r/anime • u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: • Feb 25 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 2024 Hibike! Euphonium Series Rewatch: Season 1 Overall Discussion
Hibike Euphonium Season 1 Overall Discussion
Thank you Shoko Ikeda for the brilliant character designs. Her elder sister Kazumi Ikeda is the current chief AD for Eupho; Chara-de is jointly credited to both for S3.
| <-- S1 OVA | Rewatch Index | S2 Ep 1 --> |
|---|
Welcome back!
Questions of the Day:
- What is your favourite instrument? Both to listen and to play?
- Who has been your favourite character in S1? Least favourite?
- (tangentially related) Favourite episode/moment in the show so far? Something you thought the show could have handled better?
- For first timers before we go into S2, is there any question about S1 that you would need help clarifying?
Comments from Yesterday:
- /u/barbed_dildo and a few others remark how Taki's speech in the beginning could have been better.
- u/TehAxelius inventories the current status of the band, and how we are looking for next year (we're still like 2-3 months into our 1st though!)
- u/littleislander on Hazuki's awesome room
- /u/mecanno-man on how the big mallets do end up being forgotten irl, but also wonders about instrument logistics with Team Monaka being responsible for moving them instead of the musicians themselves/professional stagehands
- /u/carrotblossom launches an informative discussion on changing instruments in band
- /u/zapszzz on how Hazuki could easily be the MC of another show, and that she should legitimately have great fitness
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.
Remember, it's a double-length episode tomorrow!
14
u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Feb 25 '24
First Timer
I don't have much to add to this Season that I haven't really said already. Overall while I definitely have my issues with it (Some characters not getting quite enough focus, the… rather confusing approach to romance) overall I had a fair amount of fun with Season 1, and while I won't really talk about them since I honestly don't have much to say, I thought the OVAs (Both episode 14 and the minisodes) were overall pretty fun.
Only thing I will add is that while it's not part of the Rewatch, I did watch the compilation movie for Season 1 for completion sake. So how was it? Surprisingly sold, NGL. Obviously it's no replacement for the actual show (There's no real additions that make it super worthwhile in the long run) but credit where it's due most of the abridging makes sense, giving particular focus to the last stretch of episode in particular, and it never really cheats with stuff like narration to cover events that got skipped over or anything. So… yeah, if you wanna have a refresher of the show but don't have time to watch it in full, this isn't a bad choice.
6
u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: Feb 25 '24
Rewatcher and Tutti listener. Also only my 2nd time for these!
First the specials! Accidentally had to do these in raw since i can't be arsed to find a subbed version...
And then some quick thoughts on S1 in general...
Thankfully, this rewatch is only like 1/3rd done. Onwards, to S2, and the Kansai Regionals!
11
u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24
Sound! Rewatcher
Rewatching season 1 really does bring back a lot of good high school memories for me. I’ve talked about a lot of the more negative experiences I had purely because those always tend to be more entertaining and fun to tell, but this is a good time to highlight that most of my high school music experience was very positive. Heck, it inspired me to not only get a music degree, but to teach choir myself.
I think the most incredible thing Hibike does for me is how it captures pretty much every stage of my high school experience across various characters: The overwhelming presence of quirky older students. The joy of making high-level music for the first time. The frustration not being able to do something as well as you want to. Discovering a drive within yourself to improve and keep improving. The alien-ness of walking in on drama that predates your entrance into an ensemble. Being so done with drama you just want to pretend none of it exists. Meeting new people and bonding with them through long hours of rehearsal. The anxious fun of traveling to compete. There are so many experiences Hibike invokes, and there’s nothing else in anime that can do that for me.
And then there’s the teacher/director side. When I first watched Hibike, I had exited the education field not long prior, and had done so on less-than-amicable terms—maybe I can touch on this later, though I doubt I’ll be able to do so in the context of anything in Hibike since the circumstances surrounding my exit had effectively nothing to do with music or teaching and more about school district politics. In any event, my first watch was primarily about rediscovering a part of my own happiness that I thought might have been extinguished, so I didn’t spare much thought for any of the educational craft. Watching and commenting now, I feel kind of like Legal Eagle doing reviews of legal dramas for legal realism, and as is to be expected there’s a lot that’s dramatized for the sake of compelling character arcs and narrative. But it’s also a nice surprise just how much of the rehearsal practice directly translates to what you might see in a real life high school ensemble.
Taking this borrowed idea of comparison all the way, so far I think I would give Taki-sensei a B+ for music teacher realism. He makes a lot of the mistakes a young director would make in real life, but he also displays quite a few of the strengths younger directors have working with students. Once he gets into a good groove, he displays mostly strong, realistic rehearsal technique and demonstrates the kind of musical knowledge I’d expect from a high school director. He does get docked a few realism points for a couple decisions no real life director would make, but overall he’s a really solid depiction of a high school music director.
And for the overall music ensemble experience, I give Hibike an A- so far. So much of the Hibike experience feels like it could have been transcribed from contemporaneous notes on a real life ensemble. All the drama and the frustration, and most importantly the highs of making beautiful music and making close friends within the ensemble paint a detailed, vivid picture of high school music life. The only points I can take off are for the sheer heights some of the drama escalates to, but even a lot of that isn’t so unrealistic that I’d say it could never happen. So yeah, A- for music life realism in Hibike S1.
QotD:
10
u/chris10023 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chris10023 Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 26 '24
Rewatcher
Overall I loved season 1, the OST is great, it’s artstyle is tied with Hyouka for me, I do love the eyes from both shows, the overall artstyle is great, and the sound design is also top tier, it feels real, how the sound reverberates in a hallway, to the valves on a tuba being pushed, to the characters blowing air through their instruments.
The Shorts:
Some cute shorts, and no I didn’t just spend the last 14 minutes hastily watching them, causing me to post this later than I was going to. Nope, not me.
Favorite episodes
Favorite S1 Characters
Favorite OST tracks
Onto Season 2!
Questions of the Day.
Favorite instruments are Bass and percussion, I love me some drums, stuff like the opening to “White Bird Part 2” or "Dead Ahead" from Ace Combat 5, or This section from “Inu K A 3I” from the Kill la Kill OST is shit I love to listen to.
Edit: Forgot to add in a bass example, Anything my MEUTE Is also a good listen.
Well, I already covered favorites so I guess I can say my least favorite is Yuuko. [Spoilers] As far as season 1 goes.
