Alright, to start this episode review off I think I’m going to go ahead and bring focus on something that I haven’t really talked about until this point: Side characters! There sure are a lot of them in this show, and KyoAni never ceases to subtly remind us they exist, even though most of them hold very little significance in the actual narrative. Shuichi is the childhood friendboy of Kumiko, and he shows up maybe once every 4 episodes to casually chat with her for a couple of minutes. In this episode, they end up bumping into each other when heading out of the sleeping quarters at night. As they talk while drinking vending machine beverages, he simply acknowledges that he’s noticed her seem a little depressed about her older sister Mamiko. Shuichi also gives her a pretty flower hairpin as a late birthday present, but it’s not taken as some sort of romantic gesture as it’s made pretty clear that Midori was the one that pushed him to do it. Continue reading →

Sorry about the wait, but here it is: episode 11 (episode 12 will be up tomorrow). We start where we were last left off, Asuka’s back and everyone seems super happy until Kumiko turns to glance at Reina from afar. She seems mad, or at least a tad resentful, so of course it’s up to Kumiko to find out why. The general idea to be taken away from basic context is that Kumiko had been neglecting Reina while she was too busy focusing on getting Asuka back in the band. Continue reading →

Alright. It seems like we’ve finally reached the last episode of Asuka’s arc. Quite a long and somewhat painful ride this has been. Painful, but in mostly the best ways. It’s been hard to watch Kumiko try to get close to Asuka, all while her older sister’s life falls apart due a decision made that oh so coincidentally happens to be similar to the situation Asuka is in now. Perhaps a tad blatant in its insertion, the themes of this arc are very strong, and quite humble in execution. Themes of the pressures of society, abandoning ambitions for something that everyone is expected to want, fooling ourselves with naïve ideas of adulthood, and avoiding the possible pinnacles of one’s regrets. Heavy and thought-provoking, I couldn’t be happier with the climax reached from these looming concepts. Continue reading →

An interesting revelation had been brought to the table this episode, one that I must admit even I hadn’t thought too deeply about. Sound! Euphonium has a great all-around cast, two of which are some of the best supporting roles I’ve ever had the pleasure of coming across. These two are so great in fact, that it may have caused me to neglect something brilliant hiding right beneath my nose. Oumae, Kumiko is a far more fascinating character than meets the eye. Continue reading →

Looks like we’re going all in on the Mamiko (Kumiko’s sister) story arc. Luckily, it looks to shaping up quite nicely with now crystal clear reasons as to how it relates to the overall plot and the issues that certain characters are currently facing. To start this episode, we receive a flashback to a young Kumiko witnessing her older sister’s band recital. It was this recital that first sparked her passion for music, inspiring her to join band as soon as she was old enough so that one day she could play right along with the sister she looked up to. Continue reading →

Well, this was certainly an interesting character introduction. Meet Asuka’s mother: A controlling, abusive, psycho bitch that has absolutely no place in a narrative such as this. I really don’t like child abuse stories, not because they make me uncomfortable (it takes a lot more than that to discomfort me), but rather because they almost always feel so contrived. There’s always a kid with an issue that you can tell just by looking at them, but they don’t speak up about it and are always hiding their bruises. The parent that is causing this pain is a completely one-dimensional asshole that only serves to be evil, and not relatable in any way shape or form. One day the parent (usually a mother) snaps in public and the oh-so controversial act of physical violence takes place. Slap, then shock, then awe. Oh my, I’m so profoundly dismayed by this, shit just got real and I’m on the edge of my seat because this is so emotionally enthralling and-*Long, loud fart noise* Continue reading →

First things first: the opening theme of this season changed. It used to be all black and white and now they’ve finally adopted color. As to why this was transformed, I’m going on the assumption that it’s supposed to signify how the band is starting to feel like the idea of winning Nationals has become even more of a reality after their recent victory. You know, cause black and white isn’t what real life looks like, and so the transition to color means…well, you get the picture.

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Sound! Euphonium 2 did something very bold this episode, but before I get to that I have a couple of concerns. Firstly, the new coaches are apparently gone now, making me wonder why they were there in the first place. I was really hoping on at least Hashimoto staying, as he seems to be the one that knows the most about Taki-sensei. Other than that, I do not really see the point in adding these characters in the season at all, as they weren’t really given much enough screen time for the audience to get attached and they didn’t seem to do anything in terms of music instructing that couldn’t have easily been said by Taki-sensei himself. Oh well. Aside from that, Nozomi and Mizore and apparently best friends again, which I didn’t think was the conclusion they had come to last episode. I thought Mizore had gotten over Nozomi after that final confrontation, and it didn’t seem like Nozomi even cared that much for her either. And what about Yuuko and Mizore? Now that Nozomi’s back in the picture, everything they went through doesn’t matter? Pssh, whatever. Onto the main part of the episode. Continue reading →

We start this episode with a strange confession from the woodwinds instructor. Niiyama-sensei apologizes to Mizore, admitting she was wrong about something she said to her earlier, that she “convinced herself there was a limit to Mizore’s potential”. It seems pretty odd that an instructor would give up on a student like that, but it gives Mizore a chance to prove her wrong, which she does but not seemingly in response to her sensei’s words. While the idea of having one’s limits is brought up by the teacher, it seemed to be just a way to show how far Mizore has come and the skills she’s developed through mindless devotion. Wouldn’t want to cram too many thematic elements into this show, after all. Continue reading →