(L+CR) Hibike! Euphonium [anime]

[BleedingUranium]

Originally Posted by Romanticide

Taki is 34-35, Reina is 14-15, iirc.

Info from the novel or something I assume. Interestingly this is a reversal of K-ON!'s Sawako, who is 22-25 (over the course of the story) despite her art style suggesting she's a fair bit older.

[chaosprophet]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Considering that there's no way in hell KumikoXShuichi is going to happen in three episodes, especially at their state of no speak (the best they can hope for is a repair to the old ways), KousakaXTaki is the only thing I can look forward to. And I have no idea what will happen... are they already in a relationship, or is it just Kousaka chasing after him for all this time? I'm actually hoping on the former, as the potential drama arising with the fact that Reina got the solo part is just monumental, and I'm a sucker for drama.

I don't think they are in a relationship. On episode 3 when the club activities are on hold and Reina starts playing her trumpet in frustration for the whole school to hear, Taki's reaction to hearing it seem to be surprise that imply he didn't know her nor that someone that good was on the school.

Also I don't buy so far that Reina is interested in the teacher in a romantic way as her reaction in episode 4 to Kumiko's "good looking" comment feels to me like she never thought about him in such a way.

[BleedingUranium]

On the topic of ages, we have birthdays for four main girls, Shuuichi, the three main seniors, and Taki, but not Aoi or any of the second years.

Given the show is actually set in 2015, we also know their birth years, other than Taki. Well, if someone can give me a hard age for him and whether it's before or after his birthday we can know. Fun fact: Hazuki is the first (main character age) character I know born in 2000 or later.

[wolfie74]

Originally Posted by BleedingUranium

On the topic of ages, we have birthdays for four main girls, Shuuichi, the three main seniors, and Taki, but not Aoi or any of the second years.

Given the show is actually set in 2015, we also know their birth years, other than Taki. Well, if someone can give me a hard age for him and whether it's before or after his birthday we can know. Fun fact: Hazuki is the first (main character age) character I know born in 2000 or later.

Whoa...that is indeed young. Probably why I don't watch many highschool related shows. Difficult to relate to when they are young enough to be your kid LOL. But a series like this is great for nostalgia I suppose or if you just want to see the competitive edge.

--Wolfie

[GMT]

Originally Posted by GMT

I'm not rooting for either outcome, I'm simply stating the most likely outcome. The studio isn't really big on advocating non-conformity. Common themes in KyoAni SoL series are growing up, letting go of childish things, and embracing traditional Japanese values.

We had yuri elements in K-ON!, but the studio chose to constantly downplay them by making them take place in comical SD style (Yui x Azusa,) or changing characters in such a way as to de-emphasize the yuri that was present in the source material (Mugi's yuri shipper-vision became generalized to all ships.)

We had the aforementioned Tamako Market, where a yuri subtext was brutally cast aside so that the show could fulfill the hetero childhood friend romance cliché.

I mention these two shows, in particular, because they share quite a bit of staff with Sound! Euphonium. End result, the most that'll come out of the whole Kumiko x Reina thing is that Kumiko finally puts that last bit of her past behind her, for good. And then they wind up being just friends. A KyoAni SoL show taking place in contemporary, non-fantastic, Japan simply will not do yuri in anything but a strictly non-romantic context.

In Kumiko's character arc, such an interpretation fits just fine. She starts out the show as someone who drifts, has things thrust upon her, holds on to minor things for way longer than she should, and is self-conscious to a fault. Now she's developing into someone who's embracing her role in the band, to the point where she goes and pulls slackers into practicing, and is even starting to learn to let things go and be less self-conscious.

Her relationship to Reina has been entirely dominated by that memory of offending her in middle school, just like her relationship with Shuichi has been entirely dominated by his casual rejection of her in middle school. Now she's finally getting past that thing in her past with Reina, and one might postulate that it'll be the catalyst for her getting over her past hang-up with Shuichi.

One must admit that, for someone seeking a "new life," Kumiko's character arc has her accepting, and even embracing, the things from her past that she started out the show trying to get away from.

This ... is more or a less a thing that is happening. It was almost certain that the effect that Kumiko's evening with Reina would have ... would be to inspire her to take a closer look at her feelings toward Shuichi. She says as much, even though when she says it, she admits she's not at the point where she can talk to him yet. (Also, it helps that Hazuki has become the official Kumiko x Shuichi shipper on-deck ... though at some heavy personal cost. She puts on a happy face, but when they announce who makes the cut, you see her smile at Shuichi getting in; even as she realizes that she's failed to do the same thing.)

