An Emotional Must-Read! Masterpiece Piano Manga Forest of Piano

In a bookshelf tucked away in a corner of our cafeteria, there are a number of music-related manga lined up on the shelf. Every day after lunch, I pick out one of them to read, and this time I would like to talk about a piece of music from Forest of Piano. By the way, I think all of you should know that I can’t play the piano at all!

What is Forest of Piano?

Forest of Piano is a youth manga serialized in Young Magazine Uppers and Morning from 1998 to 2015.
It won the Grand Prize in the Manga Division of the 12th (2008) Japan Media Arts Festival and was adapted into an anime for Netflix in 2019.

Synopsis

In this moving 24-episode series, the main character, Kai Ichinose, grew up with a piano abandoned in the Forest instead of having toys. He develops his piano talent through encounters with Sousuke Ajino, who was at one time a genius pianist, and Shuhei Amamiya, whose father is a great pianist. Eventually, Kai goes on to take on the world at the Chopin Competition.

Songs played in the production

“Little Brown Jug” (Chairo no Kobin)

In the first episode, Kai and Ajino meet. Ajino would later become Kai’s teacher and he plays the song "Little Brown Jug". Kai often plays this song during important moments in the story, and it is also famous in real life in that beer commercial!

Minute Waltz by Chopin

Kai, normally a rambunctious kid who was always fighting, was awakened to the piano by listening to Chopin. Kai had been playing the piano for fun, but this encounter moved him enough to beg Ajino to teach him to play the piano himself.
This piece is known as the Chopin piece that most piano students are introduced to first!

In the Chopin Competition depicted in this manga, the performers choose from three different piano makers. The same is true in the actual Chopin Competition where the players choose between Yamaha, Kawai, and Steinway.Since 2010, Fazioli has been added to the list, and now there are four different types to choose from.

Recommended Digital Pianos

Here are two digital pianos that you can buy at Sound House.

Kawai / CA401R Digital piano

The wooden keyboard allows playing with an authentic touch similar to that of a grand piano!
Even with its compact size, you can enjoy playing with powerful sound as it contains the sound of Kawai's full concert piano, the SK-EX. Equipped with the "Grand Feel Standard Action” setting,the keyboard faithfully reproduces the sound structure of a grand piano. This is the best digital piano for practice from a world-class piano manufacturer that is also used in the Chopin Competition.

Playtech / PDP400S Digital Piano Stand Set

Also, PLAYTECH has their own digital piano. At this price, you can get 238 different tones for your piano and it has many useful features such as layering, twinning, and more! It is equipped with USB-MIDI, so you can use it as a MIDI keyboard with a good touch feeling by connecting it to a PC! You can also choose whether or not to use the stand, so you can flexibly adapt it to your installation location. You may even be able to play in the forest!

Summary

Forest of Piano is a very moving manga that can be enjoyed even by those who know nothing about the piano. The pieces introduced here are only a small part of the works that are in the manga. So, if you are curious about what other pieces are being featured, please read the manga yourself! I also became interested in piano after reading this manga, so maybe I should start playing piano on myPLAYTECH!