Hibike! Euphonium

Who knew that English class would actually help me in a Japanese anime?

There is so much subtle character development going on that people who usually watch shallow fighting anime (like me) would think that this sucked.

At first, I only watched this for the art. Yes, it was so amazing that I couldn't watch any anime e.g. Fullmetal Alchemist during the same week, because of the clear overpowering art of this one. 10/10

The story was decent at first; it was pretty generic (some people using teamwork to get a goal). But then, I felt as if I was missing something. I rewatched it, and noticed how ... all of the character development going on. It was like putting my head under water in a coral reef for the first time. Hint: watch how Kumiko's physical spacing with particular people change over time. It's actually important to the story. And yes, KyoAni has worked to that extent on bringing the story into the animation. 10/10

Music is really catchy, especially the op and the ending. I even have the op band version as my ringtone. The band songs they played are also really good. (did you know that they were made specifically for the anime?) 10/10

Characters are basically the story. This show is way more about the characters than the plot. It's the characters, in fact, which are the plot. And each one of them is developed very well, even the useless-ish Midori. Reina and Kumiko are by far, the best though. 10/10

Verdict: WATCH IT! If you have never seen anime, WATCH IT! If you have seen anime, WATCH IT!
The only people who I do not recommend to watch are those who aren't too interested in literature which requires thinking
e.g. Hunger Games, Sword Art Online don't require too much thinking

tl;dr: Do you want to watch movie-quality animation for 13 episodes? I'd recommend you at least give this anime a try.

I originally gave this show an 8 when I initially watched it, but after a re-watch with the Blu-ray version and the subtitles off, my personal enjoyment of this show rose enough to get a 10 from me. There were just too many details that I missed staring at the bottom of the screen.

I thought the story was solid, but probably a bit slow-paced for people not into slice of life shows. I'm not a big critic of either story,characters, or sound however, and I ... think other people probably have a more nuanced opinion that's more worth your time, so I won't waste time talking too much about those aspects. What I really like are visuals, and KyoAni did such a good job here with it that it elevated the other areas enough for me to rank this as a 10.

The best way to describe Hibike! is "lifelike." It feels like this show has twice the amount of frames of other shows. Hair will bounce with movement and settle on surfaces. Characters will turn their head and blink at appropriate moments in their speech. As much as they can, KyoAni tries to have the characters doing something, be it walking between places, cleaning an instrument, or fiddling with something or other. This amount of movement is so consistent that, when characters don't move, it becomes a potent storytelling choice. The entire ensemble being motionless while tuning, for example, doesn't feel lazy, but rather feels like they are listening as hard as they can.

Most of the time though, when things aren't moving, KyoAni cuts the camera. The courage with which KyoAni cuts the camera, and the angles with which they take, is amazing. Overhead shots, close-ups on fingers playing instruments, far shots of the whole ensemble with half of them reacting to something; I felt like I could see every little thing happening in a scene.

Another word that comes to mind with Hibike! is "detailed." Every background is placed in a location that is heavily referenced and grounded in real life. All the rooms are filled with small living details that signify that someone lives there, such as water bottles left under chairs or chalk stains on the floor below the boards. When they're outside, there's always some sort of movement to make the scene come alive, be it wind-blown petals or river water reflecting the city life. In regards to the characters, the hair always has a ridiculous amount of strands, and the clothing folds go far beyond the "necessary" amount to convey softness. And, every single ensemble member has a unique design, even if they have no lines in the show. While effort like this can sometimes end up over-detailing, in Hibike!'s case, it really does help establish that this is a "real" world, that moved before the show, and will continue to move after it.

Finally, the effects and lighting really make this show look like a movie instead of a TV season. The best way I can describe it is "cinematic." There's a consistent use of depth of field, blurring out different distances to the camera, such that there isn't a single scene that lacks depth in Hibike!. Most, if not all, scenes are set in a deliberately color-keyed environment, and the range is breathtaking; from vibrant, orange sunsets, to cloudy, greenish days, to cool, blue nights. If things are bright, they blow out things properly, adding a glow to everything they touch and revealing dust motes in the air.

But a fair criticism of the show is KyoAni's tendency for "style over substance," and it's something that I too felt when I watched the show for the first time. However, when I watched without being glued to subtitles, I began to pick up on all of the character acting that KyoAni lovingly scattered all over this thing. How do the characters feel at any point? Watch them. They'll nod according to what's being said, or look hastily away as someone enters the room, or shoot glances at someone else. They'll play with their hair, kick their feet, or suddenly begin to walk faster. Yes, sometimes the characters say what they're feeling, but more often than not, they SHOW you, to the point where the dramatic points evoked an emotional response from me despite not understanding half of it. And this is why I think the animation elevates this to a 10 for me; the animation IS the story.

Frankly, this level of visual quality isn't even present in half the movies I watch, and KyoAni does it for a whole season. It might not be something you'd be willing to watch with no subtitles, sure. But if you get this in that crisp Blu-Ray quality and don't read the subtitles so much, this is a treat for anyone that loves visuals as much as I do.

Ever read a story where the main character used to be an ugly/nerd/fat etc. person and was bullied by everyone but then as time passes they dedicated themselves into becoming a better person until they succeed and made bullies regret their actions? Those stories pretty much summarized my feelings towards Hibike! Euphonium. I actually dropped Hibike and made fun of how trash the show was with my friends in the past. But a MAL friend of mine gave me the courage to re-watch the show and told me not to judge the show in spite of the fact that I have only watched a few ... episode.

Coming back to Hibike! Euphonium is like receiving a hug from a person you love whilst a beautiful music is played in the background. I felt as if countless of bombs filled with happiness, excitement and entertainment exploded inside my entire body continuously like a bombardment as I continued watching the show and shed tears of joy, get goosebumps, scream like an excited autistic kid and smile with the feeling of satisfaction.

The show offered me everything it had and I gracefully took it all with a deep feeling of remorse for saying bad things towards the show in the past. This show had everything I desired and it shattered my distorted image of music anime into pieces with ease.

Hibike! Euphonium is a fantastic show about a school band trying their best to become qualified for the national band competition. Full of excitement and thrills, despite the fact that the synopsis sounds plain. The anime offers me the most precious gift of all humanity that I desire for a very long time..

SHOUJO AI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn fucking right. Shoujo Ai my mans. Woohoo! As a Shoujo Ai fan, seeing an anime that is not Shoujo Ai but offers hints and teases of Shoujo Ai really made me feel enlightened as if my life has become completed. I've finished all the Shoujo Ai anime that are good already so I had no choice but to switch to manga. And honestly, it was less fun. Seeing Shoujo Ai again, even if a little, in an anime really made me feel so happy that I could probably even cry for the whole day. Damn FUCKING right. I'm so glad that there's some Shoujo Ai in this anime. I'm so damn FUCKING glad. Holy fucking shit.

THE MUSICS ARE ALSO GOD FUCKING DAMN AMAZING THAT I NEVER SKIPPED THE OPENING AND ENDING. NEVER. Seriously, they are too good. This is the FIRST anime I watched and never ONCE skipped the OP nor the ED because they're both too amazing and catchy ( In the past I actually talked about how the musics make me ears hurt to my friends, but then after watching this show I came to a realization that I was wrong all along ).

This anime is too fucking good. I don't even know what to write anymore because this anime is just too good that its indescribable. If this anime was Shoujo Ai. I would've died in the middle of watching this show already. Thank god I'm alive to write this review. xD.

Alright, jokes aside. I recommend this to everyone. Don't fucking ignore it. You must watch this show. Try it, and don't just up like me in the past just because the first few episodes are boring! That's all. Thank you for reading my weird-ass review. Over.

Ah, band. The fond memories of a music player such as I, remembers the time back when you were but one of a group of 50+ students, playing a piece conducted by the music teacher at your school. But since there isn't much anime out there that encapsulates such an idea, this season of Spring 2015 brought us Hibike! Euphonium, a show that truly does capture the essence that is the high school band.

