Hey.
How's it going?
It's coming up, huh? The competition?
Don't get spooked!
Don't worry about it.... don't worry about it.
So what if you get humiliated, or if they all laugh at you?
It's not like they're going to abandon you.
After all, you're not Beethoven.
And of course, you're not Chopin, either.
I know that.
Oh? Well, then...
Who are you?
And where are you?
All right... Are you ready to go on your journey?
Go for it, Watari!
Cover him!
Here he comes from the right!
They switched.
Go!
All right!
Daito Middle Sumiya Middle
That whistle...
...reflecting irregularly across the clear skies.
So Watari ended up losing, too...
Too bad.
Hey, don't cry. We gave it our best shot, didn't we?
Come on, we gotta go shake hands.
Watari!
Thanks for rooting for us.
You were really cool.
Well, I missed my chance at becoming a star. So the rest is up to you!
Let's play again in high school, okay?
Watari!
Seriously, you were cool.
So I'll have to wait till high school to become a star, huh?
Dammit!
Dammit! Dammit! No way am I gonna lose next time, all right?
Watari and Tsubaki... their last junior high tournaments have ended.
Maihou Competition
I'm at the point where I can play my selection by heart.
But...
Arima! We're in class here! Dial it down!
Three more laps!
Watari and Tsubaki both sparkled. And so did you...
You were there... so commanding.
Do I have a deep understanding?
Have I made Chopin my own?
Somewhere in this music that follows these notes...
...do I exist?
Where exactly are you in all this?
Arima!
I don't know.
Somebody get him some water!
Go get the nurse.
I don't know.
Friend A!
Yes?
*Munch Munch*
Yeeees?
I don't believe you!
Skipping meals... passing out! Your body is an important asset!
What was I supposed to do? I was totally immersed, you know.
I felt better after I ate the egg sandwiches Tsubaki gave me.
Five packs of them.
Five?
Hey, kitty!
Where are you?
Are you all right? There's a park over there, so...
When I was a kid,
I had a black cat.
She would eat my candy whenever I wasn't looking,
so I named her Chelsea.
I was fooling around with Chelsea like always. I guess I was over-attentive.
One day, she scratched my hand.
My hand was bright red. The blood was gushing, and wouldn't stop... I panicked.
The next day, my mother took her somewhere and abandoned her.
I'm doing this for you.
The scars Chelsea left me remind me of my mother.
Who knew one of my few memories would be something like this?
I just stared at my mother's back without a word as she took Chelsea away.
"Stop it!" or "Wait a minute..."
If I'd say something like that, things might have been different.
Ever since that day, I've been in my mom's shadow.
You like egg sandwiches.
You also like Moo Moo Brand milk. Unexpectedly, you have a sweet tooth, too.
You're not good at sports.
You're no match for Tsubaki-chan,
and you're a little bit jealous of that chick-magnet, Watari.
You're not in your mother's shadow at all.
You're you. "To be like you..." - it's not so ambiguous as that.
No matter what you do, no matter how you change, it doesn't mean a thing.
You're just you, no matter what.
You and I weren't born in Europe, and we don't have weird haircuts.
We're not Chopin, after all.
Just play with sincerity, give the performance of your life with everything you've got.
You really have a way with words sometimes.
What was that? Sometimes? Listen, I'm encouraging you here!
With sincerity...
"When you're depressed, it always helps to lean your head on your arms.
Arms like to feel useful."
Who said that?
Charlie Brown.
Those are big, knobby hands. They're the hands of a pianist...
See? Just as I thought.
Your hands are happy to be touching mine.
They're beside themselves, itching to play the piano!
After struggling, losing my way, and suffering...
The answer I arrived at was so laughably simple...
Hey there. How's it going?
So-so, I guess.
The competition's tomorrow, right? You still can't hear the notes, can you?
Will you be okay?
I don't know.
But see, there's this girl, and she seriously believes in the power of music.
I mean, like crazy.
So I think I'll try believing in it, too.
That's not really an answer.
I guess not.
You seem to be ready.
I'm sure that person will come, too.
You should take it easy today.
Tomorrow's going to be a big day for you.
Woah!
They're doing it here?
It sure is huge.
Well, I'll be going, then!
Kousei?
You're going the wrong way!
Is he gonna be okay?
Not good!
What? What?
Look at this.
The list of contestants?
Your entry number.
Köchel number 265, Mozart's Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
The stars will shine over your head.
Stars in broad daylight.
Hey, is that...?
Yeah.
An encounter with my past.
My competition begins now.
Competition Finalists
Yay!