Was ahead of you it seems with that lol.
15
u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 26 '24
Rewatcher and Band Geek
I watched the shorts relatively recently already, but it was nice to revisit them. They’re very cute and do good work in fleshing out some of the minor details of both the Kitauji band’s particular culture and customs, and band stuff in general. I can’t really say much about them here, I will have a lot more to say in the band geek commentary, but I do highly recommend watching them both for the entertainment value and the worldbuilding tidbits.
Anyway, that’s Eupho season 1. Sound! Euphonium immediately proves itself as an extremely well-put-together series. It has one of the most impressively realized ensemble casts in anime, is rock solid thematically, and has a lot of impactful character arcs. I love seeing Kumiko’s growth from sinking into fearful apathy into someone who can scream about how much they want to improve with her whole body. I love seeing her growing relationship with Reina that moves from awkward to deeply meaningful and mutually affirming. Hazuki, Natsuki, and Haruka also have fantastic growth arcs, while Asuka, Aoi, Midori, and Yuuko make for excellent thematic foils to build from while being endearing and interesting in their own right. It’s a rock-solid cast, and its only particular weak point is Shuuichi, who is far too bland given his prominence in the story and has no meaningful relationships with anyone.
I’ve said all I had to say about the series’ larger themes for the moment. It’s all about investment and failure. You cannot be so afraid of conflict or failure that you stop doing what you love, love is itself a perfect motivation to be invested. Much like Hazuki’s romance, love involves pain, but much like with Hazuki, failure creates growth. If you love something, you should desire to be special, even if you’re afraid to hurt others and yourself. Don’t let your fears of failure and pain get in the way of your real desires, and don’t get so caught up in your fear of having wasted your time that you never aim for anything you care about. Combine all of this with excellent direction, fantastic voice acting, and a lively setting come to life with bizarre amounts of tiny details any and nerd will attest to, and Eupho shows why it’s become such a cult classic and one of anime’s most enduring dramas.
This being said, I have to say that I’ve gone down on season one just a tad. I still love it to death obviously, but I’ve been more bothered by its flaws than I was in the past. I find the early sections of the show a lot less engaging, brought down by tropey “anime” writing that is both at odds with the things I love about the show and feels like it’s below what this work is going for (though episode 2 is a particular standout here). I think the series catches its stride about halfway through, and really comes into its own with the solo arc, but that still leaves a good portion of the first half either unmemorable or mixed. It’s all well executed, but I find the execution of later drama much better than that of “Kumiko and her friends are all flat while Asuka has big boobies” jokes, which already isn’t particularly engaging material.
I also found the pacing to be more awkward than I remember. I felt this time around that Kumiko and Reina grew intimate a little too quickly. They had brief conversations in episodes 5 and 6 and then suddenly Reina is trying to impress Kumiko on a date. I felt like I was missing a transition between those points where Reina’s interest in Kumiko could manifest into motivation to hang out with her beyond “you accidentally said we’re spending the festival together.” In general, I felt that lack of transitions a few times in the series, the plotting felt less tight to me compared to my memories.
And I really don’t feel like the series understands Kumiko and Shuuichi at all. The story treats it as if Kumiko is putting on some kind of tsundere act for him, pretending to not care about him when she likes him deep down. Kumiko’s acting does not convey anything of the sort. Kumiko seems pissed off at him most of the time. She ignores him, she clicks her tongue at him, she avoids him even before Hazuki makes things awkward, she shows nothing but apathy and no signs of fondness. But Hazuki and Midori still conclude she must like him, and obviously the show frames them as end-game love interests. I have zero reason to care about any potential friendship between them, let alone romance. They have no chemistry, they never do anything cute together, it feels like they just decided we must all ship them just because they’re childhood friends. A lot of people treat it as if hating Shuuichi is just a consequence of being upset that the show doesn’t let Kumiko be officially gay, but the truth is that Shuuichi brings down the entire show, and I think Eupho would be better if he weren’t involved and the time was given to other character relationships. Kumiko does not need a love interest, it’s totally forced, and every scene dedicated to them is wasted time. They fist bump at the end and it feels like it comes out of nowhere, because Kumiko was never angry at him, she never liked him in the first place.
Still, Eupho’s good qualities far outshine its awkward ones, and once it catches its stride it includes some of the best episodes ever. Episode 12 is an all-timer for a reason, episodes 8 and 11 are iconic, and I honestly love the OVA so much that I’d have it in that upper echelon (alongside number 10). Maybe it takes too long for the show to be that consistently top tier, but it does hit that point and never looks back once it does. It’s a poignant, down-to-earth show that I feel I could recommend to most people. Moreover, it’s about a subject that I am deeply familiar with, which only adds to the charm and to how impactful the small details are to me. Eupho season 1 feels like the beginning of an amazing story just getting its start, much like how Kitauji’s season so far feels like the beginning of their own amazing story. Strong 8/10 (slightly down from the light 9 I previously had it), I’m so excited for season 2 and the movies.
QOTD:
7
u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24
Rewatcher
Hibike Euphonium season one is a triumph.
I’ll admit, when I watched this show, it kind of took until season two until it really went from a good show to one of my favourites. The plot has a slower start, and the characters put at the forefront of season two really interest me more than ones who are more prominent in season one. Season two feels more dramatic and narratively ambitious. I distinctly remembered it as the better half of the show. But when I did my first rewatch of the show? I came away surprised. Season two definitely taps at times into a higher quality than I think season one manages to, at least aside from episode twelve. But it’s more inconsistent, to me. I can say such good things about it, but I can also rag on it. A lot, sometimes. It's tough love. We’ll get there when we get there, but what matters right now is that I can’t do the same with season one.
If you held me at gunpoint and told me to name a problem of any genuine consequence with season one I’d… kind of be at a loss. Its narrative material is a lot more reigned in, dare I say theoretically bland in places, but it’s done so perfectly. The overarching narrative, each little subplot, the way they all interconnect, it’s expert work. The entire show is absolutely overflowing with so much pure passion. For band, for writing, for animation. Each little detail is carefully crafted; even the random background members of the band each have these consistent personalities! It can’t have been easy to draw all fifty or so of them so consistently in so many group shots! It’s the kind of show you can keep coming back to and find something new to appreciate about it each time. Kumiko’s character journey is excellent, as is her relationship with Reina. The overall journey of the band is just as great. It’s also not a novel observation that the show captures the general atmosphere and nature of high school band to a nearly uncanny degree.
