2024-05-26, 11:30 | Link #81 |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Giving the lead part to Mayu was a great move by the teachers.
Her issue is that deferential and conflict-averse nature. Now she gets put in the spotlight and will be envied and praised for her ability. Kumiko is just wishy washy, only got where she is because Reina is pulling her along. Now she will lose even that, if she can't beat her rival. This is the good kind of adversity that lets people grow, although I'm sure there will be plenty of tearful breakdowns on the way.
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2024-05-26, 11:49 | Link #82 |
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Join Date: Jul 2006
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really confused me with what was going on.
episode 6 ended with the start of the competition. then episode 7 starts with 'team monaka' getting gold and the competition is over? I didn't even know there was a B-team where the other members enter together Been a long time, but what does that mean.
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2024-05-26, 13:32 | Link #83 | |
Math Ninja
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ventura County CA
Age: 60
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2024-05-26, 14:13 | Link #84 | |
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Join Date: May 2014
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Quote:
Another viewer claimed he was in the amateur band. He said he was surprised that the people problems are similar in his band and Japanese schools. Spoiler for speculation on Taki's choices:
Last edited by scififan; 2024-05-26 at 18:38. |
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2024-05-26, 20:19 | Link #86 | |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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Quote:
Category Group A: string 1 Category Group B: string 2 Category Small Ensemble: small ensemble group making up of 25 or less members In the novels, the Monaka string apparently consists of more members than shown in the anime and took part in category group B, even when Kumiko was in year 1, but it wasn't really touched on much in the anime due to to the small group size for Monaka in the anime. Only the prefectures contain these 3 categories. For regionals and nationals, there is only category A. For episode 7, basically yeah, it was just mentioned that both the main band and Monaka got gold in their respective categories in the prefectures without further elaboration. Not sure whether we will be getting a Kansai footage as well. There are only 5 episodes left. If last episode is used for tying up loose ends like that of season 2, and for sure next episode is going to be spent on taking care of the aftermath of the audition, we don't have many episodes left for the finals. I foresee Kansai regionals to take place in episode 10 and also just briefly touched on. Last edited by larethian; 2024-05-26 at 20:29. |
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2024-05-26, 23:40 | Link #88 |
User of the "Fast Draw"
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Oh boy. That's the drama that's been ready to hit.
Credit to the show. It was fully expected that Kumiko would fall short here. 3 auditions is all great for drama, but there's a good expectation for how this would go to maximize that. Kumiko failing on the second audition and then gloriously punching her ticket from the third one is the way to go. That doesn't mean it failed to land. I still really felt for Kumiko as she had to process this one. Of course the scary thing is that she's got to both handle this and keep the group together. There is going to be unease and disagreement over their president not getting the soli part. What got me though was Kanade not making it at all. That was absolutely outside of my expectations. They did set it up with the discussion the previous night. But mentally I just have Kanade as part of the group and didn't think twice about it. And for her I really feel bad. Kanade does adore Kumiko and she gets the double whammy of seeing Kumiko not get the solo part AND she doesn't get to play beside her. She'll have to sit on the sidelines praying her heart out that they make it. Only if they can get to that third audition can she battle and earn her way back in. The little drama with Midori is almost cute by comparison! It's a much smaller, but still emotional thing having her understandable expectations likely get subverted by what was likely said to her.
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2024-05-28, 14:09 | Link #89 |
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Join Date: May 2014
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I doubt about Taki's decision to skip Kanade, but it makes more sense after watched a Youtube explanation.
Spoiler for Youtube analysis by visualization:
In the past, eupho section lacked the qualified players. Kumiko was dragged to the eupho team by Asuka. Winning gold in the first year attracts better players to the school. In the past, the performance includes two eupho players and two tuba players. Then, it was changed to three eupho players and three tuba players. Maybe Taki is experimenting, and he believes his changes will not hurt the upcoming competition. Whether doubling down or not, not meeting the final goal will lead people to doubt Taki's strategy. Niiyama is more straightforward than Taki. She encouraged Kumiko to apply the music college. It means she recognizes that Kumiko has the talent. Taki's decision is shaking Kumiko's confidence, and she will cope with it. Last edited by scififan; 2024-06-01 at 17:35. |
2024-05-31, 13:15 | Link #91 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
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Kumiko's second year can be compared to the third year. In her second year, she was the witness of the conflict between friends. In her third year, she is involved in the conflict.
The playing of firework looks like bonfire. They are surely not singing Kumbaya in the open field. Last edited by scififan; 2024-05-31 at 13:30. |
2024-05-31, 17:21 | Link #92 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
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And our Angst Show gets Angstier than ever.
First, let's talk about Kanade. I'm not shocked because the show has always portrayed her as playing third fiddle. Not to diminish her because the show is consistent in showing her as a fairly good player, but her seniors have an extra year on top of her and so once the number of seats was reduced to two, that was that. For the record, a certain percentage of the Japanese audience were extremely unkind to Kanade, and their response shows the difficulties of writing Underclassmen characters in Japanese productions. While most anime downplay the Sempai-Kohai gap or show only the positives, Euphonium plays it either exaggerated (I hope) or straight (I fear that's the case). Characters find it hard to stand out as characters while remaining compliant with Japanese social norms (thus likeable). Even the part where somewhere it was mentioned that the norm of euphonium players is two and thus the increase to three suggests inadequacy in at least some of the members. FTR, I can't find that section for myself. I do note that Yamaha's guides on this issue recommend 3 euphoniums. It is a place where the author's understanding of this technical detail can validly say something about the character, but I don't think overall the story is trying to make a negative inference for Kanade. At worst the increase to three might have been to cover for Natsuki, which then continued out of a lack of enough tuba players and inertia until Taki decided he needed more bass. Second, let's talk about Satsuki. Congratulations. To begin with, she played a strong role in creating this situation. Suzume clearly has talent, but Satsuki spent time and effort teaching her well and it paid off. In a sense Kanade didn't so much lose to "Mama" as she lost to Satsuki. Satsuki grew Suzume enough a 4-tuba formation became a viable option, and ultimately Taki went for that choice, thus forcing the choice of a 2-eupho formation. It seems right that Satsuki get her chance for her contributions. Kanade indeed was only a player doing her part while Satsuki was taking on more. Third, I'd be a lot more content with the result if the winner wasn't Mayu. The show is really showing me Kumiko's point of view, and Mayu is murderously annoying. No possible motive can justify a 17 year old constantly bawling "But but but". I'm watching her through a laptop LCD and I still had to pause the playback to scream twice. Look, Mayu, we all know what the factors are. And you are old enough to know that as Club President, Kumiko has to say certain things. In fact, knowing this is one reason why Kumiko seems less than perfectly credible. But you are old enough to understand the concept of positionally-appropriate speech. Further, Kumiko is forced to tolerate and be polite to your constant prattle because she's Club President, and you are exploiting it. Anyway, Mayu decides to throw her best, and Taki picks her. Part of the problem is that unlike Reina, there's no sign that Mayu can bat the ball that far out of the park. She's definitely not weaker than Kumiko and the show is explicit that she follows instructions well, but she doesn't have the superiority to be convincing and that's where the noises are coming from. The problem isn't so much the degree of meritocracy in Kitauji, but the margin of appreciation the students are willing to give Taki. |
2024-06-02, 08:12 | Link #93 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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To outsiders her age, Reina may feel like a grown-up, but in reality, she's really still a child. No one is perfect and free from mistakes, more so, your most beloved and loved ones as you see all their faults up close, but still love them for who they are.
Whether Taki is making a mistake or not is not the crux here, but her assertion of "he's just right" doesn't hold water at all, and a strong display of her own immaturity. Far from what she believes in, she's merely infatuated and putting him on a pedestal. To top it off, she has to be a bitch to her bestie in slapping an irrational, judgmental and hurtful label on her as a means of defending Taki and her stand. And in the most contradictory way in my opinion, since I see Kumiko being more of a president than even her predecessors. Aside from that, we learn from this episode, the majority of the ensemble club perceives Kumiko and Mayu to be equal in ability. |
2024-06-02, 13:17 | Link #94 |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The land of tempura
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So I've been keeping this show on the backburner despite it being one of my favourite shows of the modern KyoAni era (and one of my top shows overall) but I just caught up and, like everyone here, I was fully expecting Kumiko to be faced with precisely this kind of failure right from the moment we saw Mayu get introduced playing the Euphonium during the teaser at the end of the last movie.
Now that doesn't mean I didn't feel it hard. It was really hard to watch these last two episodes with Kumiko first getting punched in the gut by the audition, and then episode 9 capping off with Reina's childishness putting her into conflict with Kumiko (as larethian so correctly put it). As I was watching that scene, and as Reina said that anyone who didn't understand Taki-sensei's choices was incompetent, i could just see the unintended slight she was throwing at Kumiko. My bet is that Taki has been experimenting with different ways of organizing the ensemble either to appeal to the judges or to try and find that special thing that will get them the win at the Nationals. or maybe he's playing 4D chess and trying to get the group to face their own failings but, honestly, we've never seen the character be particularly aware of interpersonal issues before so it would be out of character to start now. Either way, the end result is that even the third year's unwavering faith in their advisor has started to slip and that means that the group is now weaker as a result. This mimics a lot the situation we got in season 1 thanks to Reina but also the pre-season 1 stuff where the club broke itself apart (which I'm pretty sure was fully intended by the author). Thankfully I think Kumiko has the personality to actually make this work, unlike the situation the presidents that came before her. She already showed some great ability to defuse a similar situation when Reina was pushing a bit too hard on the first years during the SunFes training arc, now she just has to do it while she, herself, is going through the same issue Haruka went through during the first season. An issue caused by Reina at the time, just to add some poetic justice to all this.
