Listen to me, Kousei,
I want you to study the sheet music over and over,
and play it again and again and again.
That's how you're going to perfect it.
Just what the score calls for,
just as the composer intended,
perfectly and precisely.
You're off again! How many times do I have to tell you?
You're not going to bed until you can play that passage!
Take a good look at it! It's all there in the sheet music!
Arima's No. 1 again? Well, his mother is a direct disciple of Mr. Hashimoto.
I bet there's sheet music plastered onto those glasses!
Plus they'll hide the bruises from when she hits him.
He practices seven or eight hours a day, right? Everyday!
When does he get to play?
Most people couldn't stand a life like that.
He really is just like a machine.
None of them know what they're talking about.
I'm the only one who's on Mom's side.
Go!
But will you be okay? What about practice? Have you rehearsed together?
No worries! We'll figure it out! Because we rule!
Don't underestimate us jocks! I can make you time to rehearse!
Wait, shouldn't you guys be in school? And whose bike is this?
Hey, don't sweat the small stuff!
Just barely, but...
Safe!
Kousei!
*Twitch*
We're here!
We made it!
Let's do this!
*Grab*
*Drag*
Thank you both! We'll be going, then!
Kousei, your shoes! Sneakers aren't gonna cut it!
Put mine on!
Hurry! Hurry!
Better than sneakers, at least!
Tsubaki... Watari...
Thanks. I'll be going now.
Get out of here, moron!
Come on! We're cutting it close. Run!
Slow down a little...
Move!
You think Kousei can pull this off?
Spring will be here soon.
Huh? It's almost May, when the cherry blossoms scatter.
Yeah. But... I just know...
...that spring will come.
Towa Music Competition Committee Sponsor Second Annual Towa Music Competition Violin - Middle School Divison
Next, No. 12, Nashida. Please get ready.
All right! Your goal is to go out on top!
Y-Yes, ma'am! I'm gonna try to go out on top... I-I'll do my best!
Oh, man, that's putting the pressure on...
This is beyond crazy. I should have spent a lot of time practicing this,
memorizing it with my whole body,
fine-tuning it to the point where I don't need the sheet music anymore...
But I'll practically be sight-reading when I coordinate the piece with her.
And on top of that, such a...
Such an insanely out-of-control violinist!
All set!
What tempo should we use? Take-no-prisoners, maybe?
This is crazy, it's reckless!
No way can I turn in a decent performance like this.
Do I look good in this dress?
It's brand-new.
If I just man up and back out of this, it won't sting as much.
We're only gonna humiliate ourselves, going out like this.
Ignoring me?
Whaaaat?
So tell me, did that calm you down?
What's the big idea, all of a sudden?
Look at me.
Look up, and look at me.
You're always looking down.
That's why you're imprisoned inside that cage of music scores.
Don't worry, I know you can do it.
You were listening to it all during lunch break, right?
The sheet music was always somewhere in view, right?
I know you and I can do it.
Mozart's telling us from up in the sky... "Go on a journey," he's saying.
"A man away from home need feel no shame."
Let's go out there and shame ourselves like crazy!
Together...
No. 14, Ms. Kaori Miyazono,
please get ready to go on.
Let's go!
Are you listening, Kousei?
Just what the score calls for... It's all there in the sheet music.
Naïve... Bizarre...
It's like I'm on a rollercoaster. I'm being jerked around and around.
It's like this girl herself is the journey with no clear destination.
You're freedom itself.
No, I'm not.
Music is freedom.
This silence belongs to us. Every single person here...
...is waiting for us to start producing sounds.
Come on, let's go on a journey.
Saint-Saëns is waiting for us!
Here they are!
My Kaori-chan!
Hey, the accompanist is a kid, too.
Huh?
Wait, could that be...
I've been waiting for you, Kaori Miyazono... Hmm?
She's got a different accompanist. A kid, at that.
What are you doing?
I can't set my chair just right.
Hurry it up, you slowpoke. Adjust it with both hands!
He somehow looks familiar...
It's Arima. The pianist.
Arima-kun?
I see. So that kid's Kousei Arima, huh?
That's right. He's grown up since then, but that's the face of the pianist, Arima...
Kousei Arima.
So they know each other? Actually, why is he accompanying her?
Finally got it right.
Jeez!
Huh. Synthetic and all-natural. Talk about a mismatched couple!
What kind of performance do you have planned?
