First Impressions / Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

「さよならヒーロー」 (Sayonara Hiiroo)
“Goodbye, Hero”

This episode was all over the place in terms of the emotion spectrum. From overwhelming sadness to an incoherent amount of pleasure, as well as every single other emotion that exists in-between, it was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. (Takaii here covering for Zanibas this week!)

K-Drama Territory but Better.

Ever since Kaori was stuck down with whatever is plaguing her, I haven’t been a huge fan of it. Sure there were glimpses of what was to come, be it a short shot of her meds or her constantly passing out when she really shouldn’t be, but it just seems so unfair for someone like her to have her freedom stripped from her. Sure there’s also the argument that her personality might stem from the very fact that she has some sort of untreatable disease, but that’s probably a conversation for another time.

Either ways, I wasn’t too happy with the anime taking the Korean drama route of unleashing a sudden illness upon one of our main characters. Besides the obvious issue of trying to create some sort of conflict for the newly renewed Arima, I was extremely afraid of us getting served some sort of anticlimactic deus ex machina that solves all the problems in a way that makes all the emotions we’ve felt up to this point become null and void.

Luckily this week’s episode did a good job at highlighting the fact that there may be no easy way out — and that in itself in my opinion was even more powerful than giving us hope that a miracle might be waiting for us. Because when life doesn’t go quite according to plan, it sometimes unleashes the truest most candid responses from us. Responses that sometimes elicit actions that occasionally have profound effects on everyone around us. (I don’t know about you but I was bawling when Kaori’s parents were having that chat with Kousei. That look of complete despair on a parent’s face when their child is facing the impossible that slowly changes into one of hope when their child refuses to throw in the towel brought out such a strong emotional response within me I just couldn’t stop ;___;)

Osananajimi-kun

I won’t lie — I’m part of the camp that wants Tsubaki and Kousei to become the true OTP (One True Pairing). While their interests, personalities, and overall demeanor are on completely different ends of the spectrum, there’s no denying that Tsubaki holds some of the strongest feelings for our piano playing dummy. Sure, they might be obscured by her insecurities and slight jealously but who hasn’t had their emotions toyed with when they were crushing hard on someone?

Anyways, what I know for sure is that I can completely sympathize with her plight. Not wanting to overstep her boundaries but wanting more. Trying her best not to get too close but cherishing every single moment she gets to spend with him. And probably most importantly, trying to tread a very delicate line between friendship and love.

I’ll always be here rooting for your Tsubaki! ;___;

The Past Creates Your Future

Another thing I think this show does very well is how much attention it gives to all the side characters. Not relinquishing them to simply being more detailed characters as the camera pans over a static shot, I love how they all have their own unique personalities that we know just enough about to actually care. I mean, when we first met Emi and Takeshi I couldn’t have cared less whether or not they ever showed up again. But now they’ve become important characters who each have their own reasons for doing what they do. While Takeshi’s obsession with the robot version of Kousei was kind of weird, it’s nice to see him finally realize it’s okay to be himself and do things the way he chooses. And in Emi’s case, I don’t think there’s any saving her haha.

Looking Forward

Even though some people may have issues with this show, there’s never been a week where I haven’t looked forward to a new episode. There’s always something great waiting to grace our screens and even if you didn’t want it, there’s more than enough feels to get your eyes nice and hydrated. Seeing how things are slowly starting to wrap up though and with the end in sight, I think the biggest question we can ask is whether or not we’re going to get a happy ending. While I wouldn’t mind everyone smiling, I don’t think this show is designed for that.

See you next week! Maybe.

 

Preview

29 Comments

  1. One of my best friends is in the hospital who clearly has feelings for this guy I like, and I know she has feelings for him too. Well whatever, I’ll try to score points with him anyway.

    Tsubaki? more like NTRbaki.

    illusion
    Reply

    2. Love is complicated. Some sacrifice themselves while others do not. Though for others those self sacrificing types can be seen as either noble or foolish, while those who don’t sacrifice are seen as either good or bad.

      Mainly it depends on the side the viewer is rooting for and the so called “ethics”, with the former carrying more weight. Thus the “shipping wars” with the increase in number of viewers and opinions.

      ofislacker
      Reply

    3. Oh come off it, these kids are already behaving way more maturely than kids 14-15 year olds would(and I’m not saying that in a good way, I see it as one of the show’s flaws that I’ve ultimately learned to deal with, kind off…). At least Tsubaki showed some humanizing flaws here(too bad she’s still a character that doesn’t add much to the show as a whole), although even then she’s way more self-conscious than most kids her age would be.

      MgMaster
      Reply

  4. Honestly, a few episodes in I couldn’t help but detest most of the main cast, but watching them each grow a little bit and with the introductions of a lot of fun supporting characters, this has become quite an enjoyable and emotional experience. I’ll be sad when it’s over.

    kagehina13
    Reply

  6. https://randomc.net/image/Shigatsu%20wa%20Kimi%20no%20Uso/Shigatsu%20wa%20Kimi%20no%20Uso%20-%2019%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg
    ohhhhhh man it’s that time….

    https://randomc.net/image/Shigatsu%20wa%20Kimi%20no%20Uso/Shigatsu%20wa%20Kimi%20no%20Uso%20-%2019%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
    This scene did leave me with stinging eyes. After this much emotion, the rest of the episode seemed bland in comparison. For instance, the hair cutting scene felt much better and lovey dovey in the manga. Here, Tsubaki comes over, has a brief moment alone with Kousei, and then with a scene change it’s back to Kaori and the music competition. It’s like they’re doing this on purpose to prepare for…Show Spoiler ▼

    Which brings me to the #1 peeve about this episode. Either they completely blew over Takeshi’s “change” or they left it under cooked. Seriously, his performance didn’t feel any different but apparently Nagi’s hero is back and Takeshi is able to bid farewell to the shadow he was chasing as kid. There was nothing else there…Kaori’s parents already collected the emotional toll we all paid when we watched this episode. Takeshi just felt like an add-on for sake of plot progression by the end.

    Synic
    Reply

  8. I don’t know about you but I was bawling when Kaori’s parents were having that chat with Kousei.

    I totally agree! But the final blow was when Mr. Miyazono says “Thank you, Arima Kousei.” There’s a lot of emotions in those words.

    RLeo
    Reply

  10. that song from the beginning of the competition is schubert’s piano sonata no.16, a piece that i think is better than the etude that takeshi played
    i knew it from nodame cantabile 🙂

    danes256
    Reply

  12. To be honest, although I feel sorry for Tsubaki because of her conflicted feelings, I’d much rather ship Emi and Kousei. That is, if I didn’t already ship Kousei and Kaori like crazy. I think I am a rare fan in that I really, really, really like Emi’s character. Takeshi kind of annoyed me, but he’s on the path to redeeming himself. Plus, he’s the brother of adorable Nagi-Chan…..
    But anyway, I’m glad that now they talk to each other, instead of sitting next to each other and ignoring each other. They’re are a good team, and even if they are ‘enemies’, I feel like they’ll continue being friends too. Emi and Takeshi might even be a good source of support if Show Spoiler ▼

    Aki-Chan
    Reply

  14. this series really has lost a lot of the depth the first few episodes promised. after 19 episodes, it still really hasn’t delivered. i’ve come to accept this is just an interesting teenage melodrama which I will follow to completion. But I won’t expect much more than that.

    hwighting
    Reply

  16. Show Spoiler ▼

    Show Spoiler ▼

    landofthekwt
    Reply

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