Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**

The latest romantic-comedy/drama to take the anime world by storm is a little project known as Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, or as many people know it, “Your Lie in April”. YLA has been the talk of the last two seasons as it has managed to captivate audiences around the world with its unbelievably bright colors and fantastic musical score complete with both famous classical pieces and original hits. However, if there is one thing about this show that people can’t help but gorge themselves on, it’s the melodrama. That’s right folks: a romantic show contains MELODRAMA! Try to contain your surprise! Since ... intense over-exaggeration is virtually the only way to make shows like this interesting, know that I’m willing to overlook melodrama to a certain degree… But not to THIS degree. Ladies and gentlemen: Do you think you know monologuing? Oh ho ho, you’re about to.

Synopsis: Kousei Arima is a former piano-playing prodigy; he was the best player alive for his young age until some serious mental trauma forced him to quit. He has refused to touch a musical instrument ever again, until he meets an eccentric girl named Kaori Miyazano; the girl who would change his life forever.

YLA got off to a charming start with a great comedic focus while still hinting at a sufficiently dramatic backstory. In combination with the previously mentioned art and music, this anime showed promise. By the time the breathtaking violin performance in episode 2 had finished, pretty much everyone was hooked on this show, and understandably so. However, it didn’t take long for it to divulge into one of the most laughable and overly drawn-out excuses for a narrative I’ve ever seen. This show is about 10% original content and about 90% REPEATING THAT SAME CONTENT. Over and over and over and over and over and over again! You’d think it was a parody of an anime drama rather than an actual iteration into the genre if you didn’t know any better. This anime should have been 12 episodes TOPS, especially considering all the pointless side characters that serve no purpose. Instead, we get an anime that is just monologuing on top of monologuing episode after episode. You REALLY have to slog to get through all of it. I find it hard to pay attention to a show that’s just going to spell everything out for me a million times; ever hear of subtlety? SHOW. Don’t tell.

That’s not to say that the drama is all that bad when they actually decide to advance the plot though. There are several instances of legitimately investing and interesting storytelling in this anime, but it’s too few and far between be worthy of any real praise. Not to mention that it is constantly interrupted by inopportune comedy during or immediately following a dramatic moment. The strange thing is that the comedy can be pretty good too; this show has gotten more than one chuckle out of me. The problem lies in the directing, which is causing these elements to work against each other rather than cooperatively. Instead of adding another dimension to the show, the comedy merely dulls the edge of the more important dimension, and that’s obviously a major problem.

The characters aren’t necessarily bad, but I found them to be pretty poorly handled overall. Kousei, for example, is inconsistent. He will tell the audience how he feels about the SAME thing in SAME way over and over and over again, but there are also times when we should know what he is thinking and simply don’t. For example, it’s nonsensical how the most minor of exchanges will stick with him throughout the entire show and be monologued about dozens of times, but then major interactions between him and anybody not named Kaori are instantly forgotten even when they should be having a major impact on him. Kousei is an okay character, but his backstory is really the only thing that defines him. I was personally more partial to his best friend, Tsubaki, whose alternate perspective of having to deal with a struggling friend is often more interesting than the person who is actually suffering.

Kaori, on the other hand, really held the show back in my opinion. Yes she’s cute, yes her violin performance was the best scene of the show, and yes she is the source of lots of drama. The problem is that she is treated a lot more like a plot device and a lot less like a character. With all the monologuing that goes on in this show, can someone explain to me why we never find out Kaori’s true feelings in regards to so many events? Where exactly does her love of music come from? How does it motivate her? What are her specific feelings on Kousei at various intervals in the show? What about Watari? We don’t know until the final episode of the show so we can pretend that all this vital information which we desperately need to get invested in her is some sort of Shyamalan twist; it's completely immature and ineffective. Kaori simply shows up, does whatever she needs to do to create drama, then leaves. She is the weakest character in the show and a big reason why I found the romance to be poorly executed and completely one-sided. I never felt like I knew this person.

In conclusion, Your Lie in April is a cheesy drama loaded with inopportune comedy and cringe-worthy dialogue. It has its moments and the musical score/animation are wonderful, but bad directing and the lack of so much as an ounce of subtlety killed it. If you’re one of those mushy-gushy drama lovers, I really can’t recommend against this show since its flaws aren’t too much more egregious than what you would normally see, but if not, I don’t think you need to go out of your way to watch it by any means.

This series is overrated. It peaked my interest when I saw it on the front page at the highest rated anime on this site. I thought to myself this was worth a watch, I definitely won't be disappointed since the top rated anime here pretty much deserve to be there. How wrong was I.

Let me first start by saying this series is melodramatic, slow-paced and cliched as hell. We have Arima Kousei, a depressed and traumatized 14-year-old pianist prodigy who lost his abusive mother two years prior to the story. The anime may come off as an anime that focuses a lot on music, but ... music is merely a sub-genre here. If you're watching this anime just for the music, you will be disappointed more than me. I couldn't symphatize with any of the characters in the story, it was pretty much predictable all the time. The romance is pretty below par too.

We're introduced to two rivals early in the story, but that's about it, they don't really have any impact or effect the main character in anyway. They end up being just mere acquaintances by the end. They tried to redeem his horrible mother whiched failed miserably. Characters are crying all the time, then they bring out a loli in the middle of the series with nothing to add to the story, just a mandatory irrelevant loli which seems to be a running occurance in every anime now. The main character barely develops during the story, he doesn't really accomplish anything in the musical world during the 22-episode course of the series, we're constantly having flashbacks about his past and how horrible his mother was to him. The dialogue in the series sounded too poetic and cheesy most of the time, and we're are constantly thrown life quotes at us, which was funny to me considering the main characters are 14-year-olds.

Of course it has its strong points too. The animation really flows well with the series and while I'm not a fan of classical music, I must say I enjoyed the music being played throughout the series. But that doesn't exclude the fact that there are hundreds of anime out there with the same school drama setting with teenagers as main characters. This series ain't no Clannad, it just tries too hard. The main girls all seem to have a thing for the main character, but I didn't feel much romance effect here. The story was all about Arima coming out of his depressed self and back to the real world again. The ending wasn't really a tearjerker, as I predicted it way before during the course of the series, so there was no element of surprise here.

Overall I can't say I particuarly enjoyed the series nor would I recommend it to others. I guess I COULD recommend it to someone who is particuarly interested in music, but then I'd also would recommend K-ON as well. It isn't a masterpiece like people are constantly saying. It's not bad but it's not good either - just average.

TL;DR A not unenjoyable series with some fantastic musical performances, that unfortunately suffers from forced drama, shallow characters, a drawn out, surprisingly predictable story & a tendency to have characters talk at length about what the music being played expresses rather than let us listen & hear it for ourselves. If you're looking for a tearjerker that will do everything short of poke you in the eye to get those tears flowing, Your Lie in April (YliA) might be for you. If you're looking for something more, you might want tosearch elsewhere.

Music is the food of love. Something like that, anyway. It is certainly ... used by many as a means of expressing emotions in ways they cannot put into words. Indeed you'll find few things that people (at least teenagers) will identify so strongly with as a favourite song or a passion for playing. But what might it take to kill that passion in someone? & if you met someone who had lost their love for music, what would it take to bring it back? These are the questions YliA sets out to answer & asks you to come with it. (Note that while I don't consider anything discussed a meaningful spoiler, you may think otherwise)

The boy for whom the music died is Kousei Arima, a gifted & renowned pianist as a child but having lost all passion or even the ability to play since the death of his (psychotic) mother. Now he just wiles away the days, transcribing sheet music & hanging out with his childhood friends Tsubaki Sawabe & Ryouta Watari, stuck in that awkward period when no longer a child but not yet ready to be an adult. Then one day, in a scene that pays homage to Laputa: Castle in the Sky, he meets Kaori Miyazono, the carefree girl who he can't take his eyes off & who quickly takes it upon herself to break Kousei out of his shell & bring back his passion for music, whether he wants to or not.

If there is one rule that anime frustratingly breaks all too often, it's that of show, don't tell. Specifically, that it is better to show something through action rather than through exposition. YliA is full of this. Musical performances are an important part of the story & used as a means for the characters to work through internally whatever their “thing” at that point is, be it determination to prove that they're better than the competition or, often in Kousei's case, trying to overcome his personal demons so he can play. Musical performance, particularly of classical pieces with different sections & phrases that allow for the expression of different emotions, is a perfect for this. The actual performances in YliA are fantastic, with a range of Chopin & other classical pieces (although a little more variety or more well known pieces might have been appreciated) performed to a high standard but also in such a way that it mirrors the emotions of the performer, which is impressive considering we're watching cartoon characters play a cartoon piano. Indeed the music, both the original pieces & those by classical composers, is most certainly the strongest point of YliA.

