As the date of the piano competition draws near, episode 21 of Your Lie in April once again finds Kousei falling into solitude, this time affected by having seen the reality – that Kaori is on death’s doorstep. The question in the episode is whether Kousei will rise, or will he again fall as he did when his mother passed away.
While we have to wait until next week to see what happens with Kaori (though manga readers will already know by now), the last few minutes of the episode demonstrate to us what Kousei has decided – because of Kaori, and because of all the people who have invested their lives in him, Kousei will try. As Kaori asked him, he will struggle.
And there’s no doubt, it is a struggle. For those of us who have been through depression – and even those that haven’t, but have had moments in your life where you feel your world is collapsing, we feel what Kousei is feeling. We can recall those moments where it’s too hard to try, too hard to get up, too hard to live. Pain and hurt paralyzes us emotionally, and physically, too, as we see with the huddled position Kousei holds for much of the episode.
For Christians, the same is true – faith in God is no protection against torrents of depression and pain. In moments of struggle, we must to come the point where we decide, will be let the world overcome us, or will we struggle against the world?
Christ promises that those who follow Him have already overcome the world (1 John 5:1-5). What can that mean when we still suffer through pain, loss, trials, temptation, and despair? Perhaps it means that if we trust in God, we can find joy even in the the struggle. When everything falls apart and the storm is too strong, we understand that Christ has been there, too – he suffered more than any of us will, but remained faithful to the cross. His example and His promises tell us that our standing is always firm. His love is constant and true. And as Kousei does with Kaori, our struggles can match, in some sense, Christ’s, and as with Jesus, we can overcome them, too.
We’re musicians God’s children, after all. That’s what we do.
I’ve been reading your reviews for Shigatsu since you started them and just noticed I’ve never commented, I love them! They are always well thought out and the way you tie together Kaori’s love and determination with God’s love for us is amazing. I almost feel like you could make a Bible study/devotional out of these reviews+the show with just a few additions, great work. This whole site is a wonderful resource for Christians who love anime (like me), I always look up shows I like to see if you have any articles on them. Anyway, can’t wait for the finale next week! I seriously don’t know if Kaori will live or die, this show is great at keeping up suspense. This episode in particular was amazing, may have cried multiple times 😛 (especially the rooftop scene, the imagery was beautiful there).
Thank you for the kind words! The material almost speaks for itself – right from the beginning, the story has focused on the power of grace, and has been unrelenting.
And thank you for following along! 🙂
I’ve always been attracted to your Your Lie In April reviews too. The show does have a number of very strong and interesting parallels to Christ, grace, and redemption.
For me, in essence (Though I’m not a Christian) the point of life IS the struggle against the world, fighting even though you know there’s too high a chance you will fail. Fighting for the sake of proving that you’re not the kind of person who would give less than everything they have to their goals. Everybody in the world has their very own Dragon, acting as both their opponent in that endless game and the resolve to defy him.
“In moments of struggle, we must to come the point where we decide, will be let the world overcome us, or will we struggle against the world?”
And I wonder if forcing people to confront that choice is actually the reason behind the existence of the Dragon. Because when we decide we’re going to struggle against the world and give Satan the middle finger rather than give in, we’re capable of the most amazing things in that moment. I’ve seen it in action.
I wonder if that’s why God took us on this journey, even though he knew many of the choices we would make would cause us such agony. Because that feeling is worth it.
That’s an interesting viewpoint. I know we learn a lot about God – and ourselves – through the struggle. The more I live, and the more I struggle, the more I know this to be true!