2019 Winter Anime "Piano Forest" 2nd series starts airing on 1/27! Synopsis & advance cuts revealed, enthusiastic comments from the main cast!

The 13th episode of the second series of the TV anime "Piano Forest," which will begin airing on NHK General TV on January 27 (Sun.) at midnight, has arrived with a synopsis and advance cutaways.

Piano no Mori" (written by Makoto Isshiki), which was serialized in Morning (Kodansha) until 2015, follows the story of the main character, Kai Ichinose, who grew up using a piano abandoned in the forest as a toy, and his piano talent blossoms as he meets Sousuke Ajino, once called a genius pianist, and Shuhei Amamiya, whose father is a great pianist. The first series of the TV anime was broadcast on NHK General from April to July 2018.
⇒ "Piano no Mori" serialized in " Morning" will be adapted into a TV anime on NHK Sogo from April 2018!

Along with the release of the synopsis and advance cuts, comments from the two main cast members (Soma Saito and Natsuki Hanae) on the second series have also arrived.

The CD album of this work will be released four titles in a row! These will include a CD album containing music performed by the three main characters (Umi Ichinose, Shuhei Amemiya, and Pan Wei), as well as a second album, "'Piano Forest' Piano Best Collection II," which will include classical piano pieces from the second series of this work.

In addition, a special event "Piano Mini Concert & Open Lesson" featuring up-and-coming pianists who will participate as main pianists in the second series will be held to commemorate the broadcast.

Synopsis & advance cuttings
Episode 13 "Chopin's Journey

The full moon shines through the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall.
The lobby is filled with people waiting for the results of the first round of the Chopin Competition. The judging was difficult, and the list of first-round winners was discarded. Amamiya Shuhei, who sees Kai Ichinose as his rival, is not at ease amidst all the rumors.
Long after the scheduled time, the first round of qualifiers is finally announced. It is a tumultuous start to the .......

<Cast Comments

Souma Saito as Umi Ichinose
I was contacted by many people before the first series aired that they were looking forward to seeing the video adaptation of a work loved by many people.
The first series was characterized by the light effects and the piano scene. I really liked the description in the original work that when you play the piano, particles of light are transmitted to the listener on the air, and this has been turned into a truly fantastic and beautiful visual presentation, I thought it was really beautiful, and the "sound is visible" direction was wonderful.
The first series depicted a long period of time from childhood to adolescence, but the second series focuses on the Chopin Competition, so I think we will be able to deliver a denser psychological drama. The story revolves around Kai, Shuhei, Ajino, and Amemiya's father Yoichiro, and I hope you will take the time to enjoy the human drama that unfolds through a combination of various elements, including wonderful performances, visuals, and our all-out theatricality.

Natsuki Hanae as Shuhei Amemiya
The first series ended with Shuhei's obsession with Kai and his battle with himself, and how he regained himself and found his own piano, so for me, the ending was still incomplete.
Now that the film is animated and the images are accompanied by sound, we can better understand what the characters are thinking, and we can intuitively understand their emotions. I think the first series of "The Piano Forest" reaffirmed for me that "The Piano Forest" is a great work.
The scene in the first series where Shuhei plays the piano with the bullied kid at the house on the site of the bar-restaurant where Kai used to live, where Shuhei was able to play the piano for the first time in a long time, made me a bit holler when I watched the O.A.
I hope to deliver Shuhei's thoughts and feelings to everyone in the second series as well, with the same commitment because I love it. There will be future recordings of scenes that I thought during the audition that I might be a good fit for Shuhei, so I will look forward to working hard for those scenes.

Product Information
Four consecutive titles related to the TV anime "Piano Forest" will be released!
Title: "Piano no Mori": Shuhei Amemiya's Tracks
To be released on March 13 (Wed.) Part number: COCQ-85452 Price: 2,500 yen (+ tax)
Artist: Ryoma Takagi and others
Scheduled to be included
Included are the main songs performed by Shuhei Amemiya that appeared in the first and second series.
Special bonus
Common bonus: Postcard
Amazon: Deca jacket (24 x 24 size, using CD pattern)

Title: "Piano Forest" Ichinose Umi: The Supreme World
March 20 (Wed.) release Part number: COCQ-85453-4 Price: 3,500 yen (+ tax)
Artist：V.A.
Songs to be included in the album
Includes the main songs of the Ichinose Umi performance that appeared in the first and second series.
Special bonus】【Bonus】: Postcard
Common benefit: Postcard
Amazon：Deca jacket (24x24 size, using CD pattern)

Title: "Piano Forest" Pan-Way: Immortal Soul
March 27 (Wed.) release Part number: COCQ-85455 Price: 2,500 yen (+ tax)
Artist：Nyu-Nyu
Songs to be included
Includes major songs performed by Pang Wei that appeared in the first and second series.
Special bonus
Common bonus: Postcard
Amazon: Deca jacket (24 x 24 size, using the CD pattern)

