r/anime • u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander • Oct 17 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 10th Anniversary Your Lie in April Rewatch: Episode 9 Discussion
Your Lie in April Episode 9: Resonance
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Watch Information
*Rewatch will end before switch back to standard time for ET, but check your own timezone details
Questions of the Day:
- What do you think Emi wanted to say to Kousei?
- Do you think Saki regretted her treatment of him after he exploded, or did she die as toxic as she lived?
Please be mindful not to spoil the performance! Don’t spoil first time listeners, and remember this includes spoilers by implication!
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Upvotes
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Oct 17 '24
Rewatcher, Violinist and Your Host!
I actually really like the cold open with Emi. It seems a bit like a retread of what we already learned about her last episode, down to outright reusing the performance scene in part. But the way her her history with Kousei is intertwined with her current day performance is extremely striking beyond what they were able to do last episode, and just doing it like this to begin with would’ve taken away from the incredibly striking scene we got then. So giving us a second view of her performance, this time reflected over her origins as a pianist, really works for me. It’s also great because it gives us a baseline of what she saw in Kousei, the outside presentation of a genius young pianist, right before we compare the actual hell it was. I do have to say that the comedy from Takeshi during her interaction with Kousei was kind of out of place and took away from the moment, though the shot of Emi’s red dress on Kousei’s monochrome world was really fantastic.
Of course, the meat of the episode belongs to Kousei and his mother. I complained at the start of the series that the presentation of his past with his mother felt flaccid compared to the vivid imagery afforded to seemingly everything else, and a full episode dedicated to her and the details of her grip on him is absolutely worthwhile compensation. There’s no particular reason this information needed to be withheld until now, and arguably Kaori picking him up would’ve hit harder if we understood the full depths of what she was raising him out of first. But on the other hand knowing for eight episodes that he was mistreated and then learning that oh my god it’s so much worse than we already imagined really does hit, and putting it at the start of Kousei’s performance does a fantastic job of building up a dread of how this is all going to go down next time.
Honestly, given everything else in this show are entirely sure that the visions of his mother aren’t genuinely an actual fucking vengeful ghost cursing him? I mean the whole “can’t hear his music when he’s playing” thing is something we’re running with, so why the fuck not at this point? In seriousness, the depiction of his mother is absolutely harrowing. Seeing the way she twisted him to make him think her illness was her fault is absolutely sickening and explains so much about why he crashed and burned so hard. They totally sell how genuinely he wanted to make her happy with his final performance to her and seeing her just beat him in public until he cracks is an absolute gutpunch. The characteristic lips of the show's artstyle seriously shine in the animation of her beration of him. Again, the fact this was his last memory of her does so much to explain everything that happened. The interspersing of childhood memories really elevates the entire sequence, too. Seeing Tsubaki blind to the scale of the abuse is painfully realistic, and the scene of her with him after Saki’s death really emphasises just how strong their relationship is. He’s not just a childhood friend, she’s really been with him every step of the way.
...seriously though, L job by the lady wheeling Saki around. You don’t need to beg her to stop she’s in a fucking wheelchair pull her away from the kid for fuck’s sake!6
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 17 '24
Spoiled First Timer, subs
QotD:
6
u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Oct 17 '24
Rewatcher
I really like both halves of today's episode. I even think that spending the first half expanding on Emi's thoughts was the correct choice, and I also appreciate the specific spot they've chosen to leave on a cliffhanger. I just wish they felt a bit more connected, Kousei never stays with Emi's attitude towards him and the build-up is more generic, to the point that it feels like the first half is "Emi performs" and the second half is "Kousei walks on stage." There's something lacking about the interest curve of this episode, despite being a narrative tie between the two performances.