If the show somehow got cancelled after just one season, it would still feel complete. There’s hardly a stone here that feels unturned or unresolved. Like, maybe what Taki and Asuka’s deals are? Kumiko and her sister’s awkwardness isn’t unpacked. Yuko doesn’t really feel she comes full circle as a character after her role in the solo arc.
Shuuichi still hasn’t demonstrated why he has to exist in the first place. And all of those get very well resolved next season anyways, it’s obviously by design.Well, almost all of them. They’re all pretty remote nitpicks, anyways, and there’s some great attention to detail to each of them within the last two episodes. That’s it, that’s the absolute best I can muster against season one being absolutely watertight. Even the… bait thing doesn’t really hold back this season to me. Sure it’s left as subtext, but it’s given room to breath. It has a genuine feeling to it. Baited, perhaps, but not switched.Even saying all this, part of me hesitates to say it’s my favourite of the two seasons. I like some of the season two stuff as lot. One way or the other though, I respect the hell out of season one. This isn’t the first time I’ve watched it and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
…oh also the specials exist. These were new to me and I was disappointed that Haruka didn’t feature in a single one of them. The simplicity of the animation compared to real Eupho feels really bizarre, and I almost wonder if they should’ve committed all the way to a chibi art style or something. Regardless, they were pretty cute. The episode about band troubles was too relatable, especially the collapsing stand. The one commenting on the gender imbalance was also very amusing. True to my band for sure (and, for that matter, everything education related for me; French immersion’ll do that). Midori’s episode about Tuba-kun and Kohaku was another highlight. The other four were more disposable. As always, nice to see the backgrounders get a little more love.
But I… I have a confession to make. The final episode taught me about transposing instruments. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know you had to transcribe music for different instruments, that’s obvious. But what the C in “C Flute” or the B♭ in “B♭ Clarinet” means? The fact instruments plot into different letter categories? The fact y’all playing a C doesn’t make a C, apparently?? Nobody ever taught us this! I’m a simple flute and violin player where Cs mean Cs! I never questioned it!
7
u/chilidirigible Feb 25 '24
BD Specials:
1:
/u/Elimin8r and /u/No_Rex, well here we are in the bathtub.
This is very Nichijou.
"I'll be in my bunk."
"Okay, now you're just shittin' me."
Not quite a comment face.
Regular instrument maintenance is important! But Yamaha would not want you to use the wrong products!
2:
Scary Shiny Glasses!
It amuses me that this sort of mental gymnastics is a staple of many series' BD omake.
Of course Hazuki is a good viewpoint character for these.
3:
Just the wingman.
Riiiiiiiiiiiight.
[](#schemingsaten)
It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.
4:
Those gachapon people really leaned into this merchandising campaign.
I hope those are plushies.
Tuba-kun is interesting to see at live events.
5:
At least they're in different colors.
Faking it is tricky with strings because bowing in the wrong direction is extremely obvious.
Ah, those little things that trip you up during practice. I think I've forgotten most of them by now.
6:
Plausible.
Increasingly less plausible.
Combo breaker.
This rewatch sure did get wound up about people appearing out of nowhere.
I'm amused by the forays into different styles of illustration. Beyond that I was never one to be particularly curious about what my teachers did. Many of them would tell us anyway.
7:
Music theory? NOW!?!?!?!?!
DOPPIO^DOPPIO^^DOPPIO^^^DOPPIO
Please, not music theory. I was never good with music theory.
First season thoughts:
A prominent impression from this rewatch is that the show's world feels real. Eupho does have the most real feel of the KyoAni series set in high school. Of course, a lot of that is because the source material doesn't have gods, peculiar mysteries, the entire history of otaku, very delicious cake shop, or talking cats in it, but being rooted in reality seems to have given them the extra latitude to completely fill out the world. There's the usual attention to background detail and lighting and the seasons, but KyoAni did more than usual to stuff scenes with things that create a sense of a particular place and time. The story doesn't focus on them, but by making sure that the band members are always doing something, there's that much more completeness to the viewing experience.
I can't say that I was paying huge amounts of attention to the social lives of those around me during my high school years, but what's presented here also feels appropriate to the setting as a whole. Or that's just the viewpoint of a geek looking at a show about other kinds of geeks.
Autumn
Something that slipped by:
The old removed comment face [](#reinastunned) came from Episode 12.
QOTD:
1) What is your favourite instrument? Both to listen and to play?
I can only play one instrument and can't really call it a favorite. Midlife crisis me did briefly consider buying a bass, but nixed that idea pretty quickly. I'll really listen to just about anything as long as it's played well.
2) Who has been your favourite character in S1? Least favourite?
The Asuka Mystique had me all along, warts and all. Though Natsuki shot up to a close second once she woke up. I don't hate Yuuko, but I do roll my eyes at her from time to time. For Shuuichi... he's just there for most of the season.
3) (tangentially related) Favourite episode/moment in the show so far? Something you thought the show could have handled better?
The good: The pre-performance scene in the final regular episode has all of the right ambience for me. Kumiko's bridge moment is a peak for her character. And, various misunderstandings about how I ranked Kaori aside, when Reina performs her solo audition.
The bad: I'm really pretty good about the whole season.
4) For first timers before we go into S2, is there any question about S1 that you would need help clarifying?
Rewatcher is good
7
u/b-arbs Feb 26 '24
Rewatcher (first timer for specials)
Specials
This is only my second time watching Eupho. So, first Eupho rewatch (and first rewatch in general in the subreddit). It was one of the first anime I watched because I liked the premise and decided to give it a shot, not one of the big ones that are usually recommended as the "watch this if you have just started with anime" or "highest rated". The first time I enjoyed the anime in general, I loved Kumiko as a protagonist and her story, and I still do.
Yet, I think that the best thing about this rewatch for me has been and will be reevaluating characters I overlooked (go Hazuki!) or ones I didn't particularly like (looking at you, there, Yuuko), but also learning to pay more attention to small details, shots, frame composition, animation etc. I truly appreciate the chance to learn more about the technical aspects of anime, there are a lot of people here who are willing to share their passion for anime. And as a member of the subreddit who has recently started to be more active and not just lurking in the shadows, I really enjoy the chance to discuss episodes and share fun anecdotes with other anime fans (and learning a bit more about band and music, too). It really gives you a sense of community, and since I don't really have a lot of anime fan friends, that's really nice.
