Story 9.8/10
The stories, even the B stories all help to create the story. This is a story like Avatar the Last Airbender. It had a begining and it had an end and it always knew where it was going. I hope that there won't be any more seasons (other than the OVA) because it was just wrapped up so perfectly. Everything about it made sense and it was just executed beautifully. It took you on an emotional journey. The story was a tad slow at times which is the reason for the deduction in the score. There where also some things I feel could have been omitted from the story just from personal preference but they did help to move the story along.
Art 10/10
I mean come on, it’s gorgeous. It's stunning. The color palette, the EYES, the everything I can't complain. I will say that maybe on Hiroko's daughter, her eyes, i thought it was weird that they weren't animated but other than that it was flawless. I also thought that Emi's character design for her bangs was a little weird (they looked like she cut them wrong) but it's not enough to deduct from this a point. I guess they added to her character. Other than that the visuals where absolutely breathtaking and in the last episode the scene with Kaori and Kosei was BEAUTIFUL. I think that this is one of, if not THE most beautifully drawn anime I have ever seen.
Sound 10/10
Again, I mean of course it’s a perfect score. It's about music for crying out loud..beautiful music. It just captivates you. Even both the openings and closings were beautiful. I'm definately going to be getting all the songs form this anime. The music along with the visuals were so inspiring to me that as soon as I finished this anime, I bought all of my favorite songs (Etude in C, Chopin Ballade, Love's Sorrow etc) to play them on the piano. (yes i'm that obsessed with this soundtrack) And sure as a musician, I've heard these songs before but what made it different was that i relate these songs with the characters who played them or the scene that was happening at the time. Like I cannot listen to Chopins Ballade No. 1 or Loves Sorrow without bawling. Aside from that the voice acting was impeccable. I think the raw emotion was very much captured.
Characters 8.9/10
I woudlnt say this was a "low point" in the anime bc i don't think this anime had any low points. However it is my lowest score because of the secondary characters. I think that Kosei and Kaori where greatly developed and the audience therefore cared for them a lot but the secondary characters weren't AS well developed. I think the two rivals for the amount of air time they had were but Kosei's 2 best friends (their names are slipping on me) could have had more of a development. Not to say they're bad, no i'm not saying that at all i'm just saying I wish they'd have had more screentime to make a bigger impact.
*SLIGHT SPOILERS-ISH*
Enjoyment/Overall 10/10
This anime was an emotional rollercoaster. I broke down twice : once in the middle and at the end. Some people say the ending was predictable and i'm honestly trying to remember if I could see it coming but I dont' think that I did. Up until episode 13 I didn't then I THOUGHT it might happen but I was never sure. I just think that if you are an anime fan you have to see this anime. It's like Clannad or Death Note or Ouran High School Host Club - if you're an anime fan you must see this.
