(L+CR) Hibike! Euphonium [anime]

[Eragon]

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[blakstealth]

The Vol. 2 art is so fuckin good.

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[bastek66]

[iSuckAtWriting]

Originally Posted by bastek66

*snip*

Maybe this is showing how being sooo alike won't let them Nico-niiiiii each others hearts! Romance is supposed to complete a person, niiiiiiiii~?

[Kazu-kun]

Those scene don't show they're alike, since the context was totally different.

[BleedingUranium]

Originally Posted by Shirohige

Ichigo Parfait Ga Tomaranai.

Originally Posted by Eragon

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Gorgeous.

Originally Posted by blakstealth

The Vol. 2 art is so fuckin good.

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That Reina poster tho...

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Those scene don't show they're alike, since the context was totally different.

It's still nicely reversed imagery.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by BleedingUranium

That Reina poster tho...

I so want that poster!

It's still nicely reversed imagery.

True.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I step away from the thread for a few days, but the discussion goes raging on! I have a couple of things to say.

One, when I think of a shoujo-ai story, I'm not imagining anything X-rated, or even anything that precludes future hetero relationships. I don't recall even a kiss in the pre-eminent shoujo-ai series, Maria-sama ga Miteru. Yuri, to me, would probably involve at least a kiss, but only the finger down the face makes me think this is even a possibility here. We'll see tomorrow what that embrace feels like in context.

Two, I spent a couple of days rewatching the entire series (a highly enjoyable exercise), and I do now see better how some people, both here and in the show itself, could imagine something between Kumiko and Shuuichi. But the amount of stuff that hints at the Kumiko-Reina relationship is far greater, to the extent that, if I were just going on what we have seen, I would say that it was more a matter of a little "hetero-bait" in a shoujo-ai story than yuri-bait in a hetero story.

And now for something completely different. This pic of the four main female seiyuus is from the new issue of Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine (thanks, @cowboybibimbop):

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main seiyuus on a rooftop

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l-r: Anzai Chika (Reina), Toyota Moe (Sapphire/Midori), Kurosawa Tomoyo (Kumiko), Asai Ayaka (Hazuki). Link to full-size image.

By the way, my rewatching convinced me even more that Kurosawa Tomoyo is an outstanding seiyuu. She has some beautiful turns of voice and can feel so present. She was a child actress on stage and TV when she was 7-12, and sang with the Sound Horizon troupe in their Märchen show. Her first anime role was as Natsuki in the movie Welcome to the Space Show. Her first TV role was Otome in Aikatsu, and she was Sylphie in Amagi Brilliant Park, and is Miria in Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls. But her most famous role up to now was probably Tina Sprout in Black Bullet.

[Kazu-kun]

Kumiko's seiyuu is okay, but I think Reina's is the standout of the series. That gap between her serious, no nonsense voice and her playful voice is pure sex to my ears.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Kumiko's seiyuu is okay, but I think Reina's is the standout of the series. That gap between her serious, no nonsense voice and her playful voice is pure sex to my ears.

Good point about Anzai Chika. She was almost as extravagant as Yuuki Aoi in Kiruminzoo, back in 2009. And she was Chaika the Coffin-princess more recently. She and Kurosawa-san are two voices we are going to hear a lot more of, I hope and expect.

[Cloudedmind]

Kumiko's seiyuu is going to be at AX this year.

[bhl88]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

Kumiko's seiyuu is going to be at AX this year.

I know. I am preparing to give her the stuff I needed to have signed. Ex: Postcard and wallpaper.

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by bhl88

I know. I am preparing to give her the stuff I needed to have signed. Ex: Postcard and wallpaper.

I'm trying to decided if I want her to sign my Sylphy stuff, or get some Kumiko stuff. I'm thinking I'll just go with Sylphy, because although Kumiko is a more fleshed out character, I found Sylphy's antics hilarious.

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

We'll see tomorrow what that embrace feels like in context.

Given the translations people have posted and the inflections in the voices, I'd guess that Kumiko is comforting Reina because either Reina has been getting picked on for winning the solo part or it's come out that Reina has a crush on Taki-sensei. However, episode previews are notorious for twisting things out of context, so there's really no way to be certain.

Interesting interpretation of the show as shoujo-ai with Shuichi as a hetero-tease. I hadn't considered that option.

[BleedingUranium]

I finally decided to look up what the heck a "Solister" was, and apparently it's the indefinite plural of "solist" in Swedish and Norwegian. Solist means "soloist", in the musical sense. So the song title is Dream Soloists.

"Multiple soloists" is an interesting reversal of "Tutti", which is "an Italian word literally meaning all or together and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist."


I tried looking for "Bell Up", but all I could find was a certain kind of Euphonium carrying case. Can anyone with more concert band-type experience help here?

[Takigan]

Originally Posted by BleedingUranium

I finally decided to look up what the heck a "Solister" was, and apparently it's the indefinite plural of "solist" in Swedish and Norwegian. Solist means "soloist", in the musical sense. So the song title is Dream Soloists.

