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So this is a revision of a review i wrote back around episode 17. Or rather its been rewritten completely. Ill try to keep spoilers to a minimum but its hard not to talk about some of the things in this particular anime.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is at its core the story of a prodigy piano player whose lost his way for various reasons and the journey he embarks with the help of the various relationships with the people around him, namely one particular violinist. Just putting things like that gives off a completely different tone then what you ... will get if you decide to watch it. It is in essence a "slice of life" anime in the truest sense. Yes, there are romantic themes, but for the most part you would classify this experience as a glimpse into a period of time in the lives of a few characters. It is in this form that the characters and the plot really create a show that is quite unforgettable even for people who are not the biggest fans of slice of life shows. One thing to note; unlike many of the other great shows of the genera, namely, key entries (Kanon, Clannad, Angel Beats etc), Shigatsu is a very realistic slice of life; there isn't any Dues Ex Machina to be seen here. The closest you get to the sci-fi/quasi magical elements from those other series is "the power of music and its ability to connect people" which is more or less just a rather powerful metaphor.

Since the show is about a couple of musicians, its best to start with the music and the sound in general. As a classically trained pianist and a guitar player, I found the sound track and the performance pieces to be excellent. After countless listens to the OSTs, I can safely say that there are very few pieces of background music in this show and in that vein it helps extenuate the emotional resonance of the story and characters at any given moment. Special mention goes to the performance pieces. When you read what songs they are playing in the manga it is actually quite hard to picture how they fit the scene in many cases, but when you see it in the anime, you completely understand why the author choose these particular songs for those particular scenes.

The voice acting is also quite top notch. While obviously there isn't a dub yet, (though Funimation does churn them out rather fast so maybe there is one...), as some one who speaks Japanese, I found the Japanese VAs to be quite pleasant with one or two slightly below the quality of a show such as this but still stellar. In particular the main characters are really well voiced, Hanae Natsuki puts many different emotions into this show and with out his great voice acting I don't think it would have worked quite as well. I also have to mention Taneda Risa because shes just such a great counterpart to Natsuki. Also considering how young most of the cast is, (Risa started in 2012 and Natsuki in 2011) it is very nice to see these newer up and coming talents working so hard and so passionately on something that deserves such a treatment.

In terms of animation, the CGI and the animation its self is absolutely breathe taking in some scenes. the CGI being rather seamless with the hand-drawn parts while allowing for very accurate instrument playing. When a character plays a song, he/she is playing that song on the instrument note for note, this in its self is quite an achievement as most movies and TV shows really mess this up with anime being just as bad up until now. the color pallet is vibrant pastels when it needs to be; dark and cynical when it is called for and simplistic at times, with the animation swapping fluidly between these sequences. This show really will remind you that A-1 is becoming a powerhouse animation studio in the industry slowly approaching the likes of Shaft and Kyoto animation.

The characters are just as varied and deep as the animation and sound and they shine just as brightly. Each one has their own motivation and reasoning for doing what they do and most of them get proper screen time, allowing them to be fleshed out quite nicely. while parts of the story works in cliche as with any story, the characters and the way the cliche is told in the story helps make it feel fresh and interesting. Yes, you have the "childhood friend" who is in love with the protagonist and the "cool guy" who outshines his "nerd" friend when it comes to picking up girls but they are not just the "childhood friend", the "cool guy", and the "nerd". And while they may seem to follow these troupes on the surface by about episode 6 you will forget about them almost all together.

The story of Shigatsu is pretty simple and in this simplicity there is also a deceptively light hearted feel that is mired with undertones of darkness and cynicism. There are many points in the story that give two opposing feelings at the same time when you watch them. Not simply sad nor happy, you will constantly be trying to find the words to describe each emotion and its resonance in the story. As with any show, it has its share of cliches and melodramas but it keeps them rather light and manages to find a comfortable balance rather than going overboard. It also loves to use a "stream of consciousness" style of storytelling which fits the story rather well; because it lets the viewer see different scenes from different perspectives and with different emotional connotations. In particular, the last episode and all of the performance episodes have very nice scenes filled with stream of consciousness; the author made it as such to allow these episodes to be where the major plot points get resolved or get pushed forwards.

Overall, these ingredients work together in a very delicious harmony to create a realistic, emotional ride that will give you a strong case of "the feels" in one moment and have you chuckling and smiling in the next. This dichotomy creates a very bitter sweet feeling that lasts throughout the entire series. And while in some moments the story can feel a little bit rushed because of how it is presented, it will leave you feeling quite satisfied none-the-less.