Also, the writing was on the wall at the end of the last episode. Kumiko likens her experience with Reina to a dream. An ephemeral thing that only comes at night ... and while the memory of it may stick with you, it's a unique experience that you'll never repeat.

This episode reinforces that thought. We get clues that Kumiko is starting to think about her relationship with Shuichi. However, our only Kumiko x Reina scene reinforces the notion that Kumiko is Reina's muse. Reina can't prove her specialness to Kumiko if Kumiko isn't along for the ride, so she heaps encouragement on her (in her own ... unique way.) What's telling is that she takes a step back when Kumiko reciprocates with the invasion of personal space. It's a non-verbal way of saying that the rules are clear. Kumiko is Reina's muse. Reina may invade her personal space as needed, but the converse isn't necessarily true.

In other news, in many other shows, shouting out critical, spoileriffic, plot points in the OP like this show does (spoiler: Vader is Luke's father Hazuki and Natsuki don't make the final cut) would've given the audition episode all the dramatic tension of cooked spaghetti. However, KyoAni succeeds in giving this episode the appropriate air of dramatic tension, and even manages to evoke some feels when it's clear that Natsuki-senpai failed her audition (they even have a muted-color flashback of her, like they might have in some war movie for some would-be folksy hotshot ace who always carries a portrait of his mom and dad ... just after he gets shot down by the Nazis.) Also, there promises to be some delicious drama in the trumpet section later, as it turns out that creepy chick Reina gets the solo parts.

Kumiko's sister also reveals why Reina has such a girl hard-on for Taki-sensei. He's just that good (in a musical sense, perverts ) ... in fact, Reina isn't being weird at all, she's just getting a head-start on all the other students who are going to come to Kitauji HS and join the concert band because of Taki-sensei. How she happens to be "in the know" is a thing that will, hopefully, be explored in other episodes.

[BleedingUranium]

Originally Posted by GMT

In other news, in many other shows, shouting out critical, spoileriffic, plot points in the OP like this show does (spoiler: Vader is Luke's father Hazuki and Natsuki don't make the final cut) would've given the audition episode all the dramatic tension of cooked spaghetti. However, KyoAni succeeds in giving this episode the appropriate air of dramatic tension, and even manages to evoke some feels when it's clear that Natsuki-senpai failed her audition (they even have a muted-color flashback of her, like they might have in some war movie for some would-be folksy hotshot ace who always carries a portrait of his mom and dad ... just after he gets shot down by the Nazis.)

You just made Natsuki's scene ten times more dramatic.

Originally Posted by wolfie74

Whoa...that is indeed young. Probably why I don't watch many highschool related shows. Difficult to relate to when they are young enough to be your kid LOL. But a series like this is great for nostalgia I suppose or if you just want to see the competitive edge.

--Wolfie

It's interesting when you compare different shows when the years are established and compare ages "in reality".

Comparing to K-ON! (which has the years well established in the manga and not mentioned in the anime, so the former is used) the main four (not Azusa) were born in 91/92, while our main four here were 99/00. In fact, the senior-most characters are all older than me; Azusa is two months younger.

Also, Mamiko (Kumiko's sister) who's a third year university student, is 94/95, same year as the two young freshman members introduced in K-ON!'s Highschool manga (post-anime).


Back to Hibike, fun facts: Asuka was born on Christmas, and Kumiko shares a birthday with K-ON!'s Ritsu (all time best girl). Actually, I'll just post the list so you don't all have to go individually look for them (or not be bothered to):

Noboru Taki - August 23
Mamiko Oumae - 1994/95
Kaori Nakaseko - September 3, 1997
Haruka Ogasawara - October 28, 1997
Asuka Tanaka - December 25, 1997
Aoi Saitou - 1997/98
Natsuki Nakagawa - 1998/99
Riko Nagase - 1998/99
Takuya Gotou - 1998/99
Yuuko Yoshikawa - 1998/99
Reina Kousaka - May 15, 1999
Kumiko Oumae - August 21, 1999
Shuuichi Tsukamoto - September 18, 1999
Sapphire Kawashima - November 3, 1999
Hazuki Katou - February 13, 2000


One more fun fact: Minako Kotobuki, Asuka's actress, was born Sep 17th, 1991; she's exactly one year older than me. Of all the birthday twins I could have, I have one that voices two of my most relatable characters.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by GMT

What's telling is that she takes a step back when Kumiko reciprocates with the invasion of personal space. It's a non-verbal way of saying that the rules are clear. Kumiko is Reina's muse. Reina may invade her personal space as needed, but the converse isn't necessarily true.

