Hibike! Euphonium 3 響け！ユーフォニアム3

2024 spring | Episodes: 13 | Score: 8.7 (29258)

Updated every Sundays at 17:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Synopsis

With the ensemble contest behind them, the members of the Kitauji High School concert band now aim to win a gold medal at the national competition. For third-year club president Kumiko Oumae and her friends, it is their last chance before graduation. Filled with anticipation and anxiety, Kumiko worries if she can successfully lead the band. Amid her struggles, Kumiko encounters transfer student Mayu Kuroe. From her gentle demeanor to her talented euphonium skills, Mayu was a member of the Seira Girls' School concert band—a regular at nationals. While Mayu is friendly, Kumiko cannot help but have an indescribable feeling from their meeting. As new members arrive and plans are set in motion, the club, with an insatiable hunger for a gold medal, learns what it truly takes to propel themselves to reach the national level. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Anzai, Chika

Kurosawa, Tomoyo

News

Reviews

johnbradshaw
01/26/2025, 01:16 AM
I couldn't imagine when I added Hibike! Euphonium in my top ten 10 years ago, that it would hold up so well and keep getting better with each and every season after. Kyoto Animation did such a great job with this anime and I'm forever grateful for it. So our journey with Kumiko and Reina finally have come to an end, in this season, they're third years highschool students now and the burden of leading the Kitauji band to earn gold at the National is heavily put on their shoulders. Could they finally achieve theirs and their senpai's dreams after so many tears and hardworks? And what await them in the future? It will all be answered in this wonderful third season. The aspects I love the most in Hibike! Euphonium would always be the characters. Kumiko and Reina both seem to mature quite nicely and yet, at the same time, they seem to not change at all. It brings me joy to witness their friendship from day one and how they both push each other to be better. I especially like how uncertain Kumiko is about the future and Reina is about the friendship. It's really relatable and flesh the characters out. At the end, they're 2 of the most grounded characters I've ever watch in anime. The supporting cast is also colorful and realistic, they blend in really well with the main cast and make this season more memorable. The animation, needless to say, is top-notch. Some of the most beautful and mesmerizing anime out there, there's a lot of scenes I could cut out and show a newcomer just how great a slice of life could be. The ED is catchy, some of the OSTs are emotional and heart-wrenching. Overall, I'm happy that Hibike! Euphonium got the ending it deserves. It solidifies the anime of one of the absolute best coming-of-age slice of life of all time. I'm sad that I couldn't get more Kumiko in my life though, I wouldn't mind a movie that peeks into their adult life, come on, KyoAni, we deserve one.
DNGlist
01/19/2025, 04:44 AM
I don't know if this is the end of the story or if there will be a sequel. But I'm quite happy with Kumiko and her friends' journey until season 3. Considering how they joined this orchestra, to the point where they almost got everything with the various problems that exist. a long journey with reasonable conflicts (I've been involved in a similar music organization, and most of the conflicts presented in this anime are ones I've faced), and this is one of the reasons I really enjoy this anime. But unfortunately, the orchestra performance presented I think is still more climactic in season 2, Iunderstand on the other hand the journey of class 3 needs to be completed in 1 season 13 episodes, but they have to face a lot of competition. So I don't get the performance from the results of the training they have undergone, it seems rushed. But I still enjoy and reminisce with Kumiko and friends
Xinners
09/05/2024, 02:37 AM
A very disappointing final season - it's terribly rushed and there's barely any music. Compare and contrast to the wonderful seasons 1 and 2 - those gave the characters time to breathe and the drama was allowed to develop naturally. The main movie (that was released after season 2) suffers from the same problem - trying to cram in too much. On the positive side, KyoAni as always knock it out of the park with the beautiful art and animation, I have no complaints on that score. The voice acting is top tier as always. Is season 3 worth watching? Yes, just about, but temper your expectations.
