With another tournament fast approaching, Kumiko's band is doubling down on practice and discipline,
leaving little time for sleep or other recreational activities. The redoubled practice schedule brings
Kumiko and Reina closer together, but elsewhere in the band, it seems like drama threatens to tear the
group's unity apart. The ghost of the prior year's mass band exodus still haunts many of Kumiko's
classmates, and with former band member Nozomi Kasaki now asking to return, it seems like the grudges
of the past will soon be impossible to ignore.
(Source: Anime News Network, edited)
Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute
long episode.
Looking back on S1 of Sound! Euphonium, it didn't seem to have any overarching themes. One that comes to mind was the relationship between certain key characters and their instruments, showing how their personality and behaviour can change with a piece of brass (or wood) in their hands, but that's at least slightly far-fetched. Comparatively, S2 not only has a central theme, but also a plot building it up and then exploring. Namely - why those key characters are in the concert band, or rather, because of whom. This is a good point to mention that I'll take some liberty with mentioning plot threads from later episodes, but I'll try to avoid spoiling particular events as much as I can. The season starts right where we left off - the Kitauji High School Music Club has passed the first stage of the All-Japan Band Competition and continues to aim for the Nationals. In order to achieve that, additional coaches are recruited and students are putting even more focus into practicing. However, some issues from the past are rearing their heads again. The infamous "incident" that caused most of current 2nd years to quit is still finding ways to affect the band's life. Asuka continues to be an enigma, in a way that can seriously screw with people. Kumiko's relationship with her sister, which was only very briefly touched before, now proves to be its own bag of problems. The interesting thing here is that first few episodes tell a story which centers around none of the main characters. Instead it introduces two new ones, and the entire "conflict" is between the two, whereas everyone else is only tangentially attached to it, if even that. Thus the show takes its time telling us the nature of relationship of this duo and everything around it, and by the time we know everything, the entire situation is resolved. However, once that's out of the way, four other characters simultaneously go through a very similar story. In a way, the second part of this season retells the events of the first one in more detail and on more examples, which is quite an interesting story structure in my opinion. Those branching threads share some of the particularities, while differing on other aspects. One sub-plot is about the ever-lasting conflict of club activities versus studies - truth is, most of these characters won't become musicians, so every once in a while the reality knocks on the door and asks "are you sure it's wise to practice for some competition you probably aren't going to win instead of studying for your exams?" Which in turn begs the question I've mentioned in the opening paragraph - "why are you playing in the concert band in the first place?" And I'll have you know, those answers can be quite suprising. At this point its worth to mention that S1 adapted only one volume of the light novel series the anime is based on. S2 decides to go for two at once, which I haven't noticed in terms of the material feeling rushed or anything of that sort, but it does explain the structure of this season compared to the previous one. It seems like a good decision, although I don't know what (if anything) was omitted. Also, I have to say that it's interesting that despite looking as part of "main four" in the promotional material, there's even less Midori and Katou this season compared to the previous one, with the former being reduced to a goofball who likes to say simple cliches with completely straight face, and the latter being almost completely non-existent. Not that I'm complaining, those who were given attention are inherently much more interesting characters. Also, this shift of focus gives a nice feeling of getting closer to the characters that received more of it this season, even if this leaves others in a position of filler characters who already said their piece and can now be let go. But again, those characters were never made interesting in the first place, so it feels fully intentional and works well. There's really nothing to say about the production of this show - KyoAni has accustomed us to high quality animation and voice acting, and I'm not the right person to explain what exactly is high quality about it. What I can commend is the directing, with some amazing atmospheric scenes and scenery shots, good use of camera shaking during emotional scenes, cuts that feel just right and great use of background music. One thing I have to say is that the show started slightly losing me near the finish line with seemingly infinite torrent of scenes where characters loudly express their rather simple feelings towards each other, but there was enough nuance in the very last episode to leave on a high note. Additionally I have to shout out my very favorite scene of this season where ~!Kumiko is trying to have a serious talk with Asuka, believing that her senpai for one reason or another respects her and might listen to her request even though she's been largely neglecting everyone else's concerns. However, to Kumiko's suprise, Asuka decides to challenge that notion - why does she think people respect her? Sure, you can take her behaviour as being mature, understanding, calm and collected, but you can also describe it as being wishy-washy, afraid of hurting others as well as being hurt herself and thus keeping her distance, which meant she never actually helped anyone or really had an effect on anything. While I think the intent was "why are you so sure others are honest with you", my first impression was "how can you be sure I'm being honest with you". In few sentences Asuka challenged pretty much everything the relationships in Kumiko's life are built on, which was a really scary thought, but also an interesting one.!~ The entire conversation is definitely my favorite one in this show period and seemed like something out of an entirely different show, but it also fit really well with context of that episode and overall plot. I wonder if we'll see a return of Sound! Euphonium. The ending seemed like something that could've been the final scene of the entire series and I would be satisfied by that, but there're easily more stories you could tell with those characters and the themes this show revolves around. I love the melancholic atmosphere this show can so effortlessly create and I have to say that I've also quickly fell in love with the setting of wind ensembles. While there seems to be a limit of how much can you do with a coming-of-age story, the good ones are quite rare so it's always great to see one executed so well. I dread the return of more light-hearted, cutesy KyoAni, but even if they never produce anything in similar vein again, I'm really happy that this series happened.
