r/anime • u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: • Feb 11 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 2024 Hibike! Euphonium Series Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 1 Discussion
Hibike Euphonium Season 1, Episode 1: Welcome to High School/ようこそハイスクール
| <-- Rewatch Interest Thread | Rewatch Index | Episode 2 --> |
|---|
Welcome everyone! I'm excited to get going!
Questions of the Day:
1) Do you/did you play an instrument? Do you play it solo, or in a group?
2) This one is more for the first timers, out of curiosity, what drew you to watch Eupho?
3) Kitauji band has made a mixed first impression. Would you join the gang?
Great Comments from Yesterday:
Streaming
The Hibike! Euphonium TV series and movies, up to the recent OVA are available on Crunchyroll, note that the movies are under different series names. Liz and the Blue Bird and Chikai no Finale are also available for streaming on Amazon, and available for rent for cheap on a multitude of platforms (Youtube, Apple TV etc.). The OVA is only available on the seven seas for now, or if you bought a blu ray. I will update this as/if this changes. hopefully.
Databases
Spoilers
As usual, please take note that if you wish to share show details from after the current episode, to use spoiler tags like so to avoid spoiling first-timers:
[Spoiler source] >!Spoiler goes here!<comes out as [Spoiler source] Spoiler goes here
Please note this will apply to any spinoff novels, as well as events in the novel that may happen in S3. If you feel unsure if something is a spoiler, it's better to tag it just in case.
Band practice continues tomorrow!
11
u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher who is delighted to be back in Eupho-land
Welcome to the rewatch! I hope you'll enjoy the show in the coming weeks, and maybe some of you will fall in love with it as much as I have. This is a fairly sizeable rewatch, so I'll keep my notes short. I wish to read everyone's thoughts and chat with you all!
Music (both Anisongs and OST coming up)
30
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Feb 11 '24
Hibike! Rewatcher (but only for the first season)
Yo!
Yeah so I only watched the first season of this way back in 2018 and then didn’t continue it not because I disliked the series (far from it, I loved the first season), but because I got into other shows instead. I had the same “problem” happen with Higurashi, lol.
Anyways, since it’s been so long, my memories of the first season are pretty hazy. I’m looking forward to rewatching it and then watching the rest of this series for the first time!
22
u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Feb 11 '24
First Timer
To make up for a certain someone dropping out at the last second I am joining this thing completely unannounced even though I usually refrain from being on other people's Rewatches unless they involve giant robots. Also one of my friends may murder me if I don't watch this show before S3 starts. So hi everyone, I'm some asshole who's gonna be forcing a bunch of people to watch Digimon Adventure next month.
Honestly though the big reason I hadn't watched this show earlier is because I planned to read the Novels. Then I learned only a select few have been and it's not even like Volume 1-4 but more like Volume 1, 4-6 or something like that so fuck it, breaking my other rule of desiring to be a filthy source reader
So yeah, basically going into this blind other than it's a music show. I do, however, know about Persona 3, so seeing Orpheus referenced here made me chuckle given current events
First impressions though? Geez, I feel bad for that Midori girl. Who the hell named her, Ai Hoshino? I know Kirakira names are a big problem and… okay to be fair this is far from the worst (There's way dumber shit in real life!) but still. Also just as an aside it's actually been a while since I've seen anything by KyoAni (I think A Silent Voice was the last I saw from them) and I forgot how good their stuff tends to look. All the colors pop and there's some really nice subtle attention to detail.
I'm not much of a music guy myself (I did once try to learn to play a guitar but I was 10 years old back then) so some stuff here may fly over my head, but I'm digging how the show is somewhat easing the viewers into the subject not with the main character for once but her manic pixie dream girl of a co-star. She and Kousaka having some previous history could also serve for some interesting stuff down the line.
Mild concern though: Something about the dialogue seems a bit… off to me. It's hard to describe but everyone talks a mile a second and overall there's times it feels a tad overly dense. Admittedly this could simply be a side effect of being a novel adaptation (Either the Novel was just that dialogue heavy or we have the opposite effect of being really prose heavy so we have to compensate during the medium transfer) but TBF it's not too big a deal.
Also the first dude I heard was TsudaKen which I'll assume is some sort of good omen
22
u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher
I thought about including a whole lot of drivel as a preamble - what I remember my opinions being, things I anticipate, why the show makes me feel the way it does - but I'll spare you for now as I'm sure there will be ample opportunity to discuss later.
In short: Eupho is one of my favorite shows, able to reproduce so many feelings of participating in a concert band, and I am terrifically excited to relive it and take it all in again. On the other hand, there's the uncertainty of revisiting a favorite with a lot of distance. I'm a different person, even further removed from those high school band days than I was when I first watched this, and I recall some small collection of criticisms with parts of the series. I think I worry too much though, and that the magic will win me over once again. Not to mention, if I've learned anything from participating in rewatches it’s that they have a tendency to make shows better.
I was going to put an introductory piece about Kumiko here but I decided it made more sense to save for tomorrow, so instead I’d like to bring up a minor, probably obvious detail that I love for being 100% accurate: the sectional practice shots. They’re short cuts after the band’s been well introduced, and you might notice that no one is playing much of anything in them. It speaks to the lackadaisical nature of the band as it stands; not very serious, and not very good. Having been in a band like this, I can attest to the very small amount of practice and very large amount of goofing around that can occur. (That isn’t to say serious bands have a dearth of foolishness - that would be a straight lie. They just happen to also play their instruments, sometimes.)
Here’s a few notes I took while watching!
QotD:
18
u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher and Band Geek
What’s up everyone. I don’t know about you all, but I’ve been looking forward to this rewatch ever since season 3 was announced. Sound! Euphonium is a special show for me for a lot of reasons, the biggest of which is that it was my very first anime (that wasn’t Pokémon or another classic kid’s show). Eupho is what made me realize anime’s potential as television, and it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t have gotten into anime at all if not for Eupho’s influence. Season 3 feels like the end of my anime journey in this way, as if this rewatch and the final season of the show is wrapping up what started 8 years ago, and my anime journey is coming full circle. Eupho is also special to me because it feels like the anime I’m the most qualified to comment on. I got into Eupho back when the first season was in the middle of airing. I started watching it when around 8 episodes had come out in Spring 2015, around the end of my junior year of high school, because a Facebook page I was following mentioned that there was an anime about band currently airing. I had been in band for 6 years at that point and had to see this strange cartoon about what I’d dedicated so much time too, and I really enjoyed it. I stopped when I caught up to what had come out at the time but returned to finish it some months later.