Unfortunately, in almost every performance the music plays for about 20-30 seconds before someone's internal monologue starts talking all over it, usually as a form of very long winded exposition explaining what the performer is feeling. This isn't always a bad thing. When it accompanies more surreal visual expressions of the performers emotional state, such as when Kousei is playing only to find himself apparently enveloped in water & unable to hear the music, having his inner thoughts accompany the scene can add to it. However, more often than not our listening is simply interrupted by a still shot of the someone's head while they talk in detail about what we'd be able to hear & see for ourselves if only we were allowed to.

It's made all the more frustrating on the few occasions, such as the duet between Kousei & Nagi Aiza, where the exposition is kept to a relative minimum & the music allowed to just play, letting us see the two characters play off each other as they start with a fairly pedestrian rendition before gradually raising the tension in the scene as they both start to play off of & try to outdo the other. It just makes the scene that much more enjoyable to be allowed to just follow the performance without having someone talk over it to tell you what you could be listening to. Likewise the final performance, which I won't spoil, suffice to say that it is a nearly nine minute performance where everything comes together to produce a genuinely engrossing piece of animation. The high point is a nearly three minute part where no words are heard, with everything expressed simply by the facial expressions & body movements of Kousei & Kaori as they play together. If only the same could be said of all that came prior.

This may well simply be due to a mixture of practical constraints (animating multiple 5-10minute performance at a consistent quality can't be easy or cheap) & a hangover from the manga where, of course, there's no music to accompany the panels. It would be more forgiveable if it wasn't for the additional problem that the scriptwriter/author/translator seem to have a false sense of their own literary prowess, writing with a “why say it in a sentence when a metaphor laden paragraph will do?” approach. The use of poetic language isn't a problem in itself, but the characters monologues just go on & on, spouting simile after metaphor, often to the point that it's hard not to be somewhat taken out of the moment. Kousei is a repeat offender of this, often unable to think about anything without employing multiple mixed metaphors. It doesn't help that despite all the words, the characters in YliA don't really think about much. Kousei monologues about his (abusive) mum & Kaori; Kaori about Kousei & music; Tsubaki about Kousei & childhood; & Watari about nothing because he's a plot device, not a character.

In fact all the cast in YliA are surprisingly shallow characters considering all they have to say. Watari just exists so there is someone in the way of Kousei & Kaori having a romantic relationship (because she's gotta stay on that pedestal, after all), playing no meaningful role beyond that. Tsibaki is the childhood friend & third corner of the triangle that every romance must have, while her boyfriend/senior Saito & classmate Kashiwagi are just there so she can talk to someone about her feelings for Kousei other than the audience. Kousei's mum is just a (very abusive) albatross hanging around his neck that he needs to shed in order to move on from his childhood, & Kaori herself is ultimately only there to first encourage him out of his past & then her own misfortune to make him take the next steps into adulthood. Kousei of course bumbles fairly passively through all this, to the point that at times it feels more like watching the author kick a puppy than anything else. It doesn't help that on occasion the plot takes some ridiculous twists purely for the sake of melodrama at Kousei's expense. At one point, for example, he nearly drowns in a swimming pool because, rather than try to swim, he sinks to the bottom miming a piano because the water is what it feels like when he's trying to play. As examples of forced drama go, YliA has some pretty egregious ones.

Indeed, on more than a few occasions the show takes an uncomfortable turn into outright cynical emotional manipulation of the audience. Kousei's childhood seems to exist purely for this purpose, as though you can hear the writer shouting “look at this child! Doesn't he make you feel sad? No? How about if his mother hits him over the head with a cane? Are you sad now? DO YOU FEEL!?” Yes, YliA, I do feel. Apparently, however, you don't, because despite all this clear abuse Kousei was put through everyone else just seemed to take a “not my problem, not my business” view to it. Kousei's mum is depicted as a psychotic child abuser, destroying her son's mental health so she can live vicariously through his success. Despite this, however, ultimately the show takes the view that it's okay because he's got over it now & she only did it so he'd have the musical talent to play after she died. Even cultural dissonance can't be an adequate explanation for why that was thought a good story arc or why Kousei's mum deserved the character redemption it tries to give her.

All this is in contrast to the comparatively marginal b-plot, the competition between Kousei, Takeshi Aiza & Emi Igawa, where something akin to actual character progression takes place. They begin with Emi & Takeshi harbouring old grudges against Kousei, only for the trio to progress as Kousei rediscovers his passion for music while Aiza & Takeshi move on from simply wanting to stick it to their old rival to aspiring to greatness in their own rights. We get to see progression both through their thoughts & conversations & also their musical performances, not to mention that the more peripheral characters connected to this part of the story actually feel like they have a purpose beyond listening to Tsubaki's boy problems or the like. The main plot really doesn't have anything like that sort of dynamic, which makes sitting through episode after episode of Kousei thinking about his mum or Tsubaki thinking about Kousei all the harder to enjoy because it never feels like it's going anywhere meaningful. The ending doesn't help in that regard either. Without spoiling, it basically reveals that the whole journey we've been on was basically a “romantic” version of Cameron's b-plot in the “One day, One Room” episode of House.

But I'm digressing now. Despite all the problems YliA has I can't say it wasn't watchable. Indeed, many of the problems I had with it are things you have to either take or leave with anime that share the same genre tags. As frustrating as it got, YliA never feels as dragged out as, say, Chihayafuru, & there were moments where the show really did shine as the romantic drama it is supposed to be. There are more episodes than were needed but the finale is both a highpoint & a definitive ending, which is always welcome. The art & animation were fine for the most part & were impressive when it counted, which is all one could ask for. Having reached the end of Kousei & company's journey, I can't say I'd want to watch it again, but nor would I say it wasn't worth watching either. All things considered, perhaps that's enough.

"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." - Ludwig Van Beethoven


Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is about a child prodigy classical pianist named Kosei Arima, who gave up playing due to crippling depression following the death of his mother. Even though he won many competitions back when he was still playing piano, his playing was always very "by the book", mechanical, and lacking in passion. This was because of the extremely strict way in which he was trained by his late mother. After hearing the very passionate and innovative performance of a brilliant young violinist named Kaori Miyazono, ... Kosei is able to rediscover his love for music and learn to play with heart.

That sounds AMAZING right? An anime musical drama/romance that tells a heartwarming tale and introduces beautiful classical music to a new generation who otherwise wouldn't give it a chance. Why then didn't I rate it a 9 or 10?! I will sadly have to explain.

Firstly, I must say that this series REALLY had potential! Especially for me, since I am a huge fan of classical music. Both of my parents were classical violinists who played in an orchestra. I went in with very high expectations, but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed. That isn't to say that I felt Shigatsu was a bad anime. Shigatsu is a fine anime, but I am saying it could have been a LOT better and it wasted a tragic amount of potential.

Story:

Although the basic premise of the story is the stuff of an award winning drama film, the execution was...not so much. Shigatsu has a LOT of really crappy comedy that never once made me laugh and constantly threw the mood out the window! This comedy is almost always accompanied by painfully obnoxious chibi style animation to save on the show's budget. I'm not saying that using tone jarring chibi out of nowhere instantly makes an anime bad. Hellsing Ultimate did it for comedy scenes, but Hellsing Ultimate never took itself seriously and never expected the audience to take it seriously. It is a show about Count Dracula fighting Nazi vampires! Shigatsu on the other hand, tries REALLY hard every 5 seconds to make the audience cry. Shigatsu DOES take itself quite seriously and wants to really emotionally move the audience, so the use of shitty comedy and random chibi in this context was a rather poor choice. The other most obvious problem in the show's execution was just how forced a lot of the tragedy felt. Shigatsu is a flat out melodrama. I'm not one of those critics who instantly hates on melodrama and condemns series just for using a writing style that is no longer in vogue. However, this story really didn't need to be a melodrama. It felt completely tacked on unnecessarily. Tragedies get more respect than comedies right? We better try REALLY hard to make this into a tragedy! I love a good tragedy, but Shigatsu in terms of its themes, message, and basic story isn't really crafted to be a tragedy. It feels like a comedy that was forcibly changed into a tragedy in post production because some jackass thought it would win more awards!

