There are so many different ways that anime can draw us in.
Pulse-pounding action,
Heart-wrenching drama,
Powerful acting, or
Beautiful animation can all grab us and make keep us keep watching.
But before it can really win,
a show needs to hook you,
and the first hook cast is almost always the OP, or Opening Credits.
A good OP sets the tone for a show.
Tells you enough about the world and characters to get you interested,
And, in an ideal world, axes a kick ass music video on its own right.
Not all OPs are created equally though.
And since no one else seems up to the esoteric and largely useless task,
I have taken it upon myself to ask:
What's in an OP?
This week, 'Your Lie in April's OP is surprisingly honest when it comes to spoiling the entire show.
I had a conversation with one of my friends a while back about deceptive OPs,
Theme songs that are fun and catchy but don't really gel with a tone of the show;
Or that only conveys a small part of it.
At the time, 'Your Lie in April' had yet to wrap up,
And both of its OPs sprang to mind in this discussion,
But looking back, with the series finished, I've got to revise that opinion.
'Your Lie in April's first OP, which is set to 'Hikaru Nara' by Goose House, is deceptively perfect.
There are two animals that play a prominent role in this OP:
The Black Cat with blue eyes and The Dove.
Both of them are symbolic of key elements of this series,
Because its a Black Cat and a Dove!
Of course they are.
The Black Cat is a manifestation of Arima Kousei's guilt over the death of his mother,
And his fear that he'll loose other people he loves.
It sits on the keys of his piano, and like the emotional hangups it represents, prevents him from playing,
Which is a pretty interesting symbol for an anime to choose
Because while black cats are ill omens in North America,
They actually represent good luck in Japan.
Most of the other characters in the show are happy to see the cat when it shows up,
But Arima treats it with apprehension because in his mind,
Everything good in his life can disappear or turn on him at any moment.
The dove is Kaori Miyazono. More specifically, her soul,
A femoral and light like a feather.
So... what does this tell us?
Well, this whole OP goes to great lengths to show the viewer
Repeatedly and unequivickly that Kaori loves Kousei rather than Watari,
And that she's gonna' die. [So mean :(]
Yep, 'Your Lie in April' pulls a zetsubou sensei,
That is it gives away the entire ending right away without anyone noticing.
And it does so in a remarkably effective and beautiful manner.
We get right into it in the character introduction,
Which convey allot of side comfort for telling them.
Kousei stares over his shoulder at Kaori because he has a crush on her,
And she hogs the spotlight when she has it.
She's also the only character in these intros to close her eyes.
Kousei awkwardly snaps to attention when he's center-framed,
While Tsubaki sneaks a glance over her shoulder beacuse she has a crush on him.
In comparison, Watari is relaxed and confident,
And when he takes the spot, Kaori immediately steals it and falls over,
Something she's pretty prone to doing as her illness progresses in the series,
Scattering feathers in the process.
She quickly plays it off like its fun, but she doesn't get back up,
And the next time we see her, she's falling, again in trailing feathers.
This OP has an inordinate number of group shots,
And in every single one of them, Kaori makes sure to position herself closest to Kousei.
Also, note that she has a cat on her back.
Kousei may not be happy with cats, but they do symbolize part of them.
The following feathers give a away the cherry petals,
Another femoral symbol that only lasts for the duration of Spring.
This is reminding us, and around about way, that Kaori won't be here long.
While Tsubaki has exhausted herself exercising,
Kousei very emphatically refrains from playing the piano in his somber, darkened room,
But he relaxes at the piano in the Music Room when Kaori is sleeping behind him.
This is the only shot in the OP where the group is together,
And Watari and Tsubaki stand between Kaori and Kousei.
But they're intruding through the window and they clearly know it.
As the male singer from Goose House belts out his line, we see only Kousei,
Which clues us in that they are supposed to be connected.
In this group shot, Arima and Kaori are practically holding hands
If we're looking at symbols on bags again,
Tsubaki is carrying around a ghost set against the Moon and star.
This is a queue, i case we don't pick up on it instinctively that night represents death.
Once again, Kaori is falling,
And this is synced with the female singer solo to draw another connection.
