Your Lie in April 1: A Life in Monotone by Naoshi Arakawa

Your Lie in April 1: A Life in Monotone by Naoshi Arakawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Paperback, 208 pages
Published April 21st 2015 by Kodansha Comics

Your Lie in April (1)

I was very interested in this title when I saw it was coming out and I'm thrilled I took a chance on it. It was utterly wonderful and better than I had expected. (My usual tastes are sci-fi/horror/ninja battles) A dramatic, slice of life tale with a twist. The main theme here is music. The major character Arima is a piano prodigy, but he gave it all up after his domineering strict mother died. He then meets a violin virtuoso who knows who he is/was. Kaori is unorthodox in her musical style and wants Arima to take up the piano again. But Kaori has a lot of baggage and issues associated with his playing, stemming from his upbringing, that he is going to have to deal with if he's to ever find a real passion for the music that is so much a part of him. The art here shows the music very well using all sorts of motion including body movement and audience reaction that one gets a real sense of sound and tempo just from the illustrated page. The characters are sweet and adorable with many layers; I felt completely satisfied with them and am intrigued with where this story will go in the next volume.

Comments