Sound! Euphonium (light novel)
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Reply to ChockuL
Am I the only one who thought Kumiko's eupho playing was better?? Makes me not accept the outcome
| @ChockuL It's understandable since Kumiko's play was more like a conversation on equal ground, but had mistakes on the tempo. Mayu's performance was more of a support highlighting the trumpet. It was more precise and no mistakes on the tempo and managed to even get the fine harmonics right. If they were playing for a crowd it would be the more appealing choice to go with Kumiko's performance. In the competition though, Kumiko's lack of precision probably loses more points between the two. |
| Personally, I am all for realism and bad ending in anime. However, it depends on the story and the place to do it. And this is not it. Not when the story still goes on after this, especially the national competition. Winning gold in national has been the goal of the series and the characters’ since the very beginning of season 1. And having a transfer student who joined 70% into the show to play a main part to (likely) finally achieve it would be very underwhelming and even undeserved. Thanks to this, I am no longer excited for the national competition and their performance that I have been waiting for all season. To make it worse, I did find the second player to be much better in the blind audition. It is a shame because the entire season so far has been absolute cinema, as well as the Kumiko & Reina scene at the end except it only happened because of some poor decision/writing. As a side note: I like the fact that Taki admitted his shortcomings as a teacher in front of Kumiko. That explains his poor decision/incompetency in the 2nd audition and competition. |
| Absolute cinema. The buildups paid off wonderfully. Sound Euphonium is more of a Kumiko anime than a music anime. Thematically, Kitauji winning gold in Nationals but Mayu in the soli is the strongest statement of Kumiko's character development. Can safely say that me rooting for this outcome was an unpopular opinion. I thought KyoAni would not proceed thinking (rightfully) it's too risky, but these madlads actually did it. |
| Oh God, Kanade crying was fucking painful… |
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| This is a very touching episode. The decision that will change everything, the solister choice. It went in a way I didn't expect... I just hope for the best performance possible. A part of me still wants a positive change in the last minute. And so, the next and final piece begins.  |
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Reply to Azenime
Kudos to kumiko.. Who stayed strong as a leader and a senior..
I know some ppl hate mayu but she doesn't deserve this.. What can she do about it? She doesn't want to become soli and always try to find a way to make kumiko agree but kumiko ask her to do it for the club everytime.. Then, ppl in the comment start to get noisy saying "Mayu is the cause, F her... Blah blah blah"
It pain seeing a character get undeserved hate like this.. Kudos to mayu and kudos to reina for staying true to herself even when she knows her best friend playing..
I know some ppl hate mayu but she doesn't deserve this.. What can she do about it? She doesn't want to become soli and always try to find a way to make kumiko agree but kumiko ask her to do it for the club everytime.. Then, ppl in the comment start to get noisy saying "Mayu is the cause, F her... Blah blah blah"
It pain seeing a character get undeserved hate like this.. Kudos to mayu and kudos to reina for staying true to herself even when she knows her best friend playing..
It pain seeing a character get undeserved hate like this.. Kudos to mayu and kudos to reina for staying true to herself even when she knows her best friend playing.. @Azenime The artist choice for the OPs is no coincidence |
| Oh this episode is hitting more in the feels now |
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| You know that feeling inside of you, the sort of thing that you dread about think it'll happen and you do your best to suppress it while sticking to what you want to see happen, but then it doesn't? It's probably not the best way for me to explain, but even then, I knew that the choice of the euphonium soloist would be in a tense situation similar to what Reina went through during her first year. Only this time, a partition was held up so that no one, not even Reina, could see who was performing at the time, so that the choice would be purely on sound alone. Kumiko's suggestion for this ideal so that the result would be as impartial as possible was a wise one. With that in mind, it still pained me to see her lose out to Mayu, who was the overall winner by one vote. Kanade breaking down crying in front of Kumiko was truly saddening and I can't blame her for feeling that way. Kumiko being there and comforting her in response was really sweet of her to do. She might be sassy at times, but I do see Kanade being an important figurehead for this club when her senpais all graduate. If I thought that scene in particular was a teary one, the following scene hit me VERY hard, with Kumiko meeting with Reina at the all too familiar spot overlooking the city at night, where Reina couldn't hold back her tears and emotions. I was teary at this point, but then the tears doubled when Kumiko herself broke down crying in front of Reina. Heartbreaking almost feels like an understatement to describe the sadness here, it really does. Props to KyoAni for making this scene a visual masterpiece as well as one of the most emotional scenes that I've seen in a long time. Although I don't see some people ever liking Mayu, at least her talk with Kumiko before the auditions explained her personality habits due to having a fallout with a friend over her music success of always being picked over her friend for performances. It showcases the flaws of human nature of acting on assumption about someone without fully knowing as to why they act that way in the first place. She hasn't made the wisest of choices in this season, but at least with this explanation, you can't call her a nasty person whatsoever. All I can hope for now is for Kitauji to go and win gold at the Nationals. Not every ending is going to be a happy one, but I REALLY hope this one ends on a happy note. |
Reply to heinzmostarda
10 years.