Found it! My name!
But I thought I was in the zone...
How was your son, Kenta?
My child didn't qualify again. I feel bitter, but they were outstanding.
Emi Igawa and Takeshi Aiza...
They were head and shoulders above the rest.
The sheer amount of practice they've put in is obvious.
This was the fruit of all those lessons.
That makes it all the more disappointing.
Kousei Arima Emi Igawa Takeshi Aiza
Because it makes Arima-kun look that much better.
So they served as Arima-kun's foils yet again, right?
He really pisses me off, that Arima!
Because we lost to him again?
No way!
I'm just setting the stage to win the final.
But aside from that... That jerk!
He went home without even looking at the results, like he just assumed he'd won!
I mean, would it kill him to look the least bit happy?
That in itself pisses me off!
He's not interested. Not in other people, and not in us.
Probably... not in himself, either.
You sure are cool about it.
Cool...
I've never been humiliated like this before.
Hot!
If he has no interest in us,
then I'm gonna force him with all my might to look our way.
I'll make him care. Someday... I swear...
I'm going to destroy you...
He looks a little more grown up. But he hasn't changed.
Those annoying black-rimmed glasses are the same. Arima...
Long time no see.
Right, Arima?
Uh...
Who are you again?
Not a lot of people here, huh?
On the contrary!
For a preliminary round, this is a pretty big turnout.
It could be the Arima-kun Effect.
Just now, in the restroom, all everybody could talk about was Kousei.
He's a really big deal, huh?
Why are you acting so smug, Tsubaki?
But listen, this vibe I'm getting is kinda weird.
Is he going to show off his mind-blowing technique again?
Exactly as the score's written, totally under his mother's thumb,
the secret marionette playing method!
Do people hate Kousei or something?
To follow the score, and to play exactly as the composer intended.
Now that's an incredible feat.
In a competition, they can only judge you for that,
but he can actually win just by being faithful to the score.
He can actually raise the bar...
That's what doesn't sit well with people.
Especially the younger generation, who seek out something from music.
Needless to say, there's jealousy, too.
I mean, Arima-kun did storm his way through all those competitions.
Hey! There was a time when he entered a lot of them!
I think it was around the time his mother was hospitalized.
Like a digital watch, never off by even a split second... Nothing resonates.
The Human Metronome. Made of concrete. His mother's puppet.
A slave to the score.
The name "Kousei Arima" is infamous!
What's that? Bring it on! Was it you?
Who said that? I'm gonna kick his butt!
Damn that Arima, he's totally forgotten us!
Now, now, calm down, Takeshi.
Don't lose your head.
You have an early start time, right? Go get changed.
And besides, it's not like Arima forgot us. He never knew us from the start.
He's exactly the same as he was two years ago.
I don't like him. Just because his mother as a famous instructor's student,
he got all that special treatment... But for someone with all those skills,
he never plays anything but boring music!
Judging will now commence.
The first time I met him was in third grade.
"Next time, for sure... next time, for sure..."
And just when I thought I had him, after stretching out my arms all the way...
Like a mirage, he faded into the distance.
He was like the dove in a magic trick - poof, he was gone.
Today, finally, he's returned to where he belongs.
I've been waiting for this day for two years.
At last...
The competition is about to begin.
I hate judging because it's so exhausting.
Huh? Asleep already?
Again? He's terrible!
No. 3, Miss Yuko Kawanaka, please get ready.
It's gonna be all right. You can do this. You can play it!
This is weird... Is it because it's been two years?
I've never gone through this before.
Like a broken see-saw, my heart's pounding like crazy...
Oh, no.
It's over.
Why isn't he playing?
Did he forget how to play?
That's one less competitor.
I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared...
No. 4.
Aiza-kun, please get ready.
I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared...
We're all afraid...
To get up onstage.
Maybe you'll mess up. Maybe they'll totally reject you.
Even so... You grit your teeth and get up onstage anyway.
Is it just me... or is there a different vibe in here now?
Well, of course.
The overwhelming favorite to win just took the stage.
Last year's champion, Takeshi Aiza.
Here he is. Now I can finally listen to the real deal!
Chopin, Étude Op. 10, No. 4.
I like your expression. Don't get overeager, Takeshi.
I won't be going to Germany.
I'm going to enter the Maihou Music Competition.
But they invited you.
This is a golden opportunity to get overseas exposure before the Chopin competition.
You already won Maihou last year, so there's no reason to make it a priority...
But there is a reason.
The Shadows Whisper
Episode 8 Resound
Watch Again Next Week!