Let’s see… where do we even start uh.. __Hibike__! This would serve as my succeeding review for all of Hibike! Euphonium. Two makes it more out of its first season, and it’s great! I see more Kumiko and the Kitauji High School Concert Band. The thing is, this series surpasses just more than harmonious music. It passes on to daily lives, dramatic and tragedy of all of one of these characters that I have seen with all my eyes. It’s more than music, music goes and flows with them as they go forth and music of course interacts with their daily rhythmic activities and such. It somewhat reminds me of Clannad with their ~AfterStory~ being season 2, but they’re totally different; Clannad is more centric on Slice of Life while Hibike! Euphonium focuses on music. What they have done with the characters are twice as terrific here, especially Kumiko. The series tries to show that what they’re doing is not just that, they’re showing that they’re like us, humans, and shows that we also struggle the same as them. Some scenes especially at the middle (≈ EP 6-8) are quite relatable to me because where I live is quite common as they’re portrayed here. (Forgive me if the next line sound spoilery to you; not really sure if they are) Parents conflicting with their sons and daughters about that their academics is much more important than what they’re having fun with and misunderstandings that we can’t just say it, that’s what I’ve seen with my own eyes both in here and real life. Conflicts exists no matter what the situation is, nothing ever goes as stable as ever and it’ll always either go up or down. Dark Ages and the Golden Ages exists for that matter. That goes the same for the Concert Band Kumiko’s in, they would occasionally have problems that are unexpected, and even unheard of that a domino effect comes in to show. And that’s where their main Music genre comes in to welcome harmony with these problems. They play harmoniously as always and greater than or with the first season. Music always keeps their notes and musical staves (staff) high. They won’t give up sounding off their music regardless of any situation from personal issues to their downfall. They don’t want to fall down on their knees because music has always been a passion for all of these characters, and that’s probably the same for all of you in different insights and hobbies. You don’t give up because it’s simply what you do and love to do, with and on it. The Hibike! factor is beautiful and mirrory of whatever is shown here, __Music is what they keep themselves sounding high to the sky and to their lives and creates a harmonious composition with teamwork and equity__. This is in fact, one of the greatest anime I’ve watched for this time period and I really recommend this to everyone hands down. I can’t wait for the movie, which is the sequel to this one and I bet it’s going to be fantastic. Hibike! Euphonium, for me, is a great musical composition through animation and daily human life as well. Music within drives the story from happy things to the most tragic ones and it will always be mysterious to our living. It’s always been there for us indirectly within our feelings and moments for both musicians and people like I do. To conclude this, I always tell myself this unanswered... “Is music composed of more than just feelings and lives? What if music also portrays human living, history and philosophy through playing even the simplest notes?” You answer it through your own composition, and that is your living with your lifetime decisions as you overwrite the notes in your irreversible staff. Be yourself. img(https://i.imgur.com/4VNGM0x.png) img(https://i.imgur.com/C2wvyVU.png) img(https://i.imgur.com/3GqPe6z.png) img(https://i.imgur.com/SMtqwnW.png)
The second season of Hibike! Euphonium, in my opinion, is better than the first. This season feels like a more refined and concentrated version of what Hibike! Euphonium is, and that improvement alone turns a good anime into a great anime. The story isn't any different on paper. The Kitauji high school orchestra continues working hard to achieve their goal of playing at the nationals. However, this second season shifts the main focus from playing in a respectable competition to the individual characters behind the music, their personal struggles, and giving some insight to the history that made them who they are today, and how it sets them on a path for the future. I think this is a fantastic direction to take this series. As great as the music is in Hibike! Euphonium, the characters all have so much potential to flourish and tell very captivating and emotional stories. Without spoiling anything, the ending for this season is well-written and satisfying, and the meat of the season consisting of character building also makes for a great watch. The art is still consistent with modern Kyoto Animation quality, which doesn't need an introduction assuming