NisemonoDesu
09/03/2024, 07:52 PM
Seeing Hibike Euphonium finally come to a close after all these years leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. After watching the first and second seasons about 6 years ago and absolutely falling in love with them, I somehow managed to miss the release of any of the movies or OVAs. But that meant in the back of my mind I knew there was always more; that I could always revisit these characters and continue their journey. When I saw season 3 was airing, I knew it was time to finally catch up on the backlog of released content and then see this thing through toits conclusion. And after finally closing this chapter of my anime experience, I can say that bittersweet feeling is just as much a reaction to the series ending as it is to the quality of this season itself. It should be obvious to anyone with an eye for this sort of thing, but the writing and directing of this show fell off quite a bit after the departure of Naoko Yamada. The first season felt like one of her masterpieces—you could feel her style oozing out of every frame. Folks familiar with the auteur know that she’s the queen of legs—Medium wrote an entire article entitled “Naoko Yamada: Legs as a Language.” Quoting her at the beginning of the article, “The eyes may be the window to the soul, but I think our legs are like that too. Usually, we hide our legs under our desks or else they’ll reveal our true emotions.” Re-watch the first season of Hibike Euphonium and you’ll notice shots of girls’ legs everywhere, and the composition of those shots is so perfect that you can easily identify which character belongs to which set of legs just from their positioning and motion on screen. Re-watch season 3, and there are no legs in sight. Is this a petty thing to care about? Of course it is. But it’s illustrative of just how much the first season of Hibike Euphonium was HER show. You can tell it in all the ways that are more important than legs. Take the writing, for example. I’ve said this in several of my reviews, but my definition of “great art” is something that asks the question, “What does it mean to be human?” in a new or interesting way. In other words, great art is ABOUT something, it has something to say. The first season of Hibike Euphonium was about a listless directionless teenager finding passion and focus with the help of a passionate muse, and what it takes to motivate a large group of similarly floundering people behind a common goal. By the end of the first season, this question had been largely answered, and even though Kitauji High hadn’t won gold, it didn’t matter. Because that’s not really what the show was about anyway. But because the show made money and the novel had more gas left in the tank, the series continued. Yamada is credited on the second season, but her influence feels far diminished. Instead of the tight writing of the first season, where the seeds of all the drama that would unfold were planted up front and created conflict in a way that felt organic throughout the show, in season 2 everything feels like defined arcs. We start the show with problem A, we deal with problem A, and wouldn’t ya know, conveniently just when we’ve got problem A all squared away, here comes problem B and start of the next arc. Real life doesn’t work like that, problems happen concurrently and interact with each other and it’s complicated. Season 1 knew that, season 2 forgot that. I still loved season 2 because I had enough goodwill built up with the show from season 1. These were still the characters we knew and loved, and even though the main themes were basically over after the first season, we wanted to see our characters get to the Nationals and compete, so it felt kind of like a victory lap for the show. But then we ran into the next problem: the third years had to graduate. With this came a new batch of characters for the movies and OVAs, and they don’t hold a candle to the ones we started with. Enter season 3. Naoko Yamada is now nowhere to be seen in the credits. We have the same problem of "arc-y" storytelling season 2 had, and now we have this new crop of characters. Thankfully the characterization of Kumiko, Reina, and the rest of the season 1 first-year gang never got flanderized or messed with too bad, but the new first-years… man, Ayano Takeda really ran out of ideas around here didn’t she? Yayoi, Suzume, Mirei, Motomu, all of them feel like nothing-burgers compared to the original cast. The only new character worth the screen time they got was Kanade, who I think was actually a really good addition to the show. She added a fresh element, a sort of snake-like foil to our terminally good-girl Kumiko. But the rest of these people… I mean, Motomu’s entire arc this season consisted of “Oh, he’s sad.” “Oh, actually he’s not sad.” Arc over. Like, what even is this? This brings me to the new character who gets the most screen time: Mayu Kuroe. Again, I have the same problem with her as I do with the other new characters: she’s nothing. She’s a blank slate. She’s a tabula rasa. She has no memorable personality traits whatsoever, she only exists to cause bring conflict to Kumiko. But, what conflict does she bring, exactly? The point of her joining the club is to cause narrative conflict between Kumiko and Reina vis-à-vis Mayu being better at the euphonium than Kumiko is. But, we already had this same conflict in the third movie, Chikai no Finale. In fact, we retread the exact same story beats, where in that movie Kanade wanted to throw her audition for Natsuki’s sake, and in this season Mayu wants to do the exact same thing for Kumiko for the exact same reason. I guess the stakes are slightly different because there’s a soli on the line, but man… we needed something better. This show deserved something better. Speaking of things we deserved from this show: actual musical performances. In its rush to say a lot of nothing in 13 episodes, we neglect any of the musical performances that have made this show so special. The oboe performance at the end of Liz and the Blue Bird was so incredibly effective at explaining to us without words exactly the emotional state of both characters of Nozomi and Mizure. And yet, in this season where we have a similar structure in regards to the soli, we barely hear any performances. Even when it’s time for the penultimate performance at the regionals—after Kumiko's big dramatic speech—we cut to credits. Boo. So, at the end of the day, is this a bad show? No. It’s merely an average show. But that’s a far fall from grace when season 1 was one of the best things ever animated. Should you watch it? If you’ve come this far in the Hibike Euphonium saga, then yes. It’s nice to see characters get closure, it’s nice to see a certain famous scene in the first season mirrored in an effective way, and it’s nice to see Kumiko finally grow to adulthood and see what choice she made with her life. But nothing will ever beat that incredible artful first season and Naoko Yamada’s signature touch. Thank you for reading.
