Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April)

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: 四月は君の嘘

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 11

Chapters: 44

Status: Finished

Published: Apr 6, 2011 to Feb 6, 2015

Genres: Award Winning, Drama, Romance

Themes: Music, School

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Magazine (Monthly)

Authors: Arakawa, Naoshi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.59¹ (scored by 36,612 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #106²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #201

Members: 87,122

Favorites: 2,816

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Kodansha USA

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8.59

Ranked #106Popularity #201Members 87,122

MangaShounen Magazine (Monthly)Arakawa, Naoshi (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /11

Chapters: /44

Your Lie in April

Volume 1
$10.99

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Synopsis

At a very young age, Kousei Arima was strictly taught how to play the piano and meticulously follow the score by his mother, to the point where he dominated every competition he entered with ease. He earned the title of "Human Metronome" for performing almost perfectly. Every musician of his age looked up to him. However, after his mother suddenly dies, he became tone-deaf due to the shock and then disappeared, never to be seen onstage since.

Two years later, Kousei lives a monotonous life with his childhood friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari supporting him. He continues to cling to music, although performing is still an impossibility for him. This is until his unexpected encounter with Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who performs freely without the dictations of a score. A story of friendship, love, music, and a single lie, Kousei's life begins to change and gain color as Kaori helps him to take up music again.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso was nominated for the fifth Manga Taisho Award in 2012 and placed 13th in the final ranking. In the following year, it won the 37th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen category.

The series was published in English as Your Lie in April by Kodansha Comics USA from April 21, 2015, to January 3, 2017, and as omnibus volume since October 22, 2024. It was also released in Spanish by Milky Way Ediciones from March 27, 2015, to January 29, 2016; in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics from April 26, 2017, to December 2018; in Polish by Studio JG from March 11, 2019, to May 4, 2021; and in Romanian by Nezumi since September 1, 2023.

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Characters

Miyazono, Kaori

Main

Arima, Kousei

Main

Sawabe, Tsubaki

Main

Watari, Ryouta

Main

Igawa, Emi

Supporting

Seto, Koharu

Supporting

Seto, Hiroko

Supporting

Aiza, Nagi

Supporting

Aiza, Takeshi

Supporting

Kashiwagi, Nao

Supporting

Reviews

Sep 24, 2025

midas123

Recommended

At its heart, the premise of Your Lie in April is deceptively simple. You have Kosei Arima, a former piano prodigy who after a personal tragedy is now incapable of “hearing the music” he plays. By his side are his two childhood friends, Tsubaki and Watari. Into this quiet life bursts Kaori Miyazono, a vibrant and free-spirited violinist who is introduced as a potential love interest for Watari, said friend. Arima is instantly captivated by her, not just romantically, but with artistic adoration for her passionate and untamed approach to music. This is first and foremost a music manga, a genre I adore, and it ... lives up to that label beautifully. The characters’ struggles, their breakthroughs, their pain and their joy are all channeled through their performances. Seeing Arima finally dragged back onto the stage by Kaori’s force of will is the engine that drives the early narrative and it’s an incredibly compelling and addictive ride.

For a long stretch this manga is one of the most genuinely loving and wholesome things you’ll ever read. The romantic development is slow and sweet, built on a foundation of mutual respect and artistic inspiration. I was pretty much just basking in the warmth of it all. And then I found out the story fucking catfished me. What begins as a wholesome journey slowly reveals a much heavier, more tragic undercurrent. The bittersweet sadness that once felt comforting starts to transform into something genuinely harrowing. The story takes a turn so dark and so sudden that it completely shatters the initial tone, pulling the rug out from under you and making it clear that the journey ahead will be far more brutal than you could have ever anticipated.

If this manga has a noticeable quirk, it's that it is built almost entirely on clichés. It uses the simplest and most direct emotional hooks imaginable one after another. At times this, sadly, can feel a bit tiresome. A prime example is a character introduced late in the game whose introduction is pure… cringe. It’s a one-dimensional villain proclamation that is pretty much the simplest, out of place cliche of “I want to destroy my enemy’s life” (I want to remind you, it was a very realistic music romance-drama). But here’s also the weird thing: this reliance on clichés is, paradoxically, also the manga's greatest strength. The story knows exactly what it is. It isn’t trying to be some intricately plotted, subversive epic. It embraces its core and executes it with near-perfect sincerity. Even that cringey character is given a fantastic arc that redeems her initial appearance. The manga takes these clichéd building blocks and constructs something beautiful and profoundly effective with them.

