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Originally Posted by Vexx
I still think I understand what they were trying to do with the profile facial expressions... but it seems to be a bit too weird for many.
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Yes, I was surprised by the reactions to this. Despite the art style (which has been a thing some people have struggled to get used to all along), the movements here were clearly modeled after actual performances especially re: proximity to the microphone and motions while playing. And correctly, you don't notice these sorts of movements when you're in the audience, but you do notice it if you're up on stage with the band. Of course it has all the "finesse" of a high school band that's trying a bit too hard, but that's supposed to be the point, I think. I definitely don't feel this was some sort of art screw-up or error in animation. Of course, I realize that people are comparing it to the slick look of the famous Haruhi scene (which had a more polished digital look to the art style), but all of the trademark attention to musical detail was there in this scene as well.
All in all, I don't see this as, by any means, a "low budget" animation production. I think it's mostly just that it goes for a more organic "hand-drawn" look that runs a bit counter to the more modern-looking styles the studio uses in some of their other shows. It didn't surprise me to hear that they had 15+ keys in this episode; it was full of details and unique motion. Most late-night shows can only dream of having this much motion and care applied.
As for the episode itself... in some ways, I am baffled by what's posted in this thread (as opposed to the poll, which is more like what I expected). It seems to me that this was a fitting way of bringing the series back full-circle, tieing things into the central premise and showing the progress that's been made in the lives of the characters on the whole (and especially for Yui herself). If you liked episode 1, I can't picture what you wouldn't also appreciate in episode 12, which seems to me to be very much in the same vein. This was very much a "coda" to the entire work, so it makes total sense to me why they called it the "finale". So I'm baffled "in some ways", but I suppose that episode 12 also represents all the things the show
is and also the things that it was never trying to be. People might have enjoyed episode 1 under a false impression, and now it's obvious that "this is the sort of show it is".
I'm not trying to say that the show or the episode were perfect, but I think it was a solid episode and, at the end of the day, a solid show. It's about a group of girls who, using music as a excuse, were able to become close friends and find a place to belong. It's not an overly-ambitious premise, but it's got heart; I guess that's either enough for you or it isn't.
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I'd have to go with Mio as the superior Fuwa Fuwa Timer, but Yui is only an eyelash behind.
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