Your Lie in April Anime Review: Objectively, it’s great! Subjectively…meh.
One of the greatest things about animation is that you don’t have to watch real life actors/actresses butcher the act of fake-playing a musical instrument (I bet all you musicians out there can relate LOL). Your Lie in April is a 22 episode slice-of-life anime (currently on Netflix) about middle schoolers who bond over music. The main character, Kousei, is a gifted pianist who lost his mom at a young age and is still traumatized over it. And the second main character is a girl named Kaori, who’s a high-spirited violinist and wants to get Kousei out of his anti-piano rut. This show is very relatable to anyone who had a love/hate relationship with classical music while growing up. My absolute favorite part of this show was its animation (A-1 Pictures!), because everything looked gorgeous and bright. Other than that, I have some mixed feelings…
Disclaimer: The next paragraph will present a very subjective viewpoint of this anime, and most likely an unpopular opinion. Your Lie in April could have gone in one of two directions for me, and I personally did not like the direction it went in. It could have delved into the competitive side of being a musician and showed Kousei’s journey towards honing his talents. Or it could have gone in an emotional direction and focused on how music can lead to self-discovery. Call me heartless, but I was pretty disappointed that this show went predominantly in the emotional direction. For me, the most gripping part of the show was learning about Kousei’s piano “rivals” and watching the dramatization of playing the piano and competing in competitions. This anime creates a visual masterpiece of the emotional journey that people can take while playing music, which is not something I’ve seen done before! Imagine what this show could have accomplished if it went in a “sports anime” direction and focused more on those character journeys. I know I must still be in a Haikyu head space right now, because I just wanted to cheer for characters to win.
In conclusion…
Objectively, I think this anime hits all the right spots for a shoujo anime that is not predominantly about a boy and a girl falling in love. There’s competitiveness, personal growth, love, gorgeous animation, and an overall heartwarming story. However, on a personal level, I thought Kousei was annoying and Kaori was his manic pixie dream girl. I liked the characters when they were displaying passion for their music and their dreams, but I thought the ending was a bit cliche and didn’t hit me as hard as it did for others. Your Lie in April is not one of those shows I would eagerly recommend to my friends. The only thing I did love was the first OST because that song is a bop LOL. Linked below for your listening pleasure: