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Multi-colored Symphony
Piano prodigy Kousei is nicknamed “The Human Metronome” for his uncanny ability to perfectly reproduce any written sheet music. Pushed by his mother, he won competition after competition with a stoic demeanor and robotic precision. But suddenly, after his mother passed away, he became unable to hear the sound of his own playing. Music lost its meaning to him until three years later when one day he meets a young violinist who only plays music by baring her soul. From that day on, he begins a journey of self-discovery with her as he picks up his instrument once again. Your Lie In April’s story revolves around this musical journey, but it’s also so much more. It genuinely portrays the difficulty in persevering through life’s hardships. It deals with the many types of love and how it can literally change our perspective of the world around us. It shows the effects of tragic loss on a person’s motivations and actions. While the anime does get quite heavy-handed in its delivery at times, Your Lie In April is a beautiful rainbow of color, music, and emotion from beginning to end.
Episodes 1-5 Review
Your Lie In April starts off quietly by introducing its main cast during a normal day at middle school. Along with the young musician Kousei we meet his childhood friends Tsubaki, a headstrong baseball player, and Watari, a playboy soccer star. The trio appears to be living normal lives, but there’s something amiss with Kousei. He hasn’t been able to hear his own piano playing for three years, ever since his mother passed away and he suffered a mental breakdown. He never played music for himself as a passion, only doing it for the sake of his mother’s strict expectations. With her gone the piano lost its purpose, being simply a tool to transcribe pop songs for his part-time job.
With this setup the anime brings in the violinist Kaori who is Kousei’s complete opposite, purely playing music for emotional expression. She’s spontaneous and energetic, directly contrasting Kousei’s reserved and rational demeanor. Kousei is dragged into attending her competition where she drastically reinterprets a classic Beethoven piece, defying traditional methods. It’s a goosebump-inducing performance that leaves him in awe. This sparks something in him, and his journey of self-discovery begins.
Your Lie In April impresses right away with a gorgeous animation style full of vibrant colors, fluid motions, and dynamic camera angles. The soundtrack is equally impressive, with the music conveying the story just as much as dialogue. Climactic sequences are done especially well, such as when Kousei has a mental block when performing again for the first time in years. He’s at the bottom of a deep, dark ocean, fingers pounding on keys that resonate only with muffled thumps and distorted echoes.
Kousei is a layered personality that comes to life nicely.
As for character development the focus is almost exclusively on Kousei, but he’s a layered personality that comes to life nicely. He knows he has flaws and naturally sees small threads of change around him. He finds the strength in himself (with some nagging from his friends) to pursue these changes even if he is unsure of the outcome. Certainly he has fears and doubts, but watching him put forth true effort without being overly thick-headed or angsty makes him naturally easy to root for.
Episodes 6-11 Review
Your Lie In April’s cast expands as pianist rivals Takeshi and Emi are introduced during a prestigious competition that Kousei enters. While they’re both distinct in their personalities and appearance, they’re fairly one-dimensional in terms of their motivations. The anime mostly just uses them to explore the affect Kousei has had on others with his music. But their performances are well done and enjoyable, with heavy tension in the air as both rivals bring out their best to combat the once unbeatable Kousei.
During these episodes, the anime’s pacing slows way down and overuses internal monologue.
Unfortunately the pacing becomes much slower during these episodes, making the anime a drag to watch at times. There is excessive internal monologue, especially from Kousei as he deals with the psychological doubts ingrained by his mother. The anime falls into a lull as scene after scene draws out his past, literally interrupting a performance for half an episode as he dwells on his memories. Kaori also completely takes a backseat for several episodes, and the anime becomes quite drab without her infectious personality. But Kousei does eventually grow a little more as he begins to form his own musical identity away from the indoctrination of his mother. It’s this hopeful feeling for positive change that continues to keep Your Lie In April an enjoyable experience.
Episodes 12-15 Review
It’s midway through Your Lie In April that Kousei begins to truly step away from his mother’s shadow, gaining confidence and determination. A highlight of these episodes is the exploration of his relationship with his mother from his mother’s perspective. She’s presented more as a person instead of simply being a ghost that haunts Kousei’s mind. She had hopes and fears of her own, driving her to mold her son in the way she did. It doesn’t excuse the treatment Kousei received as a child, but it’s a touching and bittersweet sequence that gives welcome depth to Kousei’s past.
The mood also picks up slightly with several light-hearted summer scenes. However, moments can suddenly flip-flop between slapstick comedy and heavy drama, making the overall tone inconsistent. Your Lie In April also spends a lot of time on Tsubaki as she tries to figure out her feelings for Kousei. It’s a slow and relatively generic plot line that doesn’t help the anime’s pacing issues.
Kaori unfortunately continues to have a backseat role throughout these episodes, serving to be not much more than Kousei’s catalyst. There are plot reasons for her lack of appearance, but only getting a small window into her struggles makes her character feel neglected. It’s frustrating to not get the chance to connect with Kaori on the same level as the other characters.
Episodes 16-19 Review
Kousei continues to mature as he finds himself thrown into the role of a teacher for the talented young pianist Nagi. She parallels his old self, full of talent and potential but paralyzed by self-doubt. Through their relationship it’s evident that Kousei has learned from his own past experiences, facing his fears head on while still challenging himself to reach higher. The anime hits another high point during the duo’s school performance, where Kousei projects Kaori’s influences onto Nagi. It’s a stirring scene that rouses everyone to new heights, from the pianists themselves to the listening audience. The music is powerful, the dialogue is dramatic, and the visuals are striking. It’s moments like these that exhibit the best of what Your Lie In April has to offer.
Kaori also finally gets more attention again and we get to see her vulnerable side. The roles are reversed now, with Kousei supporting her through her obstacles. The color palette used also reflects this shift, with Kaori’s world a subdued wash of gray while Kousei’s is blossoming with vividness. It’s difficult to watch Kaori in pain, but her determination to overcome is presented wonderfully alongside Kousei’s unbreakable will to support her. He shows her the way forward through his music, without drawn out motivational speeches or grand face-to-face gestures. It’s both heart-warming and poignant as Kaori soldiers on with his message heard loud and clear.
Episodes 20-22 Review
Your Lie In April’s final episodes are an emotional roller coaster of despair and suffering, but also hope. Kousei’s newfound resolve is pushed to its limits when he’s faced with a trauma that’s nearly identical from his past. It’s the ultimate testament to his personal growth as he finds a way to confront it directly instead of shutting down. In the end, there’s no obvious triumph or happy outcome for everyone. There is a cliche montage of his friends cheering him on, repeating his name as he fervently plays the piano. But Kousei doesn’t keep going because he knows that some miracle will happen. He pushes onward because he knows that he needs to at least try his best. His performance in the final episode channels the weight of all of his experiences, both good and bad, into a piece that resonates deeply with emotion.
Your Lie In April is an expressive and honest look at life, loss, and growing up.
Your Lie In April is difficult not to like despite its relative predictability, pacing problems, and overuse of internal monologue. The animation and music are excellently done and immerse you into the emotion of each scene. Colors burst along with exciting crescendos during the high points, and become muted at the lows. Climactic performances throughout the show are a joy to watch, when everything just clicks. But it’s the characters, especially Kousei and Kaori, that really make Your Lie In April an expressive and honest look at life, loss, and growing up. Their relationship is the heart and soul of the anime, and one that won’t be easily forgotten.
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