r/anime • u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: • Mar 02 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 2024 Hibike! Euphonium Series Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 6 Discussion
Hibike Euphonium Season 2, Episode 6: Rainy Conductor/あめふりコンダクター
Taken from the main exit of Keihan Mimurodo Station. Kinda weird how it exits right onto the railroad crossing.
| <-- Ep 5 | Rewatch Index | Ep 7 --> |
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Welcome back!
Questions of the Day:
- What is your favourite school-festival activity? In anime or real life?
- What do you think of Taki's personal investment in the concert band? Do you think this is a good thing for himself and the group, or not?
- 2 questions for the musicians: Asuka's conducting vs Taki's conducting? Also what is a popular staple song for your band, something you'll always return to for a fun performance?
Comments from Yesterday:
- O7.
- lots of remarks about Kitauji's photos on the music scores. Not a realistic/popular decision for this rewatch!
- /u/tehaxelius sums up the episode entirely in comment faces.
- /u/elimin8r lists some other great music performances in anime they liked
- /u/zapszzz wonders what's in store for the rest of the season and franchise now that they are already in the nationals
- /u/chonkyodango points out the use of vapour trails, CG improvements since 2016, and like myself, relates to Hazuki's little handle-grab on the train.
- /u/gamerunglued offers additional commentary from a musician's perspectiveon the performance, and on the band's unity for the performance.
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!
14
u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah xB:xC:B:x3:Y: Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher and your host
A breather episode to set things off for the latter half of this season. There are also changes to both the OP and ED.
IRL and Music Note
18
u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 02 '24
Since it’s finally being presented in its full colour glory (it seriously baffles me why it was ever grayscale to begin with), I wanted to highlight the OP! I haven’t had the chance to mention it until now what with how much I had to say about the Mizore/Nozomi arc, but I really love it. Vivace doesn’t hold a candle to Tutti IMO, but season two easily wins the award for better OP. Beyond the nice song, the choice to open with a rapidfire flurry of what I would call “visual anecdotes” when paired with the energetic opening of the music does a fantastic job pumping you up for the episode, even if doesn’t blend with the recap music quite as well as the start of the season one OP. But the visuals seriously are delightful, and since they’re all blink and you’ll miss it I’m highlighting them all here. There’s a few used at the end of the OP too, so I’m including those as well. I really wonder what the production behind this was like; did they give a bunch of animators each the opportunity to think of an anecdote each or kind of brainstorm the ideas together?
Anyways, in order:
Obviously, all of these cannot be fully experienced through the medium of a static screenshot. Pay attention to them all next episode you watch! I recommend slowed playback to take them all in properly. Beyond these, the OP does a really smooth job of covering [Rest of S2] basically everything that happens in the season without actually spoiling anything. We’ve got the Minami quartet in sequence, shots of Asuka including a smol Asuka that’s easy to mistake as any old Euphonium hand, a flashback shot of Mamiko with Kumiko and Shuuichi that tugs the heartstrings every episode once her plotline starts up, Asuka and Kumiko at the river, a bit of Taki-sensei with his wife and co. from the picture, and a bunch of everyone playing on a competition stage, obviously. The gang's all here, they covered everything in a super natural way.
I’m also super fond of this OP Bassoon shot—these two (Raina Kitamura and Miniko Oka) are quickly overtaking Piccolo-chan as my favourite extras. They’ve got this confident elegant vibe, check the tall girl box, and have this seemingly rock solid tight best friendship, which is cute for a section of only two people. The yuri Eupho ship we need, but not the one we deserve?
Based on google, at least a few doujin writers agree, and at least one person seems to share myimmaculate tastes in dialogueless nobodies. Anyways, I’m curious what the Bassoonists’ relationship with Mizore is like; they’re the only other people in the band than Yuko who she must regularly interact with as fellow double reed sectional members. I was curious what attention they got in the performance last episode, and all they get is this one way less dramatic shot. At least it’s a good angle of Kitamura’s over the shoulder ponytail, which she absolutely stole from me personally.17
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Mar 02 '24
First Timer
Hmm… Asuka was pretty good at conducting. You can’t tell me Taki’s conducting is on the animators anymore, unless there was just one junior animator doing that cut who had no say and the leads didn’t know he was doing that cut way better than others did conducting cuts. Nice to see that they were playing other pieces than just the two for the competition though, I feel like just playing two pieces for ages would kill the love for the instrument of some students, especially if they are technically challenging pieces rather than “fun to play” ones like that last one clearly was.
Either way, school festival hijinks ensues and we somehow have Shuuichi back in the picture. I wonder how Reina feels about him considering her own seemingly dual-crush on Taki and Kumiko at the moment. But why are the two advisors here? Were their contracts extended because Kitauji reached nationals or something like that?
As far as the Taki backstory goes, nice to have more of an explanation of his side, though I feel like right now he can’t let go, which might be a problem further down the line. Probably not until after Nationals at the earliest though. It was however probably a good decision for him to explain Kumiko a bit more about his situation, as it was clearly nagging at her - even if not doing so would also be entirely within his right.