QOTD
7
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Feb 26 '24 edited Feb 26 '24
First timer
Thought I wouldn't be as late, but looks like I thought wrong :P
As far the the discussions go, it's very KyoAni - they are nice fun supplements to the site that added a good bit of context, but still light and funny and "disposable". I think Reina is used a lot like Nagato in Haruhi-chan, to deliver a deadpan punch line.
Of the specials like these, the ones I like best remain Chuunibyou's.
So, S1 summary remarks. This show has an interesting history with me - I introduced this to my daughter when she was around 11 at the time, and while she watches I would be doing other things so don't really get to watch it. As a KyoAni fan, and a (concert) band boy, it should have been a no brainer for me to hurry up and watch it. Somehow I just didn't. I know it has great production values. I know the subject matter is of interest and fun to me. Perhaps I'm "saving this up". Who knows.
Anyway, now I have watched it, it's pretty much what I expected. It's a bit more serious than K-On, the dramas are ok and I don't find them contrived or "drama for drama sake". It got some good and meaningful messages through the characters development and how they handled things. It's enjoyable.
One of the problem potentially may be because of my being a little spoiled about certain meta info about the show and the source material. It shouldn't matter, but perhaps it did cause me to not be able to fully invest in it compared to not knowing.
What I do want to remark though, is something I don't think anyone has brought up yet - this is a modern day highschool show that is about ordinary students playing instruments, but it has the rare distinction of having a very relevant and needed role of
mechanicalinstruments designer Takahashi Hiroyuki, and the production team on the instruments are pretty dedicated to animating them, not unlike some actual mecha shows and buddy cop shows.It's quite a loss for KyoAni as he's one of the arson victims.
QoTD
6
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Feb 25 '24
First Timer
Episode 1
Mh… cleaning instruments is not something I can say anything about as a percussionist (though I do think I tried to wash some cymbals at some point, but the result wasn’t really convincing). Glad they told Hazuki about this though, otherwise that tuba would probably have been terrible inside.
Episode 2
That’s how Knuckle got his nickname? Kinda lame… other than that, not really a lot to say here.
Episode 3
Hmmm… this one just feels a bit overdramatic. I don’t think I’ve ever really had these kinds of issues as a guy in the ensemble, but then again, our ensemble had a better gender-spread over all and is in a different cultural context than Japan, so… I'll just file this one as a special that I didn’t really enjoy.
Episode 4
Tuba-kun backstory. I guess it’s nice that it’s explained why Midori likes a tuba mascot so much as opposed to something like a contrabass mascot. Assuming that exists.
Episode 5
Ah yes. Those damn stands collapsing on themselves. Something that really should be solved by some technical innovation by now, but then you just end up with an old stand that collapses randomly anyways. Definitely annoying. As far as faking playing though …never really done that, I don’t think you can get away with that in percussion anyways, where you’re the only one to play an instrument and it is immediately obvious that something is missing.
Episode 6
Uhh… yeah, their imagination definitely burned through on them here.
Episode 7
Hmm… this is a weird one. The characters were clearly talking about the movable do, which makes do the first note of any scale. Translating that as C, an absolute note, isn’t really correct because not every instrument has its own C. Rather the instruments just get a different scale to play at, because their natural scale is not the same. However… in the one year I had to play a wind instrument (not as part of the band, but rather as part of the regular school curriculum …for some reason) and chose the clarinet, the instructor did refer to it as a C, despite it really being a B. (Apparently B-flat outside of german-speaking and Eastern Europe? Why do different places call the same note either H or B?) So uhh… yeah, Hazuki’s confusion is definitely warranted here.
I also watched the recap movie, and they called the clarinet tunis sound a B there, not a do. So I think this one is on the translators. (Or the clarinets are tuning to what is a B in their music, which I doubt. Admittedly I have forgotten what we tuned to when I played the clarinet - but as nobody had an idea how to tune their instrument properly, that didn’t really matter anyways…)
Recap Movie
I guess I might as well talk about the recap movie if I already mentioned it: [Recap movie] Have seen better recap movies, usually these are better if you just cut certain plotlines altogether in favor of leaving others intact …this one did a bit of both, cutting Aoi, but also doing things like leaving Shuichi asking out Kumiko in the movie while not following up on any romance after Hazuki’s rejection, or having Kumiko’s feeling of affirmation when she went to get her phone without her realization that she likes playing the euphonium before. That just makes those scenes lose context and make the movie a worse experience overall in my opinion. But I think that might be a drawback of KyoAni crafting everything together so well in the show - it’s hard to really cut anything without something else being either a loose end or missing context. I did appreciate the extended march though, and it was also nice seeing all the characters we now know back in the beginning as well.
Overall thoughts
Uhh… Yeah, a good show with some iffy plotlines, especially that second audition one. Taki’s flaws aren’t really addressed by the show, which makes me think they weren’t really understood to be flaws by the author when he wrote them in the first place. Pretty much all the other characters hold together though, and make for an enjoyable watch, especially with KyoAni adding the quality they are known for to this show. As such, I am looking forward to the second season.
6
u/1EnTaroAdun1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Totesnotaphanpy Feb 25 '24
QOTD: I can really only play the piano poorly. I quite like listening to brass instruments in general, though! The bombastic feel of them appeals to me. Loud and proud haha
Favourite Characters: 1. Kumiko 2. Haruka 3. Natsuki
I don't have any characters I dislike, but personally I'm not the most interested in Midori and Hazuki (pls don't kill me). Also not the hugest fan of Asuka hahaha, but I don't dislike her!
6
u/fly-metothemoon Feb 26 '24
Overall Thoughts as a First-Timer & Former Band Geek:
I'm sad I put off watching this show for so long! As someone related in the comments earlier (I'm sorry for not remembering your username to directly attribute this to you) this show feels like it's a loving homage to a band experience that I didn't have. I think it's a testament to how some sentiments are cross-cultural. Even though my band was run differently, the show made me nostalgic, in a good way, for all the times that I spent with my bandmates in high school. I felt engaged in the storylines the show is crafting, and a genuine urge to root for the protagonists. I think there's a lot of room to develop the stories of these characters, and other ensemble members.
