Takeshi Aiza
From Your Lie in April
Takeshi Aiza is a supporting character in Your Lie in April, a brilliant young pianist who built his whole identity around one goal: beating Kosei Arima. When the Human Metronome vanished from competitions, Takeshi was left furious and lost; Kosei's return relights the fire. He is voiced by Yūki Kaji in Japanese and Erik Kimerer in English.
About Takeshi Aiza
A brilliant young pianist who has spent years chasing Kosei Arima, the rival who always beat him. Takeshi built his whole identity around surpassing the Human Metronome, so Kosei's disappearance left him furious and lost; his return lights the fire again. Loud, honest and fiercely hardworking, Takeshi slowly admits that what he felt was never hatred, Kosei was his hero, and the chase made him the pianist he is.
Appearance
Takeshi is a lean, intense teenager with spiky blond hair and sharp eyes, usually seen in performance clothes or his school uniform, radiating the restless energy of someone permanently mid-competition. Everything about him is louder than Kosei, his posture, his voice, his playing. Where Kosei shrinks from attention, Takeshi demands it, stalking into concert halls like a fighter entering a ring, because for him that is exactly what a piano competition is.
Personality
Takeshi is proud, hot-blooded and completely honest, incapable of hiding either his ambition or his feelings. He calls Kosei his rival and enemy, but the truth he slowly admits is more embarrassing: Kosei was his hero, the pianist he chased through childhood, and being abandoned by that hero hurt more than losing ever did. He works ferociously hard, hates excuses, and holds himself to the standard his 'rival' set. His growth is learning to play for his own reasons at last, rather than forever chasing a ghost.
Background & Story
Takeshi grew up in Kosei Arima's shadow. As children in the competition circuit, he watched the Human Metronome take first place again and again, and organised his entire life around one promise: one day he would win. He trained relentlessly, rising to become one of the best young pianists of his generation, but the victory he wanted kept its meaning only while Kosei was there to beat. When Kosei disappeared from competitions for two years, Takeshi's triumphs felt hollow and his anger grew. News that Kosei is returning to the stage sends him into the new competition season with his purpose, and his hero, restored.
Powers & Abilities
- Powerhouse Piano Technique: Takeshi plays with force and brilliance, a high-energy, technically formidable style built through years of obsessive training aimed at one rival.
- Competitive Drive: His refusal to accept second place has carried him to the top of the junior competition world, pressure makes him sharper, not weaker.
Key Relationships
- Kosei Arima: His lifelong rival, and, though it takes him years to say it, his hero. Chasing Kosei made Takeshi the pianist he is.
- Nagi Aiza: His little sister, whose talent he is fiercely proud of and whose resentment of Kosei he understands better than anyone.
- Emi Igawa: His fellow Kosei-obsessed rival, the two share the strange bond of pianists whose lives were bent by the same boy.
Quick Answers
Why does Takeshi Aiza hate Kosei?
He doesn't, not really. Takeshi spent his childhood chasing Kosei and idolising him. Kosei's sudden disappearance felt like betrayal, and 'rivalry' was an easier word than hero-worship for a proud boy to use.
Who is Takeshi Aiza's sister?
His younger sister is Nagi Aiza, a talented middle-school pianist who becomes Kosei's first student.
Who voices Takeshi Aiza?
Takeshi is voiced by Yūki Kaji in Japanese and by Erik Kimerer in the English dub.
