Naturally since this is a music anime its only right to touch on this aspect of the show but I won't get too detailed on specific classical songs that are used besides being completely in awe over any performance in the anime since they are all spectacular. Starting with Kaori's in the second episode. Kaori's performance was breathtaking as Kousei said it himself as she completely made the piece her own rather than following the score of the composer which meant she was disqualified but she wasn't gunning for the victory, in actuality it was to be remembered in people hearts and can I safely say this performance will be remembered.

The next performance would be Kaori's second round in which Kousei plays as her accompanist and I tell you whenever one of these performances began I was immediately taken to an alternate dimension where I forgot I was even watching anime since I was mesmerized. By the end of this review I will start sounding like a broken record but I can't state enough how phenomenally YLIA handles its musical peformances. The storytelling during them is exquisite and only gets better in the later performances. Kaori and Kousei's performance was entrancing to witness worthy of having an entire episode dedicated to it.

The next few performances would form a short competition arc which introduced Kousei's greatest competitors Takeshi and Emi whose performances were stunning, genuinely fantastic! Both capturing splendid storytelling on why they became pianists and it all leads to the same answer, Arima Kousei.

Skipping over Kousei's performance in this competition since although important not quite as monumental as at the Gala which he had to perform alone due to Kaori missing. The entirety of the thirteenth episode was a pretty feels heavy episode. Firstly, as stated earlier each and every performance sends me to another world where I completely forgot I'm watching anime, secondly the storytelling portrayed throughout each performance has such deep meaningful messages conveyed within; they really touch my soul. I swear every time I see "Did it reach her?" in the anime it tugs on my heartstrings...

The penultimate performance I want to mention would be Nagi and Kousei's duet as Its another extraordinary performance that leaves me in a mess...time after time the performances in this anime portray phenomenal storytelling and I can't help being swept away by the emotional tension. Showing both sides of the story as Nagi plays for her brother so he looks at her once more and Kousei plays for Kaori to convince her to dream once more. It really is a fantastic message conveyed through the power of music. Its true, music is capable of transcending words!

Kousei's final performance of the anime is very likely the greatest of all. It was so depressingly sorrowful yet so wonderful simultaneously conveying everything that he wanted to say through his music. He wonders if it reached her? It didn't only reach her, didn't only reach the audience in the hall as it very likely reached many hearts of viewers alike as it certainly reached mine. It was a perfect way to say goodbye...

With those performances covered I pretty much mentioned what I wanted regarding the OST for the most part but it would be a sin to not mention the first OP which is a classic. "Hikaru Nara" by Goose House will never ever get dull since although this is the only song I know from this band but what an iconic tune it is. Its even used as an insert song a few mins into the first episode as the studio clearly were so hyped about it. This OP is wonderful but it would also be a sin to not mention the second ED which is nearly as grand. "Orange" by 7!! is a beautiful melody to hear when you conclude an episode and I cannot state how much emphasis it carries when I hear it in the final episode one last time. It really is the perfect song to end a story of this caliber.

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I remembered YLIA being visually stunning yet I was still constantly amazed how gorgeous it looked. The art is genuinely stunning and it only took one episode for me to start complimenting Kaori's beauty endlessly since the aura that radiates from her is infinite.

Even this simple bridge scene in the fifth episode has so much natural beauty emanating from it its simply gorgeous to look at. With each passing episode I found myself complementing the art time after time as its so pretty, vibrant and colorful.

Let's talk about some characters, Tsubaki is Kousei's childhood friend and if my past experiences with romance stories is anything to go off of then she was doomed from the start as childhood friends very rarely win when it comes to love triangles. Your Lie in April doesn't shy away from this stereotype as although Tsubaki had known Kousei since they were in kindergarten it was Kaori who entered his life and allowed him to move on from his past trauma. Needless to say there are some very good episodes which focus on Tsubaki's character that I enjoy plenty. Tsubaki's uneasiness regarding this relationship shows its true colors in the sixth episode for the first time. Even when on a date with the former captain she used to have a crush on, all she talked about was Kousei, she realised she's not the one by his side and again she felt uneasy, she realised she wasn't part of that "we" and again she felt uneasy but the finale of this episode rewarded her when although she felt terrible, in pain and depressed the sky still shined so brightly as she was the one by Kousei's side.

