Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone Anime Movie Review

Evangelion: 1.0 You are (Not) Alone:
Information:
Other Names:  Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Jo, Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone, Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone, ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序
Studio: Khara
Writer: N/A
Director: Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki & Masayuki
Music: Shiro Sagisu
Type: Movie, Re-boot
Length: 1hr. 40min
Genres:  Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi
Rating: R-17+
Air Dates: 1st September 2007
Alternate Recommendations: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane & Neon Genesis Evangelion
Source: MAL & Wikipedia. 

Synopsis:
After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that's being attacked by giant creatures that seek to eradicate the human kind, called Angels. After not seeing his father for more than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of giant mechs called Evas. Shinji's objective is to pilot the Eva Unit 01 while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei. (Source: MAL)

Short Review:
To start of this review, let me make a quick statement, the layout of this review will be different than others as this is reboot series I won't go into heavy plot talk and will only brush over and mainly talk about the differences in story, same goes for the characters.

So to start I'll first discuss the movie's strongest point this being the art and animation. Firstly with art which has remained the same style wise which feels nostalgic and catches the feel of Evangelion. The art also changed in many ways with the environment (Scenery), mechs and characters have become drastically more detailed then in the 1995 version as well as having great alterations to the look and feel of the show with better lighting that feel more dynamic and some light fan service which isn't bad and is barely noticeable.

The animation in a similar way has improved so much from before which saying a lot as the 1995 version had damn good animation, but this version just takes the cake with faster and smoother fight scenes that are exhilarating to watch while character animation is just amazing thanks to a higher budget and better technology.

The story has changed both quite a lot and not very much the from the original, as the core events of the show of the show still exist both with fighting the angels as well as the character development. The changes take form more as smaller think such how the evas will engage the angels or plot devises that appear later on in the anime are brought in early than in the TV version.
But unlike the original the plot moves quite quickly due to having less time to fill the gaps as character conversation is brought down considerably which effects both character development and the pacing of the show which jumps all over the place from angel to angel one after another making the film feel rushed.

However this is not present with characters of the film as despite the smaller run time the development goes on without a hitch and is near perfect with the main character Shinji going through his development in only an 1hr and 40 minutes which I got to say is pretty impressive. Speaking of Shiji did I mention the character designs, they've barely changed with only one or two characters having changed only in small ways, with their original personalities intact for better or worse.

And finally to top of story area of this review lets talk about the ending which is obviously a cliff-hanger but the way that it was presented was very well, making me want to watch the next one, which I believe is what a cliff-hanger ending should do.

The last thing that I will discuss is soundtrack used; firstly starting with ending song which while is a great song and fits the shows atmosphere very well but lacks the compulsive urge to make me stay and listen to it. The soundtrack on the other hand is just perfect, a real treat for the ears, using a mix of the old soundtrack most noticeably 'Decisive Battle' the fight music from the original while playing with the new animation is just superb while also adding either some new tracks or tracks I just didn't notice before (which is a good thing) that sound amazing fitting the anime so well.

Overall great movie if you feel like re-watching the show if you don't want to sit through hours of content again as well as a great start for newcomers into both the mecha genre as well as Evangelion franchise.

Story/Setting: 8.3
Art/Animation: 9.4
Sound: 8.7
Characters: 8.5

Overall Score: 8.8/10

Akuma no Riddle Review

Akuma no Riddle:
Information:
Other Names: Riddle Story of Devil & 悪魔のリドル
Studio: Diomedéa
Writer: Kiyoko Yoshimura
Director: Keizō Kusakawa
Music: Yoshiaki Fujisawa
Type: Manga Adaptation, TV Series
Length: 12 Episodes, 24 min per episode approx.
Genres:  Action, School, Shoujo Ai
Rating: R- 17+
Air Dates: 4th April 2014 - 20th June 2014
Alternate Recommendations: Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation & Mirai Nikki (TV)

Synopsis:

The story is set at Myoujou Academy, a private girls' boarding school. The 10th year's Kurogumi class has 12 assassins with their sights on one target, Haru Ichinose. Tokaku Azuma is a recent transfer student who is also targeting Ichinose, but she gradually develops feelings for Ichinose.

