Men are fucking worthless. In the situation that you see one, or are somehow friends with one, you should, in any situation, be violent towards them. Good examples of violent acts viable are throwing heavy objects at them, hitting them with musical instruments or simply punching them. Also keep in mind that men are creatures that are incapable of making a decision on their own. You should decide their future, even if the decisions they've made are to avoid the effects of PTSD. You see, they are incapable of rational or individual thought, so, if they choose not to do something, and you think they should do it, force them for their own good, especially when it directly benefits you, since you don't want to be pulled down by the decisions of a M.A.L.E. In the situation that these males don't abide by your will, keep hitting and harassing them with your request until they do. Don't accept rejection on any level. As a last ditch attempt, you have one last ultimate weapon. Crying. These species are so honestly pathetic around crying women, even when they can clearly see it is fake, that they will give up, and do whatever you ask of them. But maybe you are a kind person at heart and you'd never hurt or want to manipulate these animals. But trust me, it's okay. Because if you'll ask them "Do you resent me?" they will only answer that you make them better.
While dropping the exaggerated meninist attitude, this is how the life of Kousei Arima is. He is treat exactly this way by his friends and love interest(s). I can understand some degree of slapstick, designed to make the show more lighthearted and humorous. Sure, I am not a big fan of slapstick, but I witnessed it enough to understand what it means. However, in Kousei Arima's situation, it is entirely overdone. You see, this character, has PTSD, due to the abuse his mother put him through as a child. His mother was crippled by a disease and was unable to play on the piano due to it. The mother forced him to practice the piano continuously days and days on end while hitting him each time he made a mistake, and convinced him that if he wins the competitions, she will get better. Not only did the kid blame himself for any mistake he made, but his mother, the person he wanted to help, hit and abused him at every step of the way. And he was loyal to her to the point anyone who was badmouthing her, he would think to himself "I am the only person who is on my mother's side." Then his mother dies and due to the trauma, he was left unable to use the piano because he couldn't hear what he was playing on the piano as an aftereffect of the trauma. The anime's goal is for this character to rediscover his love for music. But instead what I see is how a 14 year old boy gets taken advantage of in this anime. Taken advantage of how?
To fill you in, as every relationship screaming quality storytelling, this starts by him taking an accidental photograph of his love interest while her dress is lifted up by the wind, revealing her crotch. She acts out violenty towards him. Then they get introduced to each other by their friends because they were supposed to meet in order to introduce this friend of hers to this girl so they can go on a date. The date consists of her playing at a violin contest. They listen to her and there the 14 year old forms the impression of, and I quote "She's ultraviolent, her personality blows and she leaves the worst impression, but she's beautiful". They eventually leave, but they meet again, where she angrily tells him to play a song on the piano in front of some children because otherwise she'd look bad. Then eventually they have a heart to heart and he tells her about the fact he can't hear the notes, but that doesn't affect his day to day life. Then she starts kicking him and tell him that he should play regardless because that's how people like them survive. Afterwards she decides that she wants him to play as her accompaniament at her next concert and has his group of friends bombard him with requests, music sheets and the song she wants him to play for an entire week. He dodges this harassment as much as he can until in the last 30 minutes until the competition. Then she cries in front of him and that convinces him to say yes.
Now let me change my example to something much more extreme and over the top, with which I hope will get my point across.
To fill you in, as every relationship screaming quality storytelling, this starts by him accidentally parking in an illegal space due to a flat tire, and her giving him a ticket because she works law enforcement. She acts out violenty towards him. Then they get introduced to each other by their friends with one of them having a date with her. The date consists of her going to a shooting range and shooting, I don't know, bottles. They watch her and there the war veteran forms the impression of, and I quote "She's ultraviolent, her personality blows and she leaves the worst impression, but she's beautiful". They eventually leave, but they meet again, where she angrily tells him to shoot a gun in front of some children because otherwise she'd look bad, somehow. Then eventually they have a heart to heart and he tells her about the fact he has flashbacks of his buddies dying every time he sees a gun. Then she starts kicking him and tell him that he should use a gun regardless because that's how people like them survive. Afterwards she decides that she wants him to accompany her to a nearby war zone but he refuses. She harasses him alongside his friends by placing guns at his work and playing the country's anthem. He dodges this harassment as much as he can until in the last 30 minutes until the troups assemble. Then she cries in front of him and that convinces him to say yes.
