Meow!
Music Preparation Room
Sumiya Junior High School
Crushed it!
She got all of that one!
Look at it go!
CRASH!
Oh crap.
You don't have to hit the snot out of it!
Go get the ball Tsubaki!
Whoa!
So she struck out again huh?
- Bye! - Bye!
Oh jeez! It's a corpse!
TWITCH
YOINK
I'd better make a run for it.
Ow Ouch.
Oh it's you Kousei. Thank goodness it's not someone else!
Huh? Tsubaki? When did you get here?
What?! The window's broken! All I can see is red!
You broke it again? We just got this window fixed you know!
A slugger is only as good as the number of windows she's broken.
You're blasting them too hard! Ease up a little!
No way am I batting with any less than my A-swing!
It's my last summer in middle school okay? I'm gonna win the Triple Crown!
- Anyway gotta get this cleaned up. - Listen to me!
Dustpan. Dustpan.
So I'm gonna have to apologize again? And write up the damage report.
Come on that's dangerous!
What if you sliced a finger?
Well what if I did?
Next-door neighbors childhood friends.
You always seek each other out. Right you loving hubby and wife?
We are not hubby and wife!
Anyway what are you doing with that cell phone?
Aren't you in the middle of soccer practice?
Don't come in here with your shoes on Watari!
That stupid bald vice principal.
Telling us off for an hour over a little broken glass?
At least it only lasted an hour right?
I was stuck with her for that hour. Put yourself in my shoes!
In the first place the school shouldn't be standing right in the ball's path.
Am I right?
I don't mind. Girls can cheer me on from the windows.
Yeah right!
Man I'm starving.
Are girls and food all you think about?
I'm gonna stop by the convenience store. Coming?
I'll go with you.
Me too!
I mean how messed up is that?
Why should I have to get yelled at too?
This ice cream is delish! I'm gonna stock up!
Not listening.
Damn Kousei talk about collateral damage.
Not only did you get yelled at but you have to write two letters of apology?
Oh it's no big deal. Piece of cake!
I've been babysitting her since birth so it's second nature to me now.
Busting a suspension bridge during a field trip.
Dumping me off a 10-meter diving board.
Was that in third grade?
I thought I was gonna die.
Shut up!
Even though I'm an only child it's like having a high-maintenance big sister.
You really are a nice guy huh Kousei?
You're kidding right?
But Kousei you'd better not be too nice.
You know what they say nice guys finish last.
Hey! I got a text from Keiko!
I have somewhere to be guys!
- How many does that make? - She's number three.
Who knows what they all see in him? He's like Mr. Shallow!
But Watari's a good guy you know.
He's the enemy of all women!
What about you Kousei?
Isn't there anyone you have a crush on?
Miwa said something the other day.
That when you're in love with somebody everything looks colorful.
There's no one who'd ever fall in love with me.
ANNOYED
Too dark!
There's no sparkle in your eyes! We're fourteen you know!
They don't sparkle because they're dark colored obviously.
There it is! Conventional wisdom! You get my drift don't you?
They don't sparkle! You're an adolescent so they should be all lit up!
Lit up!
Your eyes are lit up Tsubaki.
Through Tsubaki's eyes I'll bet everything looks colorful.
Unlike mine.
When's your father coming home?
Mmm... in a month or maybe two.
So you don't know yet.
Well since it changes depending on the client's needs.
True.
If anything happens your family will help out.
And besides I'm used to being on my own now.
All right see you tomorrow!
Okay See you!
Hello? Hey my bad! I was gonna ask him today but I forgot!
Okay I'll do it for sure tomorrow. Hey no worries.
If I ask him to— Yes. For sure.
So don't worry okay?
I'm home.
Mom.
Miwa said something the other day.
"The moment I met him
my life changed.
Everything I saw everything I heard.
Everything I felt.
All the scenery around me started to take on color."
But to me.
To me it all looks like it's in monotone.
Just like music scores. Just like a keyboard.
The autumn I was eleven I...
could no longer play the piano.
Leaving yourself WIDE open!
CLANG!
Jeez what a boring reaction.
What does youth mean to you?
We'll never have our fourteenth spring again!
Sitting alone in the classroom after school.
- What are you listening to? - Hey don't yank on those!
Hey is this Goose house's new song?