Review:

To start of this review, I will firstly be talking about the setting which I found to be not the most unique thing in the world, you know a battle royale is something I've seen a lot however I did like the idea of an all-female cast with a Shoujo ai (Girls Love) element thrown into the mix, which would have created a nice romance element to the show, but as always the romance is never fleshed out and has no significance in the plot what so ever.

Now for the main plot of the show which I can sum in one word: predictable. Seriously you know what's going to at the end of each episode as within each episode the main characters will take on one assassin at a time, and if the main characters were to die around the 2nd assassin things would go nowhere so you know who will win each fight and doesn't leave much to the animation. But aside from this the best bits within the plot are the assassinations themselves which are really well done with some quite predictable to real interesting and fun traps that are great to watch as they provide some great entertainment as you watch the two main characters figure each one out.

The last thing I would like to talk about story wise is the ending, which can be summed briefly as predictable and is something you'll defiantly see coming.

Now for the real meat that propels this show, which is the characters that for starters have some great designs each being unique and different that you'll never forget anyone within in a short space of time. Another good point about this show is the characters themselves which all stand out on their own having distinct traits and personalities as well as great backstories that deliver great additions to a boring plot, each describing the motivations that each character has within the setting, having a major effect on how immersive the characters can be.

Now for the bad points the development. There is none, barely any characters change throughout the series which isn't so bad considering it's one episode for each assassin, where there's no time for that but in the case of the main characters who should have some development, especially Tokaku Azuma (playing the role of protector) who should have some development, as this is a romance, has barely any while other lead character Haru Ichinose has none at all, leaving a huge amount of disappointment as well as a bad taste.   

Moving away from the bad points the next point to discuss in the art and animation, in which I would love to say that the art, is amazing, having such a unique style brings the show out better, making it feel different from other anime, good job Diomedéa. The animation itself is also great and moves quite nicely with the shows pace, which can mainly be seen during the show's opening that has a great impact on the tone of the show, letting you know what you're in for.

Finally the soundtrack is the last thing I will touch upon, starting with opening which as said above is great creating a great tone for the show. While on the other hand the endings, in which there are a lot of them, range from great to boring depending on your personal taste as each song represents a certain character the way you feel about each song can change depending on what you think of the character. On the other hand while the soundtrack may be good it doesn't stand out much making it very forgetful.

Overall decent show, I recommend watching if you have time.

Final Verdict:

Setting/Story: 6.8

Characters: 7

Art/Animation: 7.6

Soundtrack: 8.1

Final Score: 7.3/10

Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad
 1- 1.9= Unwatchable

Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan Anime Reviews

Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan Review
Information:
English Name: Sky Wizards Academy
Studio: Diomedéa
Writer: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Director: Takayuki Inagaki
Music: Flying Dog & Masakazu Sato
Type: Light Novel Adaptation, TV Series
Length: 12 Episodes, 23 min per episode approx.
Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, School
Rating: PG-13
Air Dates: 9th July 2015 - 24th September 2015
Alternate Recommendations: Absolute Duo & Seiken Tsukai no World Break

Synopsis:
The story is set in a world where humanity, driven off the land by the threat of magical armoured insects, now live in aerial floating cities. Thus wizards—aerial combat mages who fight the insects with magical powers—came into being.
Kanata Age is a young man who lives on the floating wizard academy city of "Misutogan." He was once celebrated as the "Black Master Swordsman," the elite ace of the S128 special team; however, he is now despised as the "traitor of the special team." One day, he is assigned as the instructor of E601, a team that has suffered ten consecutive defeats. E601 has three girls—Misora Whitale, Lecty Eisenach, and Rico Flamel—with one or two peculiar quirks.

Review:
To start of this review I will quickly go over the setting which in simple terms in about humanity fighting an on-going threat of some sorts which is nothing new, in this case it is the Devil Beetles which are magical mechanical insects that what to exterminate humanity for an unknown reason, in which in response young people are trained in the art of killing them using a variety of tools in a highschool setting.
Nothing really new there, there are thousands of other anime done in a similar fashion, so all I can really say is the setting is mediocre at best and doesn't really catch the eye much.