10 freaking years waiting for this moment for them to to just crush us like that.
It just feels like it all was for nothing.
I mean the whole point of the show since season 1 was to get gold.
Gold, gold, gold. That was the main objective all these years. And all of the drama in the show surrounded that.
But what's the point now?
It feels like that objective has become completely meaningless.
Now only the conclusion remains and Kitauji will probably win but who cares? It's just so underwhelming.
10 freaking years waiting for this moment for them to to just crush us like that.
It just feels like it all was for nothing.
I mean the whole point of the show since season 1 was to get gold.
Gold, gold, gold. That was the main objective all these years. And all of the drama in the show surrounded that.
But what's the point now?
It feels like that objective has become completely meaningless.
Now only the conclusion remains and Kitauji will probably win but who cares? It's just so underwhelming.
| @heinzmostarda this is the thing for me. Now I just lost all interest, after 10 years watching the growth of Kumiko and the band subsiding thanks to her effort behind the curtains. And just because of drama in a show that ended in a sad no "sound!euphonium" at all (because there where not any concerts) they punish her like this??? in such an unjustifiable way? I could care less now for what happens with the concours, they could as well get bronze and I would enjoy that. A great reward for Taki and his blind fan Reina... And this because Kyoani wanted, because even if the Novel author agreed, she knew this was gonna happen, that is why she went for the Kumiko Solo route on her works... |
| I cannot tell at all which one is better e: Dang bruh that was sad |
mtfunkyJun 23, 1:03 PM
負けたくない |
| The last audition of Kumiko's time at Kitauji, and it comes down to one final choice... That episode was a lot to take in, but one thing is for certain. I teared up, hard. My favourite anime of all time is Liz and the Blue Bird, and this was the closest it ever got to that. In that film, Nozomi was holding back Mizore, and here, Kumiko was kind of holding back Reina all along, and as Mizore soared like the bird, Reina will surely do the same now. The fact that Reina chose Mayu by her own hand, is perfectly consistent with the messages of Reina leaving Kumiko for music school. They might still be friends at the end of the day, but their paths will differ. Frustrating as the result might be for Kumiko, Kanade, Reina herself, and for the band, this was a good choice. The original source material did not have the same result, however, as a second callback audition never happened, and Kumiko ended up making it into the soli. They flipped the script on us, and it's better for it in my opinion. There are still arguments to be made about the pacing, as I admit the drama dragged and felt rushed at the same time, but the more important thing is, this adaptation has its own identity, and the story has a new life of its own. And the (likely) last piece begins... |
| Free tickets to the water park for everyone courtesy of Kyoto Animation. No OP or ED to make up for the audition scene. Still fairly slow and was made up of mainly 2 gigantic scenes across each half. Taki sensei and Michie sensei already knew what Kumiko was going to hand in on her career survey shows how much they learnt from their students. It's a nice theme for this episode - that both student and teacher can help each other reach their ideal selves by inspiring each other. Finally the show is finally coming to a close. Mayu's story is a simple one. I'm glad Kumiko finally gave Mayu the chance to open up to her. I believe that the lack of a flashy or heavy reveal was correct. All that she has experienced and what she feels has already been given to us in previous episodes with the various dramas and struggles of the characters. She loves playing with everyone else as much as Motomu does and she's honest to her music as much as Reina. We don't know exactly what she experienced and how she took it but she seems to have made peace with it with the help of Kumiko. And that's the best result. The soli audition was tense but not in any dramatic way. I just wanted the characters to be the best people they could be in that moment and they were. Kumiko and Reina reconciling with each other at that one special location was an excellent callback to that famous scene. Kumiko breaking down was the first time she was truly frustrated with herself. Previously only Asuka made her feel an emotional moment this deeply but now it's for her own shortcomings and she's growing from it. The music in this episode is ON POINT. Bringing back season 1 music at the end was unfair. And playing the Sound! Euphonium piece during the voting was heart-breaking. Truly a worthy and appropriate title and piece for that moment. I can't believe it's all coming to an end next week. Time sure flies... |
 Latest reviews: Train the the End of the World and Wonder Egg Priority |
Reply to lycoping
I found Taki's comment, "I still have a lot to learn," to be interesting. I don't think that occurred to him and he realized at that moment how he screwed up in Kumiko's first year. if he had been more experienced, he probably would have done that and spared them a lot of unnecessary drama.
