Anime: Hibike! Euphonium 3x271v

There is a sense of wonder and grandeur that hit upon witnessing the first episode of Hibike Euphonium. Perhaps it was due to the outstanding score or the sheer glow the characters had. Perhaps it was how its main character, Kumiko, was immediately presented. It’s hard to quantify such a feeling, but it’s an undoubtedly great feeling as you discover that you’re going to fall in love with a show that is confident in its own greatness.

Perhaps the most immediate aspect to hit me was the soundtrack composed by Akito Matsuda. Several of the show’s background pieces convey a sense of tenderness and swelling emotion that few OSTs can truly match. “Hajimari No Senritsu” stands out as the first piece to provide that intimate and wondrous feeling the soundtrack wishes to convey, and others such as “Shintenchi”, “Iroasenu Kako”, “Ichiho Zutsu Mae”, and especially “Unmei no Nagare” also excel in this regard. It’s impossible for me to do this monumental OST justice, as it’s become one of my favorites in the medium to date and there are several stunning tracks yet to be mentioned such as “Tsutaetai Omoi”, “Ishiki no Houga”, and “Ao Haru no Kunou”. This also fails to include the pieces played by the Kitauji High School band over the course of the show such as the jazzy “Starting the Project (Big Band ver.)” and the centerpiece of the second half: “Mikazuki no Mai (Reina Trumpet Solo ver.)”. On top of that, the show does a wonderful job at cueing the audience into the differences in quality of a character or band’s performance over time and when something sounds perfectly cohesive or disorganized. The epic, expressive, and swelling vocals and instrumentals on the OP, “DREAM SOLISTER” by TRUE is another great song that keeps up with the OST. The ED, “Tutti!” by Kitauji Quartet is also amazing with wonderfully cheerful vocals from the seiyuu of the main 4 characters, and how everything swells up in the climax of the song. It might even be preferable to the OP, which just further highlights how outstanding the show’s music is.

Another fascinating aspect of the show is its unique sense of lighting. Kyoto Animation is generally known for its outstanding attention to detail in its animation and artwork, and this show is no exception. There are several wonderful facial expressions and pieces of highly detailed animation to be found. However, outside of a few slideshow dips, this isn’t what caught my eye the most about the show’s wonderful visuals. The character designs by Shoko Ikeda are beautiful adaptations of the original designs by Nikki Asada, as there’s a sense of shininess to them that takes full advantage of the show’s lighting. Unlike shows such as Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei and The Asterisk War which just have gaudy, oversaturated lighting for no reason, this show has a natural sense of lighting complemented by its beautiful art direction. Water and sweat glisten more vividly than any other show I’ve seen, and whenever characters or their instruments are surrounded by street lights or any other light source, there’s an organic glow that radiates from them. Instruments shine intricately during major performances for similar reasons, and these scenes are all sights to behold. The direction by Tatsuya Ishihara only enhances this, as it rivals his work on The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. The presentation feels so intimate and tender, which brings the most out of the show’s mesmerizing music, lively lighting, and wonderful writing. Everything feels so organic and lovely that it’s astounding.

This organic nature is also what makes the writing so much better than it could have been. Melodrama has become a dirty word in the anime community, describing an overdramatization of conflict which several fans deride. This is most common in high school dramas, which this show happens to be. There are certainly melodramatic characters in the show which drive a lot of the conflict in the latter half of the season such as Yuuko and Reina. However, the show highlights them in contrast to a lot of the more grounded characters such as Kumiko and Asuka. Kumiko is a wonderful main lead, as she feels particularly natural. Her penchant for thinking out loud and accidentally letting things slip is such a rare trait in anime that the show explores, and the character herself is very expressive yet down to earth. Perhaps more so than anyone else, she feels like a genuine, complicated person with her own well-defined feelings towards others. Others such as Hazuki and Midori have their own fun quirks and struggles with how they play or whenever Midori finds herself catching hopeless feelings for someone with his own complicated relationship with Kumiko.

The last 7 episodes feel especially great at managing a careful tenuous balance between its drama and the show’s tender, more down to earth nature. Melodramatic conflicts such as love triangles, rumors, and competitions for a specific spot that a competitor’s adoring friend escalates are all handled tactfully and are never overplayed in this second half. Even events that Kumiko is haunted by that seem like they might repeat have a wholesome resolution that feels earned and natural to every character involved. Even those such as Asuka and Natsuki, who clearly have their own somber sides that the former hides and the latter exudes at first feel natural and multi-layered when contrasting those sides with their more understanding, cheerful, and good-natured selves that we see them as most often. Even more minor characters have their own personal struggles and layers that are made abundantly clear such as Kumiko’s sister, and events such as the audition tryouts and reminders of the turbulent year had before present-day bring out the most in them with how everything is explored so tactfully and earnestly. It’s hard not to feel sorrow or joy in several moments in the show because of that. Everything feels earnest and natural, rather than forced. This isn’t even mentioning every character and subplot that gets intricately woven together and addressed, otherwise we’d be here all day with spoilers throughout.

