Tag Archives: Loss

Your Lie in April Review

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It’s time for a very emotional story about drama and loss. The series is definitely going for some themes about recovery here and using music is definitely a classic way to do it. That said, the title does end up losing steam by the end of its run and isn’t quite able to finish the journey. I would make the case that the ending goes against all of the main themes here and just doubles down too hard on how rough things can get. It’s definitely not what I was expecting there.

The series introduces us to a boy named Kousei who grew up as a piano prodigy. He was able to play any piece to near perfection but one day his sickly mother passed away. Kousei developed a mental block which prevents him from hearing music anymore and so he can no longer play the piano. Many years pass by and now the most he can do is trace lyrics and do some music work for school. He’s basically depressed and doesn’t have any real motivation. Well one day he meets up with a girl named Kaori who plays the violin. She declares that Kousei will be her accompanist and so it’s time to enter the competitions again. Can he really handle this though?

There is also a second wrinkle here which is that he immediately falls in love with her. The problem is that Kaori is dating his best friend Watari. So he knows she is out of reach and tries to squash his feelings but this gets tougher and tougher as the series goes on. These feelings may end up enhancing his music and yet they can also destroy it. He will need to figure out his feelings quickly or Kousei’s going to end up shutting down again. In a way this helps distract him from his previous trauma but it also opens up the door for more trauma.

The series has a fairly small cast although we do get more characters as the adventure goes on. We meet some rivals and mentor figures but for the most part this is definitely Kousei’s story all the way. He’s a good main character but at the same time he can be annoying at different points. He definitely panics quite a bit and is more on the timid side. He does a good job of getting past the trauma and pushing through though. So on that side he does pretty well for himself. I also appreciate him keeping his feelings for Kaori to himself for so long. That’s really the only option you have here because otherwise he would really be the bad guy in all this. You can’t confess to someone who is already taken. When the person you like is taken, you just gotta internalize and keep on living your life. Kousei really stays strong for the majority of the series until it doesn’t really make much of a difference anymore. Although because it was so late in the series I’d say he should have still kept things to himself.

Meanwhile the trauma means that he isn’t able to hear his own notes while playing the piano. This is a pretty tough trial. Even when you know the right keys, if you can’t hear what amount of pressure you’re putting on them, you’re bound to mess up at some point. So it did make sense that he was struggling a whole lot even as a prodigy. That’s not really something you can simply play through and so destroying the source of trauma was his only chance. We get that in a fairly literal way as he plays harder and harder and learns to move past his old history.

The series tries to massage his mother’s character near the end but it was too late for that. During the series we see how she was flat out abusive to him. She would beat him until he bled, isolated him from all other kids, etc. Even though we see that it was to make him stronger and all, that’s just not a valid excuse or even closer to one. It would be difficult to think of any excuse that would make it okay to be hitting a child like that. It makes sense that he was so traumatized and while forgiving her and moving on is a heroic thing to do, it’s not going to be making me any more sympathetic as the reader. The Mom messed up in her job of raising Kousei.

The series definitely doesn’t give nearly as much screen time to his friend Watari. Watari is always around and has his moments but at the same time he doesn’t undergo any major character arcs. His ending shows that the guy does care to an extent but the fact that he is constantly flirting with every girl is still a bad look for him. You can’t really root for any of his romances when he’s always so flaky. He does do his best to encourage Kousei at every turn though. He never really gets upset and is there for the lead whenever possible. So while he is probably not a good romantic partner, at least he does serve as a good friend. Watari works hard to give Kousei the push he needs near the end. Considering that Watari didn’t even get to win the big soccer game, you could say that things never went very well for him here.

Tsubaki is the main heroine in a sense. Kaori is way more pivotal to the story itself but Tsubaki gets several chapters to herself and we get to see her pov different times. She’s a character who is at a cross roads because she wants everything to stay the same but of course that’s not really possible in any setting. Then at the same time she also likes Kousei but is unsure of how to actually tell him this. She stays in denial for a very long time and even by the end she never really makes a move. So that keeps her from really being a strong character.

