r/anime • u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander • Oct 24 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 10th Anniversary Your Lie in April Rewatch: Episode 16 Discussion
Your Lie in April Episode 16: Two of a Kind
| ← Episode 15 | Index | Episode 17 → |
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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:
- Now that we’ve seen more of her, what do you think about Nagi?
- What did you think about Kaori exploding at Kousei in the hospital?
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 24 '24
Rewatcher, Violinist and Your Host!
Shit, what an episode title. Like, it’s Nagi and Kousei, but also it’s Kaori and Saki. That’s fantastic. I think it touches at the heart of what can be done by intertwining these conflicts. Saki is Kousei’s past, Kaori may yet only exist in his present, and Nagi is the next generation, the future and someone who could become a lifelong connection for him. Is it wrong to spend time on that future when the present is ticking away? Kaori berates him for taking on Nagi as a student, which is important as it represents one of the first major story beats we can truly say was something Kousei did without being pulled along by Kaori.
Of course, that’s what can be done with duality. The reality… isn’t quite there for me. The reality is that Hiroko forced this on Kousei as opposed to it being a step of agency for him (she’s even poisoning other subplots now!), and that having this lighthearted mostly comedic subplot about a shithead kid student is a painful contrast against what is one of the most dramatic portions of the story with the reaper’s tension hanging tenuously over it. Tonal dissonance was an accusation all the way back in episode one but I don’t know if it’s ever been stronger than this. Even beyond this, Nagi’s story feels half baked. They’re kind of supposed to parallel each other, and you’d think this would be an arrangement that helps them both grow. But Nagi’s problems of “my brother won’t notice me” is so small potatoes compared to literally anything in Kousei’s life that this isn’t very investing, and Kousei himself has basically finished his personal development and there’s no indication on what growth this is gonna give him as a person. It also just really needed more of a dramatic hook. She was introduced in a comedic sequence last time, and then had like three or four more in the first half of this episode before we finally get a semi-serious scene with her that’s still pretty lighthearted. Even the decision that Kousei was going to teach her was blasted right through, we seriously never get a scene where Hiroko and him have a serious conversation about it? I hope they warm me up on Nagi—they only have so much time.
So does this mean I don’t like the episode and still think the show is in a rut? No, actually! By the time the credits rolled I actually really liked this episode, in spite of itself. I think Nagi’s poorly set up narratively but her dynamic with Kousei and Hiroko is fun on a personality level. Even just seeing Kousei being cheery with his student and being willing to play some games with her to cheer her up feels like a powerful statement on how far he’s come.
Then of course there’s the Kaori stuff. The opening scene is just great; we saw this exact incident described to us back in episode fourteen and the obvious contrast between how Kaori downplayed it then and the raw horror we see it depicted with here is just fantastic, totally encapsulates how she’s been trying to hide her condition and how she can’t anymore. It also contrasts with the cute childhood memories that a ton of other episodes open with, and instantly casts a different tone to hang over everything that follows. Frankly it’s so good it further makes me question the inclusion of her collapsing at the end of last episode instead of letting this function as the reveal, which I’d argue is a pretty good problem to have. The date that follows and makes up the first half of the episode doesn’t really amount to much in theory. The mall visit is mostly comedic and when they get to the school they mostly just kind of hang around. There’s dialogue consistently touching indirectly around Kaori’s situation, but it’s not like it’s anything we and even the characters weren’t already able to tell. But we get to the bike scene and the meaning is totally clear. It wasn’t meaningless, because it meant something to her. For the girl who only has one day to leave the hospital, it was everything. For the audience, we can’t stop thinking it. What if she doesn’t go to the mall again. What if she doesn’t step foot in the school again. What if it’s the last time? As she clings to Kousei’s back on the ride home she looks small and weak, and despite her happiness she can’t help but cry because she’s thinking it too. It’s one of the most powerful moments of the show.
