Hibike! Euphonium

Now that Kumiko Oumae has enrolled in Kitauji High School, she hopes to forget about her past. Despite her desire for a fresh start, she gets dragged into the school's band club by her new friends—Sapphire Kawashima and Hazuki Katou—and is once again stuck playing the euphonium.

As the band currently stands, they won't be able to participate in the local festival, Sunfest, let alone compete at a national level. The band's new advisor, Noboru Taki, gives them a choice: they can relax and have fun, or practice hard and attempt to get into nationals. Not wanting to repeat her mistakes from middle school, Kumiko is doubtful as to whether they should try for nationals. Amidst the chaos, she learns that her old bandmate, Reina Kousaka (who she had a bitter relationship with) has joined Kitauji's band club. Under the pressure of Noboru's strict training, Kumiko and her bandmates must learn to overcome their struggles and find success together.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Oumae, Kumiko Main

Kurosawa, Tomoyo Japanese

Kousaka, Reina Main

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Katou, Hazuki Main

Asai, Ayaka Japanese

Kawashima, Sapphire Main

Toyota, Moe Japanese

Tanaka, Asuka Supporting

Kotobuki, Minako Japanese

Yoroizuka, Mizore Supporting

Nakagawa, Natsuki Supporting

Fujimura, Konomi Japanese

Tsukamoto, Shuuichi Supporting

Ishiya, Haruki Japanese

Kasaki, Nozomi Supporting

Yoshikawa, Yuuko Supporting

Yamaoka, Yuri Japanese

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Saitou, Shigeru Producer

Senami, Riri Assistant Producer, Publicity

Yarimizu, Yoshifumi Assistant Producer

Reviews

Jun 30, 2015

Glacialis

Recommended

This is it, their grand return. While the past number of shows they’ve animated may not have quite hit the mark in terms of greatness, KyoAni has captured the magic of what made me fall in love with the studio in the first place with their newest work, Sound! Euphonium. What many brushed off as just a K-On! 2.0, Sound! Euphonium is one of the best anime that I have seen in a long time.

Sound! Euphonium follows the Kitauji High School Concert Band, a group that sounds fairly mediocre, and follows their journey as they grow both as musicians and as people in their ... efforts to truly accomplish what they before just claimed as a pipe dream: make the nationals of the Kansai Band Competition. The story itself is fairly simplistic, but the real meat of it is focusing in on the journey that is walked to achieve their goals. The band must constantly overcome the internal conflicts that it faces as a result of being a collection of individuals, but watching them overcome these conflicts and grow as individuals as well as a group is what I believe to be a rewarding experience.

But of course, none of that matters if we don’t care about the individuals that make up the group in the first place. However, that’s one of what I believe to be the two things that really shine in this show that pushes it to be amazing. These characters feel real. They’re not one-dimensional drawings that the creators expect us to care about just because they’re there. They feel alive. Each character has depth to them in a way that makes it so that I can’t really describe them in just a few words. In particular, I think that Kumiko is probably one of the best main characters that KyoAni has put out there, putting her up there or above the heights of some of their best like Oreki or Kyon. She feels like a person that I could relate with, rather than some exaggerated caricature. She’s a little distant, but still a little lively. She’s a little self-conscious, but still a little confident. She’s not skewed so far in any one direction that makes her seem like, well, an anime character. The supporting cast all bring some depth to the table as well, with some standouts being Reina, Natsuki, Asuka, Taki-sensei, Haruka, and Kaori. And they’re not just there; they grow as well. From being distant to becoming a little more open, from being apathetic to lighting their passion, they all change, some a little, others more noticeably, and this really makes Sound! Euphonium stand out from the rest.

The other part of what I believe makes Sound! Euphonium stand out is the attention to detail. That goes for in the artwork, the sound, the direction, and all the little parts of the show, coming together to make this a beautiful work of art. KyoAni is known for having great animation, but this is probably the best they’ve put out. Every motion feels fluid and draws me in; the scenery and lighting are beautifully drawn and lit up or dimmed; and the background music or the lack thereof only serves that enhance the atmosphere. And then the camera work. The camera work really stands out in a way that enhances every scene, from focusing onto a specific point, or lightly moving around a whole scene. Two scenes in particular, in Episode 8 and Episode 12, just really stand above the rest in how these aspects are used and come together, and to me are some of the most outstanding scenes I’ve seen throughout the entirety of anime. All these little things come together to paint a work of art that really shines, and it is a beauty to behold.

