Hey.
It's coming up right? The competition?
Don't get spooked!
Don't worry don't worry.
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.
Well then.
Who are you?
And where are you?
Now...
Are you ready for your journey?
Go for it Watari!
Cover him!
From the right!
They switched.
Go!
All right!
Daito: 1 Sumiya: 0
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!
Hey 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?
Dammit!
Dammit! Dammit!
No way am I gonna lose next time!
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! Knock it off!
Three more laps!
Watari and Tsubaki both sparkled.
And so did you.
You were so dignified.
Do I have a deep understanding?
Do I own Chopin now?
Do I exist somewhere in this music?
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?
NOM
Yes!?
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.
When I was a kid
I had a black cat.
She ate my candy when 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.
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 silent 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 mother'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
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 do you mean by "sometimes?" 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.
That's a big knobby hand.
That's the hand of a pianist.
Just as I thought.
Your hand is happy to be touching mine.
It is 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?
Oh dear!
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 my name!
How was your son Kenta?
He didn't qualify again.
I'm a little bitter but they were outstanding.
Emi Igawa and Takeshi Aiza.
They were head and shoulders above the rest.
It's the fruit of the sheer amount of practice they've put in.
That makes it all the more disappointing.
1st: Kousei Arima 2nd: Emi Igawa 3rd: Takeshi Aiza
Because it makes Arima look that much better.
They served as Arima's foils again.
Arima really pisses me off!
Because you lost to him again?
No! I'm just setting the stage to win the final.
But aside from that. That jerk!
He left without checking the results like he knew he'd won!
Would it kill him to act happy?!
That alone 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 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 to the score 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 builds himself up.
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 did storm his way through all those competitions.
There was a time when he entered a lot of them!
I think it was around the time his mom was hospitalized.
Like a digital watch there is no split second error or resonance.
The Human Metronome.
Made for competitions.
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.
Asleep already?
Again? He's terrible!
Number three 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?
- One less competitor. - He self-destructed.
I'm scared I'm scared I'm scared.
Number four.
Aiza please get ready.
I'm scared I'm scared I'm scared.
We're all afraid.
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 front runner's on 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.
Episode 7 The Shadow Whispers
Episode 8 Let it Ring