ham_phd
07/31/2024, 06:14 AM
And with that, Hibike has (probably) come to an end. It's not easy to meet the expectations for a final season of a series that is so passionately loved by so many. Especially when so much time had passed waiting for this concluding chapter. While I can't speak to the personal expectations of all fans, I for one found this season to be a near perfect conclusion for one of my favorite series and protagonists of all time. Hibike has been a very special show for me ever since I discovered it. As a former band kid, I can't recall many pieces of media thatfelt so deeply relatable to me. This feeling has possibly never been stronger than it was in season 3. With many of our characters in their final year, and our most important characters in positions of leadership, there is a powerful feeling of anxiety throughout. Anxiety to achieve their goals with their last attempt. Anxiety about the future beyond high school. Anxiety about the future of their relationships with each other and with music. These struggles our character face managed to be so specific that they evoked parallel memories of my own time in band, and had me reminiscing about whether decisions I made back then were correct and if I would have chosen a different path if I could go back now. To have continuously nailed the high school band experience with each season is a testament to the passion of both the original author and the team at Kyoani. Kumiko really takes center stage in this season, and I found the conclusion of her arc that began all the way back in season 1 to be immensely satisfying. Rarely do you see such realistic, organic growth of a character in anime to the point that they feel like a genuinely real person. Becoming a leader is not an easy task, and for A LOT of people out there, does not come naturally. Seeing this side of the coin was really refreshing, when so often we see examples of natural leaders with less relatable struggles. I think everyone can see some of themselves in Kumiko. If I had to give one criticism of this season, it would be that the final episode wasn't double length. Maybe we can hope for an OVA at some point, but the finale was a bit rushed for just 1 episode. Luckily this doesn't impact the important arc of the season. Enjoy this final, special season of Hibike! Euphonium!
zhewww
07/13/2024, 04:38 PM
There's a scene in Sound!Euphonium Season 3 where the conductor is reading off the audition results, and the camera doesn't show his face but instead his hands. Because of this, you can see him visibly grip the clipboard harder when he reads what he knows will be a controversial decision. This detail might seem trivial, but when you add up enough of them, the show really starts to come alive. These kinds of details are what have always set Sound!Euphonium apart, and I kept getting reminded of that watching this season. I think the writing in this show is great, but the expressiveness of thecharacter animation is what really helped me get invested in the characters and what sets Sound!Euphonium apart from other shows. I'm sad that this is the final season, but I can't complain. The show really wraps itself up nicely, calling back to themes that it touched on in previous seasons and weaving them together into a satisfying sendoff. It's been a lovely 3 cours, 2 movies, and 9 years. Thank you Kyoto Animation.
boxtop
07/11/2024, 08:22 PM
This season has a solid story plot and serves as closure for fans who don't plan on reading the novel. To be frank, the direction and pacing of this season is bad. While KyoAni spent a lot of time ensuring every frame was absolutely gorgeous, it was difficult to watch this season because it was sloppy. The biggest weak point is the lack of time dedicated to developing plot points. We are often told of what's been happening behind the scenes instead of shown. There were times when I was shocked to hear what's been happening in the band since we never actually see that onscreen. This is very different compared to the pacing and direction from seasons 1 and 2. They also can't blame "running out of time" as there was a whole episode dedicated to a side-story with no bearing on the overall narrative. Other issues include the limited music played throughout the season and some OOC events. I'm still happy I watched this season to finish the series, but it pales in comparison to the prior seasons and isn't a good watch on its own.