"Multiple soloists" is an interesting reversal of "Tutti", which is "an Italian word literally meaning all or together and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist."


I tried looking for "Bell Up", but all I could find was a certain kind of Euphonium carrying case. Can anyone with more concert band-type experience help here?

Heh....I actually own that exact brand of soft case for my own Eupho (I never called it a Eupho before, but I'm now going to start calling it that).

Euphoniums are sold in "bell up" and "bell front" varieties. Bell up is the type used by the Euphoniums in Kitauji (it's also the more common type). Bell front is also pretty common, but it looks a little different.


"Bells up" is also a pretty common phrase said to Trumpet and Trombone players in order to project and direct their sound better. Sometimes in jazz, trumpet players will lean back and aim their bell upward to aim their sound in a different direction. In marching band during big loud moments, you aim your bell up to the press box so that the "important people" in the box (press, judges, commentators etc.) get the full effect of your sound.

I'm not really sure what Bell Up refers to Hibike! Euphonium. Is it a song insert? part of the soundtrack?

[Soshishi]

Don't know if it was already posted but I've found a cool video illustrating many of the locations in Kyoto that Euphonium was based off of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GvML2w377k

Also found another cool video of a bunch of people playing the opening theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doQvGNojU6E

I didn't know there could be so many cool colors for the Eupho!

Seems the show has been gaining a lot of recognition recently which makes me happy. I genuinely believe this is the best show of this season and it deserves it.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Soshishi

Don't know if it was already posted but I've found a cool video illustrating many of the locations in Kyoto that Euphonium was based off of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GvML2w377k.... Seems the show has been gaining a lot of recognition recently which makes me happy. I genuinely believe this is the best show of this season and it deserves it.

Thanks for this! And I agree that it deserves its popularity. At this point, before ep10 airs, there have already been over 91,000 posts about the show on the Japanese board 2channel. That puts it at or near the top of the shows popular with users of that board.

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

...Interesting interpretation of the show as shoujo-ai with Shuichi as a hetero-tease. I hadn't considered that option.

I don't seriously believe that's what they're doing (although I might hope so, lol), but I think would be a natural impression from what has actually been shown through the episodes up to now.

[BleedingUranium]

Originally Posted by Takigan

Heh....I actually own that exact brand of soft case for my own Eupho (I never called it a Eupho before, but I'm now going to start calling it that).

Euphoniums are sold in "bell up" and "bell front" varieties. Bell up is the type used by the Euphoniums in Kitauji (it's also the more common type). Bell front is also pretty common, but it looks a little different.

"Bells up" is also a pretty common phrase said to Trumpet and Trombone players in order to project and direct their sound better. Sometimes in jazz, trumpet players will lean back and aim their bell upward to aim their sound in a different direction. In marching band during big loud moments, you aim your bell up to the press box so that the "important people" in the box (press, judges, commentators etc.) get the full effect of your sound.

I'm not really sure what Bell Up refers to Hibike! Euphonium. Is it a song insert? part of the soundtrack?

That's exactly the kind of info I was hoping to hear, and I had you in mind when I asked. Bell Up! is the title of the B-side to Tutti!, the closing song (as I was figuring out the song titles). In this context, I'm pretty sure it's referring to the technique you described.


I've figured out exactly who got eliminated, with two issues.

First is that Matsumoto (the teacher) said that 11 Clarinets made the cut. However, looking at the OP we can see 10 normal Clarinets (the inner most circle) as well as both Bass Clarinets (directly in front of Asuka/Kumiko), which gives either 10 or 12 depending on how you look at it.

Also, only one girl is seen getting upset, and while another could theoretically have been off-screen, she's the only one of them not present in the OP. Everything works except that "eleven".


The other issue is... I can't tell which of the Trombones got cut, because I can't tell them apart in the OP. :/

Referencing the Trombone character card, it's either the short first year with the baby seal, or the twintail second year beside Shuuichi. Whichever it is, she's the very end one in the OP, the furthest top-right character.


Once we get the Percussion card in tomorrow's (today's) episode I'll upload all the relevant ones edited to show who got cut, as I have the rest done.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

But the amount of stuff that hints at the Kumiko-Reina relationship is far greater, to the extent that, if I were just going on what we have seen, I would say that it was more a matter of a little "hetero-bait" in a shoujo-ai story than yuri-bait in a hetero story.

That's also the feel I'm getting from this show. This might in fact be unintentional on KyoAni's part, but it is the effect the show is giving me all the same.

Shu's overall role and importance in Hibike so far honestly reminds me of Kyoutarou Suga in the original Saki anime. There are differences to be sure - Shu is not as much of a buttmonkey, for example - But I also see some considerable overlap there.

By the way, my rewatching convinced me even more that Kurosawa Tomoyo is an outstanding seiyuu.

Agreed. I think Kumiko's seiyu has done an excellent job. There's a solid consistent subtlety to her performance. She sounds very real, I guess you could say. It doesn't feel like she's overacting, but she nonetheless has good presence in key moments.

Reina's seiyu has also done well, showing a very good emotional range.