Piano no Mori

Piano no Mori: The Perfect World of Kai (ピアノの森 -The perfect world of KAI-) is an ongoing manga by Makoto Isshiki, about Shuhei Amamiya, who transfers to Moriwaki Elementary filled with hope and ambition about his new life. But it doesn't take long before he gets picked on by the class bullies, and gets involved in a dare to play the mysterious piano in the forest, leading to his meeting an enigmatic child that goes by the name of Kai Ichinose, who seems to be the only one capable getting sound out of the thought to be broken piano. His ability earns him the respect of Shuhei and his music teacher, former master pianist Sosuke Ajino. At first Kai is resistant to refining his art but after hearing Sosuke play a Chopin piece he just can't seem to play by himself, he relents.

It has been serialized by Kodansha since 1998, initially in Young Magazine Uppers before transferring to Weekly Morning. Serialization is irregular, and went on hiatus in 2002 before resuming in 2006. The serial chapters have been collected in 16 bound volumes to date.

The series was adapted as a 2007 Japanese animated feature film by director Masayuki Kojima and production company Madhouse. The film featured performances by the renowned pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Development
Makoto Isshiki was inspired to write Piano no Mori when he watched a documentary showing Stanislav Bunin winning the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in 1985.

Media
The series is licensed by Sharp Point Press in Taiwan.

Reception
Piano no Mori received the Grand Prize for best manga at the 2008 Japan Media Arts Festival.

The movie adaptation debuted in 9th place at the Japanese box office the week it came out, unusually high for a non-franchise animated film. By the end of the year, it had grossed the equivalent of $1,555,297, ranking 119 on the overall yearly box office chart for Japan. In South Korea, the film played for 50 weeks and grossed the equivalent of $182,884. The film was nominated for the 2008 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. It was also nominated in the Theatrical Film category at the 2008 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. The film made its Canadian / North American premiere at the 2008 Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema.