Oh, man, we lost!
Win Nationals, take my third straight national high school title,
generate unprecedented Watarin Fever,
reluctantly move to the U.K....
Stir up the rumor mill with a model,
lead the league in goals,
win ten Ballon d'Ors in a row...
My life of smooth sailing...
...kind of got derailed.
I botched my chance of becoming a star.
Setbacks come with the territory of becoming a superstar.
It's more dramatic.
Same thing with Messi.
Then it's the perfect deal for you.
I'm gonna hand over the role of this season's star to you, Kousei.
I'm not you, Watari.
Damn straight.
I'm me, you're you. I can't appeal to Tsubaki's maternal instincts,
and I can't play the piano.
You still can't hear?
I'm scared.
I can't get it out of my head.
I'm scared... I'm scared...
The idea...
that I won't be able to hear the notes again.
Well, setbacks come with the territory of becoming a superstar.
In the face of adversity,
that's when you know if someone's the real deal or not.
Or so they say.
The stars shine at night, you know!
Chopin, Etude Op. 25 No. 5... Was it...
Is this really what it sounds like?
It's so fast, and so rough.
Just like when he accompanied Kao-chan,
the notes are all over the place...
And he's only going faster and faster.
Here we go again.
It's not ringing out.
The sound of the piano...
The sound...
I'm about to be consumed by a deep sea...
Not yet! Focus, focus, focus!
Give the piano your undivided attention!
Just like that time...
Grab hold of the notes with your whole body!
This is your punishment.
Kousei.
Your punishment for rejecting me...
for rejecting my dream.
You understand that, don't you?
He's atrocious.
Arima... Don't tell me he can't hear...
This is merely grating on the ears!
Arima...
But you were able to play the opening perfectly without a missing a single note!
Is it because you can't perceive the sound?
Is it true that you can't hear your own playing?
Because this is...
...the sound of someone writhing in agony.
Even if I can't hear the notes anymore, I can tell.
My cells are howling.
This isn't Chopin!
This is your punishment.
You're wrong!
The notes have abandoned you.
You're wrong!
I worked so hard, just for you, Mom!
The piano is you.
No matter how hard you pound it, it won't answer you, will it?
The reason you're lonely...
The reason you're all alone...
I wish you would just die.
That's your punishment.
Maybe I'll just stop.
The tension is fading away from his playing...
Is he planning to stop midway?
I'm still the same old me, after all.
To play like I did before... maybe I expected too much?
I thought that if I entered this competition, something would change.
But I'm the same old me.
Nothing's changed.
No...
Don't stop!
What's this?
He's going to stop playing.
Not that Arima...
Better to just cut his losses...
Don't stop! Keep playing!
You can't stop!
Look at this.
Your entry number.
Köchel number 265, Mozart's...
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
The stars will shine over your head.
Come on! You gotta be kidding me...
Is this the Arima I know?
Absolute perfection, unmatched accuracy.
He's just a shadow of his former self.
The Kousei Arima who I looked up to.
What were those two years for?
Enough... stop messing with me!
He really...
Stopped playing...
So the prodigy has fallen back to earth?
What does this mean?
Disqualified. He won't be evaluated.
Humph... It's over.
Kousei Arima
No matter what the reason is,
if you cut short your performance...
The competition is over for you...
Oh, man, it's all over now, huh?
Here we go again.
Two of a kind. Birds of a feather.
That day, the moment I stopped playing,
the competition was over for you.
What was it that you were playing for?
You're so merciless.
No matter what I see, I'm reminded of you.
You really have no mercy.
Even the you that's here inside me.
You won't let me give up.
That day, what were you...
What were you playing for, I wonder?
Again!
He started playing again?
It's no good.
He might've started playing again, but the tempo's uneven.
The important thing is your imagery.
How do you want to play this piece?
Who do you want to play it for?
That day...
For what... for whom were you playing?
Friend A.
I want you.
I can't hear the sound of the piano.
I hereby appoint you as my accompanist.
Hey, that's right...
I... I'm going to play for you.
His playing is changing yet again.
The opening was as robotic as a computer...
following the score to the note, dead-accurate...
Then midway through, it was like a sobbing child pounding the keys...
Three times, he transformed.
What just happened to him? This transformation is unreal.
It's like there were three different pianists playing.
Not only has his playing changed... the sound has changed.
His notes...
They're starting to sparkle.
I stopped playing midway. I'll be disqualified...
Just like a certain ruthless tyrant I know!
The stars will shine over your head.
Just play with sincerity, with everything you've got.
How does the real you want to play Chopin?
We're not Chopin, after all.
You're just you, no matter what.
The words I exchanged with you...
...each one of them is raining down on me, like stars.
The sky I looked at alone seemed like it was about to swallow me up, and I was afraid.
The starry sky I looked up at with Watari seemed capricious...
...and the starry sky I looked up at with Tsubaki
was so incredibly brilliant, it somehow seemed unstable...
The starry sky that I look up at with you - what will it be like?
There's the smell of chalk.
A window with unsightly cracks. The sound of distant sports teams.
The shadows of cherry blossom petals. The faint breathing of someone asleep.
The scenery is changing...
This is Arima's imagery.
Everyone's being swallowed up into Arima's world.
We might not be able to turn in a performance that we can live with.
But we're going to play.
As long as I have a chance to play, and there's an audience that will listen,
I'm going to play with everything I've got.
Check it out - this is who I am!
Let it ring!
So that the people who've heard me will never forget me.
So that I can live in their hearts forever.
Just one person matters to me.
Only you matter.
Thank you.
Is this really that Arima?
I wonder why?
If I don't hold back, I think I'm gonna cry.
I suppose I'm getting old.
Hearing such straightforward emotions puts a pang in my heart...
Come back. Come back...
Arima!
I can hear her soft breathing as she sleeps. Like a cat.
A single petal that drifted into my life.
The worst first impression ever. The girl who likes my best friend.
Will it reach her? I hope it reaches her.
At last... He's returned.
You're here inside me now.
You're here.
You're here...
Kousei Arima!
It's just as that girl said.
Music is freedom.
You're free.
Uh...
Oh, right... time to applaud.
What was that?
Was it good? Or was it bad?
Sure, that would throw off anyone.
How am I supposed to evaluate something like that?
Is it resonating?
Is he still transitioning? Is this some kind of omen?
Not the slightest trace of regret on that face.
No feedback. Well, of course not.
Only one person matters to me.
Will it reach her?
I hope it reaches her.
The Scenery I Shared With You
Light of Life
That was offensive! Outrageous!
Could he have been less prepared?
Sir! Shh...
Just as he says, that really sucked.
I wonder if he even studied the sheet music properly?
Still, those notes of his...
They felt like April...
That Arima-kun...
...is an intriguing boy, isn't he?
The puppet has severed his strings and started walking on his own.
Of course...
Those newfound emotions do seem to be a bit much for him to handle.
I wonder what happened to him?
To that prodigy, Arima?
Hmm, not bad...
Mr. Mediocre!
Watch Again Next Week!