Now for the story which is written just above; that follows Kanata Age becoming an instructor for fireteam E601; know in a nutshell this story is highly predictable and overall is quite boring if taken seriously however if it is watched purely for entertainment can become a nice popcorn show if you want to unwind for a few hours.
But as well as having a highly predictable plot the show has some really bad moments with various other sub plots being thrown in at various places that make the show into a complete mess, so much that kept forgetting what was happening as I progressed from one episode to the next. And with each of these sub plots there are more and more questions to be answered about the setting, that are never answered as well many relationships that are just left with no conclusion by the end of the show; speaking of the end of the show, there is no ending as once again it just ends on a cliff-hanger with various things unanswered, and is anything but satisfying.

Next is the animation which once again can be described as mediocre at times and really bad at others, one such example is the main enemy themselves, the Devil Beetles which are completely CGI, that not only looks bad but doesn't fit nicely with the regular animation, resulting in it standing out badly. As for the regular animation as said before is highly average but it does quite poorly during the shows supposedly high points which are the fight scenes as they feel slow and out of place.

Thirdly I would like to talk about the soundtrack used within the show, for which firstly I'm going to say is mediocre at best, even though it does fit with the show well, its just not a good soundtrack and I found it be hardly noticeable so much as that the average viewer won't notice it unless they try to seek it out. In a similar fashion the Opening & Ending to the show are nothing to talk about as the Opening while fitting the show well and opening animation well, it just doesn't have a good enough impact to make you come back without skipping over it; this can also be said about the Ending which while a good song doesn't have a good enough impact to make you stay for the full thing.

And finally the lowest point of the show, it's characters who are the run of the mill stereo typical rom-com harem characters. Starting with the main character Kanata Age, an overpowered dense high-schooler, with no interesting character attributes, a boring personality, no development and average design, making him a mediocre MC. Next is the four girls who are Misora Whitale, Lecty Eisenach & Rico Flamel, who are Kanta's fire team, that have a slight better score than Kanata having some development & better designs but still have the same old personalities seen in other shows; such as the Tsundere, the clumsy girl and the know it all which also applies to the 4th girl Yuri Flostre who has a good design but has a boring personality and no development.
The supporting cast are not even worthy of mention and are highly forgettable aside from the odd one or two who help move the plot in a different direction.


Overall if you have nothing else to watch, give this a go; however if otherwise give this one a skip.

Final Scores:
Story/Setting: 4.7
Animation: 4.5
Sound: 5
Characters: 4

Final Score: 4.4/10

Ranpo Kitan: Game Of Laplace Review

Ranpo Kitan: Game Of Laplace:
Information:
Other Names: 乱歩奇譚 Game of Laplace
Studio: Lerche
Writer: Makoto Uezu
Director: Seiji Kishi
Music: Masaru Yokoyama
Type: Inspired Works/ Original, TV Series
Length: 11 Episodes, 23 min per episode approx.
Genres: Mystery
Rating: R-17+
Air Dates: 3rd July 2015 - 18th September 2015
Alternate Recommendations: Psycho Pass & Death Note

Synopsis:
The story takes place at a certain middle school where several murder cases take place. Kobayashi, a boy who goes to this school, meets genius detective Akechi, who comes to the school to investigate. Kobayashi takes an interest in Akechi and, in spite of his friend Hashiba's worries, he volunteers to be Akechi's assistant.

Review:
To start of this review I will give a quick description of the story which starts out with main character (Yoshio Kobayashi) being accused of a crime he doesn't commit, to which he then helps detective Kogorou Akechi solve the case to prove his innocence, to which after he then joins Akechi as an assistant solving various crimes with him as well as uncovering the mystery of mass murderer/ vigilantly Two Faces.
Now from a viewer stand point this plot seems pretty good and you would think it would turn out pretty well, however it doesn't, in which one of the main reasons being it's too short, as having 11 episodes doesn't allow for much development and by the end of the series it felt rushed as well as having a really poor ending to boot.

On the other hand however the story itself has all the correct ingredients, including a well though out and good filler, a though provoking next episode and then the whole Two face crime that interlinks into it as well as the rest of the story that is both though provoking and makes great material for a crime mystery show, so overall it could have been great but they went about it incorrectly and became nothing but a piece of wasted potential.

The next topic I would like to talk about is the soundtrack which fits the tone of show very well, having lovely crafted music for each scene that make each episode feel more unique than each other. Similarly with the Opening and Ending songs; which both fit the tone of the show well with the opening song being something that sets up the tone of the show, using the soft sound of guitar and drums that slowly build creating a thrilling vibe similar to the main show  ('Speed to Masatsu' by amazarashi). Next in regards to the ending song which while is not as good as the opening; fits the show well well but I feel that maybe a softer song would have worked better, that corresponds with the atmosphere ('Mikazuki' by Sayuri).