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2024-06-02, 15:09 | Link #97 |
Happy Sphere
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Texas
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E9 - Dissonant Tuning
I think that might have been the very best episode of Sound! Euphonium. Why? Because Kumiko is being torn between her philosophies in believable ways:
There is a solution. It's actually Kaori who showed it to us in the first season. Kaori still had the support of the club even after the 2nd audition against Reina. Despite Reina clearly being the better player. Talent vs Popularity was about to tear the club apart. Popularity was going to win out and leave the people insisting on talent to fume and quit, but then Kaori gave up the spot in a graceful way that defused the situation. Kumiko and Mayu need to figure out how to do that. Kumiko needs to accept Mayu's read of the situation. That a newcomer taking the part of the popular club president will be dangerously disruptive. Mayu needs to be more forceful in her beliefs and go to Taki and respectfully decline the solo part with the reason that it will harm the club as a whole. Meritocracy is a good ideal to have, and respecting it does a lot to dampen down most popularity squabbles. But personal grace and a higher level view of the greater good needs some consideration, too. The band will not achieve national ranking if everyone is upset. Is the goal to have the best talent up on a stage all mad at each other, or is the goal to win? Winning requires the best talent, yes, but it also requires teamwork and happiness. As mutually exclusive as Meritocracy vs Popularity/Club happiness are, they are at the same time reliant on each other. Maybe your best people are always your best people, but you are competing against other extremely talented schools, and your best people won't be better than their best people if your club is in turmoil. Which brings us to Reina and to some extent to Taki. Reina has always seen talent as the ultimate decider. She has softened a little over the years, at first she didn't have a clue that beating people negatively affected them, but when push comes to shove, she still goes with talent. If Kumiko had been obviously better than Mayu, I think Reina would have been unhappy with the result. Even if it went against Taki. But given this "easier" choice where the players were of the same talent, of course she will side with Taki. Reina is also being incredibly stubborn to Kumiko. Hurtfully so. Reina has never been even close to perfect, socially. She has benefited a lot by being the best musician and then having everything else fall into place around her. That's not happening this time and she needs to compromise. She won't win Nationals no matter how good she plays if everyone else is upset. Not to mention she risks losing a friendship. That "you failed as President" comment to Kumiko was just wrong, and Reina needs to answer and apologize for it. And Taki... I largely supported his choices in the Reina vs Kaori standoff in the 1st year. He let the entire club see what he saw and there was such a difference in talent that he was obviously in the right. But was his almost complete silence also the right thing? Did he not see the cracks in the club back then? And, more importantly, does he not see them now?! The club is about to have a meltdown if something doesn't change. But he hasn't led. He hasn't explained. Is the club crashing and burning at the next competition acceptable to him? Does it fit with his dream of achieving great things on his dead wife's behalf? Because that's where things are heading right now. Largely on a swap between two people of equal talent. I hope all these things work out with something more than Kumiko just getting better and winning back her soloists spot from Mayu. Kumiko, Mayu, Reina, and Taki all need to change course. Kumiko appears to be doing so. It looks like she is going to actually question Taki for the good of the club. Now, Mayu needs to go with her gut and step down. Reina needs to realize that she is part of a team. And Taki needs to wake up and start taking some responsibility for the stability of the club.
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Last edited by Ragashingo; 2024-06-02 at 21:33. |
2024-06-03, 01:26 | Link #99 |
Math Ninja
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ventura County CA
Age: 60
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I hate to be the contrarian... or on the other hand, maybe I don't ... but I found myself agreeing with Reina more than I disagreed with her.
When you're in a middle-management position, which is effectively what the president, vice-president, and drum major are, it's your job to support the leadership's decision in front of the troops. If they see you being negative or argumentative, then they'll feel like they have permission to be that way too, and the team's entire structure and cohesion begins to break down. If you disagree with the leadership's decision, then you take it to the leadership privately and hash it out, which is just what Kumiko did. I'd been waiting for her to do that for half the episode. Now, did I agree with Reina on everything? No. She lost her temper with Kumiko, but that was very much her stubborn nature at work. It will sort itself out in time. Mayu is not going to give up the solo part on her own. That would let Kumiko off the hook. If Kumiko is going to play the solo at Nationals - and we all know she is - then she will have to find it within herself to get the job back. She wouldn't be the hero of the story if she didn't. |
2024-06-03, 02:41 | Link #100 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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