The first season of Hibike Euphonium is an astounding show that is far better than I could have anticipated. Its uniquely lively sense of lighting is matched only by its tender and resonant nature exemplified by its direction and music. The natural character writing and drama that rarely feels overplayed only add to how lovely this show is. Sure, there are minor issues such as Kumiko’s narration sometimes feeling unnecessary or there being a few slideshow moments, but they mean little in the face of such a great show. Here’s hoping season 2 matches the quality of this first outing.

Review
Kyoto Animation strikes again with another show relying on music clubs, young cute girls, and over-the-roof quality. The studio already worked on similar ideas years ago when it released K-On! and Clannad. Since then, however, the industry changed in regards with music-themed shows and it evolved from being simply a background for a cheesy comedy or lazy romance to be something more akin to a sports show filled with drama and tears. As if drawing inspiration from some great recent pieces such as Tari Tari and Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, KyoAni delivers one of the studio’s best with Sound! Euphonium! (Euphonium!).

This is a tale about Kumiko Oumae. After failing to enter the national competition with her middle-school music club and facing some problems, she now hopes to simply enjoy playing without higher ambitions. What happens, however, is that this new school is about to meet an inspiring teacher and plenty of skilled new students, something that can only raise their music club to new heights.

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1. It’s from Kyoto Animation
   You know the stuff. The studio is known for awesomely animated shows and they deliver it once again. The scenarios are breathtaking, there is a lot of stuff going on in most scenes, and the cuteness of the girls is outstanding. This day and age, however, has put a toll into how damn similar the girls are and you cannot simply watch Euphonium! without having some deja-vu from previous works of the KyoAni studio. It’s time they do something different with this character template, or else it will only get harder and harder to break the entry barrier to any new release from them.
   
   It’s about an orchestra
   Although pop-idols are everywhere and music shows are nearly all about them, Euphonium! works in tandem with the better shows and opt for non-conventional otaku music. This time an orchestra. This choice is the first and most important win of the show because it gives some identity and allows us to enjoy some refreshing music from time to time, not simply hear some seiyuu singing stuff as we do in every other dramatic show. It also works because it is a type of music demanding extreme teamwork and provides ground to explore the relationship between characters in less conventional ways.
   
   ...an orchestra of girls... mostly
   Okay. There are some guys. I mean, there is one guy that matters, who turns out to be the teacher responsible for the school club. There are also two students with some minor appearances here and there too... and that’s it. Surprisingly, around fifty from the sixty or so of the club are girls. Is this a thing? I cannot judge, but considering it is a show from KyoAni I can only think this was made on purpose to show cute girls every damn second. And yes, they are fuc*n cute.
   
   A training season
   Despite teasing the desire of the students to the national competition, this season is more about giving ground for every major student and putting them against the typical problems derived from the need of perfect teamwork, a strict teacher, and tons of teen problems such as romance, rebellion, and worshiping. This leads to a show filled with a sports atmosphere where competition is close by and the group must train harder and harder, but also delivers some decent character-developing plots and interactions.
   
   Consistency?
   Without much in of tension, Euphonium! ends up being a fairly consistent show that only lacks more moments where emotions truly overflow. It delivers a decent pace and rarely feels boring, but its shyness to go head-on with the competitions and the urge to bring life to the girls makes everything feel a bit lacking in thrilling moments. As in many sports shows, you get episodes introducing instruments, concepts related to orchestra and marching bands, and so on, leaving the tension only to its last leg.
   

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Comments
Euphonium! is perhaps one of the best works from KyoAni. Unlike most others it doesn’t waste too much time simply trying to be cute and it also skips attempts to sound utterly complex and "cult". It is a simple tale of friendship, hard work, and slice-of-life of teen girls doing stuff related to music. Because of that it feels more natural than most other shows from the studio and it works as a charm to make this yet another awesome music-themed show after the engaging Tari Tari a few years back and the more recent and stupendous Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.

Perhaps it could do more in of its competitions this season. Only a single event happens and bang! The end. So now we can only hope the next half consolidate this sports-like atmosphere and deliver us more moments of thrill and tears.

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