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

[cyth]

Originally Posted by orion

Actually, his behavior up til Kaori's actions has been avoidance. He avoids music because he hasn't come to grips with his mother's death. In a way, he was escaping from reality that his mom was going to die. it's music's fault so he doesn't want to hear the music.

You sound like Kaori now. Is he avoiding music (=not playing the piano) or isn't he (=karaoke job)? I think it's pretty obvious that the reason he doesn't play the piano is that he can't play the piano due to his trauma, not because he intentionally avoids it. Before they went to the stage together, he wasn't concerned with being able to face the piano, but rather if he'll be able to hear the music and his overall performance given he hasn't played in years and hasn't practiced the notes.

[orion]

Originally Posted by cyth

You sound like Kaori now. Is he avoiding music (=not playing the piano) or isn't he (=karaoke job)? I think it's pretty obvious that the reason he doesn't play the piano is that he can't play the piano due to his trauma, not because he intentionally avoids it. Before they went to the stage together, he wasn't concerned with being able to face the piano, but rather if he'll be able to hear the music and his overall performance given he hasn't played in years and hasn't practiced the notes.

Not being able to hear something is just an avoidance maneuver on his part. He can hear the piano if someone else plays it. He can't hear his own playing. He prob blames himself for his mother dying and thinks that he doesn't deserve to play.

Kaori is basically telling him that he does deserve to still play.

[cyth]

Originally Posted by orion

He prob blames himself for his mother dying and thinks that he doesn't deserve to play.

We'll just have to agree to disagree then. Even if Kousei knew what the cause of the trauma was (assuming he's blaming himself), I don't think Kaori and her words are able to just swing in and rescue the day. Maybe this is coming from my experience, but countering effect with identifying the (one) cause of a trauma isn't the cure, it's just one of the first steps to recovery. That's why I think simplifying serious trauma by suggesting these killer-move solutions is denying a serious reading and gives way to drama indulgence.

Just for the record, I don't agree it comes down to blaming himself for not playing well enough for his mother to live. The kid may be juvenile enough to believe that, but that's exactly why we should take another look at his mom's abuse and not just chalk it up to what he claims.

[nooneagain]

I would be a bit off your topic about trauma right now. Anyways, does Kaori genuinely loves Watari?
and Watari seems like he doesn't mind Kaori being with Kousei a lot of time. Well, I thought at the beginning that Watari likes Tsubaki instead.

[orion]

Originally Posted by cyth

We'll just have to agree to disagree then. Even if Kousei knew what the cause of the trauma was (assuming he's blaming himself), I don't think Kaori and her words are able to just swing in and rescue the day. Maybe this is coming from my experience, but countering effect with identifying the (one) cause of a trauma isn't the cure, it's just one of the first steps to recovery. That's why I think simplifying serious trauma by suggesting these killer-move solutions is denying a serious reading and gives way to drama indulgence.

Just for the record, I don't agree it comes down to blaming himself for not playing well enough for his mother to live. The kid may be juvenile enough to believe that, but that's exactly why we should take another look at his mom's abuse and not just chalk it up to what he claims.

I don't think this title will go down the mother abuse angle for too long. It's more focused on Kousei recovering from her death. Either way he has to move on.

[Shadow5YA]

I really don't like where this is headed with those not so subtle hints ("I've always wanted to do this!") that Kaori's illness is more serious than she wants Kousei to believe.

It's a dangerously slippery slope where the story ends up revolving around the illness and forgets about the character's other facets, and for this story specifically, it brings the risk of turning Kousei's development into a zero-sum game where he inevitably relapses when Kaori's condition takes a turn for the worse again somewhere down the line.


Hopefully Kousei and Kaori can prove me wrong and the story will end on a lighter note than that.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by cyth

Is Kousei really coming to gripes with his issues? I'm not so sure. He believes he's making excuses all the time. Fine. Then his issues should be pretty easy to resolve, right? Except that that's not the case. So he has to be fooling himself and in actuality ignoring Kaori's pep talk.

