The series on a fundamental level is about jaded music critic turned aspiring musician turned jaded garbage collector by the name of Naomi, who struggles with the fact that while he enjoys music he also resents it for causing a split in his family and dividing it, as well as living a rather distant relationship with his father in the same house - a man so lazy he often bribed his son to write music reviews for him due to a lack of motivation in his own life. He stumbles upon a seemingly soulless girl by the name of Mafuyu and from then on the story branches off to entangling both characters together, partially over their music but also over a shared background and pre-established connections they had with each other. Naomi in many ways is a character that thrives off of his knowledge of music, but has witnessed time and time again how much it has ruined the lives of others as well as his own - with the worst part being that he isn't immune from that blame, having written scathing music reviews on various musicians himself. This contrasts him with Mafuyu, whose mother similarly also broke off from her dad, and with Mafuyu's reason for playing music being to receive acknowledgment from her mom - in addition to pressure from music critics that would overanalyze her performances - she fell out of love with music, or so it seems.
The pretense that both characters have fallen out of love for music but are yet defined by and still cling onto that part of their lives despite distancing themselves from it is at the heart of both character arcs in Sayonara Piano Sonata, with musical tracks often referenced in the story symbolically to fit this character arc. It's clear the author has not only done their research on all the various tracks that are referenced and played by the characters over the course of the series, but even has differing perspectives on what exactly does it mean to romantically love music for what it is rather than be tied down by past experiences in defining how one feels about something. In this respect, one theme of the series is about recovering a passion once muddied and lost to scars from the past as well as personal failures - both characters deeply resent themselves, Mafuyu for what she assumes to be her role in breaking up her family, and Naomi for what he believes to be him ruining music for himself by becoming a vicious music critic who'd take out his own resentment on trying to play guitar and failing on music artists around him. It's this self-loathing that both characters are surrounded by at the beginning of the story, with them only starting to overcome it through challenging each other, playing music with each other and more than anything connecting with each other.
The shadow that both of their parents have set on them is another recurring theme in the series, with both characters eventually leaving their roles behind in order to become their own people and not be defined by their parents. Naomi refuses to return to being a music critic or return to even playing the guitar, picking up a bass and - in contrast to being the same critic who'd often criticize people for their lifeless performances - would instead thrust himself headfirst into playing the instrument that Kyouko argued is the heart of a band. Compared to that, Mafuyu selects a guitar that contrasts heavily with the piano, being a more standout instrument that represents her desire to separate herself from who she once was to becoming a different and more expressive person, as opposed to the wounded child who'd only play the piano endlessly to compensate for having a missing mother figure. This ties both characters together thematically and in many ways gives the characters an emotional bond where words fail to describe their feelings, with both realizing that playing music together is more enjoyable than simply playing it alone.
Two variables succeed in humanizing this story further - the first being the existence of interesting side characters that all receive some level of development over the course of the manga. Chiaki in many ways can be described as a standard childhood friend, but rather than sit on the sidelines and act as a simple romantic interest instigating a love triangle, instead acts as a catalyst for Naomi's development over the course of the story, introducing him to Kyouko and often encouraging him out of any slumber or slippage into self-loathing. Her dynamic with him genuinely feels like that of two old friends that in many ways have simply gotten used to each other's presence, and while traces of her romantic affection for him are present they do not distract from the focus of the narrative (aka Naomi and Mafuyu's dynamic). Her dragging Naomi out of his misery as he's drowning in self-hatred made for some of the best and most genuine interactions in the manga and I cannot appreciate her presence enough. Despite that, she fits the series' theme by having lost her passion for judo the hard way, yet shoulders on and tries to find new interests to involve herself with.
Similarly speaking, Kyouko as the extremely charismatic leader of the music club acts as yet another catalyst for Naomi's development, encouraging him to play music and often providing much of the context behind music played over the course of the series. Her presence brings the band together and in many ways pushes Naomi to reaching the realization that he does - yet even with that feeling like her own character, with a clear and overly romanticized perspective on music as well as life in general, a bluntness in her feedback that reflects her lack of social skills and clear love for history, making her infatuation with seeing Naomi beat Mafuyu feel natural. While her character arc unfortunately doesn't seem to be covered in the manga (which I assume is further expanded on in the light novels) there's still much to like about her character and in contrast to Naomi or Mafuyu's often darker monologues, she offered a breath of fresh air by having a more uplifting presence, fitting her place in the manga.
Both Naomi and Mafuyu's fathers, Tetsurou and Chisato respectively, are deeply involved in the motivations of both main leads yet exemplify a separate fear altogether; one of abandonment, which both characters reflect in different ways. Tetsurou is a lazy slob who doesn't do much of his own work and constantly tries to pay his son off to do his work for him as mentioned earlier, but also is implied to do so due to his own clinginess to Naomi and resentment of being left completely alone, covering a desire to be closer by constantly passing off chores and tasks on his son. Chisato on the other hand is incredibly paranoid over his daughter and jarringly verbally abusive on his daughter to hide the fear of her leaving him behind, and opted to overwork her and herself to compensate for the lack of a bond. Both characters in many ways only take steps to possibly change rather than completely change by the end of the series, but nonetheless are fleshed out characters in their own right.
Much of what this series conveys with its themes and character relationships would perhaps not be conveyed as well without absolutely gorgeous artwork courtesy of Aka Akasaka, now well-known as the artist and author behind the hit romantic comedy series Kaguya-sama. Reading this in many ways is interesting to get a backdrop on his beginnings as a mangaka, with a clear focus on eyes and subtle body psychology being evident even here. Backgrounds - while nowhere near what Kaguya-sama'd evolve into later in that series' manga - are nicely drawn, with plenty of gorgeous illustrations. One particular example that comes to mind is the garbage heap Naomi normally visits and his first encounter with Mafuyu, which is a particular location revisited over the course of the story for both practical and thematic purposes.
There is no reason to not read this manga if you're in the mood for a damn good romance series. With only 3 volumes, extremely competent and well-spaced paneling throughout and absolutely gorgeous artwork to look at, this manga is a joy to read and one of the easiest manga in existence to revisit again and again and marathon.
I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Thank you for reading.