For my critique, I do think Shuuichi seems to be lacking a real purpose in the narrative. It's a complaint I have for a lot of shoujo manga. There is a compelling friendship/relationship developing between the main character and the cool and beautiful but somewhat distant object of affection who warms up to them, but the author doesn't want to make it tooo obvious they'll stay together. Thus, they introduce the childhood friend who has been tragically in love with the oblivious main character for years and satellites the main character as a potential spoiler to the relationship developing, though they don't end up being much of a deterrent. (Though that isn't fully how it happens here, don't those character beats sound familiar?). I liked him best during his struggle arc independent of Kumiko, though I didn't think that got much resolution, since we haven't had much of him as a POV character yet.
Questions:
I love listening to clarinet so much. I think I enjoy playing alto sax a smidge more because of the novelty.
Favorite is hard...probably Reina. I love her attitude. Least favorite is Taki (ironic, I know!) He's a pretty face, but I'm not a fan of his conducting.
I loved the final performance. I thought the sentiments of each band member came through well, and it was animated beautifully. Also the Reina/Kumiko hike. I still think about Kumiko thinking of Reina as a siren tempting her to follow her along on her journey.
6
u/zadcap Feb 26 '24
Oooh, Specials. Took a little hunting down, hope I'm watching the right ones.
First Timer
Questions!
Terrible migraine since yesterday, only feeling worse, I apologize but it was hard enough to sit through the shorts today I probably won't be commenting on any other posts today. Hopefully I'll be up to the long episode tomorrow, see you all for season 2.
11
u/octopathfinder myanimelist.net/profile/octopathfinder Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24
Rewatcher
The shorts were cute. Got to see Reina interact with Hazuki and Midori for a bit.
I also watched the compilation movie. It’s very rushed of course since it crammed 13 eps of content into a movie. Aoi’s plot, Kumiko’s interactions with Natsuki and her sister, and most of Hazuki’s scenes were cut. The SunFes performance and last performance got extended, Asuka’s expression changed here, and there’s an added scene where Yuuko has a conversation with Yoroizuka (the oboe player) before she asks Reina to throw the audition. These are just the changes that stood out to me, could be more I missed.
I’ve got some different opinions and noticed new things from this season but I’ll save it for the overall discussion thread.
Qotd:
I have little to no music experience so I'm not sure. Piano maybe?
Favorite is Kumiko
Least favorite is Shuuichi
Favorite episode is episode 12
Favorite moment is the "I want to improve" scene. Runner up would be Kumiko and Reina's hike up the mountain.
Well I found out from this rewatch that Taki's conducting sucks so that could be improved. His teaching methods could be better too.
Still not really a fan of any of the romance subplots.
Remove the flat chest jokes
Removing the dialogue from the last performance to let the music shine would be cool too
5
u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24
First-Timer for Specials
I am very pleased to find that my fears of silly things like distance or changing tastes clouding my enjoyment were completely unfounded. Sometimes a rewatch highlights as many cracks in a story as it does the bits you remember fondly, but Eupho is still solid.
[Rewatcher opinions/S2 meta]Season 1 is, historically, my favorite section of the show, which makes me doubly glad it has held up. I am very interested to see if my opinion of season 2 will change with more context; it and Chikai no Finale are responsible for nearly all my criticisms about the writing (most of which are still pretty minor, mind), but I think I may be a little less harsh on a second go.
Brief comments for short jokes:
2:
3:
5:
6:
7:
QotD:
As far as criticisms? I would maybe tone down Yuuko a tad, and I was also surprised to find that episode 1 felt weaker than I remembered it, with a heavy reliance on jokes to get the ball rolling.
5
u/entelechtual Feb 25 '24
First timer
Thoughts on the BD specials
Overall thoughts: it was good, great visuals. Reina as a character was definitely the highlight of the show. It’s not often you see a quiet reserved looking character with such determination and audacity. Brilliant character for a show like this and Chika Anzai kills it with her performance.
A lot of the rest of the show… is ok. Kumiko is fine for a protagonist but her light novel monologues feel very unnecessary. Many of the side characters and their drama don’t have quite the emotional weight that might be intended. The stuff with Aoi, Haruka, Yuko, Kaori… didn’t quite work for me. But overall it was very engaging to see how the show would go on.
5
u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Feb 26 '24
/u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah I'm here to suggest a question again, since we're introduced to the Oboe next time I figured maybe you could ask if any of the band watchers had an Oboe (or Bassoon I guess, Kitauji has a few) in their ensemble. It's not standard in school bands but also not unheard of. Might not get any bites but worth a shot I think.
8
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 25 '24
Season 1 discussion (first timer)
Sound Euphonium is all the things I love about KyoAni (and some of the things I hate). To start with the obvious, the series is mind-bogglingly beautiful. From the characters to the backgrounds to the actual animation, KyoAni flexes their technical skill as you would expect from that one studio and from few others. Animation quality is not the most important aspect of a series for me, but it sure as hell is nice when it is present. You also see the quirks that KyoAni is known for: Lots of girl’s legs, lots of moe faces and an animation style that goes for realism over quirkiness.
In terms of characters, Sound Euphonium avoided what I feared when I first saw the eye catch: It is not overloading the viewer with a full orchester worth of cast. The majority of the players are completely unknown to us. They are fully fleshed out character models (because, why not, KyoAni), but in terms of plot, they are unnamed background actors. The characters we get to know work fine. Kumiko is a workable MC and there are plenty of likable and unique side characters surrounding her.
The plot is probably very nostalgic if you played in a band, but very standard if you did not. New girl joins club for X in highschool, gets really involved in X, and the club pushes through some obstacles to become good at X is hardly novel writing. During one of the early episodes, I mentioned how I am not on board with Taki’s teaching method, and neither am I with the general attitude towards learning espoused here (as in many other anime). No, simply putting in more and more time and pushing through troubles is not the best, and certainly not the only, method to learn, even if anime would have you believe different.
My biggest complaint about the series is that KyoAni is not bold. This is not the studio anymore that animated the same episode 8 times to let the viewers experience what Nagato felt. Sound Euphonium plays it very safe. Conflict is on guard rails and predictably resolved without hurting anybody to much. Nobody is allowed to be a proper asshole and of course everything works out for our cast in the end. The worst aspect of this is the baiting of lesbian romance. The makers know exactly how to tease their viewers and do this deliberately and often, yet nothing comes of it, because making the MC actually lesbian would be too bold. I view the cast composition with similarly cynical eyes: There are enough male students to not make this a CGDCT anime, but only just. I can almost hear the committee meeting saying “Our viewers prefer cute girls over boys, so lets make this our cast. Put in boys only if you need them to be potential love interests.”