She’s a nice friend and all but it makes sense why Kousei wouldn’t pick up on any signs of her liking him. She just didn’t make it easy at all and was just being her same ole self. Yes, she finally does have a big moment near the end of the series but by then it’s simply too late for her. I would say Tsubaki completely missed her window because by the end of the series she will never know if she could ever be anything more than a rebound. That’s assuming she even gets a romance in the future at all. I’m all for thinking your feelings through before making a move but that should take a day, not several months. Ah well, at least either way she always gets to hold onto her memories of really supporting Kousei no matter what.

I had some good respect for her first boyfriend as a result. It became pretty apparent to him early on that Tsubaki wasn’t all that interested and so he broke up with her in the nicest way possible. He was a real gentleman about the whole thing and he knows that you can never settle for second place. So since he wasn’t needed, the guy ended up moving on without having anybody lose dignity or have to get embarrassed in the process.

As for Kaori, she’s definitely a standout character in the series. She’s always really cheerful and outgoing. She easily gets Kousei out of his shell and keeps on pushing. Without her, the other characters wouldn’t have been able to move forward. She can often be a troll and likes to mess with Kousei. I liked how she would call him friend A. That was a fun nickname. As the series goes on we do get to see some cracks in her cheerful armor which makes sense. Nobody is happy all of the time, everyone has their own struggles and it’s why you can always be impressed by someone who seems chronically happy. They are able to put up the front, whether for others or even for themselves and just have a good time in the moment.

I always tend to like these characters. They’re like walking Martyr complexes who are determined to make the world a better place even at their own expense. Yes, she has some rough moments like when she jokes to someone about committing suicide. That was a low moment for her both as a character but also literally since she was finding it harder to stay alive. Her path is definitely the thorniest one and definitely didn’t go the way you’d hope. She is the heart of the series though so without her things would be tougher.

Kashiwagi is a fairly minor character but she was always trying to help push Tsubaki to make a move. Without her Tsubaki would really have been dragging her feet even more. She just wasn’t a very proactive character. The fact that Kashiwagi knew more about music than she did was quite telling. That said, I think she works best as a side character and it’s probably good that they didn’t try to give her a major plot or anything. Not everyone needs to be in the spotlight like that.

Then we have Nagi who shows up fairly late in the game. She wants to ruin Kousei but that goal falls through early on. She’s an interesting character but her character arc goes a bit quickly. In a way she mirrors how Kousei used to be with how easily she gets frightened. Nagi means well and she beats the average kid but her role does feel the most superfluous. You could remove her from the series and I don’t think a whole lot would change.

An example of a character who is much worse is Toshiya. This kid is annoying not because he didn’t want to switch seats with Kousei but because the guy was whining a whole lot when he first appeared. Then later on he becomes a fan of the lead but is too scared to say anything. Yeah he’s definitely got a ways to go. You have to be able to defend your positions with poise and confidence. If you always have to hide then something is not right. He is just a kid so he’ll probably get better, but he’s definitely not at that point yet.

Meanwhile Kousei’s coach Hiroko is a solid character. She takes a tough approach with him without being abusive so you can always appreciate that. She has a lot of personality and is a fun character all the way through. I definitely enjoyed her and she adds a lot to the dynamic. Without her, Kousei would have really been in a lot of trouble. Then we have the lead’s two main rivals Emi and Takeshi. Emi is one of those rivals who secretly likes him so that adds some drama to the mix. She’s at her best when he’s around and does great in the competitions but apparently she gets sloppy otherwise.

Emi is the definition of a high maintenance star. If conditions are perfect then she will excel but otherwise she will falter. It’s really as simple as that. She’s a fun character since I always like competition but it’s fair to say that Takeshi gets more of a role. Without Kousei for all those years, Takeshi quickly rose to being the best musician on the block. The only reason he is still in Japan is because he has always wanted one more rematch. So he gets that and even gets a really grand final song. He gets a whole lot of credit throughout the series and I think he has the most full songs aside from the main character. He’s a very well rounded character so I was glad to have him around.