you've already watched the first season or other Kyoto Animation works. However, I noticed this season had many more scenic views, which I personally loved. Seriously, some of the scenes in this season are so crisp and high-quality with an immense amount of attention to detail, resulting in gorgeous and lifelike shots of suburban scenery and city night views. The animation and character design is still fantastic, resulting in an all-around 10/10 from me in the art department. The music in this season, though it did not feel like the main focus for me, was still great. The band performances have a tsunami of emotion behind them, and the background music for other scenes is beautiful. There's some fantastic cello pieces that really make me miss playing the cello and even evoked regret for not sticking with it longer. Emotional and impactful music like this can really add depth to anime, and is refreshing to see when most everyone else in the industry considers music an afterthought. As stated previously, character development really feels like the spotlight of this season. Though it's still not perfect, it's much better than the first season and it's still very much enjoyable to watch. There's still plenty of drama to be had, enough to make you feel like a single middle-aged wine cat mom getting invested into her favorite soap opera. However, Hibike! Euphonium's drama, unlike most soap operas, is very high quality. The drama between characters this season, mostly relating to character backstory, feels emotional and realistic. Maybe it was just because I could deeply relate to some moments, but Hibike! Euphonium definitely feels like it's a few steps above the typical high school anime "character A loves character B but character C likes character B as well" character interactions. Romance, while still not a main focus of the series, feels much more substantial and less forced than it was in the first season. It's still not perfect, nor is it what I keep watching the series for, but it definitely adds more than it takes away from the series. Overall, this season was a considerable improvement to an already good anime. The ending was well-written and interesting, and set what feels like a good foundation for future content to the series. I will definitely continue to watch what this series has to offer beyond the second season, and I hope that Kyoto Animation recovers soon to continue doing what they love and making great anime like this.
When season one of Hibike! Euphonium aired back in 2015, anyone who watched it was in for some beautiful animation, band performances, and yuri bait. I only watched it because of Kyoto Animation, but I ended up enjoying it a lot; it really connected with me, considering the fact that I am a flute player in my school's band. When it ended, however, it definitely felt like there should have been more; that was why, when season 2 was announced, it was welcomed with open arms. However, now that season 2 has finished its run, can I honestly say that it lived up to season 1? Yes, it did and more. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of Hibike! Euphonium 2. In case you don't already know, Hibike! Euphonium revolves around the concert band at Kitauji High School; they were once a great band, but they have since fallen flat (bad pun alert). However, with the instruction of the new adviser, Noboru Taki, the band ends up getting back on its feet and working hard toward the goal of making it to the Nationals and subsequently getting gold there. The main character, Kumiko Oumae, is one of the first-years who joins the concert band as a euphonium player, although she was originally reluctant due to an incident back in middle school. She ends up reuniting with trumpet player Reina Kousaka, and although they aren't on the best terms at first, they end up being able to get along. The second season focuses on not only the drama involving the concert band, but Kumiko's own family. The first thing I must mention about this anime is its beautiful animation. As always, Kyoto Animation had produced some breathtaking animation, both in the first and second seasons of this anime. Another remarkable thing about this anime is, of course, its music. Whether its the opening and ending themes ("Soundscape" by True and "Vivace!" by the Kitauji Quartet [a.k.a. the voice actresses of Kumiko, Reina, Hazuki Katou, and Midori Kawashima, respectively], respectively) or the performances from the band, there was a lot of great music from this anime; since it is a music anime, this is, of course, a good thing. The voice actors also did a good job at their respective roles. As for the story, my opinion about this season is the same as my opinion of the story in the first season; there were some bumps in the road, but the story was very good overall. This season gave us some great new characters, as well as giving development to some old