Kumiko also takes a step back when Reina puts her hands on her cheeks. I think it's just Kyoani's way to add some extra dynamism to the scene.

[Benigmatica]

Episode 9:
While it's sucks that Hazuki Katou didn't make the cut, it's very sad for Natsuki-sempai not making it too!

Meanwhile, I'm surprised that Kumiko-chan made it pass the auditions, so I guess that she'll get serious on playing the euphonium.

[Romanticide]

Well, Kumiko has had 7 years EXP, Hazuki's had....a few months?

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Kumiko also takes a step back when Reina puts her hands on her cheeks. I think it's just Kyoani's way to add some extra dynamism to the scene.

Agreed.

That being said, I personally found the Episode 9 Kumiko/Reina scene to be more silly-cute than hot-cute, if you catch my drift.

KyoAni might be portraying Reina as something of a truly odd eccentric who, for example, might not respect personal space like most people do. Not once she becomes attached (in any sense) to another person, anyway.

Perhaps this is KyoAni's way to help prepare the audience for Taki/Reina, which truly would be a WHAM moment if they go for it.


I'm not saying the above is a necessary interpretation of Reina at this time. I might go with a different interpretation once the show is over. But if Taki/Reina was to happen, I'd probably go with the above take on Reina.


One thing that is definitely true about Reina is that she's a very different and memorable character. She's taken a lot of twists and turns in her characterization that's been a bit surprising to me. She's become more complex and diverse than I thought she would be.

In Episode 2, she struck me as hiding her feelings, or maybe just introverted. You and Esclair and I and a few others discussed/debated it a lot.

But since Episode 3, she's had consistently strong "stage presence", you could say. She actually tends to bring tense drama and/or strong emotion into almost every scene she's in. She doesn't say a lot, but when she does say something, there's often a wham there.

And with Episodes 8 and 9, her personality is more colorful and eccentric than I previously thought it would be. It's not just fiery passion behind a generally calm/polite/poised exterior. Reina is pretty quirky in her own way.

[GMT]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Kumiko also takes a step back when Reina puts her hands on her cheeks. I think it's just Kyoani's way to add some extra dynamism to the scene.

Conversely, it suggests that Kumiko isn't really comfortable with the invasion of her personal space. In her "dream-like" encounter, she takes Reina's intimate touch with that whole quivering, sparkly, eyes thing. In the reality of the day of the audition at school, she's a bit taken aback, but when she decides that it's just Reina heaping encouragement on her, she reciprocates the gesture.

[BleedingUranium]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

That being said, I personally found the Episode 9 Kumiko/Reina scene to be more silly-cute than hot-cute, if you catch my drift.

It's like they managed a "serious" version of this. :3

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by GMT

Conversely, it suggests that Kumiko isn't really comfortable with the invasion of her personal space. In her "dream-like" encounter, she takes Reina's intimate touch with that whole quivering, sparkly, eyes thing. In the reality of the day of the audition at school, she's a bit taken aback, but when she decides that it's just Reina heaping encouragement on her, she reciprocates the gesture.

They take a step back because they both extent their arms completely when they touch each other's cheeks while they're only just a few centimeters apart as indicated by their feet. It's like I said, this is animated this way to make their movements look more realistic and dynamic.

They're movements make perfect sense without any sort of psychological explanation.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by BleedingUranium

It's like they managed a "serious" version of this. :3

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Exactly.

Overall, I think Hibike is more like Hyouka than K-On! But it does sometimes have a bit of that K-On style comedy/cuteness. The chop-chop-chop-chop scene earlier on in Episode 9 is another example of this.

This isn't a criticism coming from me, by the way. I liked K-On!

[wolfie74]

Originally Posted by BleedingUranium

It's like they managed a "serious" version of this. :3

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

LOL, that gave me a good chuckle! Inclined to agree. Kyoani must have been itching to do a cheek smushing scene again at some capacity.

--Wolfie

[BleedingUranium]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Exactly.

Overall, I think Hibike is more like Hyouka than K-On! But it does sometimes have a bit of that K-On style comedy/cuteness. The chop-chop-chop-chop scene earlier on in Episode 9 is another example of this.

This isn't a criticism coming from me, by the way. I liked K-On!

I haven't seen Hyouka, but given the amount of praise it's been given by various people in this thread I'm adding to my list.