There are a few more characters like the other coaches but that’s about it for the regulars. The series gives everyone some time to shine and while it is more of a drama than a comedy, it has its share of light hearted scenes as well. The series is probably at its best with the long piano performances as the series goes all in on making them really emotional. We get a lot of internal dialogue to go along with the lyrics and we see how everyone really gets caught up in the experience. You definitely do have to enjoy the performances though because otherwise they do go on for a long while and you may get bored.

The writing is enough to keep you interested though. That’s why it’s a shame that the ending basically throws this all away. It could have been worse for sure and the series tried its best to handle the ending as tactfully as possible but it still takes major points. The series even includes an animal death near the end in what has to be one of the most unnecessary moments in the series. That was just crazy.

Skip these next two paragraphs which will have spoilers for the ending. This way you can still be surprised when you read the series. All right so here we go. Kaori decides to take the surgery after Kousei inspires her to fight to the end. Unfortunately she dies during the surgery and so now Kousei’s going to go through the feeling of loss all over again. Even more so since he is the one who really pressured her to take the surgery. Yes, she was going to die either way but that level of pressure will absolutely haunt him. The manga has Tsubaki show up to try and comfort him, she still hopes to be his girlfriend but it’s hard to see the guy ever opening up again.

Kaori also prepared him a letter for after death explaining that she was always in love with him and just pretended to love Watari. While that’s her way of trying to finally come clean and make things easy, it will only make things harder on Kousei as he wonders why he didn’t notice. The manga tries to prevent this as more of a bittersweet ending but it really feels like a terribly sad ending all the way. There’s just no way around it, you can’t have the heroine die at the end. After all the themes of fighting hard and not giving up, for it to all be in vain like that is a terrible message. Then having a cat die slightly earlier just so Kousei could have another person that he couldn’t save in time. The whole thing was way too mean spirited and definitely dropped some points. I would have definitely kept her alive and also not done the twist about the letter. Yes, the letter makes things better on why she was so friendly with him the whole time but him just being friend A would have still been satisfactory.

The art for the series is solid enough. I don’t think it’s really my kind of style but it’s never unclear or anything like that. Maybe it can seem a bit un detailed at times or it’s the way the characters move. That said, it’s still clear enough to be sure and I had no real issues with it. It lands the emotional parts as needed and you can easily be binging the series. The artwork definitely fulfills its purpose there.

Overall, A Lie in April definitely lives up to the title. The lie makes sense by the end and you also feel lied to if you were expecting a certain ending. The series goes well for most of its run, but as they say the ending is the most important part of any title. If you don’t stick the landing then it’ll hurt. It’s a bit debatable as a bad ending can hurt almost as bad but i might agree that the last impression will overtake the first. There would definitely be no incentive to re read this one either unless you choose one of the volumes to end at. Making your own fake ending in a sense but of course that’s still fake so it’s sort of stretching disbelief. After al, you know that the series isn’t really over. For that reason I would say to go read Nisekoi instead for a very wholesome adventure.

Overall 4/10

Digimon Adventure Tri: Loss Review

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It’s time to look at the 4th film in the Digimon Tri series. This one finally has the gang head to the Digital World, but what does this mean for all of the ongoing plot lines so far? Well, they’re basically gonna get dropped for this film so we can focus on character introductions. This was a bit of a dicey call and I can certainly see how this would be the weakest installment yet. It basically just feels like filler for the most part and choosing to lead with a grainy low budget intro was…interesting to say the least. The scenes in the intro were interesting, but I wanted my high budget animation!

So the film starts off by showing us the school agent back when she was a kid. Apparently she had been one of the chosen ones (Or not chosen depending on how you interpret the speech) along with the teacher guy and she had to watch the elders appear for the first time as they sacrificed her friend to save the world. Well, now she has found a way to bring him back, the reboot! Meanwhile Tai and the others are in the Digital World, but their Digimon haven’t gotten their memories back as expected. It’s no big deal since they all get along…with the exception of Sora and her Digimon. Can they reconnect in the middle of this crisis? They better get their act together soon because Mega level Digimon are after them!

Sora is the main focus here as she goes through her personal dilemma. Was I on her side or not? Well, here’s the situation. The gang has arrived in the Digital World but their partners do not recognize them. The humans knew that beforehand but they held out hope that the Digimon would just remember somehow. Sora is no exception and since her Digimon wants nothing to do with her she takes it pretty hard.

