DGFischer

Your lie in April has all the qualities of being a great romance story.  The cast had the looks, the disposition, the opportunities.  It was just that the romance-concept was constantly being muscled out by several other factors that, together, made this series a memorable viewing.  A powerful story can have a place for syrupy-sweetness, but it has to contrast with a lot of sandpaper at times.

One facet that overwhelms one in watching Your lie in April demands more from your ears than your eyes.  Classical music for some can be a drudgery.  I myself love the orchestral and small ensemble pieces.  Virtuosi are such show-offs.  But this is a piece about a virtuoso whose life has been shattered.  I speak of Kousei Arima, whose oppressive mother has driven Kousei to the peak of perfection (her dream being fulfilled in her son).  Her death left Kousei empty, incapable of playing the piano again.  Then there are the other virtuosi who wish to bring him back to the stage.  At the top of this list is Kaori Miyazono, a violinist whose freestyle approach to performance contrasts sharply with Kousei's metronomic perfectionism.  There are also Kousei's fellow child prodigies, Emi Igawa and Takeshi Aiza, who wishes Kousei to return so they can beat the musical snot out of him in competition (rivalries can be fun, too).  Then we have Aiza's younger sister Nagi, who takes on Kousei as an instructor to prove that she too can surpass her talented brother, and Kousei, too, if he doesn't watch out.

Then there are the psycho-dramas which everyone touching a musical instrument tends to have as they perform.  You'd think they would be concentrating on their performance.  Kousei tends to beat himself up as he plays.  Emi plots destruction of all performers who would even think of out-playing her.  Takeshi seeks to finally come up from under Kousei's shadow.  But musicians aren't the only ones to get introspective.  Tsubaki wonders how she can get Kousei to notice that she wants to be more than Kousei's protector.  Hiroko ponders how she can best break through Kousei's resistance to work at the piano.

Third thing which derails a good romance going are, ironically, the pairings you do have.  Nothing perfect, but just enough to give one the wisps of possible love triangles.  Kousei's best friend Ryouta and childhood friend Tsubaki are naturally gifted athletes, but they can't rise above friendship.  Ryouta and Kaori are the hotties in their class, but ... there's this lie going on, a lie not revealed until the very end.  Kousei and Tsubaki are childhood friends and see each other as brother/sister (another lie).  then, the big one, Kousei and Kaori.  Kaori is hard on Kousei, whom she calls 'Friend A.'  She punches him, drives him to get back to the stage, and is just as oppressive as mommy dearest.  Even in the likeliest places romance gets stomped on.

But now, the plot.  Kousei will not play because he had wished his sickly mother dead.  And she dies.  So, for two years Kousei will not play the piano, insisting that he cannot hear the notes he is playing.  Then, Kaori enters his life, and she demands that he accompanies her in a violin performance.  it is difficult for Kousei, but he finds himself comfortable once more.  But ... Kaori is dying.  And all hangs on a surgery which she must undergo as Kousei must give the performance of his life.

The anime technique is dynamic.  From the sheen of stage lights glaring off piano, to the clever character designs, to that mystic final performance that Kousei finds himself having with Kaori.  All stops pulled for this series (note the musical reference here?).  And the music sweeps one away, even if you are not taken with the genre.

The ending is ponderous as everything is unraveled (Ravel ... another musical reference? ... no) in the final episode.  And romance, it gets there.  You are just glad that Kousei has regained his bearings, and all will go well with him and the girl he has found to have been his mainstay.  It is an anime project I would recommend with all my heart.