Objectively, 'Your Lie in April' has quite a few problems. Things like plot, character development (or lack thereof), pacing and some things that teeter towards the line of abuse acceptance.
But subjectively, what can I say? I was moved to tears (several times) by the story of Kousei Arima and his friends, most notably (yet bafflingly underdeveloped) Kaori Miyazona. It has moments where it is truly sublime, where it truly gives you that indescribable feeling that all good art gives you. There are beautiful, beautiful quiet moments, and oftentimes the things that seem the smallest aren't as small as they may have seemed.
Needless to say, I'm torn on this anime. It's like there were two conflicting ideas battling in the heads of its creators. One was a shell of a cliche, been there done that story about young teenagers discovering the ups and downs of love. Another was a breathtaking examination of what it means to be an artist, and more specifically, an artist in love. Sadly, neither of these two stories won out in the end, and the show ended up ending in a largely unsatisfying way.
Let's dig in, shall we?
Story - 8/10: The story of Kousei Arima is a good one. A former piano playing prodigy who has lost his drive to play for reasons we learn quickly revolve around his mother (more on that later). As a result, Kousei's world has lost much of its meaning, because the piano was such an integral part of his life.
His friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari are there for him, and are both in their own way trying to bring him back to what he was before. But nothing seems to work, and Kousei seems stuck on a neverending cycle of depression.
Enter Kouri Miyazona, a firebrand of a young violin player. This young woman may be Kousei's last chance at rediscovering not only his love for music, but also for life.
The story for the most part works, although it struggles with balancing plot points, explaining information, and pacing. It's a shame it does, because the premise of the story is incredible. It's these struggles though, that really hamper an otherwise great story.
One of the obvious things that sticks out is the monologues. There are LOTS of them, and there are almost entire episodes dedicated to a character's monologue.
Monologuing isn't always a bad thing, and I've seen it work great in other anime. But like anything else, it needs to be balanced, and 'Your Lie in April' went overboard with it. It became a main vehicle for driving the plot, which means our perspective of the story will be skewed based on the character monologuing, most often Kousei. This would be all fine given that Kousei is the main character, but some of what he is monologuing about is confusing and, dare I say it, a little pointless.
I think if the writers wanted to use monologuing as a central plot device, they should have spread it around more. For example, give us a glimpse into the mind of Kouri. Without giving any spoilers, I personally think it would have worked better for the story had we known what Kouri was doing from the beginning, and learned the 'why' of it as the story progressed.
The melodrama in this series is a common source of grief for reviewers, and I'll be honest, it can be a little overbearing sometimes. But this is where that objective/subjective stuff comes into play, and one's reaction to melodrama in particular WILL impact their enjoyment of this anime. For me, personally, I'm usually a sucker for it, but 'Your Lie in April' tested even my limits. It's one thing to write a dramatic story. It's another to bombard your story with one melodramatic reaction after another.
The musical scenes were unbelievable, particularly one we get early on in the series. This particular example showed exactly how you can SHOW and not TELL as a writer, and was by far the most powerful musical sequence in the entire series. I sincerely wish all the musical sequences had been this subtle and awe inspiring.
Art - 9/10: The art in this anime--wow, what can I say? A1 always makes beautiful anime, and this one is no exception. The characters, backgrounds, and all the fun little details are so richly realized it makes me wish I could live in this world. It almost has to be seen to be believed.
There's a few scenes where we'll get still frames instead of fully animated sequences, but for me personally, I thought these worked well enough when used.
There honestly isn't much but superlatives to describe the art. It's just fantastic.
Sound - 10/10: In my opinion, the plot and the sound are the two most important parts of a story about music. The art is important, and in a series that's about music, it makes sense for the show to have GOOD music and sound design. And boy does this one deliver! From the classical pieces to the OST, to the sound effects used for Kousai's monologues, it's all unbelievable. Some of the best sound design I've ever heard in not only anime, but any show/movie period! And as a side note, the English dub for this series is actually really, really good. I'm usually very unimpressed with English dubs, but this one was outstanding. Some excellent voice work here!
Character - 6/10: This part will be hard for me to write without some spoilers, but I'll do my best. One of my main criticisms of the series though, comes in the form of a spoiler, so read this at your own risk if you haven't seen the series yet!
Ok, here we go.
Kousai: For the most part, Kousai is a wonderful character who slowly grows and develops as both a character and an artist as the series progresses. He's almost immediately sympathetic to any artists watching the series, and it took maybe thirty seconds for me to decide I liked this kid.
There is this aura to him that is magical, like a Michael Jordan almost, and part of what makes him such a strong character is the juxtaposition of people around him's projection of him, and his own mind's projection of himself. It's great stuff, and Kousai's a strong enough character to carry a series by himself. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) he doesn't have to. 9.5/10
Watari: What to say about this poor guy except 'why is he even in this show?'? He is sadly the definition of a comic relief/plot device character, and that's honestly ALL he does (except for one tragically cut short sequence in one of the episodes). It's really too bad because he's actually quite funny for what little screen time he got. 3/10
Other characters: I lumped all of these characters into one category because they either have so little screen time or their sole purpose is to 1). either spur Kousai's development onward or 2). act as an overall plot device. It's too bad, as there are at least three of them who would have made really good fully fleshed out characters (looking mostly at you Emi). It's not uncommon for anime and stories in general to have some characters that don't really add anything, but I felt that there were just too many of them in this show, when it would have done well to just fully develop some of these characters and integrate them into the overarching story. 4/10
Ok, now comes SPOILERS time, so if you haven't seen the series, scroll down past this to the 'Enjoyment' section. Seriously, I will talk plainly and openly about the remaining characters and there WILL be spoilers! You've been warned!!