Art:

The art and animation is very inconsistent. During the scenes where an instrument is being played, the animation is gorgeous and accurately captures the movements of the musician. Then it goes to barely animated chibi garbage because...why? The art style is extremely "moe" which may piss off some viewers.


Music:

The selection of classical music is AWESOME! We get Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and basically lots of excellent pieces by amazing composers. The only problem is the quality of the playing used for the anime's soundtrack. We are told over and over again how Kosei is this AMAZING child prodigy and quite possibly developing into the greatest pianist of his day. Yet the piano playing we hear is...not THAT good. This wasn't a live action film. They could have used any recording since the invention of the phonograph and synced up the animation with the playing. Why not use a recording of a pianist who actually plays like ALL the characters describe Kosei? Vladimir Horowitz could play better than the dude from this soundtrack after 3 bottles of vodka, blindfolded, while being attacked by killer bees!


Overall:

Basically I just wanted to say that Shigatsu wasn't a bad anime, but it really wasn't a new masterpiece and actually squandered a ton of potential with extremely questionable choices in terms of execution. This actually isn't the first time I have seen a "moe" melodrama that mixed slapstick comedy with extremely forced tragedy. Angel Beats already accomplished that feat years ago. The difference is that the comedy in Angel Beats was actually funny! Angel Beats was also always supposed to be a comedy, but with some drama and tragedy thrown in. Shigatsu probably started out as a comedy, but was changed into a tragedy first, a romantic drama second, and a loveletter to classical music 3rd. The comedy in Shigatsu honestly feels WAY more out of place than the comedy in Angel Beats. Overall, I would still check it out if you really love classical music or wish to learn more about classical music, but if you are coming for the drama/romance, I would pick a better anime.

So maybe you're like me, and chose to watch this because the animation looks good, it's a new, ongoing anime, and heck, maybe you play an instrument or sing and were interested anyway. However interested I was at first, even with the outstanding music, at this point I can't even stomach this show. In my opinion, this show puts way too much of an emphasis on the entire drama of everything and kinda distracts from what I think is most important in a good show: an interesting story. Say you're not like me, and you enjoy all this whiny drama stuff. I'd say disregard everything ... else I'm about to say and go ahead and watch this, because you'll be sure to enjoy it. However, if all these tears and uncertain moments make you kinda wanna puke, I'd maybe kinda wanna stay away, because you'll only end up distraught and dissatisfied with all the mixed emotions in a show like this.

Prepare yourself for a musical ride with Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie In April), one of the most talked about anime in the western community of late. The big question is whether the music-focused romance has earned its acclaim we’ve seen from the bulk of reviewers? I feel it’s both a yes and no, but mostly the latter. That’s not to take away from it at all. This artful, musical adventure is still better than your average anime by a long way and it’s still a show I’d encourage everyone to watch if they get a chance.

It is one gorgeously crafted anime from ... a technical perspective. While its animation doesn’t leap out at you, the character designs, background art and music are superb. Every scene is oozing with charm. The show is not, however, free from its flaws which come mostly from the character interactions, comedy and strange writing choices that plague the show particularly in its back half. There is no doubting that the show will be remembered for a long time in the genre thanks to its wonderful blend of art, music and sprightly collection of characters. It’s not flawless, by a long shot, but it will manage to reach you somewhere on the emotional spectrum through either its uplifting moments or its sadder periods.

The story itself is simple enough. We have our protagonist Kousei who is a former child prodigy on the piano but has since lost both his desire and ability to play due to events in his life. Along comes Kaori into his life, a blond-haired ball of energy, who suddenly puts the colour back into his life and sparks his journey back into the musical sphere. There’s no themes in here you haven’t seen before but the way they are conveyed is full of life and charm. Though it borders on the overbearing when it comes to dialogue the story trundles along with a decent pace throughout the episodes, perhaps dragging along at moments. Could it have been done over 12 episodes instead? Possibly.

The show’s biggest flaw comes from its handling of the relationship between our two main characters Kousei and Kaori. It’s hard to delve into this without spoiling the story and their development but I will say a few things on the topic.

First, the not-so-good news. A combination of some dreadfully unfunny and poorly timed comedic breaks, repetitive dialogue, slow progression and also exposition overload with the duo always kept me frustrated as a viewer. A lot has been said about the lengthy amount of philosophical ramblings of the characters, and it must be said that the problem with them doesn’t come with the words being spouted from a 14-year-old’s mouth. Instead, the problem comes in that such monologues are in stark contrast to the wacky comedic moments. The show really has no idea what kind of tone it’s going for because of this conflict. The show could have done without both the philosophical and comedic moments and struck a friendly middle ground that could still have produced a concentrated script.

The other side of the coin is that, on their own, I feel like our leading pair are very interesting. They have desires and they change as our story progresses. As they each help them find out more about themselves and their own ability we start to see new sides of them. This is true more so in Kousei’s case as Kaori remains criminally underdeveloped at points. Nothing in the show, I feel, is worthy of the dreaded ‘melodramatic’ tag. All the decisions made revolving around their music make sense, plus the emotional baggage they carry is certainly not unfounded. It’s great to see Kousei try to fight through the barriers preventing him from playing without fear once again. The way he tries to achieve that makes perfect sense and is handled with respect and – to a point – realism.

In regards to our other characters, it seems all their purpose in the show is to further Kousei’s development without expanding their own a great amount. That’s not to say they don’t have their moments. Tsubaki and Watari are the friends tagging alongside our leading duo and they provide a welcome change up sometimes. Their own successes and failures are utilised well by the writers as a parallel to what our leads are going through. They certainly don’t just sit by the wayside achieving little.

While a central theme of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is its classical music and how it is used to express emotion, it commits the big sin of telling instead of showing. It's disappointing to see a show that is supposed to be letting the music speak to us instead have its message spit out to us in lengthy monologues from those both playing and listening to it. Music has the ability to speak to us through its expression and dynamics. There is supposed to be no better example of this than classical piano. Shigatsu manages to capture this through its artistic elements like its beautiful light and art and also its depiction of the playing styles between our different characters. However these moments become fractured and tainted to an extent due to the constant spilling of thoughts from our characters.

This nit picking, to a point. Every musical scene is packed with energy and also seems to be where the majority of the animation budget would be poured into for the show. The song choices are fantastic and do a superb job at mirroring the current state of the person playing it. It would be most accurate to describe all of Kousei’s performances as a means of concluding an ‘arc’ or development for him. We see him either grow or recede in his confidence in himself each time and, as stated above, the art and direction manage to capture these changes wonderfully.

On another music note the opening and endings are all wonderful and perfectly encapsulate the themes that the show is going for. Goose House’s Hikaru Nara is the big highlight with its energetic vibe and singalong chorus, it’s without a doubt one of the best openings I’ve had the pleasure of listening to.

Overall Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is a show that I feel everyone should experience. Some may be able to look past the bloated dialogue and the sketchy writing, instead uncovering a colourful and vibrant show that manages to give off plenty of charm through its music and superb art. More than anything – despite the flaws I see – the show will stick with you. There will be moments you look back on with either fondness or sadness some time from now.

Spoiler free but one could infer things based on my reaction.

Shigatsu is an anime that had me torn in so many places. I think the plot , the music and the artwork are the best you will see recent memory. That said, the melodrama between the big events of the series is absolutely excruciating to watch especially for a modern anime. I had to constantly remind myself that the main characters are junior high students and not high school students to give some meaning to the unrealistic drama that unfolded. I will describe why I feel that this melodrama was so horribly written and executed ... and why I feel it ruined an incredible piece of art that is Shigatsu.

The "lie" is supposed to be a plot device that allows Arima to have mixed feelings and give him a drive.
This worked out fine story wise but to introduce that type of background and never work with it was annoying to say the least. I really feel I could argue that this was made so that "romance" could be injected into a musically focused story. Normally this type of relationship would be questioned. We never experience that thrill of someone finding out. Later in the series Watari openly comments on other cute girls with no remorse or guilt or obligatory anime slap to the face. This brings another issue with the series which is my main dealbreaking issue. Anytime there is a problem all you have to do is beat the shit out of Kosei,
Kaori messes something up,attack Kosei, another girl shows affection to Kosei, attack him for it,
Kosei does all the work and takes no credit, attack him for it,
Kosei suffers from depression due to trama, help him by attacking him,
Kosei does his absolute best given the circumstances, beat the shit out of him
I don't know if this was supposed to funny but it was the most irritating I ever watched. I started to question anime in general because of this series.