Again, an extreme parallel, but I need you to understand that any case of PTSD is serious, especially to the person that has been through the trauma. You don't get over your issues just because requests you to and you would avoid the triggers as much as possible because that could make you relieve the trauma and have flashbacks. The writing of the show pretty much makes Arima be bullied out of his depression and be forced to play for the laughs of others. And I simply find that stupid and unrealistic. You can't expect someone to get bullied out of their depression on the sheer fact that they got a crush. You can't simply expect that a character you've written as suffering of PTSD due to child abuse to simply do the activities other people want him to, when they abuse him in order to get him to do it. I am a generally insensitive person, but this is a subject that you do not delve in without understanding how such a person would behave. I am sure that someone that was traumatized by war would avoid fighting in another war. I am sure that a rape victim would have a hard time seeking romantic partners, if not simply avoid them entirely. And I am also sure that someone that has been abused as a child would seek to avoid the means because of which they were abused for. But one thing I am sure of is this. You will never be able to force these people into doing the cause of the trauma ever.
I wish I could've mocked it instead for the fact that it spouted cringy lines like "my spring came and she made my world colorful. why is the sky so starry tonight". I wish that I could've mocked it for having all the characters fall in love with each other just because they had screentime. I wish that I could've mocked the series for every other character being simply selfish pricks. But the way this character has been portrayed simply undermine any other complaints I might make because it simply ruined any sort of credibility I could've seen in the series. I cannot be entertained by a relationship that I would believe would never realistically act out this way, and much less by the fact that Arima is just expected to overcome this with no individuality and because his friends want him to. If the week would've been spent with the characters having a talk with him, telling him that he shouldn't give up on his hobby, as he seems to be still quite attached to it after some time, or bring any other arguments to him or at least try to reason with him, I could deem this at least acceptable. But nobody cares about what Arima thinks. Including Arima's boner for the blonde. Nobody tries to understand and be accepting of him. They just want him to do stuff.
The only thing I truly appreciated about this series is the production values. I've enjoyed the classical music even if I occasionally listen to classical music, but I appreciate it every time. And I also appreciated the detail put in the animation, like the realistic way the hands reflect onto the piano as just one example. It is dissapointing to me that this is wasted on Shigatsu, who equates hitting people as displays of affection as well as an endearing trait, which to be fair, is something common in anime. It is dissapointing to me that it is wasted on something that displays that someone's psychological issues are as just them being fussy and difficult about it. But the fact that is most dissapointing that the main character will be thankful for it, and think that his lifestyle is improved by going through this again. I wholeheartedly agree that if depressed, it is very important to do things that you don't want to do or normally wouldn't do. I also think that friend should be supportive of you and make sure that you are still active in your life. But forcing you to simply do something due to which you got traumatized, is neither support or a way to tackle depression. It's anguish and torture for the person forced to do so. I can't buy into this character acting the way he does, simply because I understand that trauma doesn't work this way.
The only way I can recommend Shigatsu is if you're easily influenced emotionally and/or impressionable, and are looking for a romance story with good production values. Shigatsu is that. It definitely has atmosphere and metaphors for the romantics out there, and as far as I know, these type of series depend on how you feel about them, rather than what you'd think. I am a more rational person, and I simply can't enjoy things I don't understand, and all of the previous paragraphs explain why I don't understand the way the story goes forward. And if I can't understand how he could see his romantic interest as his romantic interest, besides being 14 and horny, I can't appreciate this series.
