Forest of Piano, known in Japan as Piano no Mori: The Perfect World of Kai, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Isshiki. It was serialized by Kodansha from 1998 to 2015, initially in Young Magazine Uppers before transferring to Weekly Morning. Serialization is irregular, and went on hiatus in 2002 before resuming in 2006. The series ended after 26 bound volumes. The series was adapted into a 2007 Japanese animated feature film by director Masayuki Kojima and production company Madhouse. The film featured performances by the renowned pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy. An anime television series adaptation produced by Gaina premiered from April 8, 2018 to April 14, 2019 on NHK.
Plot
Forest of Piano is a story that follows Kai Ichinose, a boy who lives in the red light district but escapes at night to play the piano in the forest. Shuhei Amamiya, the grade-school son of a professional pianist, transfers to Moriwaki Elementary, Kai's elementary school. But it doesn't take long before Shuhei is picked on by the class bullies, and gets involved in a dare to play the mysterious piano in the forest, leading to his meeting with Kai, who seems to be the only one capable of getting sound out of the thought-to-be broken piano. Kai's ability earns him the respect of Shuhei and his music teacher, former master pianist Sosuke Ajino. Both Shuhei and Ajino try to get Kai to take proper piano lessons, but Kai is at first resistant to refining his piano-playing technique. However, after hearing Sosuke play a Chopin piece he just can't seem to play himself, he relents.
Characters
; Kai Ichinose ; Sōsuke Ajino ; Shūhei Amamiya ; Wei Pang ; Lech Szymanowski ; Takako Maruyama ; Sophie Ormesson ; Karol Adamski ; Namie Amamiya
Forest of Piano was published by Kodansha in Japan, who serialized the series in Young Magazine Uppers 1998 to 2004, and in Weekly Morning from 2004 to 2005. The series was published into 26 tankōbon volumes, with the first volume being released on August 6, 1999, and the final volume released on December 22, 2015. The series is licensed by Sharp Point Press in Taiwan. Kodansha Comics acquired the series for publication in English, and are releasing the volumes digitally.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation produced by Gaina aired from April 8, 2018 to April 14, 2019 on NHK. The first season is directed by Gaku Nakatani. Ryūtarō Suzuki as the series director, Aki Itami and Mika Abe are in charge of series composition, and Sumie Kinoshita is handling character designs. Harumi Fuuki is composing the series' music. The anime was originally listed to air for 12 episodes, but was later announced to air for 24 episodes. The 24 episodes will air in two seasons, with the first season airing from April to July 2018, and the second season airing from January to April 2019. Hiroyuki Yamaga will take over as director for the second season, while the most of the staff and cast will reprise their roles. Netflix have announced that they had acquired exclusive streaming rights for the series worldwide, and simulcast the series in Japan, and released the series globally in September 2018.
Season 1
Season 2
Reception
Forest of Piano received the Grand Prize for best manga at the 12thJapan Media Arts Festival in 2008. The movie adaptation debuted in 9th place at the Japanese box office the week it came out, unusually high for a non-franchise animated film. By the end of the year, it had grossed the equivalent of $1,555,297, ranking 119 on the overall yearly box office chart for Japan. In South Korea, the film played for 50 weeks and grossed the equivalent of $182,884. The film was nominated for the 2008 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.