Kaori is, in a sense, an escape from his reality and not a confrontation to it like his behavior leads us to believe.

But you're completely right, kids have a right to be flawed, it's just the way Kousei acts can be really annoying. I know he's not a dumb kid, so why is he acting like one?

He definitely hasn't come to grips with his issues, and in some ways he is going about it in completely the wrong way. He first played the piano for his mother, and now it almost feels like he is going to be playing the piano only for Kaori. Now with hints of Kaori being terminally ill, the author has basically set up the same sort of dramatic scenario all over again. That is why I understand the reason people can be frustrated with what Tsubaki and Kaori are doing to Kousei here. This kind of thing could damage him even more, but it can also help him seriously confront his issues (Of course in a contrived manner usually only seen in fiction). It's a dangerous game they're playing here no doubt.

I think the major problem with Kousei is that he likes all the things Kaori says, but he believes himself to be so different from her that he does not think he can actually be like her. I think part of his story will be coming to terms with his own instincts and desires as a musician instead of abiding by all the things his mother scarred him with. I'm not sure Kousei is so much acting stupid as he is just being a person with low self-esteem and general depression.

[~Yami~]

whoaa... this is really a rare time where I really want to pluck off all death flags from Kaori's head... Damn! Don't kill the best character in this anime!
She clearly showing some "making good memories before die" trait right now

I'll take my time to comment the issue that has been debated here
Kousei most likely has a tendency to please his mom.. He felt burdened to complete his mom's dream because of his mom's sickness... He basically use piano only to fulfill this desire and not because he actually love Music
That's why I think his mother's strict teaching won't be a traumatic experience for him
His problem arose after his mother's passed away. He basically lost every reasoning in his life.. that's why he felt guilty in playing music while he actually didn't really like it

Meeting with Kaori is starting to make Kousei look depth inside his heart to find out what is his true desire and his next goal

Commenting about Watari and Tsubaki, I can't imagine Watari would form a love triangle since he is a playboy.. The only issue is how Kousei can direct Kaori's eyes to himself rather than to Watari
For Tsubaki, she is hopeless actually... She already in friendzoned state
honestly, I can imagine some lame drama like Watari would date Kaori and Kousei would date Tsubaki. Then they would realize that the relationship won't work... They broke up and Kaori ended up with Kousei

I hope they would decrease the amount of drama and didn't turn it into a lame one
focus on the music please... waiting for their next performance

last note : I really hope Kaori only have a little anemia... and not more than that

[Burden]

Originally Posted by cyth

You sound like Kaori now. Is he avoiding music (=not playing the piano) or isn't he (=karaoke job)? I think it's pretty obvious that the reason he doesn't play the piano is that he can't play the piano due to his trauma, not because he intentionally avoids it. Before they went to the stage together, he wasn't concerned with being able to face the piano, but rather if he'll be able to hear the music and his overall performance given he hasn't played in years and hasn't practiced the notes.

I think the best description is avoiding playing music. He obviously loves music itself just absolutely hates the fact that he can't hear himself play.

[EroKing]

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[aohige]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Fair enough, but I'm a bit puzzled by "the opposite" of positive charm and direct honesty?

In my most humble opinion, people should keep in mind that these are highschool kids and no psychiatrists - so we should refrain from judging them from this perspective too harshly.

Jr. High. They got another year before going to high school.

I'm soooo glad this show is getting the treatment it deserves, by waiting until the series end (series ends at volume 11, out next year) and they're going to cover the whole thing. That's always a concern on adaptation for an ongoing series.

[Mangonel]

Is that older looking Kaori image official art? I played a violin in middle school, and it irks me to no end that when the instrument is drawn the artists have no idea what they're drawing.

For the majority who've never played the instrument, in that image Kaori has her bow on the strings over the fingerboard (the black board) instead of between the fingerboard and the bridge (tan piece of wood holding the strings up).

The strings are only a few mm above the fingerboard if you actually try that you'll get no sound.