Story (7.66/10): Euphonium follows the story of Oumae Kumiko, a Euphonium player (basically the instrument is that of a smaller tuba) our main female protagonist of this series. After ... a brutal experience in middle school with her middle school band not making it to the ever coveted spot of being a participant in Japan's band Nationals, she becomes very distraught by the experience and swears not to join again. But, as chance may have it, her new friends want to join the band, and so by peer pressure, she does too. Now, she is once again holding the instrument she has been playing all her life with a band that has quite a divided history.

In essence, Hibike! Euphonium is an anime deconstruction of the idea of a high school band. Every part of what the characters do for the most part is what actual bands do. The sectionals where all the different instruments split off and practice individually, the tuning of the instrument before practice, the instrument maintenance, competing for that coveted solo part, and even the general attitudes both positive and negative from members within a band. It accurately shows what one is to expect whenever they join a band, which makes it a great watch for those who haven't actually been in one (if they're curious as to what they do), and for those who have just to say "yep, I've done that before."

One of the bigger ways the show showcases these trials within a band are through the use of small character arcs, each of which dealing with a different member within the band who has an issue with the way the band politics are working out. Each of these different arcs vary in importance and length in terms of screentime, but they make the show more interesting because it isn't always fun and games with band. Each of these small arcs are different and require the use of different character each time, hence a lot more use of the band and in the end, make for a much better storyline cause it's different people having different problems, making things more interesting.

However, Euphonium sometimes does miss a note or two. One of the more prominent things about it is the fact that it is a KyoAni show. KyoAni as of late has had a track record of moe shows, and as a result, Euphonium does showcase quite a few of your stereotypical moe moments for the sake of comedy. Of course, to me, this doesn't hamper the show all that much, but if you're not a fan of moe, then here's the warning for that. One of the bigger problems that Euphonium has with itself is the fact that there are unnecessary conflicts. In some cases, the show attempts to fill its runtime with conflicts within the band that sometimes feel unnecessary. There're moments where other characters attempt to change whatever's happened within the band to no avail, thus going back to the show's status quo, and even a romantic sideplot that was completely unneeded, all parts of the story which I think bring down the overall quality of the show.

Overall though, Euphonium as a whole brought to the table a deconstruction of a topic that hasn't really been talked about in anime. While there were parts of its story that were somewhat unfavorable, the end result was still able to showcase what the true feeling of being in a concert band was, and was able to deliver that concept very well.

Overall Score:
+ Deconstruction of band
+ Show's problems are similar to that of a band's
+/- Moe moments (this is good or bad depending on your taste in anime.)
- Unnecessary developments (like romantic sideplot)

Characters (7.41/10): The characters in Euphonium differ than what you would normally see in a general anime in terms of presentation. Rather than having a true, defined set of main and supporting cast, the show bounces back and forth with character importance, with each mini character arc dealing with a different problem focusing on a different member/section of the band.

But let's start with the main character of all of this, Oumae Kumiko. As a Euphonium player, Kumiko wished to follow in her sister's footsteps at a young age and started playing the Euphonium just like her sister did. Now in high school and the tragedy that was her middle school audition for nationals, Kumiko has become somewhat pessimistic, and very unmotivated to continue on band even when her friends say they're going to join as well. Kumiko's character is very different from the other kinds of characters that KyoAni has made the star of the show. Rather than being all cutesy and fussing adorably, Kumiko is a rather mischievous and downright mean character at times which I personally find to be a nice change, seeing how this is a much different personality than you would see in your standard moe fluff. In terms of development, Kumiko, in simple terms, gets her instrumental spark reignited, the spark that encourages one who plays an instrument to do better, play better, and perform better.

And then we have Kousaka Reina, Kumiko's middle school friend who is also a trumpet player. From the start of the series, Reina's ideals are plastered on the idea of becoming special, becoming a better player and standing out from everyone else. Representing that player in the band that never lets go of their instrument, Reina never lets go of that trumpet, and holds the brass instrument dearly, playing it even when there's no one else around. While she doesn't particularly change all that much within the anime itself, she does spark some changes in other characters, creating her role to be more of that of a push onto other characters rather than herself. She also makes her own contributions to the show in other different ways, but for the most part, she doesn't really change much herself.

The rest of the characters in Euphonium vary in terms of importance, but for the most part, all serve to represent different members of a concert band. (Though Midori is a special case. I don't remember having a double bass in MY band.) While not all of the sections and their problems get featured within this anime, the supporting cast was still able to fill up the show's runtime with the various problems and issues that goes into participating in a band. With every new group of characters, comes a different problem that needs to be resolved. As a result, these characters are for the most part plot devices, but it works well for the show since you both learn about the character and progress through the story with every new change. Still not a fan of Hazuki and Midori basically becoming the moe fluff of the show.

Overview:
+ Good main protagonists
+ Actively utilized more of the band
+/- Side characters were mostly treated as plot devices
- Some of the main characters were basically moe fluff

Art and Sound (8.44/10 and 7.99/10): As usual with KyoAni's work, Hibike! Euphonium is a very high quality looking show that has a moe flair to it because that's really all KyoAni's been doing for the past couple of years. As such, Euphonium has a very bright look to it, utilizing a bright and colorful color scheme that gives off this very glossy and refined look. In addition, KyoAni puts a lot of attention to detail, seeing as how all of the instruments all look staggeringly great with the way they're animated and the attention to detail for each individual button, valve, and tube on the different woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

In addition, the character design is something that has to be noted for this show. Rather than pointing out the main characters in the series by giving them a unique character design and making the other 50 members plain by comparison, the show does the opposite by giving each of band members a different character design which is something that has to be applauded all on its own because it makes each section feel more vibrant and adds to the fact that there're other characters aside from the main ones that have significance in the story. Although, since this is KyoAni, the show is drawn in a moe artstyle where the girls look and act all cutesy, so if you're not a big fan of that, here's the warning.

In terms of sound, Euphonium provides us with a very big band and loud opening which is certainly an opening to remember. It's an opening that is very brass heavy, just like all of the main characters in this show. It's loud, it's proud, and its a pretty memorable piece. On the other hand though, the ED doesn't really pose as much of a memorable feel as the ED does, but it still works to help the show in the soundtrack area. (Also, there was a completely instrumental version of the opening in the ending credits of the show, and that was lovely to hear as well.)

And because this is a show that is completely centered around the idea of making music, the fact that KyoAni was able to get these numerous sound bites in order to create the bits of music in the show in different qualities representing different things like an individual practice where someone misses a note, the altogether sound of the band, the solo, and even that trailoff of sound by random instruments that happens whenever the teacher stops in the middle of the piece to fix a mistake, all of these things are in the sound of the show which I find to be extremely impressive.

Overview:
+ Good, memorable OP
+ Fantastic, colorful artwork
+ Attention to sound detail
+/- Moe artstyle (This is good or bad depending on your tastes)
- ED wasn't as memorable

Personal Enjoyment (7.47/10): In the end, Hibike! Euphonium was a good watch. While there were developments in show that felt a little forced on and sometimes kind of unneeded, I would say that this show encapsulated my experience in band. (I was the 6th chair flute in middle school. Didn't really enjoy always been told to play the second parts.)

Did I like this show?

Yes, I did. While the story itself didn't always reflect a positive outlook from me, I still enjoy how the show represented the idea of band in animated form. If nothing else, that was the better reason for me to continue watching this show, and I enjoyed it. The characters in the show display progression in both their character and their playing right up to the date of their performance, which is also the fun in band, playing your hard learned piece with the precision and detail that you've been working hard in. Also, I love Kumiko's character. There are quite a few memorable scenes with her.

What didn't I like about the show?

I wasn't really a big fan on how the show popped in a couple moe moments here and there. It didn't really feel right with the show and I wasn't happy with some of the characters and their contributions, because they were the reason there were some of the more unfavorable plot developments within the series.

Would I recommend this show?