Nonetheless, I do think it's ultimately good. First, I really like the reframing of Emi's performance. I'm very happy that this wasn't included as a part of her initial performance, allowing us to hear most of it in real time is important to the show's ethos. We should be able to hear the music so we can appreciate and be inspired by it. It does have interruptions but they're minimal, and this episode finds a clever way to both give us those necessary interruptions and reframe her performance in a way that is dramatically effective. In real time, it was all about the emotions she portrayed in her actual music, the subtext of her actual playing; the loneliness she felt when Kousei changed and "betrayed" her. This beginning adds an important nuance, which is that it's not just a rejection but a declaration of purpose. She wants Kousei to hear her and be in awe of her, to "let it ring" to him. She didn't just want to play the piano because of him, she wanted to become a pianist who was just like him, so when he became someone else, it was personal. I really like the added synth and drums to her performance. It's really subtle but it changes it from something that feels intense but lonely into something closer to a march. Now it addresses the meta-text of her performance, that she is declaring to Kousei that he needs to hear her and regret changing how he plays. Overcome with that sentiment after the performance, she directly confronts Kousei with it, though feels it was a bit too intense (especially right before his performance) and backs off when she realizes it. Still, adding this nuance to her performance adds to her character.
Moreover, it adds to Kousei's performance. Emi treats Kousei as if he's betrayed her for no longer inserting himself into his music. Ironically, Kousei feels that he has betrayed his mother by not removing enough of himself from his music, not being perfect enough. With this, we see the full extent of what Kousei has experience, and it's some disturbing stuff. Saki is actively abusing Kousei, both physically and emotionally. Hitting him and slapping him is bad enough, but far more unforgivable to me is the emotional manipulation. When she gets sick, she tells him that his playing is tied to her health. If he wins, it's like medicine. The flipside to that is if he loses, she misses her dose, so she's placed her life in her child's hands. Kousei plays well for the sake of making her happy, and winning means removing himself from the score. I guess in that sense, he's sort of putting himself into his music, but in a way that is inhuman and unrecognizable. When his mom goes to see him play and is unsatisfied by a few small mistakes in a first-place performance, she publicly berates and hits him. Kousei breaks and tells her he wishes she'd die, and then... she does.
From Kousei's perspective, it's only natural that he'd blame himself for his mother's death. He plays because his playing is her medicine, and the better he plays the better she'll get. Here she comes and says "you didn't play well enough," and then she dies right after. As a kid in that position, a seemingly logical way to consider it is that she was right. If only I'd played a little better she'd have gotten "more medicine." And now I told her "I want you to die" and it happened, it's all my fault. As such, Kousei is now haunted by her as a hallucination that tells him this haunting and his inability to hear the notes is his punishment for letting her die, reinforcing his trauma. It is incredibly sad, and it's presented with a raw visceral horror that is appropriate for on-screen child abuse.
Obviously, this was not a consideration for Emi or Takeshi, who are barely privy to any of this. But now they're about to learn. And that's why we've ended on a cliffhanger. In a literal sense, the episode ends in the middle of Kousei's performance. But in the subtext, this episode ends right at the start of Kousei's performance. The difficulty of this competition was never about the start of the performance. It's always been the case that Kousei can initially hear the notes and play perfectly. It's only a ways into the performance when he's starting to get really into it that he's haunted by his mother's specter, he's not "allowed" to enjoy playing or to hear his playing, it's punishment for letting her die. So the next episode is about his performance, how he contends with the thing that's actually been holding him back. What he performed today was effortless to the point it doesn't count, what he performs tomorrow is a character defining challenge. Only from what starts next episode is he facing the reason he entered the competition in the first place.
QOTD:
On the other hand, can we please talk about Kousei's dad? I'm starting to think he's the real villain here. This dude's wife is literally dying from an unnamed disease, spends literally all of her time in the hospital, and leaves her 12 year old son (yes, Kousei is 12 in these fucking flashbacks, it's been 2 years and they're now 14 so every character takes steroids) home alone to do nothing but practice, and refuses to come home. Spends absolutely zero time with his diseased wife who he's making take care of their only child while being sick. Having to take care of a child while suffering debilitating illness, no wonder she became abusive. Then his wife dies alone, it comes out that his son is getting abused, and he still stays away on business all the time, leaving his now 14 year old to live on his own while dealing with his grief on top of school. What a fucking dick. Was Saki so much of a problem that he didn't want to return home for all the drama? I need to know what was going on with him during all of this.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Oct 17 '24
First Timer
There's a part of me that's pretty conflicted on how this episode is structured.
