Netflix First Impressions – Forest of Piano

Kai was born as the son of a prostitute and he’s been playing the abandoned piano in the forest near his home ever since he was young. Shūhei, on the other hand, was practically breast-fed by the piano as the son of a family of prestigious pianists. Yet it is their common bond with the piano that eventually intertwines their paths in life. – ANN

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Shuhei transfers into his new elementary school class. Almost immediately the class bullies begin to pick on him because he plays the piano – something seen as effeminate. Kai, one of Shuhei’s classmates, is also a frequent target of the bullies, due to his family situation; his mother works in the sex industry and Kai’s father is not in the picture. He does have an interest in the piano, and offers to show Shuhei his piano; a piano sitting in the forest that’s rumored to be both broken and haunted.

Only Kai seems to have the ability to produce sound from the mysterious piano, which puzzles Shuhei, who’s been taking piano lessons since he was a small child. The bullies don’t believe Shuhei’s far-fetched story about Kai’s talent and continue to pick on him. Ajino-Sensei, the school music teacher, catches wind of the tale and wonders if it might have some truth to it. He used to be a famous pianist until he injured himself in a car accident, and got rid of his special piano when he realized he’d no longer be able to play it. But perhaps now the piano has chosen a new master.

Forest of Piano (Netflix’s awkward translation of “Piano no Mori” or “Piano Forest”) is a bit of an odd duck. It has all the makings of a modern-day fairy tale with its underdog protagonist and the magical and mysterious way it frames the piano that Kai plays. Unfortunately some of the plot elements are delivered with such blunt force and built-in assumptions that I feel like some of the dramatic impact is actually lost.

One of the issues here honestly is me as a viewer, because I know for a fact that I’m less inclined to react to some of the plot elements in the way that was likely intended by the writers. We’re told early on that Kai’s mother works in the sex industry; he’s bullied because of it and even some of the adults gossip about the details. I think that we as the audience members are expected to share some of those same prejudices against sex work and therefore see Kai’s talent as somehow more miraculous because of his “dubious” personal origins. The problem is that I don’t see a problem with sex work, so the effect is a bit lost on me. The fact that Kai doesn’t have a father present in his life is treated much the same way. I’ve known plenty of people from single parent homes and known a few single parents, too. To me those types of families don’t seem like they are or ought to be a source of shame, so that removes a lot of the dramatic impact that I think this episode is meant to have. While this may not ring true for every viewer, I suspect there are many like me who feel similarly.

Ajino-Sensei’s sad tale of personal woe is also a bit too melodramatic for my tastes, and unfortunately comes across as cartoonish. Believe me when I say that I enjoy stories where downtrodden, disgraced (depending on context), and wayward characters are able to in some way regain focus in their lives, and exposition around Ajino’s background frames him as that very type of character. The issue is that the source of his pain is the very cliche fact that, along with his ability to play the piano at a professional level, the fateful car accident he suffered also took his spouse’s life. I’m to the point where my tolerance toward the plot device of women dying for the sake of men’s tragic backstories has worn quite thin; it even kind of irked me in Sound! Euphonium, and in that case I feel like the story kind of earned it and handled it more eloquently than it’s been utilized here.

Having said all that, this episode definitely had some positive aspects, too. One thing I really enjoyed was seeing the relationship between Kai and Shuhei start to unfold. Theirs is likely to be a friendship defined by rivalry; their opposing temperaments and approaches to playing the piano all but guarantee it, based on sports anime rules (while this isn’t quite a sports story, it has the some of the feel of one). Although their friendship has only just begun to blossom at this point, there’s already a sense of affection between them, or more like a shared sense that they’re both very impressed with one-another. I enjoy the purity and forthrightness of that sort of thing.

I was also led to believe by other writers that the blending of CG with the traditional animation in this series wasn’t handled well, but I disagree with that assessment somewhat. Because the characters play the piano and animating all those interconnected, complicated movements is a chore, most of the piano-playing scenes thus far have used at least a little bit of CG. I actually think the effect is pretty good; while I agree that the sweeping camera angles don’t fit well with what’s otherwise a traditionally, pretty static type of framing, I wasn’t horrified by the 3DCG characters, nor the effect of their fingers hitting the keys. It actually felt a little less obvious to me than the typical anime-style solution for animated characters playing their instruments – not showing their hands at all. I think it’s definitely a style choice, though, and not one that will sit well with everyone.

Because this first episode is such a low-key slow burn, taking its sweet time to set things in motion (more so than some other first episodes I’ve watched), there’s not really that much more for me to say about it. I know this story is fairly well-regarded; it received a film adaptation some years ago that I haven’t seen, but which I do remember people talking about and recommending. This version seems like it’s getting off on decent footing. While I can’t see this showing up on too many people’s “best-of” lists, I do think, for the right audience, it may turn out to be a kind-hearted, fairly typical, but possibly compelling look into the world of piano performance through its characters. I only hope that it backs off the melodramatic bluntness going forward.

Pros: The series seems to have a kind heart. The relationship between Kai and Shuhei seems as though it will be compelling.

Cons: The CG character animation may put people off. Some of the dramatic elements are nearly crammed down the throat of the audience.

Grade: B-