I didn't read it as one (though you're just making sure). While there are obviously general things in common, they really are rather different shows; direct comparisons between to two only really work with small and/or simple and/or general things, like the cheek grabbing scenes, or real and detailed real locations; some of them are just KyoAni things in general.

This isn't good or bad, they're simply not supposed to be the same kind of show. I happen to love both.



Yay for picture edits

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[blakstealth]

Don't tarnish my gf like that! D:

--

[Takigan]

The first half of this episode was quite a bore. In fact, when Asuka impatiently jumps to her feet and waltzes out of the room in a huff, I completely related to her, as it reflected my feelings entirely. I really don't care that Sapphire feels guilty for pushing Hazuki into heartbreak...I don't find that a particularly believable plot point and--let's just get on with the audition already!

The second half was far more exciting. All the different plot points barrel forward like runaway trains, converge, and ultimately collide, with Natsuki, Hazuki and Kaori ending up casualties. Then there's Reina...just standing there at the end, victorious (and in the foreground, center-frame) like some kind of action hero wunderkind (It actually reminds me of Prince of Tennis when Echizen makes it into the regulars).

As a music educator, it was a little surprising to see Taki only take 2 Tubas and 2 Euphoniums with an instrumentation of 55. Usually with that many kids you would usually take 3 of one or the other. Natsuki not making the cut was the most surprising, especially after Kumiko mistaked her for Asuka when she heard her practicing from a distance.

Originally Posted by Akuma Kinomoto

I didn't know how KyoAni could follow up episode 8, but they did it here. Hard.

Spoiler for Episode 9:

So the time for the auditions has finally arrived, and we're gonna get right into it...after some character drama. Damn it, don't Ryan Seacrest me, Sound! Euphonium...

Contrabass-chan's been a little off during practice lately, so Asuka finds a way to get her to leave the room so she can play 20 questions with Kumiko


So, do you like ponytails or glasses?
Yes

Hazuki says Sapphire's kinda feeling shitty for pushing her to confess her feelings for Shuichi since it didn't work out. Asuka is not amused


Relationships. Problems. Practice. Does not compute. Proceeding to GTFO

Fortunately, Hazuki manages to cheer up Sapphire after a 1000 hit Karate Chop Combo and rewards her with a collectible for her troubles


Now I just need to find Ruby so I can do some trading and catch 'em all!

On the way home, Hazuki wonders if Kumiko doesn't know how she feels about Shuichi. Guess who shows up the moment Hazuki leaves?


An intense love triangle between Kumiko, Shuichi, and corndog

Back at home, Kumiko is practicing her rejection lines for how she feels about Shuichi when her nee-san walks in her. Her nee-san tells her that the club adviser for Kumiko's band is actually a hotguyshot


Apparently he's good enough to make people follow him even to a school of lyrical scrubs instead of where all the 1337 pr0s are

So as the day of the auditions actually arrives, Kumiko's out practicing solo when she follows the Sound! of someone else's play...


...fuck. she's hawt

After seeing ponytail practice so hard, Kumiko realizes that these auditions are SRS BZNZ, and starts fretting until Reina saves the day


I won't stay intimately close to you if you don't pass the auditions. Understand?

So Kumiko manages to calm down, and bombs around with Alpha Sapphire and Hazuki before the auditions actually start (no seriously, when is the damn thing gonna start?). They notice a band aid on Sapphire's finger, and she says it's nothing compared to the time she bleeded all over her sheet music


And they have no war stories to share

Sooo, after much practice-tease, the auditions finally go through. Among the finalists are Kumiko, Sapphire, Shuichi, couple nobody gives a damn about, and Reina. Oh, and Reina's got the solo part


So the thing to take away from this episode is Reina knows where to stand for dramatic effect. Oh, and she's a damn beast

I honestly have no idea what to expect for the next episode

But holy damn

Natsuki is hawt

This was fun to read. I like your writing style

Originally Posted by Hero of the day

I never would have thought I'd ever say this since I'm a fan but Asuka is a bitch.

Maybe....I think if the writers decided to delve into her character a little more we might be able to understand her better without simply writing her off. There's probably a reason why she is the way she is....she's a lot more serious than her initial goofy personality gives off, and I personally think that front is a shield to protect herself from pain.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

The problem with that is that we don't see Kumiko questioning the nature of her relationship with Reina. Her mindset is pretty much that Reina is someone she admires and looks up to, and Kumiko doesn't seem to question if that's all there is to their relationship. That's why a big part of the ambiguity seems like is meant to work at the meta level rather than in-universe. That's bait.

