I think he was practicing by himself. The teacher just didn't know about it.
I think he was practicing by himself. The teacher just didn't know about it.
Peace.
He said himself that he hasn't touched the piano for a week. I'm actually not sure how much time was between the Kaori scene and the contest, as I only paid cursory attention to the calendars shown, so maybe he did get a little bit of practice jammed in.
I wonder how much of a problem it is to stop practice for a week.
We're talking workaholic piano geniuses here.
And although the other 2 had their full practice schedule okayed, it's not like they do not have their own troubles.
Also, Kousei seems to be several notches above the other two in terms of genius.
So is that week that detrimental, or does it serve as a breather where he can sort all of his feelings and be ready at the very last second to let his genius express itself?
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening. And then: Golf.
It's not a problem of the general level of skill as a piano player. The problem is that he had less time to practice and hone the specific composition he was to play. Although arguably his own words made it sound like his fingers had already forgotten how to play during that single week, which is bullshit, of course.
Episode 22 Final - HS
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A fine ending. I wasn't sure which way the story would choose for an ending, but I'm satisfied it was this one. There a certain ruthless sense of realism about it, yet this episode was really beautiful with both the piano performance and then the letter. Despite how he was earlier, now you can see Kousei had strength in him. Perhaps it was born from both experience and the fact he realised he's not alone despite the loss. When his mom died, he had neither of those.
A perfectly executed death of a main character is a powerful story element indeed. If a death is used cheaply, it won't amount to much or might even annoy, but there were no such worries here. If Kousei hadn't come to terms with this, the ending would have been bitter and thus bad. We saw enough emoness from him as it was, so this was real character development. Yet it was clear, already during the piano performance when he got the premonition, that it wasn't easy for him.
This was definitely one of the best shows of the seasons it covered. Maybe I'll need to check out the manga as well, to see if it's different. Although if Kaori's fate wasn't the same in the manga, I wouldn't know what to think.
Tsubaki is still a pesky musclehead. I hope the ending didn't suggest Kousei actually accepted her. Nagi, Emi, or anybody would be much better.
Masterpiece.
It is very rare to find a series in which the story, characters, and execution are all excellent. And a masterful ending at that?
Brilliant.
Even the title made perfect sense. Every single part of the story contributed to its conclusion. I can talk about this all day, but it would not justify how beautiful it all is. I'm writing with tears running down my chin.
Nagi's line near the end was translated wrong. She actually said, "It's not like I want to be Arima-sensei's piano, okay!? So cliche!" She wanted to be manipulated by those expert fingers, and who can blame her?
Kaori, you won't only live in the hearts of the characters, but the viewers of this heartrending yet warming story. I, for one, will never forget you. I'd rather you appear as a ghost before me than that.
Peace.
No wonder her reaction and the subtitle line didn't match at all. I can't help but wonder if CR didn't do that on purpose.Originally Posted by shinta|hikari
I got a bloody phone call right in the middle of watching this episode. It kind of ruined the atmosphere for me. Curses!
I woke up much earlier than usual today. Normally, I can get back to sleep for some more shut eye, but then I recalled that Kaori is now gone. A crushing sense of loss woke me up completely.
Btw, the way Kousei ended his piece, tears dribbling down his cheeks but his head held high and his eyes to the sky, was the perfect topping for his performance. Kaori kept telling him that he was always looking down, and it took a final performance with her, an indelible goodbye, for him to break his bad habit and face the future.
I would ask for a harem end just to make up for all the pain Kousei has had to suffer in his youth, but we all know, as Kaori suggested, that he is nothing like his asshat friend Watari. I think Nagi would be able to support him best. She lives in his world but also has the spunk to keep him from sinking into depression. However, Tsubaki's devotion is hard to ignore. If it's simply about who cares for Kousei the most, only Kaori beats Tsubaki. The others love him more for his piano, but Tsubaki loves him knowing how pathetic he can be. I'm fine with KouseiXTsubaki, and that was what was suggested in the last episode.
Peace.
Tsubaki loved him when he was pathetic and had nobody around but Tsubaki exclusively (and Watari, but being a dude, he's no competition). Tsubaki liked his piano playing, sure, but she also hated how it immediately took him away from her. So, even if Kousei stopped playing, and thus lost his soul, more or less, Tsubaki would be perfectly okay with it. She doesn't even understand anything about music, anyway. That's no good, no good at all. Nagi would absolutely make sure he keeps playing and aims higher, just like Kaori did. Tsubaki's devotion is of a dangerous kind. So, I'm not really okay with it. I hope the ova doesn't confirm that pairing. Or the manga, should I have a look at it.
Besides, pianists need their legs. Tsubaki is hell-bent on breaking Kousei's leg bones.
Tsubaki behaved like that because she didn't know she loved Kousei. Her behavior post-realization was far more acceptable than before it.
Peace.
I think neither Tsubaki nor Nagi could become a love interrest for Kousei. Should he overcome his budding love for Kaori and become available for another love relationship, it would probably happen outside the character cast we have here. Probably near of post music college graduation. And that would make a hell of a spinoff if carefully written like that show was.
Remaining cast not mentioned are Emi and Nao.