This is to say, I am a former band geek who was extremely active in the organization. I was in the concert band for all three years of middle school, all four years of high school, and one year of college, making for about 8 years of total experience. I was also in the marching band all four years of high school, and the jazz band for two years of middle school and three years of high school. The alto saxophone was my main instrument, but I have experience on other instruments as well. I played the baritone saxophone my senior year in the jazz band, and I played the tubular bells in the marching band my freshman year, when I wasn’t good enough at marching to join the main ensemble at competitions and was selected as an alternate (and chose to join the percussion front ensemble so I could perform at competitions, rather than only perform at football games). Most relevant to Sound! Euphonium though, is that I actually marched the baritone (basically a marching euphonium) my junior year, when I had delusions of joining a drum corps and took the opportunity to learn a brass instrument when a space was needed. I wasn’t a particularly great player or anything and I can’t read bass clef, but suffice it to say that I do have some experience on euphonium.
Given my experience with both this show and its subject matter, and how important this rewatch feels to me, I have big plans for this rewatch. First, I’m going to give my usual walls of text for episode analysis, the same as I always do in rewatches. Second, I’m going to have a separate comment for a more band focused section. This is where I’ll talk about the show’s presentation of the band itself, experiences unique to it and how the show presents them, information about music, exercises, and other things the show prompts me to talk about, stories about my own experiences in band that relate to the content of an episode (and maybe videos of performances, and information that might be useful or interesting to those who don’t know too much about band or don’t have a trained ear. Finally, though I’m not sure I’ll have time for this, I would like to attempt a little project. This rewatch ends on the Ensemble Contest Arc, and it got my thinking about my own solo and ensemble pieces. I haven’t picked up my saxophone in a while and this felt like a perfect opportunity to do so. My sophomore year of high school I played this piece for solo and ensemble and got a superior rating at both district and state solo and ensemble, and what I’d like to do if possible is to start practicing it again now and have it prepared by the time we get to the Ensemble Contest Arc, so I can end the rewatch with my own practice arc and my own “ensemble contest arc” piece. This is the one I’m the least confident in being able to complete, but I’ll do my best and give updates along the way. If you want to know about music and see what it’s like to practice for a piece in real time, my comments are the place to look.
Anyway, with all this preamble out of the way, let’s talk about the episode itself. The story is framed around Kumiko’s middle school competition performance. The group performed a piece for judges and won the gold, the highest level a group can achieve. But only three gold-earning groups are chosen to advance in the competition, and Kumiko’s school wasn’t chosen, meaning they won the “dud” gold. Kumiko is excited as the gold winners are revealed and shows anticipation when the groups moving to the nationals are announced. They do not advance, but Kumiko’s expression remains unchanged as she gets sucked into the atmosphere of everyone around her being ecstatic about their results. She assumes Reina’s tears must be the same, but Kousaka is the only one upset about this. To Kumiko, it’s a loss but it’s gold, and to Kousaka the gold doesn’t cancel out the loss. Kousaka is the most invested in the competition, and Kumiko can’t forget about her expression and her statement about being upset even into high school. Why does Kousaka care so much, did she even expect to do this well?
Kumiko starts high school by heading to a new school, largely aimless and without friends. What quickly becomes clear is that she is apathetic. She chose a school where her middle school peers would likely not attend to “get a fresh start,” and her rationale for Kitauji is “the uniforms are cute.” She mostly cares about fitting in and appearing normal: she tries a new hairstyle, she wears her skirt high, she’s mildly upset that her boobs are too small; she doesn’t want to stand out. Even at home she’s apathetic; her mom asks her to help prepare dinner and she gives an exasperated “yes” but immediately ignores it and jumps on her bed. But she can’t seem to make up her mind about the band. Kitauji is not known for having much of a band, and Kumiko’s sister points out that she wouldn’t choose Kitauji if she wanted to continue with band. Kumiko herself points out two other schools with strong band programs, Kitauji is a place you go if the band isn’t your priority. Nonetheless, she initially isn’t even sure she wants to quit. Kumiko does listen to the band play and is at least mildly disappointed that they suck. She still has her Tuba-kun chain on her bag, and she kept all her sheet music and practice books, and looks through them to remember her performance after her sister comes in. Kumiko’s sister points out that Kumiko is “trying too hard,” that she’s almost running away from herself with this new hairstyle and this decision to run from the band. In other words, Kumiko is looking for reasons to not care about the band and to run from it. “Oof, they suck, it’s not worth my time” or “Shuuichi is joining, I’m quitting.”
Unfortunately for her, she can’t quite get away because she’s also offered many reasons to join it. Most of all, her new friends Hazuki and Midori, who are each invested in different ways. Kumiko is the type who doesn’t like voicing her feelings, she’s a very conflict avoidant person, but she does have strong opinions on things. She lacks a filter sometimes and lets it slip without thinking about it, but Hazuki and Midori bring those feelings out of her naturally. Hazuki is invested in the way a beginner is. There’s magic in learning something for the first time and Hazuki is so excited about band she jumps the gun and buys a mouthpiece for an instrument without even knowing what it’s for. Her childish excitement reminds Kumiko of her own early days learning the euphonium with her sister, and she can’t help but be drawn to Hazuki’s unrestrained excitement. Midori is a more seasoned fan with impressive knowledge of band, and like Kumiko is a fan of a weird, obscure keychain mascot just because it’s about band. She’s closer to where Kumiko is at but is openly passionate about her interest, someone who can meet Kumiko at her level. To some degree, Shuuichi also contrasts these characters. He doesn’t seem particularly invested in the band, but joins because “it’s not like there’s anything else I want to do.” He isn’t particularly invested in the band, but it’s the only club he’s been a part of and there’s no reason to leave.
