02/16/2017
My internet’s finally back online! Now on to the update!
Hi everyone and here is the continuation of the reboot of Blog Medley with the return ofAnime Wednesdays! I’ve been promising the review of two of the best Music anime series we’ve seen in the past 2-3 years but due to various reasons as stated on Thoughtful Mondays I had to delay my blog updates for awhile. And so without further ado, Anime lovers were blessed with two great classical music series in 2016 starting with Shigatsu wa kimi no uso (Your lie in April) in January 2016 and ending with Hibike! Euphonium 2 (Sound! Euphonium 2) in September 2016. Both of these animes focuses on classical music with Shigatsu wa kimi no uso focusing on piano and Hibike! Euphonium focusing on brass band. The main difference between the two is not the instruments but rather the troubles the musicians go through as they continue to advance forward in their profession. Shigatsu wa kimi no uso, focuses deeply on character, soul searching, self confidence, and basically the entire emotional and mental hurdles/traumas a top class musician must face. On the other hand, Hibike Euphonium focuses more on the members of the band and how each member’s issues impacts the band as a whole.
Kaori trying to raise Arima’s confidence before their turn in the competition after waking him up with a headbutt haha as seen in episode 4 of Sigatsu wa kimi no uso
- Shigatsu wa kimi no uso
In Shigatsu wa kimi no uso, we follow Kosei Arima, who was famous as a child for being a gifted pianist. However, due to the tragic loss of his mother and the abuse he endured prior to that period by his mother he suffered enormous mental trauma and can no longer hear the sound of the piano — even though his ears are medically sound. As his childhood friends watch him struggle through highschool after losing his livelihood (playing the piano), Kaori Miyazono, a beautiful but wild violinist, appears and drags him back into the world of music, a world he abandoned after losing his ability to hear the piano. She would later force him to be her accompanist as she performs in competitions. With Kaori’s urging and the support from his childhood friends Arima embarks on a journey filled with thorns and tragedy to face his past and rediscover his passion and reinventing himself as a pianist. This amazing manga written by Naoshi Arakawa was beautifully adapted into anime by A-1 Pictures, a very well regarded studio known for blockbusters like Fairy Tail and Sword Art Online. The studio had a great story to work with to beign with but the character design, animation, and music that the studio added in simply made it a superb anime. I can still here Kaori’s version of Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso as I write this blog. With Arima as her accompanist, it became a clash of the ages haha. This is a must watch if you enjoy the music genre, just remember to keep a box of tissues around as this is a tragedy (Arima’s childhood) within a tragedy (The thorny path that Arima must take to become a better musician and reclaim his music).
And the clash of the ages is born as Arima’s playing threatens to leave Kaori behind as he slowly recovers from his traumatized past during their performance of Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
- Hibike! Euphonium!
In Hibike! Euophonium! we follow the Kitauji High School brass band and the various problems that plagues the band from individual issues to group issues. As anyone that’s been in band or in an orchestra can tell you, the practice is gruelling especially if you’re trying to win in competitions. It also doesn’t help if the group is dysfunctional either due to one person or groups of people. The story also takes a look at Japan’s societal issues like Senpai vs. Kouhai. In the old days, students in the higher grades would get the advantage of being starters on sports teams or in this case the band regardless of talent. However, as everyone is aware, the more talent you have the better chance you have of winning. This was one of the issues that was truly well depicted as Reina, a first year gifted in the trumpet, fought to be the soloist against a third year student. Because Senpai/Kouhai relations are so ingrained in Japanese culture, the entire band had to come to terms whether Reina should be the solo or not. This 26 episode anime (2 seasons of 13 episodes each) was produced by Kyoto Animation, a very famous animation studio, and while the animation quality was there, I must say that when compared to Shiagtsu wa kimi no uso it was slightly lacking in some areas. The first was definitely the music. Now I’ve never read the manga so I don’t know if the pieces played were those shown in the original material however if it was the music director should have tried harder to convince the author to change it for the anime. The pieces just aren’t as memorable nor impactful as the ones in Shigatsu wa kimi no uso. The second problem, and this one isn’t Kyoto Animation’s fault, was the plot. Some of the “issues” the student’s faced were really due to a lack of backbone and the author dragged it out for too long. However, this is still a great anime, definitely one of the better ones in the music genre, and should be watched.
Reina displaying her skills during the audition as she vies for the right to play the solo section of the performance.
Next week I’ll be reviewing one of my favourites during the Fall 2016 season, Drifters, before I get on with reviewing this year’s Winter 2017 season. I would’ve reviewed it if I had the time back then but as I said before problems had come up that had to be dealt with so forgive me for being a little late. And on Friday I’ll be continuing my reboot of Blog Medley by restarting my Travel Fridays section so don’t forget to come by and check it out!
© 2017, Anson Wu. All rights reserved.
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