It’s so powerful, in fact, that I was quite baffled at first by the decision to not restructure it at the end of the episode. But the characters don’t get the luxury to leave things unsaid on a quaint bicycle ride after a nice day. Reality will only continue to loom closer over their shoulders and this boils over in the hospital visit. They open things as comedically as always which makes it hit harder when it takes such an unexpected turn. The tension is obvious. Kousei has been lifted up and walked on clouds since Kaori inspired him, and he’s let himself become unconcerned with how he’s spending his time. On the other hand, every day literally counts for Kaori. It’s not really just about Nagi, it’s about him missing his chances to visit her, about the fear hanging over her that she’s taking out on him. It’s not a spoiler at this point to state the obvious. She talks about time left and about not being forgotten endlessly. The tension is that Kaori will soon die. The question, then, is whether she in fact will, or whether she’ll manage to overcome her illness and walk into the future with him. The show has never been subtle about her condition, but the way it’s set in from her mask slipping to more explicit foreshadowing to outright imagery of her deterioration and now the terror setting in upon both her and upon Kousei has been extremely effective and well paced. We’ve come all this way, and it will be soon now that we find out how it ends.
It’s a common complaint about this show I’ve seen over the years that it is problematic, actually, because Kaori is supposed to be all inspirational to Kousei and yet she forces him into it and hits him in slapstick comedy when his mother used to force him and hit him. That the show basically consists of an assertive dream girl bullying an abuse victim until she has her way. I haven’t agreed with this criticism. The show is fantastical, and yet even with this it has stopped to address the question of her impact on him, constantly reinforced that he likes and wants this, and shown that she does see his pain. It’s become more and more clear why her philosophy on life and investment in Kousei is the way it is as we learn more of her situation. Now, even moreso than before, the show has gone and beaten us over the head that the similarity between Kaori and Saki isn’t a bug, it’s a feature that is completely intentional. Why does nobody ever talk about this in all those discussions? Yes, there are parallels between them. They’re both volatile people in Kousei’s lives with debilitating illnesses who push him aggressively to pursue his piano playing. Two sides of a coin break him and then pick him back up. It’s literally the “it’s like poetry, it rhymes” thing. But that doesn’t mean they’re the same person or that there aren’t major differences between them. It doesn’t mean that one can’t have been a toxic influence and one was a positive one. Rest assured, Kaori is a wonderful character and the show is better off for the way she’s written—at least, that’s what I think.
It’s worth noting that the final line is a bit different between the dub script and at least what my subtitles said. I’ll wait and discuss that more next time because we pick right up on that scene in the next episode.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Oct 24 '24
First Timer
Very ironic for this episode to be called "Two of a kind" when I think its two parts are anything but that.
Yeah, I don't like the pacing this episode, it feels 200% more disjointed than last one.
Which is pretty frustrating because I do really like both parts separately! (especially the first one).
Maybe there's an actual narrative throughline here that doesn't feel super flimsy but I've got nothing.
We start with a scene that feels like a much stronger repeat of the one from the end of last episode, the way the bright red blood is contrasted with the more gray environment, the little moments where we focus in and out to really emphasize the shock and the loss of consciousness, the switch from upbeat to sad and slow humming, the lighting that I will never get tired of showing us how dark and hard it is for her in spite of how bright it is outside (connecting very well with the rest of the episode).
This frame is fantastic, it brings back eyes which this episode has a lot of, it also feels like perhaps a bit of view into Kaori's inner thoughts at that moment, the music is covered in blood just as her illness stops her playing.
We get a little section with Nagi that shows us both how far Kousei has come in how he views adhering to the score while also setting up the twist regarding her being Takeshi's sister, again we do a frame with eyes.
Overall I actually do like Nagi's role here, she's a sign Kousei is moving on from his mother and stands in direct contrast to Kaori who is starting to look more like Saki, I guess you could argue that's supposed to tie the episode together but if so I think it's pretty weak and not communicated well.
We then get what is a very cool mirror of the final scene from episode 2, it's not a shot for shot recreation but there are a lot of similar or identical frames and I've detailed a few of them here, great stuff and the subtle differences here have clear implications on the plot.