Next up is the animation which can be summed up as decent and has a nice style to it, but shines most in the variety of ways the show presents it self to the viewers, standing out more than any of the more average animation in anime.

And finally to conclude I'll talk about the characters and how there potential was wasted given the amazing amount of variety present in the show.

To start of I'll speak out the main characters, the first being Yoshio Kobayashi the boy who finds real life boring till the point he is a suspect for a murder case. Now I must tell you that one of the flaws of the show is this character as he is boring, has no development, doesn't fit well into the story and due to his design it becomes difficult to tell which gender he is, which leads to him becoming a poor lead and running the show as a whole.

The next two main characters should be the real leads of the show as they are far more interesting both in back story and personality; the first being Souji Hashiba who serves as  Kobayashi's only friend, as well as his only anchor to normal life, now what makes him a good character is how he is used within the story, playing the role as Kobayashi's reason as well as keeping him alive. But as a character Souji is rather plain with the only distinguishing features being that he an heir to a large company as well as possibly seeing  Kobayashi as more than a friend, however neither are never touched upon to a greater extend which is rather disappointing.

Next is Kogorou Akechi who is the main detective that gets forced to have Kobayashi as an assistant; Akechi can be described as having an anti-social personality and being very serious at his job which fits well into the story and even more when some of his back story is presented, however just like the previous characters he doesn't get much development as the story progresses.

And finally the supporting characters; which can range from quite boring, to interesting and creepy characters such as Minami the medical examiner who I wish had more screen time, as well as Kuro Tokage a criminal held in prison who is tied up as well as being infatuated Akechi and gives him advice on various cases, in which I really wish she would have got some development or at least we got to see backstory as she is mysterious and odd which makes her really interesting.
Overall there are lots of interesting supporting characters within the show that could have made it into a diamond but alas; they get barely any screen time or development.


Story/Setting: 6
Soundtrack: 8
Animation: 6.3
Characters: 6.4

Final Score: 6.6/10

Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad

 1- 1.9= Unwatchable

Okusama ga Seitokaichou Review

Okusama ga Seitokaichou: (Short Review)

Information:
Other Names: My Wife is the Student Council President, Oku-sama ga Seito Kaichou!,  おくさまが生徒会長！
Studio: Seven
Writer: Yumi Nakata
Director: Hiroyuki Furukawa
Music: Dax Production & Fuuga Hatori
Type: Manga Adaptation, Short TV Series
Length: 12 Episodes, 8 min per episode approx.
Genres: Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, School, Shounen
Rating: R
+
Air Dates: 2nd July 2015 - 17th September 2015
Alternate Recommendations: To LOVE-Ru & Mikakunin de Shinkoukei

Review:
To start of this review I'll give a quick synopsis of the setting; which features a young boy in highschool named Izumi Hayato who runs for Student council president and then failures to the other candidate Ui Wakana who wins by throwing condoms into the audience. To which afterwards he discovers that he is engaged to this person, is going to live with her and function as her vice president while in school in which hilarity commences.

From here on out the story takes format of the characters living daily lives while trying to hide their engagement under wraps as well as the Izumi getting into compromising situations with Ui as well as other girls found within the show. This leads to quite a heart warming show with correct amount of balance between Slice of life scenarios and fan service like moments, that help deliver a quick fix of slice of life that is around 8 minutes per episode, which doesn't drag out any unnecessary scenarios keeping the plot smart and simple.

However the plot can be fairly predictable at times with the various scenarios that take place, as such if you have seen lots of anime you will be able to tell how they will end, but even if you have not seen much anime you can take a guess on how they'll all end. This also leads we to the ending which was fairly predictable; with it  just ending on a cliff-hanger which brings the series down as a whole having no real ending. 

Next I will talk about the characters which are quite few for a show like this but this is a 8 minute show so it was best to keep it few to minimum cast. To start of I will talk about the two main characters the first being Izumi Hayato who has a very simple personality being the stubborn, smart man with straight man humour added alongside it which fits the show but he could be replace with anyone else and still feel the same; and secondly the their is the main heroine Ui Wakana who has the child like personality crossed with an adults mind during the more scandalous scenes which gives her a certain charm and has a nice fit for the show. Both don't get any real development through out the series but this is be expected given how long each episode is.

