First Impressions – Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Brightly Colored and Dazzling
Wow, such a dazzling show, I hardly know where to start, other than to say I think this is going to be a great romantic tale.
It’s me and skylion again for another First Impressions post, this time for “Your Lie in April”. How will this middle school romance play out?
Off and Running
And we’re off!
skylion // A-1 Pictures have really brought their A game out for this show. While we can have very good stories with average animation quality, or even badly written shows that visually pop, it’s fantastic to see a production that starts off with such vivid scope, and such great figure movement. I was taken so aback by how natural the characters moved, and how some of the poses fit into the scene; Kaori’s kitten chase during the cold open is the most noteworthy. That ended up telling me more about the character in just 44 seconds that they did with the other characters in the entire show. Granted, with Risa Taneda as her VA, it’s not going to be hard to show off a Pixie Girl; whether or not she’s a Manic Dream Pixie is still up in the air.
Kaori as first seen by Kousei
skylion // So before I go into my thoughts of the show proper, I’ll venture into the OP. First off, YAY! Goosehouse! Very fitting, and the vocals felt perfect. And next, in so far as the animation…well, bare feet. Lots of bare feet. It’s not that I have a foot fetish or anything, but it does give me a feeling of a carefree nature. But it also holds a certain grounding to it, a connection the gravity we all have to work with. We might fly high in the upcoming episodes, but feet will be on the ground in some respects. It just feels like a clue as to what the narrative will be getting up and down to…
Crash and Burn
Brilliant modeling of the piano, allowing us to see an actual performance
Highway // Last season we had a show that brought one of my favorite piano pieces, with Glasslip and Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat Major. This show one-ups it with maybe my second favorite piano piece, the third movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata (if you’ve never heard the whole piece, go listen to it now. Go!). So I’m starting off in this show’s camp, especially with the use of CGI for the piano to allow them to show it being properly played. No fakery and cuts and camera angles to cut down on the animation, this is us seeing the years of CGI work turning the corner, I think. It seems they’ve got a model of the piano, and can put pretty much any song in it and have it just work from any angle (including the hammers and dampers).
Someone who’s loving their instrument
skylion // While watching Kousei’s recital I was struck by one thing. His eyes. Going back to the OP, we see him and many other’s alive at their instruments. Here, we see nothing. It’’s robotic. Frankly it made me feel horrible for him in many ways, and as we go into his past, the feeling is verified. But, you cannot get to that sort of level without wanting it for yourself in most regards. This is what I am wanting from the show at the outset. To see him play, and to see him get to that point we see in the OP.
The source of his monochrome world
Highway // I think that Kousei’s reaction at the recital was a long time coming, and found it very interesting that his beloved mother was portrayed as a figurative witch. Body failing, hopes of being a famous pianist gone, she selfishly foists those hopes onto her barely-in-elementary school son. He learns lessons like love is pain, promises are lies, and music is just a means to an end. Piano is not a contact sport. You shouldn’t come out of it with bruises nor scratches nor mental disfigurement. I took piano lessons for 9 years, and I know one thing that was better for me than it was for Kousei was that I didn’t start until relatively late (my piano teacher also wasn’t an ogre, although there were times I feared her disappointment). But I also knew, from very early on, that my piano playing was for me and my enjoyment. It was never going to be anything like my meaning in life. Kousei didn’t know any differently, because that was all his mother taught him. So with her death, he didn’t know how to handle that kind of, well, let’s call it betrayal.
Let’s Meet The Rest of the Contestants
Tsubaki is playing the “If I hang around long enough, he’ll understand how I feel” game. We all know how that turns out.
skylion // Ah, the childhood friend. You just have to feel for Tsubaki. They never win! She has a shot, just like any other romantic character, but it’s looking like a long one, especially with the introduction of the Pixie Girl. She may look from her window to his, hoping he will take that piano up again, but I get a general feeling that she doesn’t know him as well as she thinks. That’s just an initial impression, but it felt like she played the “see things in different colors” a bit too hard, or at least that is what the story is trying to suggest.
Ryouta likes fake Kaori
skylion // But at this point, we cannot get to OTP just yet. Both Kousei and Kaori had both a classic awestruck moment, and a classic awkward moment ( I wonder if he’ll delete that pic?). And I get the feeling that soccer star, Watari is going to be more than just the “enemy to all women” they play him out to be. Early prediction: He has always had feelings for Tsubaki, but has been aware of her feelings for Kousei all along and doesn’t want to rock the boat. I wonder how that will play into him being fixed up with Kaori….