There was so much they could have done instead of attacking Kosei. I wanted more from this anime. The art work caught my eye immediately with eye popping colors that were so vivid on an OLED screen and an excellent repertoire of classical music. Character development felt very forced as most anime do with a beta male main character.
This anime could of been a must see classic if the writer had been more mature about it but now it's a just a good watch for people who like music anime with a little romance. Don't watch this anime for the romance like I did. just enjoy the ride and try not to think about it.

It would seem that feeling some modicum of emotional involvement whilst watching/reading something is all it takes to make a masterpiece these days. Whilst emotional involvement is always a great thing, it's not enough to excuse problems that a particular work in question has. On another note, it irks me when people say they "got the feels" from watching something because more often than not, it was something stupid/cliché/melodramatic. Maybe I'm a heartless sociopath or maybe it's because I've been through a lot worse in life, but I can't help but scoff when people tell me they cried like a baby whilst watching stuff like ... the first season of Clannad. Then enters Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, an anime/manga series that plagues me with cognitive dissonance because there's a lot of stuff I truly do like about this programme but there's also a LOT of irritating crap that just got on my nerves.

The biggest reason as to why I got emotionally involved with Shigatsu is because of Kousei himself. Like I've said in some of my other reviews, my mother's dead and I know damn well where Kousei's at and all that stuff. To me, Shigatsu was less about the music and more about the story of a teenager learning to move on from past tragedies. Add into the mix that I'm a huge fan of romantic drama and music, and you'd basically have a recipe for something that would've been among my all-time favourites (alongside the likes of White Album and Solanin). Unfortunately, it wasnt perfect. The gag comedy was a mild annoyance that gradually turned into something cringe-worthy, the monologuing was a bit tedious and it just got even more ridiculous as the show went on, and as these two aspects of the show became more obvious, I found myself getting less and less involved with what was going on. If you're an avid fan of this show, allow me to explain myself.

I understand that levity has a place in storytelling, and what's more is that this show is aimed toward a mainstream audience that probably can't handle the intensity of things like Gong Ji-young's Our Happy Time or White Album 2. The problem is that Shigatsu's particular style of humour was grossly inappropriate for the subject matter that this show was tackling. This is a show revolving around a 14-year-old who has a dead mother who was extremely abusive toward him learning how to cope with past tragedies and learning to move on with his life. The last thing we need is a chibi-style cutaway interspliced with every dramatic moment out there. Stuff like that just takes away from the emotional impact of the story and just ruins the mood for me. If the humour was more dialogue-oriented like in Daria or in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, it would've been more than enough to break up the excess tension that would build up and make the show uncomfortable to watch whilst also allowing for the show to play with your emotions without any interference whatsoever. Alack, hindsight's an anime studio's worst enemy and there's no changing what's already done.

On another note, the monologuing was nothing short of tedious and insulting. Monologues are a powerful tool and if used sparingly, they can strengthen the impact of various events that would go on in your story. The problem is that the mangaka (and A-1 Pictures by extension) fails to understand that more monologues does NOT equate to more emotional weight. I don't know about you, but I find it nothing short of insulting when an anime studio decides to tell us exactly what a character is feeling via long, drawn-out monolgues in almost every episode because it gives me the impression that A-1 Pictures thinks I'm some socially inept otaku with no understanding of how human emotions work. The strange thing is that all of the monologuing could've easily been omitted if the story actually decided to focus on Kousei and Kaori instead of bringing up the perspectives of people like Kousei's piano rivals and Tsubaki.

I don't know about you, but I don't give a rat's ass about Tsubaki, Watari, Emi, Takeshi, or any of those other people. They're side characters, so why even bring them up? The only characters that ultimately matter by the end of it all are Kousei and Kaori. All that time that A-1 Pictures spent on those characters could've easily been spent making fleshing out Kousei and Kaori's personalities. As much as I adore the two of them, I can't exactly say that I think they''re well-written characters. Let me put it to you like this: I've found several other characters empathetic in the same way I found myself empathising with Kousei (i.e. Tohru Honda, Tomoya Okazaki, Shinji Ikari) and yet those characters made more of a lasting impression in my mind than Kousei did, namely because I found them empathetic in many more ways than I could find myself relating to Kousei. I mean, outside of the fact that I was once a motherless teenager with the hots for a blonde chick, I can safely say that Kousei isn't exactly the most relatable of individuals. As for Kaori? Well... outside of the fact that I actually like her, she's no different than Nagisa from Clannad in that they're just there to be plot devices meant to evoke an emotional response out of the viewer.

Now those problems aside, another thing that never really sat right with me was how Kousei was treated by his friends over the course of the series. He's got a dead mother who was pretty damn abusive toward him. The last thing the bloke wants to do is play the piano, and yet he still finds himself drawn to it because you know... that was his thing. I understand his friends want him to just play the bloody instrument again and that 14-year-olds aren't psychotherapists by any stretch of the imagination, but the way they go about doing so is rather cruel to say the least. He's harassed and manipulated quite a bit over the course of the series and somehow, that's the solution to all of his problems. You know, Kousei would've had a mental breakdown if he was a real person because he'd be forced to re-live some nasty childhood trauma. I wouldn't really have much of a problem with this were it not for the fact that I've seen shit like this first-hand, and it *RARELY* works out. It also doesn't help that there was a lot of inappropriate gag comedy that was going on during these scenes where Kousei was forced to play the piano again, but let's not get into that.

I really don't want to pick on this show so much, but the problem is that these flaws make the show incredibly difficult to take seriously. When I get taken out of my moment by flaws in a particular programme, my critical faculties are automatically turned on and now I have no choice but to take the piss out of the show I'm watching because it failed to keep me entertained in the first place. This means that stuff I would've ordinarily let slide if I were actually invested in what I was watching (i.e. the simpering, stupid dialogue about "seeing the notes" and "colourful music") end up being another point lost in my book. If this were any other programme (like say Tokyo Ghoul or Fate/stay night), this wouldn't be a problem because half the fun in watching them came from making fun of what was going on in the show. However, Shigatsu falls in with Nagi no Asukara in that it was a show that I adored the crap out of that gradually lost my interest because of various factors (much to my own dismay, of course).

A lot of these problems could've easily been avoided if A-1 Pictures actually took the initiative to fix the problems that the source material had in the adaptation. An adaptation isn't supposed to be a translation of the source material verbatim into another medium. Adaptations can be viewed as a sort of "second chance" for the source material, so the most important job that an adaptation has to do is fix the various problems that plagued the source material in the first place. Unfortunately, that didn't happen whatsoever and the end result is a show full of wasted potential, poorly-timed gag comedy, tedious monologues, and a whole lot of farcical melodrama: just like the manga that it came from. Well, that's not entirely fair to say because Shigatsu does have a few redeeming qualities.

For a show that couldn't keep me invested in what was going on for more than five minutes at a time, I must say that the parts where I was actually into what was going on had me on the edge of my seat and despite that Clannad comparison I made earlier, this show actually had me invested in what was going on a lot more than the first season of Clannad could ever hope to. Despite the fact that the show is plagued with bad comedy, laughably pathetic melodrama, and annoying monologues, there will come a powerful scene every so often that would've otherwise left you in tears were it not for the inexcusably flawed execution. On that note, at least Shigatsu did a fair enough job of actually making me care about the characters throughout the entire show as opposed to some of the other things I've watched (i.e. Air, Nagi no Asukara) so it has that going for it as well.

The production values also showcase what A-1 Pictures is capable of from an audiovisual standpoint. Despite the fact that the animation quality hiccups every now and then, it's remarkably consistent and the amount of effort and detail they put into the musical performances makes them all the more captivating to watch. Speaking of music, the OST is lovely to say the least. I personally find myself liking the first OP the most, mostly because it's quirky, catchy, and makes me eager to watch more of the show despite knowing damn well what's in store for me if I do. I would say something about classical music, but I don't got that much knowledge in that department. I like violins and I like pianos. This show has plenty of tracks with violins and pianos and they sound good to my ears. Therefore, the OST is good. What more do you want me to say?

Final thoughts? Well... Shigatsu was definitely something I'll keep in mind for a while and whilst it was tedious to get through, it managed to do more than enough right to get a pass from me. With that said, I wouldn't necessarily call this show "good" because honestly... there are so many other things out there that do what Shigatsu does and better. I mean, if you want this particular show, go right ahead but I'd hold off on it for a while and try going for something like say...

a) White Album 2
- Another romantic drama with music that came out during the fall season. This show puts a lot more focus on the romance than the music, and what's more is that it actually keeps a serious tone throughout the eniter story! Kazusa is easily best girl, by the way

b) Clannad: The Motion Picture (and Clannad: After Story to a greater extent)
- Another story about a guy whose life was changed completely after a fateful encounter with a girl in spring. Within the span of an hour and a half, a story of love, loss, and coping with tragedy is told and is done to a much greater effect than it was done in Shigatsu for various reasons (namely the fact that the entire movie was told from Tomoya and Nagisa's perspective).

