First, my criticisms.
I'm heavily wary of shows that have an unbelievably cheerful, whimsical, magical way of presenting itself, especially when its set up is clearly to create a fun atmosphere as a prelude to heavy drama. I dislike the manipulative feeling of having fun, charismatic characters used as set pieces for inevitable drama later on. This is made evident by how the show immediately and clumsily sets up a vague romance polygon to run alongside whatever happens to be wrong with Kaori. I've been exposed to some level of spoilers beforehand, bu since I don't know the full details, I'm only speculating at this point, but I'm still quite cautious.
I also dislike the treatment of Kousei and Kaori with regards to their playing styles respectively. Kousei was given a lot of crap for playing robotically and in accordance to the apparent original intent of each piece, while Kaori gets crap for trying to implement her own personality and flare into her individual renditions. One is criticized for being emotionless and the other is criticized for having too much emotion. I know these criticism aren't by the same people, and I know they're supposed to balance each other out as per narrative reasons,- but it just feels like the show is trying to have its drama cake and eat it too.
Additionally, this show explains a lot. The strength of music-centric shows is their, well, music. What should have been powerful and profound performance were, instead, drowned out by inner monologues and cuts to other characters' reactions. Perhaps it's more of a selfish reason, as I would like to hear and see the performance with all thoughts and emotions instead narrated through music. If music, as the show exalts, can speak words and feelings through an emotionally-charged performance, then it would be a great crime to not have the anime itself allow its characters to just play their hearts out. Anime is a visual medium, and shows like this have the ability to display anime's ability to tell a story through just sights and sounds.
And I suppose my last concern is the vague romance triangle itself. I have guesses of where it's going, but the setup has Tsubaki, who has vague feelings for Kousei, introducing him to Kaori, who Tsubaki acknowledges as being cute and knows is a musician as well. First, how did Tsubaki and Kaori know each other? Did Tsubaki not think Kousei wouldn't be attracted to Kaori's fiery personality and passion for music? Second, was Tsubaki using Kaori as a means to bring Kousei out of his shell? Otherwise, why was she pushing so hard to have them two perform together? Did Tsubaki really think Kousei wouldn't become more distant as he became more engrossed in the musical world again, and by association Kaori as well? To be fair, Tsubaki does somewhat acknowledge that she had no right to complain, but the setup seems quite clumsy with regards to how I think this anime will end.
Now, for what I like so far.
Your Lie in April is a beautiful anime. In terms of how it looks, how it's animated, and how it sounds, this show excels in ways I haven't seen in a while. I still have my nitpicks and concerns, but as a whole, I am greatly enjoying this anime. The use of visual metaphor and theatrics helps to tell the story visually, portraying the characters' emotions through really stark imagery. One of the moments that stuck out the most was Arima acting as Kaori's accompaniment. Visually, the scene's colors were slowly sucked out. The sounds produced were lifeless thuds. Excited desperation combined with Arima's sinking feeling portrayed on screen worked extremely well.
The anime also knows extremely well how to treat its characters with respect. When Kaori is about to pass out after a piece with Kousei, she first leaves the stage first with the blinding image of her performance burned into her audience's eyes. She doesn't destroy the illusion created before the crowd, steps behind the blinds, then collapses out of the audience's eyes. Then, at a meta level, the episode immediately ends without the chance for any character to really react. This defines her character as wild and hotheaded, yet serious and professional on stage. A lesser show would have had Kaori collapse on stage before the entire audience, creating a huge dramatic scene that screams "feel bad for her!!!" Or, even worse, another show would have had a character scream Kaori's name, further emphasizing how bad we, the viewers, should feel.
First, Kaori maintains her image before collapsing off stage. Second, it doesn't emphasize the event as the main point of the entire scene. The focus is the performance, not Kaori's health. Third, by not allowing the other characters to react with the episode ending immediately after, the show doesn't tell the viewers how to react. It lets us draw our own conclusions, whether if it's concern for her well being or, in my case, my concern for her image both in story and as an anime character. It's the aspect Kaori seems to value the most, so it's my attempt to respond in kind. That's the power of a single decision from a directorial standpoint, and I appreciate Your Lie in April for having a number of these scattered throughout the show.
With this episode in particular, I enjoyed seeing the effect Kousei's presence had for Emi and Takeshi. It's an interesting inverse where, normally, you'd have a main character looking up to a more skilled character or is rivals with another character, constantly trying to prove themselves to be better than the other. In this case, Kousei was already at the top, and it's everyone else that have to prove themselves. Of course, I have a prediction for how this competition will end, but while it's inevitable, my hope is that it'll still result in some great performances like the ones shown in this episode.
Seriously, this show looks and sounds amazing. My goodness. In part, I'm a sucker for slice of life dramas. I've also been watching anime primarily from the early 2000s for the past month or so, causing this anime to look ridiculously brilliant in comparison. I haven't kept up well with anime released in the past few years, so perhaps Your Lie in April is one of many shows that look just as good. I remember iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls, also by A-1 Pictures, looking just as good, so perhaps the audiovisuals of Your Lie in April wouldn't be that special for someone who has been keeping up with recent shows. As such, I'm additionally cautious as not to be blinded by how the show looks and sounds, and pay attention to how the show itself is progressing. Else, I'd end up judging this by purely by its audiovisuals and not by how its characters and story work out.
I must restate this though: I was spoiled for the ending in the past, but I've waited long enough for those memories to be too distant to really remember. Still, I know the general idea, and from the episodes so far, I feel like I can guess the show's general trajectory. In spite of the spoilers however, I'm still enjoying Your Lie in April.
I feel that a truly well made anime isn't defined by great moments. They can include great moments, and great shows can consist of great smaller moments accumulating to one giant climax, but the singular moments can't be the end-all to shows. As I see it, this is the true reason why spoilers are so powerful. If the big twist or event is revealed in a show, what's left? The journey to a known end? If a show is all about that big twist or event, would the entire show be rendered a waste of time upon the reveal of the spoiler?
A truly great show isn't great by virtue of a single detail. A great building shouldn't stand on a single column. It can, but that would be but a singular gimmick. What else is interesting? What else is endearing? What else about the show kicks ass or is laugh out loud hilarious? What else makes the show as gripping as a lobster claw soaked in super glue? Thus far, Your Lie in April has been great with each episode having great individual moments of either character interactions or character self-expression. I recall a vocal rejection of this show a while back, but I've yet to really see glaring issues with the show itself. Again, I have concerns with its romance polygon setup and its insistent need to verbally relay character emotions when the music and animation should speak for themselves. Those aside, I'll continue to watch and hope nothing horrifically bad happens in the meanwhile. |