Justykanna
07/09/2024, 08:51 PM
I love Sound! Euphonium and I'm not ready for it to be over. The incredible journey from start to finish has been an unforgetable one, topped by season 3. The OVA that occurs between the third movie and this new season, Sound! Euphonium: Ensemble Contest Arc, is not a required watch, but I still recommend watching it before this, if you can. Story: Sound! Euphonium 3 takes place at the start of our main gang's final year of high school. With Kumiko now president, and Reina and Shuuichi now co-vice presidents, they encourage their new group to try their hardest and make thegoal the same as it has been in years past - get Gold at Nationals. While that serves as the main storyline, there are many incredible short arcs in between, and they really add to the layers upon layers that exist in this final season of Sound! Euphonium. The base storyline is basically the same, but they look to expand and add more plot points to make the third time through feel more fresh to the target audience. With this you'd think the third run through would get old, but it holds up very well. While the main competitions are certainly present, the locations themselves are not the main focus. They serve as a place to develop our new storylines and character interactions. While we don’t get to see as many as some audience members wanted, they probably aren’t necessary. One of the changes that occurs during the course of the season is that they change up how auditions are done and I loved how they executed on the drama around them. This creates so many more tense moments for our characters and creates new issues that our band needs to work through. You’re stacking up on an existing idea and the drama it creates are second to none – some of which was changed from the source material. This isn't really a spoiler, but there are more to the auditions than who makes it through. I loved everything about it. Much of the story is character driven, and I'm very impressed that they managed to create new story lines for the existing cast, when we think we know who they are. Yes, I'm talking about Kumiko mainly, but Reina gets meaningful time too. There are a few first year students that get some attention though, with Suzume being my favourite of the bunch. Disappointingly, Shuuichi, who had some nicer story moments in the past, didn't add much to the season, despite being the vice-president. I wasn't expecting much, but even his moments where he acted like a mentor to some younger Trombone players were absent. As you get closer and closer to the end, you do get a sense of where the story ends. And that's perfectly okay. Being somewhat predictable isn't always a bad thing - it's how you execute on them is what matters. And man, did they execute. All the storylines were finished nicely and after the final moments of Sound! Euphonium 3 end, we get full closure on basically everything. There are a few odd details that I feel like I would have liked to see, specifically with Reina, but I wasn't going to gripe about it. (9/10) Characters: Kumiko is the complete focus on this final season and she is where the juicy bits start and end. Many times in both seasons 1 and 2, she would often be the person, being there to fix things when everything didn't go right. She would be there to stand by her friends when they needed support. Now? Being tasked with a heavy burden is very clearly not something she is used to. Watching her try and deal with everything, while also trying to be fair to everyone is incredibly hard on her. She also has her personal values, and you can tell those were being tested at all times too. This final season makes that final. Reina likely got the second most screen time and for good reason. While she didn't star as much in season 2, she was very clearly in the focus for this season once again. She is the source of much of the drama that exists, and not even in a bad way. She also has her amazing moments and, obviously her interactions with Kumiko are where the highlights exist. Also included in our colourful cast? New transfer student Mayu Kuroe. Mayu comes in as a third year student and enters the band, seemingly with a free pass. The reason for this? She’s exceptional at playing the euphonium. She has her own personal values and you can really tell she wanted to uphold them too. That being said, I always felt like I never knew whether she was being true to herself, or fake. It’s a hard thing to focus on and while it did create some interesting moments, I didn’t love every scene she was included in. She is one of the reasons the story was so fresh though, which is obviously a good thing. Sapphire and Hazuki still hang out with Kumiko and Reina, but like with season 2, take kind of a backseat, once again. As I somewhat eluded to before, a lot of the character interactions are a mix between the three aforementioned characters, and returning band geek, Kanade. Kanade is a character that was really focused on for the third movie, and at this point, we kind of know who she is. She has, however, matured quite a bit. She doesn’t start drama as much anymore, but she still feels like the same Kanade that we know because she lets her opinion be known. And she makes some very good points throughout the series. She is basically Kumiko’s understudy. Near the back half of the series a bunch of familiar faces return as well. I won’t spoil who, but it was nice to see some familiar faces. (10/10) Art: As per usual, Kyoto Animation does A+ work with Sound! Euphonium. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The detail and polish of the instruments, the consistent animation and character models, the glistening background – they spared no expense. It all looks fantastic. Not only that but as an added tribute to the victims of the Kyoto Animation arson, those people were drawn into the audience at one of the Kitauji’s band performance. Bravo. (10/10) Sound: Oh, and the sound? Yes, also top notch. I’m still not entirely sure if they literally hire a band to create all the instrumental sounds, but this couldn’t have been easy to put together. It amazed me from day 1, and I’m still amazing. I wasn’t as high on the OP and ED as I was in previous seasons, but they still matched well. VA work was similarly strong with Tomoyo Kurosawa (Kumiko) and Chika Anzai (Reina) being the best here. I really wish I could talk about the final audition scene, but there were so many aspects – for story, character and sound – that made me completely flip out at this scene, in a good way. (10/10) Overall: Sound! Euphonium 3 somehow managed to top season 2 with great new moments in a familiar setting, further character development with characters we know and love already, with top notch production values. I can barely find faults in this series, one that I can’t help but obsess about – especially as a former bank geek myself. This would really suit most any audience, but I feel like anyone who took music through a large portion of their high school life would connect the most here, once again. I’ll say it again – I’m not ready to say goodbye to this series. It was “that” good. (10/10)
osricen
07/09/2024, 02:47 PM
I'm a 34-year-old teacher, writer, and filmmaker... and I hope good at either of those because I think I'm very passionate. I first watched Sound! Euphonium years ago, and almost instantly fell in love with its characters, their goals, struggles, and most of all: their learning and constant aim for the better. And there's also the hypnotizing visuals, voices, music, sounds, and uncanny little details that -music connoisseur or not- make you believe this all is actually happening right in front of you. Eupho's Season 1 and 2 were, for me: practically flawless; and even though I have mixed feelings about the movie and OVA that comebefore this 3rd and final season, I want to express: as of 2024, SOUND! EUPHONIUM is my favorite serialized audiovisual production of all time. And I put it like that because it now tops my former favorites: Twin Peaks, True Detective... and other live action, animated, and anime classics. Sound! Euphonium - Season 3 tells about the last school year of our beloved president Kumiko Oumae, who now plays the euphonium like no other... until someone new comes to "threaten" her place in the ensemble. And with that little premise, once again: a universe of memorable moments unleash. Slices of beautiful friendship, uncertainty of the future, battles of wills and convictions, personal realization, reencounters, and much more. 13 episodes of around 24 minutes build up to some of the most amazing, gorgeous, intense, and INSPIRING scenes I've experienced in arts and entertainment. And the delivery of the aforementioned, through a big cast of wonderful characters, voiced by a hell of a perfect cast (special mention to Kumiko's Japanese voice actress) makes this season a must know, watch, finish, share, and repeat. Artistically and technically, like its music: EXQUISITE; fresh, youthful, feminine, fun, a little sexy, moving, thought-provoking, and again: INSPIRING, Sound! Euphonium and its final season are an invaluable document of adolescence and humanity and is here to stay in the hearts of its audience forever. A treasure. I'm a 34-year-old teacher, writer, and filmmaker... and my world has been rocked by an anime show about schoolgirls, their circumstances, and music. You can't imagine how much I can relate to them and how much of a Kumiko I found out I was and I still am. Eupho is that thing I wanna reach out and "achieve" and I'm sure gonna use it whenever my own inspiration falters. From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU, KyoAni and everyone involved in this marvelous masterpiece. Here's my personal GOLD for this one. I'm gonna miss these a lot. P.S. I chose #2.
