Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – 04
Kaori is a force on stage
Can they make it in time? And will Kousei even be able to play if they do? It’s time for the second round of the competition, and for Kaori and Kousei to make their debut.
What Am I Even DOING Here?
Kaori breaks him out of his reverie
First tho, Kaori’s gotta get Kousei on the stage. Like he was all week, like he was on the roof, he’s still not sure he can do this. The same excuses: he’s not an accompanist, he can’t play anymore, he’s not prepared, they won’t be satisfied with the performance. Always hesitating, always holding back. But Kaori’s not that way. Always pulling, always moving forward, she’s literally pulling Kousei onto the stage. “Look up, look at me.” Look out of that cage of sheet music you’ve been trapped in. Once again, she has that freedom that Kousei didn’t know anyone could have, but in seeing it, he’s entranced.
She might deny it, but to Kousei, SHE is the freedom
Kaori’s personality is the driving force behind all she does. At this point, it’s unclear why she’s focused its power on Kousei, tho. Tsubaki? We understand her. She wants Kousei to be happy, she wants him to come out of his self-imposed mental exile. As she said last week, she doesn’t even care if he keeps playing the piano or not, but she wants him out of the box that he’s put himself in. But why is Kaori doing this? She even showed doubts yesterday (in the show) that this was the right thing to do for Kousei. But today, it’s full speed ahead. Perhaps that’s because it’s time to fish or cut bait, they’re headed for the stage.
The best drawing of Kaori so far
But something else that’s becoming clear to me is that she’s basically been holding back on Kousei: her knowledge of him, her responses to him. I wonder if she recognized him from the very beginning, seeing him while she was playing with the kids, and just went along with Tsubaki’s “Friend A” business. At every turn, she’s been way ahead of Kousei. Is it because he’s just that legendary? Or is it because she’s generally interested in him. It’s even to the point where I think she was actually waiting for him, not for Watari. If she was interested in Watari, I would have thought that she’d have talked about him quite a bit more. Yet we saw none of that. Did Kousei’s piano affliction cut that off? Did it just get edited out? I don’t really think so. The more we see, the more I think that Kaori’s been interested in Kousei, at least in his opinion and his approval, from almost the beginning.
And Now the Test
Bad mom… and good mom
Once on stage, the buzz spreads quickly: Arima is the accompanist. I liked the audience judge (he hasn’t been named, but he’s the voice of the judges for us) wondering what they had planned. The answer: nothing. There’s no plan, there’s no practice, there’s no ready. This is just “Let’s a go!” But from the start, Kousei’s thinking the wrong thing. How it’s not too hard, how he’s glad it’s this piece. And then his mom shows up, and it starts falling apart. The flood, the silence. No matter how hard he bangs the keys, he can’t hear it. But everyone else can. He is ruining the performance, turning the crowd against him (“Why is he messing up her performance?”). And finally, he just gives up. But at least this time he’s asking the question: “Why, I’m pounding the keys so hard, why is the only thing I can’t hear my piano?”
Everything about the animation of the piano in this series has been excellent, including this symbolism of Kousei’s affliction
But Kaori’s not going to let him go. She hasn’t said it, but we know why she’s in this competition: It’s not to win. It’s not to even compete. It’s so people can hear her music. And this time, her music includes Kousei. And for once, we see a different side of Kousei’s mom. Not the broken wretch, trying to transfer her pain and failure into her young son, but before that, a lively loving woman, teaching her son not to bang on the piano, but treat it like a baby. And so steeled, Kousei joins back in with Kaori, but not as an accompanist. This time it’s as a soloist, the way he knows how to play, even if he can’t hear the notes. Answering the power of Kaori’s violin. And tho she chides him for trying to steal the spotlight, I think she’s delighted to rise to the challenge. I think this is the music she wanted to play with Kousei, the performance she wanted to give. She wanted someone at her level, someone she could punch who would punch back. And having found that person, she gives it her all, leaving everything on the stage, even her body as she collapses after the performance.
An excellent episode, I thought, perhaps with the exception of the cliché of Kaori collapsing. We’ll see how they continue that next week, and I hope that it can pull out something good. Perhaps it will forestall a debrief of their performance, as that could have ruined the mood if they talked about his initial failure. But that doesn’t seem like what Kaori would want to talk about anyway. She’s an exceptional (in more than one way) young player: willing to flout the standards of the competition, interested only in her performance being received by the audience. And I think she wanted Kousei along in part because he could bring her level up.
