Your Lie in April is a fantastically written anime, and now that I have finished it, I regret having put it off for so long. I think the music element of Your Lie in April may fool some into suspecting that its a music nerd's dream anime, however, music is just the vehicle that sees the blooming of Kousei, Kao, Tsubaki, and Watari into new people, who mature and transform over the course of the anime.

I think the character development in the main 4 is amazing, and it allows for an intimacy between the viewer and the characters, which can only be achieved with excellent writing. Throughout the course of the anime, there is a personal attachment between the viewer and the characters, or at least I experienced this personally, and I think it made Your Lie in April that much more moving.

However, I will cede that there were around 1~2 episodes where the storyline lulled a bit and I didn't find it as enjoyable to watch, but I think these were pretty easily overcome, firstly, by the completely gut-wrenching ending, and also the unique storyline and character building. And although some may claim that the ending and a lot of the conflict was somewhat cliche, which I agree with, I don't think it took away from one's ability to enjoy watching Your Lie in April, and that's why I haven't paid much attention to this.

Another thing that I would like to commend the producers on is the score. I think the soundtrack really makes this anime, and apart from the obvious opening that everyone knows, I think that some of the onstage performances are some of the most moving moments in the entire show, and I think that this is driven a lot by the pieces that they are playing. This is where the choice to use music as a narrative device really pays off, and you really don't get that from the manga, so in this case I think that the anime adaptation has really contributed to the quality of the story, as the music adds so much power.

One slightly concerning thing, if anything, is the innumerable similarities that one could draw to other anime. Personally, I can see a lot in common with Barakamon, whereby someone is struggling with their hobby, but they end up reinventing themselves and their skills and growing as a person along the way. Obviously, we can all see the comparisons to Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai, but even having watched both of these anime before Your Lie in April, I really don't think that this occurred to me until finishing the anime, as I was so engrossed in the story line that it makes it hard to criticise or compare until finishing, which is why it holds quite a special place in my heart.

Overall, I think its quite a fresh anime that puts a nice spin on the High School/Slice of Life genre, choosing the vehicle of a musician. Although, it is cliché, and had its lulls, I, personally, really enjoyed watching this anime, and as such I think it deserves at least a 9/10, but a little less than a 9.5, which is why I settled on a 92.