If you're someone that has participated in a band in your life, or you want to know how a high school band works, then Euphonium is the perfect anime for you. The show completely encapsulates the idea of how a band functions, how a band progresses, and what kind of effort and work is needed in order to play wonderfully on that final concert stage. To me, it reflected my experience in band to a tee, and it was great seeing that. (Also, the trumpets ACTUALLY hold their bells up when they play! My band's trumpet players NEVER did that!)

Overall Score: 7.89/10

Kyoto animation is often described by many people as the studio in which they keep producing the exact same shows endlessly, that show being cute girls in a school type setting. While it is true that many, if not all do feature some kind of cute girl in high school, each one of Kyoto's works carries its own distinct flavour and personality that sets it apart from the others shows they have made. Hibike Euphonium is the latest anime by Kyoto and perfectly presents the reason why I fell in love with this studio in the first place. Furthermore, while this anime can be ... compared to K-on since they both feature cute girls playing music the content is quite different which I'll get into a bit later in this post.

Like most of the works from this studio, I was blown away by the high quality animation, character designs and the absolutely beautiful shot composition and design of the school. The music room is incredibly memorable just from how well designed it is and how much detail is put into creating this room much like the club room from k-ON! Another thing that impressed me is the changes in expressions the characters would have mid sentence which conveyed a better sense of their emotions than any other anime from this year, rather than simply having the character explain in black and white what their emotions are. The hair colours for each of the girls are more realistic, although it does push it in a few places, which works well with the more realistic approach to music this anime was going for. The lighting is fantastic and emphasises the playing perfectly and the characters move with such fluidity and movement that it is breathtaking to see. But there is more to this show then just simply the well done design choices.

Hibike Euphonium tells the story of musicians and their complex relationship to their art and our main character Kumiko struggles throughout the entirety of the show with her feelings towards playing music and finding an aspiration in life. This sets up an interesting narrative and sinks the character with a higher level of realism. Kumiko's conflict stems from the opening scene where we see Reina, a character who takes playing the trumpet extremely seriously and somebody who is always working, begin to cry as they didn't make it into nationals. Kumiko is confused by this and enrages Reina even more therefore setting up the emotional conflict of these two characters, as well as their stance when it comes to playing their instrument right from the beginning.

Upon entering high school, Kumiko is more or less ready to give up her playing of the Euphonium and move on with her life with a fresh start but soon becomes mixed up with people who all have the same interest as her in the brass band and kind of joins in reluctantly as the first two friends she makes also join. Kumiko, in contrast to Sapphire and Reina has no aspirations or motivations for playing in the band and tries her best to avoid this topic, most likely stemming from the fact that she herself is not aware of her own passion yet.

However this is ironic as Kumiko is someone with so much talent for playing her instrument as she almost made to the nationals and has the ability to tell when people are performing badly or not while also carrying around a plushie of her instrument.

Kumiko's character does become more and more inspired and motivated by her music through the course of the show as she begins to mend her past with Reina leading to some thick homosexual sub tones in later episodes and by realising how fun playing music is. Her commitment to playing the instrument becomes almost overwelhiming as it becomes her main priority.
Reina's character is also very interesting too, as she strives hard for some kind of recognition in music and even at times goes as far to proclaim herself as a better musician in front of her seniors. She is somebody who whole heartedly believes in herself and her craft which makes for an enjoyable and realistic approach to music.

Similarly, Sapphire, one of the people who befriends Kumiko is driven by her desire to play her instrument as best she can and expresses a very optimistic persona that they could make it to nationals.

These characters are interesting in their growth and how they change throughout the course of the show. Each of the supporting cast has such depth and character all growing more and more throughout the anime. Each character is given enough time to breath and spread their wings. The growth of the characters is also evident by how well they can play at the end of the anime from the ability to play at the start.

While musicianship does take up a large section of the narrative there are other themes thrown in such as love which doesn't feel tacked on but handled in such a way to invoke realism and character growth for Hazuki.
The relationship that grows between Kumiko and Reina is very believable and they both complement each other well.

What impressed me the most was the small attentions to detail. Simply just a teacher telling the girls to make their skirts longer sinks well in the pacing of the story and adds to the realism of the story. Also, the instruments these girls play all seem like real instruments with the amount of detail put into creating them. The drama between the different characters in the music room as well as the different opinions of how music should be play coupled with the anticipation of performing their music was all implemented amazingly into the story.

The music and overall soundtrack was amazing with noticeable highlights being the final performance at the end and the scene in which Kumiko runs down a road proclaiming her desire to play the instrument. The soundtrack is amazing and really highlights many of the scenes bringing them to life.
Overall, whenever people say that Kyoto have lost their touch, this is a show I'll bring up in retaliation to what they just said. There is so much more to this show then what I could possible express. Parting thoughts: One of the best anime of 2015

You know, the circumstances surrounding Sound Euphonium are more interesting to me than the show itself. With the moe trend all but dead because “light-novel fad” didn’t want to play nice and share - and KyoAni proving said fad had a point when their attempts to jump in on its territory whilst still maintaining a commitment to cute were about as well-received as second-degree sunburns in the middle of the North Pole - their fall from grace in terms of the public was pre-determined the moment K-On became so big. Word of advice: nothing ages faster than an anime that tries to cash in on ... a popular trend. Because even the really good products to come from ‘em don’t connect well with future audiences. Or at least, that’s the reason I use for why I can’t get into Bringing Up Baby.

Unfortunately, there’s still a crowd for KyoAni’s shit, and it doesn’t help that the ones that actually do try to do more don’t sell as well. So I guess some trends just won’t die easy in the East, but the West was a different story. I’m not participating in that FAL thing this season - and I never intend to play in it again for that matter - but I can suspect that some participants were frustrated at how so many of KyoAni’s diehard fanbase pretty much gave up on the studio’s new thing prior to airing because they saw it as their version of Sasami-san@Ganbaranai in terms of them repeating themselves. Sure, we knew Euphonium would actually have people play their instruments before we jumped into it, but the lack of focus on the topic wasn’t the only reason why K-On was backlashed so hard. The fact that it wasn’t funny, had dull-as-brick characters, and no f*cking story are problems that quite frankly were impossible for me to ignore, and Euphonium looked like KyoAni’s revenge for all the shit we dished out at their shit, right down to hiring hack-writer Jukki Hanada again. It’s a never-ending cycle of despair worthy of the Vengeance Trilogy.

But then it turns out that Euphonium was less revenge against the shit and more of the studio’s determination to not let PA Works be the only studio to pull out a “darkest before dawn” surprise hit, because now the anime is considered by critics and fans to be KyoAni’s big comeback anime. It’s doing well on MAL’s top charts, it’s pretty much the blogger favorite of the season, and considering my recent record in shows with those sorts of reputations (especially when they involve cute girls like Shirobako and Girls Und Panzer), I’m sure most of you are expecting me to give it a lot of shit. Well of course I am; but in a twist that’s praise-worthy of the Shyamalan meme from Robot Chicken, I think it’s my favorite of these cute girl shows, let alone the popular ones. Because rather than dryly explaining the process like I’m sitting through a construction company meeting despite the fact that I’m an apprentice chef, or trying to cover up for your lack of substance with style like pretty much every movie Guy Ritchie has ever made, it’s a sports-like show with characterization on its mind. And considering that Ping Pong is one of my favorite sports anime, I’m all for that if it’s executed well.

That’s the thing though, isn’t it? I mean excusing the fact that KyoAni are well-known for not focusing on developing their characters, how much can you really achieve in terms of characterization with light-hearted slice-of-life to begin with? After all, it’s a genre designed by nature to have no grit in terms of goals and humor, and the notion of watching fiction in order to relax and “be friends with” is completely lost on me these days. The only way you can possibly get some good substance out of it at this point is to be self-reflexive regarding the genre, and even that has its faults, as Euphonium excellently demonstrates for good and for bad.