Emi is a mix of a strong oponent and also great Kousei fan. Being both pianist is detrimental. Also there's no hint at anything yet. But they are young teens and life is full of surprise encounters, even more so as they are top tier pianist, they WILL meet again along their musician life.
Nao is the under-underdog. She's behind Tsubaki who was herself behind Kaori. But she's smart and not that far. She also has time for growth. There's absolutely nothing hinting at any kind of relation with Kousei, there's only her screentime in the same show. So I had to mention her.
Then there are all girls at the same school and all the girls he will encounter from now.
The biggest hurdle being able to keep a place for Kaori in his heart, without closing doors to every other girl.
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening. And then: Golf.
I don't get why Tsubaki and Nagi are out. You didn't explain why you think so.
Peace.
I had the idea, forgot to express it.
Well, even if people evolve, Tsubaki really feels like a big sister to Kousei and Nagi really is a piano student, not a little sister. Writing it like that, I feel like Nagi might have a little more chances than Tsubaki. But that teacher/student relation would probably be limiting Kousei, even if the age difference will become marginal overtime. Unless for some reason Kousei and Nagi live their lives separately for 5 to 10 years and are reunited after that, it's hard to see them together if they share that Prof/Student relationship.
Big sis Tsubaki is out in my mind, because Kousei has shown no love interrest for Tsubaki and was even surprised Tsubaki had such feelings for him. After he learns those feelings, he didn't really show any change that would hint he might be interrested in the near future. From the flasbacks and everything we got from the Tsubaki-Kousei relations, I got the feeling only a big sister love is in Kousei's mind.
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening. And then: Golf.
Nagi is 13, Kousei 14 years old. Nagi is a bit childish by style and behavior, but if she revamped herself, wouldn't she actually be quite similar to Kaori? She has the spunk, certainly, and also, perhaps equally importantly, the good looks. She was only Kousei's student because she isn't as advanced as a pianist and because Hiroko was crafty enough to make Kousei teach her in order to expand Kousei's circle of friends/acquaintances. By getting together with Nagi, Kousei would also gain Takeshi as a brother-in-law, which means those two could compete more intensively as they would probably communicate and meet more often. I reckon the Aiza family must be somewhat music oriented, which could help Kousei as well during his early career. It didn't seem like Takeshi would object either, as long as Kousei would keep rocking the piano.
Yeah, Nagi is like a dying Kaori. The real Kaori is nothing like the girl Kousei fell in love with. She is a shy girl who can't even talk to the guy she loved because he was in a group. However, that still means Nagi is the best fit to Kousei in terms of personality.
Unless the piano is Nagi and they do it in front of him.
Peace.
It can feel pretty bad. Even if you miss a day or two you feel as if your fingers are rusty. Objectively it might not be a big deal, but it feels terrible.
And in this show the growth from 12-14 years is stunning: from midget to middle-schooler. Remember flashback Kousei?
To be honest I thought I would be disappointed at this show during the earlier parts of Kousei's performance. It didn't strike me as being particularly emotional, until we hit Kaori's disclosing letter. I still didn't get as teary as in Death Parade's emotional outburst but the feels were there. The highlight was seeing a more graceful, knowing Arima (and the final conversation that followed) - Kaori's permanent mark.
Only two points that peeved me off a bit in this show. One of them was earlier figurative "drowning" of Kousei's piano playing we had so much of. In retrospect it's necessary to contrast the scenery we see when he recovers, but it was still a dull none the less. The other point would be the medical inaccuracies (that's just me). At the same time, the detail given to the equipment was surprisingly well drawn.
I only just learned about the OVA now. I have no idea what it'd be about but hopefully it'll be a timeskip epilogue instead of a backstory. Things have finished off enough as they are. I'd rather see them moving forwards.
Last edited by Buffalobiian; Sat, 03-28-2015 at 01:12 PM.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
I didn't cry too much while Kousei was playing as well. Even the awesome duet did not hit me hard emotionally, but that was mainly because I was praying that it was all an illusion and Kaori is still alive.
And she wasn't.
Cries.
Peace.
That was the same for me as well. The slight drop in heart rate wasn't a convincing death flag for me and it took the cemetery scene to convince me that Kaori was truly dead.
I forgot to mention that Nagi is awesome. I'm a Kousei x Tsubaki shipper, but Nagi must be in the picture somewhere. A year or two down the track she'll be grown up anda littlesuper annoyed that a music-illiterate person like Tsubaki is Kaori-sensei's girlfriend.
Emi's cool too, but she's content with having a sandwich next to him every now and again.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
I need more Emi and Nagi and Waki. They should create a sequel for this.
Peace.
Shigatsu OVA 576p DVD - Mori
- - - -- - - -
I watched this a couple of days ago, and it was close I wouldn't have even bothered to post a notice here. It was so unremarkable. It was all about the distant past, when Takeshi and Emi started to try to compete with Kousei. So, this was 100% little kids. Needless to mention, nothing really happened here. I can't really say seeing Takeshi and Emi before they decided to give their all to the piano would be that enlightening or meaningless. Kaori also looks more strange than angelic as a little kid, so that was wasted as well. But whatever.
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