Introduction
With the start of the Chopin piano competition, Kai Ichinose, Shuuhei Amamiya, and many other hopeful musicians from around the world strive to reach the top. The stakes have never been higher, and the judges are rigorous when it comes to selecting the winner out of the plethora of talented pianists. This competition is so harsh that even famous prodigies can be easily eliminated.
Some play for the money, some play to fulfill their duty to their families, and yet others play for their music to be heard. However, the only one who can reach the top is the one who embodies the spirit of the music Frédéric Chopin crafted for future generations. With the stakes higher than ever before, rivalries, friendships, and family ties will be tested, and each pianist will find their own sound.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
8 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Brexeldt
How disappointing.
I love the story, and I highly recommend you all read the manga, as the anime did not do it justice. Many of the plot points and dialogue were left out, which were crucial in developing the MC and all other characters and their connection to one another. Granted, they only had 24 episodes to squeeze in everything, which proved impossible.
With Gaina being a small studio, I didn't expect much; however, how can the animation be worse than their first season? They completely stopped any form of animation and left us with still images and a slideshow. When the piano is being played, we are then taken to a nature slideshow, which cuts to the unmoving audience, then back to the still pianist. Not to mention, the overlay of sparks and fabrics to show movement is even more dis…
Read at the sourceloreeellaii
I really like the story. I come from extreme poverty (USA standards), a single parent, and Kai Ichinose's story really resonates with me. The ending had me crying for sure.
We'll start with the positives:
- Kai's story is amazing and his "rivalry" with Amamiya is really well done. The line blur between best friends and archenemies is really well done.
- In season 2, everybody is extremely well fleshed out. If you like characters, season 2 is filled with them. Nearly everybody competing in the competition has their motivations to win.
- The "corruption" is also a really nice touch and well-needed aspect to the story.
- The Ending is very true to Kai's character.
- The comedy aspect is very refreshing and well done!
Now, for the cons...
- I can't NOT mention the fact that the 3D anim…
Read at the sourceDisfemisef
The 2nd season of Piano no Mori was basically a tournament arc that featured talented musicians taking on each other in the International Chopin competition in Poland. This season was a definite step up from the first and you could see that the animation was more polished. They also cut out that weird 2D to 3D thing they were doing in the first season which made many of the performances hard to watchThat said, where S2 really shines is with the characters. I came to love Kai (MC) and even though Amamiya (his rival) was annoying most of the time, his redemption arc was very pleasing to see. The relationship between Kai and Amamiya was portrayed as a little more than friendship, but it was nice to see it develop. There was also Kai's teacher, Ajino, who was lovely and easy to admire. There w…
Read at the sourceCinaGinger
I'll be very brief.
1. The worst:
a) Excessive and repetitive CGI, poor-quality animation. Paradoxically, the characters were re-drawn better than in 1st season and ameliorated the opening. Lowwer cost in production?
b) They quit focus on one character and gave it to another (that wasn't in the opening, I anticipated the story for nothing, I guess I'll read the manga).
c) I felt more tachycardic in the 1st season.
2. The good parts were:
a) Classical music, you have to love it or hate it. Maybe they over-repeated the same pieces again and again like in a real Piano Contest.
b) It has a couple of dark sub-plots for two of the secondary characters. Also, they teach you about how to deal with your personal issues, philosophy of life, etc.
Read at the sourceneko_cola
I want to write a review here because this anime is unfortunately too underrated and I am in love with it. So, hi! minor spoiler maybe.
Just to get it out of the way: By the looks of it, namely the art, it's not reeeeally good and some shots look cheap, I wish they had done a better job. And you may overlook this series if you just want something quick paced.
Forget all that, where Piano no Mori shines is in its subtle undertones.
Albeit at first glance it presents itself with a known formula of poor boy-rich boy, it goes on and carries much more than the main characters' contrasting realities and the premise of facing the road to become a great musician. It's a tale of friendship, father-son dynamics, conflict and personal growth. You can even see the show as a homage to the polish pian…
Read at the sourcePyraXadon
I think more than ever I wish the characters in this show would just shut up. Because the plot is so focused on playing the piano and the sound that comes from it, not having just pure peace and letting the notes fly is a weird detriment to the whole thing.
Story:
Piano no Mori continues the story back in Poland where our dual protagonists of Ichinose Kai and Amamiya Shuhei move onto the next stage of the Chopin competition, using the rest of the runtime to find themselves in the realm of music and their reason to play the piano.
Compared to the whimsical and often time storytelling-like presentation in season one where the setting of 'Forest's Edge' and the power of letting music flow sets the tone for the core themes of nature vs. nurture in the realm of music, season two takes a step…
Read at the sourceZB_Blades
The first season of the Piano Forest has this fantastical whimsy to it. A grand piano abandoned in a forest severely damaged by the elements with no chance of playing again is happened upon by a young boy who breathes life into those worn out keys and strings. Magical would be the word to describe that season, but can the same be said for season 2?
The story of the piano forest felt like something out of an old Disney movie with a touch of Studio Ghibli. The fantastical elements interwoven with real world talent made watching a delight. The second season in my opinion abandons what made the first season special. The forest setting is abandoned in favor of a symphony hall as the story meanders through what can only be called a tournament arc putting the very best in the world against each…
Read at the sourceSunflower33
This is based on second half of one of the greatest manga ever written. They left a lot of the story out because they only had 24 episodes total, and while that included some of my favorite parts the heart of the story is all present.
Let's just get this part out of the way. The animation sucks. All the CGI from the first season is gone and everything has been replaced with stills for the most part. They show motion by overlaying some moving bubble layer on top of the audience and pianist whenever music is being played, and by panning over still pictures. There's very little actual animation.
The best part of this is the performances. They got some of the best young pianists from around the world to stand in for each of the different performers and they did incredible jobs. If you like…
Read at the source