Your Lie in April
Such a title seems trivial, almost whimsical, and that's probably exactly what the liar would have you believe in this case. Who is saying this title though? The answer to that, when fully comprehended, adds numerous layers of meaning to the simple phrase. The lie turns into a ruse, the ruse, into a tragedy, the tragedy into acceptance, healing, and catharsis, all of which are told through a compelling story of love, music, and the interactions of the two. Your Lie in April may have created "the most beautiful lie of all." It comes close, anyway.

Story/Themes 9/10 — Here is where Your Lie really shines. There are themes throughout the show of love and music, along with dedication, pulling various people through various personal issues such as childhood trauma and young love, and illness, not to mention the stresses of being a competitive musician. As a musician personally, I am biased towards this. However, it also gives me license to say that many things presented were, very, very powerful. There were also symbols everywhere (not just the obvious black cat, though it is one), such as cherry blossoms for transience (played here to a more potent effect than what it usually is in school dramas), as well as individual pieces of music. Speaking of the music, it also helped with the themes, but that's covered in sound.

Characters/Writing 6/10 — This is... not where Your Lie shines. While there were some very strong, well developed characters (Arima, Kaori, Tsubaki, etc.), and most others were characterized to the point of at least humanization (the two competing pianists), the way the show develops them was not always the best. Arima, for one, is developed painfully repetitively in the early episodes, and though this holds some thematic significance in the kind of development he was going through (it's hard to get over that kind of trauma, I get it), it was not enough to redeem just how repetitive it was (I CAN'T HEAR THE NOTES!!). Kaori, on the other hand, was generally developed well, if possibly only because she wasn't developed as often as Arima. The writing throughout the show, though very flowery (sometimes even beautifully poetic), often detracted from the power of what was going on through written cliches and myriad flashbacks, ultimately detracting from the characterization experience. This is all mostly redeemed, of course, simply by how characterized the important cast (especially the lead duo) was by the end of the show. (Kaori is definitely one of my favorite anime characters now)

Sound (Music/Acting) 10/10 — Not much to be said here. Voice acting was great. Music was a huge thematic element here, and played so much importance that it was almost used in place of traditional characterization. In fact, the music 9 times out of 10 did a better job developing characters and plot than the script did. I really can't speak highly enough of how well this was done. Very few other show can claim to use music to an equal or greater effect. If you want shows that do, see Cowboy Bebop, Nodame Cantabile, and ep. 3 of Angel Beats.

Animation 9/10 — Again, managing thematic importance in an area it doesn't normally come from, Your Lie shines again. It has been praised for it's exceptionally colorful palette and fairly smooth animation, not to mention a wonderful art style, and it certainly gets points there. What really sets it apart though, is how the animation was used. Mention of Kaori was almost always accompanied by even more color, and that is important. The animation even loses color to an extent when the characters lose color themselves or remember a time of less color. However, the occasional jumpiness and noticeable CGI in the animation slightly lower its score.

Enjoyment 7/10 — Your Lie in April was a roller-coaster of enjoyment for me. Though there were times that I truly connected with it, there were others where I had to force myself to continue the show. I swear I almost dropped it sometime early on, but I am glad I didn't. Ultimately, it was fulfilling.

Through and through, this anime deserves plenty of recognition. Kaori asked, "Do you think you'll be able to forget?", and my answer is a resounding "no". To everyone out there, just remember, "Even in the depths of the darkest oceans, some light always pierces through."

By weighting the scores above in my way I do, the final score comes out to be...

8/10, or 4 hummingbird stars.

Thank you for reading this, if you did. Please feel free to comment on my profile and give any feedback at all, be it about the review or the show itself. Have a nice day!

NOTE: This review is a bit outdated, and I would since have changed the character score to be a little higher, and the overall score to 8.5/10