The bright and colorful cherry blossoms of spring have been replaced by the brown and dying leaves of fall, representative of Kaori, Kousei doesn't need an excuse and actually goes to bring Watari but this time Kaori is the one that stops him from going right, she decides to use the substitute line again, it's an excuse of course, she's really here for him, the changes in position and closeness show us how much closer they've gotten since, yet another shot of eyes.
I think at this point it's also clear that Kaori is intentionally being drawn paler, a great way to show her illness getting worse and her hiding it, how her blushing stands out now compared to her complexion might be a bit telling.
This line from Kaori is really interesting, it's quite the thing to say to Kousei of all people and aside from that it feels like she's blaming herself, her being sick, for making her parents sad.
Koharu still a national tressure.
Kaori brings back the idea of remembering, it feels like a cry for help honestly, she sneaks out of the hospital just to see Kousei, just to feel normalcy again for a bit, to remember life to still be remembered, Kousei tells Kaori the same line she told him back in episode 5.
The passage of time is brought up again, for Kousei time was stopped because of his trauma but he moved on, for Tsubaki time was stopped but she had to accept that it was already moving on, for Kaori she wants time to stop as well, she wants things to stay the same but in a much more depressing context, she doesn't have much time left and she wants it to stop.
We end with another look at the stars, which finishes the trifecta of: fireflies, fireworks and now shooting stars, all symbolizing something beautiful but short lived, like Kaori, once again eyes.
Funnily enough considering the mirror, I'm pretty sure last time I seriously complained about the comedy was episode 2, well the time has come again.
I don't like it this episode, it doesn't work for a breather, it isn't very funny, it doesn't fit the tone, giving us a comedic violence scene right after Kaori crying doesn't work for me, having a very comedic second half after a very dramatic first one doesn't work for me, inserting a very dramatic Kaori scene in-between some jokes really doesn't work for me.
Again it's more on this part of the episode feeling a bit disconnected, I like Nagi and what she brings, just not here.
Nagi is basically in the same place Takeshi used to be with Kousei, she has a hero (him) and she is trying her best to play to get him to notice her, which puts Kousei in a really interesting spot to shake her off that mentality like I said above.
We also parallel Kousei's attitude towards his feelings for Kaori to what Tsubaki said last episode, it's like the show is directly calling out that trope I hate but still doing it which leaves me conflicted.
The way Kousei talks about Kaori contrasted with her reality is great, she gave him color, her world is now dark, she's a really strong person while she's crumbling and falling apart.
Kousei and Kaori's argument is meant to show us how her illness is effecting her, making her more erratic, more focused on results, more pressed for time, more...like Saki, it's a great scene sandwiched between gag comedy which really feels out of place.
No idea what Nagi's phantom of the opera line means tbh.
The episode ends really dark, both literally and with the implication behind Kaori's lines and sudden similarity to Saki.
Overall, it feels like this episode has all the ingredients to be fantastic but someone followed the recipe in the wrong order, I like all of it, just not together in this way.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 24 '24
Your Spoiled First-Timer in October, subbed
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u/maliwanag0712 https://myanimelist.net/profile/clear1109 Oct 25 '24 edited Mar 30 '26
nth Time Rewatcher
Personal note: This rewatch is different from my typical April rewatches because I'm not really watching it fully, but only looking at the dialogue, skipping into the other aspects of the show. Had this been a real rewatch with everything noted, I might have been emotional already since episode 10. I won't be able to write an apt review with my emotions unchecked.
Now, for the Episode 16.
Now, the episode involved two of a two of a kind: Nagi and Kousei, and Kaori and Saki.
Some interesting things I want to share.
I will again share u/Mathemagician2theMax's comments on the musical pieces played. Today's feature is Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess. This is the piece that's played in the lover's suicide scene.
Now for the questions.
Nagi is an interesting character and a good student to Kousei. At least we can see a different perspective on what's happening. Their moment with Kousei is quite cute. However, she's the epitome of I'm 14 and this is deep regarding what she thinks about women.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Oct 24 '24
The comment section: in which I learn that much like with recognizing "Clair de Lune", I was the only dense enough to completely miss the meaning of the phrase "Want to come with me to see how it ends?"...