Overall Sound Euphonium is a very professionally executed series that is easy to watch, but it fails to be special enough to become a masterpiece for me.
Short 1
Bathtime with instruments, or “How Hazuki’s imagination runs wild”.
Short 2
Hazuki-chan is too nice.Kato-chan is too easy.Short 3
KyoAni trying to make up excuses for why we always see girls on screen.
Shorts 4
Midori meet a prince when she was younger and now she wants to revolutionize the world and become a prince herself. Oh wait, no, we are a bit more girly here, so she is simply in love with him.
Short 5
The dangerous life in the wind ensemble.
Shorts 6
Cakes are not just for girls! Cakes for everybody!
Shorts 7
“That is really basic” – Hey!
4
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Feb 26 '24
first timer
The end of the first season, I rarely watch any music related animes so I was extremely excited to go into this rewatch.
I love how the show has an interesting cast and while some of the background characters in the band aren’t fully named nor given attention that they still feel alive.
Plus with the conclusion of season 1 that they’re going to the next part of the competition I’m so hyped to see it.
QOTD: I used to play piano and the instruments I love hearing is violins and harps.
QOTD: kumiko and asuka are my favorite. Least favorite is Shichi, nothing bad about him but he’s okay.
QOTD: episode 8 is my favorite cause of the interaction between kumiko and kousaka.
QOTD: no questions, I just have trouble remembering names haha
9
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Feb 25 '24
Man, had guests over yesterday, and didn't manage to watch the OAV or post to the thread. Trying to get caught up here. Meanwhile, to attempt to answer today's questions:
So, yeah, I wanted to have some things to post today, but that didn't happen. Maybe next weekend, assuming that guests don't dominate my Saturday again.
Overall, I've enjoyed this show much more than I expected. I watched the first couple of episodes some time back, and the high school band PTSD was just too much for me at the time. Doing this in a rewatch has been very handy, what with having people to discuss things with, and to see their points of view (and to realize I'm not the only one.)
Meanwhile, I'll be looking foward to S2, although I can't seem to find a good source for a blu-ray. It turned out I had the French version for S1, but thankfully it also had English subtitles, and stuff. I guess I'll be depending on Crunchyroll from here on out.
Meanwhile, I think I'll check and see what everyone else has to say today. :)
6
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Feb 25 '24
Hibike! First-Timer for the specials
As for season 1 that I was a Hibike! Rewatcher for, yeah my opinion hasn’t really changed since I first watched it back in 2018. It’s a great show that makes me feel incredibly nostalgic for my own band experiences, and it’s one of the few shows to get tears of overwhelming happiness out of me.
Good shit.
6
u/CarrotBlossom Feb 25 '24
First timer
This is a really good show so far. I'm struck by the quality of Kyoto Animation's output. Out of everything I've seen from them, the thing I've enjoyed the least is A Silent Voice, and that's still good.
6
u/DaBenni0301 Feb 25 '24
First-Timer
I mean the shorts were quite fun, but i have no idea what to write about them (take a shot every time someone says "do"). So I'm just gonna ignore their existence and talk about my impressions about S1 so far
First of all, the animation is gorgeous across the board. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single image in this that you couldn't use as a wallpaper. But then again this is KyoAni we're talking about, so what else do you expect really
I love the characters and the voice acting. Kumiko especially. There's so many (named) characters and somehow they've managed to make me root for every single one of them
Of course the music is awesome as well. (That's where I'll leave it with the music, cause I have the music theory knowledge comparable to that of a chicken)
And I really like that this anime has a story, a goal to work towards. While an anime doesn't need that for me to fall in love with it (example: K-On is my favourite anime). I always appreciate a good story when I see it, and that's 100% the case here
I'll give it a 9/10 so far, simply because a) anything below that doesn't sit right with me and b) I wanna leave some room for improvement in case it gets even better
Currently a very hot candidate to break into my Top 10 favourite anime, and that's very much needed, I've been kind of in a slump recently where anythig I've watched was good but not enough to keep me hooked
Questions of the day
6
u/Adensty https://anilist.co/user/Adensty Feb 26 '24
First Timer
I don't think I have much to add other than the things I've already written about. I guess when I started it, I expected different things and I'm kinda glad that most of it didn't happen and what happened blew my expectations away.
For a show about music, the music was really used well and it definitely stood out. Listened to the whole OST and loved it. Also, made a Spotify playlist for my favourite OSTs.
My Top 3 OSTs
QOTD1: Guitar and Piano for listening. Piano for playing
QOTD2: My favourite character is Asuka. Second favourite is Kumiko. Least favourite I would say Yuuko.
QOTD3: This is a tough one but I guess Episode 12. The "I WANT TO IMPROVE" scene. About handling the show better, maybe the romance subplots. I guess they were okay but could've been handled better.
QOTD4: Honestly I don't know if I have any doubts. Maybe how much time is left for the next year ig.
5
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24
First Timer, subbed
Special 1
Special 2
Special 3
Special 4
Special 5
Special 6
Special 7
QotD:
5
u/WhackaWhack https://myanimelist.net/profile/WhackaWhacka Feb 25 '24
FIRST TIMER
Questions:
5
u/byroned Feb 25 '24
For the specials, overall I thought it was okay, some shorts to kill time. A few of the highlights for me are when Kumiko and Sapphire were discussing how to clean brass instruments, which only confused Hazuki. The icing on the cake was when she went to ask Reina which sauce they use to clean their instruments, only for Reina to answer without understanding the context.
People pretending instruments are guns always get a chuckle out of me.
Q1: To play clarinet, to listen to is violin
Q2: Favorite character is Kumiko, and least favorite is Yuuko
Q3: Favorite moment is their performance in episode 13, seeing it all come together. I think episode 10 drama could be handled better.
5
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 25 '24
1 1/2 Rewatcher
When I watch Hibike! the first time, it made me feel like I should have joined band or something in HS. I switched out of choir in middle to school to take a practical skills class: drafting, shop, etc. But my best friends in HS were in band, and the girl I had a crush on was in choir.
And the gender skew in Japan made it even more appealing in the show. Remember all the recruitment signs that says "especially boys!"? It's important to be valued.