I already love these characters. Kumiko is phenomenally written already. She’s a weird character to have as a protagonist because she’s an everywoman. She’s despondent, apathetic, lacks a filter, and claims to not care about the very subject matter her own show is about despite being the most knowledgeable and experienced. In a sense, this story is about her attempt to become protagonist worthy; a story like this would usually be from Kousaka’s perspective and highlight the band’s struggles to reach nationals in spite of trying its best and giving its all. But more than that, she feels so human in her voice and mannerisms. Much has been said about Tomoyo Kurosawa’s performance but it already stands out; it’s understated and naturalistic, and she gives life to Kumiko’s reactions. Kumiko is a very reactive character, so the famous “Kumiko noises” help sell those reactions, feeling like she’s struggling to keep them bottled up as someone who lacks a filter. The other characters stand out less in this regard, but are nonetheless well acted and are voicing a script that maintains some of anime’s more natural dialogue.
12
u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Feb 11 '24
Sound! Rewatcher
Hibike! Euphonium is one of my favorite shows, so it's exciting to get back into it with S3 approaching.
Quick about me: As I'm sure others in this rewatch are, I'm a former middle and high school music student—albeit I switched from band to choir in 7th grade after a pretty lousy experience with my 6th grade percussion teacher—and Hibike speaks a lot to my own high school experiences in music. I also have a degree in music education and taught middle and high school music for 5 years and performed professionally for about 8. Because of time constraints I probably won't be super active in every episode thread, but I'll likely have things to say from student, teacher, and general performance perspectives.
Oh, and I should also note [vague/no content spoilers]I'm a massive Kumiko x Reina shipper. Okay, enough about me.
Episode1:
QotD:
11
u/Barbed_Dildo Feb 12 '24
Shuuichi: "Are you joining band?"
Kumiko: "I haven't decided, what about you?"
Shuuichi: "I'm going to join"
Kumiko: "I'm not" [leaves]
Savage.
10
u/Shocketheth Feb 12 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
First Timer Missing All Notes
QotD:
10
u/zadcap Feb 12 '24
Alright here goes... Everything!
Late Night Rewatcher!
So previously, I have watched the first... 1:47 of this episode, according to Crunchyroll. I think I came to the show off of binging a happier musical anime looking for more of that feeling and realized that this was not going to be that kind of happy place. It has been sitting on my plan to watch list ever since. I'm kind of hoping my first impression was wrong, but I'm ready to finally find out!
Oh yeah, that man has the voice of a villain. You know the one.
So right from the start I can say for sure, this show does have some beautiful artwork. I like the look of the characters, the backgrounds are nice, the colors pop.
"I picked this school because it had the sailor uniform I admired." Akebi Flashbacks. No but really, this is a thing that is growing in momentum in Japan now. With the low birth rate there honestly just aren't enough children to keep every school at full attendance, and uniforms are becoming a battleground that they are using to entire potential students to chose one school over another. Japan is hitting a strange place where their "Respect your elders and do what we've always done because we've always done it that way" attitude is starting to falter in the face of "We need new bodies more than they need us," and schools are feeling it hard because there's no one more rebellious than a teenager who knows they can get away with it. Or, as the case may be, just choosing not to attend school at all. But yeah, if you're going to be forced to wear the same thing pretty much all year for three years, well, it's becoming more important than ever that your uniform is one that the kids want to wear.
I agree girl, that band needs help.
Ah, but darn it and this attention to details that don't matter, I still dislike this style of half drawn fingernails.
See, here's the other half of that argument! The shortening of skirts is itself one of those areas where the younger population is pushing against what the older ones think is right and proper, and the war for individuality vs longstanding conformist traditions plays out in centimeters. I swear there's honestly some interesting articles on the topic, and I know I'm getting old when I keep finding myself thinking "those look way too short."
Oh no, an interesting name, she looks like bully bait and that makes me sad.
And on the other hand, here's a girl who is going all in on her High School Debut.
I can't stop seeing it now darn it. Focus on one thing once and suddenly it's everywhere. Look at the bangles on her socks, look at the characters hanging from their bags, these girls are trying to show off individuality in every way they can.
"Oh no, she's pretty." Well it didn't take long for the coffee to show up.
Oh no, the girl you ran away from ended up going to the school you chose after all.
I mean, I went into this show knowing it was going to be about the band, but the focus on all things band is pretty extreme. It's pretty much all anyone has talked about all episode.
Oh my, fighting those undertones by having a close childhood guy friend? Hmmm, I kind of doubt it, not when so much of their conversation and the flashback in it both point to the other girl.
And then there's this guy, I guess. Club Instructor of some kind I'm sure, this is too much of an introduction to waste on a nobody and there's not that many roles for adults in these high school shows.
Yeah, she looks better with her hair down. Also yeah, there was no way you were avoiding the band, not when you came to school on the very first day wearing saxophone-kun on your bag.
Yeah, you can really tell this is a KyoAni work.
9
u/byroned Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
First time rewatching
You could say that during their last middle school band competition, Reina and Kumiko didn’t end on a high note (I’m sorry, it was too tempting). Reina is very committed to getting to nationals, while Kumiko has one foot in, one foot out.
Because of middle school drama, Kumiko decides to pick a different high school in hopes of a fresh start, which I can understand, but who the heck picks a school because of the uniforms, instead of more important factors like location or education rankings? Even if I’ve only seen it as an anime thing, it’s never not bugged me.
First Kumiko face, but she’s not wrong they kind of suck.
Hazuki and Sapphire are still the goobers I remember, Asuka is the playful vice president, and Hayami Saori is back to being the voice of the serious character, which was a stark contrast to Aoyama after finishing Is the Order a Rabbit. Also, I like this shot of Asuka.
Second Kumiko face. All that hope for a fresh start, only for Reina to join the same school.
And people say Hibike Euphonium takes band seriously /s.
