Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) Episode 4

As good as the performance scene was, what struck me the most was the scene between Kaori and Kousei prior to the performance. The constant eye contact between the two, demonstrated through close-ups and extreme close ups, really showed their strong connection. The visuals also exceptionally complement the dialogue.

The scene starts strong with a close-up of the two in order to immediately capture the viewers’ attention. The viewers are drawn to Kaori as much as Kousei. In effect, this made the dialogue sink in more as she tells Kousei to look at her and look up with more confidence.

It then cuts to medium-long shot, which breaks the intimacy but in a good way since it slows the scene down for dramatic build up. This shot also gives the viewers an overall sense of their contrasting body language. Kousei is sitting stiffly with arms and hands still mimicking practicing the piano, while Kaori has a more relax posture.

The medium-long shot was the build up for the extreme close-ups. Kousei’s wide eyed expression is full of amazement as Kaori encourages him with a look of confidence in her eyes. While the use of low and high angle shots were mainly for continuity purposes they still reinforce the state of the characters. The high angle on Kousei portrays him as the emotionally weaker character while the low angle on Kaori makes her look more admirable.

The eyeline matches of Kousei looking at Kaori’s back as they run to the stage were a great visual of his admiration for her, which added more emotion to the line, “You’re freedom itself.”

This scene was consisted of mostly centered shots. It’s worth mentioning since they were mostly implemented well and added strength to the connection between Kousei and Kaori. I liked the composition of the first image. The frame within a frame shot, the eyelines and leading lines centered on Kaori emphasize her captivating persona. The third image is another frame within a frame shot, with both characters at the border of the stage’s spotlight. It’s a visual that adds importance to the huge step in life that Kousei was about to take.  

______________________________________________________________________

Shots of character eyes continued to the performance scene. The above being the more striking one. The push in shot into Kousei’s eye, with the reflection of his piano playing demonstrated his commitment to the performance despite not being able to hear his own music.