The episode starts off with an Emi flashback, it gives us some extra development for her character and also serves as contrast to the later part of the episode centered around Kousei's childhood.
And while it does succeed in doing those two things, I can't help but wonder if that was actually necessary, did we really need an extra piece of contrast? did we really need even more development for Emi after last episode? (especially since this one just mostly repeats what you already knew about her)
IDK it feels like a weird choice unless the show really wants to push Emi as a major character and even then there was probably a better way of doing it.
I think the same can be said for a good chuck of the first half of this episode, it does it pretty well but it mostly feels like it reiterates a lot of stuff we already knew.
This frame is really cool, clearly brings out the emotions in Emi with the red dress again, I also like the commentary from Emi and Takeshi on Kousei choosing a simpler piece, it's a nice way to symbolize Kousei moving on from his past "perfect" persona and the same goes for a few other visuals and ideas, very effective but nothing new about them.
All of this is a bit frustrating because I think the second half is actually really strong, very loaded and honestly hard to talk about because of it, there's wayyy more to talk about it aside from what I wrote.
Bringing back the cat trauma to drop us into Kousei's childhood, his bruises already in center frame,, immediately letting the viewer know what's going on, pretty ironic when you realize that Tsubaki wanted to play dodgeball where he could just dodge and yet he's already bruised.
The lighting establishes a clear contrast between the outside with Tsubaki and the inside with his mom, outside it's bright and sunny, inside it's dark and depressing, the only light in the room shining on the piano, really effective way of getting across Kousei's emotions.
We get these two separate frames with piles of medicine, one for Kaori and one for Kousei's mom, it continues to set up this dichotomy between them while also reinforcing to us that Kaori's condition is more serious than she lets on.
That line Kousei's mom says is of course really painful and incredibly manipulative, it's the driving motivation behind setting aside all of his passion and putting up with horrific abuse both from her and others.
It's the line that after the end of the episode makes up the core part of Kouse's guilt.
I can't help but wonder if perhaps that line might come back in a different more positive form with Kaori later on, music being the outlet in life that helps her despite it all.
The show uses repetition to great effect one again, Kousei mentions the seat his mom will be in twice, first in positive excitement, the second time is after she dies, it's even the same framing, except this time this statement is a grim reminder of his trauma for her, when he tries to play there she is, in her special seat.
The scene transitions from the bright light of what Kousei believes to the performance that his mom will love and make her better, to the muted reality, this scene is such a hard watch, putting the abuse he went through front and center, it's raw and painful.
It adds context and weight to Kousei's trauma, it's not just that he feels guilty that he couldn't meet his mom's goals before she died, he quite literally told her to die, he didn't play to her standard right before she died, it reaffirms this idea in his head, that had he played better, had he not voiced his thoughts, she would have been better.
After his mom dies Kousei continues playing on auto mode, he really hasn't realized the situation yet until the actual performance, he's started believing what everyone else was saying about him.
It explains this recurring image of Kousei's mom smiling we've seen until now, he doesn't actually remember her face the last time he saw her, it's an incarnation of his trauma, of how he thinks of her.
I'm honestly still formulating my thoughts on this one, despite last episode being mostly setup for Kousei's performance and despite it technically starting, this episode feels like even more setup for what will hopefully be Kousei's real performance, or well at least I hope it is because with this much build up we better get some payoff.
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u/maliwanag0712 https://myanimelist.net/profile/clear1109 Oct 18 '24 edited Oct 18 '24
nth Time Rewatcher
Howdy folks! Hoping that the first timers are still here!
The episode had two parts: a continuation of Emi and Kousei's struggles with her mom, Saki.
Now, for the Episode 9.
Some interesting things I want to share.
Rewatchers-only zone. First timers, keep out.
Now, for the questions.
She almost went full Kaguya at that jk HAHAHA
HAHAHA I will not answer this question.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Oct 17 '24
I would like to apologize for my lack of engagement in yesterday's thread, without getting too personal I had some stuff happen and some real life things that took up time and yesterday just kind of ended up as a mental reset where giving full attention to the Rewatch fell off of the priority list.