Still here? There be spoilers below!
Kousai's Mom: Wow. I don't even have words for this character. For one we knew precious little about her. Most of what we do know is through Kousai's internal battles with her and the, as he says, 'ghost' of her he created. But what we see is an ugly, terrible human being, albeit one who is greatly suffering. Suffering though, does NOT excuse inflicting suffering on others, and Kousai's mom did this in SPADES to her son. Then, in one of the most shocking things I've seen in an anime, the writers try to explain it away, try to make it seem like she only had Kousai's best interests at heart. Uh, the entire SERIES is basically Kousai trying to unlearn everything his mother 'taught' him.
At best, this character is a good antagonist for the first half of this series. At worst, she is an inhumane monster that the writers for some reason tried to make us feel empathy for. Sorry, beating your kid to the point of bleeding does not make me feel empathy for you. This is one of the most depressing bits of writing I've ever seen, because instead of focusing on Kousai starting to heal from his mother's obvious abuse and neglect, the show actually asks us to view it as partly Kousai's fault. I was shocked at this, and while there may be so validity to some of the reviewers who say it shows the complex nature of abuse, let's get something clear here: beating your kid like this woman did (and it's not just the scene where she draws blood. Kousai regularly has bruises, cuts, and other things inflicted by his mom, not to mention she got rid of his cat) is NEVER right. And it was NEVER Kousai's fault.
I get the writers wanting to redeem Kousai's mom, but they completely dropped the ball here by basically saying abuse is ok as long as you're trying to give your kid a future. This is honestly pathetic of the writers and is a massive strike against the story that could have been. 1/10
Tsubaki: Here's a controversial character, one that many people LOVE to hate. An argument could be made for this character adding nothing to the overall story, but I disagree. I thought she added some balance to Kousai's life, and there were moments I thought she was going to break through the obvious 'plot mover' 'unrequited love' role the writers had her in. Alas, it was not to be. What we got instead was the fourth girl (!!!) to pine away for Kousai. Honestly though, out of all the ones who did, it was Tsubaki who had the most reason to, and for a while, I found myself captivated by her story. Who HASN'T been in her position?
When the character really fell apart was when she based her entire future around being close to Kousai. It's sweet yes, and she's a teenager in love, but it just felt forced. Like, melodramatic maybe?
I also didn't like the lack of closure her character got. They spent nearly four episodes building her feelings for Kousai up (and as a romantic sucker I eat it all up) only to have it end in uncertainty. I get that this is more realistic, and it's hard for someone in Kousai's position to reciprocate those feelings right away, but I think a bit more care into one of the final scenes would have gone a long way towards making Tsubaki and her story more likable.
The one thing though that almost ruined Tsubaki for me was hers (and Kouri's) constant verbal and physical abuse of Kousai. Let me get this straight: here's this kid who's been physically and verbally abused his whole life, so to help him find happiness again (and Tsubaki says that this is one of her goals SEVERAL times) we'll kick and punch him around even when he DID NOTHING WRONG! I know that this is a common trope in tsundere characters, but good grief--this show deals with abuse and then shows the people trying to HELP the abused victim abusing them again. Something's gotta give or you're teetering perilously close to destroying the validity of your own story! Either the abuse from Kousai's mom needed to NOT be in the story at all, or Tsubaki and Kouri needed to NOT abuse Kousai. You can't have both without making Tsubaki and Kouri look like hypocrites. 7/10
Kouri: I have seen quite a few anime and loved quite a few of its characters, but never have I come across a character more completely fascinating and compelling yet hopelessly frustrating as Kouri Miyazono. I loved this character. I hated this character. I honestly can't describe how I feel about this character, but I'm going to give it a try. First, let's get Kouri's verbal and physical abuse of Kousai out of the way. I already talked about this in my tome on Tsubaki, so there's no need to go into it again. I will only mention it if it fits a point I'm trying to make.
Here's my underlying feeling with Kouri. I think the writers had a very, very special character on their hands, but they had no idea what to do with her. I don't think she fit into the version of the story that we got, and this is painfully obvious to see as the series progresses. Kouri starts out as completely captivating. She is playing instruments with some kids, trying to get pigeons to come to them. This is honestly, a breathtaking scene, beautiful in both its simplicity and, as she turns to look at Kousai, its complexity. Why is she crying when she seems so happy? What could possibly be going on in that adorable head of hers? THAT'S the Kouri that should have been in this series. Unfortunately, it's the one that comes just seconds after this surreal moment that dominates the rest of the series. One that blames Kousai for doing something he never did and dubs him a pervert. One who beats the crap out of him for this alleged act. And one who seems like a dumbed down version of the real Kouri Miyazono. This is the 'let's fit the genre' version. Not the wild, free, and remarkable version we had seen just seconds before.