Then comes the end. My fucking god, the end. The final arc is a masterclass in emotional storytelling, culminating in a climax that is both beautiful and absolutely agonizing. The story ties the highest point of Arima's musical journey to the most critical moment of Kaori's personal struggle. But it’s the final chapter that truly broke me. Let me give you some context: I’ve read around 100 manga, I think that’s a lot. I’ve teared up many times, but I have never, EVER actually cried because of a manga. This was the first time. It’s a conclusion that is so perfectly constructed, so emotionally resonant, that it just broke me. It’s brutal but it’s also breathtakingly beautiful. The best way I can describe it is by quoting Fullmetal Alchemist here. It's a terrible day for rain.

I used to hand out 10/10 ratings more freely but as my critical taste has developed, it’s become a rare honor. It has been 23 manga and about two months since I last gave a perfect score. Your Lie in April has earned it. This manga is a 10/10 masterpiece. It might not land in my all-time top 10 favorites but on an objective level it is a flawless execution of what it sets out to do. It’s a story that will lull you in with its sweetness and then with devastating beauty, completely and utterly break your heart.

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Aug 3, 2023

KyleScouter

Recommended

This Anime and Manga is a touching story that makes many people cry. The beautiful drawings are made by the talented Shinkawa Sensei.

The story uses the word "Kimi," meaning "you" a lot. This word is special in Japanese and shows a deep bond between the characters, Kaori and Kosei. Reading in Japanese will give you the real feeling of this word.

Shinkawa Sensei's smart writing makes this story amazing. Reading it may even inspire you to learn Japanese.

This Manga also teaches us to live life with passion, shown through characters like Kaori and the young piano players. This masterpiece is worth reading, so please check it ...

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May 10, 2025

EonRed

Mixed Feelings

Shigatsu wa Kimi ni Uso is a manga that resonates with many readers and it’s presented as a deeply emotional story, especially notable for its music-themed scenes. And to be fair, the manga does have several strengths.

The visuals are generally good: the backgrounds, while not extremely detailed, are well-executed, and the tone and visual composition of emotional scenes are appropriate—using lighting shifts and effect lines to great effect. Things are a bit different when it comes to character artwork. On the one hand, the character designs are distinctive, friendly, and expressive. On the other hand, some panels feature faces that aren't particularly well drawn—especially when ... characters are shown at a distance, from the side, or when crowds are depicted during concerts.

However, if there's one visual aspect that deserves praise, it's definitely the musical performances. Obviously, a manga doesn’t have sound, so depicting music in a compelling way is a challenge. Yet Shigatsu wa Kimi ni Uso manages to bring its performances to life using different elements, such as perspective shifts, speed and motion lines, and character reactions. The performances feel vibrant and emotionally charged, and this isn't something easy to achieve.

The musical scenes also aim to add emotional weight and character development, which in theory is a good approach. Unfortunately, this is one of the areas where Shigatsu wa Kimi ni Uso falls short. The manga tries so hard to appear profound that it overuses internal monologues, rhetorical questions, and flashbacks. These elements aren’t inherently bad, but Your Lie in April relies on them so heavily that they start to feel forced. I believe the mangaka could have conveyed depth more naturally—especially given how skilled he was at depicting performances visually.

Another reason the manga lacks emotional depth is that the supporting characters aren't particularly strong. The issue is simple: most of them revolve entirely around Arima. Seriously, their goals, interactions, and dialogue tend to focus solely on him. Of course, he’s the protagonist, so it’s expected that he would be central to the plot—but when everyone else exists only in relation to him, the cast ends up feeling shallow. Compare this to 3-gatsu no Lion, another story about a young prodigy—in that manga, characters also form friendships and rivalries with Rei Kiriyama, but they have lives and ambitions beyond him.

There’s also the issue of Kaori's actions. Without going into spoilers—and acknowledging that this topic has been widely discussed—it's hard to ignore that she made morally questionable choices, yet the story never really acknowledges it.

The story of Your Lie in April isn’t bad. It has a decent pace, and the drama builds well. But it’s ultimately weighed down by weak character writing. This manga could have been much stronger overall—but I can’t deny that it has its merits, and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. I wouldn’t strongly recommend it, but it has enough redeeming qualities to make it worth a try.

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Poll: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Chapter 4 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 21, 2014	2 replies	by ImNotAnOtaku1 »» Jan 22, 2024 12:33 PM
Poll: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Chapter 2 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 21, 2014	1 replies	by ImNotAnOtaku1 »» Jan 17, 2024 12:34 PM
Poll: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Chapter 44 Discussion Shikkakku - Nov 11, 2021	3 replies	by MightK »» Apr 23, 2023 8:14 PM
Poll: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Chapter 41 Discussion -Karoshi- - Jan 7, 2015	13 replies	by Shikkakku »» Nov 11, 2021 9:28 PM
Poll: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Chapter 40 Discussion -Karoshi- - Jan 7, 2015	23 replies	by Shikkakku »» Nov 11, 2021 12:02 AM

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Your Lie in April
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Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Your Lie in April
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