I’d say that part of the problem on her end was that she was rushing the whole thing too much. You can’t expect to become friends with someone again over night like that. Granted, part of the reason why she got such expectations was because the others did the same thing so quickly. Naturally she gets a little jealous about the whole thing and since she is used to bottling her feelings up, Sora doesn’t do a great job of handling the situation. Naturally this is all leading up to the fact that I was not on her side. Not only should she not blame Tai and Matt at all, but her issue doesn’t even seem as big as the others. If she didn’t get emotional every time Biyumon yelled at her she would be in a far better position.

Now lets talk about more serious dilemmas. Unfortunately this is the first film to really get wonky when it comes to the power levels. It is quite noticeable even if you don’t usually focus on things like that. Gabumon is able to cancel out an energy blast from a Mega level Digimon despite being only a rookie. Then another rookie is able to stun the Mega. At that difference in power the attacks shouldn’t even be noticed. Rookies can rarely even damage champions, a mega is too much of a stretch.

This is definitely an issue that I would say falls with the writing. The film appeared to be trying to create a sense of danger and suspense for the heroes and figured that putting them in such a dangerous position was the way to go. That was not actually the case though because the writers went too far so when the heroes make a comeback or delay the inevitable like in those scenes it just doesn’t work. The film should have just not used a Mega right off the bat or the heroes should have kept their ultimates. That would have made a difference.

As far as the soundtrack goes, it’s only natural that this film could not top the last 3. That’s because this is the first installment not to feature the excellent danger theme that I always like to see. You can’t just cut out the best theme in the series like that. We also don’t have the techno intro but we have other insert songs at the ready here so it seemed like a fair trade. It’s still a reasonable soundtrack but one that is now missing a little impact. The animation continues to be consistent here. If you liked it in the first 3 parts then I don’t believe that this would change here. The fights are solid and the landscapes are on point. The character designs/animations may still be a little pale but as they don’t have their iconic costumes I suppose that it can’t be helped.

As far as Dark Jedi goes, the film does its best to make him as unlikable as possible. He goes through the trope of licking one of the heroes for shock value and to make sure you know that this guy is batty. So much for being the calm and collected mastermind right? The FBI agent is also going downhill fast as her final scene already negates her sob story. The other agent is certainly taking his time figuring this all out as well. I’m just ready for Alphamon to show up and start wrecking everyone again. Having the King of Digimon show up soon would also be a lot of fun.

Unfortunately this movie didn’t bode well for Meiko and Meicoomon either. Both of them panicked under pressure when the going got tough and made the villain’s job quite easy. The other Digidestined should also be blamed to an extent as they totally ditched her without any good reason. The whole point of the mission was to protect her and yet they left to go on their victory lap. Really? That also seemed very plot convenient. Also, the heroes had many chances to attack Dark Jedi (They even knew to call him Dark Jedi pretty quickly) but they kept just not doing so. At some point you have to step up and make an attack. Only Joe actually tried here and naturally it didn’t go well. I appreciated the attempt though. If the heroes had knocked him out that could have helped the situation quite a bit.

So while this film could have certainly be handled better, you’ve still got to give it credit for building a compelling story. The universe around the characters still feels nice and mysterious the whole time. The villains operate in the shadows so most of the residents in the world don’t even know what is happening. While certain scenes can be frustrating, at least you do care about what is going on. I’ll give a more thorough breakdown of the various plot lines and such in the final film so hopefully it is able to tie everything together.

Overall, This installment seemed to be buying for time to an extent. If you didn’t know any better you would almost assume that there was some kind of change in writers behind the scenes as the story definitely seems to be changing directions. That’s not a bad thing per say, but hopefully they do have an end goal in mind as I still have quite a few questions that need to be answered. Even if there may be some missed opportunities by the end of this series at least the plot is still engaging and I don’t expect that will change. Naturally if you saw the first 3 films then I’d recommend checking out this one. If you have not, then maybe you could jump on here and still enjoy the film as it’s a reasonable jumping on point but you will be missing some context which will make the scenes less emotional.

Overall 7/10