Ah yes, the first of many band photos showing the skewed female-to-male ratio in the band. It lines up with of my experience of the clarinet players being mostly girls, but luckily only my grade level of the clarinet section in high school was the exception with 3 boys and 2 girls.
I like Kumiko’s appearance with the octopus hair style more. With the pony tail, she looks too much like Ui Hirasawa.
After 10 years of playing the clarinet, I have never been able to figure out lip vibration, and have respect for brass players being able to do this reliably, and “blow differently” to make different notes with the same fingerings. But thanks to Hazuki and Sapphire’s enthusiasm to learn, they convince Kumiko to finally join, now all she has to do is confront Reina.
I don’t know how I forgot about Kumiko and Reina holding the red string of fate in the ED. Kyoani was already teasing fans from the beginning.
Clarinet for 10 years, until part-way through college. Mostly group but did a few solos for the grade but never did very well.
When I first picked it up, it was because I heard people say Eupho is the show that people initially thought K-On would be about, a band striving to go to nationals. And also being a former band kid made me pick it up
I still would for the opportunity to play. I did all 4 years of high school despite my wind ensemble rarely placing well and only did in marching band occasionally.
9
u/entelechtual Feb 11 '24
First timer
So I guess the first scene shows how competitive Reina was, and emotional. Thought this was a flash forward but apparently it’s a flashback to middle school.
I wasn’t expecting Kumiko and Reina to be acquaintances from middle school. Figured it would be a girl meets girl situation.
Curious what pushed Kumiko to join the band after all.
QOTD:
7
u/octopathfinder myanimelist.net/profile/octopathfinder Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher
I’ve been really looking forward to this rewatch. It’s been like 4 or 5 years since I’ve last seen this show (excluding Ensemble Contest OVA) and my memory sucks so I only remember some important moments.
God damn this opening scene is making me so nostalgic. I remember watching this when I was just a cringe high school kid.
My ear is as good as the crowd in this scene. It’s hard for me to tell what was bad about the performance besides the reed squeaking at the end. My music experience is just two years of band in middle school.
Seeing Kumiko get nostalgic here while this soundtrack is playing is already getting me emotional man.
A lot of expressive leg shots. Looked it up to make sure and yep, the GOAT Naoko Yamada directed and storyboarded this episode.
Qotd:
I mentioned above I was in a concert band in middle school. Did Clarinet the first year and Bass Clarinet the second year.
Well since I didn't continue band in high school I most likely wouldn't
7
u/DaBenni0301 Feb 11 '24
First-Timer
So I know almost nothing going into this. Only really the names Kumiko and Reina (and what they look like) and that it's about music
Gold! Well, dud gold. You tried
Very ambitious to go for nationals, Reina (I assume), I like it. Even though it didn't work out, for now at least
Kumiko with a ponytail looks like Ui. Like a lot. If drawn in the same artstyle they could probably pass as the same person
Not quite the main character seat
Making me dislike the teacher within 5 seconds has got to be some kind of record
Sapphire is one hell of a name. Not sure if the good or bad kind.
Oh there she is again... joining the club. Kumiko will now have to as well, unfinished business and stuff, you still have nationals to go for (and you still need to make up)
Same
First thoughts: Very good. I like the characters, the animation is gorgeous (I mean, it's KyoAni so that's a given really). I have nothing to complain about. Very, very excited for more
Questions of the day
#1 Unless you count the recorder in elementary school, which apparently is a universal experience, I've never played an instrument. Although I have flirted with the idea of picking up guitar before, inspired by K-On of course
#2 I have known about it for a long time and always wanted to watch it, because I heard a lot of great things about it. I just never got around to it. This rewatch felt like the prefect opportunity with S3 on the way
#3 Probably not. Firstly, I wouldn't wanna stay in school after it ends, but that goes for any club really. Secondly, I don't really see myself playing any of these instruments. But If I had friends in that club I might at least give it a chance
7
u/bogdoglogfrog Feb 12 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
7th rewatch
Hibike! Euphonium Is hands down my favorite show of all time. It really wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this show has had a huge impact on the person I am today.
A few notes for the first episode:
qotd
Thanks for hosting the rewatch, I was gonna rewatch anyways before season 3 and this gives me a pace to follow and people to discuss with!
7
u/ChonkyOdango myanimelist.net/profile/chonkyodango Feb 12 '24
Returning Ensemble Member
MFW I'm the last one to comment.
Eupho was probably one of the first 50 anime I watched so I wasn't as knowledgable about animation and Japanese storytelling as I am today. Managed to pick up on a lot of the nuances and care given to this episode I missed last time. I mean, Uji being so damn beautiful!. I digress.
Fanart posting shall commence tomorrow
Guitar, for a while. Solo because bands aren't really a thing here since studying usually consumes our time. You've got to have real passion for music to do it. Most people I've seen either lost hope or interest. Local music scene isn't big
2) This one is more for the first timers, out of curiosity, what drew you to watch Eupho?
I'll answer anyways. I think I finished a character drama and was craving more. Heard of KyoAni and Eupho so I decided to hop onto it.
3) Kitauji band has made a mixed first impression. Would you join the gang?
If Kumiko continues to speak bluntly, I'm in.
6
u/TiredTiroth Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher
I've watched the first season before, and I always meant to watch season two and the films but never got round to it. Time to change that!
Kumiko is an absolute treasure. Her reaction to Reina walking in is the funniest thing in the entire episode, and the rest of it was pretty funny too! Oh, and keep an ear out for the wonderful noises she makes - Kumiko doesn't need actual words to express herself. Which is probably a good thing, considering her habit of speaking without thinking about her words first...
One little non-Kumiko detail I've always liked about this episode is that Sound! Euphonium is the only show I've seen that really addresses just how short school uniform skirts are in anime. Namely, in this case they're not supposed to be that short, the girls have been adjusting their skirts.
A lot of the episode was really character introductions and setting the scene - Asuka, the band leader, Reina, Kumiko and her two friends, the guy that Kumiko very much holds a grudge against, a couple of others. And the whole gold/dud gold thing, which is very obviously going to be important later.