Sound Euphonium’s story starts off like practically every KyoAni show in that it’s pretty much exactly as it’s advertised in the summaries whilst being nothing like it’s advertised in the initial PV. On her first day of school, a young girl named Kumiko Oumae notices that her music club kind of sucks and after much prodding from her friends, joins said club with them. However, her middle-school friend (Reina) is also in the club, and due to a music-related incident in the past, she’s pretty nervous around her. But Kumiko and the rest of the “mostly-female for some reason” band don’t have time to focus on their personal problems, because the school hired Cillian Murphy as the club advisor in order to make sure that they achieve their goals of making it to the Nationals. And unlike Will Schuester (if he was channeling Negi Springfield), he’s pretty ruthless underneath his “kind” nature and won’t hesitate to stand in the band’s way if they don’t take things seriously. He’s not exactly Coach Carter or the main teacher from Whiplash, but it’s practically impossible to have a caeki~ moment around him if you know what I mean.

Seeing as how only one novel was released by the time this anime was put into production, you know what that means right? KyoAni once again expanding/changing the source material in their own ways in order to get a decent runtime out of it. I’m not sure what they changed considering I never read the book, but something tells me that the yuri undertones weren’t part of the original package. Yes, the very thing that finally caused the show to get out of its “oh KyoAni are making another anime? Whatever” phase was when something I can only refer to as “that episode” occurred, more than halfway in. “Wait then, Mr. Flawfinder? If the turning point was halfway in, then what about the stuff prior?”

And there you have my main problem with Sound Euphonium. Whilst I personally thought the episode prior to “that episode” was the turning point that I wasn’t sure was a turning point at first, the show nevertheless is similar to Steins;Gate in that it suffers from an entire “not very interesting” first half. The parts when Cillian was put into conflict with the entire band were fine, but everything else is pretty much fluffy and kinda vague setup for what is to to come later, and said setup doesn’t even pay off a good chunk of the time. Despite having four official main characters, it’d be more accurate to say the show has two, and even KyoAni knew that the other two girls were the equivalent of S;G’s trap and cat in terms of uselessness, given how quickly they get shunned from events after they go through their own boring personal arcs that don’t even lead to anything. Hell, the third-years got more attention than them in the end.

Rightfully so too, because the parts of the story that did interest me was any of the drama focused on the third years. Why? Because being on the verge of graduation, they actually had to struggle in regards to whether their participation in getting to the Nationals was worth sacrificing school and possibly their future for, and when you combine that with Cillian’s teaching methods, it makes for something I can really sink my teeth into. Since all of the main four are in their second year, this means they don’t have said worries and thus don’t have as much stake in the band, causing the initially huge focus on them to be kinda iffy. The main two do get a compelling reason regarding their own participation eventually, but before then, they’re so tight-lipped about their true agendas that I wondered why Kumiko was the main female to begin with other than to be the female version of the typical KyoAni snarky lead who doesn’t even get involved in the actually interesting personal turmoil most of the time.

For the record, like most people, my favorite character was the Vice President, Asuka. Not because of her chipper attitude, which didn’t do too much for me in the beginning and has been known to annoy both the other characters and even fans of this show. I liked her because said attitude functioned as a good contrast to a darker side that does whatever it takes to avoid drama whenever possible, which works as a well-rounded complement to the fact that she’s the most talented and honest member of the band. Unfortunately, what makes her the most (only?) interesting student character is also the very reason why she doesn’t have much screen time, especially when the story kicks into gear. You can’t have tension in your drama if someone who can cut through all the bullshit is readily available, now can you?

Thankfully, the drama never gets too heavy to the point of slipshodness. The finale in particular shows great restraint by not throwing in anything at the last minute and letting the character’s personal journeys and what they learned from ‘em ultimately make up the substance of the final musical climax. It even ends the story right at its highest (well, second-highest) point in order to provide a compelling conclusion that doesn’t outstay its welcome whilst giving a sequel hook that I’m open to receiving whilst not necessarily needing it. See that, ufotable? This is how you end a well-animated personal journey. What? Waver’s appearance was so important to the die-hard continuity fans that you just had to make that last episode just to show him and everyone else’s non-story related roles? Well I don’t give two craps, because that sort of epilogue has not and will never be compelling.

That said, I still think the show holds back a little too much at times. One of the central conflicts in the story is rendered completely pointless by the fact that all the problems were one-sided on their end, and both parties involved just brush it aside once said realization occurs, which makes me wonder why it went on so long in the first place. And for god’s sake, why are none of the male members in the band the least bit interesting? I only remember two of them and they might as well have not existed for all the story importance they had. This especially becomes troublesome during a short love triangle interlude that I would have disliked regardless, but I would have been more forgiving if it had added anything to the story or the characters. Yes, I liked that it was brushed aside as quickly as it came. But if you’re going to include it anyways, you might as well give it the same treatment you gave Asuka’s limited time.

So whilst I can concede that Euphonium has its good points, the drama to fluff ratio isn’t in its favor enough to be a great show. For starters, you’d have to remove all the fluff in order to do that, and there’s no way KyoAni was going to do that. Second, the drama could have been paced better. Maybe the execution of Ping Pong was too much to ask, but if you had mixed and matched the heavy stuff in the second half with the lighter conversations in the first half ala a Persona game, I wouldn’t have smashed more than two guitars over the show’s head. Instead, I have to sit through a bunch of middling episodes that even the majority of the fans agreed weren’t all that considering the point in the series when it increased in popularity. That makes it one of the better shows of the season for sure, but considering how low a bar that’s been for this Spring in particular, that’s like being awarded a gold medal for getting first place in a soccer competition when all your teammates are three-year olds in broken wheelchairs. I’d personally rather just give it the “decent at best" certificate and call it a day.

PS: I don’t think Reina even interacted with Hazuki or Sapphire all that much, which makes the ending video look kind of weird.

(Heads up, this is a bit of a long one, but I felt the show really justified this discussion)

An unexpected delight, that’s how I would summarise this anime. Time and time again, Kyoto Animation have shown themselves to be one of the greatest animating studios in Japan, but despite this I still go into shows like this expecting a moeblob. Boy was I wrong. Even for a Kyoto Animation show, Hibike Euphonium has set itself apart from their lineup through creativity and its sheer attention to detail. Let’s see how exactly it does just that.

Hibike Euphonium is the story of a group of girls ... in the school brass band, all working together to try to reach the nationals competition. So let me ask you something: Have you ever been in a band? If you have, you will really appreciate just how well replicated the band atmosphere is in Euphonium. For those not familiar though with being in a band, let me give you an idea. Bands are stressful, unpleasant environments. You can never work too hard, and you’ll still never quite perfect the piece you’re playing. But at the same time, there’s a thrill in gradually building up little sections of the performance, and tying them all together to perform the piece to the best of your collective abilities. So if you’re worried then that this brass band setting isn’t really going to make for exciting anime, think again. Euphonium has all the joys and tension of a sports anime, but at the same time never exacerbates the band setting, and never tries to portray something that shouldn’t really be there. It’s realistic but at the same time damn exciting.

Onwards then to the meat of the show, the characters and the story. There’s a lot to be said about what Kyoto Animation has managed to do with these characters, because on the face of it, they’re all not really that exciting. Adorable beyond words, I grant you that. But exciting? Not so much. Fans of the K-On style characters will find themselves right at home here, but you may find yourself disappointed with the more simple character archetypes that make up the cast. There’s Kumiko, our determined and slightly sullen protagonist, accompanied by the exceedingly rambunctious Hazuki and the queen-of-all-things moe Midori (I couldn’t care less that Midori is almost a carbon copy of Yui, because she is most lovable little button this side of the 2D world). Simple on their own, but together these characters have a lovely chemistry that makes the show just so pleasant to watch.

One very interesting character though is the slightly mysterious ice queen Reina. She mostly remains unexplored for the bulk of the anime, but proves herself to be a truly intriguing character towards the end of the anime (no doubt you’ve seen already if you’ve done any research on this show, but her relationship with Kumiko is a source of great ambiguity…) Apart from that though she’s also by far the most skilled musician in the band, and since she’s only a first year this provides some of the friction between band members that occupies much of the story.