In fact, the auditions should have been blind from the beginning, then he wouldn't have been accused of favoritism to Reina and have been forced to redo the auditions.
In spite of what reina thinks, Taki is learning along with them.
I don't really know how I feel about this season extracting the maximum amount of drama possible for any given event. On the one hand, it makes for great anime, on the other... they have been at each others' throats all season, Reina and Kumiko included. Reina was forced here to make a decision, and she chose being special, and Taki, over Kumiko. I think Kumiko understood that, in fact, she would not have expected any less from Reina. It's funny, though, how all this time, Reina was putting the responsibility for playing with her on Kumiko, and she ended up being the one who had to decide.
Ultimately, though, I think this was a good bookend for their relationship. the first time they ended up on daikichi, they became close friends. the second time, they mended their relationship. this time, they began to say goodbye to each other. mount daikichi... the place where they found, and lost, love. I mean, maybe they'll stay close their entire life, but... what they had here, they'll never have in the same way again.
I have never thought their relationship was intended to be yuri-baiting, at the most, a hamhanded attempt at having their cake and eating it too with the yuri crowd. I did think that it's intended to show a very close female friendship, and it was always intended to end someday, at least in this form. that's realistic. I wonder how Shuuichi will turn out. kumiko and shuuichi never seemed a great fit, so they'll probably end up together. but then kyoanimjust shredded the light novels, so who knows anymore.
Very good episode. I still don't think this season measures up to season 2, but maybe it's not supposed to. it has its own reason to be.
In fact, the auditions should have been blind from the beginning, then he wouldn't have been accused of favoritism to Reina and have been forced to redo the auditions.
In spite of what reina thinks, Taki is learning along with them.
I don't really know how I feel about this season extracting the maximum amount of drama possible for any given event. On the one hand, it makes for great anime, on the other... they have been at each others' throats all season, Reina and Kumiko included. Reina was forced here to make a decision, and she chose being special, and Taki, over Kumiko. I think Kumiko understood that, in fact, she would not have expected any less from Reina. It's funny, though, how all this time, Reina was putting the responsibility for playing with her on Kumiko, and she ended up being the one who had to decide.
Ultimately, though, I think this was a good bookend for their relationship. the first time they ended up on daikichi, they became close friends. the second time, they mended their relationship. this time, they began to say goodbye to each other. mount daikichi... the place where they found, and lost, love. I mean, maybe they'll stay close their entire life, but... what they had here, they'll never have in the same way again.
I have never thought their relationship was intended to be yuri-baiting, at the most, a hamhanded attempt at having their cake and eating it too with the yuri crowd. I did think that it's intended to show a very close female friendship, and it was always intended to end someday, at least in this form. that's realistic. I wonder how Shuuichi will turn out. kumiko and shuuichi never seemed a great fit, so they'll probably end up together. but then kyoanimjust shredded the light novels, so who knows anymore.
Very good episode. I still don't think this season measures up to season 2, but maybe it's not supposed to. it has its own reason to be.