I also strongly recommend that you read the manga or at the very least the last two chapters after completing the anime. It helps clarify some of the things that they chose to remove.

Katanagatari is yet another -gatari "story" (forgive my pun), written by none other then the Monogatari legend him self Nisio Isin or NisioisiN. As his cleaver pen name implies this guy really loves his word play. This is something very common to all of his works and Katanagatari is definitely no slouch in that department. In my opinion katanagatari is one of the most unique/interesting anime to come along in the last generation in so far as plot, character and dialogue driven anime goes. Before I go into to detail as to why I hold this anime in high praise, ... I will say quite bluntly that if you have not watched Katanagatari then you should, However, by that point you'll have been torn to pieces.

As far as the story is concerned, a 10 is almost too understating. This is not to say that the story of Katanagatari is absolutely flawless or that there is no other anime that lives up to this story, there certainly are other anime that are just as good if not better in different respects (story-wise). Katanagatari runs the full gamete in terms of what it actually does. Not only is the writing top notch but the structure, themes and metaphors behind the story are very well crafted. This makes for a very unconventional anime that masks its self as a very conventional journey anime et la samurai champloo. Its almost as though Katanagatari is a deconstruction of this style of anime in the same way that puella magi madoka magica was a deconstruction of the magical girl anime or in the same way evangelion was for mecha. Of course though, this genera of anime isn't as well founded as magical girls or mecha anime but its still a similar style in the sense that it is a "realistic" interpretation at least as far as the plot and characters are conserned. Never did was I able to guess where the anime would go next when it threw a curve ball nor did I imagine that it would turn out so complex at the end, however, it is able to do this so very well all while balancing emotion/action and comedy.

The art direction is very akin to the afore mentioned Samurai Champloo with mixes of Monogatari as well as some of its own unique takes. Some portions look like they were taken from Visual novels while others look absolutely gorgeous. There is a very minimalist approach here that works to complement the more complex writing character art. The character art and animations are very fluid and well done as well as deceptive and serve to help each of the characters flesh out into their own unique personas. Overall the art is up there with other top notch shows produced by studio giants of the like of Kyoto Animation or Shaft while not being too avant garde to take away from its audience.

The sound track and sound samples are all amazing. They create great atmosphere and help complement the complex emotions that fit in the very long signature dialogue scenes and the very fast paced action sequences. The voice acting is extremely well done as well, with each character truly being fleshed out by all involved. Even the small side characters are very well received and can stand on their own with such great voice acting. Each voice actor delivers their lines with such gusto and such bravado as well as great timing. Again, though the real stand out here is the musical score, I really cant say that enough.

Each of the many characters are very fleshed out with complex yet some times simplistic motives. In particular, the two lead characters pull you in. They make you love and sometimes hate them. The character development is what makes all of this work so well. From the first episode to the last, each of the characters change in ways that are very realistic yet surprising at the same time. Everyone from the narrator who states the obvious to the side characters play their roles perfectly creating a very believable world even with all these "supernatural-type" powers. Each one has his or her own identity as well as own motive in the plot and each one is neither good nor bad when you really break things down.

One thing i would be remiss to not talk about is the dialogue and the overall writing. Japanese word play is different then English because of Kanji, with each character meaning more then one thing in most cases, we have times when the writing uses these multiple meanings to its advantage. And of course since this is a NisioisiN work, the dialogue is very very long winded but with good reason. His style of telling most of the story through a series of conversations works very well here as it serves to allow the audience to fully grasp the emotions of each of the characters as well as their motivations. Metaphor is scattered everywhere with tons and tons of very complex ideas that may not be very apparent from the get go view. After viewing this show a few times, i still find things that I missed out on, in previous occasions.

In the end, Katanagatari is a great anime for anyone who likes anime in general but also in specific for people who enjoy good writing, good action and stories that may or may not have a happy ending, aka realist stories. In my opinion it is an achievement in anime that reminds me that anime is also an art form that can be as serious as the most beautiful painting or piece of literature. I know i gave this entire thing a 10 out of 10 for everything, but honestly, it really resonated with me that much. You may not see it as a shining beacon of awesome like I do, but I guarantee you will enjoy your self even if you dont, However, by that point you'll have been torn to pieces.