Moving on to the story, it’s really not too different to the classic sports anime formula: New kid on the block becomes part of a group, and together they work their way towards trying to win a competition, in this case the school brass band national finals. What is original though is just how well it works in the school band setting, just as well as in a sports anime, if not better. The large size of the band means there’s inevitably in-fighting and drama aplenty (due in part to Reina as mentioned). Curveballs such as auditions and potential love interests amongst the band members provide the story material for individual episodes. But the overarching storyline is the band preparing for the competition in which they are undoubtedly the underdogs. You can really feel all the stress and tension in each character as they desperately prepare, and their actual performance itself in the final episode is a real crescendo if there ever was one.

So if the actual performance is the crescendo, then there must be some pretty good music right? Absolutely. The budget for this anime must have been phenomenal, because the quality of music performance in this anime is something straight out of a national orchestra. It’s very well produced, and even if this sort of music isn’t your thing you’ll surely appreciate the obvious effort that has gone into making the music sound amazing. I’m even tempted to say it’s better than any school band could ever be able to perform (bit of a mistake there Kyoto Ani eh?).

Finally, I’ll talk about the one piece of this Kyoto Ani show we all knew was going to be good: the animation. Needless to say they’ve done it again with Hibike Euphonium, as it’s really a fantastic showcase for the studio's talent. The locations, taken from real life Kyoto, are all beautifully replicated and full of detail. The instruments as well are works of art, especially when played because the music is perfectly synced to the animation of the instruments being used. My favourite little detail though has to be the individual music sheets. Each music book we see has these wonderful little annotations, such as particular sections to look out for, or small notes of encouragement, making them feel so personal they could easily have been real.

I’m waxing lyrical about this show because I think it’s a fine example of what anime is really capable of. It’s about larger than life characters such as Kumiko and Midori, who are appealing for being just so lovable, and are placed in an exciting and original setting that is full of drama and superbly animated. Before you are tempted to dismiss it as ‘another Kyoto Ani moeblog’, please for the love of all that is anime watch this show for yourself, I know you’ll change your mind.

Hibike! Euphonium is a wasted opportunity. It has great attention to detail in both art and sound design when it comes to the instruments, but falls flat on its face in almost every other aspect. Having just come off of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso/Your Lie in April, which has two great musical sequences in the first two episodes, the fact that it took until episode 3 for any real music to pop up in this series frustrated me too much than it should have. That frustration followed me throughout the series.

The series seems to at times WANT to be about music, but is dragged ... into drama because that tension is supposed to move the story and characters along. Ultimately, it seems as if only a few characters really meaningfully change, and we're left with maybe four decent performances in the 13 episode series.

In spite of the fact that the series roughly covers a school year, the entire pace seems slow, since there are only really two major plot points that involve playing pieces of music, and the series builds to the second over the course of the majority of its episodes. This is slightly understandable, since the point of the series is the drama of the club more than them actually playing music. If there's a sequel and it continues to follow this format it will be inexcusable.

Overall, I'm probably judging this harsher than I should for what it is, but looking at it as a fan of music anime and seeing what it could have been... In the end, I'm just glad that I'm done watching this series so I don't have to fret over how much it annoys me any more.

All my reviews are spoiler free aimed towards people who haven't seen the show.

Hibike! Euphonium, thank you Based KyoAni for this spectacular anime.

Story: Kumiko Oumae and her band mates eagerly await the results of their Junior High prefectural competition. Although getting a Gold, they were not selected to represent their perfecture in the national comp. Kumiko is happy to do as well as they did, her bandmate Reina Kousaka on the other hand, is nearly a wreck with disappointment. Immediately the tone is set for what is sure to be a winding emotional road for not only Kumiko, but everyone that she meets along ... first year at Kitauji High School. Kumiko chose Kitauji because it was the only school who had the cute sailor uniforms she loves so much, that and the fact that she didn't know anybody that was enrolling. This was her chance to start fresh, leave whatever stress and regrets she had behind her, and make a new path in the direction she wants to go. Upon hearing the concert band for new students on the first day of class, Kumiko states and I quote, "they suck". Hazuki Katou introduces herself to Kumiko and quickly befriends her and another girl by the name of Midori. After some banter and discovering Midori played in band as did Kumiko and Hazuki had intentions to join, they decide to listen in on the practice. When who just so happens to walk into the band room after them? Why Kumiko's old bandmate Reina Kousaka of course. According to Kumiko she was an exceptional trumpet player and could have chosen a school with a much better rep and history of a strong concert band. So.... why here? Why waste that talent knowing this school had a poor performing concert band?

Story cont: Kumiko decides against joining the concert band at first, she was supposed to turn a new leaf, but after seeing the excitement of Hazuki who is a newbie and Midori who loves the contrabass, she's figures, why not, at least it could be fun. She can even act like she never played euph and try a new instrument. This years concert band is getting a new instructor, Taki Noboru. Not much is know about Taki-sensei, except this is first year as a school instructor. He asks the students to set their own goals, "Do you want to make your goal for the year going to nationals? Or would you rather make good memories? Either is acceptable, but your decision will affect how I will instruct this band." As if not really understanding the seriousness of their decision, the students elect to aim for nationals. The unconventional and harsh lessons cause the students to become disgruntled. Can Taki-sensei turn this failing concert band into a ensemble to be recognized? Or will the previous turmoil that caused the low body count and lack of discipline in the second and third years prove to be a loss cause?

Characters: Kumiko has long record with the euph. She has a bad habit of saying what she thinks out loud without any hesitation, which more than often puts her in awkward situations. Reina takes her playing very seriously, as is shown with her talent at the trumpet. She's rather cold and isn't very personable with her peers. Her reasons for enrollment at Kitauji are unknown. Hazuki is very energetic and a newbie in band. She struggles learning the in's and out's of picking up an instrument. Shuuichi is a childhood friend of Kumiko's, he gets caught up in a triangle/unrequited love. Asuka is an eccentric and charismatic girl. Her attitude and leadership qualities make her popular among the other members, but her charade makes her personal thoughts hard to read. Haruka is the band president, she's rather shy and anxious. She feels like she was pushed into being the pres doesn't have everyone's respect because Asuka turned it down. And struggles with the pressure to keep things together. Kaori is a popular third year trumpet player. Reina's skill as as first year causes friction between Kaori's struggle for her own acceptance, as well as a second year who despises Reina because of this. Aoi is another friend of Kumiko's. A third year who struggles to balance her studies and band. Her actions shake up not only Kumiko but Haruka as well. And there's more! Each student feels pressure and fatigue of trying their best to find themselves while achieving a unlikely goal together.

Animation:Stunning! Everything was gorgeous. The character design, the shine of the instruments, the reflection of the lake, the glow of the street lights, the cherry blossoms blowing in the breeze, movements of the characters, and position of scenes, then there was the performances! It was a joy at every minute just to view. KyoAni at it's best!!

Sound:Fantastic. Not only did we get some sweet Jap Ska from the Kitauji Quartet. But the choice of songs during the scenes were wonderful as well. Then their was the pieces played in the ensemble. Jacques Offenbach - Orpheus in the Underworld Overture, RYDEEN - YMO, Antonin Dvorak - New World Symphony, Sato, Kunihiro - Walk down the Spring Path March, a wonderful original piece for the anime by Akito Matsuda called Crescent Moon Dance that was incredible among some others.

Enjoyment:Very much enjoyed this. So much good foreshadowing, with bits and pieces given in flashbacks that portray a great deal depth into Kumiko's thoughts without really spelling them out. The relationship and interactions between various characters were always interesting and believable. A decent amount of comedy, some romance that wasn't really cheesy, and drama that wasn't forced or exaggerated on. I love all the story that's here. Every character has depth and there are so many little clues about their lives hidden in fine detail. I thought this show was pure brilliance. KyoAni way to bust out of your funk with this gem! 9/10

"I want to improve."

At first, I had no idea what Hibike! Euphonium (aka Sound! Euphonium) was going to be. I thought it would be another generic clubroom comedy with instruments and music taking the back seat. But I was wrong. At its core, Hibike is about working together to achieve greatness, but also about finding yourself and what you want to achieve. This is Hibike! Euphonium, an anime about a high school concert band and its struggle to become the best in Japan. Now, let us begin the review.