deimos96
07/01/2024, 09:44 PM
KyoAni's magnum opus. Three seasons, four movies, one spinoff movie, and a few shorts/specials along the way. Now culminating in its grand finale. A wonderful and truly beloved series. It's a shame that this season, or perhaps the entire series overall, hasn't gained much traction outside of Japan. This season ranked 30th in terms of popularity compared to other seasonal anime that aired at the same time! It's outrageous if you ask me. So many people don't know about this series and I wish that more did. Production-wise, this is on par with some of KyoAni's better releases such as Violet Evergarden. The animation in this thirdseason has definitely outdone the previous two. My only wish was that it lasted longer. I don't know if a 24-episode season would be too long. But it did feel like more could be desired from this 13-episode one. Even so, this series truly cares about its fans. Knowing when to advance its story and characters but also catering to the loyal fans who've stuck throughout the years. Showing glimpses of the former bandmates and seniors that've graduated. Reminiscing previous seasons through flashbacks at the right moment. You know a character is truly beloved when they reappear even just for a second and the fan base goes wild (at least on Twitter). The story itself is the culmination after 9 long years of growth of Kumiko and the rest of the cast. A touching coming-of-age story with a great message of passing down tradition and life going on. You won't find many surprising moments in the story, it is a fairly predictable one and I don't mean that as a bad thing. But when you do have a predictable story, I think the best thing a writer could do is create a great buildup to it. KyoAni has delivered upon that. Each amazing moment still captures that skin-tingling emotion that the fans have longed for. The music and sound design overall has perhaps reached its apex throughout the series. The OST and that final song for the competition really gave me the chills. If you love orchestras/ensembles then you be blasted away. If not, then I think there's a good chance you'll find a new profound appreciation for it. If you want to watch a 9-year-long series unfold, made by one of the industry's best studios, a studio that has been through great highs and great tragedies, and a studio that truly loves its craft and respects its fans, then please give this series a shot!
GentleDragonite
06/30/2024, 06:42 PM
[This review assumes you have watched the previous seasons of Hibike! Euphonium] When consuming anime, there is a rare experience when you feel like there is no screen between you and the characters. You feel like you are watching the events play out right in front of your eyes, between human and human, heart to heart. Hibike Euphonium!, since its very first season, has taken this as something that sets it apart from all other music anime, and anime in general. In its third season, it shows the challenges of being a leader for the people, while being true to yourself, of being a follower ofthe people, but a rebel to yourself. The characters act incredibly down to earth, not entirely selfish or selfless, not some saint who solves all the problems, or do all the problems have easy solutions. There are grievances we have to live with, but ultimately, being true to your values is worth the agony. The story takes shape in Kumiko's third year, during which she becomes the leader of the band. While Kumiko had a role in protecting other characters' interests before, being a person who could bring out others' true wants and frustrations, now she received official affirmation of her capabilities in leadership. While other anime seem to skirt around the challenges of being a leader, preferring to show how leaders are able to lead their group towards an end-goal without any opposition or doubt, Kumiko has to face multiple instances of distrust and animosity. As mentioned before, the anime does not attempt to illustrate a perfect solution that Kumiko comes up with, or does the solution work immediately to make everyone happy. Rather, a soft solution that comes in the form of encouragement and determined affirmation that aligns with what Kumiko believes in. As a leader, speaking the voice of the people is as important as voicing your own, especially when everyone could not agree with each other. While this does not directly address the problem, it allows the other characters space to find solutions to their own inner conflicts. After all, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, so it would be more realistic and practical to encourage others to find something for themselves. Beyond this overarching theme of leadership, Hibike! Euphonium explores the complexity of human relationships. Mayu is a transfer student who plays the Euphonium just like Kumiko. There is growing pressure from herself, as well as the expectations of others to perform better than this gifted transfer student. What makes Mayu interesting is that she is a reflection of who Kumiko was before she met Reina, a person who does not like to be involved, passive and a person of the people. Her passion of music is muted by conflicts in her past, coupled with a fear of being disliked by everyone else. While she wants to step aside for Kumiko to achieve her dreams in music, Kumiko wants to uphold the integrity of the club's ideals and refuses to let go. The duality of Kumiko's want to reach her musical dreams as well as her beliefs as a leader clash, mirroring the