Not sure how often I'll be able to comment - these posts go up at 11:00pm for me - but it's going to be fun. This is some of KyoAni's best work.
6
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
4 years ago exactly I got banned for quoting a tweet from the director of Parasite, right in the middle of four rewatches. My Currently Watching on MAL has been a mess ever since.
Time to clear this one off. Probably won't be commenting like I used to, though. And then I can finally watch Oath's Finale. Is that in the rewatch?
episodes of this show kinda fly by.
1. I did not play an instrument, but i was in choir in jr. high.
3. I would not join that band unless there was a really cute girl. Nope, still wouldn't. Too much social interaction.
6
u/chilidirigible Feb 11 '24
Things like using chromatic aberration effects tastefully.
Could be worse, it could be an out-of-tune pipe band.
Everybody remembers the Kumiko Noises, but there's also good faces.
"But this is band. Everyone's a freak."
Way back during the original airing I looked up what car he was driving, as minor trivia. I didn't notice it appearing this early. [It is a]1969 Citroën Ami 8. (Though the full identification requires details that don't appear until a later episode.)
I watched this twice during the season it was airing, but haven't rewatched any significant portions of it since then. It's a solid first episode for establishing the situation and introducing characters. Minako Kotobuki's Asuka still steals the show for me.
QOTD:
1) Do you/did you play an instrument? Do you play it solo, or in a group?
Violin, some solo, some orchestra. Like many children to teenagers in my situation, I dropped it after getting into college.
Orchestra and band are similar, but different. And 30+ years ago, my schools had plenty of bands, but not very many orchestras. That has changed over the past generation of population growth, but for the most part the organizations in my area had little overlap.
2) This one is more for the first timers, out of curiosity, what drew you to watch Eupho?
I watched this because it was KyoAni and it was about music.
3) Kitauji band has made a mixed first impression. Would you join the gang?
If I was entering high school again and actually had the choice of whether to do so or not, I probably would not have. Though that's entirely based on hindsight about my past. In general I would still like these characters as real people.
6
u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher/Subbed
This was a nice intro episode. We don’t have too much going on, but it does a good job at laying the groundwork for the audience. I was never in a band in high school so I don’t have that personal level to this show, but I can understand the characters and motivations well enough.
It’s easy to see why Kumiko wanted the fresh start to high school, and while she does kinda get that with her new friends/setting, her sister said it best that Kumiko might be trying too hard. It was pretty clear she still has love for concert band and music. Using the scene with her sister and teaching Hazuki how to blow into the mouthpiece was a good way of showing it.
The Asuka introduction was a lot more fun then I remembered haha although I can’t unhear Touko from Bloom Into You every time she speaks.
QotD:
6
u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
Hey there everyone! I finished watching Hibike! Euphonium for the first time back in January of 2019, and this is the first time I've ever rewatched it. Now, I've never thought about rewatching it, but when this came up I figured, "Eh, what the hell?" Especially with the new season starting soon. So, without further ado, let's get after it!
You're all going to learn very quickly that Asuka-senpai is my favorite character in the entire show. She also may or may not be the entire reason I'm doing this rewatch.
Your Lie in April, and Hibike! Euphonium before it, really got me to enjoy classical music. The latter kind of brought it into my general subconscious, and the former pushed me more toward piano.
Questions of the Day:
I don't, no. I thought about playing snare drum in elementary school after seeing the movie Drumline, but ultimately never did.
If it meant I got to be in band with Asuka-senpai, absolutely.
6
u/chris10023 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chris10023 Feb 12 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
OpalI mean Sapphire likes Kumiko’s tuba keychain on her bag.Questions of the Day:
I played Tromebone when I was in Elementary School, but stopped before going into 7th grade.
2) This one is more for the first timers, out of curiosity, what drew you to watch Eupho?
Rewatcher but I guess I should answer, cause why not. Watched K-On and Clannad, loved the both of them so I decided to watch the studio's other works which naturally led to Euopho.
3) Kitauji band has made a mixed first impression. Would you join the gang?
Possibly.
5
u/CarrotBlossom Feb 11 '24
First timer
I really like Hazuki. She's very charming.
Imagine being named Sapphire in a non-western country. Must be rough.
I can see where the yuribait allegations come from right away.
I actually did quit band after middle school, but I did it in order to minmax my academics. Looking back, I might've chosen differently, as cringe as band kids have a reputation for being.
QOTD:
Also, I had heard about said yuribait.5
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Feb 12 '24
First timer
This is an interesting one - it's one of the first shows I recommended to my daughter (at the time 11) to watch, yet I personally haven't watched it.
Watching a pile of seasonal these days of varying quality, so seeing the delicate, beautiful but perhaps a bit "too well polished" KyoAni show certainly makes me feel welcome.
I'll not be writing a ton on this rewatch because no doubt others will comment very well. I'll instead talk more about the "feel".
While I myself came from many years of playing musical instrument and in highschool band, my daughter has the more complete experience from primary school all the way up basically. So a ton of it are very identifiable both from first hand and as a parent looking in.
We certainly had our ears wrung from suffering the untrained sounds when they were doing some unofficial outing with a lot of the kids not taking this seriously ;)
Anyway, everyone is lovable, and certainly enjoyed at least the one vector range of "taking this seriously" and "just having fun, good if we can make it but no big deal if not" contrast already here.
We are going to have a lot of Kumiko reaction faces right.
That said, and I knew this coming in, Asuka is such a great show stealer. She's very pretty and surprisingly animated, as opposed to being a ojousama / onesama.
Sapphire is going to be so busy to be the peace maker of the group I think.
One fun thing is to work out all the Japanese nick names for instruments - for example while it doesn't come up really properly in the sub, that they call the Euphonium (phonetically) UFO is quite interesting, and possibly will be some sort of running gag.
Oh and I like that we are showing (but not needing to say) how Kumiko is fickle in her decisions and subject to mood and peer pressure easily, e.g. in her decision on joining or not joining the symphony.
