Reviews

Story-10: I don't want to say too much about the story because I don't want to give anything away, but it was amazing. An incredibly simplified overview would be to say that Shigatsu was Kimi no Uso ( Your Lie in April) is a story about life, love, and music. It's about how life can be incredibly cruel, but with the help of others, you can find the strength within yourself to realize that life is also incredibly precious, magical, and beautiful. A lot of animes and mangas sell out when a story is popular and well received. They go on long after they should be finished, and often lose their original purpose, meaning and what makes them special. YLIA did not do this at all. The story was well crafted and draws the viewer in. By the end you feel close to the characters, and their triumphs and losses are also yours. It's a wonderful story.

Art-9: The art in this anime was incredible in most parts and mediocre at times. The majority of the time it's breathtaking. The colors and backgrounds are vibrant and full of life. They manage to portray what the characters are feeling, and they inspire magic and wonder while still feeling realistic . And the performances.....oh the performances. The animators did an incredible job with the piano and violin work. Some of the best animation I've ever seen. It does get a point off for some scenes though. To create levity in the more humorous scenes, the characters are drawn more cartoony. It's not bad, just not stunning like the rest of the anime.

Sound-10: The manga was incredible, a masterpiece as well. The story was perfectly crafted, but I don't think that manga was the perfect medium for it. Music is such an integral part of this story, and it's up to the reader to imagine the pieces being played. Without being someone with a background in classical music, you can't fully understand what you're missing. But with anime, that isn't a problem. You can hear how each piece matches the mood of the episode, and depending on how the character is feeling, how they can be played differently. I can't explain it in words, but the soundtracks, both the OST and the classical performances, are just magical. Incredibly. They quite often moved me to tears because of their beauty. Also, the voice actors did a amzing job as well.

Character-9: The characters are all very well developed. Especially considering the length of the story. I loved them all, and none of them were too trope-y or anything. I loved Kousei and Kaori (the two main characters) so so much. A lot about them hit really close to home for me (for reasons I won't mention due to inferred spoilers), and made their growth all the more wonderful. I do think Watari (Kousei's bff) got the short end of the stick, though. They could have given him a bit more dimension.

Enjoyment-10: God damn this story is amazing.

Overall-10: So I guess, on average, that's what, a 9.6/9.8? I really think that this is one of the best animes I've ever seen, and definitely the best to come out this year. It's an experience that anyone can enjoy. I highly, highly, recommend it.