I Just Cried.....

.....after watching episode number thirteen of "Your Lie in April". This may very well be the first time I've ever cried to an anime show. It's surreal for me to come to terms with this possible fact.

This episode was beautiful, touching, and filled, fittingly, with sorrow. The protagonist, Kōsei Arima, played the piano in front of a crowd in an exhibition gala (or concert). The song he played was "Liebesleid (Love's Sorrow in German)" by one Fritz Kreisler, a famous violinist and composer, and it was done as a way for him to properly say goodbye to his mother who passed away 2 years ago from a severe illness. During his playing sequence, it was revealed that this song was Kōsei's lullaby from when he was a kid.

His performance was exhilarating to watch. He started off filled with anger because prior to walking out onto the stage, a little kid said some things to him backstage in the last episode that riled him up. Fortunately for him, he recovered when he remembered the way his mother played the said piece all those years ago to him in their heartfelt time of joy before she became sick. It's these memories that pushed him forward in changing his originally anger-driven playing style and ultimately finishing the song.

Amidst his playing, he was triumphantly exonerated from his inner demons that came out of his suffering at the hands of his mother, who, at the last couple of years of her life, used up all of her remaining strength to mold and perfect Kōsei's skills as a pianist, even though it was seen by those around them to be draconian. Although they were indeed cruel, his mother did these things because it was, in her mind, the only thing she could do for her son. She wanted to make sure her teachings would have an everlasting effect on him as a musician.

And, in the end, they did.


Then, after he finished playing the piano and walked off the stage, that same little kid from backstage did his turn of playing--on the violin, not the piano, mind you--, but was at first scared of following up the former's masterful-like performance. And just then, as he was thinking about giving up, he saw his own mother, who was squeezing her hands within the crowd praying for her son's success. This sight reminded him of Kōsei's performance and how it was charged by the thoughts of his loved ones. This inspired the kid to play a way that's similar to Arima, which is soft and full of hope for the song to reach the people he wants to reach, like his mother.


sigh


These moments from the thirteenth episode of "Your Lie in April" made me teary-eyed because it reminded me of how much I love my own mother who is alive and in good health. As if I didn't need any more reminders, I was once again taught by the show to cherish the moments I have right now with not just my mom, but with both of my parents. They'll be gone eventually, but they'll be inside of my heart for as long as I live, just like Kōsei having his mom in his heart.




Thanks for telling me this, "Your Lie in April". You might not be half-bad after all.


* written at approximately 11:00 P.M on August 11th, 2017