2016-12-21, 16:25 | Link #1221 |
Neo Venezia-jin
Join Date: Dec 2016
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For someone like me who has seen over 900 shows, it made into my all time top 10 (currently #10) but it may go a bit up depending on what happens in the final episode. Don't think it will go outside top 10 no matter what happens.
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2016-12-21, 16:39 | Link #1222 | |
Let's play a game!
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Definitely some unexpected bits in there. I was expecting them to hit silver. Bronze was just.. ouch. But, as GMT notes, there was too much drama between the regionals and the nationals to not affect the results.
I would guess that Reina probably did better after the drama than she would have, otherwise. Asuka is iffy; I'm not clear on just how much practice time she missed, but even if she wasn't better in terms of competition, I think the comments from her father indicated that she did better in terms of truly expressing herself. But the bit that would have really dragged the group down was the loss of cohesion during the Asuka trials. Probably without the extra drama, they might have hit silver. Reina's confession... Wow, did Taki shoot her down hard. Not that she's going to give up. And of course now the rest of the girls have their own little personal romantic soap opera to watch, so they'll help encourage her. It'll be amusing to watch from the outside, but I expect Taki will eventually have to ask for an intervention from Michie-sensei. Birthday present. Wiki says Kumiko's birthday is August 21. I don't remember when the national contest was supposed to be, but I'm thinking October? We passed the summer holidays a while back, so it's at least well into September, but I'm not sure if the weeks of Asuka's absence have pushed us to November yet. Regardless, it's been sitting in his pocket for probably at least a couple months now. And Shuichi shows that he still hasn't improved. He almost, kinda got a little respect for possibly remembering something that Kumiko might have told him (even if she didn't remember it, it would have shown that he really did care about her enough to consider something she said worth remembering), but it turns out it was just Sapphire playing the eternal matchmaker again. Kumiko's face after that kinda said it all. Overall evaluation hasn't changed compared to what I wrote up last night. Probably not worth posting about, though, so I'll just leave it at that. Quote:
Last edited by Flower; 2016-12-21 at 17:32. Reason: Please do not do multiple posts...use the edit button instead. |
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2016-12-21, 16:41 | Link #1223 |
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2016
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To me Hibike worked much better in the Novel format than this adaptation, Season 1 have a huge amount of flaws and bad direction thanks to Kyoani while S2 is much better thanks to how close was to the Novel (IMO).
The story itself is good despite the many flaws on it, where it really shines is in the music aspect and the evolution of the characters. For me there are 2 main characters that were always amazing, Asuka and Taki. Asuka on one hand is one of the strongest girls in the cast and someone who worked really hard even with a massive amount of problems over her shoulders, turning into the main pillar for the group. Taki on the other hand is a mystery, a person you will never know what is thinking or feeling until you analize what he say very carefully, he's smart and kind, someone who defend the people around him and can move the stage to the next place. Is thanks to him that a lot of characters grew up. Overall the Novel is on my "above average" list, while the series was ok, S1 is around a 4.5/10 and S2 reached a decent 7/10 despite the lack of episodes to dig even deeper into the story (details that could help to avoid misunderstandings). |
2016-12-21, 17:00 | Link #1224 | |
Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 31
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Credit goes to someone on reddit. I may pay a lot of attention to the "other" band members, but I definitely didn't notice this. |
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2016-12-21, 17:00 | Link #1225 |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Houston, Tx
Age: 38
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I wasn't really watching the thread to be able to see Marina's prophecies that ultimately came true.....but the moment it flashed from the "performance" to the group photo, I actually said out loud "They got copper didn't they?"