Yeah, that was a lazy way to shoehorn my alternate show recommendations, but that's what happens when I spend an hour and a half writing up a review for a show that'll probably get downvoted into oblivion anyway. That's all for now though. Feedback's always welcome and with that, I'm out. Peace :)

***

For all you people craving some emotional music, here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaJoDAXkSMw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euJclp0g-2E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pootZMH1zFQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtuoEtohPv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvFknfm2bEA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKW-N2ao8no
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmDlkdxoHCY

WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Did it reach me? Well, in some parts.
Let's just say that Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is a very over-rated series. I understand why people say it's so great, because "omg, the art is amazing, the music is amazing, the end is so sad, oh no, i cried so much, best ever 10/10" Ok. The art was beautiful. The only word to describe the art in KimiUso is beautiful. I have not seen music being played animated so beautifully, since Free did that with swimming. The character design fit the characters perfectly. The music was also tip-top, as to expect from a ... music anime. I loved all the opening and ending themes, with an exception for the 1st ED, which for some reason, didn't buy me. Plot.... I was fine. I guess. The "deliquent, who meets a girl and suddenly his life starts to change" motive is used very, very frequently, and KimiUso does not outstand the schemes. I'm not gonna go into the story, cos I'm pretty darn sure all of you know it all by heart. The plot was fine, but I feel the ending, the sad, dramatic ending, was a bit rushed, and so was the progress of Kaori's illness. I felt that literally in the moment she and Kousei went on stage together, she went into hospital and STAYED THERE. And that, my friends, is a big shame, 'cos I was really looking forward to seeing more of Kousei and Kaori on stage together. Fun fact: after watching this anime, I started wanting to play the violin. Like, really bad.
The biggest disappointment in KimiUso was the characters. I want to discuss that a little more deeply.
Arima Kousei
A heart-warming, good person, who didn't deserve the tragedy he got. I admit, he was a bit of a coward, sometimes annoying, but he was such a good guy! The one thing I loved about the characters in KimiUso was their reaction to Kaori's death, even Kaori herself. But Kousei, even though he was heart-broken, even if he was sad and wanted to cry and scream: he didn't. Because he was a musician. Because Kaori taught him, that he was a musician. And I liked that better than the situation in Clannad:After Story, whereas Tomoya had a mental breakdown and depression after losing Nagisa. And as much as I liked Clannad better than KimiUso, I can't not say that Kousei acted better than Tomoya. And they were in a really similar situation. Anyways, for the wonderful development and his kindness, Kousei gets a 8/10.
Miyazono Kaori
Ah, Kaori. Haven't had such mixed feelings towards a character since Kushieda Minori from Toradora. One one hand, I hated, HATED Kaori. She had the predispositions to be my favorite character, but she killed them before the end of the first episode. Her personality was bitchy and annoying, and the titular "lie" she told was really stupid. I mean, she really wasn't the sort of girl who'd do that! But on the other... I absolutely adored her reactions to her illness and the fact she knew she was going to die. Opposite from Hazel from TFIOS, who got all depressed after finding out she was gonna die. Not Kaori! Knowing she didn't have much time, she did all the things she wanted to do in life, just to do them! To gain experience! That motivated me in so many ways. But, for the reasons earlier mentioned, Kaori gets 6/10
Sawabe Tsubaki
People hate Tsubaki- And I'm no exception! I think she was the most hated anime character of 2014, starring alongside Seryuu Ubiquitous. She was annoying, selfish, and just simply STUPID! She, like all of the "main" characters except Kaori and Kousei did not get any development and at times I even wondered why she's even there. 4/10
Watari Ryota
Aww, Watari! Pal, you are so under-rated! I loved you! And that is the thing with Watari: he deserved and could have had amazing development, but did not. Even still, I loved Watari. He gets a solid 7/10
Overall, KimiUso isn't a bad series. It just had so much wasted potential. Neverthless, it was touching. It was enjoyable. And it deserves a score of 6-7 but not higher and not lower. 7 is a high as it gets, really.

{This content might contain possible spoilers}

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso or Your Lie in April narrative is simple, easy to follow, and predictable at times. It has a combination of school life, emotional drama, and some kiddy romance and on the cherry on top, music that focuses on the sound made by the elites. It gives off an aroma, a recipe for a good anime. After I finish consuming the show contents, I thought for a moment. Why is this show lacking some distinctive flavor or a unique taste? Then I realize this show is not what it seems to be. Starting off with the ... show over repetitiveness when it comes melodrama, handling its comedy and characters internal conflict. It’s always nice to see some melodrama from time to time, especially when it comes to characters having an identity crisis due to puberty. But this anime doesn’t know what a satisfactory amount of drama is needed to make its character appealing. Instead, it rains a hefty large amount of drama in every episode. People cry in this series a lot, not dropping small droplets of tears. They burst out crying like somebody is cutting too many onions around the show. Some are justifiable while some are straight out unexpected and bizarre for the moment. There is no congruent built-up with the emotional drama, it gets lesser and lesser of an impact every time use. It treats drama such a natural occurrence. And adding salt to the wound, Shigatsu has a terrible take when it comes to tonal shift. The comedy of the show, to be honest, are short one-liner jokes with no good built up nor a creative message around it. Most of the time the comedy is about innocent green jokes, it felt cheap and dry. Thought by it owns alone I don’t think it's terrible, but once it used in diverting serious plot points to relieve tension, that is when it crosses the line. I understand that light humor is there to ease up the tension of the story atmosphere and sometimes it can be done quite nicely but the way it was handled in this show, it damages the already weakening emotional impact of the narrative. How can I take a particular scene seriously, for example, the last scene of an episode shows a girl collapsing in front of a vast audience, then follow up by the beginning of the next episode, a randomly inserted humor about showing her half-naked body and getting embarrassed afterward. And I am not kidding this scene actually happens. Not only did they throw away the built-up of an emotional drama from the previous episode but they also disrespected its character dignity. It becomes much difficult to identify your cast as relatable human beings for their emotions change drastically from time to time. It didn’t felt natural for me and it’s a lot harder to understand the situation. The show has a bad habit of manipulating the emotions of its characters and atmosphere too fast.


Next moving to character internal conflict, it also has a recurring theme. The entire plot revolves around Arima, Kosei, all character motivation, internal struggles, and personality is circling around him. The show even bothers to give you the illusion that not everything is about Kosei by showing each character internal monologue after they were introduced to further extend the story. Thought characters giving viewpoints is also nice, but most of the time it’s all about what they view about Kosei in their own perspective, on how they were inspired and motivated in hearing Kosei's perfect musical score and they enforce how great of a character he is. And this doesn’t help define them as a character at all. They are more like tools that only serve certain points in the story. Once they are done, they eventually get shoved in the corner. The minor characters function more like musical notes for Kosei to follow in playing his story.

When it comes to Kosei’s emotional scars. First, if you put real-world psychological studies. He might have developed “Amusia”. It is a musical disorder that appears mainly as a defect in processing pitch but also encompasses musical memory and recognition. To be precise, acquired amusia, which occurs as a result of brain damage. Due to Kosei's beloved mother's death with some circumstance surrounding the events, it is most likely Kosie’s suffered a significant amount of depression and anxiety at such a young age that causes brain damage. But it can also be a coping mechanism he develops when he plays the piano. His negative feelings from his past resurface, and his mind blocks him from hearing sounds that work as a "Psychological Conditioning" association in his mind, to protect himself from a huge psychological breakdown his mind suffered in the past. Too bad nobody ever bothers calling psychologists about this problem and people assume everything is alright once he quit music. In context, there isn’t any problem with Kosei having mental and emotional scars. It has a good presentation on how it feels like to be tone-deaf. But the way the narrative explain it to the audience, repeating the explanation over and over again, it's choking me. Even though I have no reason to pity Kosei or have sympathy towards him. And instead, I like him for being an elite pianist with an interesting background story, the show doesn’t let me think it that way. It forces me to believe that I should feel sorry for him and care for him because he was abuse in many ways possible thus killing his capability to be somewhat of a decent character.