She saw it
But what’s getting complicated is the romance angle of the show. A lot happened in 8 minutes of performance, and none of it was lost on the two people in the audience that mattered, Watari and Tsubaki. She saw the look that Kousei gave Kaori. You could almost hear Tsubaki’s heart cracking over the sound of the performance when she saw that. But at the same time, Watari’s possessiveness of Kaori increased. Does he have any claim on her? He saw a sparkle in her that he hadn’t seen before. Is he falling for her? And if he is, will it come down to, as he said in episode 2, the girl he is crushing on being in love with someone else, but still sparkling in his eyes? That would be an intriguing turnaround. And is Tsubaki realizing the same thing? Who says that it only applies to guys?
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: 900-999 with 915 comments
That was a beautiful performance, animation-wise. Specially after the break, it was so much fun seeing them competing and smiling at each other as they played. And that moment when Tsubaki just noticed that things might be backfiring, I felt her… I just wonder how can someone see another person’s eyes from that distance, but oh well, it’s anime alright.
I liked how Kousei didn’t even notice how that moment with Kaori butting her head on his was so intimate. Their faces were so close but he was so focused on her and on the performance that he didn’t have any thoughts about that being actually embarassing in any ways.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
This is the best music performance animation that I’ve seen (including shows like Sakamichi no Appollon, K-On!, and Haruhi). And I don’t think that will change as we move along.
A concert hall isn’t that big, and it’s certain that Tsubaki could see Kousei’s look. And it was nice that they didn’t devolve into blushing. That might make it more of an event if there IS blushing later.
POWUH: iLurker with 11 comments
Highway and JPNIgor, I glad to know you guys loved the music performance, knowing that it took 500+ drawing
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I’m really glad that they came through on the performance aspect in episode four. If they had moved too quickly through that part, or the way they handled it felt “cheap”, I would have dropped this show. Instead, they delivered, and I will continue to watch.
Now I should say, I’m still in the Nodame Cantabile (s1) camp for best performance anime, but they did a great job here. It takes a lot to get added to that list you created, and I am really glad Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso has qualified to be on the list.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
One certainly can’t say that spending the whole episode on it ws too quickly. And I think the quality and quantity of instrument playing in this series far exceeds anything I’ve seen. Those shows I mentioned ranged from a single performance to rare performances (what did K-On! have, 5 in 3 cours?) to maybe every other one for Sakamichi no Apollon. I haven’t seen Nodame Cantabile, which is why I said “that I’ve seen”, but I think we’re liable to see much more in the performance vein in this show, since I really do think it’s relatively cheaper to produce the drawings of the piano movement by CG.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Think I need to watch Nodame.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
It’s very good.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’ve seen comments elsewhere, from those that have seen it already, that KimiUso feels like a second coming. Hype much? Or not…
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
The theme is completely different. Nodame is more light-hearted than KimiUso and has some really nice comic moments.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh, this is good news. I like that approach.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I hope Kaori doesn’t turn out to have one of those fatal diseases (usually suffered by the heroine) the entertainment industry likes to throw into a show to play upon the audience’s feelings. It’s been used so much that it’s become a cheap trick. However, that would help explain why she doesn’t care about winning competitions but does want people to hear her music and remember her. “I want them to remember me when I’m gone!”
I think it very likely that Kaori as a child heard Kousei playing. And that may have helped inspire her to take up music and so she does know who he is from the start of the show. That would also explain why she wants him to play with her so bad–it’s always been her desire for the two of them to play together.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Oh man, don’t make me go look for spoilers…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
So don’t and if you do, don’t tell us what you find. I really, really, hope that thought of mine is wrong, but I just couldn’t help thinking it.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I actually was thinking the same thing when she fainted, “Fatal Disease”.
What would make it cool, though, is if she died, and then the rest of the series was how Kousei continues to play in her absence. If it ends with her dying I will be disappointed. There is too much of that already.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
“Picking a fight with the composer”, “The two sound like they are brawling”. So much implied violence in classical music…Where’s the mosh pit?
Oh, goodness, not the sick heroine syndrome has no time thing! It’s like the Barrier Maiden trope! Even the parodies of it are like flogging a dead horse.
Other than that, great episode. I really was on the edge of me seat during the performance.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
You’ve *heard* classical music. It’s quite a bit more than implied.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeaaaaah. I was glad they played Saint-Saen’s.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
It’s not just a dead horse. The horse has been reduced to a skeleton.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Now they are grinding the bones to dust.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
For those interested, the full OP on the Goose house YouTube channel.