Title: "Piano Forest" Piano Best Collection II
April 17 (Wed.) Part number: COCQ-85456-7 Price 3,500 yen (+ tax)
Artists: Kyohei Trita (Sosuke Ajino), Ryoma Takagi (Shuhei Amamiya), Ugyu/Nyu Nyu (Pan Wei)
Simon Naehring (Lev Szymanowski), Juliette Journeau (Sophie Olmesson), and others
Scheduled to be included in the program.
Included mainly songs appearing in the second series.
[Special offers
Tower Records: Tower Records original postcard
HMV: HMV original postcard
Yamano Gakki (including CD stores and online stores): Yamano Gakki original postcard
Base store privilege (stores for privilege will be announced later): Postcard
Amazon：Deca jacket (24x24 size, using the CD pattern)

Event information
TV animation "Piano Forest" 2nd series broadcast commemoration special event
Piano mini-concert and open lesson" Call for participants

In commemoration of the broadcast of the second series of the TV animation "Piano Forest," up-and-coming pianists who are active in the world and who participate in this work will give a "Piano Mini-concert & Open Lesson" to the audience.
Piano Mini Concert & Open Lesson" will be held. Participation is free of charge. Applications will be accepted via the official Twitter.
Piano lovers and fans of "Piano Forest" are cordially invited to apply with their parents, children, and friends!

Date and Time: Wednesday, February 6, 2019 (doors open at 18:30, concert begins at 19:00)
Place: A certain place in Tokyo (Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) *We will inform you of the venue location by e-mail.
Pianists (tentative): Ryoma Takagi (main pianist for Shuhei Amemiya), Gyu Gyu (main pianist for Pan Wei)

<How to apply for the event
Follow the official Twitter account of the "Piano Forest" TV animation. Add the "number of participants" to the recruitment announcement tweet,
If you wish to attend the open lesson, please retweet the tweet and add "I wish to take the open lesson".
Please send us your hopes for the second TV anime series and your passion for the "Piano Mini Concert & Open Lesson".

Application deadline: Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at noon
*Note : Performers, contents, schedule, etc. are subject to change for certain reasons.
The event may be filmed and the video, photos, etc. may be used for advertising purposes.
Please note that the event may be filmed and used for publicity purposes.

Winners will be notified by direct mail by the day after the application deadline (scheduled for Wednesday, January 30).
Winners will be notified by direct mail by the day after the application deadline (scheduled for Wednesday, January 30).

Information on the works] (*Honorific titles omitted)
TV animation "Piano Forest" 2nd series

＜Broadcast information
Broadcasting will begin on January 27 (Sun.) at 24:10 on NHK Sogo Television.
In the Kansai region, the first episode of the second series (episode 13) will be broadcast from 24:10 on the same day, and subsequent episodes will be broadcast from 24:50.
Broadcast times are subject to change.
<Distribution information
Domestic: Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/) from 27:00 on the same day
China: on bilibili (https://www.bilibili.com/) from 27:00 on the same day

<Staff> Original story
Original story: Makoto Isshiki (Kodansha's "Morning")
Director：Hiroyuki Yamaga ("Royal Space Force Oneamis no Tsubasa", "Abenobashi Magical Shopping Arcade")
Series composition: Mika Abe ("Danchi Tomoo")
Character Design / Chief Animation Director：Sumie Kinoshita ("Girlish Number")
Art Director：Hirotsugu Koki ("Tales from 'Geniuses Without Glory'", "Raquen Logic")
Color Designer: Chie Yoshimura ("After School Pleiades")
Director of Photography: Mutsumi Usuda ("Sword Art Online")
Editing: Akinori Mishima ("April is Your Lie")
Series Director: Noboru Nakayama
Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki ("The Land of Jewels", "St. John's Island")
Music: Harumi Tomiki (historical drama "Saigodon", movie "Sekigahara")
Animation Production: Gaina ("Piece of My Heart")
Production: Piano Forest Animation Partners
Ending Theme: "Hajimari no place" by Rie Murakawa

<Cast
Umi Ichinose: Souma Saito
Sousuke Ajino: Junichi Suwabe
Shuhei Amamiya: Natsuki Hanae
Pang Wei: Yuichi Nakamura
Lev Shimanowski: KENN
Honoriko Maruyama: Yuuki Aoi
Sophie Olmesson: Mariya Ise
Karol Adamski: Katsuyuki Konishi
Mitsuo Hirata:Toshiyuki Toyonaga
Takeshi Saga:Koji Yusa
Namie Amamiya:Marie Miyake
Reiko Ichinose: Maaya Sakamoto
Yoichiro Amamiya: Hideyuki Tanaka
J=J Theroux: Satoshi Shimada and others

<Main Pianist
Kyohei Sanda (Sosuke Ajino) / Ryoma Takagi (Shuhei Amemiya) / Ushigyu (Pan Wei)
Simon Naehring (Lev Szymanowski) / Juliette Journeau (Sophie Olmesson)

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