Story (8): The story begins with our main character Kumiko transitioning into high school, wanting to start ... over without having to worry about band like she did in middle school. However, when her new friends decide to join the school band (which sucks, by the way), she lets herself be dragged along, only to find that things there are much worse than she ever could have imagined. Everyone says they want to be the best concert band in Japan, but actually, they just want to have fun and make good memories. Which isn't bad in itself, but no one wants to commit to either choice. Like Kumiko, they want someone to decide their lives for them, so they go with the flow instead of making things happen for themselves.

One thing that stands out to me about Hibike's story is that it addresses a common problem in band: apathy. Usually, you have stronger players who are genuinely interested in making great music and practice hard every day, but you also have players who kind of sit back and don't put much effort in at all. I think many people know what it's like to have a team with someone who doesn't pull their weight. Hibike is a relatable and refreshing take on concert band, being unique in that I can't name another anime that deals with concert band as well as this one.

Art (10): Do I even need to say anything here? The animation is by Kyoto Animation and the backgrounds are gorgeous. The character designs are cute, but not in a way that feels cheap and forced. Another thing worth mentioning is that all the background characters are animated and have as much life to them as the main cast.

Sound (10): What I find amazing about the sound is that an experienced instrumentalist can pick out the different sounds/strengths/weaknesses of a particular piece. I play the trumpet, and I really enjoy being able to see the fingerings, listen to the tone, and hear the instrument along with a band. The effort required to put together so many music samples paid off, making the band seem more real and more alive.

Character (9): Considering how many characters there are, you would expect Hibike to neglect a lot of them and push them to the side, but this season gives you just enough information to care about them and want more. For the sake of time, I'll just say that Kumiko's transformation into a passionate, talented euphonium player feels believable and well earned. The other players also have significant development, with notable examples being Natsuki and Haruka. The only problem? I need mooore. In particular, I'm very curious as to why Asuka behaves the way she does.

Enjoyment/Overall (9): If you read all the way here, I'll say that Hibike is definitely worthy of a 10 right now, but I will revise the review once a second season arrives (it better). Also, Kumiko and Reina better be a thing. But that's my opinion. Anyway, I fully recommend trying this series and I had a lot of fun with it! For anyone interested in watching/re-watching the series, here's a game: follow one "background" character in the band for the whole anime. I loved seeing the drill-haired trombone player (with the sass) and the lipstick-wearing saxophone player (gotta adjust my skirt).

If you're going to consider skipping this anime because you heard these statements from people such as:
"This anime is another moe"
"This anime is a crappy slice of life"
"This anime is K-On 2.0"
"This anime is a K-On rip-off"
I'm warning you right now. DO NOT listen to the people who are making one of the statements above. The anime is nowhere near the statements that are made abo-...Hey, what the hell are you doing here? Get out of my room! Help!. "I am now writing the review" says jc9623, typing while putting jc9622 in his closet.



Story: (8/10)
The story starts off with Kumiko, a girl who was in ... the concert band club in middle school, visits her high school's concert band club as a first year.
This is another one of those anime that has a basic simple story except that this is one of the anime that has a simple story that turned out to be good.
The show focuses on characters struggling and trying to achieve their goal, their relationships, and some drama. I felt like the drama and emotional part was unnecessary. As a current member of a Concert Band (Percussionist), I find the drama that was inserted hilarious. The fact that they feel sad or they cry because they're not in sync with the whole band. The fact that they feel sad because they can't play some bars right. The fact that one of the girls was crying because her "senpai" did not get to play the solo. I find them hilarious. Other than the unnecessary drama, the story is great.
For a 12 episode series, I'm quite surprised that they decided to set the story pacing to slow. I'm not saying it's bad.. They actually managed to make it work. The ending however, felt like a cliffhanger to me.



Art/Animation: (10/10)
The anime had an outstanding animation which shouldn't come as a surprise since this is year 2015. The details on buildings, roads, and even the instruments are spot on. The lighting is very well done and the character design is also very well done. Although, what bothered me a little is literally every single character's cheek has a shiny red blush and their tears don't look like tears at all.



Sound: (10/10)
This is an anime that focuses on music (mainly concert band music) and it needs to have a great or outstanding soundtrack. They didn't fail on the soundtrack, thank god. The concert band pieces were very well done and it also had an "attention to details". I can literally hear the mistakes and mess-ups these band members make before the teacher tells them to stop and tells them their mistakes. The opening soundtrack called "Dream Solister" is one of the best OP soundtracks I've heard. The instruments on the background along with the singer's beautiful voice, my god I'm in heaven. I don't know about the ED soundtrack since I just skip it every episode.



Characters: (8/10)
There is a lot of characters in the series. I think there's over 55 of them? I thought the anime would just focus on the main characters and throw aside the remaining supporting characters but they didn't. There wasn't a lot of focus on the supporting characters but it was enough for me to actually understand them and probably like them. The show did give the main characters a great character development. Mostly Kumiko and Kousaka. You'll see a major change between Kumiko and Kousaka by the time you start watching this series and by the time you have finished watching this series. There is one character that I like and that is Asuka. There is something about her that made her one of my favourite characters. Is it her glasses? Her personality? The way she jokes around? Or maybe the fact that she also uses another language (mostly English) to make her a little bit cooler. I guess I'll never know and you won't too.



Enjoyment: (9/10)
By the time I started watching this anime, I knew I would enjoy it. By the time I finished the anime, I did enjoy it and I wanted more! I will watch the anime again if it comes out in English Dub.



Overall: (9/10)
Overall, the anime is a great slice of life anime and fun to watch. It didn't get a masterpiece from me because of the unnecessary drama. They need to learn that drama will not work on a musical anime genre because it just turns out to be so cheesy. This was also one of my negatives in K-On. It just didn't work. I'm also glad that there isn't a lot of fanservice considering that this is an all-girls(mostly) cast.



Pros:
-Great Story
-Outstanding Animation
-Outstanding Soundtrack
-Attention to details for both Animation and Soundtrack
-Great Characters
-Great Character Development
-Supporting characters weren't ignored


Cons:
-Cheesy Drama moments

update 6/30/2015
Having completed this series, this series breaks my heart in terms of plot.
There are SO many relationships that could be expanded on and there are so many stories left untold. I wish this was a multi-season 24 episode/season series


Hibike Euphonium is an anime that takes the same vein as K-ON! but with slightly better animation than K-ON! but has worse plot.
At the time of writing this review, the anime is not yet complete.
Here's my tentative rating:
Art--9.5-10 It's Kyoto Animation, and it's 2015. There's not much to complain about.
Sound/Music--9-10 The music is comprised of mostly classical. The Seiyuus, with an exception of a couple, have ... done an excellent job
Character--~8-9 This sort of ties into the Story/Plot, but given the scope of this series (at least 20+ person concert band), and how the story gives just about everyone at least 1 scene, I feel like a lot of the characterization gets lost in the process. The 4 "main" heroines that we were introduced to in the beginning of the story are not the main focus at all, which can be nice, but it makes it so that we don't get very personal with all the characters
Story Plot--7-8 the plot is very badly paced. Even by KyoAni standards, it's badly paced. how, you ask? 1) there are at least 2 to 3 possible starting points for this anime, each of them could change the perspective of the viewer and possibly the outcome of the anime. 2) multiple characters and points in the anime leaves me wondering: what happened here? or i want to see the rest of it. 3) along the same veins, there are points where I kinda wished they got to the main points instead of dilly-dallying around the side. 4) we're now on episode 8, and I have no idea how this concert band is going where they want at this pace. It's like "here's a couple episodes giving the outline, here's a couple fillers, and an obligatory episode, more fillers, etc"

kinda wish Kyoani actually tried with the plot of this anime.

overall-8/10

I am usually not much a review-writer but this anime is surely underrated! Phew..

Hibike! Euphonium sits on the very pinnacle of my "anime of the season" list. If I have to pick one word to describe Hibike! Euphonium, I will choose "beautiful".

