One thing I know a lot of anime fans rave about is the music from their favorite shows; I am no exclusion to this. Music is something that can take a seemingly trivial scene and turn it into something that can move the very essence of your being, and depending on what music is present can determine the outlook of the scene itself.
This is my absolute favorite thing about music, it often ends up the deciding factor as to whether or not an anime is incredible or just another of its kind.
Soundtrack
In Your Lie in April we’ve all heard at this point how it’s a drama, a love story or a slice of life. What we haven’t yet talked about is their choice in music and what they did with it.
To explain, take the first scene where Kaori and Kousei are playing together. They were playing a classical piece; however in the background you may not the subtle bass beats and the miniscule changes made to give each piece its own feel and displaying more the emotion behind the music with less of the dialogue.
With that being said, the music itself is a classical enthusiasts dream. They managed to take a lot of the bigger songs and transform them in ways to fit the moments without taking away from the original intention of the song itself. You may think this is something that can be done simply, but it’s really not! It goes to show the effort put into the sounds that Masaru Yokoyama put into it all.
The Moments
The music without the combination of the correct moment is just, well, music. The placement of music is key for a moment and that’s where the Sound Director Jin Aketagawa really proves his merit. Outside of the competitions (really those are amazing and well-chosen musical choices as well), such as when the fireflies are dancing around the young musicians and the music just makes you lean forward with this intense anticipation.
Not every anime has the ability to make me close my eyes to enjoy the music by itself; but this is definitely one of them if not my new personal favorite. If you haven’t yet heard the music and you’re a supporter of the classical genre, I highly suggest checking out the entire OST here!
Overall this anime is about being a musician, making the music your own instead of playing for a committee, so you can expect to hear some very incredible sounds. From the trills, to the great virtuoso pieces like Chopin’s Etude Op. 25, No. 11 and Camille Saint-Saens – Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, Your Lie in April is one show you don’t want to miss hearing!