Elohim, Essaim... Elohim, Essaim... I implore you...
Your face is totally frozen.
A song dedicated to the virtuoso violinist, Sarasate.
Saint-Saëns's Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.
All right, that was a good start. I can hear the notes, too.
I'm glad we're doing this song.
There are some parts where I could go off-key,
but if I listen closely to the violin, and keep an eye on the sheet music...
Technically, it's not a difficult song.
Ah... Kousei's playing the piano again...
Kaori Miyazono... In a complete departure from her previous performance,
she's being docile here.
Out of consideration for Arima, maybe?
And now she's showing her true colors!
Awesome!
The notes...
They're vanishing...
The sound of the piano...
I can't hear it!
Huh? What's going on?
Huh? The accompanist...
The sound is out of sync.
Kousei!
The accompanist who never played a false note,
who played with such stunning precision...
...is starting to unravel.
As if I'm at the bottom of a dark sea, I can't hear anything.
There's no one here. It's dark.. It's dark...
It's dark. I'm at the bottom of a dark sea...
...and I'm going to be all alone.
He's pounding on the keys, but this isn't the accompaniment, is it?
This accompanist blows.
Too bad, I did like the violin.
In spite of your inexperience, you were holding your own till now.
What got into you all of a sudden, Arima?
The piano is destroying this performance!
Dammit, dammit, dammit!
I'm pounding the keys so hard...
So why?
Why is it that the only thing I can't hear is my own playing?
Probably a smart move. A deduction's inevitable,
but if he keeps on playing, it could affect the violinist.
Lousy piano playing!
Don't mess it up for her!
You shouldn't have been playing from the start!
Sorry... If I keep playing like this...
If I play... I'll only make trouble for you.
No way! Now even the violinist's stopped playing!
Does this mean they're disqualified?
Well, not disqualified, but...
This is unheard of!
It's over for them.
Why did she stop?
There's no reason for her to accommodate that awful accompanist...
And she was so cool...
Don't worry.
I know you and I can do it.
I hereby appoint you as my accompanist.
You still have to play!
But I want you.
I'm going to play with everything I've got.
So that the people who've heard me... ...will never forget me.
I'm a musician, after all!
Again.
Maybe there's only a dark road up ahead.
But you still have to believe and keeping going.
Believe that the stars will light your path, even a little bit.
Come on...
Let's go on a journey!
Are they allowed to start over?
It's allowed as long as it's within the time limit,
but nothing after they stopped will count.
This competition is over for that girl now.
Then...
...what exactly is she playing for?
What are you doing, Kousei? Are you gonna make Kaori-chan play by herself?
Kousei...
For you...
For you... I'm casting about for an excuse again.
I know you and I can do it.
There was resolve in your eyes.
So what was it that you saw in me?
But you have me.
Look up, and look at me.
Look at me...
Brace yourself...
Now we're talking!
Kousei!
He started playing.
But they still sound out of sync.
What are you going to do, Arima?
Focus... Focus...
Focus!
Both the sound and the notes are disappearing like nobody's business.
All week long, the sheet music was always where I could see it.
All during my lunch breaks, I listened to it.
Whatever I have inside of me... Draw it out!
Focus, focus... focus...
Focus!
Are you listening, Kousei?
You mustn't play so violently.
The piano is you.
If you touch it gently, it will smile.
If you pound it with force, it will become enraged.
Touch it like you're caressing a baby's head.
All right, again.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star... How I wonder what you are...
Up above the world so high... Like a diamond in the sky...
Twinkle, twinkle, little star... How I wonder what you are.
If you can't hear the sound,
then imagine it!
Play it with your whole body!
Draw out what Mom left me!
Hey, come on, Friend A...
Don't you dare try to steal my thunder!
Are you kidding me?
Wow, Kousei! Kao-chan! You're amazing!
She's beautiful.
Well, this is outrageous. They're both out of control. It's like a brawl.
And the audience is entranced by this brawl.
Of course he's not used to this. He's not an accompanist.
He's a soloist, just like her.
She moves me. With such power,
like the pounding of my heart.
I can hear your sound.
You're here.
April will be ending soon.
Bravo!
You were great, middle school duo!
That was awesome!
Encore!
During a serious competition!
The dry air-conditioning,
the scent of dust.
I...
I'm going on a journey.
Departure
Episode 5 Dark Skies
Watch Again Next Week!
Two People on a Bike is Forbidden By Law