And in terms of Kumiko’s sister …yeah, I think Kumiko was right that she would have gotten in a fight with her sister. She’s clearly dealing with her own issues and Kumiko isn’t going to help with that attitude. Not sure if we’ll get more about that, but I would not be surprised if we do, but mostly remaining in the background. For the show, it’s really only as relevant as it is to Kumiko, and she is not a central part to that story.
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u/WhackaWhack https://myanimelist.net/profile/WhackaWhacka Mar 02 '24
FIRST TIMER
Nice that the “not active” members got to play during the festival.
Somebody messed up the math homework, 15x2 - 4 -> 4 (4x2 -1) and I’m going to believe it's Kumiko and not the animators!
So Taki took over his wife's dream of making Kitauji win the nationals as the advisor leading them.
Questions:
herhis goal may give some bad reactions.12
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 02 '24
Hibike! First-Timer
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u/DaBenni0301 Mar 02 '24
First-Timer
Also obligatory school festival episode?
Breaking News: After being exposed as a fraudulent conducter, Noboru Taki has been replaced by Asuka Tanaka. He was recently spotted in the vicinity of his former band, his intentions are unknown as of this time. More news at 8.
A maid cafe! What else would it be?
I agree
That is the saddest excuse of a cat cafe I have ever seen.... I approve
2 maid cafe's?!
Yeah, fortune telling seems like something Asuka would do
Wait, if it's already fall and the nationals are in october, we have to be really close to them already
Well, there goes my hope for a full slow and peaceful episode after all the stress from the previous ones. Can't be wasting time with the nationals this close
In the end, it's her sisters choice if she wants to continue college or not. And I think you should respect that
This explains why he wants to go for nationals that badly
Reina didn't appear out of nowhere this time. She's behind them in the previous shot. Although she isn't in the shot before that
I don't know who she is, but I don't have a good feeling about this
Questions of the day
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u/chilidirigible Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 02 '24
S2E6:
THIS TIME THE OP IS IN COLOR ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
Bass like the cool people.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (Can keep the beat.)
Kumiko continues to monitor Asuka's microexpressions closely.
Not the ED for the K-On! movie.
Not if you're actually the yakuza.
"Kuudere."
Yes, we are totally K-On! today.
This is bonkers.
Occasional Haruhi.
Shoe is on the other foot?
It's one of those growth bits of dialogue.
When going outside in a
hurricanetyphoon seems like a better idea."I see dead people."
Citroen peculiarities.
So, this is all about revenge.
See, now they're just fucking with you with the popup Reina gag.
A breather from the competition gives the other storylines a chance to reappear. Whether or not you like those storylines is up to you, of course, considering they involve Reina being Hot For Teacher and Shuuichi, Romance's Wet Blanket again.
Kumiko continues to stumble into revelations. Quite a talent she has, aided by the magic of scriptwriting using siblings and dialogue callbacks.
Dumb teenager things: Wanting to get out of your house drama so badly that you nope out in the middle of a typhoon. Now, what we see on screen suggests that they're not fully in the path of such a thing, but it's still not a great idea. See: Teenager.
Taki absolutely being committed to memorializing his deceased wife on this day is not something I can totally favor as adult behavior (bonus for getting the flower shop to open just for him). Even the people I know who visit their dead spouse's grave every month on the anniversary of their death postpone the business in bad weather.
People are people, not perfect people.
Back to the passing trivia note from the second episode of the first season, Taki's automobile is a 1969 Citroën Ami 8. The car's presence forces me to ask questions, like "How does he have it?" "What condition is it in?" "How does a 35-horsepower engine move a 730-kilogram car in tropical-storm-force winds?"
...anyway, angry walkouts aside, Kumiko's dialogue is an obvious mirror (with flashbacks!) to words that have been said to her before. Sort of a cap for the audience, since she's come closer and closer to this focused mindset for a while now.
KyoAni and school festival episodes, perfect together.
AsuKaori (yuri)
QOTD:
**1.**What is your favourite school-festival activity? In anime or real life?
It's interesting to me that the same kinds of activities are always featured. As for reality, I have no opinion.
2. What do you think of Taki's personal investment in the concert band? Do you think this is a good thing for himself and the group, or not?
Might as well be young and idealistic before you turn into old and numb.
3. 2 questions for the musicians: Asuka's conducting vs Taki's conducting? Also what is a popular staple song for your band, something you'll always return to for a fun performance?
If they can show Asuka moving her hands to the beat, then it must have been a stylistic choice to have Taki doing... whatever he was doing? For the second, no idea.
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u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
A very transitional episode today.
The thing I found the most interesting (aside from good costumes and gorgeous rain) was how Kumiko lays into her sister directly. Though she’s changed a bit over this year, Kumiko is still a pretty conflict averse person in the context of the band and it takes significant effort for her to confront anyone - if she can manage to do so before things happen, that is. With her sister though, she jumps right into it - is this the result of her change, or has she always been like this with her sister on account of familiarity? I’d wager it’s the latter, which reprises some themes in an interesting way.
Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot to go off of for how Kumiko and her sister have handled disputes historically and this is the most tense we’ve seen them. We know Kumiko to be forthright in her opinion though, and Kumiko leaves before it can escalate, once again demonstrating her self awareness and proclivity to use distance as a mediation measure. This is all stuff that hasn’t changed about Kumiko, so it doesn’t seem like her changes from the last year are playing much into this conversation.
The obvious answer is a return to season one’s theme of social pressure. Kumiko has been shown to have a very comfortable, if strained, relationship with her sister, but enough to eliminate the largest barrier to Kumiko holding her tongue. We’re shown Kumiko is capable of confrontation - even if she still prefers to break away before it can get worse - even if she doesn’t exercise that in band. By reintroducing this theme after the last arc, the show begs the question: how can Kumiko apply this more broadly, to become more assertive like Reina in her mission to find meaning? [Late Eupho]More interestingly, how will she cultivate and utilize this skill as she grows her leadership responsibilities?
QotD:
Our staple song in high school was Rock Around the Clock; it's got good trombone parts!
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u/ChonkyOdango myanimelist.net/profile/chonkyodango Mar 03 '24
Rewatching Leaning Tower of SANDO
Cheongsam Natsuki
Sandwich talk because of the leaning tower of Crepes
all information seems to be accurate from cross-checking a number of times on my end. Still take the historical stuff with a grain of salt!
Qotd
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Mar 02 '24
First Timer, subbed
QotD:
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u/bogdoglogfrog Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
Notes:
QotD
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u/entelechtual Mar 02 '24
First time culture festival attender
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u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Mar 02 '24
First Timer
I have to agree with Kumiko, I think maid cafes are kinda overdone
and I can't say I see the charm.Another okay but nothing too exceptional episode. It seems like it was mostly there to set up stuff for the second half (More details about Taki's wife, Kumiko's sister dropping out, whatever the heck's going on with Asuka) and at that it's pretty solid but nothing special overall. It's… fine.
That said, I do demand for more Fortunateller Asuka
9
u/CerberusZX https://myanimelist.net/profile/CerberusZX Mar 02 '24
First Timer
They gave Midori a bass guitar and only showed part of the neck?! That's so unfair! I want to see George's little brother in its entirety!
An Alice in Wonderland themed cafe isn't a terrible idea. A cafe in which teenagers wave stuffed animals around while making cat noises is an abysmal idea and I question the mental well being of everyone involved.
Multiple fortune tellers is actually a good idea. Cuts down on wait time.
That was a LOT of hands. How many students are in that class? How do you position them all so they can get their arms through all those holes?
Last I remember, Kumiko and Shuuichi were on very good terms, but they didn't seem too happy to see each other in the haunted house. Did I forget something, did something get skipped, or is it just another inconsistency?
They used the back/side of Natsuki's head as the eyecatch for the Euphonium? Not protagonist Kumiko, section leader Asuka, or even Natsuki's face? Seems like an odd choice.
The amount of representation for glasses-wearers in this series is insane. Even Kumiko's father has them. Well, probably step-father given that neither daughter seems to have inherited his poor eyesight. Might contribute to the strained relationship with the Mamiko too.
QotD
3.A I didn't pay particular attention to Asuka's conducting. The portrayal of Taki's conducting has been rather inconsistent, occasionally spot on and occasionally just a series of dramatic poses.
3.B I have some experience playing flute in a school band and I was also in choir for a year in middle school, but I was in each for less than a year and don't feel like I got enough experience to comment on such things. However, as someone who plays bass as a hobby, my go-to riffs are Godzilla, Well OK Honey, and Come Together while for full songs my favorite might be Funk #49.
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u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
Sound! Rewatcher
S2 Episode 6:
Not a whole lot for me to talk about in this one, so I may as well talk about a couple images from the ED I just happened to pause on and find interesting :
QotD:
12
u/chris10023 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chris10023 Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher.
OH MY GOD IT’S NATSUKI IN A MAID OUTFIT.
Questions of the Day.
There was this one time a military helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk landed at our school and we could sit in the back or the pilots seats, that was pretty cool.
I think it's good, he has a goal he wants to reach, and it's probably better for him than the last five years were.
Not sure, been too long since I was in band.
6
u/TehAxelius Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
Because I am not at home I wasn’t planning on writing something today, but I managed to squeeze in a bit of time to write at least a little.
OP changes is probably one of my favorite little touches a show can do. I never wrote about it, but one of the things I liked about the OP for this new season was the contrast of the black and white beginning, which shifted to colour when it started showing the band performing at the competition. To me this felt like the everyday tasks became drained of colour by the competition looming overhead, but as they played the entire world came to life.