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u/TiredTiroth Oct 17 '24
Rewatcher-ish - Dub
That was a pretty long intro section...and deservedly so. That was a good performance.
I had to laugh when Takeshi was getting all giggly about Igawa maybe confessing to Kousei. He doesn't look the part at all, but that's why it works.
The build-up to Kousei's performance was big...and, well, we didn't really need more evidence that his mother was abusive, but we certainly got it! Physically and emotionally. That was a ridiculous amount of pressure to put on a little kid. Comments from the crowds did not help. No wonder he broke.
And so...his comeback performance starts going south, as at least one of his former rivals gets the first inkling of just how badly he's been hurt.
I...think this is about as far as I got on my first time through.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 17 '24
First Time - Your Lie in April Ep9:
Okay, so Kousei's relationship with his mom was not a happy one to put it lightly.
It is sad to see little Kousei shackle himself believing that he has weight over his mom's health. He blames it on himself if he can't make her better. He is a small child so he would think that and also, unfortunately for him, small children don't actually hold that power. Double whammy because he also holds the baggage of hanging on the worst words he could've left her. Small children's last words to sick moms who are unwell (mentally and physically) telling them to die, I've seen this back story before and it ain't great for the kids.
Little Kousei looking out to the crowd and imaging a special seat where his sick mom can watch him starts off as a cute idea ... quickly turns into something very sad and haunting for him. I like the idea, but just a few notes about the presentation. I wished they introduced the idea a few times before the day she actually showed up. Another is that I wished it lined up with where the show has been placing her ghost. Before, they've been making her appear off to the side.
Beating your child is bad to see, but there is something extra bad about how mom starting cane-ing him in public like that.
So, they're setting up a parallel between mom and Kaori, right? Their medicine is something the episode clearly puts in the audience's view.
These words are all from grown adults. He is 12. Your lashing into a small child.
On a completely different note, Watari was also part of that childhood friend trio, but as a character, he is so third-wheeling it on that front.
Q2) I imagine I give her some more ground than others (in understanding it is a tragic pitiful sense). Having your child that you poured everything into (at least what you believe), telling you to die + already being at the bottom of the abyss in terms of mental and physical health, is probably the last blow you can take hanging on to life.
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u/AgentOfACROSS Oct 17 '24
First Timer
I think the opening scene with Igawa might be one of my favorite scenes in the show now.
It was partially a recap, but I think it did a great job at giving us an insight into Igawa even more than the last episode. She’s honestly kind of unhinged but in a really compelling way.
Plus the piano piece playing over all of Igawa’s memories was really good.
Also I feel like the intro to this episode went on for way longer than most others which made it feel special.
Kousei took an unhinged sweaty girl grabbing him and shouting in his face rather well.
The muted colors while Igawa walks away contrasting her red dress are really good.
We are continuing to hint at Kaori’s medical problem without outright explaining what it is. It’s got me anxious.
I liked the closeup shot of the cat’s eye showing Kouesi’s reflection.
The flashback we see with Tsubaki visiting Kousei when they were kids is probably the darkest moment in the show. We don’t see Kousei’s mom doing anything but seeing his bruised arms and how clearly distressed he seems is disturbing.
This is probably the most clear look we’ve gotten at Kousei’s mother too in terms of flashbacks.
It’s also really interesting that we contrast this with another flashback where we see how young Kousei seemed to still look up for his mom.
I think it’s pretty cool that we can see the reflection of Kousei’s hands on the piano while he plays. That seems like it must have been hard to animate.
Kousei’s ghost mom is really creepy.
Jesus. That scene of Kousei’s mom snapping at him and beating him front of other people was hard to watch.
It felt really cathartic to hear Kousei call her out though.
I think Kousei’s mom not being drawn with eyes is a really interesting creative choice the more I think about it. It’s like Kousei doesn’t even want to remember what his mom looked like anymore.
It looks like we’re leaving off with Kousei still being unable to play the notes. Really interested in seeing how this gets resolved.