ones. Among the new characters, my personal favorites were Nozomi Kasaki and Mizore Yoroizuka; not only is the former a flute player like me, but the arc that revolved around them and the character development they got as a result was done splendidly. We also got to learn a lot more about Asuka Tanaka, the vice president of the concert band; I like her a lot more now than I did in season one, and I already did like her in season one! Taki-sensei was also a noteworthy character this season; he was a rather mysterious character in season one, and in season two, we get to learn some more about him, too. Overall, Hibike! Euphonium 2 was a more than worthy successor to Hibike! Euphonium, as well as a solid conclusion to the series. I highly recommend any and all fans of season one to not miss the second. If you'd like to know who I'd recommend the series as a whole to, it'd be to those who appreciate good stories, beautiful KyoAni-style animation, yuri teasers, and most of all, the hard work that concert bands to make a wonderful sound.
~~~__SPOILERS AHEAD__~~~ ~~~“Hibike! Euphonium. I’ll never forget how warm it sounds.” -- Kumiko Oumae~~~ If I was to sum up my experience with Hibike! Euphonium in just one phrase, this would be it. The final quote from our "protagonist" of this story, if that's what you want to call her. I wouldn't though. Kumiko Oumae wasn't the protagonist of this story. Reina Kousaka, Asuka Tanaka, Mizore Yoroizuka. None of these characters were the protagonist of Hibike! Euphonium, but instead protagonists of their own story within the compilation that is Hibike! Euphonium. I'll get into my scores soon, but before I comment on anything else, I want to make this clear. I cried watching this series. It wasn't during Yoroizuka's story that had felt like a punch to my gut. It wasn't during the competition finale where our favorite team earned bronze. It wasn't when Reina realized that her love was lost... for now. No, I cried at the same place where KyoAni made me cry before. The same place where I cried during the beautiful ending of K-On!. The Graduation Ceremony. High School anime is a popular genre, and we all know it, but nothing is worse than when a high school anime is so good that you care about every character so deeply, that you end up balling your eyes out just knowing they're leaving. As someone who graduated this previous Spring, and watched as the underclassmen waved us off, I feel like it hurt just a little more this time. Enough about me being a crybaby over fictional goodbyes though (or lack of goodbyes), I'll get into my final thoughts. From the beginning, I loved the story and idea of Hibike! Euphonium. It was a simple one just following a concert band in their goal to win the national championship, topped nicely with drama, worldbuilding, and characters that made me want to love each and every one of them dearly. Just this second season, especially after the first 3 episodes which were a bit slow, was some of the best anime I have watched. I love idol anime, as you can easily figure out just by looking over my list, and I have a passion for music like I think we all do. Music is something that can move the world, and connect with someone no matter where they are, proven solely by the fact that all across the world, we listen to these songs that traverse barriers and ignore warfare, from Korean Music being celebrated in the US to J-Pop making its way around the globe because of this medium that we adore so much. Though, no music traverses the globe as well as an orchestra. No music can move people the way simple instruments can. That's why Hibike managed to melt its way into my heart so easily, and why the music in this series is what really tops it all off. From the animation to characters to story, this show was another masterpiece from Kyoto Animation. It was beautiful and smooth, every character felt important and led a role that no one else could fill, with Kumiko acting as our way into this world, Asuka keeping us more attached to an empty character than seemingly possible, and Reina showing us that love doesn't just mean romance, and that sometimes the strongest love we can show is through the things, not the people, that we love. Through all of this though, the sound is what brought this series to greatness. From the roles each VA played, perfectly capturing us in scenes when they demanded the attention, from the melancholy tracks that played throughout the underlying sadness that continued to be built off of in this high school series, all the way to the music that we listened to the band play, the music that carried the characters into our hearts, the music that made our emotions sway like a pendulum, the music that connected the world to this simple series, and most importantly, the music that even the cast held close to their hearts: ~~~Hibike! Euphonium. ~~~
