Your Lie In April is Gorgeous, Sad, and Realistic

Your Lie In April made small but intense waves as a Spring 2015 anime. This stunningly animated 22 episode series mainly focuses on Kousie Arima, a 14 year old piano prodigy that doesn’t play the piano anymore.

When I started this anime I was really just expecting a typical sappy schoolyard romance-type show. And while Your Lie in April isn’t free of tropes, I was struck by how the romance takes a backseat to the more main themes of child abuse, PTSD, grief, and loss.

Another thing I really love about this anime is that it’s realistic in the way it handles overcoming your fears. In many anime, the main protagonist hits rock bottom, faces his weakness with a huge surge of willpower, and is suddenly cured, never to struggle with this issue again. Most of this show is made up of our main character dealing with and overcoming his severe anxiety. The pacing is slow, almost to a fault, but to me, that’s how real life works. It makes the final victory so much more satisfying.

The animation style of You Lie in April is drop dead gorgeous. It’s a fantastic mixture of precise technical drawing, such as scenes that involve playing an instrument, and a flowing watercolor style, but always with vivid colors. It’s almost as if the animators were trying to lighten the dark, heavy themes of the story with glowing visuals.

This show is a roller coaster of laughing, crying, and fangirling. It struck a chord in me and in many viewers who form a small, cult following of this anime. Sometimes you just need a sad but beautiful story, and Your Lie in April fits the bill.

 

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