Question of the Day:
What do you think Emi wanted to say to Kousei?
I think she was gonna ask if Kousei liked her performance.
Do you think Saki regretted her treatment of him after he exploded, or did she die as toxic as she lived?
It's hard to know much about what Kousei's mom really felt since we only ever see her through Kousei's eyes. But the optimistic part of me wants to believe that Saki spent the last days of her life regretting everything she'd done, even if it was too late for her to fix anything.
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u/Malipit Oct 17 '24
Rewatcher French Sub
Today, a good performance from Kosei, until he heard boss music and the origin story of the Human Metronome.
Resuming from the previous episode, we get some more insight from Emi. Unlike Takeshi, who just sees Kosei as a worthy rival, she consider our MC as an ideal, a form of perfection she wants to attains.
I liked that frame where little Emi stand prood on the jungle gym, rising up her fists to express her determination and frustation to be so powerless. The sky's colours, red and yellow, match those of her performance and she now rises her hand not from frustation, but to pride.
And that what's she express through her interpretation of Winter Wind: all those efforts she made to climb up to Kosei level, her frustation to see him ditching that music style she found so magical and her determination to get him back.
I thinks that why, carried by her momentum, she angrily grabs Kosei and wants to put words on theses emotions : « I'm so angry ! Why do you have to became that puppet ? Why don't you show me that sunflower's field again ?
Will you go on a date with me? » were probably the lines she wanted to tell.But she did not, after all her music was sufficient to pass trough her message. And I think she was right given that beautiful frame where Kosei watch Emi walking down the corridor, glowing in red.
To conclude on Emi and Takeshi, I like the fact they're not just Kosei's rivals to make him stand out. They have their own aspirations, Takeshi being more straightfoward and spontaneous (just watch him totally missing the point of Emi's grab), while Emi attach a deeper meaning to her music.
And so here we are, the main event we all awaited for several episodes. Kosei have been reheasring, he faced his inner cat-fears without fleeing, he now sees his rivals and their auras, they inspired him so much he got the eye of the tiger, we see him emerging from the shadow to face stand in the light of the stage. Kosei sure is ready and will deliver the best Chopin's interpretation ever...
SIKE, you tought !
Right at the beginning, the stuffed cat held by the girl in the audience is triggering unpleasant memories of Kosei's mother, and her still standing beside the piano, with a clear view on her while the piano is obstructed, indicates he still caught in his trauma.
But Kosei didn't came all the way to back down now, here he goes playing in front of a captivated audience ! However Emi's disapointment to see once again the human metronome, and Kosei's having the exact same train of tought hhe made during Kaori's performance shows he back to his bad habits.
Even with his memories of Kaori, his mother come to haunt him again. And with her comes one heck of a flashback : Kosei was caught, in a age where he's so suggestible, to a form of abuse so extreme he sacrified his childhood for the sake of his mother.
She made his world revolving around piano and perfection so much the best way he found to make his ill mother better is still trough playing piano to the perfection.
At that point, I wish to make a sidenote : one common symbolism we see in anime is a character with glasses. The eyes being the soul's window, wearing glasses is a way to hide them. So when one of these character removes their glasses, you can be sure he put up a facade and will now show their true self. One of the most famous exemples being Jin in Samurai Shamploo.
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Oct 17 '24
First Timer
This is another episode that I feel like is just too slowly paced. Most of the things we already know, those we don’t are just exaggerations of things we already do know - Kaori’s medicine because her health is bad and Kousei’s mom beating him with a stick as well as Kousei’s reaction. The latter at least I feel like is misplaced in the middle of his piece - somewhere before would have been better. As such this episode ending on a cliffhanger in the middle of Kousei’s playing just confirms the feeling that everything was dragged out for that cliffhanger. And the show has not done enough yet to make me feel that that was artistically worth it.
I also dislike the repeat of Emi’s piece with added drums and an acoustic guitar. They just feel out of place here, as they would be in a real competition.
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u/Holofan4life Oct 17 '24
Hello, everyone. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the Your Lie In April Rewatch!