This trend continues throughout the entire series. Kouri will go from knocking your socks off with her first violin performance (one of the most intense sequences in anime history in my opinion) to being not unlike Kousai's mother. Now Kousai definitely needed a fire lit under his butt to get him back into music and ultimately life, but Kouri was already doing that by just being herself. There was no need for her to be as violently pushy as she often is throughout the series. For example, I loved how creatively she got Kousai to compete in his first solo competition. But even this is mired by more abuse. Ugggh. The frustration is only just beginning!
As we later find out, Kouri is very sick, and though this is fairly easy to guess early on, the show almost acts like it's a surprise when we finally do find out.
As as for the 'lie' in the title. Yup, it's Kouri's, and it almost baffles me why she would go to the trouble of doing all of that when her perspective on life before had been so free and limitless. A girl like the real Kouri would not have played that little game with both Kousai and Watari. She would have come right out and told Kousai her feelings. And early on in the series too.
Personally, I think had we known that Kouri liked Kousai right away, the rest of the series could've been spent going into her sickness in more detail, and how it changed not only her perspective on music, but also her perspective on life itself. Had Kousai known earlier on in the series that Kouri loved him, he could have battled with the reality that this girl who had turned his world upside down, this girl he found himself slowly falling for, would one day be gone from his life. Basically, Kouri would be the antithesis of Kousai's mom, but in the end Kousai would lose them both. Does it sound like a manic pixie dream girl? In the context of the Kouri we got in the actual show, it would have been a blatant example of that. But had the writers spent time exploring Kouri's thoughts and her world, it would have come across as what it should have been: two actual living, breathing human beings who seem to almost breathe music slowly using it as a bridge to falling in love with each other. Kouri wouldn't have simply been a catalyst to Kousai's change, she would be an actual character with as much depth and realization as Kousai got in this series.
I kid you not, had the writers done something like this, and fully realized the once in a lifetime character they had in Kouri, this anime would have been WELL on its way to being one of the greatest ever made. Certainly one of the greatest romances of all time.
In the end though, Kouri is heartbreakingly frustrating, because she's buried in a series full of melodrama, inconsistent character actions, and sloppy writing. Her letter to Kousai is sweet and well-written, but I felt it wasn't nearly as sad and gut wrenching as her final 'performance' with Kousai. That's the stuff this series could've been, but it was surrounded by the melodrama of the previous episodes. Ugggh, this character is SO beyond frustrating.
In the end, I adore what Kouri could and should have been, but the Kouri we got was something far different. Still, because Kouri is the character that has stayed in my mind the most since finishing the series, she will get two ratings. First, a rating for what she might have been, the glimpses of the deeper Kouri that we got. And second, the actual rating, for the Kouri we actually got.
11/10 (could have been one of the greatest, most profoundly impactful characters ever created). 5/10.
END OF SPOILERS
Enjoyment - 8/10: Melodrama and obvious problems aside, the show takes you on a wild ride, and I was glued through all 22 episodes. I do not consider my time to be wasted like I have on other anime, though this particular one makes me constantly wonder what COULD have been. All that said, it's a good series, and is a joy to watch, even if only for the wonderful musical scenes.
Overall - 7/10: Well here we are, at the end of this loooooong review. I guess it was so long because I've been thinking about it a lot. Both the series as it was, and the series as it could've been.
I don't think I've ever seen an anime (or anything really) that has frustrated me so much because despite its almost limitless potential to be great, it settled for mediocrity. That is the thing that bothers me the most.
I cried like a baby throughout this one, but I can't tell if I was forced to cry through the barrage of melodrama, or if the tears were genuine. I think it's a split. There were some tears that were genuine--tears that the series earned during the times it bordered on the sublime. The other tears were drawn because the series poked my heart with a bunch of little needles saying 'this is sad, feel sad!'. And I did. This isn't the first anime that's made me cry in bunches.
I guess with a show like this, I went into it knowing I'd probably cry. I am a violinist myself, and music has, from a young age, been a very, very special thing to me. It is an emotional thing, as we see in the lives of the characters playing. Watching these young artists both find and lose themselves hit really close to me, and one of the character's words sticks with me now. They tell Kausai that at the end of the day, when it comes to his music, he is him, and that is enough. That is a powerful lesson for an artist, and one I definitely took to heart.
I feel the melodrama really got in the way of themes like this. Yes I laughed and cried and cheered, but the series could have done so much more. It could've left me like some of the musical performances leave the watching crowd: breathless, hanging onto every second, not wanting it to end. A feeling that I have experienced something far, far beyond the everyday scope of human interaction.
I'll take the cheers and tears and enjoyment I got from the series, and if it ever gets an American release on Blu-Ray, I'll definitely pick it up. And I'll definitely be watching it again, and probably again.
But every time I do, I'll be thinking what the series could have been, and what it should have been. And a part of me will be sad that we never will get to see what this show could have been.
What it deserved to be.
