Hibike! Euphonium Movie 3: Chikai no Finale

A new year signifies a new beginning, and that seems to be the case for Kitauji High School’s concert band. Following the graduation of the third-year seniors comes the entrance of the first-year juniors. The band members put in their utmost effort in practicing for their goal—to enter nationals.

The now second-year Kumiko Oumae, along with her friends, is met with the new and quirky batch of first-years, resulting in friction and conflict between the band members. However, as time passes, their inner feelings slowly unravel, but not every conflict is as easy to solve as the other. The trust and bonds between the band members will be challenged as they push forward for their regionals.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Oumae, Kumiko Main

Kurosawa, Tomoyo Japanese

Hisaishi, Kanade Main

Amamiya, Sora Japanese

Kousaka, Reina Supporting

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Tanaka, Asuka Supporting

Kotobuki, Minako Japanese

Nakagawa, Natsuki Supporting

Fujimura, Konomi Japanese

Tsukamoto, Shuuichi Supporting

Ishiya, Haruki Japanese

Katou, Hazuki Supporting

Asai, Ayaka Japanese

Yoshikawa, Yuuko Supporting

Yamaoka, Yuri Japanese

Taki, Noboru Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Kawashima, Sapphire Supporting

Toyota, Moe Japanese

Yarimizu, Yoshifumi Producer

Ishihara, Tatsuya Director, Storyboard

Tsuruoka, Youta Sound Director

Yamada, Naoko Episode Director, Key Animation

Reviews

Jul 11, 2019

Snoopy25

Recommended

I just watched the film in theaters and it was great! All Sound! Euphonium fans should watch it, as it is indeed a continuation of the series.

Like all movies, material is condensed, and there's quite literally nothing we can do about it except show our support for the makers in hopes of getting more content. The film starts by giving a 10 minute review of what happened in the first 2 seasons, and then kicks off. One should definitely watch "Liz and the Blue Bird" before watching this, because there are quite a few connections to that movie (don't wanna spoil anything).

I agree, this could ... have easily been a season in and of itself, but it was crammed into a movie. There was a little bit too much drama for just a movie, and although we know the series has drama, they overdid it a bit for the duration of the film.

I really enjoyed the piece they played, and I love how they take the time to animate the entire duration of the song and the characters playing! The piece was not as moving as the "Crescent Moon Dance", but maybe because we don't have a big back story behind this new piece like we did in the first 2 seasons. Also, seeing familiar faces come back on screen was a very pleasant surprise. If I say anything else I might spoil it, so I'll stop, HOWEVER, there is an after-credits scene that some people might enjoy a lot.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 11, 2019

StevenSenpaiRawr

Recommended

(no spoilers)

Thanks to Fathom Events, this Hibike! Euphonium fan was able to see the latest installment of the series on the big screen, and I enjoyed it a lot. Hibike! Euphonium Movie 3: Chikai no Finale follows Kumiko and her friends on her second year of high school, directly after Hibike! Euphonium 2. If you're just reading for my general opinion: Overall, the movie suffers from the issues you would expect from condensing a season's worth of story into roughly 2 hours and may not be great as a standalone film, but is definitely worth a watch for anyone who liked the first two seasons.

As ... you would expect, this movie delivers the same outstanding aesthetics you would expect from Hibike! Euphonium and Kyoto Animation. The character designs have that signature kyoani moe, the backgrounds are vibrant and gorgeous, and the animation is a step above their competitors. Not on the level of standalone films like Koe no Katachi, but definitely not a step down or a huge improvement from the Hibike! Euphonium anime.

And that's what this movie felt like, just a continuation of the main series rather than something separate like Liz and the Blue Bird (which is now a priority for me after seeing a particular scene in this movie). There's a bit of deja vu from the first season, and the movie showcases recurring events for the Kitauji Band, such as the Sunrise Festival. Unfortunately, some of the little day to day interactions were cut to make time for these pivotal events. As expected of this series, there's a lot of character drama leading up to the big performance, including freshman recruitment and competition auditions. The narrative doesn't go out of its way to introduce any new concepts, it just shows similar sequences as the first season, but now the characters are in different positions. But that isn't a bad thing in itself, as it shows how Kumiko and the now second and third years have matured and learned from their past mistakes, and their new determination to succeed at Nationals. An example is Yuko, who as the new captain of the band has to learn to become an effective leader, and further progresses from the character she was in season 1.

Speaking of characters, that's where this film faltered. As expected, a new school year brings in lots of new characters. At the same time, some second and third years who didn't get a character arc previously also got an extra spotlight. But of course, there were only an hour and 50 minutes to tell everyone's story, so some of these new faces definitely got the short end of the stick. It was disappointing to see some interesting new characters shown on screen who either completely ignored or given a character arc that lasts about 5 minutes. There was really only one freshman character who we got to know well. At the same time there were some recurring characters that had their own drama, but got so little screen-time in the past installments that I just had no idea how I was supposed to feel about them. But the lackluster character development doesn't feel too bad in this kind of movie, since it's pretty obvious that this was just a bridge to lead into the inevitable Hibike! Euphonium 3. If this was a standalone film, I would've come out of the theater way more dissatisfied. I'm sure these looked-over characters will be able to shine in the next season. I won't say exactly what happened, but the romance progressed further in this movie than it did the past two seasons. The romantic tensions unfortunately felt a bit rushed, but still were so heartwarming and cute that I couldn't help but laugh and smile along with everyone else in the theater. There's something here for fans of all ships!

But aside from the pacing of the movie leading to a lack of character development, this was a fantastic experience. The music is absolutely incredible, as you would expect. Arguably, the best part of the movie was the performance scene; it might just be my favorite in the series yet. The smooth animation, slick camera movement, good use of 3D, combined with the gorgeous soundtrack made for a truly blissful experience in the last leg of the movie. Seeing it in theaters only made it more magical.