The fourteenth episode again focused more heavily on Tsubaki's character and did so in a fantastic way. It focused on her feelings that's she hasn't realised yet or refuses to be honest with, the little kid brother who used to be by her side is now a grown boy so she's no longer able to use this same excuse when Kousei is brought up. As Kashiwagi mentioned if she's not going to be honest with herself then someone will get hurt as such is the painful reality of love triangles. They are very entertaining to watch but one party will always come out the loser.

The insert song "For You" during the beach scenes was exquisite emphasizing what was already a touching scene and elevating its effect further.

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The first half of the fifteenth episode focuses further on Tsubaki's character as she finally realizes her own feelings, feelings she was oblivious to (intentionally or not) because she wanted things to go on just like they were. She wanted Kousei to forever remain a little kid brother but reality is far more brutal and doesn't wait for anyone. The message here is you have to keep up or get left behind.

The twentieth episode focused on Kousei and Tsubaki's relationship one final time including flashbacks to their childhood reaching the point where she finally came to terms with her honest feelings for him as there was no longer doubt due to her jealously and any thoughts concerning Kaori making her feel unpleasant but she has a rather violent way of showing them similarly to Kaori...

I absolutely loved the next couple mins after she made her confession showing Tsubaki running away completely overwhelmed with emotion venting her pure genuine frustration. It reminded me of a similar scene earlier in the anime showing Kousei venting his frustrations after his loss during the piano competition which I will mention later.

Its fitting to mention Kousei next so that's what I will do. A high school boy who suffers more trauma in this anime then some people do in their entire lifespan. Losing his mother at the age of twelfth and not really knowing anything outside the world of music up to this point since his mother had forced her dream onto him was the kind of sheltered life he had lived up to now. The ninth episode gave us more insight into his character as it focused on his backstory and upbringing as he never had a proper childhood like most as daily he spent hours upon hours practicing the piano to perfect the score for many pieces. He truly believed that he would be able to help his mother overcome her illness with his playing and placing 1st place in competitions but then he was confronted by her what would have been their final encounter with each other and the last most devastating words he said to her were "I wish you would just die" which is exactly what she went and did shortly after. Kousei will now have to live this down for the rest of his life and be haunted by these dreaded last words which he can never ever take back.

During the performance which I omitted earlier there was no plot armor for Kousei as he broke under the pressure which meant he stopped his performance midway causing his disqualification however he started again as he remembered Kaori's words who never let him give up which lead to a stunning spectacle of Kousei's imagery. Its episodes like these that I am once again reminded why this is my favorite music anime, at times I forget I'm even watching anime when I completely immerse myself in such a fantastic performance.

At the end of his performance we have Kousei wondering if this performance reached her...oh my goodness if only he knew! And this scene hits sooooo hard as its just a ~~little~~ lie she told...

Kousei after sustaining a loss for the very first time feels real human emotions of frustration and this scene perfectly sums it up, it felt so natural, so real and genuine and it was after this performance that Kousei's time has started moving once again as he has set off on a journey. This shot screams very strong SoL vibes and I love it so much for that.

As stated before, simply looking at this anime is gorgeous, even a simple scene like this one conveys such beauty. Kousei also finally had a chance to look at the night sky with Kaori which answered his question on what kind of sky he would see with the person that inspired him to face his fear of music and finally move on.

The ending of the twentieth episode took quite a dark turn, when Kousei stopped looking for an excuse to see Kaori, he was able to acknowledge that he simply wanted to see her since he liked spending time together. Coincidently her condition worsened and if that wasn't enough then also the death of a stray cat that looked exactly like Chelsea, a black cat he took in when he was younger was giving an extra traumatic flashback to his past. Seeing characters crying pains me but seeing characters that usually put on a smile hits on a whole another level... Give this boy a break please...!