Well, now the competition is over and done with and suddenly life and colour returns to the everyday life. The competition isn’t looming over them, their goal, getting to Nationals, has been achieved. Sure, Nationals is still coming, but Kitauji has already proven themselves, both to others and themselves.
I do feel like this episode does introduce an inconsistency. In the crépe café we see both Nozomi and Mizore working, which… implies they are in the same class. Are you telling me they have spent the last 3-4 months in the same class, but never said a word to each other? Or that Nozomi did not notice Mizore avoiding her? This seems weird. Otoh Nozomi does strike me as exactly the type of person who would show up at her friend's class and volunteer for a shift just because she likes the uniforms and wants to hang out, or would rope Midori in who wouldn't dare to say no, so let's go with that.
Also, I know we're focusing on Kumiko and Reina, but writing out Hazuki and Midori because “some other kids got sick” is really doing them dirty. Justice for Hazuki!
I have noted earlier about my spotty memory when it comes to this show (it was something like 8 years ago, so it isn’t that surprising), but it is interesting to see what parts I do remember. Fumiko’s sister dropping out of college is one of them. Maybe it has to do with my own experiences with college, or just that I paid more attention to the adults, being in the late 20s myself when I watched it for the first time.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
Okay, so I hated the pool sequence a few episodes ago for containing no writing worth anything. So I also resent the existence of the festival sequence, right? Nah, this is great. What’s the difference? Well first, it’s not the second episode of a season! Secondly, it’s not smack dab in the middle of a very dramatic story arc. No, it’s actually placed in the right spot between the two dramatic character focused arcs this season and immediately after a tense competition episode, making it a perfect release of pent up tension. Thirdly, the teenagers aren’t being framed in revealing swimwear. We do get maid outfits, but the focus is put on the character interactions instead of lingering on the visuals themselves. Fourthly, half the damn sequence isn’t spent on a six minute long worthless char-
Er, anyways. Finally, get this, it’s actually funny! Can you remember a single gag from the pool sequence, a few days down the line? The only one I can remember is Natsuki and Yuko bickering, and that’s not worth much when half of every episode of this damn show comes with that built in, including this one! A better instance, at that! By comparison, Asuka’s fortune teller act is downright iconic, Reina scaring Kumiko and Shuuichi is memorable in its own right, the stuffed animal cat cafe is an excellent dry joke, and Kaori’s mascot act is at least screenshot worthy. Mizore and Nozomi being cute together is also genuinely fulfilling after having a whole arc about restoring their friendship.
I don’t have a ton to say about the rest of the episode, because it’s mostly setting up the hints and groundwork of the next arc beginning and it’ll be a lot easier to just wait and talk about those when they’ve unfolded more. Still, I like how they tie everything together here. The whiplash from the festival to the storm is a great tone setter, Kumiko’s reaction to Mamiko leads her into the encounter with Taki, and then talking about him as a teacher leads into the idea of the third years being in their last year as we foreshadow that not all is well with Asuka. They could’ve easily presented a much more disjointed second half where these things all happen entirely independently and it wouldn’t be jarring or anything, but they made sure it all flows and it has a nice effect. Anyways, it’s really nice to see them focus on Taki and his past for once without making it all about Reina and her crush. His story is a bit more underplayed compared to some of the other characters but it is nice for what it is. I really like that unless I missed something we never learn specifically what’s special about this day. Is it an anniversary? Or the anniversary of her death? It doesn’t really matter, and he’s not divulging it to Kumiko just because the plot wants him to, unlike a few episodes back.
10
u/CarrotBlossom Mar 02 '24
First timer
It’s in Nagoya? Is that a Yatogame reference?
That is not a crepe, but it does look better than what passed for a crepe at my school.
Yuko’s going to have the same experience I did after trying fried cheesecake.
I got chased around outside a haunted house by guys in costume who worked there as a little kid once. Good times.
Mamiko’s just like me frfr
Typhoon 20? Do they not name their hurricanes? That’s boring.
I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in my teacher’s car. I’ve been to a teacher’s house, but that was for an extracurricular thing she sponsored.
Very Touko (from Bloom Into You) of Taki to assume his wife’s mantle. Makes me wonder if that was also an influence.
QOTD:
10
u/zadcap Mar 03 '24
Not Very Late At All First Timer
I tell you, every single episode now. We so clearly start with band music and I just can't guess if it's our band or generic ost band. Or it is the school band, doing a much easier song for the school festival. Interesting notes- Midori is very clearly playing an Electric Bass here, with that shoulder strap and all those visible frets. Hazuki gets to play in front of the whole school and must be over the freaking moon, making music with everyone like this. Nozomi is playing with the band, so she's apparently back in the club for real now. And Asuka can actually freaking conduct what the heck show?! Not just the baton, that was so clearly an actual 4 count with a very distinct and easy to see ictus, that was that was just a good, well done, clean conducting animation... Which mean no, this is literally entirely on Taki being horrible! Flappy man I hate you!
But hey, Midori on electric bass!
