Story : 7
Now I know, I said the story wasn't that good BUT it also wasn't that bad. To make it short, the main protagonist, Arima Kousei, is a young overskilled musician who can't hear piano notes. Oh yeah, he also plays the piano. Kousei decided to quit piano after his mother who beat him till blood came out while teaching him how to play, passed away of illness. This may sound a bit creepy but it is quite the typical musician story. Take Whiplash for example : It's the same though the hero was "beaten" by his teacher and not one of his parents.
Anyway, he meets Kaori Myazono, an also overskilled violonist (I swear all those kids are so god damn talented) and there begins an incredible and exciting love story. Not.
Of course it's interesting, and of course this anime is good. But the story isn't what makes it good. The plot is just not that well made with for example a lot of filler dialogue and some useless character we see once or twice (this Miike got on my nerves real quick) and even characters that are supposed to be mains just aren't important at all ( *cough cough* Watari *cough cough) as we don't really hear anything about their life.
Art : TENOUTTATEN
Alright. This might be one of the main reason why I kept watching this anime so consistently. The art in there is just magnificent. I seriousely think that no word goes high enough to define the beauty of this show. It was colorful like, really colorful but not Hamatora colorful (Lawd have mercy). Just, well-balanced-but-still-bright colors always bringing you joy when you need some. A-1 Pictures did a tremendous job at animating this show too. The caracters are fluently moving through the world and you can't even notice one single flaw. Or maybe I need to rewatch but hey. I don't think I can really talk about the art of the in here as I didn't even read it but from what I saw, the anime did a pretty good job rendering the world of Naoshi Arakawa.
Sound : TENOUTTAGODDAMNTEN
Again. Sound in this is perfect. All the characters are excellently played and Natsuki Hanae (Arima) and Risa Taneda (Kaori) just do a fantastic job at maining the... Well the main characters.
The music is, needless to say, gorgeous. I won't linger on the main tracks played during contests and reharsals but you should definitely check it out if you're bored of all the Lil' Wayne and Chris Brown out there. More, the ost is also pretty interesting as it really perfectly fits the situation at all times. I could've put a nine only for the fact that the *sad moment music* becomes pretty repetitive after 15 episodes (especially from there) but I feel this anime is not enough credited for his music and a bit too much on the art.
Character : 6
This. Is the part that may or may not make a lot of people mad but I have to do it anyway. I felt (as an objective viever. Really) that the characters did not have enough depth. At all. If Kousei and Kaori were pretty well developed, we can really say the same about Takeshi Aiza or Emi Igawa (the hero's rivals). They have a back story but it's pretty much the same for all of the musicians : "I saw Kousei play when I was young and I instantly felt like playing an instrument". Kinda boring if you ask me.
And Watari of course, oh my God this character is so dumb and uninteressant it started hurting my stomach to see me on screen. To make it simple he is the stereotype of the american high school sport star. He is really cocky and f**** a lot of b******. He also is a d*** to women but meh...
So I really didn't like him but the others were pretty good characters. A bit simplistic but pretty likeable.
Enjoyment : 8
I think I should conclude on that as it kind of resumes everything I said earlier so here. I enjoyed the anime, I did. Even though the plot wasn't Inception-like. Even though the characters weren't Samurai Champloo (show in the watching, love it) I enjoyed it. It was "action packed", pretty funny and just that little romance that makes you think about your companion if you have one. So no, this anime does not deserve a 10 and yes it is a bit overrated but as all good animes are (please take out Naruto, Fairy Tail, Soul Eater, Sword Art Online...).
