Your Lie in April (四月は君の嘘, literally meaning "April Is Your Lie"), better known internationally by the title Your Lie in April, is a Japanese romantic drama manga series written and illustrated by Naoshi Arakawa. The work was first serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Magazine from April 6, 2011 to February 6, 2015, and succeeded in collecting 11 tankōbon volumes. The story focuses on the emotional journey of a gifted child pianist named Kōsei Arima who loses his ability to hear the sound of the piano after his mother's death, and how his meeting with a cheerful violinist named Kaori Miyazono slowly brings him back to the world of music.
The success of this manga expanded into various other media. A television anime adaptation was produced by studio A-1 Pictures and aired in Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from October 10, 2014 to March 20, 2015, with a total of 22 episodes. An original video animation (OVA) episode titled Moments was released in May 2015. The franchise was also adapted into a live-action film in September 2016, as well as various stage productions, including a musical in London in 2024.
Plot
Kōsei Arima is a child pianist who is very famous for having won various music competitions. However, while performing at a recital after his mother, Saki, dies, Kōsei experiences a mental disturbance that causes him to be unable to hear the sound of the piano he is playing. He sees musical notes flying off the sheet and only hears the sound of the keys being struck, even though his hearing is physically fine.
Two years later, Kōsei lives in a world that appears monochrome and no longer touches the piano. He spends time with his friends, Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryōta Watari. One day, he meets Kaori Miyazono, a 14-year-old violinist who is brave and full of spirit. Kaori's free and expressive playing style is in sharp contrast to Kōsei's rigid and structured style. Kaori slowly helps Kōsei return to playing the piano and shows that music can be played in a free and innovative way.
As time goes on, Kōsei realizes that he has fallen in love with Kaori, even though Kaori appears to be interested only in their friend, Ryōta. While performing at a gala, Kaori faints and is treated in the hospital because of illness. She later invites Kōsei to play with her at an event, but she cannot attend because her health is worsening. Kōsei continues to compete, while Kaori's condition grows more severe. Kaori then decides to undergo a high-risk operation in the hope of being able to play with Kōsei again. In the final round of the competition, as Kōsei plays, he sees Kaori's spirit accompanying him and realizes that Kaori has died during the operation.
At Kaori's funeral, her parents give a letter to Kōsei. In the letter, it is revealed that Kaori had known about her coming death for a long time. She became a freer person so that she would not have regrets in heaven. She also confesses that she had fallen in love with Kōsei's piano playing since she saw him perform when she was five years old, which also inspired her to play the violin so that one day she could play together with Kōsei. Kaori admits that her feelings for Ryōta were a lie so that she could be close to Kōsei without hurting Tsubaki. Kōsei later receives a childhood photo of Kaori taken after the concert that inspired her, with the figure of Kōsei in the background. He later frames that photograph.
Production and Development
The Your Lie in April manga originated from a one-shot comic created by Naoshi Arakawa for a competition. He developed the series based on that comic and was inspired by the existence of other music-themed manga, such as Beck and Nodame Cantabile. Arakawa succeeded in creating a narrative that combines elements of classical music with intense teenage life drama.
For the anime adaptation, A-1 Pictures appointed Kyōhei Ishiguro as director, with Takao Yoshioka as scriptwriter and Masaru Yokoyama as music composer. Music plays an important role in this series, with many music performance scenes animated in beautiful detail, in accordance with the direction of the character designer and animation director, Yukiko Aikei.
Related Media
In addition to the manga and anime, Your Lie in April has been expanded into various forms of media. A light novel titled Your Lie in April – A Six Person Etude written by Yui Tokiumi was published by Kodansha in November 2014. A spin-off manga titled Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Coda was also released in August 2016. The series was also adapted into a live-action film released in Japan in September 2016. In the theater world, musical adaptations have been produced, including a production on London's West End in 2024 starring Zheng Xi Yong as Kosei Arima and Rumi Sutton as Kaori Miyazono, with music by Frank Wildhorn.
Reception
The Your Lie in April manga received a prestigious award by winning the 37th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2013. Its popularity continued to rise, and by June 2017, the series had sold more than 5 million copies. The anime adaptation was widely praised by critics, especially for its emotional plot, animation quality, and stunning soundtrack. Although the manga received some criticism regarding its art style, overall the Your Lie in April franchise has become one of the most iconic and moving romantic drama stories among anime and manga fans worldwide.
References
Wikipedia. "Your Lie in April".
Wikipedia. "List of Your Lie in April episodes".
UK Theatre Web. "Your Lie in April at The Harold Pinter Theatre, London. 2024. [MUSICAL]".
TEGASIAN. "Mengupas Tuntas Film Live Action Your Lie in April".