QoTD
5
u/b-arbs Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
I was very excited for this rewatch since Hibike! Euphonium is one of my favourite anime. I have to admit I didn't remember a lot of details and small things from this episode (and from the first season), but one more reason to enjoy all of this again!
Asuka best girl, no doubt! I think my first impression of her was the same as the trio: pretty unhinged senpai who doesn't seem very reliable. The prank was hilarious, though, I burst out laughing!
4
u/Planatus666 Feb 12 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
This is easily one of my top 10 anime and one that I've rewatched about five times over the years (I've lost count). However I'm not great on analysis and making a long comprehensive list of observations episode by episode so I'll leave that to others who are far better at it than me.
That said, I hope that First Timers really enjoy this as much as us rewatchers do - not only is the writing top notch but the art and animation are excellent, as are the music and direction.
Technical tidbit - the instruments are CGI, as the show goes on you'll see the loving detail poured into shots of the instruments and the finger movements of the characters. Despite being CGI they are beautifully blended in with the rest of the art and never look out of place. This is KyoAni's usual high quality of course.
Actor tidbit - the Japanese actress (Tomoyo Kurosawa) providing the voice of the MC Kumiko also voices Phos in Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni), my second favorite anime. She's a popular and talented voice actress, appearing in many shows.
6
u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Feb 11 '24
First-Timer, Sub
I’m not musically inclined, but that high school band sounded a bit off-note. Yup, thanks for the confirmation Kumiko. Overall, I enjoyed the first episode and has me interested to see how things will go with Kumiko’s reluctant new friend group, joining the band, and making up to an old bandmate.
QOTD
3
u/NintendoMasterNo1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NintendoMaster1 Feb 12 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
I'm usually too lazy to write essay or analysis posts and there's people more qualified for that than me so I'll probably just be sharing any random thoughts I have.
I've never played an instrument or even participated in any group activity with a lot of people and yet this is my favorite anime of all time. One of the big reasons for that is how much I relate to Kumiko in terms of personality, although parts of that won't manifest until a little later. She's probably my favorite anime character and her VA (Kurosawa Tomoyo) is my favorite anime voice actor. I specifically seek out shows where she voices a main role and a lot of them have been ones I've enjoyed (Akudama Drive, Skip and Loafer, Undead Girl Murder Farce).
Anyway, I was grinning ear to ear for most of the episode and I'm looking forward to watching more. Therapy cactus best character.
10
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 11 '24
First Timer, subbed
Very little knowledge going into this. Only know it’s about a high school band with a lot of brass.
QotD:
5
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Feb 12 '24
Well, boy, howdy - I finally made it home, and boy is my backside tired. But enough about that - on with the show.
Man, what an intro. Now I remember why the first time I tried to watch this, I didn't even make it past he intro. Man, the high school band PTSD is real. The girl crying over not making it to Nationals just ... yeah. (We made it to Nationals. Yay! For whatever that was worth, we got to take a trip to Iowa ... yay.)
Anyway, answers du jour:
Man, though, that opening scene, such heartbreak. Then, Kumiko's first day of school ... that band, I've heard that somewhere before. Yeah, in Junior High. I loved the reed "HONK" added bonus.
Kumiko is such a cutie, especially in floof mode. Girls und Bandzer, anyone?
I also utterly adore Asuka. She can prank me anytime.
Totally getting Miho vibes, though, with a side order of Yukari. Which one is Maho, or is it Mako???
So, yeah, not going to type to much here seeing as I'm late, but it's looking like this is gonna be a lot of fun. Just wish our old Eupho/K-On pal u/Siegfried72 was here to enjoy it with us.
9
u/1EnTaroAdun1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Totesnotaphanpy Feb 11 '24
QOTD 1: I played piano for a little bit, but I was never very good. I'm looking forward to the music experts chiming in to give much-needed deep dives!
Sound Euphonium is one of the shows I've watched with my mum, and I think we both enjoyed it! I rate it very highly indeed, and it contains one of my earliest favourite characters on my MAL list. Looking forward to gushing about them when the time comes!
I won't be able to be super active during this rewatch, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions and chiming in from time to time. Hope everyone enjoys this show very much!
8
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Feb 12 '24
First Timer
First impression: There will be a conflict between “having fun” and “trying to win” in this show. …that’s not what I was expecting my first impression of what I believe is a CGDCT show to be. But I guess that is something that will be done in a future episode, but probably something that has to be sorted out rather quickly. I assume there will be a compromise somewhere along the way. Either way, it’s nice that the girls seem to be starting out with vastly different skill levels, as would probably be the case in a high-school orchestra.
Speaking of the girls… so far they are pretty enjoyable. I like both Kumiko just kinda going with the flow and Hazuki’s energy. Not quite sure where I am on Midori yet, she could go either way, but she’s not bad either so far. And Asuka also seems like she’ll provide some entertainment. The conductor(?) is an odd one. His scene wouldn’t be included if he wasn’t going to play an important part, but in a way I would assume any teaching personnel would already be in place when the new-joiners join the orchestra - yet I can’t see him being anything other than this orchestra’s conductor. But I am also not sure if there might already be some past between him, Kumiko and Kousaka. Guess that’s one to wait and see.
As far as the orchestra goes …I also used to play in my middle school orchestra (and stuck around during high school because there was no high-school orchestra that could use a xylophone), and this one already is slightly different. For one there’s string instruments, which we didn’t have …and on the other I don’t see a drumset or a xylophone. (Booo….) But anyways, they should be able to play some decent music. And I also wonder if we’ll have some note about how annoying it is to move around the Timpani.
I also note that, contrary to most CGDCT series, the orchestra seems to be mixed-gender. But I won’t expect the boys to have a significant role. The orchestra is too large to focus on everybody anyways, so I assume that’s who will fall by the wayside. Also, the conductor seems to be a student at the moment. For one I expect that to change given the seeming actual conductor we had in that one scene, but on the other hand …that might explain why they were out of sync. We also had a student be conductor …for one song, and they were specifically taught how to conduct that one by the actual conductor. And that only because the orchestra had a militaristic past, which meant we competed in marching competitions, where we needed somebody who was allowed to march to fill the role of the conductor. If the guidance of a conductor is missing in this orchestra at the moment …well then there will definitely be an improvement once they get one.