The supporting characters of the show are mainly comprised of other candidates to tempt Izumi anyway from Ui and provide various fetishes the viewer may like. The first set I'll look at is the rest of the student council which comprises of a cosplaying girl (Ayane Niikura) who barely appears and small Tsundere girl (Karen Fujisaki) with feeling for Ui and a hatred for Izumi who serve as more as comic relief than anything.

Next is the Disciplinary squad who fight against the student council's view on relationships (the throwing condoms into the audience part and the aftermath), in which only two characters from their are introduced, the first being another small character (Sato Sawatari) who plays the loli role and has a rivalry with Karen but is never stated why and has a similar personality as looking up to her leader, Rin Misumi who serves as head of the Disciplinary Committee as well as turning into Ui rival in love part way into the show, and is primarily used as to create conflict as well as fill in some of the ecchi role.

There are some other characters not mentioned but they have barely any presence and don't much so I feel they are not worth touching upon.      

Next is the animation which is decent and isn't really worthy of any really mention, which can also be said about the soundtrack which didn't stand out much and I can't describe how it sounds on its own as I can't find it however I can say the OP and end of the show are a nice fit having a warm and comfortable feeling to them.

Final Scores:
Story: 6.7
Characters: 7
Animation: 5.5
Soundtrack: 6.1

Final Verdict: 6.3/10


Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad

 1- 1.9= Unwatchable

Absolute Duo Anime Review

Absolute Duo:
Information:
Other Names: アブソリュート・デュオ
Studio: 8-Bit
Writer: Takamitsu Kōno
Director: Atsushi Nakayama
Music: Atsushi Hirasawa
Type: Light Novel Adaptation, TV Series
Length: 24 min per ep approx.
Genres: Action, Ecchi, Romance, School, Harem, Supernatural
Rating: R+
Air Dates: 4 January 2015 - 22 March 2015
Alternate Recommendations: Trinity Seven & Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance.

Synopsis:
The story begins with Blaze—a weapon that is the manifestation of a human's soul. Tooru Kokonoe happens to be qualified for this, but for some reason his Blaze is not a weapon, but a shield. Moreover, he enrolled in a school that teaches combat skills, and thanks to the school's Duo partner system, he ends up living with a beautiful silver-haired girl.

Warning: This anime contains nudity, profanity and violence.

Review:
To start of first I will begin by talking about the setting which can only be described as a school where students are trained to fight using supernatural powers (Blazes), which you know has been done many times before so don't expect anything different from the usual, with that in respect let's move on the story. The story can also be dumbed down to a standard ecchi harem that has a supernatural twist where the main character wins battles using the power of friendship and similar things while being oblivious to the girls growing feelings around him; the standard stuff, as it follows main character Tooru and main heroine Julie on there quest to become powerful and take revenge upon those that hurt there families which is also left in the dark quite a lot and the reason for that person hurting them is never explained or brought to light in any shape or form. While also on the same note as predictability along the way they'll meet many friends both guys and girls; with the guys barely appearing or having sceentime and the girls becoming part of an ever growing harem, eventually leading to a predictable ending that just screams out: 'Read the Light Novel'. Overall its average and a really predictable harem story and nothing else.

The characters well also follow a predictable route with a lot of archetypes found amongst them which does leave quite a varied cast which is a good thing as the designs of the characters are simply wonderful however, there are far too many identifiable anime archetypes that make the show feel less unique and more like 'just another hare', featuring character like the 'the never losing protagonist', the quiet girl with no emotions, the shy girl with he boobs, the tomboy and so on. This overall makes the show predictable and care less for the characters.

The animation can be described only in a few words as mediocre, as it wasn't bad but neither anything special, however fight scenes are well animated except for the bits that go into 3D animation which can be somewhat distracting.

On the other hand, the soundtrack was great and was mixed in well with all scenes, in which the best I must say is the music for fight scenes mixed in with the good animation featuring a mix of tracks; this made them feel exciting and more fun to watch. The opening was pretty good but not amazing featuring some great rock sung by Konomi Suzuki; which also gets you pumped up and ready for the show.

Overall if your looking for a fun harem show with some exciting ecchi with some light entertainment and fun comedy, this is the show for you; however expect anything else you'll be disappointed.