And this where discover another problem with the story towards its main characters. The show is baiting you to sympathize with your main characters; feel sorry for them in a way that how you perceive them. Even though characters themselves, never wanted to be seen that way. Scenes where I see more about Kaori’s being a tragic state for emotional appeal. Tsubaki somewhat complicated emotional feelings towards Kosei, on frequent dosage. Putting does aside, we actually don’t have the privilege of knowing them more in a positive light because Shigatsu is fast pace when it comes to its story. Characters in Shigatsu come and go. Even classical music isn’t safe from it, you actually have some instances they skip seemingly intense musical scores because of lack of airtime to do so.


{Miscellaneous Thought}

After some salty perspective when it comes to story and characters. Let me discuss the positive this show has to offer. From a technical standpoint, Shigatsu has great production value. It has a very good visual design that is sometimes emotionally outstanding at times, some background design that can carve an identity of its own and cutesy and eye-catchy character design that doesn’t resemble a blob. When comes to the OP, OST, & ED this is where the show pretty much glitters with brightness. They are objectively and personal in my viewpoint very well composed. Shigatsu also has a good moral message about music is freedom of the soul. Music is a reflection of once emotion and personality, I respect that. The final episode is the only episode I totally enjoyed watching over the course of the series, for it enforces the idea of music is the direct presentation of the soul. The very first instances that the show bothers to focus heavily on the music and visual presentation in communicating character resolve and emotion. It was the best moment of the anime, which I yearn the show should be doing in the initial episodes in the first place. My recurring complaint is the constant insertion of too many internal monologues and side comment dialogues, it destroys the immersion with the music. The character voices are louder than the music itself, thus it’s no different from background music playing while the character is talking at the heat of the moment. I know this kind of narrative works when it comes to manga, books, or other media that doesn’t have a sound but in anime with audio, it’s doesn’t feel right. I appreciate some efforts of the story in trying to make some justice when it comes to its characters. To be fair characters are not one-dimensional cardboards that we only know one side of the coin. A good example of this Kosei’s mother presented as an abusive mother at first but later on revealed she has an excusable reason to do so even though I disagree with her action. And another is Kaori’s character, in the initial episode of the series Kaori is perceive as this pure, strong, perfect, selfish, and manipulative character that annoys me from time to time, but there is a somewhat reasonable explanation about her action. But it felt too late in fleshing her out as a character in the final episode. The show also explores lots of interesting ideas and information about the music industry like social criticism, inferiority complex, stage fright, the intense pressure of public expectation, and more but remain scattered as an afterthought.


{Final Thoughts}

This anime has every element at its disposal to make a simple premise great and memorable but it completely lacking in some categories and what’s worst it handles some its potential pieces into disarray. For me, this anime could be amazing. It has good music, well-crafted animation, and an interesting premise but instead of taking advantage of this element in anime format. It chooses the easiest path for its musical direction. Sure the story is easy to understand, you don’t even need to think much to comprehend the situation but does it delivers adequate satisfaction? There is no doubt the message is good but it felt sort of lazy in practice. Most of the effort is focused on the technical side. I wish they should add a little more effort when it comes to scriptwriting and storytelling. A good character and story can also contribute to the impact of the animation and music in my personal opinion. If the show has proper balance in the emotional tonal shift, a slower pacing, more character exposition, some additional episodes, and more focus on the music than the internal monologues. It is more than enough for me to love the anime and considered it amazing. So far I don’t hate the anime but rather feel it's lacking a bit for me to actually considered liking it as a whole. But then again I really liked the music and sadly that’s the only thing I can remember this anime for.

Do the music and show reach my heart?

Yes, the music actually reaches my heart even for a stand-alone. But the character and story don't stick with me.

While the production values were very high and the sound, animation and art all looked and played wonderfully I couldn't get past the storyline that was confusing even to itself. There was so much needles drama and the ever present love trapezoid that really didn't need to exist for as long as it did.
It was too steeped in it's own melodrama for it's own good, I feel it could have been greater.

Character progression, art style, story. This series takes these values to heights that make film critics shimmer with satisfaction and guarantees it a solid rating.

I, however, am no film critic. I'm a simple guy donning simple tastes and battling with depression. Personally, I wish I never watched this.

To my untrained ear, the music seemed monotonous throughout the series and continued to carry a tone of despair and solitude.

Through my simplified vision, the art style seemed forced and uncomfortable.

In my dull and shallow mind, the story felt overly romanticized and stagnant.

Through my naivety, I blindly became attached to the characters, and forced myself to watch ... them struggle through a life that is less than they deserve.

I sit here, having finished the final episode, wondering why things end up the way they do, and why we are so powerless against it.

This review may be absolutely worthless to anyone who stumbles upon it, but I had to find somewhere to express my experience before I do something far more stupid on impulse.

After watching the last episode I thought to myself, "Was it worth it?" The answer to that question is a simple, no. I had very high hopes for this anime and it failed to meet my expectations (perhaps they were a bit too high). BUT at least Shigatsu gripped me, gripped me by the ball sack and wouldn't let go i mean.

Although I have only watched 15 episodes I still believe that it was not worth my time. (I did see the last episode though)

The art of Shigatsu is very appealing and the animation was at least consistent but nothing I would call amazing. The ... piano playing was all done in cg, making the hands look very much out of place.

The sound is absolutely wonderful, often being exactly on point with the current scene and adding so much more to the atmosphere. I greatly enjoyed both openings of the anime and found the endings to also be fitting.

The story of Shigatsu is simple but also had much potential. The way the start of the series was, in my belief, handled well enough. There weren't many to any plot holes in the entire story that I could see but, it went in a very very slow pace causing me to feel a slight dread within the bottomless pit that is my heart. The comedic relief scenes also felt very out of place and quite awkward, tearing me completely out of immersion. The problem with the scenes were not that they were just there to relieve the tension, as they are meant to, but that they were poorly done.

The biggest flaw of Shigatsu is certainly its two main characters. First, Kousei. He definitely develops, as he competes with his old rivals to claim the top spot and along the way understands just how much of an impact he had on these other people. And through his interactions with the heroine he is able to move on and continue to purse being a pianist. However Kousei is, in my eyes, a boring main character that gives the viewer an overall depressing feeling. There just isn't enough things about him that can make up for his monotone character.
Kaori was also another character that didn't resonate with me. Sure she was fun loving and "care free" but those characteristic just felt forced into her character. If she was a side character I think that I would have been fooled into believing she was actually having fun in the scenes but she (and other characters) very much overreact to such scenes. Another part of her that made me dislike her was that she didn't clearly convey her emotions to the other members, maybe even manipulating other "major" characters (one might say). She also had a very aggressive attitude to Kousei (for no real reason) causing me to instantly dislike her.
A large problem with the other members of the cast including Kaori, was that they forced Kousei who had PTSD to instantly do the thing that is part of his trauma without any kind of ACTUAL help or any easing into it.

The melodrama was also very heavy. So heavy that even I couldn't handle it. The constant repeating of words also annoyed me. The constant reuse of the word over and over again withing the span of a few seconds felt awkward and felt like they were trying to invoke a feeling (WHICH I DID NOT FEEL) down my throat.

Overall the episodes, including the last one, were not very compelling. The only reason I got as far as I did was because I had hope that it would turn into something greater than it was and because my friends were also watching it. I do feel like my expectations were a bit high for this anime but I also feel that I gave it a fair score despite my hopes.

I may re watch and maybe actually finish the anime in a year or so once my thoughts on the anime are not quite as vivid as they are now.
If my thoughts in the future change I may come back to edit but for now, Dropped.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, in English “Your Lie in April”, could have been a true masterpiece. A-1 Pictures has made efforts in that direction, creating a series that is flawless, technically speaking at least. The animation is well-cared-for and extremely fluid, to the point that it really gets close to perfection. It certainly does its job of capturing the viewer with its undeniable beauty, especially during the musical scenes. The soundtrack is just as fitting, with a selection of beautiful classical pieces. Also thanks to a great direction, A-1 Pictures gives its public some scenes it will never be able to forget. It's quite ... exciting so far, but unfortunately all that glitters is not gold. Behind this pleasant surface, in fact, Shigatsu hides many flaws.

An anime’s plot can easily be its weakest point, but this is not the case for Shigatsu: its plot, though not original, is rather likeable and eye catching. The way the plot is handled, though, is another matter entirely. Every scenes is exaggerated, thus becoming excessive and unrealistic. This is evident especially in the countless dramatic scenes, that after a while become melodramatic and annoying. Among all the tear-jerking themes, one of the worst is Kousei’s childhood trauma: it is presented again and again for almost half the series, obsessively. Some of the scenes are way too rough and brutal, and end up feeling very out of place. To make things worse this theme is treated with superficiality, which is a paradox given how much they insist on it. The lack of depth of this anime is always lurking behind its illusory seriousness though, and we have proof of this in the second half of the anime, which focuses on Kaori more. She has had her run of bad luck, just like Kousei, and her problems are treated in a very shallow way, like you would expect after enduring twelve episodes of flat drama.

