10 Second Anime - Hibike! Euphonium - Episode 13 [END]



The concert band's preparations are complete and the members take their first step toward national competition. Season Finale.

Heh.

I quite liked how the scenes of nervousness and tension on the morning of the competition performance gave almost everyone a chance to show their funny quirks. It was almost like a comedic recap show.

Natsuki showed her extra big love for Yuuko with an extra big good luck charm.

Taki-sensei still showed up late and was still in some ways a big kid like the club members. "You guys were cheering too loud so early in the morning. Not me, though. Shhhh."

Asuka was still as enigmatic as ever, showing off that goofy mask and even threatening to restart her history of the euphonium report from the first episode. More on her later.

Matsumoto-sensei was proud of the young teacher's maturation too. I think it was a great image of Taki-sensei's hands coming together to emphasize how the band and the club did the same.

Reina's ponytail came back for a cameo, as did Kumiko's. I also liked how each of the girls' hair accessories were brown to match their formal uniforms. No rolled up skirts this time around either.

Natsuki fist bump? Natsuki fist bump. Cool.

Kumiko sensed a power shift in her dynamic with Shuuichi. Instead of counting on him to always be looking at her, now she has to grab his attention. Lots of things changed during the course of this season.

 

Taki-sensei's question to the band, whether they were ready to amaze the audience, was a nice callback to his false choice situation of getting the band to prepare for competition instead of making memories. There was no vote this time, just an invitation to another foregone conclusion. They were going to amaze the crowd, not a doubt in his mind. Not only that, they prepared for competition and made fun memories at the same time. This guy is pretty smart.

 

And then, the lights came up and they played.

Thankfully, for those whose ears can't pick up all the subtleties of an ensemble's sounds, we had Hazuki and Natsuki cluing us in on Kumiko's difficult bass part and how Reina took the audience's breath away.

 

There were a couple things unaccounted for, which made me yearn for a continuation of the story as soon as possible. The first was Taki-sensei's picture in his folder that he touched for emotional support or inspiration. Who was in it? There appeared to be a woman with a prominently displayed wedding ring. A dead wife?

And then there was Asuka. Still not enthusiastic about going to competitions. Lamenting to Kumiko that she wished Summer could last forever because all the fun would be over after their contest. Did she think they would lose? Or worse, did she know they were good enough to win and the grueling pace of the next level would strain the band more than they were ready for?

 

Enough about her. We'd probably need another 13 episodes to crack her shell. The other reactions to the band's real gold selection was much more natural and heartfelt.

Hmm.

After seeing the use of CGI for the 3D space effects in Episode 11, I was hoping to see something similar to the whirling effect in the opening credits during the band's performance. Denied. The direction focused on the sound and how the instruments were played to make those sounds. Besides, it gave Taki-sensei a chance to shine in his nice looking tuxedo. All the girls went "squee" at that, even Reina in her reserved way.

Final Thoughts.

Like many stories featuring the transition from junior high to high school, we saw in Hibike! Euphonium the usual themes of forming an identity, growing up, making friends, finding love, chasing dreams and facing disappointment. The hook for this show, besides the loving attention to detail for a concert band club's instruments, was having a closed-off girl as the center of the narrative. Kumiko started as not caring much about things, trying to cast off her old identity, but still being drawn back to the things in her life she wanted to throw off.

 

A seminal moment for her came near the end of the season when she admitted to her older sister that she actually just likes playing an instrument. Compare Kumiko to the aloof Asuka for whom the only thing she cares about appears to be the euphonium and contrast her to her older sister who was only lukewarm to it and gave it up in the hope of going to the school of her choice. Kumiko isn't on a graduated scale between those two extremes; she's finding her own passion. Whether that passion is really just for the euphonium, or just admitting she likes it is the first step in allowing herself to be open to other possibilities, we don't know. Rather, we don't know yet.

 

The end of this season was only the start for a continuing story. As we usually see in these stories about transition, the fun part is seeing the change, being a part of the journey. The ending is only an invitation to amaze the audience.