Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 10

The cold intro was my favorite moment of this episode. As beautiful as the aesthetics of this show can be a times with its vivid imagery and stylistic close-ups, the constant usage can dilute their effect. Low key moments like this cold intro function as a breather from both a visual and pacing standpoint. It’s just a plain scene of two friends having a conversation while walking home from school. This simplicity allows the characters’ actions and dialogue to speak for themselves, such moments can even provide a purer sense of sincerity.

The scene starts with a tracking shot of electric lines as Watari laments his delayed journey to stardom. Then it cuts to panning cutaways of the street. Without even showing the characters the scene establishes what’s happening. We know they’re walking due to the tracking shot and we know their surroundings due to the cutaways. Also, by not showing the characters it slows the scene down for the intended subdued effect.

The characters are finally presented with a use of a tracking shot. A good portion of the dialogue was done with a tracking shot at medium close-up or close-up. I think the intention was to make the audience feel like they’re walking along with the characters, which puts more attention to the dialogue. By engaging the audience this way, the simple act of Watari asking “You still can’t hear?” and Kousei lightly squeezing the music sheet results in a genuine expression of pain.  As we continue to follow these characters, Kousei then stops and expresses his fear of not being able to hear music again. Stopping the tracking shot as the audience follows along is a simple dramatic effect that becomes more impactful when actions and dialogue are the main focus.

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The performance scene was filled with unbalanced shots of characters’ lacking nose/lead room. This type of shot is uncomfortable to look at. When intentionally used, it’s to visually unsettle the audience to complement a distressing scene. The show has used lack of nose/lead room before for this intended effect but the difference in this scene is it was also used in the uplifting part of the performance. I think the use of unbalanced framing throughout the scene was done to reflect Kousei’s sporadic and unsteady performance. I’m not sure if I like this usage, especially during the uplifting part but it’s definitely an interesting take on it.

Unbalanced shots when Kousei’s was struggling with his performance.

Unbalanced shots during the tender and heartfelt part of the performance.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 8

The camera work used for Takeshi’s and Emi’s performances differed from each other in order to present their differing play style and motives. Even though both share a similar desire to overcome Kousei, their approach was different and the camera work reflected that.

Takeshi’s performance was an exhibition of technical excellence and skill; facets where he’s trying to surpass Kousei. The performance had a confrontational and competitive feel to it. To convey Takeshi’s competitive spirit, much of the camera work were zoom in/push in shots that put more focus and attention on his intense performance.

While Emi’s is also trying to surpass Kousei, her performance was less about competing but more about reaching out to Kousei. She wants the old Kousei back, the one who played with emotions and inspired her to become a performer. Emi is a performer that wears her heart on her sleeves and through this she uses music to send an emotional message to Kousei. This is reflected by the tracking shots used in her performance. The lateral and forward movements of the camera felt like an emulation of Emi’s message travelling through her music. Just like her message to Kousei, her emotions travel and flow and this is expressed by the travelling movement of tracking shots.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 6

This show continues to use lateral tracking in interesting ways. There was the Kousei tracking shot in Episode 2. Then, there’s the tracking shot of Tsubaki in Episode 5 that made use of the lateral movement as a wipe transition to a brief flashback.

In these tracking shots both characters lack nose/lead room and the framing is obviously unbalanced. The lack of balance is uncomfortable to look at. For this scene it was meant to be that way in order to convey Tsubaki’s uncomfortable realization that Kaori’s usage of “we” did not include her with Kousei.

Also, notice how the two are framed at opposite sides to each other and in the overlay (third image) of the two shots they’re facing away from each other. The mismatched visuals of the two reflect their incompatibility and Tsubaki’s lack of feelings for him.

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This a more conventional tracking shot but what makes it interesting is the dissolve to a graphic match of the older and younger versions of the characters.  It’s a very pleasing way to create a parallel between the present and past. What I really liked is the contrast between the sunset colors of the “past” shot and the night colors of the “present” shot. As if to suggest that just like the sunset growing to a night, Kousei has grown stronger as a person.

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Blackening most of the background served to put more focus on Tsubaki’s feelings and provided a visual that she’s in a dark and painful place. Keeping the baseline not only functioned as a leading line but it maintained a sense of movement. The single line could also be interpreted as an imagery of Tsubaki’s emotional single-minded thought process, as she repeats “I don’t like this” and “look at me.”

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 5

This episode had many captivating moments that pull you into investing yourself into these characters. These moments were primarily constituted of effective use of unbalanced framing, tight/extreme close ups and timely insert shots.

The Hospital Scene

The mini-flashback starts with an insert shot of Kousei pressing the piano key. This drives the point that he did try playing but still unable to hear his own music. The extreme close up of his eyes is to show him envisioning his performance with Kaori that he wants to recreate. Another insert shot of his finger hitting the key shows how out of reach that moment is. Seeing him repeatedly hitting the key only to just hear a thud adds so much melancholy to this sequence. The extreme close up of his ear is a visual of the sound of the piano not reaching him. All of these insert shots and close ups serve as emotional build up to when it finally cuts to an evocatively sad full-shot of him covering his ears. This last shot is also an unbalanced one (small lead room), which creates a visual of his seclusion from his music.