/endrant

@Shadow5YA
I agree the illness setup and the relationships are becoming familiar to Golden Time. I really hope the series avoids the obvious trauma -> good -> relapse -> finalcure route with Kousei. And I also hope it avoids turning the series into a full on tragedy with Kaori.

[Stark700]

Episode 6:

Good episode overall as it reflects a bit on Tsubaki's character. I think it should be obvious now but she obviously has feelings for Kousei. She tries to "go out" with that other guy but really...Kousei is the only person on her mind most of the time.

Hell, she freaked out when she saw him with Kaori in their home and later on had difficulty during her game. Anyways yeah, I think sooner or later, she's going to have to realize it herself down the road.


Oh boy, here comes the competition.

[blakstealth]

The challengers finally make their appearance. It seems like Kousei fucked these two up when he was still in his prime, and now they're ready to get some payback. Very excited for it.

[neshru]

No idea why this show tries to deal with serious matters while being needlessly and heavy-handedly childish every other second. Don't they realize that it doesn't work? That this show is incredibly lame at its best and downright nonsensical at its worst?
Whoever is writing/directing this is either trying to win some award for most randomly/badly written series, or is just completely clueless.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Yet another excellent episode, especially because of Tsubaki. Well played by Sakura Ayane.

I did feel as if Kousei was a little quick to get fired up for the competition, but that's okay. Next week, he encounters his old competitors, played by Kaji Yuki and Hayami Saori. Can't wait. I hope his playing improves, lol.

As for people who fear "lame" drama, don't be embarrassed, just enjoy the human feelings as they come. Drama is good, and almost no drama is actually lame. Not as lame as anything to do with impossible giant robots, anyway. It basically enrages me when people who like repetitive shounen fighting condemn shoujo memes as lame (not saying that's anyone here, just saying).

@neshru. I feel your pain -- the humour in this show isn't humorous to me, either -- but there is another result of the contrast: it keeps the drama from feeling too heavy. Traditional use of comic relief. I disagree completely with your general condemnation of the writing, but I do see what you see. It's the show's style.

[Dr. Dahm]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Yet another excellent episode, especially because of Tsubaki. Well played by Sakura Ayane.

I did feel as if Kousei was a little quick to get fired up for the competition, but that's okay. Next week, he encounters his old competitors, played by Kaji Yuki and Hayami Saori. Can't wait. I hope his playing improves, lol.

As for people who fear "lame" drama, don't be embarrassed, just enjoy the human feelings as they come. Drama is good, and almost no drama is actually lame. Not as lame as anything to do with impossible giant robots, anyway. It basically enrages me when people who like repetitive shounen fighting condemn shoujo memes as lame (not saying that's anyone here, just saying).

@neshru. I feel your pain -- the humour in this show isn't humorous to me, either -- but there is another result of the contrast: it keeps the drama from feeling too heavy. Traditional use of comic relief. I disagree completely with your general condemnation of the writing, but I do see what you see. It's the show's style.

Some people like giant robot motifs and concepts, some people like teen romance melodrama stuff. I'm personally among the former but I can sometimes sort of tolerate the latter like in the case of White Album 2. This shows just not very good when it comes to balancing it's screwball comedy antics and fits of IMO overwrought melodramatic character reflections and interactions. To be honest it kind of annoys me too when people are dismissive of the former but so willing to embrace the latter but I just kind of see it as a sign of the times more than anything. Trust me it's not easy being a giant robot fan in 2014 where people for the most part just plain don't get the appeal of a military themed coming of age story and the hardships that face the characters in such storylines but can be very easily riveted by teen melodrama like Shigatsu. Oh well I guess, just wish people were more capable of seeing it from both perspectives cause I mean it has always looked to me like these kinds of shows are overwhelmingly beloved by default.

Originally Posted by neshru

No idea why this show tries to deal with serious matters while being needlessly and heavy-handedly childish every other second. Don't they realize that it doesn't work? That this show is incredibly lame at its best and downright nonsensical at its worst?
Whoever is writing/directing this is either trying to win some award for most randomly/badly written series, or is just completely clueless.