Why? Because Kyo-Ani's unrelenting commitment to realism. Because at the real All-Japan National contest there's something like 30-35 bands that advance that far, only 8 or 9 get Gold, and out of those Gold winners, roughly half of them have won Gold at least a couple times in the past 5 years, while nearly all of the remainder have at least made it to Nationals multiple times. Kwassui is a RL Japanese school in Nagasaki. They haven't been to Nats in....I think ever? They had a legendary band director transfer there (he used to teach at the long-celebrated 'Seika Girls School', for those who've followed my previous comments). He transformed that band in a single year, and they made it to nationals in Fall 2015, but only ended up winning bronze/copper as well. Bronze is typical for a newcomer...Even for the newcomers that come from the competitive Saitama area of Tokyo, Silver is about where it stops...To go from Prefectural Bronze (Kitauji's previous award) to National Gold in one year is a pipe dream and virtually unheard of. You need 3 solid years of exposition to that winning culture that Kitauji has so that ALL students lived it for those three straight years, plus extraordinary leadership at the top to even have a chance. For a country where half of all band directors are female, yet only one band director at Nats last year was female, I wouldn't doubt there's a strong amount of politics in the judging system as well that requires the new blood to "pay their dues". |
2016-12-21, 17:17 | Link #1226 | ||
Orthodox Haruhiist
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Making metal ... for fish
Age: 44
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2016-12-21, 17:34 | Link #1227 | |
Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 31
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So basically, they did really well. At this point I've come to terms with that, it's actually a good result, arguably an amazing result. I suppose I should leave it to the real finale to close out the story properly. It's almost like that was intention and actually the entire point. I think Kumiko has been fantastic in S2, and the Vol 2/Mizore arc may be my favourite of the four arcs. |
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2016-12-21, 18:20 | Link #1228 | |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Houston, Tx
Age: 38
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The animators did a good job on the render of this venue as well. Here's some comparisons between the real version and Kyo-Ani's version: |
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2016-12-21, 18:33 | Link #1229 | |
Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 31
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About the performances, I do get why they didn't show Kitauji's it makes sense from a story-telling perspective. But there was something else missing as well. Before the SunFes performance, Kyoto, and Kansai we got to hear the band that was immediately before them play while they were preparing. This time it was simply part of the score, no in-universe music. That was definitely a let-down. |
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2016-12-21, 18:44 | Link #1230 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: America
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I was expecting them to get sliver, but getting bronze instead was sort of surprising. They'll have a chance to go for the gold next year, but unfortunately several seniors like Asuka won't be with them anymore.
Other than that there were several great moments. Special mention goes to Kumiko's smile upon receiving the haripin, Reina confessing her love for Taki(not once, but twice), and Kumiko's scene with her sister.
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2016-12-21, 20:16 | Link #1231 |
Princess or Plunderer?
Join Date: May 2009
Location: the Philippines
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Watching Shuuichi during the first practice scene tells me that he's struggling just as hard as Kumiko in his emotions. He took this long to give her birthday gift. At least, Kumiko seems to have appreciated the gesture.
The worst part of the episode was the utter absence of any performances, even from Seira or the other schools. It causes confusion as to why Kitauji got bronze, and it did not allow the viewers to place the performances of Kitauji against the big hitters. Takigan's explanation does help, but that's outside of the anime. The resolutions for Asuka and Kumiko were nice, but considering Kumiko treating Reina the same way she did ("Don't worry, they don't notice that it was a romantic confession!") and how she showed her love to Mamiko (a very public "I love you!") shows that she's made steps to changing her personality, but is still far off. Next episode is gonna be graduation, where the band will lose their seniors and Kumiko will inevitably be the only euphonium for the band. I wonder who will become the band's president.
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2016-12-21, 20:43 | Link #1232 |
Unleashing the Homu-Rage
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Not what I expected from a final episode, and yet a very strong, emotional finish overall, what with Reina's confession, Kumiko and her sister, and Asuka's speech to the departing class. That said, I would have liked it better if Shindo had actually met Asuka in person.
Personally, I was expecting at least a silver, if not for them to get gold first try, but I guess there has to be something for the cast to shoot for next year, and it means we have the potential for a season 3, assuming Takeda keeps publishing light novels. Personally, I would like to see her continue the story until Kitauji actually makes the gold. That said, if the LN and anime are continued, I will definitely miss Asuka- she just had such a presence in the anime, and was by far my favorite character. Here's hoping she makes good on her promise to show up and check on the band next year! On another note, sequel or no, that OP is going to be stuck in my head for a while. |
2016-12-21, 22:54 | Link #1236 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
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There's no more source content for season 3 after our final episode next week. They can make some OVA though.
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2016-12-21, 23:00 | Link #1237 |
Princess or Plunderer?
Join Date: May 2009
Location: the Philippines
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^ Sometimes though, I feel bad that I can't catch those subtleties all the time, and if you try hard in finding those subtleties, then it would undermine one's enjoyment in the process.
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2016-12-22, 00:20 | Link #1238 | |
Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 31
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From a writing perspective, I could definitely see them getting silver next year under the current second years, then gold in the third year, under Kumiko's year. It just... would require her to write considerably more, and KyoAni's track record with (not) adapting sequels seems pretty bad. I'm looking at you, K-ON! season 3. Damn right it is! S2's OP, both visuals and song, are is by far one of my favourite OPs of all time. It's like watching everyone leave the theatre before the end of the credits at a Marvel movie. |
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2016-12-22, 00:37 | Link #1240 | |
Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 31
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Novels set in year three with different new first year character, replacing old-new character. Many, many novels later: Novels featuring new-new-new-new-new first year character, with Kumiko as Kitauji's concert band instructor, Hazuki and Sapphire as her old buddies that come in to help, and Taki is a judge at the competition. |
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