四月は君の嘘

SHIGATSU WA KIMI NO USO

ANIME

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
22
RELEASE
March 20, 2015
LENGTH
23 min

DESCRIPTION

Piano prodigy Arima Kousei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital. This resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano playing. Two years later, Kousei hasn’t touched the piano and views the world without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kousei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kousei was used to.

CAST

Kaori Miyazono
Risa Taneda
Kousei Arima
Natsuki Hanae
Ryouta Watari
Ryouta Oosaka
Tsubaki Sawabe
Ayane Sakura
Emi Igawa
Saori Hayami
Hiroko Seto
Mie Sonozaki
Takeshi Aiza
Yuuki Kaji
Nagi Aiza
Ai Kayano
Nao Kashiwagi
Shizuka Ishigami
Saitou
Kazuyuki Okitsu
Saki Arima
Mamiko Noto
Koharu Seto
Inori Minase
Otokonoko
Mariko Higashiuchi

EPISODES

Dubbed

| | |

RELATED TO SHIGATSU WA KIMI NO USO

MANGA DramaShigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Cover Art for Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: MOMENTS

OVA MusicShigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: MOMENTS

REVIEWS

Jujuberry
97/100
If you haven't watched this anime, do it. Don't let the music tag scare you. It left me speechless, also crying... HARD

Your Lie In April
There is a reason why almost everyone who's watched this anime loves it.
Since I absolutely SUCK at summarizing anime, here’s the official one:

Once an accomplished child pianist, musical prodigy Arima Kousei lost his drive to play the piano after a traumatizing event involving his mother at the tender age of eleven. Now a regular middle school student, Arima spends his days with his two best friends Watari and Tsubaki devoid of music. However, his life changes dramatically after meeting Miyazono Kaori, a pretty violinist every bit as brash as the way she plays.

This anime is beautifully, heartbreaking. ‘Your Lie In April’ takes you on an emotional rollercoaster from the very beginning, and doesn’t stop until the moment it ends. Especially when it ends. It’s the type of show that will tear you apart, almost piece you back together, and then just utterly destroy you. But, I couldn’t seem to stop watching. It’s cheerful, but also agonizing, filled with heavy themes and dark backstories that will make you want to break down and cry for these kids. Which, in my case, I did.

The animation is beyond stunning, consistent, smooth, and able to portray the characters emotions perfectly, and the music, oh sweet baby jesus, the MUSIC. The opening/closing songs, elegant and precise piano playing, and emotionally-appropriate background music were breath-taking and absolutely magnificent. It was some good shit.

The relationship that the main characters shared was inspirational, loving, almost familial. It was so tight-knit, and you really see throughout the series just how much they depend on one another.

“Truth be told, Kousei never says those three little words to Kaori nor does Kaori say them to Kousei's face. But like all of the other musical performances throughout the anime, they didn't have to. Because their music did the talking for them. Emi's passionate pleas resounded from her piano; Aiza's determination to defeat his long-standing rival echoed throughout the stadium; and Kousei's farewell to the mother he's always feared emanated in a way that only a son could play. Therefore it is only fitting that the final performance be not one filled with selfishness, anger, or goodbyes; it's a duet from the heart of the couple that never got to be.”
-Quote by BanjoTheBear on Reddit.

The overall thing that the creators of ‘Your lie in april’ wanted you to take away from the anime was that music can change lives. Sometimes, life can be really hard, too hard to carry on, but you still gotta live it. You got to give it your best, and live with no regrets.

Continue on AniList
AmishaelAL
75/100
Some honest thoughts about one of the most beloved anime out there
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

It’s up there with anime like Clannad AS, Angel Beats, and Anohana in terms of making most people cry. One of the saddest, sweetest, most touching and moving anime of all time.
Umm…

I’ll just start out with this. Most people jabber on and on about the ending, and how it’s a beautiful finale to a masterfully told story. Sorry guys. The ending didn’t really touch me. Maybe it’s because I’d just finished reading ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness, and nothing can compare to that in terms of touching the reader’s soul.

That’s not to say there weren’t any touching or emotional moments, and these moments were mostly due to Kousei. He was a brilliant MC, his struggles and breakdowns were so perfectly and realistically portrayed that I was amazed at the way he handled each situation, and was really rooting for him by the end. The way he dealt with his mother’s memories was especially moving.

As for Kaori, I do understand the train of thought that she doesn’t really seem to be anything but a plot device until the final episodes. In a way, I can understand her, and her desire to make a mark on the world. But the way it was done felt quite pretentious, and ticked me off for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on. Death isn’t a grandiose melody on the stage. The person’s there, and then they’re not. They die, and then they’re gone. You forget sometimes and think ‘oh, I’ll call them’ or ‘I need to tell them this’ or even call out their name before realising no one’s gonna answer. You can play music and do wonderous things in that person’s name, but those things aren’t for the person. They’re for you, and they’re to help you move on. That’s why I felt the anime handled the response to the mother’s death far better than the response to Kaori’s death. Playing after his mother’s death gave him closure, playing whist Kaori died felt like it was for her, not for him, and so lacked the same depth.

