Your Lie in April - Episode 2 - Friend A

Classical Pieces: Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer Sonata)

One of the drawbacks of reviewing a completed series is that you love it and don't want to stop watching it.  You want to go to the next episode without stopping and if you find yourself limited on time to spend the 20-30 minutes to write a review the end result is perhaps a few days between watching.

Because classical music is such an important part of this series, I thought I'd add an extra feature to these reviews and list any classical performance pieces featured in an episode.  For the second episode, it is Beethoven's Kreutzer.

Kosei, Tsubaki and Watari enter the Towa Hall auditorium to watch Kaori perform her competition piece.  Watari falls asleep almost immediately and Tsuabki laments her boredom that everyone is playing the same piece.  Kosei explains that because it is a competition they are all expected to play the same piece; however, this competition is interesting in that the violinists all have piano accompaniments.

Kaori, who is fourth in line to play, shocks Kosei and the entire crowd by playing the piece without regard for how it was written.  The lead judge even comments that she "might as well be picking a fight with [Beethoven]. The show ramps up the volume of her performance, compared to those who came before her, and we are treated to the first of what will eventually be many great classical performance pieces.  One of the most impressive features of the show is how accurate the movements of the characters are when playing.  In adding this detail, it adds to the realism of the show, which sets it apart as the show could have just as easily been lazy with the animation.
Kosei's eyes sparkle at the first note from her bow.  Kaori gets a standing ovation from the crowd but the judges are not impressed.  Kosei's words at the bumper are simple yet poignant, "She's beautiful."

As expected Kaori does not place but is nonetheless picked as the audience's choice.  But we quickly get a good glimpse into Kaori's personality as she doesn't care at all about her rank, she only wanted to play.  Kosei praises her performance and then resigns himself as be only Friend A, a fill in to alievate Tsubaki from being in an awkward situation,

The episode ends with Tsubaki threatening Watari for neglecting Keiko and forcing him to walk the unshown girl home.  Kosei on his way home encounters Kaori, who he has been thinking about during his walk.  He persuades her not to return to the school to look for Watari and she tells him that he'll serve as an acceptable substitute to accompany her. 

Once again, the art is great.  Some of the facial expressions are very nuanced and I love the color scheme in the final scene of the show. 

Observations on Second Viewing (spoilers):

The visual of the double doors opening as Kosei enters Towa Hall was seems like possible foreshadowing of Kosei dusting himself off and beginning to play the piano again. His tapping along to his chair, trying to mimic the piano score is another sign he hasn't lost his desire to play, contrary to what he may say in the subsequent episodes.

When Kaori says "Elohim Essaim." This apparently has its origins in some spell that can summon black magic but Elohim is the Hebrew word for G-d, so I think this may be something akin to "G-d, please hear me."  Just before it, she hoes that her music will reach "them" and I wonder if she's really talking about the audience or just Kosei.

After the performance, Kaori is really seeking Kosei's approval.  His initial hesitancy to praise her has an immediate impact and in retrospect we know how much it means to her.

I don't know if this will be an ongoing trend, but Watari really serves as a strong third party observer to the series.  He says what we as the viewer are thinking and in some ways want to say to Kosei in the same situation. I love the response, "It's only natural for the girl you're crushing on to be in love with someone else," when Kosei laments Kaori would never be interested in him.

Final thoughts: is that Kaori is an impressive actress.  We know that she wanted to meet Kosei all along and her ability to manipulate him into escorting her is impressive.  Seeing the act she puts up is amusing.

And to answer your question Kosei, as to what that feeling is called... it's kismet.

Your Lie in April - Episode 1 - Monotone/Colorful

Our introduction to Kaori Miyazono.

Your Lie in April begins with the story of Kosei Arima, a child piano prodigy who has abandoned his playing.  His late mother was his teacher and very abusive towards her young son in her quest to get him to achieve perfection.  Tsubaki, his childhood friend and neighbor, is a classic tomboy.  During baseball practice, she hits a home run that breaks the window of the nearby music room, where Kosei is transcribing popular music and nails him in the head.  Rounding out the trio of friends is Watari, the attractive and popular captain of the soccer team.  While one would think the three make an odd pairing at first glance, the friendship between the three is genuine.  After introducing us to three of the four main players, the major moving point in the plot is that Tsubaki asks Kosei to accompany her during her quest to set up Watari with a classmate, Kaori Miyazono.

At the meeting spot, Kosei arrives first and ends up meeting our female protagonist in what could be called not ideal circumstances for an introduction.  Kaori steals the scene in the playground, which will be a recurring thing throughout the series, and while the comedy is nothing laugh out loud, seeing her reaction to her first encounter with Kosei is amusing. As a married man, I've seen that face once or twice from my wife.

The first episode has some of the typical anime tropes in it but thankfully this will be lacking in future episodes.  Additionally, the background music does a wonderful job setting the tone. We've not gotten any of the performance pieces yet but even when no one is on stage, the music is always great.  Moreover, in spite of the massive anime eyes, which can be a turnoff for some, the artwork is top notch. The scene of Kosei standing before his mother telling her he desires to make her well again through his playing is honestly a little uncomfortable in how well drawn it is.

Observations on Second Viewing: 

Although pointed out in the final fifteen minutes of the series, the entire first scene where Kaori and Kosei meet takes on a whole different meaning.  Their eyes meeting means so much for her and I love how she casually wipes the tears from her eyes and tries to pass it off as blowing too hard into the melodica.  In a second viewing, those few seconds take on such an important meaning that just simply one can't appreciate the first time around.

I also wonder what was going on in Kaori's head when Kosei initially tried to pass on watching the recital.  Managing to maintain the the illusion of being interested in Watari, she grabs hold of Kosei's hand and forcefully drags him along. The close up of Kaori's eyes speak so much to what's going on inside her head and you can observe that mix of joy to be with him and the desperation to keep him with her.