And not just in those areas either; as a musician myself, I really appreciated the attention focused into the musical side of things. When the band first played, you didn’t have to just rely on the words of the characters to know they were bad. If you listened, you could tell they were bad. All the instruments were made with a polish and shine that made them look like real instruments, and when they were being played, they even used correct fingerings. As this is something that is usually overlooked in the majority of anime, the amount of detail that KyoAni put into the musical aspect is amazing. They also captured the essence of a high school band beautifully. While there of course were some differences as it was a club rather than a class, the amount of work that was put in, the internal drama that the band members faced, the conflicting attitudes of how hard the students want to work, and then the tension that precedes a performance and the excitement or disappointment that comes afterwards was captured in a way that really exemplified the high school band experience.

There are few loose ends that aren’t really tied up, mostly in the romantic department, just due to the nature of it being an adaption of a different work, but I don’t believe that to be any fault of the show itself, and they are easily overlooked when compared to everything else that is done great.

Many people believe KyoAni has fallen from grace, and whether or not that is true can be debated, but shows like Sound! Euphonium prove that KyoAni is still capable of creating works of art, and illustrate why some people have come to see this studio as one of the most capable out there. I only look forward to see what the studio has in store after bringing us a masterpiece like Sound! Euphonium.



Tl;dr: Great characters and attention to detail come together to provide a masterful work of art.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 15, 2015

AmbiguousMonster

Mixed Feelings

Hibike! Euphonium is a curios production that in narrative, visuals and music has moments where it truly shines, but sadly they are diluted by mediocre plot points, unnecessary characters and unusual story structure, taking what could have been a strong and emotionally resonant series down to a pleasant, but ultimately scarcely memorable watch.

The story, centered around Kumiko Oumae and her music class companions as they try to get to the nationals, is very inconsistent in terms of emotional intensity, pacing and enjoyment. Throughout the early episodes, the story is focussed on introducing Kumiko and her friends, Midori and Hazuki, to the audience, however this is ... little initial tension or overbearing atmosphere to keep the audience engaged through this middling introduction. Hazuki increasing her capacity to breate, though insightful to those who are interested in the qualities required to play a wind instrument, is neither comedic nor engaging; even worse, it feels as though the audience are being forcefully pulled away from the considerably more interesting side characters like Asuka, Reina and the instructor, Taki. As the narrative progresses, other characters do become more relevant, but the results are mixed. An entire episode is spent focussing on a love triangle that goes nowhere, a conspiracy of nepotism that adds nothing and the main character faltering the episode before the climax. However, that’s not to say that the story is a failure; specific moments are so well written and directed that they are simply breathtaking, such as second halves of episodes 8, 11 and 13. On the whole, this leads to a story that feels too long in some ways, as it has many redundant gears that simple exist to pad out the series, yet too short in others, as the more interesting and resonant parts are never given the focus they deserve. Tragically, though all the ingredients were there to construct a heart-warming, memorable story, they were not handled with the competence required to make this a truly great slice of life series.

The characters are much like the story in terms of how mixed they are. Reina Kousaka is without a doubt the highlight character, boasting a stoic and occasionally cryptic attitude that makes her intriguing, but having sufficient depth and believability to make her relatable. Her scene on the mountain with Kumiko was the magnum opus of this anime, having sufficient build-up to warrant the reveal of her ideals without feeling cheap or melodramatic. However, her full potential isn’t quite reached, as conflicts are introduced regarding her, yet they rarely reach a resolution. Taki, the instructor, is also a very watchable character, but he gets little development or screen time, which, given the conspiracy surrounding his relationship with Reina, is quite a missed opportunity. Speaking of missed opportunities, Asuka has little done with her character after it is established, though thankfully this fault isn't nearly as glaring, as her interactions with the rest of the cast more than make up for it. However, regarding the character cast of Hibike! Euphonium, the praise ends there. The other characters all fall into the categories of being either disappointingly mediocre or outright boring. Kumiko joins the former category; perhaps she was intended to act as a character through which the audience could view the others, but this approach leaves much to be desired, because she seems like too much of a blank slate. She does have some development in the penultimate episode, but by then it is too little, too late, coming off as more of a desperate attempt at character growth instead of a relatable problem.