I'm kind of inclined to agree to an extent but I'd stop short of calling it overtly badly written. There's potential for some interesting character exploration here, unfortunately it's just kind of buried under the rather typical Japanese medias heavy handed approach to drama and inexplicably inability to manage the fine line between comedic and serious undertones. Everything about this show just kind of feels overwrought in terms of production and execution. It must be a cultural thing more than anything, but in any case the manga still doesn't come across as quite so overwrought by comparison. I'd almost swear there is indeed some attempt to win some sort of award here with this adaptation that is kind of overriding the bottom line which should just be to translate the material from one source to another without the need for excess.

So to me it's an issue of direction and interpretation of the characters more than it is an issue of writing per se, but a lot of people like it cause it looks kind of pretty and non-threatening so it seems like a bit of a trade off is at play as well.

Oh I should add that lately I'm noticing more of a growing criticism for this shows melodramatic approach to it's subject matter so maybe I'm not going completely crazy and am indeed onto something here. I think there always comes a certain point where no amount of trying to beautify or make this or that scene look pretty can still manage to cover for flimsy overwrought characterization and dramatization of events and this show is kind of entering that crucial area with it being it's 6th episode now. I think the author made a bit of a smart call to start introducing some new rivals and a new angle to the story at this point in any case cause the Kaori well of character potential always struck me as more or less exhausted by this point and like it needed a break.

[Zoks]

Originally Posted by neshru

No idea why this show tries to deal with serious matters while being needlessly and heavy-handedly childish every other second. Don't they realize that it doesn't work? That this show is incredibly lame at its best and downright nonsensical at its worst?
Whoever is writing/directing this is either trying to win some award for most randomly/badly written series, or is just completely clueless.

You do realize it's an adaption from the manga right? The anime is shockingly loyal to its source material. And the manga won a best shonen award in 2013. If you have such a problem with it I suggest you drop the series.

[hai_san]

Finally watch the first eps of the anime. I've had read the manga and wasn't that interested in the anime , but the anime adaption is very well done, in my opinion even better than the manga.

The character animation is better than in the manga and the music it makes it "click". So now i am on the anime.

[Dr. Dahm]

Originally Posted by hai_san

Finally watch the first eps of the anime. I've had read the manga and wasn't that interested in the anime , but the anime adaption is very well done, in my opinion even better than the manga.

The character animation is better than in the manga and the music it makes it "click". So now i am on the anime.

Most anime tend to look better than their manga counterparts in terms of animation for sure. I'd certainly hope it continues to remain that way.

Originally Posted by Zoks

You do realize it's an adaption from the manga right? The anime is shockingly loyal to its source material. And the manga won a best shonen award in 2013. If you have such a problem with it I suggest you drop the series.

See I kind of disagree. On a superficial level it's loyal in that it doesn't seem to miss anything crucial (To me this should be a baseline standard though strangely a lot of recent anime fail on this front), but in terms of character portrayal I feel like Kaori in particular has come across significantly worse and less sympathetic andd arguably it has turned some people off as a result including me to a certain extent. I never found the manga went out of it's way quite as much to make Kaori seem like such an idealized character or at the very least it seemed to take more of an angle that Kousei's idealized view of her wasn't exactly a healthy one even if she is clearly just trying to help and has a rather brusque way of doing so. Also the comedic interpretation of certain scenes....just bad, but again tastes will lead to a variety of opinions here.

One aspect I did like about this episode was Hayami Saori's very brief role as the character Emi Igawa near the end though. That seiyuu is just money when it comes to this kind of character and captures all the dignified passive aggressiveness of the character. Literally born with the kind of voice to play this sort of role that it pretty much feels like a no brainer that she was cast here. She likely just had to walk into the studio to be hired to play this role. She'll make the next set of episodes pretty interesting I'm willing to bet.