I believe it is important to note that I had not watched shows similar in nature to this one before but that is not so much due to me not liking the genre but more due to me still being quite a novice when it comes to anime.
As for my in-depth thoughts on the show here it goes as follows :
1. Story - 7
The show follows Kousei Arima a brilliant adolescent pianist who has not performed in over two years.Kousei used to dominate all of his competitors and only stopped playing after he had a nervous breakdown due to the death of his mother who was also his piano instructor.This incident leaves him unable to hear music that he himself plays and also causes him to become a bit depressed.But all of this is about to change once he meets Kaori,a free-spirit who intends to show Kousei all the bright colours that he can paint the world with when playing his music.
That was a quick summary although I could've just referred you to the show's MAL page,sorry about that.
The problem that I personally had with the story of the show is that it doesn't know what it wants to be and the sore lack of focus in the second half of the season.In the beginning Your Lie in April is a show solely focused on a troubled young musician and the feeling of playing music and the tremendous joy it brings to all that come into contact with it.Make no mistake I loved this side of the show I was hooked in an instant and couldn't stop watching.The time that Arima played with Kaori at the Towa Competition I was mesmerized and the performance given by these 2 characters on my screen sent shivers down my spine.But there in lies the problem the show could never quite match that feeling on an emotional level.And I know many might cite Arima's last performance in EP22 as an example but to me that just wasn't it.And let me explain why.From about episode 8 until episode 12 the show dips in quality by a smidge and it wouldn't have been something to worry about had the trend stopped there.But unfortuantely it was not so,in my personal opinion the show takes a massive nosedive in the second half of the season as it switches focus to a forced love triangle (some might even say square) and ups the melodrama by a 100x .In my opinion the show made a trade off it never should've even considered.It threw away its potential for an oppurtinity at attracting a larger audience by doing several cliched storylines.
2. Art - 9
Not much to say in this regard.The animation is spot on, and is particulary amazing during the performances done by the main cast of the show.The OP and ED sequences were very standard although I must say I was partial to the first set.
3. Sound - 10
The real star of the show in my opinion is the OST.It takes full advantage of the grand enormity of the classical music library and cherry picks only the best for all the performances in the show.But the show doesn't stop there as the background music is also magnificent without a doubt.Perhaps the best thing to come out of this show is the fact that a lot of people now may open up to the idea of classical music being something that everyone can enjoy.Any more words would do injustice to the show and the OST so I implore you that you give this magnificient collection a listen even if you are not interested for the show in the least.
4. Character - 7
The main cast comprises of Arima,Kaori,Tsubaki and Watari.While all of them are quite likeable some you will like more some you will like less.My personal favourite was Kousei,and the rest of the main cast I felt a bit indifferent to except for Kaori.The supporting cast gets quite extensive with time and as such a couple of cliched characters show up that might get on your nerves as they did mine.All in all the cast of characters is quite big and surely there is a personal favourite among them for everyone.Although I do feel that the show could have benefited from more character development especially in regards to Watari.And as a side note I believe that show would have been much better off had Tsubaki remained a childhood friend throughout the season and they could have given us a hint at the very end about her fellings.Iinstead she was reduced to a plot device only serving the purpose of causing melodrama
5. Enjoyment - 7
Overall I liked the show although I felt it wasted its potential and that the focus was shifted in the wrong direction in the second half.But even that could have been salvaged in my opinion but the show went all in on the assumption that the viewer was fully invested in Arima and Kaori's love/story when in reality at least in my case it was not so.I feel that is because even though I felt Arima was in love/had feelings for Kaori and that she might reciprocate them I just felt that they should have been made a couple or at least that something physical had to happen between them for me to get more involved in their story.I will say that the finale was very well thought out,directed and had me transfixed at some moments
6. Overall
+Great premise
+Fantastic OST
+Good chemistry between main cast
+Art and Presentation were top notch
+Very strong first six episodes
+That letter though
-Not enough development for all characters
-Show lacked focus and direction in second half
-Several cliched storylines/characters
-Quite predictable to some people (therefore emotional levity is diminished)
In conclusion I give Your Lie in April a 7 out of 10