But let’s explore another weak point of this series: the supporting characters. Calling them this is perhaps too kind, as they are more plot devices than actual characters. This is especially true for Tsubaki – Kousei’s childhood friend – and Ryouta – the popular guy friend. Each time the plot lingers on them, it is only because they have something to do with the main character. They do not exist per se, because they are supplementary to the main character. Some have said that Kaori herself is subordinate to Kousei and his development, and even if this statement should be taken with a grain of salt, I don’t feel like denying it completely.

The psychological characterization of the supporting characters is also terrible. We could say that there is only one female character in the entire anime. Kaori, Tsubaki, Nagi and Hiroko are the main female characters, and they are all, ALL similar. It is indeed baffling how the creator of this series, in the making of the characters, started from a basic tsundere girl, and then added some irrelevant additional traits here and there to create some diversity. But in the end they all have the same personality – tsundere, as mentioned above – and even the same relationship with the main character – all love him but struggle admitting it, thus choosing to punch him and shout at him for most of the series. Ryouta has not had a better fate: he does not show much throughout the series, but when he does it is only to fulfill the rival role, vital to the plot.

A positive note, however, goes to Kousei’s musician rivals: Takeshi and Emi. They both have a more original characterization. Even if they do not appear much in the series, they seem to have a personal role, not subordinated to Kousei’s character. I should mention however how forced and unrealistic their long-lasting admiration for Kousei is.

You would think Shigatsu’s flaws ended here, but nope. This anime fails at what was probably its main aim: transmitting to the viewer the beauty of classical music. The musical scenes are so boring they seriously compromise the anime’s pace. The public is lead to think that the director didn’t know how to make the viewer appreciate classical music. Instead of simply showing how beautiful a classical track can be, the director chose to add long interior monologues and exaggerated reactions of the public. Thus long minutes of beautiful classical music are weighed down by long soliloquies and the “omg, marvelous, I can see the colourful notes happily dancing in a flowering field!” of the public.

In the end: is this anime worth watching? All things considered, it is not: its flaws outnumber its merits by far. If you like tear-jerking scenes and are willing to turn a blind eye on the problems I’ve mentioned, though, you might enjoy it. At the very least you will love the animation and the wonderful soundtrack.

★★★ SCORE ★★★
- Plot: 1/3, unsatisfactory. Clichéd elements, exaggerated scenes, total lack of originality, unrealistic events.
- Characters: 1/3, unsatisfactory. Clichéd traits, undifferentatied personalities, flatness, lack of personal development.
- Art: 3/3, above average. Good soundtrack, beautiful scenes, fluid animation, perfect framing. Direction overdid things a little in some scenes, but the final product is good nonetheless.
- Total: 5/10.

★★★ OTHER ★★★
About my scoring system: http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=772131
Thank you https://www.reddit.com/user/atown1z for proofreading this! English is not my mother tongue but I did my best.

Nodame Cantabile IV : The Ballad of the Spoiled brats is a sad show.Sad in a way that it didn't live up to its three preceding seasons of which obviously outclass this show in so many corners.Not that I didn't expect that because,as you can see, this show is actually not a direct sequel to the Nodame Cantabile Series but merely a sidestory about spoiled brats playing piano....and violin.

Music is freedom.Music is what makes life more colorful,more livelier and more meaningful.Emotions hidden within every notes is conveyed through music.Its reach is infinite.It can also heal one's wounded heart.Such is the power of music.Not that it ... matters.This show is like a cheesecake with too much cheese.It's good already.Sadly, so much cheese ruined it.The animations are awesome,very consistent,so colorful and fluid.It's an eye candy.The sounds are great,or even perfect.I can live with this music in my ears forever.Characters are cute.What else? The story,I can't say anything about it because this show is fueled not by the plot but by the characters.And then I look deeper to it, delve in to its insides.After going out, I have to say that this show could be better if only the director was different.Most scenes were damn too cheesy.I love dramas but not this kind of drama.I understand that most drama shows always have cheesiness but some make up for it by lessening it or adding something to balance it.Man,most scenes are too unnatural or should I say forced that it made my hair raise.I was about to quit already but then, the performances came and it was like I was watching a different show.The performances were too fantastic and moving.I was impressed.Everything flowed smoothly during those plays and the next time I knew it, it's over already.Seriously,the performances should have been better with just music and no dialogues.The music and the scenes transitioning during the concerts were enough for me to understand what the characters are trying to convey.Most characters are likeable and quite realistic but the way they act feels unnatural.It's like the characters were told to act shamelessly but they didn't want to do it so Director-kun forced them to just do it or you get no pay and this was what happened --- "super duper "junior" school cheesiness".But exception,again, is during the performances.The characters during their plays were fantastic.It's like they became different people.They were natural and I feel connected to them.And then,after the play,they go cheesy again.Humor is also cheesy.Actually,everything in this show are cheesy except,again, the performances.This show,I expected too much and hoped too much,but expectations = shattered.My conclusion is well,obviously because of the cheesiness.I hate cheese.This show is not really bad.In fact, it's good and could have been made better if only the characters were more natural,touch-feely scenes made less cheesier,and more violin performance of Kaori(the last one is just me being selfish).Bottom line? The director tried too hard making a drama show but was just not cut out for that kind of genre.He should just make a show about cheese.


The fourth season is just superfluous to the Nodame Cantabile franchise.It shouldn't have been made.Just kidding.I'm glad this show has been made.And of course, it's title is really Your lie in April.lol.I actually personally liked this show.In fact, I love it.But I'm mentally retarded so I aspire to become a scientist that conquers the world with her madness and then, I'll sleep. Oh god, I'm a genius.

First of all, let just say that I stopped watching this around episode 6, so my scores and final score are my judgement based on only those.

tl;dr: I know I'm missing out. I just can't watch anymore. The show is probably very good later on, but I shouldn't have to slog through the terrible characterization of the first 10 episodes to get to that point.

Second, I am well aware of how generally well liked this show is, and how high scores it usually receives. I can see why, if I squint. The art is amazing, the music is on-point, and the show has several ... factors going for it, like dealing with themes of motivation, goals, child abuse, and more.

This wasn't enough, not by a long shot. The hints of actual plot were there, and I probably missed their culmination by stopping so early, but I just wasn't in a mood to slog through something I didn't enjoy.

That is to say, I enjoyed it at first. The first two, three episodes were kinda fun, but then I kept expecting the characters to grow a bit, for something at all to change their circumstances after they got to know each other, but nothing of the sort happened, to the point where I couldn't watch anymore.

And I really wanted to like this. I did. I was really interested in the music tag and setting. The premise was very interesting, a retired master pianist with issues is forced to resurface by a violinist girl, etc etc.

I'm not even gonna touch the dramatics or the pacing. Those have already been beaten to death by others, Instead, I'll talk about the characters.

The problem, to me, was the characters. I couldn't get behind them at all. The two main characters, at least. Out of a grand total of four that appeared by episode six. Kosei, Watari, Tsubaki and Kaori. Watari was okay when he showed up, which wasn't often.
Tsubaki was my favorite in this show, but not because she was amazing or anything. She was good, but the others were just worse.

Kosei is the typical doormat protagonist, who doesn't know anything, has almost zero backbone (unless he's been worked over by his 'friends'), accomplishes nothing by himself, and constantly needs the support of others in order to stand. None of his supposed friends respect him, but I can't blame then, because I couldn't respect him at all either, and I really wanted to, because I liked the idea of him.

Kaori, on the other hand, is is about 80% of the reason I had to stop watching. She's the most classic of classic examples of Mary-Sue. Incredibly skilled, amazingly beautiful, always (ALWAYS) right, has a somewhat mysterious/interesting(supposedly) backstory, everybody likes her and when she speaks everyone is hanging on her every word, even if she waxes poetic about stuff that rarely make sense or is getting repeated for the third time. Her dragging Kosei by the nose got old very, very fast, I saw no sign of this stopping by episode six, and I was thoroughly sick of it.

I don't know. Maybe I can pick it up again when I'm in a more tolerant mood. For now, I think a 6/10 overall is more than generous enough.

