Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – 12
Don’t like it? Tough.
Being a 22-episode show, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso had a longer break over the holidays than most shows. But now it’s back in winter so will we get a performance?
Summer Break
Still haven’t fixed the window, I see
We’re heading towards that July 31st date for the Gala Concert, and Kousei and Kaori are working on their piece. But the piece itself, Kreisler’s Love’s Sorrow, is creating discord. Kousei doesn’t understand why Kaori is insisting on playing it: it’s a rather down piece and doesn’t really fit the Gala style of showiness and celebration. Kousei argues they should play something else, and Kaori’s not budging.
Emi is terrible at disguises
But why is she? It’s a piece that she found in Kousei’s house, one that had been well loved (you can totally tell the pieces that are played the most in any music library), and because of this, she feels it’s very important to Kousei, although she doesn’t seem to know why. Kousei is fighting it because it’s a song that his mother played to him, many times, while he was growing up. And those memories trigger his worries about his break with his mother.
Maybe A New Perspective
An interesting backdrop for a talk about his mother
Hiroko provides a little bit of a new perspective for Kousei, however. One, that the piece is one that his mother played far longer than just for Kousei. But more than that, Hiroko tries to challenge his worries about the end of his mother’s life. Telling him to challenge his memories of his mother, his fears of her rejection, his fears of her punishment, and put that into his playing. Is this too harsh by Hiroko? She asks that of herself. But it’s the same thing everyone has thought.
Begging for assistance
Will he even get the chance to play, tho? The majority of the episode was consumed by The Case of the Missing Kaori, who doesn’t show up for their performance, and is unreachable by phone. Forget Charlie Brown, who Kaori keeps bringing up. They need Encyclopedia Brown to find her. Much running around ensues, and they even try to get bumped down the order to give her more time. But the Junior Champion holds his ground and his spotlight. Faced with no other choice, Kousei takes the stage alone. Will he play the Rachmaninoff arrangement for piano? Was this possibly Kaori’s plan, and she’s hiding in the audience (if so, she’s hiding better than Emi, who was outed immediately by her teacher). Or is this some effect of Kaori’s condition that’s rearing its head at the wrong time?
“If it’s you… Kousei… it’s ok…”
I hate the idea of Kaori’s illness. It feels like it’s this dark spectre that’s looming over the show, making it unenjoyable. And it may be the thing that ultimately ruins the show completely. Now, maybe it’s something that isn’t nearly as dire, since it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s that big of a deal to her parents, and the show’s playing it up to add this drama. Maybe I’d like it if it turned out like that, but it still feels like it’s ruining this show. I guess we’ll just have to see what comes up next time. I’d imagine we’ll get a whole episode of performance, because if I can guess what they’ll do, we’re going to have Kousei play the solo piece, and then have Kaori show up and play with him, thereby pissing off that judge again.
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: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I agree regarding the illness. I’m seriously hoping it doesn’t turn out to be something fatal and/or tragic, because that would probably ruin the show for me.
Hiroko’s kid sis soooo cute :3 The whole dancing routine outside the venue gave me a good chuckle.
One thought that came to mind… when Kousei almost drowned, and Ryouta revived him, did he give him CPR? He did call himself his savior…
I’m surprised Takeshi isn’t in the audience, unless he’s still moping around from the shocku Kousei gave him during the competition. I also didn’t see the fat angry jiji judge though, just the skinny glasses one.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Kureha is pretty cute, although I find that she’s mostly just another time-wasting device in a show that already uses plenty.
I thought Watari was just being his usual grandiose self trying to get a kiss out of one of the girls.
I think that’s the difference between Emi’s and Takeshi’s fascination with Kousei. Takeshi is only interested in beating him, while Emi is interested in learning more about him.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I wonder if Takeshi is pretty much out now. I’d be surprised if they just wrote him out of the story at this point, but I don’t see what he’d do at this point to help the story move along.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Oh, and that break was too long. I was going into withdrawal during the holidays =/
Wonder why they went with 22 instead of 24, or 26.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Noitamina shows are always 11 episodes per cour.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Oh right, I forgot about that. =/
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
At this point it really does look like they are heading right for the Bad End. A piece that has practically come to define Kousei’s mother, who died, is selected by Kaori, who may be dying. Geez, the nail is flush already folks.
I’ve fallen a bit behind in the manga, trying to keep pace to see how they develop the story, so I haven’t gotten this far.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…so, we have Kousei coming to accept his mother’s death with a more approach. Is this setting us up to do the same with Kaori? I hope they go for contrast…cause I genuinely like Kaori…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Is it fill-in-the-blank time? Oh boy!
*dun dun dun*
And the sentence is: “accept his mother’s death with a more ______ approach”!
Is the answer:
a) cry to “Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here”
b) rageguy
c) bunnies and rainbows
d) I am GOD
e) other
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
e) thoughtful
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
=P
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
They certainly are telegraphing the bad end. I guess the only thing we can hope from here is that they are trying to trick us. Even so, I find these dramatic interruptions a bit annoying. There was already a legitimate story to tell in the Gala performance, and this seems like they didn’t believe in the power of that story.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, there might still be that story to tell in the Gala, and they’re just stalling because they don’t have too much to tell after that, or didn’t want to.
I’ve defended Kaori’s antics with respect to the competitions before because I don’t agree with the judges (and other writers) about some sanctity of competitions. But this is different. Even back in the relative dark ages of the 80’s, when I was performing in piano competitions and recitals, we would keep people informed of what was going on if there was a problem. If there is some issue with Kaori’s health, it’s unconscionable for her parents, who know what’s going on, to not have contacted Kousei. If they’re late, they should contact him. And really, her parents don’t seem that scatterbrained that they’d leave her performance partner in the dark if something happened. These things are big deals, no matter what Kaori’s cavalier attitude toward them has been. So for that reason, I think there’s some shenanigans being pulled by Kaori individually (and because I’m hoping it’s not the stupid illness). But this kind of crap certainly won’t help her reputation with a public figure like Hiroko.