Your Lie in April

Plot

Piano prodigy Kōsei Arima dominated the competition and has become famous among child musicians but also controversial. After his mother, who was also his coldhearted, abusive instructor who forced him to play the piano emotionlessly, died, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a piano recital at the age of eleven. As a result, he is no longer able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing is perfectly fine. Two years later, Kōsei hasn't touched the piano and views the world in monochrome, without any flair or color. He has resigned himself to living out his life with his good friends, Tsubaki and Watari, until, one day, a girl changes everything. Kaori Miyazono, a fourteen-year old audacious, free-spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her manic personality, helps Kōsei return to the music world and shows that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kōsei was used to, and as she continues to uplift him, he quickly realizes that he loves her, though she already likes Watari. The three watch Kaori play at a competition and is greatly moved. She is selected to play at the prelims, due to winning audiences' choice. After Watari stays after school for soccer practice and doesn't walk with Kaori, she asked Kōsei to fill in. They go to a café and Kōsei shows two girls his piano skills. He does an amazing job, but stops abruptly. He explains later on to Kaori, why this is. She asked Kōsei to accompany her at the prelims. He refuses at first, but after much persuasion from Tsubaki and Kaori, Kōsei finally agrees. Though they have not rehearsed, they do an incredible job, except for the time when Kōsei is unable to hear the notes for a moment. Kaori stops and waits for him, and they eventually pick back up. Because of this, the two are disqualified. When they finish Kōsei and Kaori receive a long round of applause, but Kaori suddenly collapses and is hospitalised. When visited by Kōsei, Tsubaki, and Watari she says she has always been anemic and her father just wanted some routine testing done. She then says she will be fine. Though, when they leave she asks the nurse to hook her back up to the IVs and has a flashback looking out the window in her hospital bed saying, "I see, so I collapsed again". She is back in school soon after. Kaori invites Kōsei to play at a gala concert with him.

Characters

Kōsei Arima (有馬 公生, Arima Kōsei)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae (Japanese); Max Mittelman (English) & Piano performance by: Tomoki Sakata Played by: Kento Yamazaki Kōsei is a former child prodigy in playing piano, dubbed the "Human Metronome" for his near-inhuman mechanical accuracy, a product of his mother's overly strict methods of teaching. His ability to play the piano with unparalleled precision led him to win many competitions across Japan and even be invited to play abroad. When his mother died, the resulting psychological trauma caused him to be unable to hear the sound of his piano playing, and he gave up on it. Two years later, he takes up the piano again after being convinced by Kaori Miyazono to become her accompanist. Influenced by her emotional and unrestrained playing style, Kōsei eventually finds himself falling in love with her. He, however, does not confess his feelings due to her liking his best friend, Ryota Watari. It is later revealed in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Coda, a side story from Kōsei and Tsubaki's childhood, that his inspiration for playing so beautifully in his first competition was to cheer up Tsubaki after the passing of her grandmother.

Kaori Miyazono (宮園 かをり, Miyazono Kawori)

Voiced by: Risa Taneda (Japanese); Erica Lindbeck (English) & Violin performance by: Yūna Shinohara Played by: Suzu Hirose Kaori is Tsubaki's classmate; she is a free-spirited violinist who has drawn much criticism from judging panels due to her unwillingness to adhere strictly to the score, but is highly favored by audiences that hear her playing. Kaori first met Kōsei when she asked Tsubaki to set her up with Watari. As their friendship grew, she eventually convinced Kōsei to play the piano again, first as her accompanist and later in a piano competition. It is revealed at the end of the anime, in a letter addressed to Kōsei, that she had asked to be set up with Watari in order to meet Kōsei, knowing that Watari and Tsubaki were good friends of his.

Tsubaki Sawabe (澤部 椿, Sawabe Tsubaki)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese); Erica Mendez (English) Played by: Anna Ishii Kōsei's childhood friend and next-door neighbor, who treats him like a little brother. She is athletic and is part of the softball club at school. Often dismayed at Kōsei's inability to move on from his mother's death, she attempts to get him to play the piano again in order to make a clear decision about his future. She first denies her feelings for him but after undergoing several stages of denial, she falls in love with him, which she confesses to him later on.

Ryōta Watari (渡 亮太, Watari Ryōta)

Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka (Japanese); Kyle McCarley (English) Played by: Taishi Nakagawa Ryōta is Kōsei's and Tsubaki's childhood friend, and is the captain of the school's soccer team. He is extremely popular with girls, and usually adopts a frivolous attitude. However, he does come up with good insights every so often. Kaori was his love interest and when they are together, they are shown to be acting lovey-dovey, which makes Kōsei jealous. Kōsei later tells him about his feelings for Kaori, and he soon accepts this and gives him advice.

Takeshi Aiza (相座 武士, Aiza Takeshi)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese); Erik Scott Kimerer (English) Takeshi is a pianist of the same age as Kōsei. His aim was always to catch up and surpass Kōsei on the piano since watching him play at a young age. His resolve is so strong to the point that Takeshi would even abandon an invitation for a piano competition in Europe in order to compete with Kōsei. To Takeshi, Kōsei was like his 'hero'.

