(L+CR) Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (NoitaminA)

[DOmus]

Originally Posted by steam fish

i dont get how they all act like being a human metronome is all bad. i mean isnt it a good skill to play every note correctly?

I think they feel frustrated that not a single trace of the player is being put in the play, like if only a recorder were there. Instead u see how the feelings of the others are transmitted to the audience.

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by steam fish

i dont get how they all act like being a human metronome is all bad. i mean isnt it a good skill to play every note correctly?

From a technical perspective it is impressive. However, by playing 100% like it's written, without any variation or any feelings, a play lacks any component of the artist behind that instrument playing it. Nothing of his interpretation of the work and nothing of his emotions while playing it.

[SuitUp]

I'm watching this, and, as much as I love Kaori (and believe me, her arquetype is my weakness), no amount of love (from her or anyone, really) can cure Arima of his trauma without professional help, it just runs so deep... I feel like I'm watching Silver Linnings Playbook but at least bipolar desorder can be (if only partially) managed by meds, but this guy's scars? He needs a therapist, like now.
Also, while watching the ep. I felt this insane urge to strangle the mother, who may very well had a foot on the grave at that moment, but seeing her hitting a 12 year old with a cane? Just for enjoying the very thing she trained him for?... People have been jailed/killed for a lot less...

On a lighter subject, I perfectly understand why people frown upon Arima's playing, music itself started as a way to express feelings, the people composing the very scores he's playing wrote it trying to express something, so it would feel somewhat wrong for someone not to pour at least a little bit of himself in the music since the very concept of artistic ego is a natural thing for humans (with limits, off course, there was very little meaning on Liberace's piano playing, for example ).

[thundrakkon]

This show is really fantastic. I feel that it, so far, is better than the last musical NOITAMINA show, Kids on the Slope. Maybe it's on par with Nodame Cantabile.

One of things that really stood out was that Kaori had her head down before and during Kousei's performance. One reason was because she was nervous. I think the other reason is because she knew Kousei was going to fail, and she put him through it. She just wanted to force him to take a step forward. How it goes from here will be interesting to see.

There were also similarities mentioned between Kaori having a lot of medicine in restroom, and then you see Kousei's mom with a lot of medicine in her hospital bedroom. Both are very sick, and both wanted Kousei to play better. Kaori seems to need Kousei's approval, while Kousei seemed to need his mother's approval.

LOL At Emi almost confessing. I wanted to her to at least say, "Did you see my performance?" knowing full well he saw it, but more an affirmation that he was paying attention to her.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

...many see music as an expression of emotion, and if you just play like a machine, it removes that emotion.

Originally Posted by DOmus

I think they feel frustrated that not a single trace of the player is being put in the play, like if only a recorder were there. Instead u see how the feelings of the others are transmitted to the audience.

And yet, that's what it takes to win music competitions.

So, either there's something seriously wrong with the way the Japanese judge the quality of playing, or there's something else we're missing.

This perceived need to be completely faithful to the supposed intentions of the composer is not unique to this anime. In Nodame Cantible, Chiaki also used to constantly berate Nodame for being heedless of the intended mood of a composition.

Note that the point here seems to be about being faithful to the feelings that the composer wanted to convey. So, if you play the music according to your own interpretation, perhaps you're deemed to be extremely disrespectful towards the composer?

Kousei seemed to imply in an earlier episode that it's okay "to be yourself" if you were performing at a recital, but for contests, you are expected to play the music the way the composer meant it to be played.

Think of it this way: the anger directed at Kousei for being a "human metronome" is not unlike the rage of manga fans who throw endless fits when an anime team does not produce an adaptation that is absolutely faithful to its source, whatever that's supposed to mean.

Here's an interesting story that provides insight into how the ways people judged the art of playing music changed over time, starting from the pianist who literally invented the "piano recital".

How Franz Liszt became the world's first rock star

Before Franz Liszt, no one thought a solo pianist could hold anyone's attention, let alone captivate an audience. Liszt set out across Europe in 1839 to prove the conventional wisdom wrong. As part of that mission, he made a radical decision to never bring his scores onstage.

Chopin once chided a student: It looked almost arrogant, as if you were pretending that the piece you were playing was by you. Liszt saw that playing the piano, especially for a whole evening in front of an audience, it was a theatrical event that needed not just musical things happening but physical things on the stage.

NPR

[itisjustme]

Riveting series so far but in the last episode I'm not a fan of all those flashbacks and all that stuff in the middle of the performance. Also where the show started with a pretty amazing mixture of whimsical and poetic and almost hopeful tone I'm a little worried it's started to slip further and further into melodrama territory, especially Kaori's health and the romance triangles/squares/whatever.

