Piano no Mori Episode 18 Review: Requiem

With Shuuhei out of the running, and Kai moving on to the next stage in the Chopin Tournament, we’re entering into brand new territory. The stakes are that much higher in this week’s episode. Of course, MANGA.TOKYO has you covered as we delve into the musical world of Kai and his fellow competitors in this week’s episode of Piano no Mori.

Plot

The votes are in and the 12 finalists are moving forward to the next stage of the Chopin Tournament. After Kai’s bombastic performance, he’s moving on to the next round, but, unfortunately it’s the end of the road for Shuuhei. With this, the relationship between the two young pianists is finally pushed to its breaking point.

Episode Highlights

Scenery Porn: Time and time again I am struck by just how beautiful the Polish scenery is, with its lush forests and beautiful architecture. Piano no Mori is full of rich background locales. All the outdoor scenes are beautifully rendered, saturated in crisp clean Autumn colors.

Shuuhei/Kai Confrontation: This has been a long time coming, but we finally get the much-anticipated confrontation between Kai and Shuuhei. Things have finally hit a breaking point for Shuuhei following his failure to reach the next stage of the Chopin Tournament and the resulting confrontation is the culmination of everything that has building up between these two characters.

Themes & Trivia

Sto Lat (One Hundred Years): The song Kai is playing during his celebration party is called Sto Lat (One Hundred Years). Sto Lat is a traditional Polish song that is sung for good wishes, good luck, and long life. The lyrics in English are:

100 years, 100 years,

May they live!

100 years, 100 years,

May they live!

Once again, once again,

May they live!

Holy Cross Church: Is a Roman Catholic church constructed and located in Warsaw, Poland, where composer Frédéric Chopin’s heart was interred in 1882. Construction began on the building in 1682 and was completed in 1757.

Comments

This episode highlights the difference between Kai and Shuuhei and the reason why I don’t particularly care about Shuuhei. Kai plays simply because he loves music and wants to share that love with the world. He doesn’t play to win. He plays because that’s just what he loves doing and his seemingly lax attitude towards the piano only serves to fuel Shuuhei’s anger. His jealousy has consumed him, turning him is a cruel and ugly person, and his confrontation with Kai was something that has been building since the start of the series. But, it’s made all the more heartbreaking by Kai’s genuine affection for Shuuhei. He always considered Shuuhei a friend and a confidant, and for him to find out that the person he thought was his friend secretly hated him was a pretty big blow. Whether this will hurt him or help him as he enters the Finals has yet to be seen.

Shuuhei is a complex character dealing with his own set of insecurities and issues, and when compared with everything Kai has been through, they seem trivial. I’m not a fan of Shuuhei and I won’t say that his recent loss has ingratiated him to me, but, I do understand him more than I have in the past. He has a lot of growing to do, both as a person and as a pianist and once he discovers just what he wants out of life, I’m sure that he and Kai can have another go at being friends. I don’t think those two characters were brought together so things could end the way they did, but, I also wouldn’t be too upset if they didn’t make up.

I guess I just love how organic and sympathetic each of the characters are, depending on your perspective. There really aren’t any ‘bad guys’ in Piano no Mori; only people living their lives the best way they know how and that’s what sets this anime apart from some other slice of life dramas. Both Kai and Shuuhei have been changed by one another, and their friendship has lifted them both to heights neither could have ever dreamed of reaching. They are the pianists they are today because of their relationship with one another. Together they helped foster a love of music through their passion for the piano and it’s a little sad to see them part ways. I think Shuuhei said it best: he would have never continued playing if it weren’t for Kai and I believe the same is true for Kai as well.

A Parting of Ways

‘Requiem’ ushered in a new beginning for Kai and Shuuhei. While their friendship has reached ad end (?), there is room for some much-needed growth for both of them. As we transition towards the final stage of the Chopin Tournament we’ll see what new heights Kai will reach. Will his recent falling out with Shuuhei affect his piano? Only time will tell, and I can’t wait to see where this musical journey will take us in the near future.

I’ll be back next week with another Piano no Mori review, but in the meantime, be sure to check out MANGA.TOKYO’s other amazing Winter 2019 reviews!!

NEXT TIME: For the Sake of Your Number One