The story might not involved saving the world, flashy missions, or other typical heroic things. It is a very everyday thing, like many of KyoAni's masterpieces. Throughout the story, we closely follow Oumae Kumiko - the main protagonist. We wade through a life of a high school female student who tries to get a fresh start in her life, meet new friends, join the ... Brass Band, getting by in a club that sets what is a very unlikely goal (at first), dealing with her past, and experience how her character develops through every problem she bumps onto. Things we might stumbled upon in our own life.

Wait, what's the big deal, then?

For me, it's the detail.
I really love how Kyoto Animation pours all the details beautifully to present the story to us. How the characters move and act, how and when the music seeps in, how they set the layout, how very well drawn the anime is (characters, background, instruments, everything), how the voice actors sounds, when they cut the scenes, everything.

Take some examples from minor scenes, how we can tell that Kumiko isn't so much delighted with how carefree Hazuki called her by her given name "Kumiko" and even worse, told Midori (Sapphire) to call Kumiko that way as well - just by seeing the dynamic on her expression. The other will be one moment when Kumiko went home late, very tired after an intensive practice. In the train on her way home, she checked to make sure that nobody was around then yawned widely, that her legs got slightly pulled up and her shoes messily slid off as if she's at her own home...then visibly tried to correct her manner after she spotted Reina watching from the other car - hiding her embarrassment. Kumiko didn't have to say a word. We just know.

Those are minor scenes, but the details that KyoAni put beautifully describe what Kumiko felt. And we can find them everywhere throughout the episodes. As for important scenes, well..., I guess it goes without saying.

Thanks to the effort in those details, I can very much grasp what the characters are feeling, the drive that made them did things, how each character's personality is - even most of the supporting characters. So that's also why I am very much cheering our main protagonist, who is refreshingly sarcastic (unlike typical protagonists out there) but kind and reasonable.

Hibike! Euphonium is a beautiful portrayal of life that - if not our own experience - might be actually happening somewhere around us right now.
It's a complete package!

As a huge fan, I must say that Hibike! Euphonium Season 1 is incredible.

The story follows a group of high school students who are part of their school's concert band, and their journey to the national competition.

The characters are well-developed and relatable, with their own unique personalities and struggles. It's refreshing to see the characters grow and evolve throughout the series, as they face challenges and work together to overcome them.

The music in Hibike! Euphonium is simply breathtaking. The performances are incredibly realistic, and the soundtrack perfectly captures the emotions of each scene. It's clear that the creators put a lot of effort into ... making the music a central part of the series, and it pays off beautifully.

As for the pros and cons, I would say that the strengths of the series lie in its character development and music. However, some viewers may find the pacing to be slow at times, as the series takes its time to explore the characters and their relationships.

Overall, I highly recommend Hibike! Euphonium Season 1 to anyone who enjoys anime. It's a beautifully crafted story with memorable characters, stunning music, and a captivating plot that will keep you invested from beginning to end.

Rating 10/10

First of all I'd like to mention that this anime is mainly Music with a splash of Drama, and not mainly Drama. When starting the anime I was wondering which it was.

Story : 8/10

Sadly, this is the lacking part of this anime. At episodes 10-11 the anime changes it's pacing and has a lot of forced drama. That drama does have a place in the story, but not the way it was presented. It felt unnatural. But this forced drama is my only complaint about the anime. The rest of the story was unpredictable and well paced.

Art : 10/10

It's KyoAni, enough said.

Seriously though, this is ... most likely the most beautiful anime I have ever seen. Everything from background art, to the character design is perfect. The animation is truly flawless and cannot be compared to other studios. Also the amount of "reaction.jpg" material is crazy. I've had great laughs at some of Kumiko's expressions.

Sound : 10/10

Well, this is a Music anime. The opening is perfect and has some amazing vocals, never skipped it. The anime, being based on showing the improvement of a group of high school students throughout the anime, does that really well. The note misses and mistakes all sound natural, as if somebody who really is progressing recorded the instrument parts for the anime.

Character : 9/10

Besides Yuuko Yoshikawa, who felt unnaturally annoying and made only for drama, all the characters were well developed.

There is also a division between characters in terms of their purpose. Some characters are major plot elements like Kousaka Reina, and some are just there for the Slice of Life element, like Katou Hazuki, which isn't exactly bad.

Enjoyment : 10/10

I loved this anime. Even though I didn't like it for it's drama elements, I loved it for the Slice of Life parts and the final 3 episodes. I will definitely watch season 2 when it comes out.

Overall : 9/10

Hibike! Euphonium is a great anime that caters to a lot of people's preferences, being Music, SoL, and Drama. You're bound to like it for at least something. I would definitely recommend it even if the anime is average in Drama.

I found myself pleasantly surprised by this anime.

The animation was way above average. Maybe that was expected from KyoAni, a studio who has brought was great anime. But here, they have given us one of their best work. There was an specially mesmerizing sequence on episode 8.

But the quality on this story lies not on the animation, but on their characters. The development of the main cast, specially on the main character, was amazing. It's rare to see that many character grow so much on such short slice of life. What's more, since there's so many people, almost every viewer can relate with someone.

It's ... common to have music with competition, but what was done here was more a mix of music with sport. And this was great as well.

After I finished the anime, I found out one of the reason it was so great. It's an adaptation of a novel, not a light novel. Since the main target on this media is different, we got something very different, even for slice of life stories.

In the end, I can only say it was a great anime that those who enjoy slice of life, music, school life, or similar genre, will appreciate this work of art

Welcome to Robert's Too Late Reviews! This time we're tackling a band adventure! The most important fact when it comes to this anime is one's experience in high school band. If you are not/were not a member, much the attraction is probably lost on you, just by the niche nature of the material. Now, a non band kid can understand frustration and hard work, but much of this show is (clearly) geared for those familiar with the experience. Having known the experience, I found a great deal to like! Taking bets on if/or how many pics this anime scored on the RTLR wall of terrible ... pain.

Story: 9
Much of the story revolves around motivating the lazy band kids into actually caring about their performance. A new band director comes to the school, and has a very interesting method to trying to get a response from the kids. I will leave the show to reveal his methods, but I can say as a former band member, his methods work, as they were similar as to what my high school director employed on my high school band. These methods, however, produce a great deal of friction from the members, who are used to doing things the 'way we always have' and see little reason to change. There is also a mysterious character related to the new director.

Art: 10
The instruments are well drawn, not an easy feat considering tubas can have up to 18 feet of tubing. Each instrument is instantly recognizable, and sharply drawn. The rest of the art also benefits from the same level of detail. The characters look amazing, and emotional overtones are easily carried through the artwork, always a sign that things are on the right track.

Sound: 10
When a group is pointed out as sounding bad, they sound particularly bad. When the group improves and sounds good, the playing level of the music improves to match. This is an important factor as music is such a central theme in this anime. Maybe with a pop-music based anime some can be written off as personal preference, but this is classic brass and woodwind pieces where reed squeaks and off tone notes stick out like sore thumbs and cannot be written off as intentional by any means. When students play their instruments alone, the sound is dead on and at the right skill level for the character. The sound outside the music is well done, nothing of note, but nothing lacking either. The smaller girl's voice sounds appropriately small, etc.

Character: 8
There is a mystery girl who is an accomplished musician who joins this school for mysterious reasons. I, like any 'band nerd' knew nearly instantly why she was there. Anyone that didn't live their lives around their tuba and/or non musicians should know the anime does lay the story out in appropriate pieces over the course of the series, so that by the end, it should be obvious. I think they were a little muddled and should have, at the end, stated it plainly, but I imagine they figured most viewers already knew. Still a couple points off for that.

Enjoyment: 10
The 'pretty' girl is a weirdo, one of the instruments gets the best name ever, the sights and sounds of band are there in all their (sometimes gross) glory, the music is good, and some of the instruments are twice as big as the kids playing them, what more could you ask for?