Shigatsu wa kimi no uso or Your lie in April is an anime about music, romance, etc..

The show started strong in my opinion especially on episode 2 which made me like the anime but as the episode goes by my love slowly fades away maybe because of its over the top drama and its comedy( .

What I like about the show is the music especially when they play the piano or violin in Kaori's place. I also liked the OP from goose house the ending not so much.

As for the characters, they are your average Male protagonist and female protagonist, which I have seen from ... different anime or manga. I can also tell the same for the supporting cast.

Overall I give it 6.5 but I did not make it 7 because it's not fit to have it at least for me.

Before I digress into why I gave it a 5, I will explain how I come across this anime. Haven't watch any anime since Clannad, and thought I should see myanimelist top 20. I saw this rated highly so why not. It was great the first half of the series. I got teary eye watching Kousei struggle. But after that 7th, 8th episdoe, it went downhill for me.

Story:
The story is great the first half because it present a problem for the protagonist. Fighting the doubts and insecurity within himself. However, afterwards it just drags out with other characters insecurities. It was inconsistent to ... see comedic bits at bad timing. Hey I love a laugh that breaks the ice, but this laugh just wasn't for me. Understanding the artist was something I have to appreciate in this show. If it display more music playing without the melodrama, the plot would of been better.

Art:
Its about the only redeemable feature about the show. I can see sounds!!! But I thought it was strange to see non-important characters with black dots for eyes. You either think thats lazy or you implied that they didn't matter to have expression. I believe every person drawn should have personality. The comedic bits was strange art where it did get creative but still strange.

Sound:
For an anime about music, it didn't have that good of an OST. The piano playing of chopin just hits me ears first. And only one orginal track that was recurring in the "im going to be better" theme was very nice. But come on!!!! There could of been a chibi-remix of bach, chopin, mozart in there in the background, especially in the scenes of Kousei and Kaori.

Character:
Tsubaki? Tsundere!! Seen that a mile away. This is how I describe her: if she violently kicks your shins, she loves you. What kind of platonic love crap is that. If her character had other charms she wouldn't had needed her side friend Kashiwagi, to help clarify her character. Kaori was a bit tsundere, but it was moderately right. I rooted for her just like she rooted for Kousei. I really cant say anything good nor bad about Kousei, since much of it was plot driven. Tsundere Tsubaki, really made it intolerable to watch this show.

Enjoyment:
I watch ALL the first half, the second half I fast forwarded to the good parts (piano playing, key scenes, ending). If the characters had their own story instead of being revolved around Kousei I would of enjoy it a bit more.

Overall:
It was alright, it had potential to be good, but not great.

Clannad with more music

A lot of people seemed to enjoy this anime and think of it as a masterpiece. Personally, I think it's a (lovely) rip-off and typical Dramaromance-Kit of every.single.Drama.

Story

After the first episode, you literally know how this anime proceeds and ends. If you're experienced with anime like this (Romance, Drama, stuff) you also know all the intermediate steps. After the first Episode. basically, you dont need to watch the other 21 episodes, because you're right, that's exactly how it goes and ends. YLIA does over a long stretchtime nothing to surprise you, instead rattles down his Dramance-Model kit with twists and ... turns you can see coming miles and miles before. That's not necessary bad, because many Dramance-Anime do this. Difference is, they do it in a creative way somehow. YLIA isn't creative or entertaining in his copying. It feels like you're watching something you've watched a thousand times before. In fact, you did.

Characters

Nearly all of the characters are shallow and/or stereotypes, with some rare exceptions on the side-characters. The protagonist is the quiet, traumatized genius, introverted and overall not really social, no outstanding personality-traits, allthough there's at least a development through the story. not a big one, though. Tsubaki is the typical Childhoodfriend-character, and I say this by ALL MEANS. It doesn't take more than her first appearence and you know what she feels. She's a rude tomboy, cheerful and of course, wont admit certain things until the end, eventhough the complete cast, including us, knows better. Kaori basically has no personality. She's hyperactive, cheerful, innocent and overall just a plot-device to produce drama and make kouseis boner glow. She has no development and there are no deeper insights in her personality, which is actually a shame, she could have been a good character. rest of the cast isn't worth mentioning, a brother-worshipping girl, competition-focused teens for Kousei, his rude, brutal, female mentor, the cool, icy friend of Tsubaki and so on. YLIA is a picture book of old, discarded stereotypes. at least they're not annoying, and that is a really good point. Not a single one of the characters is really annoying over 22 episodes. Most anime dont manage this, so even if no character is interesting, they're not terrible either.

Art

The art is kinda good. Nothing marvelous, nothing extraordinary, but well-done over the progress of the anime and with some nice artworks. If I can say a bad thing about the art, then that it's boring, maybe. Nothing outstanding in the mass of averageness.

Sound

Naturally the best part of the Music-Anime. While the OPs and EDs are all boring, clichéd and uncreative scrap, the classic (piano-)music in the series itself always hits the tone and is worth to get listened to. The Soundtrack is memorable, especially the maintheme is a likeable piece you wont forget so quick, but aside from that... again, kinda boring. nothing really intense, nothing outstanding. still, your ears are well-threated in YLIA.

Overall

I have to admit I didn't enjoy watching Your Lie in April for a single moment. I think of the 22 episodes as a waste of time, but there's a high chance you'll disagree. If you dont mind knowing the complete plot and all characters from the first episode, and watching 22 episodes of a drama-anime-kit you already watched 4000 times before, you may enjoy this shoal, peaceful anime who takes much room for the insight and feelings of his characters. If you liked Clannad, you'll definitely love Your Lie in April. Funny enough, I loved Clannad. Just... dont expect any surprise. Or you will get disappointed. Promised.

Most pretentious anime ever... Just mix Clannad and Canvas2 with a touch of tournament anime aesthetics, instead of dialogues use 20% of the anime time with piano and violin (mostly piano), 30% monologues (where you repeat the same stuff over and over and over and over again), add a 10% of impressive scenes titled "Thats how a piano works", 10% senseless overused slapstick comedy, and the rest is way way over the top melodrama.

Have you ever heard about a girl which suffers from a very serious disease that her dream is to perform on stage and an awkard boy helps her to do it? ... Ah yes her parents run a bakery and they totaly like the boy from second one. If you think her name is Nagisa then you are right. If you think her name is Kaori then yeah you are also right.

Have you ever heard about a boy who is extremely talented in some form of art, he won many prizes when younger, everyone admires him but for some reason can't continue until a girl saves him and suddently performs again? He teaches younger girls at some point and there is a girl that knows him for long time and she is in love with him. His feelings? Mixed/Confused. Don't forget the neccesery best buddy. If you think his name is Hiroki and the anime is called Canvas2 then you guessed it. If you think his name is Arima then yeah you are also right.

Copying characters is fine by me..There is a huge amount of animes out there so its next to impossible to create a 100% original character..But here is plainly blantant. And to make things worse.. Nagisa was loveable and everyone "fell in love with her" , Kaori isn't as much and the end of the anime is totally predictable unlike Clannad. The plot is melodramatic and not dramatic. What will happen is shoved in front of our eyes not leaving any chance to make us say "Oh what will happen next?". The scene in the bathroom where we see the contents of her bag spells out clearly what will happen.

The male MC looks like a 12yo boy. His monologues are practicaly endless. Yes his past is really sad and would make a great story if the creators of this anime knew the word subtlety.You imagery people we can figure the story. Monologues are good in moderation and help to create the right mood but if you overdoit well you have this.. The flashy animation as he performs doesn't help to be honest. Vampires don't sparkle. And I am pretty sure that pianos and pianists dont sparkle either.

There is also a bit of tournament genre here..Yeah.. But thing is 90% of people can't really tell the difference between a adequate/good performance and a brilliant one. Sports, Martial Arts, Chess/Shogi etc are easy to show the difference between the good and the amazing. Also...I love classical music. I adore Bethoven, I love Tchaikovsky, I really like Ravel and Vivaldi etc.. But we have a piano overdose here. And to top that the choice of the pieces is plainly showing off the writters music knowledge. Yes we know you love Chopin and you know obscure composers such as Kreisler. If they had just used more famous pieces e,g (Für Elise, Mozarts Requiem or even Orpheus by Offenbach) we could somehow relate and enjoy more the endless piano scenes..But no...

All in all this is not a terrible anime. I watched it pleasantly but that's it. If you want tragedy then there are many better ones ( My Self, Your Self e.g). If you want music there is a truckload...If you want romance oh boy even B Gata H Key is better.