Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – 03
Let’s Fly!
Sometimes you have someone trying to give you help you don’t want.
A Date with Friend A
From This to That in a minute
Continuity. So far this show has directly continued the story over each episode break. That’s something that I like to see when they end an episode on a ‘moment’ like they’ve been doing. This time, Kaori and Kousei are going out for sweets, with Kousei as the ‘substitute’ for Watari. Personally, I find Kaori a little bit too high amplitude for my tastes, going from “This is so good!!!” to “Don’t you dare make me look bad in front of little kids” in a heartbeat. Sure, Kousei is a bit of a pill, but we’ve seen that seesaw out of Kaori before. One could make the argument that you need to be passionate to bring out that kind of music that she’s played, but it’s still something I don’t really find cute or endearing.
A nice subtle transition, like a cloud passing over
But that’s not her only trait. She pushes for what she wants. And right away, she wants Kousei to play the piano. Is she trying to get him to play from the very beginning? I asked last week whether Kaori knew who Kousei was, even though she didn’t indicate that she knew him. The answer is that she knew all about him. Not just hearsay, not just “I recognized him”. Close to idolatry, she says that “we all look up to you.” And she’s not really having any of his reason for not playing anymore. She even appoints him as her accompanist for the next round of the violin competition.
Full Court Press
Take a hint already
When Kaori’s interests align with Tsubaki’s interest, there’s nothing that’s going to stop them. So Kaori wanting Kousei to accompany her gets Tsubaki’s full support, and results in a week of harassment: Commandeering the school PA system to play the piece, Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo Cappricioso on repeat, copying about 1000 sheets of music to leave all over the music room, his house, the outside of Tsubaki’s house, stuff his shoe box, even change his phone wallpaper and stick it in his textbook. But Kousei doesn’t give in, and even hides from them to avoid it. Never mind that even if he agrees, they won’t have time to practice. Heck, he probably can’t even prepare, even if he did have any confidence in his own playing.
The most out there attempt
But that doesn’t stop Kaori from an emotional confrontation when she should be at the competition. Although it doesn’t really matter if she was there, since her only chance at an accompanist is Kousei. We also had an emotional statement from Tsubaki, who rebuffs Kaori’s idea that she likes Kousei with her hopes that if he plays the piano again, even if he doesn’t stick with it, it will break him out of the rut that he’s stuck in. And I totally agree with Kousei that you can’t just be an accompanist for something like that. Yeah, he’s making excuses, but he’s also right that it’s a different thing from being a concert pianist. And he’s also right that he can’t give a performance he’d be happy with, even if he would be able to hear it. But Kaori’s not willing to accept that he’s giving up, or any of his excuses. So she succeeds where Tsubaki hasn’t been able to, by giving him a new perspective: It’s not about playing as well as you can. It’s about playing for yourself.
“See? See? He was in the shadow and now he’s coming out!!”
The story developed nicely, but I thought they laid it on a bit too thick this episode, particularly with the last scene. Crying Kaori, who hasn’t shown any propensity for that, seemed a little too much over the top, and overall the symbolism in this episode was pretty heavy-handed. It was almost like the director was sitting next to me, elbowing me in the ribs and saying “Hey, hey, did you see that? Did you see that Kousei was in the shadow and Kaori was in the light? And then Kousei came into the light!!! Didja get it? It’s his life changing.” I felt it was just a bit obnoxious. It was significantly better earlier in the episode, when Kaori learned of Kousei’s not hearing his playing, and the color saturation dipped, just a little bit, between cuts. That was much more of a reward to see, and more effective in setting the mood without pushing you to think “Oh here’s gonna be a big scene.” The episode was good overall, but I could have done with a bit defter touch.
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: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I agree it was a touch heavy-handed. I am looking forward to seeing how they handle the performance, however. So far the only real performance scene was Kaori’s at the fist round of the competition. The other scenes have been short teasers (like the ice cream shop piano) or very specific to the plot (like the melodica). If the show indicates that we will get extended concert performances every couple of episodes, I will probably stick around, even if the plot gets melodramatic.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 27 comments
Arima should know what he’s talking about since he’s been playing the piano for longer than anyone in his group when he said the accompanist is different from the concert pianist. I haven’t been on board with this anime from the beginning and I’m not too convinced here. And he’s the one with the trauma which his friends don’t really know the origin or solutions. It is understandable since they are just teenagers. Overall, not a good idea to have him try to face the demon especially so sudden and in the concert of all the places. At least I do like Tsubaki since she seems to understand a little bit even if Arima wouldn’t have told her anything.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I tried being an accompanist for someone one time. It didn’t go so well, but they also didn’t do so well. It’s a very difficult thing to do when you’re used to failing one way as a recital / concert pianist and having to fail in a different way as an accompanist.
I think that it’s a very middle school way to deal with Kousei’s problems here. And like Tsubaki says: she doesn’t know if he’ll continue or not, but she wants to get him out of this in-between. Their approach would at least be good for that.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’ve read some other reviews, one in particular focuses on bullying. Which I don’t think is the best read on the situation. This is nudging, and prodding, and pushing. It’s a heavy handed way to help a friend, but these kids aren’t perfect.
My own read on Kaori’s very emotional moment toward the end can go one of two ways. One, she is totally playing him. Two, she really is set on him being her there to support her. I’ve called her a Manic Pixie Girl, and this episode is not disproving that. I’m leaning more towards the second idea. Somehow I can’t shake that she honestly thinks something magical will happen if she is with him, and he with her.
But, like you say, if they can get him out of his haunted in between zone, then something good may happen.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It feels very over-sensitive to think that this is “bullying”. I would not characterize a week of attention-grabbing as bullying. It’s certainly not “We want to help you in the most friendly way possible.” But it’s not going too far, for my view.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I wanted to rewatch this one. Did we forget to talk about the hospital foreshadowing?