The one that's playing on that commercial now?
Really now.
Kousei tomorrow's Saturday so you're free right?
Don't just jump to conclusions!
Oh so you have plans then?
This girl in my class asked me to introduce her to Watari.
And we're gonna meet up tomorrow.
You come too Kousei.
Huh? Why would I go?
Well if it's just me this girl and Watari it's gonna be awkward for me.
Because you know it's gonna get romantic as heck.
But two on two would be perfect.
And besides...
I hear this girl plays classical music.
Since you play piano you'd have something to talk about.
Whenever the conversation lags you could talk about instruments and stuff right?
But I—
I quit playing the piano. I haven't played in two years.
You liar! You were playing in the music room yesterday!
That was for work!
Work?
I'm transcribing the new songs by ear.
For karaoke and stuff.
If you can do that in the classroom you wouldn't have to play the piano.
I was just checking the sound.
There are tons of other part-time jobs out there you know.
To me...
it looks like you're desperately clinging onto it.
You were way cooler when you played the piano Kousei.
It was my mother's dream...
to raise me to become a world-class pianist.
My mother ran a music school and I took lessons from her
day after day for hours on end.
She would hit me. Yell at me.
She wouldn't let me off even if I cried.
You're going to make it big in Europe in my place.
If it'll make you happy. If it'll make you get well.
Then I'll keep at it.
Just when I finally had a European competition in my sights three years ago...
my mother passed away.
I hate the piano.
But if I'm still clinging to it
it must be because I have nothing else.
Take away the piano and I'm empty.
There's nothing left but an ugly resonance.
Can't hear it today either.
They're late.
They should show up five minutes early.
They're the ones who asked me to come.
To mark the spot? To ward off evil spirits?
These are women's right?
What's this?
L-Leggings? Huh? Huh?
A melodica? Pretty good playing too.
Miwa said something the other day.
"The moment I met him my life changed.
Everything I saw heard and felt.
All the scenery around me started to take on color.
The whole world began to sparkle."
Tears.
I blew on it too hard.
Hey!
No pigeons came!
Huh? That's weird.
It's gotta be a bugle or it won't work.
You mean a trumpet.
Well but it's a melodica.
Borders race ecology. None of them mean anything in music.
Let's all try it together!
Let's do it!
What a great picture they make.
They're the Bremen Town Musicians!
Here are the pigeons!
It's the first spring storm!
My hat!
Hey you!
You moron! You've ruined my chances for marriage!
I-I'm sorry! But this was just a miraculous coincidence.
Hey! My leggings!
- Why you! - D-Don't use instruments as weapons!
You camera voyeur! You won't get away with this! You pervert!
What part of "coincidence" don't you get?
My melodica.
My recorder.
Hm I don't see them. Maybe they're waiting in the wrong spot?
Hey Tsubaki is she really that cute?
Girls calling other girls "cute" is not exactly credible you know.
Aha! Kao!
Hey Kao!
Tsubaki!
Uh let's take it from the top. This here...
is my classmate Kaori Miyazono.
Nice to meet you!
And...
this is Ryota Watari. He may not look it but he's the captain of the soccer team.
Nice to meet you.
She's totally cute! Good job Tsubaki!
It's a real pleasure.
Pleasure!
Can you believe that instant about-face?
I'm ashamed of myself for being transfixed.
Oh and not that it really matters but this is Friend A.
Please excuse my earlier behavior.
One word out of you and you're dead Camera Voyeur!
She looks like Hell itself.
Wow so polite.
Oh please! Not at all!
Yo Kousei.
Beating him to the punch by approaching her first...
My my aren't you the player?
I'm telling you it was a miraculous coincidence!
What are you so pissed about?
But you're out of luck!
Kao likes Watari.
Today you're in a supporting role.
You're just Friend A serving as Watari's foil. Give it up!
Who'd want a vicious girl like—
I'm gonna be up soon! I've got to head over right now!
Head over? Where?
There.
Isn't that—
Towa Hall.
I'll be performing there today.
I'm a violinist.
A violinist? That's awesome!
Isn't it?
Let's go Kousei.
I'll pass.
You come with us too!
The spring of my fourteenth year.
I...
Episode 1 Monotone/Colorful
I'm taking off with you.
Episode 2 Friend A