I finally got around to watching "Your Lie in April." It's been on my list since the middle of last summer (which is saying something since I only joined MDL in May 2020). I've never read the manga or watched the anime, so I went in blind, although I will be reading the manga sometime in the next month or so. But I like it if I can watch a live-action manga adaptation first and then read the original manga. I like the movies a lot better if I do it that way than read the manga first.

While this movie is not earth-shatteringly different, and I didn't cry which surprised me, I do love that Kaori is a strong female lead who knows her own mind and does what she wants to do no matter what anyone else might think. She's attractive that way, sort of sparkling, and so I can see why Kousei fell for her. Kento has a tendency to be so marvelously emotive so I was pleased with his performance. I love it when he smiles, so it was nice to see lots and lots of smiles here, along with the tears. But in the end, Taishi sort of stole the show a bit as the best friend, Watari. He's just so ridiculously delightful.

It's a beautiful film, very moving, but not as deep as I was expecting. It didn't gut me like "He Won't Kill, She Won't Die" or "Sky of Love." But it was still a lovely film that fits several of the tags that I find appealing.