Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso 16 – 17

Jailbreak!

Hope everyone had a good Valentine’s Day, and now it’s time to see what’s happened in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso these past two episodes.

What Really Happened

Kaori implores Kousei to not forget

Well, we found out why Kaori didn’t make it to the gala concert, as she fell the night before and injured her head. But the more troubling part is that she fell because her legs stopped working. Whatever disease she has, it’s something that seems to interfere with her ability to use her extremities (at least first) as we’ve seen her lose use of her legs, and then later be unable to hold a bow. But she continues to keep these problems hidden, even going through with the act of dressing in her school uniform and meeting Kousei at the place of their second meeting. It’s a shame that the two of them can’t be honest with their feelings for the other, although it’s meaningful to the both of them that they go through the play of “Kousei is a stand-in for Watari”, even though they both know that the one they want to see is the other. But when she finally admits that she snuck out of the hospital, asking Kousei if he’ll forget her, the magic runs out, and while Kousei knows that she’s crying over something, he won’t ask her what it is.

Watari is as good as you can ask for in a friend

But Kousei is trying to figure out how to talk to Kaori. Seeing parallels between her and his mother doesn’t help him at all: moodiness, irritability, outbursts. Having the person he cares about most waste away in front of his eyes not once, but now twice, leaves him unable to figure out what to say. I did find it a bit surprising that he finally broke down with Watari about his feelings, and it was good that Watari finally told him what’s what, about who Kaori liked. I don’t know if that got through to Kousei, but having Watari drop his “all the girls love only me!” act was something I think Kousei needed to see. But then for Kaori to say he should just forget her, as if he could, as if a reset would be any way helpful. I can see her point that she’d like to interact with him the way they used to. But that’s not going to happen, there’s just too much of Kousei in the way. But he does come up with something he can finally do for her.

Kousei can’t stop her tears, tho

Imposing on Others

Less adversarial now

Nagi is still trying to outdo Kousei, although she’s definitely warming up to him. Apparently she is Takeshi’s little sister (last name shenanigans), and wants him to notice her. Is it love? Or is it just searching for respect and attention, the attention that Kousei’s always gotten from Takeshi? It seems more like the latter. And I don’t really get her goal in trying to study under Hiroko, or even Kousei. It doesn’t seem like she’s trying to sabotage him, because almost anything she could do would make her look worse than him. It’s more like she’s trying to steal, or at least copy, his mojo, find out what it is about him that so engrosses Takeshi. And it’s frustrating because Kousei is just Kousei, with nary a hint about what makes him special. But I think she starts to find out when she’s learning from him for her school’s festival, at least maybe a little. Wondering how much he practiced the piece, wondering how he can be so good.

Nagi needs some quiet time

And wondering how the pressure doesn’t get to him, the way it’s gotten to her. Hearing everyone at school talk about her. I wonder why she’s the talk of the school, especially as a first year. The show could have done a little better with her background, letting us know why this whole school that’s supposed to be good at performance is talking about her, such that a reporter would be there to hear her performance. And the pressure is definitely getting to her. The show gives Hiroko a chance to redeem herself, at least in her own eyes, as she blames Kousei’s breakdown on her own pushing to make him a pianist. But she’s able to reach Nagi without the same kind of problem and reassure her that she’s normal for feeling scared. And it’s true that even Kousei is scared of performances. So the two of them end up leaning on each other as they prepare for their performance.

What is Nagi’s aim out of this? Is it to show her brother that she is on Kousei’s level? She was having trouble figuring out something to play for the festival, and this is definitely a way to get attention, although one wonders if having Arima Kousei there would take too much spotlight off of her. I expect the next episode will be their performance, and that will probably take up the whole thing, leaving 4 episodes for whatever the rest of the story is, dealing with Kaori (and her likely death at this point) and Tsubaki and her jealousy / longing. It’s only natural for Tsubaki to feel that little bit relieved that Kousei isn’t rushing to Kaori all the time. But does she have a chance? Probably not, at least not during the run of this show, I’d say.