Piano no Mori Episode 7 Review: Saikai

Did someone say timeskip?! This week we’re leaving behind the carefree days of childhood and moving on to the teen years of our budding pianists. Each week, I find myself falling more and more in love with this series, from the phenomenal piano playing to the emotional character-driven narrative, Piano no Mori always manages to tug at my heartstrings. So let’s embark on yet another beautiful musical journey with episode 7 of Piano no Mori.

Japanese Original Episode Title: 再会

Plot

We skip ahead five years into the future with Kai and Shuuhei in their late teens. Both have been honing their piano playing in their own way. Kai stayed behind in Japan, while Shuuhei went abroad in hopes of discovering his own sound. But, no matter how far he goes, Kai always seems to be just a few steps ahead.

Episode Highlights

Time skip: Last week’s episode marked the end of an ‘era’, skipping forward five years into the future. A lot has changed in just five years. Shuuhei has been studying piano abroad, while Kai has been making his way in the world playing piano in strip clubs…

Adaptation Upgrade: So the original manga ran from 1998-2015, but the story itself takes place roughly between the mid 80’s to late 90’s, so a lot of the technology we have today wasn’t in the manga. I only bring this up because, in the manga, Shuuhei initially comes back to Japan after some classmates of his play a VHS tape of Kai playing piano with some street performers. In the anime, he sees a viral video. This isn’t the first nor will it be the last adaptation upgrade, but, there are quite a few so it was worth mentioning.

Cute Kid: I’m noticing a theme with the anime I’m watching this season. They all have a plucky kid character and for the first part of this series that was Kai, but now that he’s all grown up, they needed some new blood… Enter Daiki, Kai’s foul-mouthed piano student… He even composes ’emotional’ ballads…

Themes & Trivia

Sakura, Sakura: The song Kai and the group of performing clowns play during the viral video Shuuhei sees is Sakura, Sakura (also known as Sakura), a traditional Japanese folk song about springtime, namely the cherry blossoms.

Crossdressing: Kai secretly works in a strip club playing piano, dressed as a woman named Maria. Kai’s feminine appearance has been brought up quite a few times in the past, but even I have to admit that Kai makes a pretty convincing woman.

Mental Block: Kai went through one of these a few episodes back and now it’s Shuuhei’s turn! After realizing the limitations of his current playing, Shuuhei is finding that his playing style is no match for the more expressive playing styles of the international music community.

Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses S.173 No.7 (Funérailles): Kai plays this at the strip club under the guise of Maria. The Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses S.173 No.7 (also known as Funérailles) is one of 10 piano pieces written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. Funérailles is the seventh composition composed in response to the overthrow of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Interestingly enough, many have attributed the piece as a tribute by Liszt for his friend, composer Chopin who died in October 1849. However, Liszt directly contradicted these claims.

Music Therapy: Daiki and Shuuhei use music as an outlet. Daiki composes ‘ballads’ to help release his pent-up frustration towards his bullies at school, while Shuuhei lets out all of his insecurities and doubts. While this is an informal case, music therapy is a well known form of psychotherapy that incorporates music as a means of treatment, either through creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music.

La Campanella: This is the piece Kai plays for Shuuhei in his apartment. La Campanella (‘the little bell’ in Italian) is the name of the third of Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s Grandes études de Paganini, S. 141.

Comments

I don’t know if I’ve said this yet, but I really love this series. After each episode, I am always hit with this overwhelmingly warm, nostalgic feeling that is almost impossible to describe in words. It’s only been 7 episodes, but I am already so invested in these characters and their individual stories to the point that I even went out and read more of the manga (which you should totally read).

This week’s episode takes us five years into the future and while many things have changed the characters and the heart of the series remain for the most part the same. This is the next stage in their musical journey, and you can clearly see the the ways the circumstances of their lives have shaped them over the years despite the series not delving to deeply into that period of their lives. But, most of all I am impressed with how far Kai has come in five years! He is so much more grounded and mature, sure he’s still the same easy-going kid he was five years ago, but now he’s fully embraced the piano and it really shows in the way he plays. He works hard for everything he has and while to most it may seem like staying in Japan was a step back, for Kai he is realizing his dreams in his own way. Meanwhile, Shuuhei for all his privileges and talent, is constantly plodding along in Kai’s shadow just barely scratching the surface of his potential.

Growing Into Your Craft

This was yet another phenomenal character-driven episode, that damn near brought me to tears. I am just in awe of Kai’s growth and dedication to his craft and I love the rivalry between Shuuhei and Kai, THIS IS HOW A RIVALRY SHOULD BE!! I find myself falling more and more in love with this series each week!! I can’t recommend this enough!

Don’t forget to check our weekly anime preview each week for an exclusive sneak peek into next week’s episode!