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RingoStarr1991

  • Southern California
  • Joined Aug 15, 2011
  • 33 / M

Sound! Euphonium 2

Jan 1, 2017

 ***This is a spoiler free review*** 

 This is going to be a review of the entire Hibike! Euphonium series which so far consists of two seasons (not counting the re-cap movie and the specials).

Hibike! Euphonium is an addition to the few anime that put a heavy focus on a group of people fulfilling their musical desires. There are shows that use the music as a supplement to the real purpose of the show (K-On for instance) and then there are shows that exist for the sole purpose of showing the viewer a musical experience that just happens to have other elements in it (like most of Nodame Cantabile). Hibike is sort of in the middle and it does the music part really well. It does however fall on the melodrama heavy side in certian parts.

Plot: 7/10

I felt like the first season did an amazing job balancing drama, tension, and the musical elements of the show. The events that caused the wind ensemble strife was believable and even hit home a little bit for me since I had similar things happen to me in the high school band. In fact if you were part of any sort of high school musical club this show will most likely hit close to home for you. I felt like the show was almost made for me to watch and enjoy.

The second season has the same great high points as the first season but I feel like the drama injected into the show to make things harder for the group was a little...meh. There is always the lingering issue of parental wants/needs for highschoolers but I feel like the situation that was brought up in the second season was a little over-the-top. The conclusion however was very good.

Both seasons showcased excellent pacing and a gradual increase in group skill.

Animation: 9.5/10

This show is seriously amazing to look at. A lot of the playing and panning shots/scenes do include noticeable CG movement but you are so enthralled by the music that you just look past it. The lighting in this show is some of the best I have ever seen in an animated series. There were multiple shots that literally made my mouth drop. Two in particular will stay in my mind forever; a recurring scene where Kumiko is practicing outside and we get this amazing shot from grass level. The lighting is so perfect and the scene looks muggy due to the humidity in the surrounding area. The other one which shows Reina flipping her hair back as she delivers a line after crossing the street just screamed B U D G E T.

The show looked amazing for a long-running series. Case closed.

Sound: 10/10

Love/hate relationship with the music in this show. I played the trombone and have always loved the sound of the baritone/euphonium. What bothered me about this show was the thing that seems to plague a lot of music anime; cutting out full length performances of songs. It's probably a mixture of licensing and pacing issues (I mean these things go on for tens of minutes and you only have so many episodes) and I totally understand that. I just wish that the more important performances had longer cuts.

That gripe aside, the music is fantastic. Both seasons have the same two songs that fill the main focus for the group and honestly I never got bored of them. They sounded very good in quality and seemed to fit what I was seeing on-screen. The voice actors did an absolute top-notch job on relaying their character's emotions. I absolutely loved the VA for Kumiko; she was such a joy to hear/see in the show.

Characters: 9/10

The main cast is amazing. They are cute, likable (mostly), relatable, believable, and work really well with each other (mostly). The only main recurring character that I could not stand was Shuuichi who served the role of the male childhood friend that gets blown off. The main reason why I thought he was a hindrance was that I felt that the character development between him and Kumiko seemed forced and didn't really pay off for me. There was also the issue with Yuuko's character in season one but in typical anime fashion you grow to like her in the preceding seasons. Other than these two characters though the show is top-notch in providing a super likable cast that provide many memorable scenes. The standout part though goes to how Kumiko interacted with the brass section and Reina.

Overall: 8.9/10

The thing holding back this show from being a masterpiece is in my opinion the drama elements in both seasons. Season one was less of an issue but still had some almost cringe-worthy moments. The rest of the show (character development/interactions, music, voice actor performance, animation/art, ext) were 100% spot on. I hope that in the future we see a season three; it has the potential to be something truly great since a whole new challenge of repeating the previous year's performance with so many key people graduating can really bring in some interesting character development. I strongly encourage everyone to go watch this. Now. It has my seal of excellence.

Enjoyment: ∞/10

Thanks for reading my review! If you liked my writing style, would like to see some other reviews, or just want to talk, please stop by my page!

Sincerely,
Awesome Drummer

7/10 story
9.5/10 animation
10/10 sound
9/10 characters
8.9/10 overall

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