If you've ever practiced your lips/fingertips off preparing for concert contest, or have done laps for marching contest, and enjoyed any of it, you'll find lots to love here. This is unabashedly high school band, and there's nothing wrong with that! In fact, in honor of my years as a tuba player (and a few years on trumpet) Kato Hazuki and Tubacabra made the RTLR wall of honor! Check this one out, might just work for ya! Thumbs up!

First time doing a review so be gentle with me. This is done based on the first 11 episodes and will have minimal spoilers.

Story: 8

The story in this anime flows rather coherently with a couple of unexpected story developments. The anime presents the "Everyone working together towards a common goal" plot line quite carefully paced and does not seem rushed at any point (Though I can't say for sure regarding the last few episodes). Considering there being only 1-2 episodes left, it would be nicer if the series spanned slightly longer and they show more of the progress leading up to the actual day. ... The anime has multiple truly heartwarming moments and manages to cut off at the right moments, leaving viewers yearning for the next episode.

Art:9

Fantastic art, though not on the "Fate/stay night unlimited blade works" level. I love the animation and art in this series as it really manages to bring out the emotions of the characters.

Sound: 10

Being an anime with music as it's basis, the sound definitely plays an intrinsic role in the series as a whole. Thankfully, the production team managed to record sounds of the band seamlessly and performances in the series really immerse the viewer/listener.

Character:8

One particular aspect of the anime I like is how un-cliched it has seemed until this point. Romance between characters is subtle and enjoyable- though some dialogue may have proved vague in expressing character sentiments. (Particularly in the Reina and Kumiko relationship). As this is a 1-cour anime, they've fit the most character development I think they've possibly could and it's turned out quite wonderful.

Enjoyment:9

It's the sort of anime you stay up till 3am to watch. That should suffice to convey the enjoyment of this anime.

Overall:9

I had a lot of hope for this anime and it not only disappointed me but also upset me. The premise of the series was promising and it offered characters and a plot I could relate to being about high school band and such. It was also produced by Kyoto Animation who did a phenomenal job as always with the animation and character designs. You’ll still see me reblogging pictures and gifs of this series because-despite what I’m saying now-I appreciate how much effort went into the presentation of this anime. My issue lies with the writing and character development because there is little to ... no substance there. I understand that you can only do so much in the span of a 12 episode series, but even so I felt that it introduced too many characters that were never fully developed.

What started off as a series focusing on three friends (one of which learning about music and her instrument) became a pandering storm of yuri fanservice at the expense of developing Kumiko’s (the MC’s) character really at all. My main gripe however was that her two new friends were left in the background halfway through the series. As an audience member, I was happy to see Kumiko helping her “friend” Reina, but I’m biased towards hating unnecessary romantic subplots, ESPECIALLY when it takes over the series. After the semi-romantic tension is introduced between Kumiko and Reina, we barely ever see anything beyond the occasional glimpse of what Midori and Hazuki are doing besides just assisting the rest of the band. We’ll see them sometimes slip in and help Kumiko or offer passive assistance but they back off and their presence isn’t important to the story anymore. Why introduce these characters who both have confidence issues only to make them friends with a character too dense to give a care about them? It’s honestly beyond me but it began to frustrate me as a viewer to see Kumiko (who was already a fairly shallow MC) begin to just pay no attention Midori and Hazuki. Meanwhile, Reina gets the most time on screen as Kumiko’s supposed “love” interest.

My problem with this series does not lie in the fact that it has a semi-”yuri” love interest, (Yuru Yuri is one of my favorite shows) it’s that it completely overhauls the show, takes it over, and rams whatever remaining plot and character development right into a brick wall. People honestly thought this show was Kyoto Animation’s saving grace while bashing series like Hyouka, Beyond the Boundary, K-On!, and Chuunibyou for having shallow characters. If that’s your opinion you’re completely entitled to it, but I much prefer those series. What I dislike about Hibike! Euphonium was that it had so much potential and deep characters only to have them become a tiny little helping hand for Kumiko’s shallow character who was too busy being a fanservice gateway to notice them anymore.

In an industry filled with idol and slice-of-life shows with just a pinch of music, it takes balls to go back to the basics, to actually pursue a less-tread path when the alternative has such a big and influential audience. Hibike Euphonium, however, is willing to take that path. But is its execution up to snuff? Yes. It is.

Story:

The story of Hibike Euphonium begins with the crushed dreams of one girl and the reemergence of another. From there, the protagonist Kumiko and her new friends join the band club, which has recently undergone some big changes. From the very beginning, the show lets you know ... what you’re in for: a show about characters overcoming their challenges to play music. It tries not to dwell on the personal, miniscule problems that plague the girl’s daily lives, but rather what stops them from being their very best. Despite the plot being very character driven, there is a clear direction in the progression, with occasional odd but at the same time necessary deviations. The pacing of the story is usually at a quicker clip, with events and backstories coming and going, not overstaying the welcome for the most part. A few episodes seemed to drag with pointless dialogues about cutesy-things and what not, but the show as a whole executes what it sets out to do quite well, portraying a thorough and believable story of personal growth in the face of challenges.

Of course, no review is complete without mention of the ending and it is, without a doubt, one of the best endings I’ve seen to a show. The emotions are right, the tension is there, the music brings forth emotion, and while the final outcome is predictable, the journey to get there and the execution, how it even echoes the beginning in a sense, is a lot better than I thought it would be. It really shows how far everyone has come from their beginnings, leaving a sweet optimism in the minds of viewers.

Animation:

The animation quality of the work is crisp and clean, with nice lighting and (usually) well-placed camera shots. It give the sounds of the band life and meaning especially, allowing both visual and auditory stimulation to combine to form a well executed final product. The character designs are not needlessly otherworldly, but they also aren’t just carbon copies of other characters. Personalities match appearances, and the setting, while ordinary, is brought to life with discipline and dedication to the kind of atmosphere the show aims to create.

Sound:

Of course, an anime about music is nothing without a good score. To start of, I must give credit to studio for portraying mistakes as well as triumphs. That’s a line that I feared would not be as honestly toed as it was when I first started this anime, but the show’s message includes the values of hard work. In other words, these kids aren’t prodigies, which is refreshing. Now, the music itself, both the BGM and the actually played songs, fit with the moods of the various scenes, bringing an extra layer them. The voice actors are also exceptional. The beautiful OP has a building intensity that shadows the show’s own plot progression, making it a very well made one. Unfortunately, the ED, while catchy in its own right, hearkens back to the few errors that the show makes when it temporarily forgets what it does well and focuses more on the “cute girls doing cute things because we like money” sort of thing.

Characters:

The cast as whole is pretty large and even if you only could the ones in the center, there are still 5+ characters. Unafraid of the sizable cast, the show is able to properly introduce characters that are imperfect and seek to better themselves in some way or get their priorities straight. Everyone at least tries to move on in this show. Some of the developments are more significant than others (Kumiko’s two best friends’ struggles weren’t particularly interesting to watch, as they were punctuated by the typical boy troubles of the show’s less-serious brethren) but others, such as Nakaseko, Kousaka and Kitamura, deal with their problems and don’t hold the plot back and, if anything, drive it forward.

Enjoyment:

Despite my apparent high-praise, I didn’t really love this show in its entirety. I saw the quality it had to offer and I saw that it was as a whole very well built anime. But this show isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I wouldn’t watch it all again, although there are some moments I would definitely rewatch (the ending, for one). However for those of you who are looking for a more serious music show or just want a nostalgia shot of high school band experiences, this is your show. I think people should be willing to give it a chance, especially if you a fan these kind of shows, but it is not a must watch.

Overall:

With a music-focused plot, beautiful visual, nice musical values, and awe-inspiring characters, Hibike Euphonium is a very good show. However, it is not perfect, as it still has the ghosts of the more-superfluous school-shows breathing down its creative neck, as seen in some of the female characters. It’s worth a firm recommendation, surely, but unless you really dig its blend of band music and school life, it won’t change any minds about the genre it represents.

I must give Hibike Euphonium the grade of a “wimpy 8”. Fans of the genre/studio will probably love it, and non-fans might learn to like it too, but for others, this anime might not take the gold it desperately tries for.