Feel free to correct me if I already asked you this, but what are your thoughts on Disney movies?
http://operationrainfall.com/2016/05...gagamer-eroge/
*adds Sakamichi no Apollon to the list* The one story (VN) I remember most fondly that built its identity around music is Symphonic Rain, and it worked pretty well there. It's part of the setting, it's how the main characters get together, you feel its presence directly through the rhythm minigame and all the songs relate to the heroines' stories somehow; but it's still centered around the characters first and foremost. And yeah, it's a bit fascinating to me as well =P
I still think it's really interesting how we agree on many elements that make a good story but when it comes to the execution of that, we can have very polarizing opinions
True, it was about silly girl fun first and foremost, but it ostensibly used music as the main "plot device". If you can even say there's a plot there... That said, K-On's not a bad show, just one that I grew tired of after cutesy weird girl antics, and the incompetent treatment of music was just something that made me with just no incentive to continue watching. Another similar case (well, not in tone, but in the implementation of music) occurs in Kids on the Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon) but it's actually done WELL here. The story isn't about the music but the music is featured heavily and actually draws the characters together. And this time around, partly thanks to the magnificent soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, you can see how this was done by someone who knows what they're doing when it comes to the music, and that's something that made me appreciate that anime so much more as well (well that and the Christian angle actually made this interesting for me, aside from the beautiful story that was there). In general, what I'm getting at with this is that I get very invested in music anime where that musical element is not only done competently, but also implemented in a way that makes it compliment the story to such a degree that it becomes an integral part of creating a show's identity without overtaking a main plot line. So because of this I became incredibly invested in Shigatsu and Sakamichi no Apollon, while K-On just made me lose interest in it.
It's funny; I don't actively remember that cat scene, but I can definitely tell you that I viewed it very differently from the way you did. For one that supposedly clear message would've been totally lost on me; I don't intuitively draw that sort of link between occurrences that don't actually have a connection. For me the cat scene wouldn't have been so much 'foreshadowing that Kaori will die', but instead a parallel situation that puts Kousei's mental strength to the test before being challenged by the eventual tragedy. It's all about how Kousei takes this event in my eyes, and probably the very last thing I'd want to see is him reading too deeply into a casually unrelated thing and despairing over it. And in that sense, I can easily see myself being bummed out by the fact that Kousei never remarks on it. Because that is *exactly* the moment where he could've shown character growth, and we could've had an idea of whether he ends up a wreck or a content man by the end of the series. Instead the show leaves it until the end, making his feelings in this particular scene frustratingly ambiguous. In the end this one scene... doesn't really tell us ANYTHING. It's just there. The final concert scene on the other hand is the kind of scene I eat up without a second thought Because projecting someone's inner feelings onto the visuals is a concept I can very much get behind; that to me is the kind of scene that doesn't need words or explanations because we see it with our own eyes. I can still agree with your definition of subtlety, it's just that because I view scenes differently I end up having a totally different perspective on where it's actually done well. You could also say that subtlety was lost on me; which is why I end back up at that statement I made earlier =P Btw, I didn't actually watch it, but wasn't K-On!! not really "about" music in the first place? ^^
coming back to those subtleties I liked, here's an example: I think it was two episodes before the finale that Kousei stumbles upon a cat that got hit by a car. This is right after he sees Kao get transported to ER. He takes it to the vet, but it's too late and the cat dies. The juxtaposition of the two scenes sends a message that is clear - Kao will die and he can't save her. He has blood on his hands, meaning he has to live with the fact that he couldn't do anything about it but has to live on. And what makes this scene subtle - again, in my eyes - is that he never remarks on it. It's all done with visuals. He isn't angsting about that cat verbally, no narration is telling us what that symbol meant. We're just left with imagery that tells the story in a metaphorical way, easing us into the emotions in the last stretch of the anime. Then we have their final concert "together" where it's not at all subtle, it's super campy and over the top, but it's just beautifully animated and placed at just the right moment that it really works and I had to hold back tears. But again, it doesn't at that point say directly that she dies, and yet you know it from the animation. You know what her disappearing there means and that this is Kousei's way of saying farewell. Not to mention the beautiful Ballade in G-minor they chose for that scene which is just phenomenal, and I'm usually not at all a Chopin fan. So yeah, I guess by "subtlety" I mean how well it all comes down together without the creators deciding it's necessary for someone to state what this all means.
Just saying how I see it subjectively, because you know I believe there is no such thing as true objectivity If I were to put it differently, I'm surprised how not heavy handed and hammered in some moments were. In its execution, this anime simply had certain elements that I have been missing in many stories that were trying so hard to move me but couldn't. And yeah, the whole thing wasn't just about music, but also about the world of music academia and performing. Exams, contests, incredibly unfair expectations - one starts to wonder what the point of it all is when the whole systems seems to be imposing a specific view on a thing that is supposed to be about freedom and enjoyment, but at the same time, it seems imposing those limits is the way to go if you want to excel in that art. So yeah, from that perspective, it just felt so real (well, minus all the times someone who went completely against established rules made the whole audience erupt in thunderous applause, but yeah, that's the element of anime camp that I'm able to tolerate in the grand scheme of things ). so yeah, I always appreciate when anime about music is actually about music and knows the realities of that world, portraying them in a really insightful manner that resonates with someone who has been through that (and the hands are actually doing the movements they should be doing, which is wow!). It's not like K-On which is about music on the surface but it's clear that the creators don't really know what they're doing
Oh and in regards to subtlety, I believe that 'you can only truly see the subtleties in stories you like' so I try to avoid bringing it as an argument most of the time
It'd have probably resonated with me more if I could've empathized with the piano story more, but it seemed to be a level above anything I ever did; I mostly just played however I wanted. When it comes to tearjerkers the ones that affect me the most are the Key stories which are usually about growing up into adulthood in some form or another which hits pretty close to home at the moment. Still makes me happy whenever I see people fall for Shigatsu, it's a great thing when an anime can move you so much.
