

Did Kaori know that Arima loved her? From the letter she gave to Arima, she
confessed everything and even gave that photograph, but at the same time, she
told him to throw it away if he wanted to. This according to me suggests that
she didn't know if Arima loved her. If she knew about Arima's feelings, she
wouldn't have said it to him. Is there any strong evidence whether Kaori knew
about Arima's feelings in the Manga/Anime?


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2017-05-04T08:13:06.347
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your-lie-in-april
Did Kaori know that Arima loved her?


I've only watched the anime (and a few months ago at that) but truth be told,
I'm of the opinion that she did know that Arima had feelings for her. **Take
what I'm about to say with a grain of salt** though as I do think that Kaori's
true goal at the end was to get Arima to love himself somehow by whatever
means she could. I don't think her true intention really was to get him to
fall in love with her either but become a part of his life that would would
galvanize his restoration.

Here are my thoughts:

Throughout the series, Kaori shows immense respect towards Arima's skills
having admitted at some point later in the series that he was a source of
inspiration for her. As a result she seems overwhelmingly distraught at the
state of disrepair that Arima has fallen into. She initially enters his life
by the first performances together and using Watari.

As this goes on its easy to see by everyone in the series that Arima has
formed a dependency towards her (especially Tsubaki), and whether or not these
are romantic, Kaori seems to realize this or even if she doesn't the scale of
meddling and pushing Arima to strive towards reclaiming some former glory
increases. Unfortunately Kaori is doomed, and then realizes that all her
effort to push him to revitalize him is at stake and gives him her final
wishes etc in an effort to convince him to move on with his life after her. I
think this acknowledgement of dependency and her trying to help him move on
from her as a result is key to the idea that she knows he loves her.

I know I'm making Kaori seem manipulative (or unknowingly manipulative) and
maybe I'm putting too much confidence in what she's capable of doing but at
the least that's how I interpret it. As with the shows name, she lied. Kaori
told Aroma, Watari, Tsubaki, and everyone else, that she loved Watari. By
telling everyone this it was known as a fact. But then you realize she loves
Arima instead. Resulting in," Your Lie in April," because she lied in the
month of April by using Watari.


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This question eventually led me to a translation of the letter she had written
for Arima.

Roughly translated, the ending part of the letter gives us an insight in what
she knew and what she thought about Arima his feelings. She thought that he
loved Tsubaki, or rather everyone knew that but apart from those 2. She,
however, did love Arima. She factually said that at the end of the letter
multiple times and asked him to remember her... if the letter reaches him. The
way it was written indicates that she is "aware" about him loving someone else
which means that he doesn't love her as a lover, in her eyes, but probably as
a friend or musical partner.

Whether this thought from her is right or wrong is something I can't validate.
If anything, I'd say that he loves her more than Tsubaki, but Tsubaki was most
likely his first love though.

But to answer your question, according to the letter written by her, she was
unaware about his feelings for her. As she wrote "I wonder if I made it into
yours".

(It's been a while since I watched this one, watched it when it was airing)

Sources: finishing the anime and of course, [the translated version of the
letter](http://miridesu.tumblr.com/post/110072094317/kaoris-letter-to-kousei-
spoiler).


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2017-05-11T14:03:14.227
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She does say that everyone knew that Arima and Tsubaki loved each other, so
no, she does not know... which makes it even sadder.


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Towards the ending of the anime, we realize that Kaori's sole motivation in
life was Kousei and the love she had for him. Everything she did, including
using contacts, changing her hairstyle, "liking" Watari just so that she could
get closer to Kousei, was all done in mind that she may not live to continue
the ballad. Keeping all this in mind and noticing that she executed her plan
quite successfully, we can conclude that Kaori was intelligent enough to know
that Kousei loved her. Also there were moments when Kousei told her personally
that he loved her, though worded a bit differently (like that scene where they
saw the fireflies).

(I just finished watching the anime and the plot is freshly imprinted in my
mind. This is my honest opinion and I am quite sure of it too)


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They both knew they liked each other but didn't express it verbally.

Did Kaori know that Arima liked her? Yes she did. At first while attempting to
make a lie like that after understanding she doesn't have much time. She
didn't know that it would reach him or she can get close to him or here the
main question. If he likes her or Tsubaki but still she went on ahead and said
it to tsubaki to introduce her with Watari so she can get more closer to
Arima.

With time we see that Arima was wanting to be with her more and then she
herself had to tell Arima to go to Tsubaki that scene where he carries her.
Arima saw Tsubaki just as a friend. But the moment she actually understood
that he loves her is when she asked during that firefly scene and also when
Arima took the initiative took the initiate to play the piano even while she
didn't appear at the place. She later asked why he played and she thought he
would just leave but he said to her that he knew she was with him all along.