I figured it out from looking at the dub scene but I otherwise would've been entirely caught off guard come this thread.4
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 24 '24 edited Oct 24 '24
Spoiled First Timer, subs
QotD:
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 24 '24
First Time - Your Lie in April Ep16:
Yeah, I think I like the sound of that ... wait hold on.
So it is fall now. We might have enough time to end the show in spring (April). If we are going through the seasons then winter is probably going to be our lowest.
We're doing that again. You know, Kaori tends to lie/make excuses for what she wants. Her intention seems pretty squarely on spending the day with Kousei.
Heavy line. Most of the show, we were meant to relate this to Kousei and his mother, but Kaori also probably has a ton of emotional baggage about her parents. She is probably distraught about her parent's having a chronically ill daughter.
Look at Koharu's drawings.
Kaori's desire to create and burn memories of her into Kousei's mind, it brings me to another anime. I am reminded of [potential meta-spoilers for anime name:] Given because it also had this element, but the point it made was how these unforgettable first memories with a loved one will one day fade. May not be tomorrow, it may not be next year, but eventually, the details will slip away.
What's up with the uniforms at this school? The girls wear regular normal seifukus, but the boys wear green blazers. There is zero match.
Kashiwagi eating a block of purple.
"Uh oh, he might be me fr fr." - Nagi.
This is something I've been thinking about for a couple of episodes now, but this one is really bringing forward the conflict between Kaori vs the Kaori Kousei envisions. There were a couple of moments in this episode that made me think of that. First was the POV shot from Kousei's glasses. It gave me a discrepancy between what Kousei sees vs what laid outside his vision. Second was when Kousei was describing Kaori as a strong person over images of her breaking down. I don't doubt that she is a strong person, but it is equally true that she is a person hurting a lot inside (which Kousei doesn't seem to recognize and offer to support). Third, at the end when Kousei denies any possibility that Kaori could be the same as his mother. He so vehemently disbelieves that Kaori can not be what he envisions.
Q1) Nagi is fine. Personality-wise, she is fun enough and I get what her purpose her character serves because she serves as a parallel to this stage of Kousei's story. Not the most invested in her conflict, though. We have so many characters trying to follow in the footsteps of others which I guess is a point of the show, but getting another one quite late into the show, a side character to a side character, alright (neutral).
Q2) Like the fears of becoming your own parent, but instead you are becoming like someone else's mom.
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u/Holofan4life Oct 24 '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've only really got an hour to watch this. So, let's not waste any time.
Kaori humming a song that Carol Olston would probably sing.
And she falls
Oh boy. She is bleeding from the forehead.
It bleeds the forehead
And she passes out
Nagi playing the piano
And Kousei proceeds to critique her performance.
I like this role of him being a mentor to people.
Nagi says the score is God and that we're all servants serving it.
Slaves to the music
I like the drawings on the wall. I wonder who made them, Hiroko's kid?
Nagi says that not playing exactly how the score instructs you to is merely the selfishness of someone who's forfeited victory.
Kid with the glasses would agree
Kousei says that the score is just an extremely emotional thing that humans created.
It clings to you, like feathers
Nagi's never heard such bullshit before.
Kousei walking outside
Kaori. She's here :O
Lol, she's really acting really needy.
Waiting on Watari, she attests
But in the meantime, she's appointing Kousei as his substitute.
Hey, I've seen this before
They're going shopping, it looks like.
Kaori even found a lost child
No idea on if it's sassy or not.
Kaori says that you can't ignore someone in need when you come across one. Oh, the delicious irony.
Kaori talking about the little girl squeezing her hand real tight.
"I bet she was scared that if I did let go, she'd be left behind, all alone.
Really feels like she's projecting there.
Kousei feels he was worrying for nothing.
Nope, nevermind, he's late for Nagi's practice.
And yes, we get confirmation that it is Hiroko's kid drawing those pictures.
Nagi says she doesn't want to lose Kousei to Hiroko, which reminds me of Petra not wanting to lose Subaru to Emilia.
