First things first, how is the movie itself? For me, it’s pretty good, but there are some aspects about this film that I think are some minor setbacks, which I’ll also get to later. I’ll go over what worked really well for me, starting with the writing. The plot of this movie revolves around Mizore and Nozomi as they work towards a solo piece they will perform for Kitauji’s concert band. This piece is based off of the ‘Liz and the Blue Bird’ fairy tale, which consists of a girl, Liz, learning to let go of a blue bird she meant. This plot within a plot is solely meant to serve as a metaphor for the two main characters of this story. The piece that is inspired off of this fairy tale also used really well narratively to help both Mizore and Nozomi realize their roles in both the piece’s third movement and their relationship with one another, with that ultimately pushing the two of them to finally find what they want in the future. It’s a very beautiful narrative and this movie really felt like the emotional payoff that I wanted to see from these two characters in Season 2 of the show. I really like the idea of Mizore and Nozomi not immediately being best buds after the big moment that they had in the show as this not only makes their dynamic more compelling, it also gives them a ton of room for character development and to lay out more depth on top of what we already saw from the series. This movie absolutely justifies its continuation of Mizore and Nozomi’s story, and does so in a way that kept me invested from start to finish.
On top of some very compelling writing, the animation is gorgeous. Since this is from the same director as A Silent Voice, expect the same stunning visuals here as well. I really liked all of the fairy tale scenes, and just the scenery overall felt so atmospheric and breathtaking. The use of watercolor painting is great and helps keep the overall movie within the fairy tale-esque setting and tone. Everything about the visuals is a near masterpiece for me. Yes, a “near” masterpiece. Now don’t get me wrong, both the animation and art style are really good, but I’m not sure it fits this particular series. If you go back and watch the rest of the Sound! Euphonium seasons and movies, it has a very distinct art style that screams “Sound! Euphonium.” Characters in the flagship show have unique hairstyles, eye colors, etc. that make them easily recognizable and distinctive. However, in Liz and the Blue Bird, many of the character designs look muted when compared to their TV show counterparts. Mizore doesn’t have that same unique blue hair that further adds to how cold and distant she is from everyone else. Side characters in this film that have main and prominent roles in the show like Kumiko, Reina, and Yuuko have their designs neutered to fit the overall visual tone of this movie. Again, the art style in Liz and the Blue Bird is beautiful, but it doesn’t really fit these set of characters.
Having the plot within the plot narrative in any movie or show is tricky to pull off, but many stories utilize it really well. Liz and the Blue Bird uses it in a way that helps convey the emotional state that the main characters currently find themselves in. However, the only issue that I have with this narrative choice is that the actual fairy tale in the story seems a little under-developed for my liking. We don’t really know why Liz likes the blue bird and vice versa, which makes the departure of the two a little less emotional. I understand that this subplot is meant to further develop both Mizore and Nozomi, but I would’ve liked to have the tale fleshed out just a little bit more to perfectly reflect what the main duo in this movie is going through. Another aspect of this movie that wasn’t to my liking has to be the pacing. I typically like slow-burn movies and shows, especially ones that like to devote the screen time to building depth for the story, characters, and setting. However, this film moves at a snail's pace and doesn’t really justify it. There are scenes that either don’t really need to be here, or could have been cut to be a little bit shorter. I don’t think we need long, drawn-out scenes of characters hanging out for no rhyme or reason, and this is coming from someone who loves the slice of life genre in not only anime, but in entertainment in general. A lot of the slower moments in the movie don’t really work towards anything, and in fact reiterate details we are already aware of at that point in the story. Having the film visually show us the contrast in popularity between the two main characters is nice in the first act, but a lot of screen time is just this over and over again. I definitely think there could’ve been a bit more brevity in building both Mizore and Nozomi’s characters especially since you’d already know most of this if you’ve watched the show. This leads into an aspect of this movie that needs to be taken into consideration.
Liz and the Blue Bird is listed as and is known for being a side story for Sound! Euphonium. A side story means that you don’t need to consume this piece of media to progress to the more narratively important parts of a series. Side stories can also be so detached from the main series that you can go in raw without any prior knowledge of what came before or even after it. As I mentioned earlier, this film is a continuation of Mizore and Nozomi’s characters, who first made their appearance in Sound! Euphonium Season 2. Because of this, many people are under the assumption that because this movie consists of two side characters from the flagship anime, they can watch this without any context of the show, however, that is simply not the case with this movie. First off, the first act of this movie does briefly reference the most relevant plot points regarding Nozomi and Mizore’s relationship and does so in a way that is concise and straight to the point. However, many of the the emotional beats behind these moments in the film, as well as other scenes in general, rely on both the narrative and emotional context from the Sound! Euphonium show. This movie doesn’t cover why Nozomi left Kitauji’s concert band in her first year there, Mizore and Nozomi’s reunion, and the reason why they even wanted to join the concert band in high school, all of which are extremely important plot points that make the emotional beats much more impactful. Hell, even some scenes with side characters here have much more significance without knowledge of the show. The conversation that Reina Kousaka has with Mizore, as well as Reina playing the solo parts of the third movement with Kumiko has a much greater impact narratively if you knew what those two characters went through in the first two seasons of Sound! Euphonium.
The reason why I even have that section of the review is because a ton of people saw this movie for the pure reason that this is from the same director who did A Silent Voice, not because it’s a Sound! Euphonium movie. If you went in with the mindset of the former, then you would not get the full picture if you did the latter, because just thinking about some scenes without any prior context would make this movie make less sense. Why would a film focused on Mizore and Nozomi have a scene dedicated to two side characters playing the solo part? Well, turns out those side characters just so happen to be the main duo of the main Sound! Euphonium series, and those two practicing that part holds much more significance after understanding what those two went through.
Overall, Liz and the Blue Bird is a great movie to watch for anyone who loves the emotional beats and storytelling from Sound! Euphonium. Despite some minor hiccups, this doesn’t stop this movie from delivering an overall compelling narrative with two characters who absolutely deserve the spotlight. But please, for the love of everything that is holy, watch the show first. Please don’t go into this raw. Trust me when I say that you will get the bigger picture if you actually watch Sound! Euphonium Seasons 1 and 2 first.