Arima rushes to catch a feather, and suddenly Kaori is in his arms,
Noteworthy, because at one point when he is carrying her in this series,
He's surprised by how light she is.
And the space he's standing in, an endless expanse of water beneath blue sky,
Looks allot like heaven.
Kaori's eyes also open here for the first time since the character introductions.
Note that the only time she opens them is when she's looking at Arima,
Because she only has eyes for him, alluding to the titular lie,
And the rest of the time, she keeps them closed because she is tired,
Or dead! [YOU MONSTER]
A-1 Pictures Animation Team now gets to show off their ability to convey subtle emotion.
As Kousei and Kaori sing a duet, Watari kicks a ball in frustration,
His expression clearly showing hurt.
And happy memories of Arima causes Tsubaki to cry, inexplicably and uncontrollably.
The music reaches its climax as Kaori and Kousei perform together for the first time,
And she opens her eyes yet again to catch his.
Then the concert moves to heaven.
In the show, she collapses at the end if this performance,
But in the OP, she slightly presses her finger to her lips, as though telling us to keep it a secret.
Watari and Tsubaki are watching from a row of three seats.
Clearly, there is no room for a fourth,
And while Watari is standing to leave room, the only trio in the show consists of him, Kousei and Tsubaki.
So while it seems like there's two spaces, only Arima is actually missing,
While Kaori is either not long for this world, or not coming back at all.
Once more, the black cat stands in the way of the music,
But Kousei dances right past it with Kaori, which makes sense since she helps him overcome that block.
These are good shots for introducing Takeshi and Emi, but nothing special.
Far more important is the next shot of the dove,
Which has been getting further away as the day moves to night, and is now nearly gone.
These are for Kaori's final moments.
An empty swing is cast out into the air as though someone has just jumped from it,
And then we pull away to see that it is part of an empty two-seat set,
With Kousei standing in the foreground looking pensive, almost sad.
He's in the same space he once shared with Kaori, but the Sun is setting and she is nowhere to be seen.
Because, you know, she's dead. [WE GET IT YOU MONSTER]
Some might argue that the final group shot that follows discounts this,
But in fact, that reinforces it.
Immediately before the shot, we see a black cat next to a single trail of footprints in the sand,
With fireflies swarming all around.
In Japanese culture, fireflies carry a number of different meanings.
They're often associated with passionate love, a good fit for the series,
Summer nights, i.e. the end of spring,
And endings, specifically a song called 'Lights of The Fireflies', is often sung at graduations.
More importantly, in Japanese folklore, fireflies are often thought to be the souls of the dead,
Which is the meaning in which I'm sure we've all seen in one other anime that made us cry like babies.
Given the rest of the imagery in the shot, that's exactly what the animators we're going for.
So this final group shots takes place in a land of fireflies, perhaps on the border of the Afterlife.
And as these departed souls dance around, the entire cast is frozen,
Except, of course, for Kaori, the other departed soul in the shot.
The footprints at first seem to be Arima's, but, in fact, they're hers,
And he's gazing back at the trail she plays through his life.
In the final shot, we see Kousei smile wistfully before he turns and runs forward once more,
And we tilt up to see the dove shedding feathers and glowing exactly like the ethereal fireflies,
As it soars of at last into the night.
Though 'Hikaru Nara' is upbeat and cheerful, on closer inspection,
The intro has deeply somber undertones.
For a show about a single, small lie that brings with it untold joy and sadness,
It's a perfect fit.
What's more, the intro hides that lie right under our noses.
You can write off one or two of these details as an ass pull on my part,
But the entire OP shows over and over with intent and purpose exactly what fate has in store for Arima and Kaori.
And yet, it doesn't actually spoil the show,
Because most of the symbolism is [are] stuff that you wouldn't bat an eye at
Until you know what's coming, and the vast majority of viewers don't notice more in an OP than
Visuals sync with music.
Sometimes though, if you pay more attention,
You'll catch details that cast an entire show in a new light.
Thanks for tuning in yet again.
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As always, this is Professional Shitbag Jefthou, signing out from his Mother's Basement.