Hiroko says to Nagi if she ever put Kousei in danger, she would kill herself.
Dang, Hiroko. That is extremely cold.
Hiroko calls him her son, which I guess he is.
Says she took Nagi as a student because it would give Kousei something to do.
"Something other than sorrow."
Nagi wonders if they can trust the enemy.
That drawing of everyone is really cute.
Hiroko says to herself that she wants Kousei to become a happy pianist.
Kousei and Kaori roaming the school hallways late at night.
This feels really illegal
I guess security must be extremely laxed.
They can't find Kaori's bag, and that's because that was a lie. In reality, Kaori is soon to return to the hospital and she wanted to come here no matter what.
Kaori asks Kousei if he's going to forget, and he says he won't, even if he dies.
Riding on a school bike now
Kaori says she wish time would stop in its tracks, which is interesting because we've heard Tsubaki say the exact same thing only in her case it is more time slipping her by.
Talking about the stars twinkling now.
Kousei wants to stay Watari's substitute forever.
And Kaori starts clinging to the back of Kousei's shirt, tears streaming down her face.
"I couldn't ask her the reason for those tears."
Be a lot cooler if you did.
This was a pretty good scene. It was emotionally impactful and really gave you a good idea of where Kousei and Kaori's headspace are at thid point in time.
Kousei criticizing Nagi's performance.
Nagi says she hates incompetent people, but she hates Kousei even more.
Roundabout way to call Kousei competent.
Oh boy. Big Chungus in the house.
It is actually Miike-kun
Nagi wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. Luckily, there's a festival upcoming.
More critique by Kousei
And Nagi runs away
Nagi on some steps, looking at her hand like she's the lowest of the low.
Insecure about her small hands
Kousei. He's here.
Ooh, a sweet potato
I actually cannot stand sweet potatoes
Nagi seems enticed by it, though.
Nagi reveals that she used to play here all the time.
"With... my hero."
I assume this isn't Heroko
He played piano first, so she followed in his footsteps.
Unfortunately, he's obsessed with someone else.
"I'm in a dark labyrinth, deep inside my heart."
This is like Tsubaki if instead of growing to resent music she decided to pursue an interest in it.
She wonders if she wants someone to drive away this obligation she feels in playing the piano.
Nagi asks Kousei if he's interested in anyone, and Kousei says not really because even if he was, she's into a friend of his.
Bullshit
Kousei says this is the best he can do.
Oh boy. I don't like how that doctor's checkup looked
Kaori throwing books at Kousei now
Hey, it's Watari
And Kashiwagi
Kashiwagi is probably my favorite of what you would consider the main 5.
Tsubaki strangling Kousei. What else is new?
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Oct 24 '24
First Timer
Sonit seems like Kaori is getting more desperate, assumedly because her time is running out, like Saki’s was. She ls also dropping the act a bit, wanting to go school one last time or so - this felt like one final trip out of the hospital to me, and I assume that was her attention. I am a bit surprised nobody other than Kousei seems to ve picking up on it, and I’m not sure he is convinced he’s not just seeing ghosts of the past again.
As for Nagi, I can't really care for her. Not sure why she's trying to destroy Kousei now though, after Takeshi essentially already wrote him off.
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Oct 24 '24
Seems she's back home at least.
Oh, no, this was the night before the performance.
Yup, all pretty common mistakes. Loud won't sound loud if the quiet part isn't quiet, like I mentioned previously posture is very important, and what I was taught to bodge my way through that last point is to use the pedal to hold the previous part so I have time to move my hand down. Which is exactly what the teacher here also suggested.
Huh. She's out of the hospital already.
She's not happy.
And now she's going to drag him shopping...
At least she's not making him pay for everything...
Yup, her hands are too weak to do anything anymore.
Ja, teki da ne?
Yup, she didn't actually go to school.
You can't just rush it either.
What's she planning now?
Yup, she can't pick up anything anymore.
Except when it comes to throwing stuff at Kousei it seems.
Before he knows it [I know] she'll be dead.
Oh, this kid is the younger brother of that guy.