Final Verdict:
Story/Setting: 5
Characters: 5
Animation: 5
Sound: 8

Final Score: 5.7/10

Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad

 1- 1.9= Unwatchable

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Anime Series Review

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Information:
Other Names: Your Lie in April &  四月は君の嘘
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Writer: Takao Yoshioka
Director: Kyōhei Ishiguro
Music: Masaru Yokoyama
Type: TV Series, Manga Adaptation
Length: 22 Episodes, 22mins approx. per episode
Genres: Drama, Music, Romance, School, Shounen
Rating: PG-13
Air Dates: 10 October 2014 - 20 March 2015
Alternate Recommendations: Nodame Cantabile & Nagi no Asukara

Synopsis:
Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital that resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing was perfectly fine. Even two years later, Kosei hasn't touched the piano and views the world in monotone, and without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kosei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kosei was used to.

Review:
The story follows Arima Kousei as he tries to once again play the piano again after two years since he lost the ability to hear the notes on the piano after his mother died; but all this changed after he met a mysterious girl playing the violin in the park. The story focuses heavily on character growth through drama, comedy and romance which sounds quite basic and has been done thousands of times however Your Lie in April pulls of this feat in such an amazing way that it feels new with some actual drama that is heart pulling and will leave you wanting more and more through out the series while the romance isn't a heavy focus it adds a nice addition to the series with some real tear jerking moments as well as moments that actually made me cry, however there was not that much focus on the main romance which could have been developed more as it spent quite a lot of time on the other characters feelings rather than the main girl which was a bit disappointing. But in the end I can happy summarize it as a great story with good pacing and a satisfying ending.

Now the within the characters of the story there are quite a few, not as many as long shows (50+ eps) but there are still quite a few, however for now I will focus on the main stars of the show; starting will main male character Kousei who can be summarized at first glance as a quiet fourteen year old middle schooler, however there is a lot more to him than that with some interesting qualities concerning his past as well as his development over the series in which I must say was pulled off extremely well; which can also be said for be main female character Koari who serves as Kousei's reason to take back up the piano mainly by force which leads to some comical scenes between the two, however Koari does have quite a huge focus in the plot and gets amazing development but not Kousei but still it makes her character stand out, especially by the end of the series.

The next two characters I will be speaking about are Tsubaki and Watari, in which we will start of first with Tsubaki who just like the previous two gets a great amount of development through out the series mainly in the romance department however aside from she doesn't just much else besides playing the classic tomboy childhood friend who will never abandon Kousei which sounds kind of cliché but it doesn't make the series bad; so moving on lastly there is Watari now I'm sure what exactly he does aside from being the typical loud, popular, womanizing best friend that is seen a lot in anime and he doesn't well really any development at all which kind of sad as I would have liked to see him fleshed out more.

Finally we have the supporting characters who do serve a good purpose with most being the supports that help the main characters develop and change over the course of the series as well as most of the supports having interesting personalities and don't serve as wasted sceentime.


Next the animation is simply outstanding with nice fluid animation that makes every heart wrenching, dramatic moment feel alive and helps express it to it's fullest. However there some scenes mainly the comical ones where it swaps to this chibi or maybe a simple like animation that won't be for everyone and frankly it could have done without, however it does not ruin the experience well at least for me.


At lastly the sound.. oh the music is simply amazing with some well orchestra sound pieces that are both great in the show and outside when listening to them on their own and are truly some of reasons why some of more dramatic scenes had such a great impact. The opening of the show are great as well with Hikaru nara preformed by goose house being the first with gets you ready for the show with some great sounds that are delightful and fresh sounding, which can also be said for the second opening Nanairo Symphony by Coala Mode that while as well is a great song, however is just not as good as the first opening and I don't really know why.

Overall Your Lie in April is must watch for anyone seeking some of the best of 2014 as well as sweet romantic drama with some great music.

Final Verdict:
Story: 9
Characters: 9
Animation: 9
Sound: 10

End Score: 9.2/10

Ranking System:
10 - Perfect Masterpiece
9.6 - 9.9=  Near Perfect
 9 - 9.5 = Excellent
 7-8.9 = Good
 5-6.9 = Average/Mediocre
 2-4.9 =Bad
 1- 1.9= Unwatchable