Emi Igawa (井川 絵見, Igawa Emi)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese); Erika Harlacher (English) Emi is a pianist of the same age as Kōsei, who decided to become a pianist after listening to Kōsei play at the age of 5. She aims to reach Kōsei through her emotional playing style. It is hinted that she has feelings for Kōsei.

Nagi Aiza (相座 凪, Aiza Nagi)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh (English) Nagi is Takeshi's little sister who pretended to ask for tutelage from Hiroko in order to scout his brother's rival, Kōsei. She ended up becoming Kōsei's student. She often says "Cliche" (陳腐, Chinpu) to things that Kōsei tells her. After months of tutelage, she develops a crush on her teacher.

Saki Arima (有馬 早希, Arima Saki)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English) Played by: Rei Dan Saki was Kōsei's strict mother who demanded that Kōsei practice the score to absolute perfection, and often beat him for small mistakes. While she did not plan to make Kōsei a pianist at first, her realization of Kōsei's talents and the discovery of her terminal illness made her decide to give Kōsei a strict foundation in piano in order to be able to find his own style and a living as a pianist after she dies. She died before Kōsei's qualification to what supposedly was his first competition in Europe. She appears in front of Kōsei many times throughout the show.

Hiroko Seto (瀬戸 紘子, Seto Hiroko)

Voiced by: Mie Sonozaki (Japanese); Carrie Keranen (English) Played by: Yuka Itaya Hiroko is a nationally renowned pianist and Saki's close friend from college. She was the one who discovered Kōsei's talents in piano and suggested Saki make him into a pianist despite Saki's initial disagreement. Blaming herself for Saki's brutal treatment to Kōsei and his psychological trauma from Saki's death, she distances herself from Kōsei following Saki's death. When Kōsei returns to play the piano, she becomes his guardian and mentor.

Koharu Seto (瀬戸 小春, Seto Koharu)

Voiced by: Inori Minase (Japanese); Cristina Vee (English) A very small child who smiles very often and is the daughter of Seto Hiroko. She enjoys Kōsei's piano playing and always wants him to play more and is very attached to him. She usually clings by her mother's side and is adored by both Kōsei and her mother.

Saitō (斎藤, Saitō)

Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese); Robbie Daymond (English) Saitō is Tsubaki's baseball-playing senior and her target of admiration. He confessed to Tsubaki and dated her, but suggested they break up after realizing Tsubaki's actual feelings for Kōsei, covering it up through saying that he found someone else he loves.

Nao Kashiwagi (柏木 奈緒, Kashiwagi Nao)

Voiced by: Shizuka Ishigami (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (English) Kashiwagi is a good friend of Tsubaki's who often gives her advice. Kashiwagi succeeded in breaking Tsubaki's stubbornness to realize and admit her feelings for Kōsei. Near the end it is established that most of the advice she gives Tsubaki comes from her being a fan of BL (Boys' love) manga, not from personal dating experience.

Manga

The Your Lie in April manga series is written and illustrated by Naoshi Arakawa, and began serialization on April 6, 2011 in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Magazine. The first tankōbon was published by Kodansha on September 16, 2011, and the final volume was released in two editions, a regular edition and a limited edition, with the limited edition bundled with an OVA, and was released on May 15, 2015. The series is licensed in English in North America by Kodansha Comics USA, and the first volume was published on April 21, 2015.

A spin-off manga titled Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Coda was bundled with the release of the Blu-ray release of the anime series. It was later published in tankōbon format on August 17, 2016.

Anime

A-1 Pictures has aired the anime production of Your Lie in April. It premiered on October 10, 2014 in Japan and ended on March 20, 2015. The first opening theme song is "Hikaru Nara" (光るなら, lit. If You Will Shine) by Goose house and the first ending theme song is "Kirameki" (キラメキ, lit. Sparkle) by wacci. The second opening song is "Nanairo Symphony" (七色シンフォニー, Nanairo Shinfonī, lit. "Seven Colored Symphony") by Coalamode and the second ending theme is "Orange" (オレンジ, Orenji) by 7!! (Seven Oops). The original soundtracks are composed by Yokoyama Masaru. In North America, Aniplex of America licensed the series within the region, who simulcasted the series on Crunchyroll, Aniplex Channel, Hulu and Viewster. In Australia and New Zealand, the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment, who streamed the series on AnimeLab. The series is licensed in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Anime Limited. The series was later made available on Netflix with the English dub, as well as English subtitles.

Live-action film

On August 24, 2015, the domain 'kimiuso-movie.jp' was registered under Toho, a Japanese film production and distribution company, which made fans believe that a movie adaptation was in the works. Speculations were confirmed in September 2015 when the main cast was announced for the live-action adaptation of the series: Kento Yamazaki as Kōsei Arima, Suzu Hirose as Kaori Miyazono, E-girls' Anna Ishii as Tsubaki Sawabe, and Taishi Nakagawa as Ryōta Watari. While the original story depicts the characters in their junior high year, it is announced that they will be in their second-year of high school in the film. The adaptation, slated to be released in Japan in September 2016, will be written by Strawberry Night's live-action scriptwriter Yukari Tatsui, and directed by Paradise Kiss's live-action director Takehiko Shinjō.

Reception

The manga won the award for Best Shōnen Manga at the 37th Kodansha Manga Awards. It was nominated for the 5th Manga Taishō.

The anime adaptation was the winner of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper's 2016 Sugoi Japan Awards.