Hibike! Euphonium S2 is different from Season 1. While I would say it's worse, it is still excellent. It may not be a solid 9 like the first but it scrapes a 9 still, barely, because while I think overall this is more deserving of an 8 or 8.5, there is just too much here of too much importance to me to rate it so low. Hibike! Euphonium S2 is different from Season 1. Season 1 was a slow, measured and atmospheric story of somebody finding their passion, that slowly builds a character and a goal before ending in utter catharsis. Season 2 was an assured character becoming even moreso, learning to communicate better, experiencing the troubles of those around her. Hibike! Euphonium S2 is different from Season 1. S1 was an exploration of Kumiko’s character and journey as well as Reina and their relationship, with some club dramatics thrown in. It was one arc. With details in the background and adding to that. S2 was 3 or 4 arcs, with Kumiko a common thread. An exploration of different characters, a Kumiko now with a passion getting involved with others, learning their passions. An exploration of Asuka’s character and her facade, an exploration of Mizore and Nozomi, explorations of Taki and also Reina, and brilliantly exploring Kumiko’s relationship with her sister and how it compares and contrasts to Kumiko's progression. img220(https://blog.sakugabooru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eupho3post-1038x576.jpg) Now let’s stop using that weird and a tad obnoxious review template I had going there, and dive into things more messily. I have a load of notes on this on specific scenes and things I wanted to talk about, six pages of bullet points, but frankly, I don’t want to do that anymore. I want this to be spoiler free and focus on the narrative and characters. I will lay out some complaints and small little delves into things, with a decently sized focus on Mizore and Nozomi (no surprise considering my favourite film is Liz and the Blue Bird). Just going to be an unordered collection of thoughts this time really. I want to say firstly, that I love how Kumiko is more assured this season, more actively wanting to push herself and her musical ability, not turning a blind eye and not doing what she did before in terms of trying not to get too involved for fear or getting invested and hurt. Her determination is clear in episode 1, when her face appears full of determination at the phrase “if we go to nationals”. I also want to note how comfortable she is around Reina here, a scene where she yawns comfortably next to her, a strong comparison point to the yawn scene in S1 where she corrected her posture upon seeing Reina and put a guard up. Kumiko has many moments of determination spread throughout the season and my heart was warmed every time. She has opened up, gained passion for music, and become more assured. It's inspiring and hopeful. I now briefly want to mention the ED, because it’s Haruka Fujita. Definitely feels like she has taken a page from Yamada’s book with this one, with it’s particular type of extravagance being reminiscent of K-On! ED 2, as well as some leg shots. Also that letting go of fabric shot is a bit K-On! The Movie reminiscent, and Fujita is just likes fabric shots it seems haha. img220(https://i.imgur.com/DuhhYNS.jpeg) Another thing I liked is the Kumiko yellow continuity. Her Yukata is a very aesthetic shade of yellow, and later on her pyjamas share a similar aesthetic yellow shade. img220(https://cloudedanime.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/hibike-eupho-s2-01-33-kumiko-yukata.jpg) img220(https://randomc.net/image/Hibike!%20Euphonium/Hibike!%20Euphonium%202%20-%2008%20-%20Large%2025.jpg) Funny that a heavily female-centric team handled the beach episode in an anime for once. Hair animation and drawing is always really aesthetic when done right for some reason and Kyoani often gets it right, be it several scenes, one in particular, in Liz and the Blue Bird, or scenes such as in this where hair pools over a pillow. Yuko and Natsuki have such a fun and realistic relationship where they just irritate each other in the best way, makes me excited for how their relationship might progress in future seasons and the novels. It’s also interesting to see Yuko being somewhat composed in a serious character situation here, as a contrast to S1, where she was far from composed when it came to the Reina and Kaoru situation. Seems like she has matured. Also want to say that this show has a great title drop, you’ll know it when it appears. Really fantastic title drop. Anyways, the heart of this season is its arcs, and other than the Reina crush arc which very much overstayed its welcome with some weird stuff in it (visiting the grave for one, what on earth, that felt really odd to me, but that might just be me, this is all of course my opinion), and took time away from the better arcs, the arcs were all great. There was the arc surrounding Asuka, which