The ‘ordinary’ parts of the story – love triangle, fierce rivalry – were good. I didn’t like Tsubaki much at the beginning but grew to like her much more because of her character development. She became a good person, and a better friend than she had been. Watari, on the other hand, remained totally one-dimensional the entire series. Having him there had no real purpose except to show that A) Kousei did have at least one male friend B) to be Kaori’s ‘love interest’ and bring Kaori and Kousei together. The other side characters were quite decent, they all not only served a purpose in pushing the story along but also became quite interesting characters themselves.

The music was beautiful. The openings and endings were stunning, and the instruments all sounded superb to me. I don’t really play any, (at least not on this level,) so couldn’t really tell the difference when the tone of the melody changed or whatnot. I mean, I knew it changed when the anime said so, but wouldn’t have attributed any real significance to it without being told. Regardless, it was good to listen to.

Now to conclude. Like I said earlier, it’s hard for me to sort out my feelings about this anime. On the one hand, there were parts I did find moving and powerful, particularly mid-way through the series. On the other hand, there were parts I felt were just pretentious and mentally draining to watch. Not in a tear-jerking way, either. I literally had to push myself to watch the next episode at a couple of parts. So, no 80+ from me, because, no matter how beautifully an anime is done, if I don’t enjoy watching it or care about it deeply almost the entire time, it’s not getting a top score.

Nonetheless, I can’t deny that it was a work of art with deep aspects and there were parts I was invested in. And the art and music were gorgeous, after all. 75 which is still a very high score - was my compromise.

Remember, though, this is just my opinion. Now go and watch Shigatsu Wa Kimi no Uso, and form your own.
Continue on AniList
Linialomdil
85/100
Phenomenal, touching, but held back at times by the dialogue writing and reliance on flashbacks and repetitive scenes.
Your Lie in April
Such a title seems trivial, almost whimsical, and that's probably exactly what the liar would have you believe in this case. Who is saying this title though? The answer to that, when fully comprehended, adds numerous layers of meaning to the simple phrase. The lie turns into a ruse, the ruse, into a tragedy, the tragedy into acceptance, healing, and catharsis, all of which are told through a compelling story of love, music, and the interactions of the two. Your Lie in April may have created "the most beautiful lie of all." It comes close, anyway.

Story/Themes 9/10 — Here is where Your Lie really shines. There are themes throughout the show of love and music, along with dedication, pulling various people through various personal issues such as childhood trauma and young love, and illness, not to mention the stresses of being a competitive musician. As a musician personally, I am biased towards this. However, it also gives me license to say that many things presented were, very, very powerful. There were also symbols everywhere (not just the obvious black cat, though it is one), such as cherry blossoms for transience (played here to a more potent effect than what it usually is in school dramas), as well as individual pieces of music. Speaking of the music, it also helped with the themes, but that's covered in sound.

Characters/Writing 6/10 — This is... not where Your Lie shines. While there were some very strong, well developed characters (Arima, Kaori, Tsubaki, etc.), and most others were characterized to the point of at least humanization (the two competing pianists), the way the show develops them was not always the best. Arima, for one, is developed painfully repetitively in the early episodes, and though this holds some thematic significance in the kind of development he was going through (it's hard to get over that kind of trauma, I get it), it was not enough to redeem just how repetitive it was (I CAN'T HEAR THE NOTES!!). Kaori, on the other hand, was generally developed well, if possibly only because she wasn't developed as often as Arima. The writing throughout the show, though very flowery (sometimes even beautifully poetic), often detracted from the power of what was going on through written cliches and myriad flashbacks, ultimately detracting from the characterization experience. This is all mostly redeemed, of course, simply by how characterized the important cast (especially the lead duo) was by the end of the show. (Kaori is definitely one of my favorite anime characters now)

Sound (Music/Acting) 10/10 — Not much to be said here. Voice acting was great. Music was a huge thematic element here, and played so much importance that it was almost used in place of traditional characterization. In fact, the music 9 times out of 10 did a better job developing characters and plot than the script did. I really can't speak highly enough of how well this was done. Very few other show can claim to use music to an equal or greater effect. If you want shows that do, see Cowboy Bebop, Nodame Cantabile, and ep. 3 of Angel Beats.

Animation 9/10 — Again, managing thematic importance in an area it doesn't normally come from, Your Lie shines again. It has been praised for it's exceptionally colorful palette and fairly smooth animation, not to mention a wonderful art style, and it certainly gets points there. What really sets it apart though, is how the animation was used. Mention of Kaori was almost always accompanied by even more color, and that is important. The animation even loses color to an extent when the characters lose color themselves or remember a time of less color. However, the occasional jumpiness and noticeable CGI in the animation slightly lower its score.

Enjoyment 7/10 — Your Lie in April was a roller-coaster of enjoyment for me. Though there were times that I truly connected with it, there were others where I had to force myself to continue the show. I swear I almost dropped it sometime early on, but I am glad I didn't. Ultimately, it was fulfilling.

Through and through, this anime deserves plenty of recognition. Kaori asked, "Do you think you'll be able to forget?", and my answer is a resounding "no". To everyone out there, just remember, "Even in the depths of the darkest oceans, some light always pierces through."

By weighting the scores above in my way I do, the final score comes out to be...

8/10, or 4 hummingbird stars.

Thank you for reading this, if you did. Please feel free to comment on my profile and give any feedback at all, be it about the review or the show itself. Have a nice day!

NOTE: This review is a bit outdated, and I would since have changed the character score to be a little higher, and the overall score to 8.5/10
Continue on AniList