There will be spoilers, so be warned -- this is a REview to read after you've watched the show to see how others have perceived it, not a PREview to help you decided whether you want to watch it yourself.
Story: Coming of age, perseverance against obstacles, teenage romance and its vagaries, what does music mean to a performer. What stood out for me was the melodrama and the tear jerking. I felt manipulated, and I don't enjoy that. Kousei, the story's main character gets delivered one blow after another. Notable: the story's adult characters are absolutely worthless. Kousei's father is completely absent (considering how common this trope is in anime, I wonder how much that is a commentary on the overemphasis of work in Japan). Kousei's mother turns into a physically and emotionally abusive harpy when she becomes terminally ill. Another distasteful Japanese trope is woven throughout the anime: abuse and bullying is excusable as long as the abuser does it for your own good. Get a grip, Japan. Kousei's aunt, who is otherwise an interesting and even cool character, totally fails Kousei even after his mother's death because she feels guilty about having convinced Kousei's mother to make him into a pianist. After her death would be the time to make amends, to be there for him, to reassure him, wouldn't you think?
The romance -- oy. Ok, these are 14 year olds, so one must take that into account. The usual thing goes on with the love triangles; tomboy Tsubaki has a thing for Kousei without even realizing it, and Kousei being totally oblivious to who likes whom. But the central conceit -- the big lie in April -- makes very little sense. I warned about spoilers, yes? Last chance to back out. Kaori, when she realizes that she does not have long to live, casts off a lot of restraints on herself. She decides to eat what she wants without worrying whether it'll lose her that girlish figure (that she even worries about that at 14 is a sad commentary on an appearance-obsessed society). She plays her violin like she wants, even though that goes against the conventional prescriptions at her level. And yet she cannot conceive of how to meet a guy she fancies without pretending she likes his best friend instead? The kicker of the story is that she actually DOES meet him before that pretense and could easily leverage that into more. That makes no sense. She has decided to go all out, and yet, in an area of such importance as love, she makes a really stupid move that keeps both of them from being happy for that brief period. Kids, learn something from this -- don't dissemble; go for what you want. You might not get it, but you will definitely get some tainted ersatz if you don't even try.
The side story with Nagi, Aiza's little sister with the brother complex makes no sense, feels disconnected, and is an irrelevant distraction from the main plot. Kousei is supposed to learn something from teaching her, but I've already forgotten what that was. And what exactly was her dastardly plan? Meh. Poor Kousei, if this story continues (I kinda hope not, but I haven't read the manga); she's clearly transferred her complex onto him. So not what anybody needs.
Overall there is too much melodrama, and too much repetition. And a tsunami of beautifully depicted tears. I think just about every character who is not a stern music teacher actually cries in this show. How, pray tell, is this shounen? ;)
Art: Gorgeous. I'd hang scenes from this on my wall, bright, brilliant pastels. The animation is also competent (A1). The final dream sequence is lovely.
Sound: Beautiful. If you like classical music, there are some very nice performances here. And characters in the audience will always let you know, very ponderously, exactly what piece is being played, so you can go and acquire it later should you be so moved. First opening and ending I liked, but they won't stay with me, second left me cold. Voice acting is competent, but nobody is in the cast whom I follow in specific.
Character: Here the story falls mostly short. Kousei might seem like the best-developed, and my heart went out to him, but he is emotionally stunted and seems to live in a fog, so despite his ever-present inner monologues, he is not exactly Mr Introspection; he is extremely slow to pick up on anything. Kaori is actually the best-developed, and except for that really silly infodump via goodbye letter in the final episode, who she is becomes clear through many small actions. Tsubaki feels more like a prop -- though there are glimpses of who she is, mostly she revolves around Kousei; despite the tomboyish outside she feels like a very 1950s girl, always orienting herself towards what her secret love does. Watari is a prop as well, the self-proclaimed "player" with the roving eye who hasn't gotten to first base with anyone and gets mildly bullied by the girls with whom he goes out.
But they all have moments in which I really like them, and that's what kept me from leaving the anime halfway through. Whenever in other anime the love triangle would lead to really obnoxious overreactions, and plot development via pure stupidity, these characters actually do the kind thing. When Kousei confesses to Watari that he really likes Kaori, Watari handles it like a friend. Now, one could say that is because Watari doesn't really care about Kaori, since he kinda two-times her with Keiko, but that would be unobservant. He does care: he visits her steadfastly in the hospital when others flake out for reasons of their own, and he always cheers her up even after he knows she will probably die. He has her photo as his cellphone wallpaper. There is more to Watari than meets the eye. Tsubaki has some nasty teenage "I'll show you for not noticing me, you bastard" moments, but she's also a firm friend. Even Kousei's musical rivals Emi and Takeshi drop all the rivalry when he seems to be in obvious trouble. There is a lot of kindness between the young people in this anime (it's the adults who behave like utter heels).
tl;dr -- I kinda enjoyed it, but I won't buy it or watch it again.