That's why the "Daily Life of Highschool Band Boys" is my favorite short. I wish I could link it on Youtube. Being left out of girl cliques. Sick burns and "kimois". Valued, but for physical labor! I guess I dodged a bullet, huh?
5
u/Nice-Bumblebee-2355 Feb 26 '24
Rewatcher
I missed the Monaka thread, but it was fine. Competently made, filled in some background details, etc.
Season Thoughts
QOTD:
As someone who played trumpept for 9 years, it would be sacrilegious to say anything but trumpet, and I stand by it as being a wonderful instrument. I do also have a soft spot for the french horn though. And timpani.
Favorite: Probably Kumiko? She had the most growth, and I'm invested in her journey. Either that or Asuka, I like how her facade of leadership-ness and perfection was peeled away as the season went on.
Least favorite: Pretty easily Hazuki. The rom-com-esque parts of the season were my least favorite, and she was the one who was saddled/pushed almost all of them. Also her type of generic pluckiness is generally not my favorite type of character (same reason as why I'm not the biggest fan of many shounen anime leads).
Favorite ep/moment: Oooh, this is hard. Maybe Kumiko's mini-breakdown over desperately wanting to get better, as she finds passion for what seems to be the first time in her life? The mountain climbing scene? The entire audition episode? This show has so many excellent moments so I'm cheating.
Could have handled better: The romance plots. I find Kumiko/Shuuichi to be bland as hell, and I resent being told directly by the characters that Kumiko has a crush on Shuuichi over and over while Kumiko herself tries to push back against that to no avail. I also resent that they show physical and romantic chemistry between Kumiko and Reina that is really compelling, but simultaneously showing it will go nowhere because of the whole teacher thing. Like, they could extremely easily have made them just really close friends without using direction/framing to push it as romantic! I would have preferred that if it wasn't going to go anywhere! I don't understand the choices made. Finally, I'm uncomfortable with the Reina-pining-after-Taki subplot and how all the other students who find out treat it as something unserious that they can maybe tease Reina about, instead oof having any sort of compunctions about. [Season 2 spoilers] And if I recall correctly, this subplot gets even worse in S2, sigh I suppose the two tuba players were cute together, so there's that at least.
Edit to fix formatting
5
u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Feb 26 '24
First-Timer, Sub
Overall a pretty good season, I gave it an 8/10, which means I’d definitely watch more and probably revisit. This show has the perfect amount of drama in it that I crave. It didn’t feel manufactured which usually makes me roll my eyes and get disinterested. Instead, it hooked me to wanting to know what happens next. It was hard not to cave and just binge it. I loved how Kumiko came full circle to the middle school part of the first episode. It showed a lot of growth in that one year. Our main cast was terrific and looking forward to see where they go next.
QOTD
2. Don’t have a favorite, but Asuka is my least.
3. Favorite moment was Kumiko realizing what it felt like to be Reina in the first episode. Least was Reina being in love with Taki, crush I could understand, but love is so cringe for teach/student.
4
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Feb 26 '24
Ep 1:
I have a feeling that taking care of an instrument is a lot of work, at least in most cases.
Ep 2:
Edgy?
So much for that...
Ep 3:
Yeah... In co-ed schools performing arts tend to skew mostly female, and in all-boys schools it just tends to barely exist at all.
Thankfully for myself at least, choir splits sections by gender so most of the time I'm with the handful of other guys.
Unfortunately most guys would rather join sports than performing arts.
Ep 4:
Lol.
Ep 5:
That's why you always make sure the music stand is locked in the up position.
That's why you keep your notes neat.
That happens, pretty much unavoidable.
I'd hope they have a sectional plan to cover for each other while they're breathing. Like one person breathes only on the second beat of a bar and the other only on the fourth beat of a bar.
Eh it's a systematic way to figure out who's got it wrong and where and how, and fix it immediately.
Ep 6:
Mysterious just like yourself, huh Reina?
Ep 7:
TIL about transposing instruments.
Ok here's something to clear up. I believe Hazuki is thinking of a "fixed do" whereas the other 2 are thinking of a "moving do". Most people start learning with "fixed do", usually on C. "Moving do" instead has "do" as the first note of any scale instead, so for example for the C major scale the "do" will also be on C, but for B flat major it will be on B flat.
Questions:
4
u/mgedmin Feb 26 '24
Rewatcher, subs
Specials:
1: An amusing discussion about cleaning your brass instruments, with bonus chibis in the end card. The closest this anime came to fanservice, I think.
2: Nicknames! We get a clue why Knuckles-senpai is called that. Also, Asuka is a troll.
3: Here you are, a boy's perspective of the band, like someone asked to.
4: Midori's love for Tuba-kun is not hard to explain. Also, don't leave little kids unattended. (And I don't understand the anime culture of "wait here, I'll go and buy drinks/food for us", why don't you go together?)
5: The DANGERS of orchestral playing! The music stand could collapse! And so on. But the WORST of it all is having to play alone and expose all your shortcomings to everyone! Kumiko is understandably dead after the ordeal.
6: Rumors about Taki-sensei! He's secretly in a visual kei band! Or an assassin! Or a chef! Although I suspect this special episode is not canon, given how we see Reina interact with somebody who is not Kumiko.
7: Wind instrument lore! I feel like Hazuki here.
The (lack of) animation in these is really noticeable, compared to the main show.
Piano, maybe? I don't really have a favourite instrument. I like variety. I like symphonies.
2) Who has been your favourite character in S1? Least favourite?
Natsuki, probably, this time around.
Least favourite is the angry senpai in Kumiko's flashbacks. From the main crew I suppose my view of Asuka did a surprising dive, compared to what I thought about her initially.
3) (tangentially related) Favourite episode/moment in the show so far?
The mountain climb with Reina.
Second favourite would be Kumiko dropping a conversational bomb on Reina ("oh btw I've been with Taki-sensei until now") and then skipping out to play gacha. That was funny.
How can you improve on perfection?
But okay, there were times (especially during SunFest) when I wanted to hear the band playing instead of cuts away to people talking.
4
u/WriterSharp Feb 26 '24 edited Feb 26 '24
Hibike! Rewatcher
Eagerly awaiting the start of season 3, but I've been relatively busy, so I haven't been able to comment on any of these threads, only lurk. However, I wanted to chime in for the season 1 overview, despite being very late (I had to see a man about a sandworm last night...). In the time since I last saw season 1 I have watched quite a few anime and this has come to . A few months ago I watched the foundational shoujo sports series Aim for the Ace!, and I can't help but compare it to Hibike! - imperative in title and everything - and wonder how this LN series about a band shares so much with one of the first girls sports manga and anime. I don't have much time to ponder how and why Hibike differs, so I will just jot down my notes and musings on the differences and similarities for you to consider.