lycoping said: I have never thought their relationship was intended to be yuri-baiting, at the most, a hamhanded attempt at having their cake and eating it too with the yuri crowd. I did think that it's intended to show a very close female friendship, and it was always intended to end someday, at least in this form. that's realistic. I wonder how Shuuichi will turn out. kumiko and shuuichi never seemed a great fit, so they'll probably end up together. but then kyoanimjust shredded the light novels, so who knows anymore I actually started rewatching some parts of season 1 in the time between each new episode and I always believed that the community was memeing up the yuri bait because that's what Kyoani do. But I stared to realise that they were probably right. Season 2 has her almost disappear. So yeah Kyoani have definitely moved on from giving Reina that much presence in the show even if she is an important character. |
raisin-kunJun 23, 1:36 PM
| Latest reviews: Train the the End of the World and Wonder Egg Priority |
| Absolutely brilliant. This is good. This is growth, this development and this episode solidifies this show as AOTS for me. If you're upset over pining for the last decade only to have real victory pass you by, just consider how Kumiko must feel. This has to hurt worse than anything she's ever experienced, but the difference this time is that it hardly comes as a surprise to her. Like she explained on the hilltop, she half expected things to turn out this way. And if you go back and consider the rest of her final year, you should too. This whole season has been constantly bringing Kumiko's passion for playing music into doubt. Kumiko herself knows it's not what she wants to do, even if it's hard for her to admit it. Reina hates that it's the case. Mayu is constantly questioning it, and in one of her confrontations with Kumiko she even says as much. Mizore's answer to Kumiko about music school, devastating as it was, confirmed it for her. At this point, there is practically no reason for her to be the one to get the soli and bring home the gold. It's hard to accept that what she's been doing for three years, what we've been watching for ten years, isn't what she's the best at or what she will continue to do. I think having her lose the audition is something necessary for her. Kumiko has spent her entire third year waffling about it but this final, painful, cathartic failure is perfect for pushing her to pursue another avenue for her future. Reina knows it, she can hear it, and that's why she made the choice she did. I think it's fantastic how mature this development is - genuinely bold and top-tier writing. |
| At this point, this is just really frustrating to me. I haven't been a huge fan of this season so far, but man this just really... ugh. While who is better is subjective, without knowing who it was I thought that Number 2 was much more heartfelt playing, with a nice vibrato and better sound combination with Reina. Finding out it was Kumiko while also personally having thought this was the better choice is insanely frustrating. EDIT: Hold on I just read through the comments. Did they actually change it from the light novel? Was she supposed to win? Are you kidding me? |
| It's joever, Kumiko lost the soli. No hard feelings to Mayu but come on how am I not supposed to be team Kumiko. And we only have one more episode left. Its so joever |
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| «But after what you forced us to see, I have no choice but to move on.» Kanade summed up very well all my thoughts about this season. |
Reply to watsym
I like this idea better than what the novel did. Kumiko winning everything may have been a little boring and the resolution in the last scene was great. There's more important things than the short lived gratification of playing a solo in high school. (like becoming a better version of themselves, growth that can last throughout life)
Time to get the gold performance next episode.
Time to get the gold performance next episode.
| @watsym I Dont know.. seeing a lot of people rage dropping or vote dropping after that episode. I tend to prefer KyoAni not* rewrite stories. I didn't like VE rewrite. *shrug* To each their own. |
Reply to Johnny-Jay
I understand people's frustration, I mean my heart broke for Kumiko but please don't call this bad writing. This season was about growing up, figuring out what kind of person you want to be and fighting for what you believe in, no matter the cost. This outcome makes sense, this is the kind of president Kumiko wanted to be, this is the kind of club she wanted to build and hopefully her decisions will earn them the gold. And the whole thing has been a learning experience for Kumiko and helped her decide her future.
| @Johnny-Jay My frustration is crapping on the source material and once again another KyoAni adaption going 100% anime original. |
| ngl I very much expected to end up choosing Mayu's solo the way it was going, but it turned out the one I preferred was indeed Kumiko's Had a feeling Reina would be able to tell them apart by sound (If anything I'm surprised she's the only one that did?) which makes her choice that much sadder Beautiful episode Edit: people apparently mad their rewrote (supposedly) the original LN, but I'm not gonna lie I kinda prefer it this way. This kind of series (with competitions - music, sport, etc.) often tend to be a little bit too much in favor of the main cast. I'd prolly love it if they didn't win the next competition, but given how much pain they delivered by having Kumiko not getting the soli I honestly doubt they would have the balls to go in that direction |
ChuuritsuTvJun 23, 3:29 PM
Reply to ChuuritsuTv
ngl I very much expected to end up choosing Mayu's solo the way it was going, but it turned out the one I preferred was indeed Kumiko's
Had a feeling Reina would be able to tell them apart by sound (If anything I'm surprised she's the only one that did?) which makes her choice that much sadder
Beautiful episode
Edit:
people apparently mad their rewrote (supposedly) the original LN, but I'm not gonna lie I kinda prefer it this way. This kind of series (with competitions - music, sport, etc.) often tend to be a little bit too much in favor of the main cast.
I'd prolly love it if they didn't win the next competition, but given how much pain they delivered by having Kumiko not getting the soli I honestly doubt they would have the balls to go in that direction
Had a feeling Reina would be able to tell them apart by sound (If anything I'm surprised she's the only one that did?) which makes her choice that much sadder
Beautiful episode
Edit:
people apparently mad their rewrote (supposedly) the original LN, but I'm not gonna lie I kinda prefer it this way. This kind of series (with competitions - music, sport, etc.) often tend to be a little bit too much in favor of the main cast.
