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

[germanturkey]

so i've managed to watch 18 episodes of this in roughly 2 and a half days. my soul can't handle this. i'm gearing up for the inevitable sadness to come.

the last time i binge watched a show like this was (maybe kind of death parade, 9 eps in 2 days, but that doesn't really cut it) Cross Game, where I hit up 40+ eps in 2 days. but then again, I was in undergrad... I have a full time job now testament to how good this show is.

[germanturkey]

i personally wasn't a big clannad fan. but i'm very happy with how this show ended. it reminded me Honey and Clover where all the events were "realistic" given the circumstances. perhaps the most tragic (and my favorite) plot line was their promise to play together again. as soon as she showed up in performance garb and with her violin, it was readily apparent what kind of ending they were going for. another thing this series did exceptionally well was develop the side characters. his rivals were real characters, and each one of them could have their own show. that's how much background we got on them. impressive.

and of course, the letter at the end and the tie in with the title. bittersweet to the extreme.

its not very often a series manages to go 100% and give closure while having satisfactory development. Shigatsu manages to do that. bravo. i'm glad i got to steamroll through all 22 eps in 3 days. my soul is in tatters, my eyes red and puffy, but i wouldn't have it any other way. lets hope death parade can compare.

[MrTerrorist]

I cried watching the last episode. I was hoping Kousei and Kaori have a happy ending together but sadly it didn't happen. T_T T_T T_T

This was a great anime to watch not only for it's music, but also it's characters and relationships between everyone especially Kousei and Kaori.

Now i need to go weep somewhere and hope fanfic writers, fanartist and or doujins a happy end for the OTP of the show.

[cyth]

Doesn't anyone else feel alternative endings are a copout?

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by cyth

Doesn't anyone else feel alternative endings are a copout?

Not just you. It IS a copout.

But hey if people want a Clannad After Story type ending with forced happy endings in an OVA let them. It's not canon anyway so who cares.

Tbh, I'm still really surprised Shigatsu took the high ground and actually didn't cop out. I pretty much raised the show's score from 7-7.5/10 to 8/10 just because of it.

[germanturkey]

yeah, we need more shows and authors who have the guts to do it this way. i wouldn't have had it any other way.

[iceyfw]

so is the anime worth watching over reading the manga? not too many spoilers if possible.

[germanturkey]

i haven't read the manga, but i've heard more than once that the anime is faithful to the manga. also, seeing some of the more beautiful scenes animated is a treat.

[Itlandm]

They killed Kaori! The bastards.
There were so many death flags, and they were piling on thicker and thicker, so I thought there was no way they could actually kill her off. And then they killed her off anyway.

Anime has become so devious that when it is straightforward, it is even more devious.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat

Not just you. It IS a copout.

But hey if people want a Clannad After Story type ending with forced happy endings in an OVA let them. It's not canon anyway so who cares.

Tbh, I'm still really surprised Shigatsu took the high ground and actually didn't cop out. I pretty much raised the show's score from 7-7.5/10 to 8/10 just because of it.

So it means Kaori living in the OVA is the alternate ending?

[germanturkey]

Originally Posted by orion

So it means Kaori living in the OVA is the alternate ending?

chronologically, i believe the OVA takes place before the end of the series.

[Kanon]

The OVA is about Emi, Super Saiyan, and Kousei's childhood.

[germanturkey]

man, i can't imagine what it was like to have to follow the manga. they didn't do the big reveal until almost halfway through the last chapter.

also, did you guys know its hard to read manga with your eyes all teared up? i was listening to Kirameki ~Kousei to Kaori no Ensou Ver.~ while reading the last two chapters. quite a mistake.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I don't have many complaints about this show, but I did feel that I didn't get enough of Kaori, especially in the last few episodes. She was the pole-star of the show, but spent a lot of time being talked about rather than talking. A reasonable approach, but I still found it frustrating. And as we sped toward the end, it was very frustrating that she was still not quite ready to make her feelings clear to Kousei, and was still wasting her time having "fun" with his pal. Sure, she didn't want to interrupt his practicing, but there is plenty of time in a day. Perhaps there was enough of her to understand her, but it still bothered me.

[Parousia]

Just finished and now here with a little bit tear in my eyes, but wow the moment she appeared in that performance made me worry that she won't be able to keep her promise and damn...she really didn't make it. I'm still a bit reluctant about the ending 'cause I was hoping that they would be together in the end but yeah...still it was a great anime.

Anyways how many OVA does it have?

[Mubyoshi]

Whelp, just saw that there's a 1/7 pvc figure of Kaori that will be released in November; insta pre-ordered!

[karice67]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

man, i can't imagine what it was like to have to follow the manga. they didn't do the big reveal until almost halfway through the last chapter.

also, did you guys know its hard to read manga with your eyes all teared up? i was listening to Kirameki ~Kousei to Kaori no Ensou Ver.~ while reading the last two chapters. quite a mistake.

If by the big reveal, you meant 'Kawori's motivation'...I would have hoped that most readers had picked up on the hints by then... Should have been a little easier than in the anime, which cut one scene that I thought was pretty important...

Though it still brought tears to my eyes anyway, both reading and watching...

[BetoJR]

Originally Posted by karice67

If by the big reveal, you meant 'Kawori's motivation'...I would have hoped that most readers had picked up on the hints by then... Should have been a little easier than in the anime, which cut one scene that I thought was pretty important...

Though it still brought tears to my eyes anyway, both reading and watching...

Care to share what was in that scene, even if only via PM?

[Archon_Wing]

What. Clearly, the wrong girl died.

In all seriousness, I found it amusing there last few episodes were so bright. I guess we don't have to worry about the movement details, but whatever. Also, what's with that cat-o-drama.? That could have happened a bit earlier, but let's just continue the shitonkouseiathon.

On the other hand, I really do like how Kousei has grown as a person. He's a far cry from the puppet everybody thought he was. Those moments of hope followed those moments when the world is like "fuck you, let's take away your newest reason to live" were really something as he slowly but surely picked himself up with the help of his friends.

But Kaori was special here. Sure, she had her own agenda, but she enabled Kousei to live for himself for once. Everyone else placed their own expectations and dreams onto what they thought Kousei Arima should have been, and despite their best intentions, ended up just overloading him into someone with no identity. Sure Kaori was forceful and her own ways had flaws, but she still managed to dig up the Kousei that nobody ever knew about. He was actually happy for once.

And so we get to this point where Kaori isn't going to be there for him, but at the very least he's finally not needed to depend on other people's help, but still be able to accept it. Because in the end, only you can save yourself, others can help, but since only you can know about what direction to go, you have to make the choice. In an era where it's easy to blame other people, this might be a bit scary. So Kaori really left behind the biggest gift of them all.

Could we have learned more about Kaori beyond the last episode exposition? Probably, but the way the episode unraveled the details to finally let us know what the title meant is a very special moment. I think that was the big moment they were going for and it was splendid.

Bye Emi; without you I might have just dropped the show. Bye Watari, you were just sorta there but fine. Bye Tsubaki, get rid of that stupid hairstyle. Bye Kousei, congratulations for finding happiness. And, bye Kaori. Thanks for everything.

Bye Shigatsu. Grats for coming out and doing what you came here to do. In an era of cynicism and entitlement which prides itself on oh-so-meta nonsense in lieu of storytelling, you truly are a commodity.

[Liddo-kun]

Watched the first episode of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.

Hard to describe.. but it's good. The colors are vibrant on most scenes, and I like some of the characters already.