Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Kousei Arima is a child prodigy known as the "Human Metronome" for playing the piano with precision and perfection. Guided by a strict mother and rigorous training, Kousei dominates every competition he enters, earning the admiration of his musical peers and praise from audiences. When his mother suddenly passes away, the subsequent trauma makes him unable to hear the sound of a piano, and he never takes the stage thereafter.

Nowadays, Kousei lives a quiet and unassuming life as a junior high school student alongside his friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari. While struggling to get over his mother's death, he continues to cling to music. His monochrome life turns upside down the day he encounters the eccentric violinist Kaori Miyazono, who thrusts him back into the spotlight as her accompanist. Through a little lie, these two young musicians grow closer together as Kaori tries to fill Kousei's world with color.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Miyazono, Kaori Main

Taneda, Risa Japanese

Arima, Kousei Main

Hanae, Natsuki Japanese

Sawabe, Tsubaki Main

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Watari, Ryouta Main

Oosaka, Ryouta Japanese

Igawa, Emi Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Seto, Koharu Supporting

Minase, Inori Japanese

Seto, Hiroko Supporting

Sonozaki, Mie Japanese

Aiza, Nagi Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Aiza, Takeshi Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Kashiwagi, Nao Supporting

Ishigami, Shizuka Japanese

Saitou, Shunsuke Producer

Fukushima, Yuuichi Producer

Kimura, Makoto Producer

Tateishi, Kensuke Producer

Reviews

Mar 19, 2015

henyome

Recommended

Hers was a white lie built on a grain of truth that snowballed as one lie after the other piled up. At first it was only hers, but then it became something that the two of them shared together – like a secret, a world upon which no other could encroach. He may have been “Friend A,” and she “the girl that loves my best friend,” but they were masquerading around a truth that neither one could openly admit because ultimately, the truth was much more painful.

Your Lie in April is a deceitfully masterful series that initially appears light-hearted and colorful, its palette boasting pastels ... that lend to the idea of it being another romantic comedy. Yet the moment we step past the disillusionment that it casts upon us by its false prefaces, we quickly realize that what we have immersed ourselves in is actually a tragedy in the making.

Tragic not because of a single element but because of all of its parts, and yet at the end of everything, this isn’t a series about tragedy. It is a series about learning to heal, learning to move on, and learning to accept the parts of ourselves that we’d rather pretend aren’t there. Part of that is accepting that sometimes we need a helping hand to take that first step. Part of it is learning to say goodbye when the time comes.

What is so compelling about the storyline is that it’s not merely an adventure into first love, it delves into the reality of post-traumatic stress disorder, childhood abuse, and chronic illness. It doesn’t paint any of these as artistic or tragically beautiful—they are horrible, they twist people, they ruin the best moments, and they have a long-lasting impact.

No one is completely black-and-white; everyone has their short-comings, fleshed out in full before our eyes. They have their hang-ups, their strengths, their struggles—and it’s in these characters that this series really takes off in full stride. It would be enough for them to be multifaceted with equal amounts of depth, but they take it a step further in painting the reality of youth.

Older anime fans may critically analyze the series as an unrealistic approach to young teenagers, but that pessimism overlooks the reality of what it was like for us to be that age. We were all that point when we found our first love, when we thought it was forever, when we poured our passion into something that ultimately would not come to fruition or last. That’s what being young is about—and that’s what Your Lie in April gives us.

Granted that it may veer a bit over-dramatic at times in its representation of youth; there are moments of symbolism or hyperbole so overt that the cheesiness makes you shift a little uncomfortably in your seat (but I promise it’s not enough to gag you). Given that this is, however, a rather common trope that runs in series with heavier themes, it’s not necessarily a huge setback for an otherwise solid series. In the end, it is intended to be a fictional representation that conveys more than just what can be summarized in a few sentences or less.

The sound is completely on point, and the soundtrack artfully matches the emotions intended to be represented in each scene. From the actual classical music to the opening and ending, everything fits in like a jigsaw puzzle to give a full, satisfying final piece. When the characters analyze someone’s playing as harsh, rigid, and stilted, we can hear this—whether we are knowledgeable about music or not. Your Lie in April conveys emotion to us not just visually but aurally as well.

The animation is wonderful with bright, vibrant colors that bring the characters fully to life. There is an amazing, visually perceivable transition for the characters as time passes, particularly in regards to Kaori as the series moves on. It occasionally has some stilted moments but nothing outrageously noticeable to detract from the overall quality.