I won’t go into much to avoid spoilers, but it leads to some of the most memorable solo performance scenes in the show with a lot of emotions involved, some great characterisation of her façade, and a battle of logic vs emotion that leads to a truly fantastic outburst from Kumiko, furthering her characterisation, while showing the difference in their maturities yet the areas where emotion is the most important in life. Sometimes emotion is more important than logic. It’s great, you’ll know it when you see it. Also there is the Ishidate directed and storyboarded episode, which had very stylistic direction, which worked great for me, but I could see some being put off by its aggressiveness, some stuff was a bit much for me too, namely the 90 degree camera flip cut, even if the idea itself was pretty damn fun. I respect the gall to do that. Anyways, a standout episode directing wise, and also an important episode Asuka wise. Liked the shot of Kumiko slowly moving the snacks, and like that Kumiko almost whispered the >~!and so the next piece begins!~ part that ends each episode for this one. A really nice touch. This arc also plays into the whole idea of who each person is playing for, be it for themselves or someone else, which reappears in all the arcs and throughout the season for multiple characters. It's a great idea, and is executed very well for the most part, minus some arguable missteps when it comes to Reina. Now onto the arc surrounding the sister. Another one I really don’t want to spoil, watch the show, just watch it haha. The arc is simple but realistic (yet exaggerated when it wants to be) characterisation. Family. I liked this arc a lot. Wholesome. I’ve already mentioned the crush arc, and that I didn’t like it, it was more something that popped up occasionally, until it had an entire episode to itself later. It really didn’t deserve a whole episode, because we all knew where it would lead, it was kind of unnecessary, and it’s not a very interesting plotline. It’s a little childish, which is the point, but I just don’t think it needed the focus it got, would’ve been better if it fizzled out more naturally, instead it had a whole episode focus when there were much more interesting characterisations and arcs to explore. Technically well executed episode though. Fujita handled it and did a good job, most notably the skirt shot, limp and lacking energy, which starkly contrasts to the skirt shot Fujita used in season 1 episode 8. A fantastic shot. The contrast to its season 1 counterpart spoke volumes. Now onto the Mizore and Nozomi arc. Obviously one I was going to love and connect to even more on rewatch, because Liz and the Blue Bird is my favourite film, but wow did this have perhaps the deepest cutting dialogue in media for me in it, on a very personal level. This confirms Mizore as maybe my favourite character in fiction, maybe. Nozomi is up there too, as she is complex in a different but equally relatable way. It has dialogue and outbursts of emotion that destroyed me and left me weeping. Now before I go into that, I want to note that this nicely sets up the idea of whether people like competitions, which plays throughout the season to great effect. I also want to note that there is a moment where both Kumiko and Mizore are praised for their playing and I cried OK. They deserved it. Also there is a scene in here that actually kind of gets more context from Liz and the blue bird weirdly. One where Mizore tells Kumiko >~!this is my best reed yet!~ Or something along those lines. It made me very happy, knowing that she likes to make her own reeds beyond this quote from having watched Yamada’s spin off film. Also the fist bumps evoked some degree of water from my eyes. Also, and most importantly, Nozomi stating that while Mizore is quite a "straightforward girl" in her words, her playing was always full of emotions. The oboe is Mizore's form of communication. It was always portrayed her emotions. Now for the quotes from Mizore that cut so painfully deep into me at a personal level and make me truly adore this season and give it a 9 where it may have been in the 8s. >~!But to Nozomi I was just one of her friends. One of her many friends.!~ >~!I was afraid to know I didn’t mean that much to her.!~ >~!You were nice to me because you felt sorry for me, you pitied me.!~~!!~
