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I'm a musician, or was. When I was four years old, I saw someone play violin on the TV and thought, "One day, that's gonna be me!"
And yet here I am, having been forced to quit a decade later and even years after that, not daring to pick it back up due to chronic health problems... not only was this an emotional and beautiful masterpiece in and of itself, it resonated a deep and very personal note deep in my heart. If English wasn't my only language, I'd send a very long thankyou note to the author even if it had to go overseas.
This probably won't be like a review, but more like a re-telling of my personal feelings. Because there is no way I can be impartial after that, no way whatsoever - so I'm going to write it regardless.
After first watching this nearly a year ago, soon after discovering the nice side of anime, it made me seriously ball my eyes out every step of the way - yet still, at the time I didn't value this masterpiece as much as I should've. Now, however, I can safely say this is the best music anime of all time. It's sad, it's beautiful, it makes you honestly appreciate the joy of being a musician.
The fear of dropping your instrument and thus breaking it because you blacked out. The inability to multi task to that degree anymore and thus go out of time, or out of tune and have it all come crashing down. It's all there. Everything, that is, besides the relatability of being a prodigy. Hah.
Not that that matters. This story, the way it's told, it needs to be about an immense talent. Because this is also about bringing that godly, otherworldliness down and making them human. And it is executed, I shall say for the hundredth time, perfectly. The characterisation is exquisite. Spot on. Every last one of them is relatable, in some way or another. The protagonists, the rivals and even that antagonist - in some way, they make want root for them at least once or more or a million times throughout the duration of the show.
The ending does something dreadful to your heart, and for some, I'm sure they rated it lower because of it, but it's still something one cannot easily forget. The bravery required by the author to do that, and the impact of the story is even greater due to it. I honestly believe there was no better way to wrap it up, but it was tragic to see the journey end. I also hope that because I didn't name any spoiler outright, you, the reader and future viewer, will be able to enjoy each passing moment to the greatest extent.
I suppose you could also say that the journey after that story of self discovery only begins after the fact. That if you let it, inside your mind, it will continues on and on. Music is eternal after all. No matter how old it gets, if you let it, there's also a feeling of something new.
