Noitamina this is where you shine.  Slice of life and romance anime more notably pointing out josei series.  I like this series a lot because its about music and reminds me so much of Nodame Cantabile.  Talk about a series I’d love to see come back and finish adapting the manga!

Shifting focus away from Kousei and Kaori we jump right into the performances.  I can see this be a tear-jerker of a series in the coming episodes.  There is such an emotional side to this episode especially for Takeshi.  He’s considered Kousei a rival and wants in every way to surpass him but what will he find at the end once he sees his performance?  While director Kyohei Ishiguro is doing a fine job at adapting this from Naoshi Arakawa’s manga and the music is some of the best of the Fall 2014 season and going into the Winter lineup I can see this excelling at being even stronger as it goes on!

If there was one thing I would change here its the talking in front of the performances.  Yeah it’s great for telling Takeshi’s and Emi’s own personal feelings but the overall impact here would have been much more incredible if these inner dialogues took place before and after the performances.  The imagery where a resolved Emi plays her heart out as autumn is pouring around the stage was spectacular!

Emi’s adorable and I really like how her motivation to step up and achieve her goals of letting her emotions ring through the sounds of her playing is a force to be reckoned with and it was a beautiful performance at the end here!  The reactions of the audience brought chills down my spine.

The contrast between Emi and Kaori is much more noticeable now considering how these two are so passionate when they play.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 8/10

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