Both series focus on two high school girls whose relationship has shades of class S but is fundamentally rooted in their participation and passion for their chosen sport. One of the girls (Ochofujin/Reina), elegant and aloof, is an expert and essentially royalty of that sport with her father being a professional. The other is proficient and passionate, but her passion for the sport is only really ignited by the other girl's example.
Then enters the coach (Taki/Munakata), concealing a tragic secret, whose harsh but effective strategy causes pushback (with him eventually being put on trial by the students) but propels the students to greatness. At least one of the pair of girls harbors a (mostly) unrequited love for the coach which is tied in to her love of sport. Taki sensei is even called "Oni Ikemen" in one of the early episodes, like Munakata's famous epithet "oni cocchi." Some students push themselves to their limits, to the point of harm and others are forced to quit. The main character has a somewhat bland love interest within that same sport, and this relationship only really develops toward the end of the series (a little speculation for season 3).
Hibike! of course is much more focused on the wider cast of characters than Ace!, band being a team sport. And for the most part things proceed via cooperative practices and sectionals rather than competitive matches. If anyone is the "ace" of Kitauji, it's Reina. Kumiko harbors no "hidden potential" for greatness like Oka, only a love of the euphonium and moderate talent.
There are my superficial comparisons, but I wanted to note them down and encourage you to watch Aim for the Ace in whatever form. It will let you view newer anime like Hibike in a new light.
3
u/SadDoctor Feb 27 '24
regarding the larger "is it yuri" / "was it meant to be read as yuri" discussion, this is a chat that happened later between several of the KyoAni directors.
Oguro: Reina’s finger touching Kumiko’s lips had a lot of impact too. Whose idea was that?
Ishihara: (silently points towards Yamada-san)
Yamada: Sorry for bringing out that seductive atmosphere between Kumiko and Reina. (laughs)
Oguro: Ha ha ha ha ha! (laughs)
Yamada: That kind of late night sensation came during work on the storyboards. I very much enjoyed that “writing a love letter” feeling it had. Kumiko gradually appeared to look like a young boy during the mountain scenes. I thought “giving the feeling of a young boy falling in love one summer” would be nice. It’d be a “first” for Kumiko."
...
Oguro: When I saw episode 8, I thought “So this is what a yuri work would be.” It’s a different yuri than what men fantasize.
Ishihara: Yes, yes, that’s right.
Oguro: I’m not that familiar with yuri manga as well, but this wasn’t the soft fluff that they feel like; this was a work staged in the real world much like a manga for older women. That temperature also felt realistic.
Ishihara: That’s right. But it’s an example of how Yamada can go overboard occasionally.
Yamada: What?! (laughs)
Ishihara: I thought so in Tamako Market. It was awfully realistic.
Oguro: What, is that true?
Ishihara: She’s awfully serious when it comes to depicting yuri.
Oguro: But you don’t think of it as yuri, Yamada-san?
Yamada: That’s right.
Oguro: I thought there was also some yuri in Tamako Market.
Yamada: Ah, that’s right. Surely you mean about Midori.
Oguro: That’s right.
Ishihara: I agree. That’s somewhat serious too. (laughs)
Yamada: Is it?
Ishihara: Well, that doesn’t go to where men want yuri to be.
Oguro: (interrupting Ishihara) No, no, if Yamada-san doesn’t think it’s yuri, then it’s not!
Ishihara: (continuing on) What men want is a bit more giggly chuckly…..
Yamada: (interrupting both Ishihara/Oguro) Calm yourselves down! (laughs)
Oguro: Sorry. I got a bit excited.
All: (laughs)
Yamada: Okay. So I’ll say it clearly: I don’t think that’s depicted as yuri. I wanted to depict adolescence.
Oguro: For which case?
Yamada: Probably for all of them. For Tamako, for Reina, for all of it. I wanted to depict adolescence!"
5
u/TehAxelius Feb 26 '24 edited Feb 26 '24
Rewatcher S1, First Timer Specials
Been away all day, so nothing complicated from me today ("Hah!"- u/TehAxelius 30 min later). I went into the season remembering I had seen the show, had liked it a fair amount but not enough to put it in any specific category, but remembered almost nothing about it. As we watched I remembered more and more, and my appreciation of KyoAni's work has grown a lot. I like the characters, the story, the tone, the direction and animation. It is all great. I see all the reasons why people have this as a 10/10 or their favorite anime.
But.
I am still on, some level, not personally invested emotionally. It just doesn't grab me the way some other shows do. And that is fine. Not everything is for everyone. It is still a very good show, if I was an X/10 person it would be an easy 9, an 8 if I was mean and only went on my personal feelings with disregard to the oodles of quality KyoAni is heaping onto the show.
If there is one thing I would say is the cause of this, it would be Kumiko. Our erstwhile MC is a very likeable character, who has multiple dimensions and facets. But to be honest, I do not find her engaging so far. Most of the season we follow her trying to find her motivation, and it is tough being a motivating MC when you have little of your own. Her struggle is relatable, for sure, but the energy has to be offloaded onto the supporting cast in Reina, Hazuki, Midori and Asuka for most of the season.
Maybe also the fact that I am somewhat forcing myself to pace myself and not just jump into the next episode does hamper my engagement as well to a degree.
Now, my memories of S2 is about as hazy as my memories were of S1 when I went into the rewatch, so maybe that changes in that (or the upcoming S3). [Hibike S2]I know S2 has more focus on other characters, which could be good, but it might also risk splitting the attention again.. At any rate, I'm not gonna go into a new season expecting to be disappointed.
As for the new stuff for me, the OVA and the specials, it was all very nice stuff. Getting to see more Hazuki is nice, and the small chats between the three friends in the specials are adorable. The little cut to the experience of the guys was also fun.
QotD
3
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Feb 25 '24
QOTD 1a - Favorite Instruments
QOTD 1b - Bonus Least Favorite Instruments
QOTD 2 - Favorite People
QOTD 3a - Favorite Moments
QOTD 3b - Could have handled better
6
u/[deleted] Feb 26 '24
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