Instead of giving her more consistent growth, time is wasted on her friends, Midori and Hazuki, whose company would perhaps be more appreciated if they didn’t distract from the emotional core of the series, Kumiko and Reina’s relationship. As they are, they’re annoying, uninteresting friends who say way too much and add much too little. Though other characters, like Natsuki and Aoi aren’t bad by any means, they waste ample time in an anime that really needs to pick and choose its foci better. However, though everything mentioned thus far is mixed to a varying degree, there is one constant in Hibike! The comedy is uniformally bad. There is not one genuine laugh provided even though every trick in the moe-book-of-laughs is used. Breast gags come off as more obnoxious than anything else, awkward character interactions make the audience feel just as uncomfortable and the over the top facial expressions don’t gel with the more dramatic nature of the series. Sometimes the comedy and drama are shifted between with so little grace that the audience suffer from tonal whiplash, and occasionally it feels like even the series doesn’t know what it’s trying to communicate. That’s not to say the drama is done poorly; quite the contrary. The climax of the series sent chills down my spine, and the aforementioned conversation between Reina and Kumiko in Episode 8 resonated to my very soul. If there were more moments like this, Euphonium might have been great, but it must simply settle for being decent.

Surely the animation is its saving grace, right? Kyoto animation always delivers in this regard, right? Well, if you consider a spotless glass of water to be beautiful, then this will probably appeal to you. However, for me it didn’t stick out nearly enough most of the time to make this series a real spectacle. The character designs are bright and consistent, fluid and detailed, but lack a sense of identity needed to make them memorable. Chuunibyou’s character designs had a exuded a sense of silly optimism, giving the audience an idea of who they are before they even spoke. Hibike! Euphonium’s character designs, on the other hand, didn’t really have much emotion. Aside from Reina, who the animators seemed to priorities above everyone else just like the writers did, Kumiko and the others, particularly the males, are monotonous to watch, with their plain uniforms and uninteresting expressions. The animators not only seemed to put their best efforts into the best characters, but the best scenes as well. For the most part, the series is set in a detailed, yet ultimately blandly coloured and designed room, feeling very claustrophobic and unengaging, both visually and narratively. On top of that, wind instruments are, by design, not particularly notable visual stimulants, and the anime fails to work around this. Aside from the occasional mouth movement, the euphonium and trumpet players only occasionally move a single finger, and that’s in the rare instance that the frame is focussed on them. That's not to say the instruments themselves were bad, as they are extremely well drawn and lit, but they weren't utilised properly. The occasionally visited lake, however, is absolutely breathtaking, as is Reina’s resplendent white dress in episode 8 and the bridge shown during Kumiko’s meltdown in episode 12, which, along with the accompanying strong facial animation and soaring music, leaves me both wistful to see more, and disappointed that such well-directed scenes are so few and far between. On the whole, Hibike! Is easy on the eye, but serves very little purpose for the vast majority of the anime.

The score is much like the visuals; technically, it’s high quality, with crisp sound effects and realistic instrument sounds, but it feels much too safe and by-the-numbers to impress like it should, particularly in an anime the focusses so heavily on music. The OP and ED are both completely forgettable, often starkly contrasting the more dramatics episodes in the series and they’re both overall weak, generic songs in their own right. The voice acting for the male characters in this series is completely forgettable, even for Taki-sensei, barring one or two emotional moments. Kumiko’s fairly good, Asuka and Reina are both great, but Midori and Hazuki are nails on a chalk board, absolutely irritating in every line they speak. Interestingly, I think the voice actress for Kaori was the stand out, capturing the emotional intensity and restraint of her character in a role that would have been very easy to fumble in. The OST doesn’t back up this relatively strong group of voice actors very well, shining only, as was mentioned earlier, in the same moments as the characters and visuals, but being disappointingly mediocre in every other respect. It’s pleasant, certainly, and keeps up with the pace, but nothing is memorable or evoking, as the series further proves its inability to reach its potential.