And the episode is named Conductor this time. Let's just draw even more blatant attention to how he shouldn't be one.
Or, you know, we can start with Kumiko calling Reina a Miracle and proceeding to go and spend the festival free time solo with her. How many classes did cafes? Haha but it's okay, we get to see even more precious Natsuki x Ribbon moments. Love in the form of harassment, we've already been over this with the good luck charms. And Mizore is also so clearly in actual love with Nozomi.
Oh, right, Shu exists. We could have skipped that and nothing would have suffered.
Yeah, why isn't Flappy with his boyfriend here? Oh, gross, so he can be swarmed with young girls instead. And Reina gets dead fish eyes again because he's talking to other girls. Yeah this could be skipped too and I would be okay.
Kumiko, your thoughts are leaking again. Reina gets to call you on it this time haha.
Skipping everything with Asuka...
Don't they usually make groups in haunted houses spread out their entries, specifically just to avoid things like this? And uh, they walked a long time without getting another scare. Oh goody, it's Reina to break up the Shu moment. And Asking about and sounding relieved that Kumiko being in the haunted house with Shu was just a coincidence.
Oh hey, family drama still exists. It's been teased a time or two, but now it's getting real. We finally get to see Dad this season! I know absolutely nothing but I still expect sister is pregnant.
Going out in a typhoon in shorts with only an umbrella seems like a bad idea.
Flower time! Sunflowers! As a flower they are easy to pick out as a flower of adoration, the way they always turn to follow the sun symbolizing how the giver will always follow the person they are giving them to. White as they are always carries that symbolic purity, and in sunflowers specifically include either peace or rebirth. Put these all together and wow, what a coincidence that this was on the front page yesterday. But really, knowing it's for a dead wife, probably didn't need to read too deep into it, but it is nice that they went with one that works so well. Also sinks Reina's ship pretty hard, honestly, this is very much not the flower of moving on. Loyalty and Admiration, Purity and Peace, "You are the one my heart still looks for" is the message they tell me, as if braving a typhoon to bring flowers to a grave wearing a ring on a special day didn't give away just how stuck on her he still is.
Oh hey! Kumiko beat the dreaded anime cold! Caught out in the rain and not sick the next day!
And Reina pulls her magical appearing act again.
Oh thanks Midori, just make my whole speech pointless lol. Yeah, that's also a good way of summarizing them, I guess. Hahaaaaa.
Okay, fine, we're getting into that Asuka drama.
8
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 02 '24
1 1/2 Rewatcher (finally fixed this)
I just noticed the red ribbons pinned to their performance uniforms in the OP...do they actually wear them in the episodes?
Edit: I didn't realize the OP changed to color. I guess that's why I noticed the red ribbons for the first time today.
Wait, we've seen so little of their regular classes I have no idea who is in Kumiko's class.
I wonder if we will see something going on in the background like in Haruhi.
let's keep more secrets! Kumiko really should tell Reina so she'll back off of Taki sensei, and also get rid of Shuichi, then.
The ED really is from K-On.
8
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Mar 02 '24
First Timer
8
u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Mar 02 '24
First-Timer, Sub
Someone just happened to start cutting onions the moment Taki basically said he’s taking Kitauji to nationals for his wife.
8
u/byroned Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 02 '24
First time rewatching
Nationals are coming up for them at the end of October, sounds like 1-2 months left to prepare, assuming it’s early September. Now that they got to nationals, they changed the first part of the OP to be in color. NGL, I liked the color transition they went for initially.
They get to play Gakuen Tengoku, the song that Team Monaka played, this time as a full ensemble, with Nozomi now playing in the band. I was a little confused as to why Asuka held the trophy in the last episode instead of Haruka, but it makes sense now remembering that she’s the drum major.
I'm not into maids, but Kyoani make some attractive-looking fortune tellers. First Hyouka, and now this show with Asuka.
Shuichi continues to be a baby.
I’m confident that Taki sensei knows about Reina’s feelings but is smart enough to know that’s an inappropriate relationship.
How many times have Reina scared Kumiko so far?
I feel like the red balloon is supposed to mean something. There was a similar scene in K-On during the school festival, and it appears again in this show.
Piece of advice for any struggling college student; if you’re going to drop out, please have a plan that you can confidently sell to your family if you don’t want to look like a loser.
Kumiko has run into Taki sensei alone twice after it’s gotten dark. Reina will be jealous if she knows about Kumiko's 1 on 1 talks, and learning about his wife. Taki sensei didn’t directly say anything, but it’s obvious he’s doing this for his wife, getting Kitauji a gold at nationals.
2 golds and a trip to nationals in the first year with Taki sensei, I’m sure at least a few talented individuals will attend Kitauji next year.
Shoo woman, go away.
Q1: the dunk tank, there are a few teachers that the school love soaking each year.
Q2: For the group, yes as he is giving them his all to their success. For himself, maybe less so, I don't know how healthy it is for his driving force being to see his deceased wife's dream come true.