Bingo. If they'd had some introspective scene where she's questioning her own romantic feelings with Reina, we might have been able to commit the yuri-bait to canon....but I was totally about to drop everything and climb aboard the ship, as it was preparing to set sail after this scene:

Spoiler:

I totally thought she was going to kiss her too

Anyway....lots of new names announced at the end of the episode. I'ma see if I can put some names to some faces and post an updated chart pretty soon.

[novalysis]

Hibike Euphonium once again has yet another stellar episode. It's captured the drama and tensions of the auditions, and furthermore, seems to have unveiled some of Kumiko's mental skeletons in the closet in the process. It has addressed the fallout of Hazuki's failed confession with a high degree of sober realism. I give them props for the way Kumiko dealt with Midori in the phone conversation. This is an episode with many moving pieces, but each move is done very well.

On the other hand, my impression on the romantic front, is that Kyo-ani is trying to create some highly unusual triangle between Reina, Kumiko and Shuichi with Kumiko at the center. I can see where the accusations of Yuri baiting is coming from, especially since Kumiko's dismissive stance of Shuichi being interested in her has transformed, in the aftermath of Hazuki's rejection, into an awkwardness between Shuichi and Kumiko.

I think Kumiko at this stage has inferred that Shuichi is genuinely interested in her - firstly, leading to cognitive dissonance, considering the incident in Middle School where Shuichi demeaned and devalued Kumiko's "femininity" still defines Kumiko and Shuichi's relationship like an albatross. On the second level though, on what this awkwardness implies about the Kumiko-Shuichi pairing, two interpretations can be offered. The first, is that Kumiko indeed likes Shuichi all along, and this awkwardness is a "romantic shyness" of sorts. The second is that Kumiko is genuinely uncomfortable with the very idea that Shuichi is interested in her, simply because she doesn't want to reciprocate those feelings, even though her friends are pushing her with the expectation that she will reciprocate these feelings. Both don't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

I think this begs a question though - what kind of developments are needed, for Shuichi to seem like a serious romantic prospect, from the point of the view of the audience? Off hand, I think the entire baggage of personal history between Shuichi and Kumiko must first be resolved - either Shuichi apologizes, or Kumiko let's go of the grudge in the name of moving forward. I think, at this stage though, if Shuichi outright confesses, there is a very high chance that Shuichi would be turned down. The thing is, Shuichi knows it. I think the main issue here, is that Kumiko's concept of what Shuichi is to her is in flux.

I think there's a fascinating contrast to Reina and Kumiko's character development path. We've seen the awkwardness currently between Shuichi and Kumiko earlier this season. This is a very similar awkwardness to Reina and Kumiko's interactions during the early part of this anime.

Ultimately, I don't think we will see a conclusion on the romantic front by the end of this season. The dynamics of the band alone is sufficient to propel this anime for the next four or so episodes. That being said, I am now very interested in Kumiko's personal history. What exactly went on between Kumiko and Shuichi before the incident in Middle School? Was Shuichi's insult a panicked response to an indirect confession by Kumiko, or Shuichi's mistaken conflation of the closeness prior platonic relationship with a romantic relationship? The same also implies for Kumiko and Reina - were they friends in Middle School in the same way Hazuki and Midori were friends to Kumiko in High School? Close enough to walk home together and hang out with one another, but not close enough to truly confide their real personalities, hopes and dreams with one another? Or was Kumiko and Reina near strangers, at best, just acquaintances?

It's my opinion that Kumiko and Reina were shallow friends in Middle School, whose friendship broke at the opening scene of Hibike Euphonium. They make have frequently eaten together, and traveled home together, but never really got to know each other beyond their surface, social masks. Their friendship was nothing more than at the tier that Kumiko shares with Hazuki right now. In which case, Episode 6-8 is more or less about Kumiko and Reina re-establishing a new relationship that rejects the previously shallow friendship, and instead rebuilds it on the grounds of the confidant - in which case, their duet on the hill-top symbolically announces their graduation from a superficial friendship into a much more intense and deeper relationship.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Takigan

Then there's Reina...just standing there at the end, victorious (and in the foreground, center-frame) like some kind of action hero wunderkind (It actually reminds me of Prince of Tennis when Echizen makes it into the regulars).

Reina's so fucking cool. Kaori was totally intimidated by her.

Honestly, I don't care all that much what Kumiko will decide to do with her life. I just pray Kyoani won't fuck up with Reina's character. I'm pretty much in love with her at this point.