-This review will contain spoilers.
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It is always nice when a show is able to write characters that feel human, and Piano no Mori does a fantastic job in that area. What seemed like just a normal music anime ended up having not just beautiful classical music but also a great example of what happens when you let your jealousy of other people get in the way of your goals. The story begins with our protagonist, Kai, who is a poor kid that loves playing the magical piano in the forest, and about how after meeting a new kid in town, Shuuhei, he begins to learn more about music, until he eventually realizes that performing in front of an audience, and having said audience applaud and appreciate the music, makes him feel incredibly happy. Throughout its twelve episodes, the show is able to portray realistically how a character is impacted by feeling inferior to someone else, and how the feeling of being less than x person, makes them be chained in a neverending loop of suffering and self-doubt.
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Kai is like the sun. He radiates positivity, despite having been brought up in a bad place, and he is very eager to improve himself, while also acknowledging that his only real enemy is himself. Shuuhei, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. In the beginning, he was this new kid who became friends with Kai and then bonded over the piano, even offering to help him read music sheets, and then from that point onwards, he became depressed over feeling like he was never good enough to beat Kai, and even thinking of him as a threat. Shuuhei, unlike Kai, was born with a gold spoon. His father is a very famous Pianist, and they seem to be well off. Even though Shuuhei has all of this, he still can't help but envy Kai. He is very jealous of his achievements, and this jealousy makes him stray further and further away from his goal, which was to become a professional pianist, like his dad. It is stated in the show, that pure hard work maybe will never be enough to go against a prodigy. This is true, but even so, if you really want something, you will try your hardest to get it no matter how many people tell you that it is impossible. Shuuhei's whole world revolves around what Kai is doing, and this only makes him sink even more into his already bad self-esteem.
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He was doing really well after the time skip, but then after hearing Kai was going to participate in a competition, decided to enroll in it just to fight him in it and maybe win. He believes that if he beats Kai, maybe he will be able to move on, and so will his dad, who wasn't able to best his own rival in the past. Even if Shuuhei ended up beating Kai, it wouldn't help. Shuuhei cannot be freed from envy just by winning once. Even if he won, who is to say he wouldn't keep challenging Kai forever just to be able to mildly heal his wounds? what Shuuhei needs, and this is even said by another character in the show, is to stop caring about how others are doing, and to focus on himself. The thing with Shuuhei is, he holds others to a higher standard than he does himself. He has a big ego, and while he is talented, this is still not an excuse to feel like you are above everyone else. He is a big walking contradiction. He knows Kai is not at fault for his inferiority complex, but at the same time, this doesn't stop him from getting upset at Kai getting better recommendations, or just overall performing better than him. He lost sight of what he wanted to become, just because his old friend is doing better than him. He is probably the most human character in the show, even if his attitude does make him annoying most of the time. At one point, he thinks about how he envies how Kai is able to live without shackles. Shuuhei too can be free, once he realizes that there will always be someone better than you whether you like it or not. Trying your hardest at something doesn't necessarily mean you will succeed or are owed victory, just like failing once, or twice, or many times, doesn't mean you have to stop trying.
Another great character in this show is Kai's piano teacher, Ajino. He used to be a famous Pianist, but after an accident where his fiancee passed away, he ended up discarding his piano and his pianist career. It was only because Kai was able to play that same piano he let go of, that he came back to music. He is a very kind man and after finding that Kai had immense potential, decided to completely support him and take him to the world stage. Probably one of the most memorable moments in the show, was when Ajino tells Kai, that after his car accident, he wished many times to die. But after meeting him, he feels like he regained his reason to live, which is teaching him music and helping him succeed. Ajino is the closest to a father figure Kai has had, and because of him, he is now able to freely follow after his own dreams.
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The biggest flaw of the show, for me, is the production value. The artwork is not really beautiful, but it is not ugly either. There is the dreaded CGI that every music anime seems to use, and it does clash heavily against the 2D. Most of the CGI is used when the characters are playing the piano, and this is very hard to not notice since there is someone playing piano in almost every single episode. The model used for Kai is the one that looks the worst, and this is probably because his hairstyle is wild. There were also many instances where the show just lacked logic. Two characters had met for less than an hour, and then were having complex conversations and asking each other if the other party trusted them. There was also a grandma who decided instead of looking for a security guard or another adult, she should ask a kid to help her find her missing child. If you can overlook this, average animation and some wonky faces, you'll probably have a good time watching this. None of the characters were particularly unlikable, and even if they appeared to be so in the beginning, they had some screentime after so that we could get to know them better. The ending of this season was a cliffhanger, which is sad because I am not interested enough to watch the second season. This was probably the setup for whatever is to come. Kai is the god of pianos, and even if I won't see it, I hope he is able to win at least one contest since his skills certainly are up there and he has the personality of a star.
