Your Lie in April is an amazing manga/anime with a very interesting title that quite easily catches the eye of its readers/viewers. While the lie doesn’t come up until the very end of the story, one doesn’t really pay attention to it, despite the eye-catching title. The story takes place over the course of about a year, and the month of April goes by so fast that, unless you really mull over minor details, you might not even think about the lie.

SPOILERS AHEAD…

And then, the final episode reveals what the lie in April was, and whose lie it was. In Kaori’s posthumous letter, she reveals the truth: “I lied and said that I, Miyazono Kaori, liked Watari Ryouta.” Anyone who has watched the series to completion could easily tell that this “reveal” was obvious. Anyone who watched the series could tell that Kaori loved Kousei. Here are some of my raw thoughts about the lie.

The Obvious Nature of the Lie

How obvious was the lie? Well, just downright obvious if you actually pay attention to character dialogues. The story already made it clear that Kousei loved Kaori, but it certainly wasn’t ambiguous that Kaori reciprocated those feelings. It was clear on Kousei’s side many times, including the time Kousei was very explicit when he said “I had you” while standing together with Kaori within the night’s light of fireflies. In a lot of ways, it was like a confession.

One of the best moments in the anime. From Episode 11.

On Kaori’s end, it could be argued that she was more subtle, but even then, it was clear that she loved Kousei, and that she didn’t really like Watari in that way. Alongside a multitude of examples, there are two very clear examples of this in episode 16. First off, she tells Kousei, “The girl who snuck out of the hospital and waited for you,” with “you” obviously referring to Kousei. When they first reunited in the episode, she initially said she was waiting for Watari as a way to keep up the lie, but when they start spending time together again, Kaori revealed that she was waiting truly and only for Kousei. Who would sneak out of a hospital for someone that they didn’t love? More than likely, most people wouldn’t. While it was already obvious, this is one of those defining moments along with the following example.

At the very end of the episode, she asks a question by quoting a story she was reading: “‘Want to commit double suicide with me?'” The concept of double suicide is often equated with lovers’ suicide. She didn’t ask Watari. She only asked Kousei. If she wanted to end her life, she wanted to do it with the person that mattered most to her, and that was obviously Kousei, not Watari. If not everything else that happened in the show, these two statements clinch it.

Double Suicide. From Episode 16.

The Implication of the Lie

It’s funny. The reveal of the lie never really bothered me. There weren’t many statements made in the month of April during the events in the series that could have been construed as a lie. And hey, in April in the show, that statement was made, that Kaori liked Watari. No, it’s not really the reveal of the lie that bothered me. More so, it’s the lie itself. It’s more so the fact that Kaori and Watari were still “dating,” so to speak.

It strikes me as strange when it seemed that Watari knew that Kaori loved Kousei. Kaori and Kousei made their love for each other so obvious, and yet, Watari and Kaori were still considered to be “going out.” We as the viewer never really saw much of a relationship to begin with between Kaori and Watari. Of course, the show went out of its way to show Kousei and Kaori spending time together, but not Kaori and Watari. In that sense, to hinge the story’s title on this particular statement doesn’t seem to make much sense at all.

Speaking of which, Watari never felt like he had that much of a presence in the story compared to the other three main characters, especially when he was so important to the lie. If the writer wanted to make the lie more believable, then they should have given more focus to Watari. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Takeshi, Emi, or Nagi, and if the focus given to them was instead given to Watari, then I think the story would have been stronger for it, especially because the lie could have been made more believable. We could have seen Kaori show more “interest” to Watari instead of their “relationship” feeling completely hollow.

Why the Lie?

It’s interesting. Kaori said she lied so as not to hurt Tsubaki (though Tsubaki definitely felt a lot of hurt). Kaori said she was just “passing through” in Kousei’s life, which, while true, doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have had something more for the short time that Kaori had left. Personally, I think it would have been okay if Kaori did what she had wanted. Sure, Tsubaki may have tried harder to get in her way, but who knows, it could have also made for an interesting story.

But after the lie, it’s not like she had to continue “dating” Watari. She could have said she was doing something else, like dating other guys, or some other such lie if she wanted to avoid hurting or angering Tsubaki. She didn’t have to stick with Kousei’s best male friend.

Is the Lie Secretly Genius?

At times, I’m not the biggest fan of the lie, though I love the story otherwise. At other times, I feel like the lie makes a lot of sense overall. Why?

Because the characters are teenagers. Teenagers often don’t get subtlety. They can easily be very dense. They might do things for the dumbest reasons. In that sense, I can kind of get why the characters would behave in the way that they do. When I look at the story in this way, I can understand why Kaori continued the lie, why Watari didn’t “break up” with Kaori, and why Kousei never realized how obvious it was that Kaori loved him back. These points and more can be explained away when you realize that they were teenagers acting with teenage emotions. In that regard, I can take it. I understand. But I still wish the lie was given a bit more build-up.

Even so, despite the lie not living up to the “hype” in my opinion, the story was still incredibly amazing and heartbreaking. I truly love the story with all my heart, and I wish I could watch it all over again, not knowing what I do now. I love Kousei and Kaori. Tsubaki as well. They’re all incredible characters who go through difficult heartbreak.

Your Lie in April is a story that I will never forget.