His Lie in April - 四月の彼の嘘 (Shigatsu no Kare no Uso) BONUS STORIES

NEWS ARTICLE #1 (SPOILERS)

Across the World, Young Musicians Mourn Loss of Pianist Prodigy Kousei Arima

By Johnny Garfield

For PNN

TOKYO – The sudden end to the pianist prodigy Kousei Arima's life on September 10 has brought grief and sadness to all young musicians across the world.

In addition to his native Japan, where students at Sumiya Junior High School in Tokyo have been mourning, with tributes around the school, and many students weeping over seeing the picture of the deceased Mr. Arima.

One student said "It's just such a waste! This guy had a bright future ahead of him, and then all this crap happens to him!"

A series of head trauma episodes since this spring had put his whole life in jeopardy, and had made Mr. Arima's brain permanently damaged, and unable to speak well, among many other of his health problems.

Among the many tributes to Mr. Arima worldwide include:

At Lalonde High School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a few students in the school's orchestra program made a memorial in the main hallway for the fallen pianist.

One student said "I cannot fathom the loss that we have had. This boy was one of the greatest pianists in Japan, if not the world...... it is such a dark day for all of us."

Elsewhere in Canada, in Regina, Saskatchewan, the bells of one high school, Mullins Collegiate, rung in unison for Kousei; another one in the same city, Martinson Collegiate, students wore black ribbons for Mr. Arima.

In Hamilton, Ontario, a large picture of Mr. Arima was put up, with many signs of condolences for him surrounding it in the town's Murphy Collegiate school.

In the neighboring United States, some of the tributes included a Catholic school in Los Angeles, St. Phillip School, holding a memorial prayer, and a Seattle school's orchestra, Worthington High School, all taped up signs around the school, saying various messages like "You were loved by many, Kousei Arima." "Kousei Arima.... the world loved you. May you rest in peace."

In South Korea, one small town's school gathered around and lit candles and offer prayers for the deceased Mr. Arima; a manhwa artist drew up a picture of Kousei hugging his mother, Saki, welcoming him back; another Korean school wrote a banner saying: (아리마공생 ..... 한국의 우리들 모두가 당신을 사랑하고 있습니다. [Alimagongsaeng ..... hangug-ui ulideul moduga dangsin-eul salanghago issseubnida/Kousei Arima, all of us in Korea love you.]

One teenage Brazilian pianist, who asked that he not be named, said of all this, "The loss of Kousei Arima is one that we all feel. I find solace that he is no longer suffering, but we all know this: A lot of people loved him...... the love we all feel for him radiates not just in Japan, but all across the world."