Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – 11
A very pretty moment, even if they tinged it with something bad at the end
Some good things this week, even as Kousei doesn’t make it to the next round of the competition.
The Aftermath
Kousei’s performance, as we saw last week, left everyone out of sorts, trying to interpret what they’ve heard. Some see it as a loss, like Takeshi who sees the loss of his hero, the loss of his target to achieve/ exceed. Some see it as an affront, like the head judge, who ‘greets’ Kousei with an admonishment that a competition isn’t a place to find yourself. And others see it as the opposite, a blossoming, of Kousei finally expressing his emotions through his music, as Kaori, Emi, and Hiroko saw.
I really disliked the composition of this shot: Why is Tsubaki not near Watari and Kaori? Balance, but unrealistic
But if competition isn’t the place to find out what you’re made of, how you perform under a very specific kind of pressure, what drives you to succeed, then where and when are you going to find that out? And Kousei has finally found part of himself that loves playing. As Emi says, you could see that child peering out, finally breaking through the wall of slavish devotion to the score, the perfect “human metronome.” And the person he was looking at, the only person he cared who heard, was Kaori.
A New Teacher and A New Goal
Neither of them bothers to dress up
Kousei’s reunion with Hiroko brings someone who has cared about him back into his life, and she shows that both at the competition and later when she checks up on him at home. And we see that she holds some regrets about his past, having known his mother from long before Kousei was born, and seeming to be the one who pushed her into teaching him the piano. Now, that doesn’t mean she holds any blame for how his mother treated him, nor what she turned into, but she still realizes what happened to him, and that she had at least some part of that. So I don’t think that her “Sorry” is without merit.
Kousei realizes his inspiration
But I also like that she was able to hear his declaration of love from his playing, and that she linked it to the two girls that are the most likely candidates. Of course, Kousei has already determined who his playing for, and while he denies that it was love, Hiroko asks a good question: “Are you unaware, or are you pretending not to notice?” I think the answer is a third thing: He’s too embarrassed to say. But maybe he’ll get his chance to make it clear when he teams up with Kaori again, as they have been selected to play as part of the gala event for the Towa competition. That is, if Kaori doesn’t die before then.
Triumphant Kaori
I like the introduction of Hiroko, who brings a guardian figure, but also some experience and history with Kousei. She knows what he went through, and it seems like she knows what he’s going through now. As an aside, I thought it was ironic that Hiroko gave Kousei a hard time for still wearing the same clothes as the day before while she was wearing the same shirt also. Don’t know if that was supposed to be ironic, or just poor continuity check on the part of the production. I don’t need to get into how bad I think the decision to make Kaori have a dread disease is, but I’m sure we’re getting more of that coming up in the show.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Darn good review. And you know, I predicted your screenshots, somewhat…
…unless they are foreshadowing….
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The way they put together that whole thing was just completely unrealistic. Presumably, Tsubaki, Watari, and Kaori walked over together. So how do they end up on opposite sides of Kousei? And then Kousei walks away… just leaving his friends there. What? Not “Hey guys, great to see you, ready to go?”
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I thought they were trying to balance the positioning, and it’s odd to have someone directly behind another as a spectator. So they probably moved Watari and Emi a few steps to the left.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I mean, like… they were all looking at the results board, and Watari besides Kaori makes sense. And Tsubaki was moral support on the other side. And Takeshi came from behind, so it makes sense in my mind. At least, I didn’t think anything of it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, it works for the show, and for the shot, but it felt so unrealistic to me, that Tsubaki would walk herself all the way around Kousei, when the person she’d actually be looking at is Takeshi as they talk. And they didn’t show her going to the other side, just transported her over there. It bothered me, is mainly what it is. Just like Kousei being all “I’m out” *mic drop* and walking away bothered me. He didn’t even greet his friends. It was all drama, completely unrealistic. Compared to how they had Kaori come up to them after her solo performance, it was just poor, imo.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I missed Hiroko wearing the same shirt when she razzed out Kousei. I didn’t even notice during a re-watch until someone pointed it out. But to be honest, it could be that she really likes the shirt and has more than one. Some of the items in my wardrobe I have more than one set.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, sure. But they could have also changed her shirt so noone would have to make excuses for the show. That’s why it points to either being tone deaf or a continuity error.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
A little heads up. I saw from the “recent post” list. You forgot to number this post. No indication on what episode this is.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Thanks, got that fixed.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
No problem. Happy to help out.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I’m pretty sure Kaori is safe until after the gala event. After all, they have to have Kousei and her play together again so it’ll be even more devastating for him when she dies (an alternative title for this anime could be “Beat Kousei to a Pulp Emotionally”). Plus the viewers would be pissed not to hear them play together again. After the gala she could go at any time.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 33 comments
the thing with Hiroko wearing the same shirt… not so much bad continuity as is intentional irony, i think, seeing as it was in the manga that way as well…
i really liked the bit when they were walking home after the concert, where Kousei starts to run and scream at the night sky. i like how it shows that, even though he said the results don’t matter, even though he pretended everything was all dandy and not a big deal, he was still pretty upset by his first (and so far, only) loss in a competition (no matter how expected or predictable it was). it ties in with Takeshi’s thoughts of it being as though Kousei was actually human (although, only us viewers see this).
it DOES bother me, however, how the crowd can go so easily from calling him his mother’s puppet and talking about how she mistreats him to questioning how he can play even though his mother is dead and AFTER THAT being seemingly surprised at Kousei’s breakdown during the performance, which was a fault in the manga as well.
i know that isn’t from this episode, but i was reminded by the oddness of Tsubaki’s positioning in the screenshot.