I'd prolly love it if they didn't win the next competition, but given how much pain they delivered by having Kumiko not getting the soli I honestly doubt they would have the balls to go in that direction
| @ChuuritsuTv its not a supposition, the LN is entirely different especially in that uh 'outcome' Its fine that some like it - others likely will convince themselves they did if for nothing else the cost sunk fallacy time and emotion wise.. But to me.. im done. It doesn't even matter what happens in the anime original finale now, win or lose gold or not just don't care. The LN is the canon material anyway *shrug* so ill just re read it. |
| I cried... Kumiko is going to become one admirable adult I'm sure. This must be how Kaori felt, and how Yuuko felt back in season 1. And yet I think it's even more difficult this time because of how close their skills are. In terms of the actual performance on stage, I felt that the 1st player was more accurate and on beat, while the 2nd player was dragging a bit but it felt a little more expressive. I chose player 2, but absolutely acknowledge player 1 as the winner. I heard this part of the story was drastically changed from the LN. Not sure how much exactly, but I'm very happy it's the way it is. KyoAni never dissappoints! |
Reply to Maahir97
Looks like they switched things up from the light novel since apparently Kumiko was meant to win and I guess thats fine as long as they dont change the ending. I want to see the authors vision for the series not an anime original ending.
| @Maahir97 Posting of X by the original author I watched episode 12! Kumiko! 😭😭😭 I cried when I first saw this episode. Everyone did a really good job 😭 Those who have already read the original work will be very surprised. I hope you enjoy the different flavors of each work, anime as anime and novel as novel...! Let's look forward to the final episode next week. The post feels positive in terms of Japanese nuance. I think the change was discussed with Kyoani and agreed upon. |
Reply to kubo_2501
@Maahir97 Posting of X by the original author
I watched episode 12!
Kumiko! 😭😭😭
I cried when I first saw this episode. Everyone did a really good job 😭
Those who have already read the original work will be very surprised.
I hope you enjoy the different flavors of each work, anime as anime and novel as novel...!
Let's look forward to the final episode next week.
The post feels positive in terms of Japanese nuance.
I think the change was discussed with Kyoani and agreed upon.
I watched episode 12!
Kumiko! 😭😭😭
I cried when I first saw this episode. Everyone did a really good job 😭
Those who have already read the original work will be very surprised.
I hope you enjoy the different flavors of each work, anime as anime and novel as novel...!
Let's look forward to the final episode next week.
The post feels positive in terms of Japanese nuance.
I think the change was discussed with Kyoani and agreed upon.
| @kubo_2501 yeah there was tweet where Jukki Hanada thanked the LN author and the season director for agreeing to this change. |
Reply to watsym
@kubo_2501 yeah there was tweet where Jukki Hanada thanked the LN author and the season director for agreeing to this change.
| @watsym I rather doubt the author could have said "nope"you script it the way the source canon material is or else!. |
| This is why KyoAni is one of the best studios around. Amazing direction and writing, the way they changed the original outcome makes so much sense. Some people here should keep in mind that this show is not a shonen and that good character development doesn't only come from succeeding and winning. |
Reply to Ryner1989
Honestly, I preferred the second solo to the first one, I even felt more chemistry between them,and yes, I am sad that Kumiko didn't get a solo because it would have been a more beautiful ending to the story, but despite everything, the emotions tugged at my heart.
| @Ryner1989 I'm inclined to agree. Speaking as a musician myself (guitar) I thought the difference was very subtle, but Kumiko's solo was slightly more emotionally in tune with the trumpet. But technically there was barely any difference between the two. |
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Reply to Radnitzky1890
This is why KyoAni is one of the best studios around. Amazing direction and writing, the way they changed the original outcome makes so much sense.
Some people here should keep in mind that this show is not a shonen and that good character development doesn't only come from succeeding and winning.
Some people here should keep in mind that this show is not a shonen and that good character development doesn't only come from succeeding and winning.
| @Radnitzky1890 I mean.. as a LN reader it really doesn't make much sense to me. I read it, loved it, wanted to see it adapted.. instead I got whatever this is.. and it isn't amazing to me. |
Reply to watsym
@kubo_2501 yeah there was tweet where Jukki Hanada thanked the LN author and the season director for agreeing to this change.
| @watsym Jukki is involved? So it explains why I get echoes of Yorimoi's episode 12 here. |
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