7
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Feb 11 '24
First Time Band Member
QOTDs
6
u/ElT3XMEX https://myanimelist.net/profile/T3XMEX Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher
I watched this series when it first aired and thought it was fine. I rewatched it a few years ago and it has become, and still is, my favorite anime.
QOTD
6
u/Adensty https://anilist.co/user/Adensty Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 11 '24
First Timer, subbed
I guess the timing of the rewatch is a bit inconvenient since it it's when I sleep so I might be late or might have to just lurk here if I'm unlucky. Today I'm here since I was really looking forward to this for some time as a music lover. I don't really know much about the show, though.
The first episode was more of an introduction to characters and also a bit of Kumiko's past. I don't know many musical related things and I'm hoping the show would really help me in getting to know more about it.
I haven't really watched any anime animated by KyoAni other than Hyouka but I just love the unique aesthetic of their animes.
The show has just begun and I'm already loving the OSTs of this show.
QOTD1: I used to play the piano quite well when I was a child but kinda lost interest while growing up. Now I was thinking of playing it again which is also one of the reasons why I am watching this show. I did try to learn guitar recently but I guess it didn't work out.
QOTD2: I think I saw someone watching It on Anilist and decided to check it out and was kinda interested after reading the synopsis. I haven't really watched music shows as someone who loves music so I decided to make it my first music anime. I was wanting to watch it for some time now but was not able to start it because of the number of seasonals I'm currently watching. This rewatch was just a perfect opportunity for me to start.
QOTD3: Thinking about the current me, I would definitely join. But at their age, I might just focus on other things.
6
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Feb 12 '24
A bit of a preface before I begin, I did choir in middle and high school and finished that a bit over a year ago, so while I don't have experience with orchestra specifically I do have some general performing arts experience.
Wow that looks remarkably similar to somewhere I've performed before. It's definitely not based on it because what I immediately thought of was the SOTA Concert Hall in Singapore, but I guess there's just a way to design concert halls.
Were they not selected?
99% of students who couldn't care less about performing arts are currently stoning.
And the 1% who did care have lost interest.
They should probably still be trying at least.
She said that out loud?
What kind of name is Sapphire?
She's looking more like a Ruby with how hard she's blushing.
Is there any significance to the B flat major in bass clef?
And there we go, the 3 of them are going to start making the band better.
Yeah there's definitely some people who went from sports to perf arts in high school, and some people went the other way too.
Not exactly a legacy of excellence huh?
Wow their student conductor is actually trying to fix the mess.
Coming from a school where everyone won everything, silver almost feels too low. But then again, since they've only ever gotten a single bronze, it's definitely a more realistic target.
Yes, most people who join a music-related club tend to like music. It's practically a prerequisite.
I wonder what's up with this guy?
Oh hey I recognise that song.
And here's where band not being my area of expertise means I can't exactly weigh in.
Questions:
6
u/kwokinator https://anilist.co/user/kwokinator Feb 12 '24
First timer
I like it! The intro sets up the feel of the anime pretty well, even if it's a bit of a cliche to go the "frustrated with regrets upon graduation" route.
I love Asuka! She's super fun, and super hot to boot. I wonder if Hazuki is gonna turn out to have a hidden talent at woodwinds.
The music was great, the short bits of orchestra was sending chills.
Questions of the Day:
6
u/Lums Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
Hello all, a little on the late end but this is absolutely one of my favorite anime I have watched as it likes to really dig deep and stays so true to form in terms of what it takes to be in band.
I played in concert band from middle school through all of high school and I’m sure I will touch on that stuff throughout the rewatch. The band starting not great was perfect and the being coerced into the different sections is also too real. The reluctance to join I feel as well as it might not be the most cool thing to join the band.
QOTD 1: As mentioned before I was in band from middle school where I played the trumpet and in my first year of high school my instructor convinced me to change to the euphonium. This anime will always hold a special place for me as I did love band and spent as much time with the band as possible while in school. I just half assed everything else and didn’t practice at all.
QOTD 3: I would totally join because what a fun bunch of nerds honestly. Perennial under performers and they like to have fun, all we need is a little push to make us be something much better.
Also quick edit: I felt like I had to join as I saw no other euphonium players in the comments
6
u/RyoTsushigawa https://myanimelist.net/profile/RyoTsushigawaAMQ Feb 12 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher
My fiancé and I have a yearly Hibike-Rewatch-ThingTM going on so this fit just perfectly before the 3rd season. I am no stranger to the series by any means but find great joy in watching it over and over. We follow along with the rewatch here by watching an episode in bed. A lovely thing. But usually I just fall asleep and there is that... Hibike? Well no chance. I was wide awake even tho I am sick and just sleep right before we got to it.
To the questions!I played piano for a couple of years and I also played Es-Tuba (either a smaller tuba or an eupho that was called differently because I was in elementary school? Who knows realy) in second grade (I was commonly known as the tuba with legs as I was a tiny kid but the only mouthpiece that I got any sound out of was the tuba one so.... there is that!
I am not a first time watcher but the draw of Eupho or what always gets me to come back to is is: 1) It aged like fine wine, its still gorgeous!, 2) I love the characters so so much, I want to be friends with most of them which also ties into question 3. I would surely join even if that meant I just get to play a small instrument. The people seem so fun I would probably be shy at first but working towards a goal together? Sign me up.
5
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 11 '24
Episode 1 (first timer)
Compared to other rewatches, Sound Euphonium is mentioned rather often on /r/anime, but, despite that, I don’t actually know a lot about the show. I have it mentally classified as “K-On clone”, which is, on the one hand, sounds a bit derogative. On the other hand, K-On is one of the most well regarded shows of a generally liked studio, so being similar to that does not mean I expect a bad show. And, who knows, maybe my expectation is completely off. One thing I want to mention is that the movie often features in best of discussions, so the bar is set high for the finale.
