Forum - View topicYour Lie in April (TV).
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4084 |
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You're right about "wasting time", the series has just introduced two characters who are only here because they set Kousei as their goal- the "one they want to get stronger than" like this was some sort of shounen battler. What am I looking for? In a word, narrative. Even in these responses for episode 9, I see a lot of people casting about for something real to latch on to. "He wants to play." Presumed, never vocalized {though wanting to play with Tsubaki and Watari was; Is that what was meant?}. If he really wanted to play then wouldn't he have kept his own piano in better shape? And that has has nothing to do with direct competition; Isn't Kaori's idea like rehabilitating a professional swimmer who drowned and is now afraid of the water by throwing them into the deep end of the pool? "She is ill." Hints have been dropping since the start but now there's... no, we're still in the same spot. "He was abused." As if that wasn't clear from the cat incident. There's a lot going on theoretically but not really; I'm still waiting for people to start talking. But, no, what they're doing is making assumptions like "this is what I want and that person will want the same." Even Kousei doesn't seem to make connections; In the present storyline's competition, he approaches the piano because he thinks he's a musician like Emi but spoiler[after his mother's death but before losing the music], he's says that is the way he's built. He's a machine, not an artist. He never had an epiphany or any grand creative desire; Does his life really boil down to being a great pianist because that's what people tell him what he is {not even "who"}? The Kousei who just wanted to play dodge ball with his friends had a better goal in life. |
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HaruhiToy
 Posts: 4118 |
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Although I would agree, no social service would categorize it as abuse to remove a pet that had scratched a child. As to what she did with the cat ... On the other hand bruises and beatings are definitely actionable. These weren't must mere spankings either -- at the end she was hitting with a cane and even broke his glasses with a head strike. The fact that he had to lie to his friends (amazing he actually had any) about where the bruises came from tells you what you need to know. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11365 |
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Now that you bring that up, I think I don't understand what they're trying to accomplish with the blood. There is a stark difference between the slapstick, cartoon violence in previous scenes of abuse by his friends, especially Kaori, and the scenes of his abuse by his mother, but when the blood is depicted exactly the same (I think it even comes from the same side of his head, but I don't feel like sitting through ads again to find out), it kinda feels like they were trying to innoculate me against taking it so seriously in the latter... or something. I don't know what to make of it.
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HaruhiToy
Posts: 4118 |
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If you are thinking that AIYL is sending mixed messages with the tone of its visuals I can only agree. However it is hardly the only anime to do so. It might be my imagination but I think there have been more anime recently that feature both cartoonish foolery with what should be serious subject matter. Brynhildr comes to mind and I complained about this then only to be told so what. Years ago I though the same thing about Elfin Lied but I never found anyone in agreement with my criticism of it for that. There are a number of others and I don't know if it establishes a trend or not but it does seem to be something that shows up in anime often enough to be considered typical. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11365 |
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I'm not just talking about cartoon violence alternating with serious violence with consequences. Akame ga Kill! is rife with that. But usually there is a definite attempt, or at least there's some consistency, to separate the cartoon (like using SD in this series) from serious. The visuals follow certain rules to allow you to distinguish them. But here the use of blood seems to cross the borders of their visual cues for serious/silly content. I haven't noticed that in other series and it's confusing me about how they'd like me respond to it or what they're trying to tell me.
(Elfin Lied I think (it's been years) is completely different in that you might laugh at how extreme the violence gets, but it's not intended to be received as not serious violence since it does have consequences) |
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Episode 10:
Good episode overall although first half felt a bit slow. Still, I like spoiler[how Kousei was able to bounce back after realizing what's in front of him and who and what he is playing for. It might not be the best piece of music he has played but I give some praise for completing it.] Now spoiler[he hasn't overcome his fear of the past yet but I got a feeling someone else might change that soon.] |
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Bugnin
Posts: 575 |
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That was tough to get through. Nails on a chalkboard uncomfortable.
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HaruhiToy
Posts: 4118 |
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I don't know how much more underwater concert disaster I could possibly put up with. Talk about a mixed review. It seems pretty clear Kousei spoiler[didn't win the competition by a long shot] but that wasn't the objective. Now to the next gut-wrenching crisis. When does he spoiler[get to learn that Kaori is about to die?] |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15466 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Yeah it was not quite about winning for him, it is like how everyone had told him that he needed to play as himself. The song kind of illustrated his fear and hope. I am still of the opinion that there must have been a better way he could have had to get emotionally better.
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Bugnin
Posts: 575 |
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I don't know if we're going that route. Kaori being terminally ill would serve no purpose. Her medical condition, whatever it is, provides her with her own physical struggle to mirror Kousei's mental struggle. I don't think her death would serve a purpose. |
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Bugnin
Posts: 575 |
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IMO he was so deep in the tank that he had to force himself to break free. I don't know how that was going to happen except under extreme pressure where running away was not an option. Up until he met Kaori, he took the easy way out instead. Even now, it isn't like kousei can just cure himself through force of will. It's more about persevering and discovering his own identity after being in his mother's shadow his entire life. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15466 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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It would be like with his mother, but instead of feeling like music was a bad part of it, it will instead be a positive part in being able to show emotions and one's existence. I really don't think that it was a coincidence that in the same episode we were shown very similar packets for medication for both Kaori and the mother, not saying they have the same thing but that he will have insight into what his mother felt and have a do over to get over the problem. How genuine you consider that message may be up to question. |
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Bugnin
Posts: 575 |
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That's an interesting viewpoint. I suppose the reason I can't go there with you is that I don't believe Kousei is having a grief crisis; I think he's having an identity crisis and he's allowing his mother's death to hold him back. I do think everyone would love some insight into what made his mother tick. How she lived is more important to this story than how she died. I give this show more credit than to make her out to be as generic abusive parent. I think Kaori's death would unnecessarily complicate matters. Kousei already has one mental hurdle I doubt he will ever fully recover from. I think a second death of someone close to him in the world of music would be a little too much angst piled on. I'm very interested to see him climb that first mountain. It will be interesting to see which of us is right. Hopefully the series will provide some finality. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4084 |
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I don't think there's a lot there; Her life was escalating desperation and despair but rather than giving her hopes and aspirations to her son to carry after she died, she saddled him with the equivalent of her own personal failures for him to overcome before she died. Her biggest mistake wasn't even the physical abuse, it was suggesting to Kousei that only his playing could save her. But then there's this baffling aspect to it: That she didn't seem all that intent on a legacy but she wanted the best ten year old player in the world as a student and a child right then so she could experience a bit of success before dying, even if it's by proxy. And after she died, she didn't seem to care at all. It's like she wanted him to burn out after she died. Even the two other music tutors have a bit more to their worth, even if it's hard to tell how much of their concern is for their students or their own accolades. Kaori, to her credit, is more interested in having people remember her {sure, totally not terminal; Teens think of their mortality all the time} rather than simply basking in her and her student's successes. On the down side, she's not interested in Kousei's problems, only a solution to the problem she seems to be purposely ignoring. |
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Bugnin
Posts: 575 |
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If that's all there is, I'll be disappointed. Kousei's mother was supposedly a great pianist herself; she didn't need to live vicariously through her son. I think this show is better than to have the stereotypical, pointlessly abusive parent. Yes she obviously did a lot of damage, but I'd like to know how much of her abuse was influenced by her decaying state of mind. In other words, was she just as abusive before she got sick? |
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