Thing most often seen in this episode? Recorders pointed threateningly at Kousei
I was incredibly charmed by this first outing. It was vivid, dynamic, and has brilliant character design working for it. The music is spot on, and fits the narrative well from scene to scene. I will be anxious to see the writing play with the archetypes they’ve set up so far with our leads, there is lots of room to grow, and it will be fun seeing them do just that….
Truth be told, I wasn’t as taken as skylion by this show. Pretty much all the things he mentioned: Goosehouse, bare feet, Kaori, the kitten chase, character designs, all of those things are either no factor or actively push me away from the show. I don’t like the faces of characters very much (neither the eyes nor the lips, just a drawing style I don’t favor). Kaori will have to grow on me, because I didn’t really connect with her this episode. And who sets up a date for when they have a recital? It just felt super contrived. I did like the message about monotone / colorful that it was telling, and actually liked that they didn’t color the whole show with Kousei’s bland life only to have a miraculous color change when they met. We’ll see how the show improves (for me) from here.
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I’m in between our reviewers on this. I wasn’t as taken with it as Skylion, but liked it better than Highway seems to. I liked the introductions to Kaori–chasing a kitten and playing a melodia(sp?) atop whatever-that-is in the playground. Free-spirited pixie girl indeed. If nothing else ends up working for me Kaori and the music will get me to stick around unless the show really crashes and burns along the way.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I didn’t dislike the show. I just wasn’t that taken with it, and the things that he pointed out drew him in were things that, at best, didn’t draw me in. I loved the piano playing, and hope we get more, since the hard work on that is, presumably, already done. But this is definitely a show where the long-suffering friend is my pick, and I know she’s hopeless in this one (oh why can’t a show prove me wrong?)
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
HWY and I can be a study in opposites on our tastes sometimes. Which I find much more interesting than in agreeing all the time anyway…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yeah, when all you’ve got is agreement it doesn’t leave much room for interesting debates.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I find it amusing how our tastes overlap but aren’t congruent. If either one of us likes a show, it’s unlikely that the other will dislike it. But it’s rare that a show that one of us thinks is best of the season will be one the other thinks is best as well. It’s like we have different buttons in the same genres, and what pushes my specific buttons won’t push his.
And then there’s limits to that overlap. I can easily go for full shoujo romance shows, and he just doesn’t. But he can get more to the shounen side than I can.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t like, just that you didn’t like it as much as I did, who didn’t like it as much as Skylion.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
My god this is one beautiful series to look at! I loved the colors and character designs omg the hair…wow…makes me jealous that I can’t draw that level of detail xD
So I heard this is not a happy romance but a sad depressing one? I mean general tone not like these main kids are gonna die or anything LOL
Ayane Sakura sounds so damn cute as Tsubaki Sawabe even though she does play the role of a tomboy quite well just like Akane from Vividred she always sounds so excited and full of energy <3
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I think the tone is going to be a blend of happy and sad. Earn the Happy Ending might be the story. Not sure.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
A good first episode. The love triangle was not so ON YOUR FACE like Glasslip so bearable for now. All the characters seem interesting but pretty sure there will be some heartbreaks in the process. For now I’m glued.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh, happy to have you along! There will be tears and happiness…
POWUH: iLurker with 11 comments
Since I’m kinda late, I’ll just say this : Skylion, A-1 Pictures didn’t really bring their A game out for Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso. It just that Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso’s production schedule is out the ordinary. Most anime schedules are super rush or just plain bad, ex. World Trigger/Sailor Moon Crystal
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Hey, jump in any time you want! The didn’t? Schedule? I’m somewhat confused by your comment. I would love you to clarify for me.
POWUH: iLurker with 11 comments
Basically… how much time they have to complete an episode. 90% of anime episodes are literally finish right before its air time. The first episode of Shirobako gloss over this fact
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I finally got around to watching this (finishing up watching the premieres of the shows I’m interested in)…
omg. so AWESOME. Definitely my favorite of the season, hands down. The music, the animation, the characters, omg love. Classical music + romance + fun characters = so much win. I’m already thinking I’ll like this as much as I enjoyed Nodame Cantible.