The themes presented in Hibike! Euphonium, at least on paper, are resonant, relatable to people regardless of their age and should make for some emotionally satisfying moments. Themes such as being the underdog, finding self-acceptance and self-value and enjoying the little moments in life are all present. However, much like every other aspect of Hibike!, they’re a mixed bag. Reina herself struggles with her love for Taki, while also feeling slightly uncomfortable around him and very defensive of him, though this never reaches anything. Kumiko struggles with her ability, though after an outstanding character moment, this is resolved too easily and too late. Such themes and scenarios are peppered throughout, but the series messily tangles them, introducing too many and resolving few of them. Even Asuka is hinted to have some hidden secrets, but they never come to fruition.

Overall, Hibike! Euphonium is a can-see anime. If it looks like it will appeal to you, if you have fond memories of being in a school band or aren’t as concerned about messy structure, then you will by no means regret this. It’s pretty to look at, sound pleasant, and has some stand out moments that elevates it from so-so to decent, though if, like me, you would prefer something with a more decisive and competent handling of its themes and characters, there are better anime out there for you. However, a second season could blow many of my problems away, and if there is a second season, I’ll be watching.

(On a side note, the translation of Hibike! Euphonium to Sound! Euphonium is one I disprove of. Instead, direct and more tonally accurate translate would be “You Can Play! Euphonium”, though perhaps this would make the product less marketable. )

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jun 30, 2015

vegetablespirit

Not Recommended

Kyoto Animation's success with K-On gave a new face to the genre of music anime—a face that focused on the activities of cute girls in a group, and to a lesser extent, their relationships. Hibike Euphonium is more or less the same formula, but on a much larger scale; a school band of boys and girls alike. Said school band is aiming for a mere shot at the nationals with the help of an instructor much stricter than they'd prefer. It's by no means an original concept, but it would be acceptable if it showcased the trials a band faces in an admirable fashion; instead, ... Hibike is more concerned about weak shoujo ai coupled with the insecurities of its characters.

Kumiko and her friends are the main source of those insecurities, and they're not much more than what you'd expect from a teenage group of anime characters: naïve, overstating, and worried about love. Little can be said about unique characteristics or personalities, since aside from a few cute quirks (like a character naming her tuba 'Tubacabra'), there are next to none. To balance this weakness out, the show introduces the collected and beautiful bandmate Reina, whose mutual admiration with Kumiko tends to go a little overboard. There's a load of flirting between the two without any romantic development, which leads me to believe the relationship is only there to give a reason to the protagonist's unnatural success; the two are driven by a non-existent love for each other, and it is not convincing in the slightest.

That wasted screentime could have been better used on the development of the school band, who the viewer only gets to know about a quarter of. Because of that lack of focus, there is no unifying element of teamwork to the storyline—you are merely watching a few people surrounded by background characters whenever they play. Their instructor, Taki, is often pointing out musical flaws or weaknesses in certain sections of the band, but the lack of familiarity with the members makes their struggle to improve near meaningless. Unless you're driven by any personal nostalgia, it is seemingly impossible to empathize with anyone. It really makes the end goal to reach the nationals both predictable and uninteresting, as well as boring to watch.

The animation of Hibike Euphonium is great. Crisp, fluid, and full of detail, it's something that can only be expected of the notorious studio behind it. The art itself isn't as impressive, but acceptable; everything looks as if it's been bathed in layers upon layers of oil, even excessive by the standards of teenage hygiene. Regardless, watching each instrument as it's being played is always a real treat.

Hearing them is pretty nice, too. It's likely the only real indicator of progress in the series, as they go from sounding like your average school band to something deserving of recognition pretty quickly. In fact, it's a little too abrupt of an improvement. Later performances begin to sound too professional for their age level, and as beautiful as it is, it's immersion-breaking. For better or for worse, you can tell that the soundtrack was performed by a group that makes its anime counterpart pale in comparison.

Clumsiness aside, Hibike manages to fit into the formula its predecessors put in place, albeit quite half-heartedly. The fundamentals are all there, but the soul is missing. It's drab, often slow, and questionable in focus, but it is what it is. If you're looking for something light and simplistic, go nuts. Just don't expect much in the drama department, OK?

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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