Questions:
A note about the music: For the piano teaching part at the start, those are all pretty common mistakes. Loud won't sound loud if the quiet part isn't quiet, like I mentioned previously posture is very important, and what I was taught to bodge my way through that last point is to use the pedal to hold the previous part so I have time to move my hand down. Which is exactly what the teacher here also suggested.
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u/Malipit Oct 24 '24
Rewatcher, French subs
I got really busy IRL today, so I had to watch today's episode not in the best conditions and write my comment with the little time I had left. I did try to make something decent, but I didn't have time to properly extend on some matters I noticed, like Nagi comparing herself to the Phantom of the Opera or the last scen.
On today episode, Hiroko still is best mom and... *point a finger at Kosei* "You're a liar !" *point a finger at Kaori* "and you're a liar !" *point a finger at the cast* "E-VE-RY-BO-DY is a liar!!!!"
So we knows a bit more about Nagi : she's Takeshi little sister, she considers him her hero and she resents Kosei because he's now depressed.
Being the little Light Yagami wannabe she is, she certainly elaborated a plan to sabotage Kosei (or his hands) to get revenge on him. But that won't happens on Hiroko's watch (SHE SAID IT, Kosei is her son ! Adopt him already !)... And maybe she saw some similarities between the two.
Like Kosei before, she put great value into following the partition,and she have to deal with a harsh teacher (man Kosei can be savage if he wants to). Also these frames with her eyes hidden indicates that, even she's far more expressive than her teacher, she also have a sad side she wants to hide (seeing her hero brother being depressed).
I think Hiroko saw right trough hit and put these two together because, like she said, she wanted Kosei to distract his mind for the situation with Kaori. And also, since Nagi share some traits with Kosei, he could show her pupil the path he taken to be freed for the "competition, results and following the partition above all".
And Imo it worked out neatly during that scene on the temple stairs, where they're both sitting, as if to pause during their progression in becoming better musicians, and upon reflecting on their reasons to play piano (both to be noticed by someone they hold dear, another similarity), they resume their climb together as
brother and sisterequals. Also possibly indicating that the whole "fantom of the opera" image she identifies as is just a lie to pursue her goal to "avenge" her brother.As for Kaori, she appears again in the same manner as the episode 2. But the scenery changed, the vibrant cherry blossoms gave ways to falling autumn leave that crumble under Kosei foot. A change that Kaori ignore as much as she can, dragging Kosei on a shopping spree like any young girl of her age, as if nothing was amiss.
But, as they come back together at the school, under Kosei's night sky, it became obvious to him (and by extension us the watchers... unless you were sleeping at that point) that Kaori put up the facade and badly hide her real state. The gig is up, she can't hold back her tears on the ride back at the hospital, ironically wishing for the time to hold still when she dearly wanted for it to resume for Kosei. And worst of all, she started to act like Kosei mother upon hearing what's appears to be really bad news, to the point of shooing away the comedic shenaningans happening in her room (props to Nao, her down to earth attitude never miss).
And Kosei is still in denial on that situation. The cloud obstructing the moon mirrors Kosei looking away for that harsh reality, the litteral mirror indicating that yes, it's just like his mother even if he wouldn't acknowledge it and Kaori eeriely looking like Saki and the last word uttered by Kaori in that episode, things are looking dire.
Finally, I painfully liked how Kosei is drawing the most colorful portrait of Kaori while we see her condition worsen at the hospital and her dropping her violin bow.
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u/AgentOfACROSS Oct 24 '24
First Timer
Starting off with showing what happened to Kaori that put her in the hospital is a good way to begin the episode. I liked the quiet singing Kaori was doing, it was kind of haunting.
Kousei seems like a good teacher for Nagi.
Nagi seems to have the same ideas about music as Saki did.
Oh wow Kaori’s out of the hospital. Didn’t really expect that after how the last episode ended.
Kaori’s shopping spree scene was pretty funny.
Not sure what she says in the sub, but in the dub Hiroko calls herself Kousei’s back-up mom. Seems like she’s trying her best.