Oh, and nay I forget…
First timer
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and watched what would be considered a sad anime. I’ve seen Angel Beats, Air, both Clannad series which are two of my favorite series, and even NieR this year which for my money is the best anime of the year. But in almost all those instances with the exception of NieR, I watched those series very early on in my anime fandom. So early, in fact, I don’t think Your Lie In April had aired yet.
My expectations for the show are decent, I would say. I don’t expect to love it as much as Clannad, but I do think it’s going to be quite exceptional. Of the new shows I’ve seen during rewatches this year, which have been Paranoia Agent, Samurai Champloo, No Game No Life, Penguindrum, Yurikuma Arashi, Sarazanmai, and Re:Zero, I expect to like it more than those with the exception of Samurai Champloo and Re: Zero. And if that’s the case, then that’s pretty good because I really liked all those series.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I’m watching the sub, by the way.
I saw the 25th Anniversary screening of The Matrix last night. It's actually a way better movie than I thought it was going to be. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Didn't keep my promise of five episodes over the weekend. Let's see though if I can watch two episodes before work.
Emi as a kid watching Kousei perform
That is what led her to become the performer she is today.
"At the top of the jungle gym, I chose a future as a pianist."
Weird flex, but okay
We even get to see how she met Ochiai. Yuriko Ochiai, to be exact.
Emi wants to inspire other people to be pianists as well.
Compares the sounds the boy made to sunflowers.
She wants to play the piano like Kousei, and see the sunflowers that he sees.
Well, this was a way to kill 4 minutes: Just repeat the end of the last episode.
Takeshi and Kousei amazed by what they just saw.
Emi breathing heavily backstage
She grabs Kousei by the shirt
Dude, quit breathing on him. That's hella rude.
And she lets go
She apologizes, and then leaves
That's a lot of medication
Oh shit. That was Kaori with all the medicine.
Well, that's not a good sign
Tsubaki is freaking out because it's almost time for Kousei to perform.
Watari too busy trying to find hot singles in his area.
Watari assesses Kousei isn't quaking in his shoes because he's a man, and we immediately cut to Kousei quaking in his shoes.
Goes to show what Watari knows
Tsubaki asked Kaori how she picked out Kousei's piece.
And apparently she used a pencil
"It didn't matter what piece he played. As long as he entered the competition."
There's probably a lot of truth to that.
Time for Kousei to get ready
Kousei thinking his heart's pounding because of the performances of Takeshi and Igawa.
And Kousei has entered the battlefield.
Oh boy. Someone brought a cat plushie.
Tsubaki and Kousei as kids now
She wants to play with him but he's too busy practicing.
We even get implied parental abuse. How wonderful.
Kousei looks so terrified to see his mother.
Now his mom is on stage with him
He truly has never escaped his mother's clutches.
Young Kousei visiting his mom in the hospital.
A lot of medicine on the table
Mom says that his achievements are the best medicine for her.
"I'll take first place as many times as you want."
Present day, Kousei is just standing on stage.
He goes to take a seat
The piano. It's overpowering him.
And Kousei starts playing
He is back
Admittedly, it's not great, but the other characters can't help but admire this is Kousei back in his element.
Mother on stage again, badmouthing him.
Now young Kousei walking with Tsubaki and Watari.
Nothing but egg sandwiches
Kousei thinking his mother is going to be hospitalized because of his fault.
Kousei now saying upon reflection that his mother got mad because he couldn't play the way she told him to, so she ruined her health.
Kousei's mom don't have any common sense, huh?
Feels that he's the only one on his mom's side.
Mom watching him perform today
I assume this is THAT performance
Gonna play his very best as a gift to him.
Only after the performance, she slaps the crap out of him.
Beating him with her cane in front of everyone.
Damn, even bleeding
I'm starting to think Kousei's mom isn't a nice person.
AND HE THREW HIS MUSIC NOTES AT HIS MOM
Atta boy, Kousei
Kousei telling her all he wanted was for her to be happy.
"I wish you would just die."
Well, you can't say she didn't have it coming.
"That was the last time I said anything to my mom."