And that's what I thought of the movie. This is definitely a must watch for anyone that is still interested in following Kumiko and Kitauji in their quest for Gold, but I would advise anyone who hasn't seen the tv anime yet to watch that before seeing this movie. As a standalone movie with no context, this will be a pretty dissatisfying film. And as always, feel free to ignore the numbers you see here and have your own opinions on the movie. As for me, Chikai no Finale has got me even more excited for the next chapter in the Hibike! Euphonium story.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 8, 2019

Yuki

Mixed Feelings

To start off, for anyone who have watched the previous installments of Hibike! Euphonium, both season 1 and 2, you'll find that this new sequel doesn't deviate much, if at all, from the seasons in terms or storytelling or theme. It's pretty much a speedrun of Hibike! Euphonium condensed into 1 movie with new characters added in. There is nothing added in the movie that truly breaks from the mold already established by both previous seasons. The movie is centered around certain 1st years who enter the high school and join band. Each of them have their own unique problems relating to band drama and ... personal conflicts with one another. With the last graduating class gone, there is a large hole in the club in terms of both numbers and talent, and tensions are high once again as old scars are brought up and new people bring their own baggage to the stage.

I'll talk about the positives first.
The music, as expected, is fantastic. The soundtrack is amazing and really sets in the mood for you to relax and enjoy. I had no problems with it really. The music played by the band is also incredible and it really does the series justice. If you haven't watched the spin off movie Liz and the Blue Bird, I highly do suggest you watch it beforehand to get a better grasp on the music piece played by the band. It made the orchestra scene so much better and emotionally powerful. This is just a suggestion for fans of the series who are invested in the musical aspect.
The art is fantastic as always. It's the same classic style you see from season 1 and 2. Nothing much changed and nothing much really needed to change. The quality was still good and while the animation itself was nothing much to brag about, the art and cinematography more than make up for that. There was nothing as well animated as the Kumiko running scene or the Reina smile scene in season 1 but the movie still held up high in regards to looking great.
The thing about Hibike! is that it is a character driven show, and as much as people give the music the highest praise, the characters are the best part of it. I really appreciated the fact that they did build up the characters we were familiar with, such as Natsuki and Kumiko. You see them still grow and adapt to their new roles in the club, especially as they are a year older now and they must shoulder the responsibilities that their former mentors held. The movie didn't totally just remove their role in the band in favor of the new students. However this becomes a double edged sword. I talk about the negatives regarding the characters below but the positives are still there in the mix. The character drama is all generally realistic in its portrayal of not only band culture but of competition. The series themes resonate with the movie still regarding both the philosophy of talent and winning. Because for some, winning is the only thing that matters, while for others, it's the effort in achieving either success or failure that is what is most important. You can achieve nothing but that is better than doing nothing. Hibike! prides itself on centering themes around this type of philosophy and they do a great job. It's why Hibike! is so good. If anything else, I consider the overarching theme in the movie to be the best positive I can write about.

I'll be moving on to the negatives now.
The movie was fairly rushed and you rarely have time to settle down with certain scenes and their implications before moving onto another problem. One of the reasons for this was that they heavily condensed the novel from which the movie was adapted from, cutting almost half of the substance. And while of course the anime movie should be judged independently from any other source, it does explain why the plot seems to be as if some scenes are being skipped. So when you are watching the movie don't worry if you do get slightly confused, some context is missing. And while this issue is not obvious all the time it does seem noticeable in a few important scenes relating to the new characters. You see them lash out spontaneously and their reasoning while perhaps justified have no real set up, making it as if we were supposed to have watch another prequel about the new 1st years before this movie to really understand them. We don't know enough about them to emphasize with them on anything but a shallow level. The pacing wouldn't have been that much of an issue but certain things seem to snowball together for a bit of confusion towards the end of the movie. KyoAni was essentially juggling screen time between the popularity of the old characters for fans and the introduction of the new ones.
The drama of the series is also a part where this rushed storytelling suffers from. The movie switches between the personal problems of Kumiko and the problems of the 1st years. And so what you get is kind of this underdeveloped conclusion to both in certain ways. While of course you can give the benefit of the doubt as there will be a sequel season 3, the movie seems to dilute the new characters a little too much. We rarely get to see them outside of their drama, acting as students circumnavigating band life in its entirety. It's more that we see them as walking talking plot points to address in order to move the story forward. You don't really know who they are as a person and I think that for a series like Hibike! there should have been a little more due diligence in fleshing out the new characters for the audience to relate to. The new characters all suffer from a lack of believable development save for one of them. The story tries its hardest to make up for that by giving them all emotional conclusions to their personal arcs but it feels somewhat hollow.

The movie may offer nothing truly "new" to the table for those already familiar with Hibike! but it does give us a small glimpse of the greatness that was season 1 and why the series is so popular.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Hibike! Euphonium Movie 3: Chikai no Finale Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) shanimebib - Apr 18, 2019	127 replies	by nickehhhhhh »» Jul 25, 5:21 AM
	Turning Hibike! Euphonium into a film was a mistake, especially for the future CickNipolla - Jul 12, 2022	14 replies	by Nurguburu »» Jun 29, 1:37 PM
	Anyone else feel a certain trombone player needs more love? ( 1 2 ) shanimebib - Feb 8, 2019	65 replies	by Nurguburu »» Jun 29, 1:12 PM
	Does Kumiko actually romantically like Asuka? OugiRevolution - Mar 1, 2020	10 replies	by Nurguburu »» Jun 29, 12:42 PM
	Kumiko x Reina ? removed-user - Jan 23, 2022	8 replies	by Nurguburu »» Jun 29, 12:38 PM

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