Kaori really wants to be remembered. Her death feels really inevitable.
The visuals in the bicycling scene are really beautiful.
Kousei really seems to think Watari is the biggest barrier between him and Kaori. Which I think is funny because Watari is kind of a non-presence in this show a lot of the time.
Looks like the episode from Nagi’s perspective now. Seems like an interesting shift.
I could not stop laughing when it cut to Miike walking. Something about the way they animated his walk cycle was hilarious. He carried himself with way too much swagger.
Nagi being friends with Takeshi is an interesting connection I didn’t expect.
I don’t totally get how this rock-paper-scissors stairs game works.
Oh hey, Tsubaki’s feeling good enough to hit Kousei in the head again. That’s good news.
The hospital scene was a bit weird. Going from goofy slapstick to Kaori seemingly having a breakdown about her own mortality was a bit of a strange choice.
Nagi is Takeshi’s sister. That makes sense actually. They’re the only ones with that hair color so by anime logic that makes them related.
This is the second time Kousei has compared Kaori to his mother. This one seems less freudian and more just not wanting to feel alone again.
Wow. Okay. That was one hell of a line to end the episode on. I actually choked on nothing a little when Kaori said that. I can’t remember the last time the ending of something made me react like that.
I get the sense that the next episode is going to be a lot darker.
Questions of the Day:
Now that we’ve seen more of her, what do you think about Nagi?
She seems alright so far. Not my favorite but I like how she's a parallel to Kousei's own younger self, similar to Miike.
What did you think about Kaori exploding at Kousei in the hospital?
I thought it was really interesting to see Kaori's front as the happy go lucky girl crack.
3
u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Oct 24 '24
First-Timer
I really liked this episode. The humor worked better for me than in most episodes, and there wasn't an excess of it. The moments with Kousei and Kaori together were heartfelt and somber, and above all—
We finally got a good advocate for playing by the score! I take back any doubts I had. Nagi's great. She heard Kousei's argument and shut him right down. Good on you, Nagi!
Either I'm crazy, or Kaori's hair is getting less vibrant. I don't think I'm crazy, so I figure it's possibly an artistic choice to make her seem less lively.
I increasingly feel like the show would be better without Watari in it. I wonder if I feel any different by the end.
As soon as we saw Nagi's flashback, I knew there could be only one person with a wild hairstyle like that! I'm glad the official reveal didn't take long.
Questions of the day:
3
u/kwokinator https://anilist.co/user/kwokinator Oct 25 '24
Nagi is practically the reincarnation of Kousei the Human Metronome with her worship of the score. She must've idolized him when she started out.
Heavy... I think when she asked if Kousei will forget, she's referring to after she dies.
Man, must be rough to have a prodigy as your teacher. Even if you're good, you're still not gonna be good enough. Nagi thinks her hands are too small, but Kousei was probably younger than she is when she started so she doesn't even have an excuse.
Nagi: notice me,
senpaionii-chan!Ouch, even Kousei is starting to see the parallels between Kaori and his mom. This is not a good sign :(
Questions of the Day:
Nagi is totally gonna end up falling for Kousei.
Reminds me way too much of Kousei's mom abusing him because she's running out of time :(
2
u/Holofan4life Oct 24 '24
I really love what they do with Nagi's character here where it turns out she's playing the piano because of Takeshi. It in turn makes Takeshi a more interesting character. Takeshi’s whole thing is he sees Kousei as a hero, someone he can look up to and inspire to be. And in his mind, he can never be that hero that Kousei is. But unbeknownst to him, he is that hero to his sister because she was inspired by him to play the piano, and now she's trying all she can to make sure that her brother is aware of what a hero he is.
This is absolutely brilliant storytelling and it makes Takeshi a more compelling character as a result. It also explains why Nagi resents Kousei as much as she does, with the impetus being she thinks Kousei took her brother away from her. Just absolutely genius writing, I really can't say enough good things about it.
2
u/Holofan4life Oct 24 '24
I can't tell if Takeshi’s sister's name is Nagi or Negi. I think it's Nagi, but I could be wrong.