Ultimately, Your Lie in April is a story that starts out of the gates moving a bit slowly, but the pace matches the tone of the series. Structurally, it is a solid story of youth that dramatizes some aspects but never distracts from the intended message. On top of its other strong points, it’s aurally and visually a joy to the senses – and to anyone appreciative of a series willing to realistically approach the conflict of childhood abuse and the resulting trauma in a positive way. It’s not without a few setbacks, but in the end, Your Lie in April fashions itself to be a stand-out romance series that reminds us that while some relationships may be transient and brief, some people will come into our lives at just the right time for just long enough to touch us in a way we never thought possible.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 19, 2015

Link_of_Hyrule

Mixed Feelings

**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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Sep 21, 2024

simplydru

Not Recommended

'Your Lie in April' is quite possibly the most disappointing anime that I have ever seen. This is because the series pulls you in with gorgeous visuals, fantastic sound work, an interesting concept and elements of delicious suspense... and then lets you down with horrible story execution, insufferable characters, and an ending which makes you want to go into "Kyle mode" and punch a hole through the fucking screen. I really, REALLY wanted to like this series... but it just wouldn't let me.

To get it out of the way, here is how I rated the show (out of 10):
Story: 3
Art: 10
Sound: 10
Characters: 2
Enjoyment: 2
Overall: *3/10*

***SPOILER ... WARNING: PLOT ELEMENTS & ENDING REVEALED***

I thought about delving into detail on everything wrong, and right, about the series, but I think it would be better if I focused on the two aspects which drag this series down into the pits: Kaori, the female lead; and the "twist" ending.

Let us begin with Kaori, who is lowkey one of the most terrible FMCs I have ever seen. She is selfish, dishonest, manipulative, abusive, self-righteous and histrionic; far more resemblant of a spoiled ditzy cheerleader than a well-accomplished music prodigy. She spends the entire series forcing Kousei to relive traumatic experiences just so she can get him to play the piano, either as her accompaniment on-stage or simply for her own amusement, all the while leading him on with mixed signals as she is dating his best friend, a popular jock-type who is almost his exact opposite. She constantly belittles him for doing any little thing she doesn't like, hitting him excessively and/or talking down to him like a misbehaving child. On occasion, she will be incredibly sweet & endearing towards him while they're hanging out... before eventually ditching him abruptly to hang out with her boyfriend. Throw all this shit into a blender, and you will have yourself a smoothie made out of male tears & textbook psychological abuse.

Such behavior by itself doesn't necessarily mean the character is poorly-written, but what makes it particularly unpleasant is that her stupid bullshit is presented as though it were a good thing for all parties involved! She is framed as some quasi-tsundere goddess with a heart of gold when she is actually just a sick, twisted, manipulative teenage bitch with a superiority complex. Talk about cognitive dissonance! Had she been portrayed as more damaged and/or morally-ambiguous, which is far more suited to her actions, the entire series would have been drastically improved as a result, and she would have been, in the end, a far more compelling and even likable character... but alas, that is not what happened.

Which brings us to the abysmal "twist" ending, and the biggest "fuck yo couch" moment this series could have possibly given. Are you ready for this shit? *drumroll* And, behold: It turns out that Kaori was in love with Kousei all along, and only dated his best friend to get close to him - the titular lie in April: "I like Watari" - claiming that she didn't have the confidence to approach him; however, Kousei doesn't find out about this until he reads it in a note, which she arranged to have delivered to him only after she was already dead.

What. The. Fuck.

So let me get this straight: She spent how many months belittling this poor kid over the agonizing pain he experienced due to the death of his abusive & overbearing mother by being incredibly abusive herself, playing with his emotions and leading him on the entire time, all while dating a guy she secretly doesn't even like just to subject him to this disgusting behavior... because she was in love with him?! How fucking pathetic! Seriously, it's like watching an eight year-old boy go bully his crush on the school playground because he doesn't want the other kids to make fun of him. Oh, and let's not overlook her lame bullshit excuse about not having the confidence - yeah, as if I am going to believe that a bubbly & outgoing teenaged girl doesn't have the guts to start up a conversation with a shy loner, especially since she had no issue with beating & scolding him throughout the entire fucking show. This plot twist, and how it was executed, instantly made Kaori one of the most unlikable characters imaginable, and further ruined what little enjoyment the series could have brought to the table.

Again, had they presented Kaori and/or the revelation differently, this twist could have instantly made her more compelling, sympathetic & endearing, and had you looking at her actions in an entirely different light, especially since harboring such love for Kousei would have seemed more antithetical to her personality. Instead, we get a boring-yet-infuriating resolution to a mediocre story that leaves you feeling anything but satisfied.
_______________

IN SUMMATION: As I said before, this show had a world of potential, and I really did want to like it. I honestly thought it would have everything I wanted in a story like this, and it started out strong enough to make me anticipate the rest of the series... but then it took a watery shit all over my expectations, leaving me annoyed & dissatisfied in the end. Fucking blah.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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