It’s time to bid farewell to all the wonderful 3^rd-years, as they get to indulge in the sweet memories they had made and remind themselves that despite not going out with a bang, they still managed to pull off something truly unforgettable. Not a true to form clip-show, but an episode to reminisce all the great moments the Kitauji band has shared whilst celebrating the end for their seniors. Between partying and hazy-flashback-montages, there’s not too much to this episode besides taking it all in and accepting that Asuka must move on.

Out of all of the seniors, she’s really the only one of any significance. Yes, there’s the president and that one trumpet girl from the first season, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, Asuka’s the only senior that matters. I mean, the band basically fell apart when she wasn’t there. It was a brilliant touch to start the episode with the choosing of next year’s president, as it was a stark reminder to the audience that what comes next is a fresh start. Yuuko nominates herself, unsurprisingly, but it turns out Asuka had a contingency plan. Natsuki steps up to be Vice President, only because Asuka asked her to. And as established a little throughout this season, Natsuki is sort of playfully at odds with Yuuko, so this is to hopefully will keep her in check.

Moving on from there, it’s just a whole lot of music, montages, and moments of Kumiko contemplating Asuka leaving. In the end, everyone is saying their generic goodbyes to their seniors, meanwhile Kumiko is running around in search of her beloved senpai. She finds her wrapped up her winter coat, away from everyone else because she’s obviously the type that hates grand, sorrowful goodbyes. It’s here that Kumiko reveals her true feeling for Asuka from when they first met, up until that very moment. I especially love the part where Asuka tries to stay in her character and act like she already knew that, only for Kumiko to say “No, you don’t…I love you”. Of course, that wasn’t enough to shut Asuka down into a sobbing mess, but it was certainly enough to shut her up for some brief seconds.

Asuka then hands over her father’s notebook to Kumiko, the ultimate passing of the torch. While I feel like this notebook must’ve been introduce sometime earlier in the series, I honestly cannot recall when it was shown, if at all. The great and totally unexpected thing about it though, was that the song Asuka played for her was written by her father, and the name of that song…was Sound! Euphonium. Man, was I totally surprised by that. Never had I expected the name of the series was anything more than just a name. Not only that, but they managed to pull it off in a way that didn’t feel totally telegraphed and contrived. At least, not telegraphed until the very moment. When Kumiko wonders to herself what the piece is called and opens the book, I physically exclaimed “NO FUCKING WAY. They used the name of the show IN the show!” Even though that’s definitely not an original thing, it left me pleasantly astounded nonetheless.

And that’s all there really was to this episode. Still a lot to take in despite so little actually happening. One thing I will say is that the episode is a really great opportunity to pay attention to the OST, if you haven’t been doing so already. I believe the episode has all of those emotional accompaniments that really heighten moments to the next level, somewhere tucked in. Definitely a soundtrack worth buying, despite how expensive anime music can sometimes be. Anyway, stay tuned for the season review coming soon, as well as a few other special surprises. Thanks for reading!

-In loving memory of Asuka,

who isn’t dead, but feels like it.