Forest of Piano Second Season

Sunflower33★ 6

This is based on second half of one of the greatest manga ever written. They left a lot of the story out because they only had 24 episodes total, and while that included some of my favorite parts the heart of the story is all present. Let's just get this part out of the way. The animation sucks. All the CGI from the first season is gone and everything has been replaced with stills for the most part. They show motion by overlaying some moving bubble layer on top of the audience and pianist whenever music is being played, and by panning over still pictures.There's very little actual animation. The best part of this is the performances. They got some of the best young pianists from around the world to stand in for each of the different performers and they did incredible jobs. If you like classical piano this is worth watching for that alone. Or maybe buy the CDs. I'm happy that they finally animated the entire story, if you can call this animation. But really I think what would be the best way to experience this would be to read the manga while the music from the anime is playing in the background.

neko_cola★ 9

I want to write a review here because this anime is unfortunately too underrated and I am in love with it. So, hi! minor spoiler maybe. Just to get it out of the way: By the looks of it, namely the art, it's not reeeeally good and some shots look cheap, I wish they had done a better job. And you may overlook this series if you just want something quick paced. Forget all that, where Piano no Mori shines is in its subtle undertones. Albeit at first glance it presents itself with a known formula of poor boy-rich boy, it goes on and carries much more thanthe main characters' contrasting realities and the premise of facing the road to become a great musician. It's a tale of friendship, father-son dynamics, conflict and personal growth. You can even see the show as a homage to the polish pianist Fryderyk Chopin (great choice by the way), done so while playing music beautifully, slowling developing the caracters and their personality in a linear, sensible way. The dilemmas they face come from daily, human nature feelings, making it easy to sympathize with the characters and cheer for them as they progress. It's kind of predictable who wins at the end, but it's the last-episode twist that makes the victory even more special and really wraps the story up so later you are able to picture how their lives are gonna go from there. After 24 episodes in total i'm holding Piano no Mori in high regards, and if you are captivated by a calm story an memorable moments (those even coming from supporting characters), give this anime a try. You will enjoy it!