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May 28 2015

Categories: episodic review, sound! euphonium
Tagged: sound! euphonium

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“Do you not understand my love?”

“I don’t want to become the same as the others.”

I did not know how Reina Kousaka fit into Sound! Euphonium since she has not been featured as a character since, well, the first episode… which is odd since she features prominently in both the OP and ED. Normally, I don’t care for three minute long cryptic character monologues that explains rather than shows, but I make exceptions for Lelouch and Kousaka. I guess you can take it a few ways. One, it’s her declaration that she wants to be not just different but better than the rest of you. You plebs can have your Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s. Kousaka has a Titan X. Two, it shows that she is perfectly okay being herself. She knows she is not like the rest, and it doesn’t bother her at all. What teenager does not want to fit in? The Invisible Storm hates her. Three, this scene is the greatest yuri scene that I have seen in years. It out yuri’ed Yuri Kuma Arashi while not even being a yuri anime. I now kind of want a travel documentary show where Kousaka and Brienne of Tarth travel and climb mountains together. Four, Kyoto’s animation for this one scene blows away Unlimited Blade Work‘s Archer vs. Emiya climax. It’s not enough close. It’s like watching Houston vs. Golden State. It’s not like Kyoto put effort into this one scene. They made the whole episode a feast for the eyes.

(I love Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, but that show… man… Kyoto would have been the perfect studio for it. Fantastic plot that even sub-par animation cannot sink, great humor, great characters, moderate fanservice… though Kyoto seems to be done with the whole kissing thing. Every time the green-haired guy shows me, I don’t know if it is a Shirobako-type joke where he only gets one pose reused over and over, but that green-haired guy has one pose that is used over and over and drives me nuts.)

“You definitely have a terrible personality, Kumiko.”

Kousaka wears a ponytail, offers to carry Kumiko’s euphonium up a mountain, and wears uncomfortable shoes plus a cute one piece dress while doing it? Alright, move over Asuka, I have a new favorite character.

(Watch: Episode 11 will feature a scene with Asuka getting serious and putting her hair in a ponytail. Kyoto cannot resist this temptation.)

The credits scene where Hazuki is happy to see Sapphire and her sister at first… then she slowly breaks down and bawls… yeah. I feel bad for her, as the whole world conspired against her in her first love. She did do a good job of confessing, and she didn’t drag it out over multiple episodes. I did like the added touch of Sapphire’s little sister hugging Hazuki’s leg, as if she is saying, “I’m not sure what is wrong, but I’m going to try to comfort you too!”

“I was just surprised!”

Wait, a cute girl asks you to be with her alone during a romantic festival plus buys you deliciously cold takoyaki, and you are surprised she confessed to you?! No wonder Japan has a declining birthrate issue.

One thing Kyoto continues to do well: draw normal casual clothes for female characters. Maybe Shaft is in second place. I don’t think there is a third.

Wait, what? Why does the girl on the far left have a baby seal? How is that an instrument? Maybe it toots…

“Euphonium-san is my only love.”

One thing I really enjoy about the Japanese language is how you can casually put honorifics for inanimate objects and make them sound cute. Euphonium-san and Tuba-kun are much cuter sounding than Mr. Euphonium and Mr. Tuba.

(Also, Asuka puffy cheeks. She looks like a hamster sometimes.)

Have I mentioned that I like ponytails? Maybe Kyoto Animation should introduce a villain to one of their series that is infatuated with ponytails. Maybe even have him wear a horse mask or something. Mmmm…

If Sound! Ufo were a shoujo series, this scene would have played out exactly like Kumiko’s imagination. Unless that shoujo series is Ore Monogatari, which would involve more sparkles. Sparkles! SPARKLES! SPARKLES!!!

(The only thing less generic than a shounen manga is a shoujo manga. I’m not an avid shoujo reader, but the Fashion Czar is. From her descriptions, it seems like the ideal shoujo male lead is Ramsay Snow. I guess that makes sense. The almost ideal shounen lead is Shinji Ikari. No wonder Simon and Kamina were such breathes of fresh air…)

(Same goes for Takeo…)

Another thing Kyoto does really well? Colors. They go for max dynamic range, and they do not shy away from putting as many scenes as possible during the golden hour. Kyoto approaches each scene as if a photographer is composing it, something not many other studios even try to mimic. In a few years, maybe other studios will copy, but right now Kyoto is king.

Not to rag on Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches (one of my favorite shows this season), but the animation is just so lackluster compared to Kyoto. Like this scene also takes place after school, but the colors just do not pop. There’s no highlights, so the characters seem flatter than Kyoto’s. Even the bench has a slight glimmer to make it pop and make an otherwise boring background seem a bit more interesting. Then there’s just the attention to detail, like the shadows on tree. Yamada uses a generic (lazy) shade whereas you can make out leaves on Kyoto’s tree. These are just small examples, but Kyoto just does it consistently well episode after episode.

Oh Kyoto you fucking tease.

Three MVPs…

1. Kousaka’s ponytail.

2. Midori’s little sister.

3. Hazuki’s courage.