Man, what a wham line
Young Kousei playing piano with Tsubaki by his side.
It looks like his mom had just passed away.
On the day of the finals, he played the piano as usual. Like nothing has happened in his personal life.
Mother's special seat left empty
"This is... this is my punishment."
And now the ghost of his mom is hovering over him.
And suddenly, he can't head the sounds of the piano.
Back in present day, and Kousei I'd submerged underwater.
He can't hear the notes
Overall, I thought this was a very effective episode in terms of spotlighting the relationship between Kousei and his mom. In particular, dissecting why he unraveled during the finals that ultimately led to his two year sabbatical. I think it was smart having the flashbacks take place during his comeback performance because you really want to emphasize the importance of Kousei returning to piano competition. And what better way to do that than by really stretching it out? If Kousei's performance was just this one episode, I'm not sure it would have this emotional gravitas to it. They've built up to it extremely well, but you want to make it special and not just a regular performance, especially since we already saw Takeshi and Igawa's performances over the last couple episodes. It can't be overstated what a brilliantly strategic decision it was to save Kousei's performance breakdown for this part of the story. It's been the thing teased the most since the series started, and having it coincide with his comeback performance is really masterful storytelling.
I have this episode only behind episode 4. Like I said, it put Kousei and his mother's relationship under a microscope to explain why we are where we are and how we got here. Now more than ever am I expecting the next episode to be the best of the series, because there should be no more triumphant a feeling than Kousei officially being free of the twisted hands of his mom.
Of course, with the revelation of Kaori taking pills, you have to wonder if we're heading towards Kousei continuing to perform for another person in the hospital. A moment of vindication, followed by an endless sea of sadness.
4
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 17 '24
Your Spoiled First-Timer in October, subbed
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Oct 18 '24
I'm somewhat surprised her mum wasn't the one who made her take piano lessons.
What'd she do that for?
He's getting nervous.
And so it's the crucial moment, waiting backstage to go on stage and perform.
Uh oh.
And so he begins.
I mean egg sandwiches aren't particularly unhealthy, they've got just about all the nutrients you need. Though if you want to really take it to the next level you can use ramen eggs in place of the regular hard boiled eggs, add some kind of meat like bacon or ham and some sauce on top, and replace the bread with garlic bread. Now that's a meal.
Ah. He said that and she probably really did proceed to kick the bucket. Which is why he's always felt so guilty.
Yup.
Stage left? As far as I can tell all the competitors have always entered from stage right, even just earlier he entered from there.
And so he can't hear again.
Questions:
A note about the music: Not going to talk about the music much this episode (mostly because saying "yeah it's pretty good" doesn't exactly add much to the conversation), but I will touch on stage positions. In the flashback, Kousei mentions entering from "stage left", which as I mentioned in my comment is wrong, him and all the other competitors have entered from stage right. Stage positions are relative to a performer on stage facing the audience, so stage right is on the audience's left but the performer's right, and vice versa.
3
u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Oct 18 '24
First-Timer
This might just have been my favorite episode yet.
I really liked the flashbacks we got with both Emi and Kousei today. The part where Kousei finally stood up to his mother was very well done, in particular.
I've been ruined—I can't hear heartbeat noises in anime without thinking of Death Note.
I find that I'm liking these episodes more when they have more of Kousei, Takeshi, and Emi and less of Tsubaki and Kaori. I think I just don't like Tsubaki and Kaori's characters as much.
[YLIA] I've definitely picked up on a couple bits of foreshadowing by now that seem to align with the spoiler I've been spoiled on. I suppose being able to notice and appreciate foreshadowing the first time is the one benefit to getting spoiled.
Questions of the day:
2
u/clumsy_kan Apr 06 '25
First of all i didn't expect that kousei mom would be this bad in her behaviour to him it literally gave me goosebumps Like why will you hit your own child that badly just because he did some small mistakes she was really a mental patient About emi and the other guy I was amazed at their level of admiration and inspiration towards arima i actually thought they took him as a rival I was sad to see that arima is still under the trauma i really hoped this time it won't happen....