Yay first comment! ^__^
Anyway, this sounds interesting actually, and it's not too long. I think I'll add this to the list of animes to watch later :)
Nice review, got me interested ;)
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Piano (Series) tv Review
Story & Characters
It's sad really when just the title of anime can be enough to turn someone off from ever giving a show a chance. I don't know of a whole lot of people who would jump to the chance to see an anime called "Piano: The Melody of a Young Girl's Heart". The title alone makes it sound like its going to be a complete bore and one of those shows that will probably get you verbally berated by your peers if you are a man. I say to all of you, I sought this show out and I have watched it and I am here to tell you it's pretty darn good.
Piano is the story of a middle school girl by the name of Miu Nomura. She has been playing piano since her early childhood and continues to do so to this very day without ever really knowing why. Her friends and family have always encouraged her natural talent and now Miu has been selected by her piano instructor to not only play in their school's recital, but to play one of her own original pieces. So Miu is now having to remember the song that she improvised when playing during practice for her recital and having to deal with the normal trouble of being a young girl.
The plot is extremely simple and could even be said to be virtually non-existent. Miu keeps playing the piano and
grappling with her own reasons for doing so and is living out her normal life with her friends, family and troubles of
school life. The entire premise behind the plotline is seeing Miu blossom as a young lady and come to terms with who
she is and who she is to become. You are only given 10 episodes to see this slow transformation into a more mature Miu,
but that is just enough to maintain the light-hearted atmosphere without falling into the drudgery of stretching it
out.
Rating:
Art
Any fan of the works of Kosuke Fujishima will already know what kind of character designs to expect. Piano shies away from the gravity-defying and wide spectrum of colors of hair and goes with a more subdued, realistic character model. Slight differences in skin tones and realistic hair styles are all drawn to exquisite detail. People actually look like they might if we all had animated counterparts. It's rather refreshing to see this once in a while and even more so when it is so well done.
The biggest surprise in the animation department was the gorgeous and detailed background animations. If one thing ever sticks out as lazy in an anime it's the backgrounds. No detail is left out from individual leaves on trees, to racks of CD's in the store all the way to the very homely feel of the houses of each neighborhood. This anime provides some of the most eye pleasing backdrops ever.
My only complaint is that for a show that is based entirely on music, there was very little emotional impact show with
the characters. Music has the power to move the heart, mind and soul, but not enough power to change characters facial
expressions. When someone would sit at the piano, regardless of what type of song they would play, they would have the
same lifeless look. I've seen people play the piano and they feel their music; an attempt to portray that would
have given this a far better impact.
Rating:
Sound
It's easy to tell what the overall musical composition to this show consisted of. Much of the piano music was ear pleasing to say the least, and if you look at any of my past reviews, piano music is one way to get me to score high. But it really isn't the music that made this show what it was so much as the subtle changes within it. You may hear the same song 4 or 5 times but each time it was different. Sometimes you can feel the emotion the character is trying to portray with the more fluid and full sounds they produced with the piano, or their reluctance via choppy and sloppy sounds. You can hear errors in the music while they still learn each song and can feel their frustration or pure elation via the sound the ivories produce. That is quite an accomplishment and deserves high praise.
Vocal portions of the show were fantastic in their simplicity. The entire show consists of friends and family bonding
and Miu's own internal monologue as she copes with her life. The characters have a very lifelike attitude and
speak as if this is just a normal life that we the viewer are able to look in upon. I never thought I could appreciate
a character that had such a monotone voice all the time, but Ayako Kawasumi as Miu does a wonderful job maintaining her
shy yet loveable personality. The best vocal acting I believe goes to Yuuko Sasaki as Miu's mother Hitomi. Out of
all the anime mother's I've heard, she seemed to fit the bill the best as the one most likely to actually be a
mother. She had a very caring voice and personality but was able to act out both the role of mother and best friend to
her daughters.
Rating:
Presentation
The first thing one will notice when they watch this show is the slow pacing. The show is very slow and ultimately doesn't accomplish much by the end. I fear that because of this it is going to lose far too many potential viewers in the early stages. Admittedly though it also takes a certain mood to fully enjoy what Piano has to offer. It's the type of show that couples should watch together or maybe one to watch after a nice dinner with loved ones, something that would put you in the peaceful mood. Attractive animation, melodic piano pieces and loveable life-like characters are what makes Piano what it is; 10 episodes of innocent enjoyment.
Recommending this show is very tough as it is not for everyone. Quite frankly if you've come to always expect deep
plots with lots of twists, crazy characters with varying personality, magic or action with anime, then you may want to
skip this one. But if you are in the right mindset and looking to see a young girl grow up in front of your eyes then
Piano may be something to look out for. Makes me wish I had someone to watch this with; but that's another subject
all together now isn't it?
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.6667 (good)
Reviewed by shoujoboy, Mar 01, 2007
Comments
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MapleRose Retired Moderator Mar 01, 2007
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Saikusa Retired Moderator Mar 02, 2007
Drat, second comment :p
Thanks for submitting this. I've often wondered about this series as I'm a big fan of AMG. Overall it looks like a change of pace form the over-the-top heavenly hijinks, but you've still made me want to see it with your honest approach to it's over-whelming normalness... I know that's not a real word ;)
So thanks for the review! :D
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Rosegirl18 Mar 02, 2007
Three's always a good number. :)
I've eyed Piano since a huge article on it came out in a Newtype USA that I bought, but never really went around to seeing it since, I mean, it's named PIANO, for god's sakes! And since it was last year, I was preoccupied with all that magical, action-packed, eye-popping anime coming out during that season.
I might want to give it a try though - sounds like a cute, breezy sort of thing you want to experience once in a while.
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BossMac Mar 04, 2007
Somone's gotta stop this trend...
Anyways, ei homie... okay what can I say that's not already stated? Hmmm...
Okay, lemme just kiss ass and say nice review.
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ShadowDreamer16 Sep 13, 2007
Ok, this is weird, but the title was actually what attracted me to the series. lol. It's a pretty decent series. My sister, has the whole collection and we've watched it twice so far. The thing that annoyed me the most was the main character's hair, I know that seems like nothing, but like those who watched Escaflowne know how much a little detail like a "nose" could affect your whole viewing experience. Great, great animation, but no matter how many times you watch it you still can't get over it. Also the dubbed version was not very smooth and the main character's voice is not really appealing. But other than that it was good, the story was very interesting, it was very a normal story.
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Fanatik007 Jul 12, 2009
wonderful review!
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rukasu04 Mute Member Nov 30, 2009
Nice review, thanks
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SchRita Jan 15, 2010
Thanks for the review!
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