kaori, the female protagonist, is filled with wonderfully sweet moments, like candy, and they do in fact do other things than play music. They laugh at ridiculous things, engage in mischief, go shopping, eat too many sweets, and live their adolescent life to the fullest. The world in "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso" is so brilliantly filled with color. The color palette used is gorgeous tones of soft, light colors. To the protagonists, who really are opening their eyes to a new world around them, every little thing has some inherent value to them and they treasure these silly times that they spend together. Each memory is a little puzzle piece that together forms a complete picture of our young protagonists' youthful journey to discover the magic the world of music can bring.
Just like how visually colorful the world is, in "Shigatsu" music has an extremely strong presence in everyone's life. Every character feature has some connection to music, even the typical best friends of the characters, and it has a lasting impact on almost every decision made in the show. To some, music is a way to prove that you are better than everyone else and getting more awards. To others, it's about the very idea of performing on stage, where people have come to listen to you, and expressing all those feelings unable to be put into words. Both perspectives are touched upon in the series, mainly in a competition setting, and the most memorable scenes from "Shigatsu" are during the greatly romanticized musical performances.
The show had a very good repertoire of music selected, ranging from Classical to Romantic. The show brilliantly changes along with Kousei's journey to become a musician not in the shadow of his mother. He goes from playing very high difficulty, technical pieces gradually to much more free, interpretive choices of music. Him, along with all of the musicians in the show featured, express to viewers their own little story with their piece selected. Kousei's rival pianists are quite enjoyable to watch as well, and we get glimpses of what being a musician means to them through their desire to overcome Kousei, who they admire greatly. "Shigatsu" also makes use of quite lovely insert songs, such as "My Truth," and the soundtrack is breathtaking. It adds such a nice finishing touch on the emotional stories being told.
The dialogue in this show is very...poetic. Almost too poetic. While all of the monologues are certainly well written, sometimes it is a bit too much. It comes off really, really strong. A college setting, or even high school setting would have worked better, but most people probably would quickly realize no one in their right mind talks that eloquently to anyone. Everything the protagonists describe, they describe in the most outlandish way possible, using metaphors and thought provoking language. It's easy to make fun of the show for its heavy reliance on these Shakespearean-like monologues, but I found them quite endearing and beautiful to listen to. Not everything has to be grounded in reality, and "Shigatsu" clearly has many magical moments most people would probably scoff at if it actually happened to them. But, why be stuck in the real world all the time? Let "Shigatsu" take you to another, more fantastical world where everything seems to be just a bit more beautiful and colorful.
All in all, I honestly loved "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso" probably more than I should have. Yes, it has flaws, just like any of our favorite shows. Yes, it's heavy-handed and over dramatic. Yes, the plot sounds like it comes from a South Korean drama, complete with the cliches we know and love. Yes, the characters talk in a ridiculous fashion, a little similar to how I usually write my reviews funnily enough. Yes, the music eventually takes a backseat for the more tragic events in the anime.
This show has all of these flaws and more, yet I loved it more than any show in recent memory. It won me over with the beautifully crafted story of a young musician fighting his inner demons and ultimately learning a lifelong lesson and making unforgettable memories. Everything in "Shigatsu" seems to be a little brighter, more vibrant, more profound than anything you might find in reality. My Thursdays are going to be a whole less cheery from now on, that's for sure. But why listen to me? Go out there and give this wonderful show a try! I'm sure something in it will resonate with you, just like it did for me.
And with that, April is coming soon. The spring the characters love to talk about is coming soon. It's March 21st right now, and you bet I'll be looking forward to watching this show again to find out just what made me love it so much in the first place.