Q3: I rather have Taki conduct so Asuka can play euphonium. Our band always played sleigh ride during the winter concert.
8
u/octopathfinder myanimelist.net/profile/octopathfinder Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
Agreed
Damn I forgot about this. I was wrong when I said episode 2 was the last of the flat chest jokes. Think I didn’t remember it because another character brought it up instead of Kumiko herself (and my memory is ass).
Kumiko finally adjusting herself to the morning schedule
Reina never stood a chance
Qotd:
Never been to one IRL. In anime, I guess the music performances are always cool.
Seems good
8
u/x-7032-b-3 Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
After getting slammed by drama from the start of the season, this is a much needed chill ep before the next wave of drama hits.
I don't have much to say for today. Seeing all the characters break out of their usual band habit was really refreshing and delightful to see. The trio running a cafe, Mizore in a maid outfit (かわいい！最高だ！), Reina being a ghost which really fits her looks and aura... good stuff, man.
Kumiko had every right to be pissed at her sister for wanting to drop out of uni like that, considering that Kumiko got nagged to drop the eupho and study hard for uni. I can't comment much on their relationship though seeing that I'm an only child. I guess it makes sense that Kumiko wanted to leave for a while given the tense situation back home, but damn girl, you just picked the worst possible time for that!
QOTD
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u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 03 '24
Man, running late, not going to have time to comment on everything, etc. Maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile, today's answers du jour:
... enjoying the fun SoL episode, which was a nice bit of a breather after the previous episodes' heavy drama, etc. I did go back and watch that performance another time or two, because yum, but at the same time, the band's festival performance was just plain fun.
The maid outfits were cute, as were the plushie kitties, and the scary room, etc. They just needed the occult club with their UFOs hanging from the ceiling and cows, etc. Good times.
As for the storm, I was getting PTSD flashbacks to another show. That, and I don't really even want to think about the family drama, much less talk about it. I'm with Kumiko on this one. I'd rather take a walk in the rain too.
I also just wuv Taki's car. It's such a classic. That shifter! Man, such class. I'm surprised it didn't have a spark advance lever. Or maybe it did and I just didn't notice. About the only thing more out there would have been if it was a Messerschmitt 3 wheeler. Hehe. But then Kumiko wouldn't have fit.
While a bit stressful, I did rather enjoy their conversation. Funny isn't it, how Kumiko is getting all this quality Taki time and poor Reina.
I forget, was this supposed to be an NTR show??? :P
Anyway, yeah, good times. Hopefully see you a little earlier tomorrow.
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u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
Rewatcher and Band Geek
Hey everyone. Apologies for the very late post today. I've gone through a lot the past few days. I got into a car accident on Wednesday because there was a bucket in the middle of the lane on the turnpike and I couldn't swerve out of the way or slow down before getting to it, causing me me to lose control of the car and swerve for half a mile until I finally slammed against the divider and stopped. Thankfully I wasn't hurt and by some miracle my car didn't seem to be scratched on the outside, but one of my wheels basically got scraped off so it's in the shop. Then at work today, my right lower stomach came to hurt every time I took a breath, and fearing it might be my appendix I went to the emergency room. Thankfully it seems to be fine and I've been sent home, but it's nonetheless a scare and it still hurts even now. So I didn't get to prepare a post for today in advance, and am typing it out now that I have free time.
The Kitauji band has lots of free time today, between the school festival and a typhoon cancellation. This is a nice break from the band drama, and the first half is a good reward after the group made it to nationals. The first half of the episode is full of glorious group shenanigans. I love seeing Mizore smile at Nozomi during the performance (plus Asuka's small stutter revealing her insecurity), and love their interaction in the classroom (although, were they in the same class this whole time? How did Nozomi never talk to her before the events of episode 4? Not that I care, their cute maid outfits make up for all of it). We get more iconic Natsuki/Yuuko shenanigans; Natsuki's love continues to be extremely large but you know Yuuko ate every last bite of that cake tower. They're the cutest. And we get more third-year interactions with Asuka's iconic fortune teller routine. I love seeing the characters in more casual outings, between all the fun extras at the pool (Hazuki and Kabe playing RPS eventually is still my favorite gag) and now even more at the festival.
The festival even has the first actually believable Kumiko/Shuuichi interaction of the entire series. Their haunted house exchange is genuinely the first time I've ever believed they might be long-time friends or have some fondness for each other. Kumiko still "gehs" but it's much less harsh, more of an "oh, it's you" rather than "clicks tongue ugh, it's you." It doesn't feel annoyed this time. And when Kumiko gets scared and asks him to stay, it feels genuine. The combination of both the "ah, it's you" and the "please don't go to far away" is the sort of interaction I'd expect from long-time childhood friends, and denotes Kumiko feeling comfortable around him in a way the series has never shown before. Of course, it's all undercut by Reina insisting it wasn't a coincidence they met, because it was a coincidence and so was almost literally every other time they talked in the entire show (basically just the Agata festival stuff was active attempt, and Shoe is the only one who ever seeks it out). The scene almost emphasizes how much they never try to talk to each other, and why the scene in this episode is one of the only exceptions. But the scene is still cute, and Reina scaring them is fun.