[~Yami~]

Kaori's health issue stole this episode.. damn! what the heck with that medication?!
and Emi almost confessing

anyway, become a human metronome is the first step to master a classical score. People mocked Kousei just because of jealousy since Kousei was able to deliver a perfect human metronome performance in a very young age
The next level that Kaori wanted him to do is to achieve what we could called "delivering" your soul from playing

Kousei's mom is terrible. It makes sense about how it affected Kousei's mental physiology until now. There is no sensible reasoning for her attitude in hitting his son when his son already give so much for her sake. Maybe she is just stressed out due to her health

When Kousei's playing started to sound ridiculous, I just want him to stop.. it's painful to hear his playing like that. I wonder what would Takeshi and Emi say about him. If it's me, I'll still praise him due to playing without hearing

[Mubyoshi]

what a shitty mom. that scene was hard to watch. also, some great dad kousei has too from what i've seen so far. the guy's not even around apparently when his wife dies and isn't there to comfort his son.

[Benigmatica]

Originally Posted by ~Yami~

Kaori's health issue stole this episode.. damn! what the heck with that medication?!

I was wondering too if Kaori had that same condition as Kousei's mother was.

Regardless, I knew that Kousei's performance will be a disaster. No matter what he plays, the shadow of his mother won't fade away!

[Funkatron]

Gah, the second hand embarrassment was strong in this one. At least I finished the episode; tried reading the chapter before hand and couldn't get through half of it because I felt sorry for Kousei.

[Anh_Minh]

In addition to everything else, his mom was a hypocrite. She hit his hand! I mean, yes, of course she shouldn't have hit him at all, but still: she's the maniac who gave away his pet because she was concerned for his hand and all. All that to hit it with a cane.

Also, would a stainless steel piano even sound good?

[HandofFate]

Emi's panting after the performance was erotic

[Master_Yoma]

Well that is one failed system getting beaten and now one calls the cops neather teachers or the people who watched that happened it that was the most mess up about the whole thing

[cyth]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

Emi's panting after the performance was erotic

It was kind of embarrassing to watch. I mean, who grabs someone they barely know like that and does the ero-ero haa-haa? Kousei could (we could!) almost feel the moistness of her breath. There were other moments, like Kousei x Kaori's first performance, when there were sweating as if they ran 10 miles. Wetness is supposed to be erotic, it is something ero manga artists employ all the time to achiece this effect. But you know, IMO this isn't the right context for it.

[Anh_Minh]

... I don't find exhaustion erotic...

[Kanon]

Kousei's mom was nothing short of a monster. I don't care that she was sick, you don't treat your kid that way under any circumstances. Or any kid, for that matter. And what the hell was his dad even doing? His wife is terminally ill and he goes on business trips instead of taking care of her and his son? Seriously? I bet this is never going to be addressed and this is the only time his dad will ever be mentioned. Until now, I thought he didn't even exist.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Kousei's mom was nothing short of a monster. I don't care that she was sick, you don't treat your kid that way under any circumstances. Or any kid, for that matter. And what the hell was his dad even doing? His wife is terminally ill and he goes on business trips instead of taking care of her and his son? Seriously? I bet this is never going to be addressed and this is the only time his dad will ever be mentioned. Until now, I thought he didn't even exist.

Maybe hospital bills don't pay themselves?

[cyth]

Dad's absence is a mystery. I speculated whether his absence is because his wife got ill and couldn't stand the thought of her, but yeah, disregarding medical bills Kousei's mom was probably not employed (her whole life) and households need money.

That being said, we could probably discuss the author's motivations why dad isn't included in the story ...

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Maybe hospital bills don't pay themselves?

Right. It was obviously impossible for him to find work that didn't require him to leave his family. He had to stay months if not years away from home and apparently didn't even have time to visit them. And where is he now?

The author purposely left him out of the story because he would have been a hindrance to the drama.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Right. It was obviously impossible for him to find work that didn't require him to leave his family. He had to stay months if not years away from home and apparently didn't even have time to visit them. And where is he now?

In today's economy, if you have a well paying job, take and keep it! (And how do you know he doesn't visit?)

Originally Posted by Kanon

The author purposely left him out of the story because he would have been a hindrance to the drama.

Of course the author decided everything. The point is, the question "has the author decided Kousei's father is a cold, uncaring man, or did he simply have no choice but to be absent" hasn't been resolved yet.