The most important character after Kousei or equally as important would be Kaori of course. As mentioned above I was instantly amazed by how beautiful the art looked and Kaori in particular, something of note is this right here is Kaori from the end of the first episode and as the anime goes on its very noticeable how her color decays from a bright shiny yellow in her hair to quite a dim and no longer sparkling yellow color.

Since this was my second rewatch I started picking up various things knowing the conclusion for instance Kaori getting off at the hospital stop in the third episode is the first foreshadow of what's to come at the end.

Another would be her plea to Kousei asking for help before she loses everything which again can refer to her incurable illness which we wouldn't know about as of yet.

Another would be this which may not seem deep on the surface since it can simply mean that Kaori may not be around Kousei when they go their separate ways when they grow up but knowing the ending the meaning is faaar more daunting as again its a massive foreshadow that Kaori's time is finite.

In another episode at first I was once again amazed by how beautiful and stunning Kaori appeared but then it hit me... as this is the pure smile we failed to protect and coming to that realization really pains me :(

Remember earlier I mentioned that Kaori starts off sparkling and that her color decays over time? Well this shot is from the thirteenth episode which clearly shows her color decaying slowly leading to the inevitable... This is just after her collapse right before her performance at the Gala which she wasn't able to make it to.

The end of the fifteenth episode offered a truly heartbreaking scene as Kaori's legs simply stopped functioning, she beat them in order to make them work but they didn't respond...its such a painful scene since she has huge dreams yet her legs gave way involuntarily and there really isn't much she can do in this situation, its really just so sad :(

At this point any screen time outside the hospital Kaori receives is precious as most scenes show her bedridden or hospitalized. Her color really has completely faded since the beginning of the anime and it was only getting more and more painful watching her suffer as I inched closer to the dreaded finale... ALSO HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO FORGET YOU!?

And is this just meant to be a dead giveaway that her time is nigh? Its quite a daunting statement to make.

In the nineteenth episode Kaori decides to have surgery which if successful will prolong her time all in order to chase her promise with Kousei to perform together once more. That is "IF" its successful. Kaori's reasoning to go through with the surgery hits really deep with some of the statements she made.

In the penultimate episode the entire exchange on the roof surrounded by snow is phenomenal starting with what will be the last few smiles from Kaori we will ever see...as I mentioned before her color has completely faded compared to the first episodes of the anime.

When Kousei was once more close to giving up on music the most important person in his life reminded him that she is still here, she said three words but that's all he needed to hear to believe in music again.

Both gave each other a reason to dream once more and to believe in the power of music. Kousei has gotten to this point due to Kaori entering his life one April spring and Kaori has decided to have surgery in order to prolong her life as long as possible to fulfill her dream with Kousei after watching him struggle so earnestly. The storytelling in this anime is truly of the highest level portrayed in spectacular fashion. Previously Kaori may have accepted her fate but now she wants to live on!

Lastly, the letter... Oh man YLIA was the first anime to teach me the emotional prowess of letters which Violet Evergarden later finessed and after having seen that KyoAni masterpiece Kaori's letter has an even greater effect than it did when I first rewatched this anime three years ago. Everything that Kaori could/wanted to say during the anime she managed to mention in the letter and convey her honest feelings. This is a bittersweet finale that is so fulfilling as it concludes the story in a magnificent way. She finally managed to say the words I wanted to hear most.

After completing this rewatch I can safely say and acknowledge YLIA as my fav music anime as well as adaptation from A1 as its simply a musical masterpiece of the highest order!

I think I rambled long enough about why I love and cherish this anime so I will add a few parting memes/images relating to YLIA which were circulating around the end of March and throughout April that I came across which only incurred further pain...

Spoiler, click to view

If you've made it all the way here and have read the entire review then you have my utmost respect and I salute you for taking the time to read this marathon review so thank you!