>Please don’t make choices you know you’re going to regret… Please don’t give up, not until you’ve done everything you can! ___ ~~~__My love letter to Kumiko, Sound Euphonium, and by extension Kyoto Animation.__~~~ Please watch both seasons of this show, then Liz and the Blue Bird - which is also a masterpiece https://anilist.co/anime/100178/Liz-and-the-Blue-Bird/ then the sequel movie https://anilist.co/anime/101992/Sound-Euphonium-The-Movie--Our-Promise-A-Brand-New-Day/ and then the most recent special https://anilist.co/anime/150429/Tokubetsuhen-Hibike-Euphonium-Ensemble-Contest/ for the fullest realization of this emotional journey and to finish just in time for the third season to start in Spring of next year. That is the only one I could see having a realistic chance of surpassing Aria the Origination as my favorite anime of all time. ____ I've been having somewhat of a very odd day today, with all kinds of mixed events happening, arguments and falling outs with friends, a surprisingly hectic day at work, a misunderstanding between me and a family member, disappointment in the local grocery store not having the item I have been eyeing for a while in stock at the moment, or said local grocery store's deposit vending maching not accepting my empty bottles as bottle deposit. Why does this all matter, you ask? It doesn't. Not really, at least. I honestly just need SOMETHING for my intro to get into the transition to talk about what I wanna talk about here: In spite of all this, or maybe even because of it, my evening has been filled with creativeness and a whole lot of emotion. And a lot of that stems from me thinking about this show's protagonist, Kumiko Oumae, because of a [silly little challenge](https://anilist.co/activity/656162293) I'm doing on this site at the moment simply for the heck of it. So, in lieu of an actual "review" in the true sense of the word, and much different in style from the reviews I have previously done on my MAL account (do check those out, I'm actually quite proud of a few of them ^^), I want to bring to all of you the word-salad below - the biggest reason for my love of this show - highlighting just exactly why I love Kumiko as much as I do. ____ Whenever I think about Sound Euphonium, the first thing I think about - even before the absolutely GORGEOUS visuals ,seriously I think this alongside the Monogatari Series is THE best animated series out there just LOOK AT THAT! webm(https://i.imgur.com/e98RkIU.mp4) and the perfect use of its sfx and music in its honestly mindblowing performances (don't watch this video if you haven't seen all there is from the show, cuz this is from the sequel movie and is best experienced after Liz and the Blue Bird) youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fb9fpvpmcc) is just how human the characters are, and first and foremost how human Kumiko is. webm(https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/c4b95d9507b6ab42b37bee2f84bfd51f.mp4) Kumiko Oumae is my favorite character. But what exactly does that mean? And why is that? She is not only my favorite female character in anime, nor just my favorite female character in general, no, she is overall my single favorite character in ALL of fiction. Period. With a very high margin between her and number 2. And it all boils down to a single word. Funnily enough, this hasn't always been the case. Not even after first finishing Sound Euphonium. Mind you, I already liked her a lot when I first watched the show, I'd say top 50 definitely, but not more than that at first. After I watched SE for the first time, I kinda fell into a little hole of emptyness. I watched it at a time where I binged a show like this in 2 days, then immediately moved on to the next doing the same, over and over. Hell, this was a time where I watched 120(!!!) episodes of Gintama in 4 days. Not with this, though. After this, I didn't watch ANY new show for about 3 weeks I think.... because I couldn't get this one out of my head, especially the second season. So, over the course of time I found myself drawn to rewatching clips and bits of this again and again and again. The more and more I watched and rewatched these things, the more I started to connect to Kumiko, on a MUCH deeper level than I had initially realized. And then I once again stumbled upon a little scene in season 2 episode 10, not even the ~!big outburst Kumiko has in there toward Asuka, from which the above inserted quote stems!~ but a much more understated one that - in my humble opinion - gets overlooked WAY too much: The scene of Kumiko riding the train. That's when I realized: Kumiko is me. So, for a little context, putting it into spoiler tags, so go ahead at your own risk, but if you're here you probably already know anyway, and it's also not as if they're giving away too much, so you can safely look at them: ~!Kumiko had just had a little moment of reconciliation with her older sister after an argument because of the decision her sister made that she now regrets, in which she gets asked "when I go away/move out, would you be sad/lonely?". At the same time, there was her senpai in her club Asuka going through a very similar situation as her sister, that she wanted to do sth about, but doesn't know how yet. And she stands on this train, pondering about everything going on, thinks back to her sister's question and realizes "of course, I'd be sad and lonely." - and ends up breaking down in tears in the middle of her train ride, with the nice little touch of the camera panning over to the reaction of a pair of what I presume to be sisters standing close to her, who approximately have the same age gap as Kumiko and her sister. img(https://media.tenor.com/WNIJP04B4W0AAAAC/kumiko-oumae-train.gif) for the scene in question you only need watch the first minute: youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4dQeXWF-Fk)!