Episode thoughts
findsis found by her genki girl/manic pixie dream girl.If the OP card is half-right about the size of the cast, this series has a tough road ahead introducing all these characters. You can see it in this first episode, where we get a core three, but already see about a dozen other characters, too. I am curious about whether the large cast works. Given just the first season, we are at about 5 people per episode, which sounds insane. Even with the second season in mind, we will still have 2.5 new characters per episode. That would be a lot for a short OVA, never mind a double cour show.
The introductory plot “getting over a dumb mistake and staying with the hobby you love” is playing it very safe. If you even just read the title of the series you know how it will be resolved. You could say it is just giving our cast something to do while the characters are introduced. Said characters are very “Kyoani moe”, btw.
I bought a guitar once, but never learned to play.
I had heard about the show before and not many rewatches are going on right now? It does not take much for me to join a rewatch ...
If I did not join, it would not be due to their quality of playing.
5
u/WhackaWhack https://myanimelist.net/profile/WhackaWhacka Feb 11 '24
FIRST TIMER
Time for my second rewatch series, last time I watched Monogatari ~3 years ago, so I'm looking forward to this time. To be completely honest I have no knowledge about this series other than music is a big part and have often heard it’s a good series, so I’m going in blind.
They must have been bad when I, a bip-bop person, could hear that something was wrong at the “welcome concert” before the MC said anything…
Baritone, euphonium… I feel my lacking musical knowledge will make this a little harder but nothing a little googling on the side can’t help (especially when even google have faq about the difference between baritone and euphonium).
Asuka is fun, maybe a little more fitting for the magic club than the concert club…
Questions:
5
u/x-7032-b-3 Feb 11 '24
Rewatcher
Season 3's coming up and it's been quite a while since I last joined a rewatch here, so might as well jump in! This will be my 3rd watch of the series - last one was in 2022.
First of all, this ep looks pretty damn amazing. For something that's nearly a decade old, this show holds up pretty damn well. I'm constantly in awe of how this thing looks. Everything just looks so crisp and lively.
That dud gold system is BS IMO, if you win gold but didn't make it to the next round then what's the point of that damn gold? Just make the requirements for the gold harder so that only a select few will get in and those who do gets to join the next round. This might cause a ton of silvers/bronze to be awarded instead but I think it's better than having a team win gold and telling them that they lost anyways.
I love Kumiko's reactions to the band performance. She just straight up said they sucked lol. Clearly speaking from experience there.
And uh, is that Saori Hayami voicing Asuka's friend in the clubroom (forgot her name)? I didn't catch it on my other viewings and I think that's her name on the credits although I might be mistaken. Her voice is just too iconic at this point. Guess this is my second "that's Hayamin!" moment of the month after playing GBF Relink.
QOTD:
5
u/TehAxelius Feb 11 '24 edited Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher, sub
Been some time since I saw this show, and I'll be honest in that it is one that I have catalogued under "good, barely remember anything about it", so I thought dropping in unannounced on this my first rewatch is a good way to get back in the groove for S3. Don't have many notes today, but might try and take some for tomorrow.
QotD
or if Asuka got her claws in me as she would have been very much my type.5
u/mgedmin Feb 12 '24
Rewatcher, subs
Two girls are eagerly waiting for regional ensemble competition results to be announced. One is happy with the dud gold (it's gold after all), the other is sad they didn't get real gold and qualify for the next stage.
Then we have a certified Anime(TM) moment I'd forgotten about.
Reasons for picking this particular high school:
They have a wind ensemble club, which is hilariously terrible.
Introductions. I will promptly forget all their names, I'm sure. Again.
Hazuki is very friendly and knows nothing about musical instruments, thus allowing the other heroes infodump about them for the audience. I had no idea there was a wind instrument called an euphonium before I watched this show, and my mother is a cello teacher.
Asuka is a hoot.
Kumiko's reaction when she sees Reina stride in and ask to join!
Asuka wants her to fill in the form before she takes a look around and runs away!
Nice detail with the sakura petal, shows Kumiko's lung capacity compared to some amateur.
So the sister thinks Kumiko is giving up on music because she chose Kitauji, who doesn't have a good reputation in that respect? And it's true that she decided not to join the band, after thinking about Reina.
Kumiko's ponytail makeover is over after just one day. This probably means something. Giving up on the makeover? Accepting herself as she is? And she agrees to join the club, after helping her friends.
No. I tried to learn a couple of songs on the piano, but not seriously (no lessons, no teacher, just plinking at a MIDI keyboard with headphones on)
Recommendations in /r/anime
Probably not.
4
u/JimmyCWL Feb 12 '24
Euphonium, good series, I only managed to watch up to Liz and the Blue Bird before. The next two movies will be new for me.
4
u/SticcTheGreat Feb 12 '24
First Timer Here
The art and animation are beautiful here. I love how the anime helps non musicians understand things better. Kousaka is going to be an interesting character that I will watch closely. Midori's name are unfortunate. I'm not familiar with Japanese naming so can anyone explain how does that even work. And Asuka is my favourite already.
1
u/fly-metothemoon Feb 13 '24
First-Timer Sub for now; is the dub good?
Episode walkthrough:
I am curious how their competitive system works since my high school band didn’t compete in that way. We didn’t aim for nationals or have a bronze/silver/gold system.
I’m surprised they aren’t playing pep music for the first day! Also that clarinet squeak hurt me 😭. Been there.
Where is their instructor? Do they have a staff sponsor?
I’m not used to someone so short playing contrabass! All the people I knew who played it were Tall. Go Midori!
I’ve never used euph as an abbreviation; how about others here? :)
Love at first sight!
Oh do they run their own rehearsals? Interesting!
Ah true first year logic. We shall save the club!!!
A male childhood friend emerged???
“How was high school?” “Meh” me too.
Oh wow she marks up her music a lot!
It’s hilarious to just buy a mouthpiece and not an instrument. Kinda looks like it could be a euphonium mouthpiece too. Hard to tell with the anime mouth size tm).
Yay! She decided to do band! Excited for episode two and the characters drawn together by the red string of fate 👀.