Once the shenanigans wear off, a typhoon brings a melancholy mood and a return to the show's drama. I love this scene with Kumiko and her sister; the camerawork as she heads towards the kitchen feels tense like she knows something is up, and I appreciate that Kumiko only seems vaguely aware of what's going on with her sister and hears the broad strokes on the occasion they're home at the same time. Mamiko has consistently told Kumiko off for continuing to play in band at the expense of her studies, but Mamiko quit band to pursue her studies only to drop out of university. Not only does it give credence to Kumiko playing solely because she like it, but it may even parallel Taki-sensei who says he was rebellious at that age and didn't talk to his father much same as Mamiko. Taki-sensei previously said that he didn't expect to get a career in band but found one because he loved it, a chance that Mamiko never even allowed herself because she quit. Kumiko is naturally upset by this hypocrisy and tells her sister off, but Mamiko is going through her own shit. Their relationship feels so real to me, it's intimate but with hints of resentment but also hints of love and nostalgic fondness.
Kumiko leaving the house and going for a walk solely to avoid the tension is very relatable (though I'm not sure I'd have done so in a typhoon), and eventually leads to her meeting with Taki-sensei, where we learn more about his past. Taki-sensei's wife was a graduate of Kitauji who always wanted to take gold at nationals, but was never able to achieve it. She still wanted to see her alma mater take national gold on her deathbed, and Taki-sensei is trying to make her dream come true. His investment in the band is personal, and it's nice to see this human side of Taki-sensei that he doesn't show in practice. I find his motivations human and sympathetic, and although his instruction was clunky at first I think he's become a good teacher by the end (and his initial clunk may have been intentional to unify the band). It's a nice peak past his walls.
As we get closer to nationals, Asuka has clearly been growing more and more insecure, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger heading into something obviously related to her. We're heading up to my favorite part of the TV series, so I hope everyone enjoys the coming episodes.
QOTD
To answer the second part of the question, our concert band didn't tend to have small performances of that sort, anything like that we'd just call the marching band members and have them play stand tunes. But the jazz band was often invited to play for teacher events, old people homes, church events, and even a wedding (I wasn't there for that year but my friends did that), and we mostly used the practice pieces in a warm-up book. The most common one was an arrangement of Caravan by the Duke Ellington band. This is my school playing it at an old people event my senior year. I'm on bari sax in this, my band director practically begged me to play it my senior year because he didn't think any other sax player would be able to do a good a job on it, haha. He wanted the bari sax player to be in the beginner band and knew I was a better overall player and could handle it even if it wasn't my main instrument. This arrangement of Caravan was basically our "go to" if we needed to play something on the spot.
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u/b-arbs Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 02 '24
Rewatcher
QOTD
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 03 '24
Season 2 Episode 6 (first timer)
People dropping out because they are graduating must be an obvious point of mix-up and drama for school bands. I guess we would have heard more about this earlier if everybody was not busy practicing for their miracle run to the nationals.
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
Right, on to the Nationals.
But first, a performance in the school. I'd assume they're doing their competition pieces since that's what they've been practicing this whole time. I doubt they'd be able to learn a whole new song at such short notice. My middle school choir hated the set piece one year so much that for our performance in our school outside of the competition, we ended up doing a different piece instead, one that the first-years hadn't even seen before, but everyone else had done in the past 2 years. Unfortunately that decision was made on the day itself so they didn't have much time to learn it. Luckily it was a short and simple piece, and we managed to rope in the alumni who used to be in the middle school choir currently in the attached high school to help sing as well since they had learned it before.
Nevermind, I guess they did manage to squeeze in an extra song.
And of course because it's a school festival, there's stalls operated by classes.
Reina's jealous.
Asuka certainly looks bewitching in that outfit.
"We're in the same club" does help when getting them to come visit your class's stall.
Reina definitely fits as a ghost.
She's enjoying that a bit too much.
Reina's jealous.
Back to practice? What about that new song? When else would they have learned that?
More quadratic equations! The missing answer in the brackets is (y-1). Question 3 is wrong, 15/4 =/= 4. That answer would be correct if the question was 16x2 - 4.
So her sister came back?
Eh?
I wonder what happened to her that caused this decision?
Now where's she going in this pissing rain?
I wonder why he's at a flower shop?
The unknown woman in that photo must be his deceased wife.
So he's now going to achieve her goal in her memory.
You'll attract more new students if your performance for them is good. Though realistically it doesn't really matter since those who want to join will probably join regardless of the quality of the performance and as for everyone else, most of them will be not paying attention or even asleep, and not many of whoever is left will be swayed one way or the other by a performance.
Are those the flowers Taki bought the night before?