Also, the camera was shaky and was shifting in and out of focus. The combination of these effects, created an unnerving feeling that emphasized Kousei’s struggle and pain.

The dialogue after the flashback refrained from showing the characters’ full face until the end of scene. This made the dialogue, voice acting and the body language of the characters the main focus. With just the body in view the movements become more expressive. Kaori slightly shifting shows her interest on why Kousei isn’t playing the piano, and Kousei responding with that little shrug expresses discouragement. Again, everything serves as an emotional set-up for the full shot when Kaori asks Kousei if he will be able to forget their performance.

"I won’t forget"

In this sequence insert shots are used in conjunction with a POV tracking shot. This time the shaky cam and shifting of focus worked together to simulate not only Kousei’s running motion but also his excitement. The running footsteps with rainwater splashing, the door bursting open, and the turning of the door knob all culminate to the moment when he looks at his piano with passion in his eyes.

This part of the scene strongly broke the rule of thirds but it worked quite well. The shots framing the characters at the far side provided contrast for the last shot, which is centered. This contrast augmented the importance of the centered shot, where Kaori faints. The use of rays of light as diagonal leading lines also made the far sided shots feel less unbalanced by directing the viewers’ eyes to the subject. Diagonal lines also tend to make a shot feel more dynamic, which fits uplifting feeling of this sequence.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 4

As good as the performance scene was, what struck me the most was the scene between Kaori and Kousei prior to the performance. The constant eye contact between the two, demonstrated through close-ups and extreme close ups, really showed their strong connection. The visuals also exceptionally complement the dialogue.

The scene starts strong with a close-up of the two in order to immediately capture the viewers’ attention. The viewers are drawn to Kaori as much as Kousei. In effect, this made the dialogue sink in more as she tells Kousei to look at her and look up with more confidence.

It then cuts to medium-long shot, which breaks the intimacy but in a good way since it slows the scene down for dramatic build up. This shot also gives the viewers an overall sense of their contrasting body language. Kousei is sitting stiffly with arms and hands still mimicking practicing the piano, while Kaori has a more relax posture.

The medium-long shot was the build up for the extreme close-ups. Kousei’s wide eyed expression is full of amazement as Kaori encourages him with a look of confidence in her eyes. While the use of low and high angle shots were mainly for continuity purposes they still reinforce the state of the characters. The high angle on Kousei portrays him as the emotionally weaker character while the low angle on Kaori makes her look more admirable.

The eyeline matches of Kousei looking at Kaori’s back as they run to the stage were a great visual of his admiration for her, which added more emotion to the line, “You’re freedom itself.”

This scene was consisted of mostly centered shots. It’s worth mentioning since they were mostly implemented well and added strength to the connection between Kousei and Kaori. I liked the composition of the first image. The frame within a frame shot, the eyelines and leading lines centered on Kaori emphasize her captivating persona. The third image is another frame within a frame shot, with both characters at the border of the stage’s spotlight. It’s a visual that adds importance to the huge step in life that Kousei was about to take.  

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Shots of character eyes continued to the performance scene. The above being the more striking one. The push in shot into Kousei’s eye, with the reflection of his piano playing demonstrated his commitment to the performance despite not being able to hear his own music.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 3

The cinematography in this episode was a bit of a mixed bag. Although a bit too obvious, the use of desaturation to visually equate musical deafness to lacking color was a nice touch. There were also hints of this in the first episode. On the other hand, some of the compositions in this episode were shoddy.

The first three images are examples of desaturated shots of Kousei that acted as visual metaphor to his loss of musical hearing. In contrast, Kaori was visualized brightly and colorfully, which reflects her bubbly personality and enthusiasm for music.

Another nice touch was the change of the scenery from warm to cold colors after he revealed to Kaori his affliction.

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The desaturation theme continued to the rooftop scene. This time it was done more naturally by putting Kousei in the shadows while Kaori remains in the sunlight to serve as contrast. The first shot nicely uses the shadow to form a surface division between the two. In the sunlight is the determined Kaori; while in the shadow is the dispirited Kousei. All these contrasts effectively set up the pivotal moment of the episode when Kousei steps into the sunlight and agrees to accompany Kaori.

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The above images are examples of some of the odd compositions in this episode. The first one is a centered shot of just the head with too much headroom. There were repeated unbalanced shots like this one of both characters. Unbalanced composition can sometimes serve a purpose but this isn’t one of those cases.

Second one is centered full shot. The sentiment behind this is it puts more emphasis on Kaori as she declares Kousei as her accompaniment. However, the shot lasted way too long. After Kaori’s declaration it should have cut to a closer shot: either a two shot or a non-centered one. Also, the tree being a dominating figure was distracting. To add to that, the tree obeys the rule of thirds, this unintentionally makes it an additional point of interest.

Third one is also a purposeful centered shot that lasted too long. It also cuts off the character around at the ankles which always looks odd and happens way too often in anime. Kousei is also awkwardly positioned in this one.