Piano

Miu Nomura loves to play the piano, which she has done since she was a little girl. Once she grows into a teenager, she has to deal with all kinds of new feelings, most of which are triggered by her upperclassman Takahashi, for whom she harbors a deep crush. She is way too shy and introverted though to approach him, but she gets help from Yuuki, who is her best friend by far. Yuuki is a sporty and outgoing girl who is on the same school track team as Takahashi and her own crush, Takizawa.

Piano: The Melody of a Young Girl's Heart, consisting of 10 episodes which aired in 2002, deals with Miu's development into a young woman. It mainly depicts her struggle with her inability to show her emotions, which even starts affecting her piano-playing. Through up and downs in her relationships with her piano teacher, her family and her friends, she finds out what her music and the people around her mean to her.

In short, it is the story of a young girl growing up and finding her goal in life.

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Tropes:

• Anime Hair: Miu's hair style is a tad odd.
• Anime Theme Song: An appropriate lovely piano piece by Ayako Kawasumi--who is also Miu's voice actress.
• But Now I Must Go: Shirakawa-sensei.
• Coming of Age Story
• Genki Girl: Yuuki, sort of.
• Happily Married: Miu's parents.
• Hot Mom: Miu's mother Hitomi qualifies.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episodes names are musical terms, starting with "con", indicating how something has to be played.
• Left Hanging: The viewer never finds out how Miu's piano recital went, let alone what happens after it.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Miu apparently knows nothing about her sister's past with her piano teacher.
• MacGuffin: Miu's self-composed piano piece, which the viewer never gets to hear in the end.
• Onee-Sama: Akiko, Miu's older sister.
• Slice of Life
• Teen Drama: The mild variety.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Yuuki and Miu