Your Lie in April Review

Recently, I've been getting back into watching anime again. Peer influence played a part to be sure, but I think I've also simply grown more mature in a way, and I am curious as to how young adult media in Japan differs from that in America. I intend to review the new (and possibly old) anime I watch, to offer some analysis and reflection on how I perceive them.

I will admit I'm a little cautious about this hobby, as I'm well aware of the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding Japanese animation. That being said, I've tried recommendations from my peers recently, and some anime have pleasantly surprised me with their depth. Here's a review I wrote for my most recently completed show: "Your Lie in April".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Your Lie in April” is an anime adapted from the manga series by Naoshi Arakawa. Originally published in Kodansha’s shonen magazine, the series was likely written with a young male audience in mind. I was intrigued by the premise of the story, as a former hobby pianist myself, I looked forward to seeing how music would be used in the show. Beyond that though, I began watching without knowing what to expect.

Story

YLA follows a pivotal year in the life of former prodigal pianist Arima Kousei. His mother passes away two years prior to the beginning of the plot, rendering Kousei unable to hear the sound of his own piano. In his sorrow and fear, he resigns from playing the piano. The story begins on a seemingly ordinary day in high school, when Kousei is introduced to the vibrant violinist Kaori Miyazano. Through his interactions with her, Kousei begins playing the piano again. As the story develops, a budding romance between the two forms, and Kousei begins to heal from his trauma and rediscover his passion for music.

YLA is wholeheartedly a story of joy and hope, tinged with equally profound moments of bittersweet sorrow and even despair. The mix of emotions in the show can be at times overwhelming, but overall it handles them well. The plot weaves its way through its themes skillfully, taking its time to develop each idea thoroughly before moving onto the next.

Overlaying these already strong core themes is a deep commentary on music and its role in the lives of musicians and audiences alike. Kousei, Miyazano, and the various other musicians in the show symbolize different reasons that one might choose the path of a musician. The show also puts significant investment into depicting the endless hours of practice, tears, and triumphs of each character. Each performance is a powerful scene that conveys different facets of musical performance to the viewer, and these intricacies do much to enrich the plot. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed YLA’s story for the complex ideas it explores and for its humorous, yet serious and passionate tone.

Story Execution

I found the execution of the story to be more of a mixed bag. YLA explores some heavy topics, and overall, it does so pretty well. The plot’s most significant scenes, such as the piano performances, as well as Kousei and Kaori’s later interactions, are carefully crafted and shine with emotion. Yet like Kousei himself at the beginning of the story, there were times when I felt that YLA was playing an intricate melody, but with a noticeable lack of grace or personality.

The earliest and most prominent example of this can be found in the relationship between Kousei and his mother. Make no mistake, despite her physical absence, Kousei’s mother is an important character in YLA. In the beginning of the show, the viewer is constantly reminded that it was Kousei’s gray, sickly mother who turned him into the “human metronome.” Each of these reminders is accompanied by variations of the same series of flashbacks, and it is only in the middle of the series that they finally begin to develop into a plot point of their own rather than a device for illustrating Kousei’s trauma.

I also felt that the depiction of the events in the story could be a bit melodramatic at times. When Kousei first meets Kaori, the cherry blossoms are falling, birds are flying, and a single tear drops from her face. I found the scene well placed and breathtaking. But I think that “well placed” is the key here. YLA threw in similarly weighty scenes, but with too much frequency. From Kousei’s repeated slow motion monologues to the other musician’s repetition of their musical goals and accompanying flashbacks, I think YLA could have done with a few less of these often intense, yet misplaced scenes. This was all especially jarring at times because the show frequently sprinkled in moments of comedy, complete with over the top expressions and exaggerated animation. Normally, this would be an entertaining way of breaking up tension, but when it is done so frequently alongside YLA’s emotionally heavy scenes, it is ultimately detrimental to the story’s cohesiveness.

Ultimately, I think that YLA did a fine job executing its story, but with some noticeable flaws. Nevertheless, the merits of the plot itself definitely make up for it, and I felt satisfied with the story by the end.

Presentation

YLA is beautifully presented. There is a high attention to detail to the settings and characters, and overall the animation is pleasure to the eyes. But the artistic decisions dig deeper than the surface level as well. YLA uses visuals to convey the themes of the story in a compelling way. For example, its use of color matches well with Kousei’s character development. The animation also mixes in hand drawn stills to great effect, giving a nod to Arakawa’s original work and capturing the significance of important plot points. I found YLA’s use of visual symbolism effective, and its overall visual quality is top-notch to be sure.

In terms of sound, although I personally didn’t find many of the tracks particularly noteworthy, I do think it was effective in complimenting the story. An outstanding soundtrack has a life of its own, and becomes deeply tied to key points of a show. YLA had these tracks, but they came mainly in the form of the classical pieces played on stage. Each piece is given a formal introduction, and the selections in both their story relevance and musical depth. I would definitely say that the classical pieces were the standouts of the soundtrack, and although the other tracks were not as immediately stunning, in an odd way, they allow the classical pieces to shine even more.

Conclusion

YLA is a wonderful story that deals with heavy topics while maintaining a sense of humor and hope. It conducts itself with in a light-hearted manner, but can turn serious on a dime as well, and its great production values do a stellar job of bringing the world and its characters to life. It’s unfortunate that some notable flaws in the story telling muddled its effectiveness, but it is still an anime that I could see being satisfying to a wide range of audiences and moods. Whether one is looking for straightforward entertainment or a thoughtful story, YLA’s diverse moods and cathartic ending should fit the bill. It definitely gets my recommendation.