Anime Review: Your Lie in April

Anime Title: Your Lie in April
Japanese Title: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Episodes: 22
Genre: Drama, music, romance, school
Rating: PG-13

Story
Your Lie in April, which will be abbreviated as "YLA" from here on, is a story about a former pianist named Arima Kousei, and a violinist named Kaori Miyazono who brings him back into the world of music. But the real plot of this anime goes much deeper than that. The main themes of this anime are acceptance, friendship, love, and learning how to move on.
I did have a problem with some, err, contrived plot points and suspense that lasted too long (three episodes for one music competition), but other than that, I didn't really have many problems. There aren't any plot holes I could find, and the anime wrapped itself up very nicely.

Characters
Aside from Kousei and Kaori, there are two other main characters: Tsubaki and Watari, who are both athletes. Tsubaki, Watari, and Kousei have been good friends for years, until one day Kaori is introduced into the mix. This causes some problems in terms of love and jealousy, and this is pretty clear from episode one. One thing that I found was interesting about YLA was that it had a fairly large cast of characters, some of who we didn't get to know that well, but they all had a great impact on the story. One example of this is Kousei's mom, who we honestly don't get to know well as a character, but she still is somehow one of the biggest plot points in this entire anime.

Art
The art in YLA did its job. The only part about it that's really worth the mention is the animation when the characters were playing instruments. Sure, there were some times when you could hear the music, but all you would see is a still frame of someone with their hands on the keys of a piano. But when you got to see these characters animated while playing their instruments, it was absolutely perfect. Being a musician myself, it was very apparent that a lot of time went into making sure that everything was as realistic as possible. They had scenes where you could see each individual note the pianists were playing, and it was spot-on.

Music
The OST is brilliant. I have absolutely no complaints about it. I have nothing but praise. I am a huge fan of instrumental music and classical music, and this anime had both in spades. This is probably my favorite anime OST to date, but you can judge how great it is for yourself.

Other Thoughts/Things Worth Mentioning About . . .
The Feels. This anime gets intense. It was rated PG-13 because it's not exactly for the faint of heart. It talks about abuse, death, and some episodes will probably leave you feeling a little melancholy.
Streaming. This is currently available on Crunchyroll, as of August 2015.
Sub vs Dub. There is only a sub at the moment, and luckily, it's a pretty good one. Aside from hearing the Japanese voice actors trying to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

To watch or not to watch?
As much praise as I've given this anime, it is definitely not for everyone. It takes things very slowly, and calling this anime a romance would be like calling The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya porn. I enjoyed some episodes and felt like others were a little boring. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a musician, who likes classical music, and also people who like school anime. But I do think that it's something every anime fan should at least try to watch.

Anime Review: Nana

Anime Title: Nana

Episodes: 47 

Genre: Josei, drama, romance

Rating: R+

Story

Nana is, in an unbelievably small and simple nutshell, a story about two girls--both named Nana--and their love lives. However, that description is pretty much the equivalent of saying that Harry Potter is a story about some wizards. Nana is an intensely complex love story with a huge cast of characters, but all of them so unique and interesting that I remember all of their names.

One great thing about Nana is that it took time in setting up the story. The first episode shows how our main characters meet, and for a few episodes after that, it takes the liberty of establishing the character's backstories, which helps us in getting to know them before the real fun begins. 

Characters

The anime starts off with two characters. One is Nana Komatsu, the girl who can't seem to live with or without a boyfriend and has her head stuck in the clouds. The other is Nana Osaki, who is too kool 4 skool cool, independent, and badass. This is only the initial impression you get at the start of the anime. Throughout the anime, as the characters develop and we get to know them better, we see that this is not the case. Most anime refuses to believe that their characters actually have rational feelings, whereas Nana realizes this and uses it to make the whole plot ten times better and more enjoyable.

Art

The art in Nana is interesting in that it deviates from the typical style of anime characters. It's anything entirely new. It just may require some getting used to for new viewers. As shown in the picture somewhere at the top of this review, the characters are drawn so that they look very tall and thin, and almost frail. It still does work, though. The rest of the art--the color palette, the animation of the characters, the effects, etcetera--was all notable as well, and worth mentioning because it certainly did shine in certain scenes.

Music

The music was really an important part of the story, and my enjoyment. It really helped to bring out certain plot points, because a lot of the story did have to do with music and bands. With some of the songs in this anime, it really is entirely up to your opinion and your taste of music, and it's my opinion that some of the songs fell flat. Aside from those outliers, the sountrack was golden. 

Other Thoughts/Things Worth Mentioning about . . .

The Feels. This anime will make you feel things, provided you don't drop it halfway through. It made me more emotional than Clannad did (because Clannad was contrived but that's a conversation for another day). It was a serious rollercoaster of emotion, but that's something you'll find out when you watch it.

The Manga. If you find that you like Nana the anime, I would recommend the manga. The anime is fairly complete, which means that all of the major questions are answered. However, I've heard some things about the plot that the anime failed to mention (this means I was massively spoiled by an internet troll) so I'm assuming that the manga carries on the story past the anime. 

The Movie. Nana was adapted into a movie that I have yet to see, but it got decent reviews.

The Rating. At the top of this review, you may have noticed that it's rated R. This is because it does have some mild nudity (boobs) and a bit of sex. 

Streaming. You can currently (as of August 2015) watch it on Netflix! All 47 episodes are available in dub.
Sub vs Dub. I watched a few episodes in sub, but most of it was in dub. Personally, I think that whichever version of the show is most available to you is best. The dub was fantastic in the sense that it did justice to the original Japanese version, most especially in the casting of Nana Komatsu.

To watch or not to watch?

Watch it. You will not regret it.