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DerekL

  • Puget Sound.
  • Joined Mar 23, 2013
  • 60 / M

Sound! Euphonium

Jul 1, 2015

I added Euph to my queue because it looked interesting and like it might be a slice-of-life or CGDCT, both genres I enjoy.  By the end of the first episode, it was clear that it neither and it was so much more - and I was hooked.

(Warning, light spoilers ahead.)

Sound! Euphonhium opens on Kumiko's first day at Kitauji High School, a school she's chosen because she likes the uniforms and few of her middle school friends are going there.  Kumiko wants a fresh start, and most importantly doesn't want to be dragged back into being in the band club.   But by the end of the first day, she has two new best friends - and they've dragged her off to the Concert Band Club.

She's a serious musician even if she wants to avoid the band and isn't happy when she discovers that the club is a disorganized mess, more of a social club and hangout than anything else.   But a new adviser has been assigned to the club, and when he asks the club if they want to play for fun or to be serious and go for the Nationals, the club surprisingly votes (narrowly) to go for the Nationals...

Though the quest to come together as a band and improve their skills, individually and as a group, provides the background that drives the action, there's much more to the story.   Finding and making friends.  Dealing with people who don't want to be friends or whose goals aren't the same as yours.  Handling criticism, both well intended and brutal.   The first  tentative steps into love and romance.   Making choices and dealing with the consequences.  Choosing one's own path rather than being pushed around by happenstance and circumstance...
 
There's a lot packed into these thirteen episodes and you really have to watch carefully or you'll miss half the show.   It's not fast paced like an action anime, but is very subtle in many places.  Much is revealed through the cinematography and animation, shown rather than told.   There's deliberate call backs to earlier scenes sprinkled throughout the show, and the growth and change in the characters can be seen by differences in the way they carry themselves, or how they smile (or don't).

And it's the characters that are the real joy of the show - there's no walking tropes, no one trick ponies.  They're not all complex, but virtually all of the main and supporting characters have their strengths and weaknesses and shades of gray.  Euph is as much driven by their natural interaction as any demands of the plot.   In the end, I was rooting for them because they seemed so much like real people, people I've to know and care about, than just pixels going through the motions on my screen.

Story 8/10

It's pulled down a bit from what I made it sound like above mostly because there are some bits that aren't followed up on, and sometimes the quest for the Nationals yanks the focus away from the more interesting characters and their actions and interactions.   It's really a minor flaw in the grand scheme, but it's there and it stands out starkly in comparison.

Animation 9/10

Though is suffers slightly from moeblob and it bobbles a little when the band marches, overall the animation is simply stunning.   The lush backgrounds (almost PA Works like in scope and quality), the loving attention given to the instruments being played, the details in many scenes...  All of these contribute, but they pale beside the attention paid to the posture, expression, and gestures of the characters.  Some of the best I've ever seen.

Sound 8/10

The VA's do an outstanding job of conveying their characters and wide range of emotions and intentions.   It's the musical performance that pulls the score down a bit...  when they're supposed to be playing badly (a new musician, or someone distracted from their playing) it just sounds... off.   As another reviewer said, more like good musicians making deliberate mistakes than anything else.   To be fair however, Euph comes right on the heels of the outstanding musical performances of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) so it's a bit hard to evaluate it on it's own.

Characters 9/10

The real joy and heart of the show.   Pulled down a from a perfect 10 because even though they're well written, there are a few 'stock' characters in important roles.   I think they could have done a little better to flesh them out.

Overall 9/10

Yes, I am a fanboy, and I'm trying not to allow that to alter my perceptions (too much).   It's not a classic for the ages, however Euph is a dang good show for those willing to put the effort into it.  If you do (to paraphrase Alton Brown), your effort will be rewarded with a show you'll remember for a long time.

8/10 story
9/10 animation
8/10 sound
9/10 characters
9/10 overall

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