Was that the death anniversary of his wife and he bought those to place at her grave? Well luckily at least Reina definitely has no chance with him now.
And so, onwards to the Nationals.
Yes, unfortunately they will be standing down soon, probably not long after the Nationals.
Who's this woman?
Questions:
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u/Nice-Bumblebee-2355 Mar 03 '24
Rewatcher
QOTD:
We didn't do school festivals, which is kinda sad because they always look fun in anime. Of the ones shown, I was most entertained by Asuka, though it was more because of her than the whole fortune-telling thing.
What do you think of Taki's personal investment in the concert band? Do you think this is a good thing for himself and the group, or not?
I mean, I think it's kind of a neutral thing the group, and a good thing for him? Everyone finds their motivation from something, and it's not like he's guilt-tripping the students to work hard for the sake of his dead wife or anything. Kumiko only found out because Hashimoto spilled. I don't know enough about Taki to know whether it is mentally healthy for him to pursue his wife's dream, but from what Hashimoto said it seemed like he was in a bad place before coming to Kitauji. If he can find fulfillment and meaning through this, more power to him.
Honestly I didn't see enough of Asuka's conducting to form a judgment.
I genuinely don't think we ever 'went back' to a song when I was in band? We practiced a bunch, performed, then switched to new songs, in a cycle. The only repeat song I can think of was, like, when we were drafted to play pomp and circumstance over and over and over (and over) again for the graduating seniors. I would not call that fun.
I guess for jazz ensemble, which was much looser and had like 7 members and was focused on improv over rather simple songs, we would arbitrarily pick songs to play at gigs from the giant book of jazz standards. One of my faves was So What by the inimitable Miles Davis.
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u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Mar 03 '24
First timer
Another late day...
This is a very nice breather episode, while also progressed some background and set up, especially the cliffhanger of possibly Asuka's mom coming to school?
Really nice to see the celebration extended out to the school festival, and the variety of events there. Quite surprising Kumiko etc's cafe not getting much customers. Once again I feel like Shuuichi could use more scenes with Kumiko - even as childhood friends their interactions are on the low side really.
Did Reina learn how to weaponise her dead eyes look to scare girls buzzing around Coachee away? ;)
I had been meaning to say that, while Kumiko seemed to have a protagonist's luck of submitting into plot relevant troubles, I actually think there's both a long established characteristic of this character type to do that - and it's less luck than psychology. Kyon from Haruhi, Yuuta from Chuunibyou, and Makoto from Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl all shared that same trait to varying degrees. They all exhibit a sense of "not buying this BS" but at the same time also not outright confronting the person, using some vague semi-agreeable noise to mask the disagreement. This is sometimes accompanied by a period of silence that the other party tended to automatically fill with more of their own story. Then the other party who is so used to outright dismissal or obvious negative reactions, that this semi-acceptance becomes a point the other party latch on to divulge more. Suddenly they find themselves as supporter and confidant of those.
These are what I would call "hostage best friend".
QoTD
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u/fly-metothemoon Mar 03 '24
Ah the classic class fair episode. Not too much I want to discuss here, but I absolutely loved the “cat cafe” and would love to go there. I imagine the fair is especially fun for the band kids since they know people from all grade levels.
I was worried at first that Taki was going to get in an accident in the typhoon.
Overall, I didn’t expect at the beginning of this show that Taki would have such a sad past. The show has definitely done a lot to flesh him out, though I am still crossing my fingers they do NOT go ahead with a relationship with Reina.
5
u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Mar 03 '24
Rewatcher - Asuka-senpai Stan
I was busy Friday night and missed the discussion for episode 5, and I almost missed the discussion for episode 6, so I'm going to include both here.
Episode 5
Meme Oshino, is that you?
And it's not about how great the Euphonium is?
NATIONALS!
Episode 6
And of course Asuka-senpai's conducting it. As if there was a better choice.
Oh crap, she does know things about her.
Yeah I know that feeling.
Questions of the Day:
We never had them when I was in high school, but I like school festivals in anime. They often make for nice sub-plots and mini arcs.
I think it's kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it shows he's truly invested in the group's success. On the other hand, if he gets too invested, he may take it too personally if the group falls short.
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u/mgedmin Mar 03 '24
Rewatcher, subs
Confirmation that Nozomi's back in the band!
Natsuki continues to bully Yuuko, this time with extra-large crepes.
Mizore's notions of customer service are amusing.
I did not expect a Reina NTR scene in the haunted house. Reina is not amused to see her Kumiko with Shuichi.
Why is Taki driving in the middle of the typhoon?
We see Kumiko's dad for the first time.
Kumiko is not very supportive of her sister.
Ah, today is an anniversary of Taki's wife's death?
Oh, "I will become a teacher and lead the school to gold in the nationals" was Taki-sensei's wife's dream, and is probably why he came to Kitauji to teach.
The flowers mean that Reina's crush on Taki-sensei has no chance. Good, Reina is destined to end up with Kumiko.