But the main beautiful part about this anime, Even tho she knew he liked her,
She didn't want him to confess because she knew she didn't have much time and
she just wanted to live her life and make memories with him with the
performances and most importantly she didn't want to get even closer so that
he will get attached to her and then he will go back to a heavy depression so
she didn't and kept talking to Watari which looked like a barrier between them
to say the truth verbally and she kept interepting some of the conversation to
talk to watari.

But the main reason and sole reason when she understood is when he tells her
that she wants to play with her last time and since she liked him a lot too.
She gave the surgery a try but it failed and hence the lie stayed a lie until
she confesses how much he means to her and how much of an inspiration he was
to her.

In the beginning she also didnt want to come btw Tsubaki and arima but later
she understood he liked her more and with knowing that she also wanted him to
be with her after she is gone thus not even mentioning this to her or breaking
the friendship the 4 of them shared. Their hearts knew it but it was best it
wasnt said verbally. That was the most beautiful part of this anime series.
Trully an amazing one.


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Yes, she knew.

In fact, she knew already as from the end of episode 11 in the anime, the
scene with the fireflies (in fact, also perfectly in the middle of the series,
and according to me a pivotal moment as it was the first revelation. Also the
music indicates that this is something of a climax moment). She asked Kousei
what inspired him during his first participation to a competition after so
many years and he admits it was her. Right after his performance, he is picked
up by his mother's old friend and most famous Japanese pianist Hiroko Seto
(the beginning of episode 11). She bluntly asks Kousei who he loves:

> Long hair chick, short hair chick?

And she explains:

> your playing told me so much. It was saying: I love you... When you are
> young, the piano turns your heart into an open book.

(At that moment, Kousei does not admit to himself yet that this feeling is
love, but later on in the series he comes to the same conclusion as Seto.)
Kaori, being herself a gifted musician, must have heard the same message in
Kousei's music. In fact, she is emotionally touched by the performance of
Kousei. At that moment, it could well be that she thinks that it is love for
Tsubaki that is driving Kousei’s music. (there is no indication of that in the
story however, so it’s only speculation). But after Kousei admits it was Kaori
who inspired him during his performance, it becomes clear to her. Also look
closely at her facial expression. Contrary to her normal eccentric behaviour,
her reaction is very muted and even shows emotions of utter surprise and
shock. This tells me that it was never her intention that Kousei would develop
feelings for her. As she explained in her final letter, the entire set-up with
her lie (in April) was just meant to come closer to Kousei without hurting
Tsubaki too much (who she knew was madly love with Kousei, even if Tsubaki
herself had not recognized these feelings herself). If she really had wanted
Kousei to fall in love with her, she would probably have been more direct and
less a bully towards Kousei. That she asks all those questions in her final
letter such as “did I reach you? Don’t you forget me?” is just perfectly
normal. Even lovers ask each other regularly: “do you love me”? So, these are
not real questions, she just asks for a confirmation for something she already
knows. Even telling that he can throw away picture with her and Kousei as
small children if he didn’t want it, is just “I am not going to force you to
keep the picture, but as I know you love me and will always remember me, I am
sure you will keep it.” The last image in the anime and manga is in fact the
picture standing in a frame on the piano of Kousei (together with the letter),
as the confirmation that she was right.


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For me, it was a dead giveaway in the chapter "Under the bridge" where Kosei
told Kaori that she was the one holding him together to play the piano. Even
without the context, which I will elaborate on later, this should be
straightforward enough for Kaori to understand how much he values her. Take
note that, Kaori had said (or monolog) and understand that for Kosei, music is
his whole life. And for her to be the one who holds him together to play the
music is unquestionably a really meaningful thing to say. Though I admit that
the line was not explicitly romantic but I doubt that Kaori could be ever so
dense to not understand the weight and the meaning behind this. (Annnd for me,
this is one of the manliest things a protagonist ever has done. Great, Arima.)
[![Arima told Kaori she was the one holding him together to play the
piano](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rQX2P.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rQX2P.jpg)

And if you consider the context, Kaori had said at some point that music is a
universal language. And the contest they were talking about in this scene was
the one Arima was expressing his love through his piano, as described by Seto.
I bet that Kaori knows that as well though she might not be so sure about whom
Arima expresses this love to. She took the chance and asked the question
knowing the meaning behind the question. For me, that scene is without a doubt
a love confession albeit very implicit. And there is no way this lovely and
overly-considerate Kaori could ever be so dense not to know the meaning behind
it.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XPQCL.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XPQCL.jpg)


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