Your Lie in April. 10/10. I'm gonna copy-paste my review on MAL real quick
also Tsubaki best girl
My MAL Review (spoiler-free but looooooong)
Two of the three stacks you may have already saw in the anime's main page is "Romance Anime Worth your Time" and "Anime for Non-Anime Watchers". This anime fits these categories perfectly. I can guarantee you that it IS WORTH YOUR TIME even though you aren't an anime fan.
This show is more about the sentiments and emotions rather than a good story writing. Don't expect a Pulitzer-award-worthy plot here, but this show never failed to deliver its excellent execution in storytelling. While some people may argue that it doesn't have a "clear identity on whether it's a romance or music anime" or "it's too predictable", I'd argue that the story is neither about identity nor uniqueness; It's about a journey. A journey of a pianist named Arima Kousei. About how he overcome his trauma of music. How he pulled a "quit w" but comes back to it. And how he moves on with his life. It's not just Kousei's journey either, although I can't say much on that otherwise it'd be quite a spoiler.
The sentimentality is also reinforced by the use of Classical music (To be honest, without it the entire show would feels very cringey.). Especially since most of the classics that got featured in the show is from the Romantic Era, which is known for emphasizing in "personal emotional expression". The use of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty waltz", played in Episode 18, and Chopin's Ballade Nr. 1 in the last episode, in particular, are good examples of how to utilize music, as a medium, to convey all the emotions and sentimentality to the viewers. And how to neatly execute it. As an occasional listener of classical music myself, I think this show will definitely change the perspectives of those who think that "meh classical music is boring".
I was originally going to rate this anime a 9/10. But after finishing it and going to the rating page, my mouse cursor moved on its own to the "10 (masterpiece)" rating so I guess it is what it is, a masterpiece. Provided that you don't get any MAJOR spoilers or you hate classical music to your bones, you'll enjoy it. As I said, this show is 100% worth your time.
This show is more about the sentiments and emotions rather than a good story writing. Don't expect a Pulitzer-award-worthy plot here, but this show never failed to deliver its excellent execution in storytelling. While some people may argue that it doesn't have a "clear identity on whether it's a romance or music anime" or "it's too predictable", I'd argue that the story is neither about identity nor uniqueness; It's about a journey. A journey of a pianist named Arima Kousei. About how he overcome his trauma of music. How he pulled a "quit w" but comes back to it. And how he moves on with his life. It's not just Kousei's journey either, although I can't say much on that otherwise it'd be quite a spoiler.
The sentimentality is also reinforced by the use of Classical music (To be honest, without it the entire show would feels very cringey.). Especially since most of the classics that got featured in the show is from the Romantic Era, which is known for emphasizing in "personal emotional expression". The use of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty waltz", played in Episode 18, and Chopin's Ballade Nr. 1 in the last episode, in particular, are good examples of how to utilize music, as a medium, to convey all the emotions and sentimentality to the viewers. And how to neatly execute it. As an occasional listener of classical music myself, I think this show will definitely change the perspectives of those who think that "meh classical music is boring".
I was originally going to rate this anime a 9/10. But after finishing it and going to the rating page, my mouse cursor moved on its own to the "10 (masterpiece)" rating so I guess it is what it is, a masterpiece. Provided that you don't get any MAJOR spoilers or you hate classical music to your bones, you'll enjoy it. As I said, this show is 100% worth your time.
also Tsubaki best girl