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 →