~ This, to me, made her feel so much more .... human ... than any other character I've seen before (and after for that matter.). She is a character whose shoes I could actually put myself into, I could identify with her, her struggles, her emotions, the development she went through. Her development inspired ME to become a better person, or just improve myself SOMEHOW, even if in the tiniest little bits and pieces. And when I say "I can identify with her", I don't mean in the usual "she is so me fr fr" kinda way a lot of people do and a lot of characters aim for, no, I mean I KNOW the kinds of struggles she went through, I KNOW the kinds of feelings she experiences, because __I__ also went through them in my life. I have a brother 6 years older than me and saying "I've always had a rocky relationship with him" would be a HUGE understatement, even today I'm not exactly clear on my feelings about or for him, I can certainly tell it's NOT respect. Maybe it's a kind of familial love, I don't know I haven't really had a heart to heart talk with him at any point in my life when we weren't both drunk or at least a little bit tipsy.... and even then, most of the conversations we have drunk center around anime and manga... Coming from a background of having now ACTIVELY played in a marching band for 17 years, and learned for almost 20 overall, I had my own arc of: starting to learn the instrument, coming to like my instrument, trying to improve, hitting a wall with it and the satisfaction of overcoming said wall. Even last month I stumbled upon a wall because of a new piece we started playing that just has a lot of hurdles for us in the rhythm section (I play snare drum, btw.) ~!That's why I resonate with this little scene in episode 12 of season 1 so much: webm(https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/4ded9dbc7ef3aa71f18fe38f19aba87d.webm) webm(https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/30a96d3ffe7a3729fdf86538654e2708.webm)!~ And I've also had these moments, so much going on in my life at the same time, that I couldn't keep up anymore, that overwhelmed me, that made me crumble down and break down in tears. I remember a specific time where I was incredibly stressed at my old job - this is now already almost 3 years ago - and after a hard day on my drive home I suddenly just got hit like a truck by a wave of anxiety and depression - quite frankly completely out of nowhere and EXTREMELY inconvenient on the german Autobahn at tempo 160 km/h - and start crying my heart out. These are the moments I find myself drawn back to Kumiko, and Sound Euphonium as a whole, and find comfort in them. I know that no matter how deep or dark the abyss I fall into is gonna be, this is where I need to go to find my way out of it, and find the courage to start moving forward again. ____ I've said at the beginning that my feelings for Kumiko can all be summarized in one single word. That word... ultimately... is: ~~~__RELATABILITY__~~~ There has not been created a single character that is as relatable to me as Kumiko, and therefore she will always be the best I have seen. And I hope that never changes. Kumiko is literally me if I were a cute anime girl, but alas I'm not even a girl, much less a cute anime girl, so all I really CAN do about it is work through my days in my (surprisingly fun) office job and write up these tiny little (way too personal) essays here on my evenings.... and weekends.... and nights..... and even sometimes in my breaks or on slow days at work.... If you want to watch a story that has about 10 characters that could evoke exactly these kinds of feelings in you, then you have come to the right place. We need more studios like Kyoto Animation that continuously put out stories as real and human as this, prioritizing quality over the quantity of the series they produce. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. ____ I mean, there IS a reason I chose her as my profile pic ^^ ____ P.S.: This show has the Best. Title Drop. Ever. EVER, I tell you! _____ Edit after multiple days: Tomoyo Kurosawa as voice actress for Kumiko, much like in her other roles, does an IMPECCABLE JOB of bringing this character to life and perfectly showcases her personality, which is why she will always be my personal favorite voice actress. It also helps that she voices another one out of my top 4 animanga characters ever with Phos from Land of the Lustrous. xD ____ Val, if you actually *do* end up reading this review: maybe I really *am* just a little b!tch… xD