clash of ideals between Mayu and Kumiko. While Kumiko initially wanted to avoid attacking the crux of the issue of why Mayu was so reluctant, she eventually decided to meet the issue directly, and acknowledge what Mayu truly wants without projecting her ideals on her. The series is relatable on many other fronts, but I would also like to briefly touch on how it manages future ambitions. With this being the last year of high school, the clock is ticking for Kumiko to decide on what she wants to do in the future. The answer is not as obvious as it seems, but the anime is able to slowly reveal how her experiences as a leader and as a musician allows her to form her own decision about what she wants. This is a reflection of her development as a character, who would only listen to herself when making the most important choices in her life. Often, we are influenced by those around us who tells us what to do in the future, but Kumiko shows that while we should listen what to what they have to say, only YOU should own this decision in the end. In tandem with this, the end of high school also brings about winds of change that would separate Kumiko from her friends, particularly Reina. Throughout the season, Kumiko is able to build a relationship with Reina that is noticeably stronger than those with other club members, reflecting how Reina is a special person in her heart. Only to Reina would she able to reveal her true inner desires, unfiltered by her ideals of leadership or her need to satisfy everyone, building a bond that could survive change and distance. Hibike! Euphonium has a large cast of characters and this season reveals some meaningful development and conclusions to some of them. First of all, for long time Hibike! Euphonium fans, you would be glad to hear that older characters who have graduated in previous seasons have made several appearances within the season, with some playing significant roles in allowing Kumiko to discover what she truly believes and wants to do. Second of all, the new members of the club are not used to the competitive and intense nature of band initially, but slowly they are able to discover the joy of competition and music. Admittedly, the rest of the cast truly takes on a supporting role, more so compared to the previous seasons, as this season focuses greatly on Kumiko's development and role as a leader. Of course, I could not avoid the elephant in the room, the music. As a music anime, Kyoto Animation is obliged to produce orchestral pieces to add to the performances within the anime. Unfortunately, there is not enough full length performances with accompanying music in this season compared to the previous seasons. Personally, I felt that drama is the centerpiece of Hibike! Euphonium's greatness, and that music is only an accompanying perk, but this is still a noticeable flaw. Secondly, the series focuses greatly on Kumiko's development and relationship with Mayu to a great extent. While this allows the series to portray a realistic conflict of interests that was resolved in a meaningful and heartfelt way, it does come at the cost of rushed development of some of the other side characters. This is unfortunately what is preventing the series from ascending to a masterpiece, but are also minor grievances that are greatly outshone by the strengths of the season. Overall, the conclusion of Hibike! Euphonium is close to perfect, capping off Kumiko's incredible journey from being a goal-less middle schooler to a strong leader, a genuine friend and an inspirational role model. The direction of the season, while slightly hampered by its pacing, is able to portray the rawness of the relationships and conflicts between human characters, leading to an exhilarating and thematically powerful conclusion. We often look to media as a means to escape from reality, but watching this season of Hibike! Euphonium feels like you are entering reality through media. Onto the next piece the characters go, but they will never forget how warm it sounds.
KvnKyo
06/30/2024, 12:39 PM
Spectacular is not enough The work excels in every aspect: story, direction, animation, character design. The most important aspect of Hibike! Euphonium is its subtext. Casual viewers delight in the humor, plot twists, excellent animation, and charismatic characters, while seasoned audiences appreciate a deeper layer of the plot, paying attention to details, getting to know each character individually, noticing changes in shots, color, expressions, and more. These two aspects blend like highs and lows in music, creating a piece worth watching more than once. Ultimately, what matters most is that it's a labor of love from all the creators involved, which is why I believe anyone whowatches it is destined to have a great time.
Seansy
06/30/2024, 12:31 PM
As someone new to this franchise I wanted to share my perspective on this season, and on the franchise as a whole, to any readers curious about this series. Having watched everything through to the end of this final season over the past month my conclusion is that this is an all time great series that has some issues that prevent it from being a full on masterpiece. I will go over those issues for this season in particular while also touching on them for the entire series. Story - 8 A simple coming of age story prefaced around a love for music culminates in the endof Kumiko's journey through high school in season 3. While the ending was satisfying, it still felt incomplete. Too many plot points and character stories were left to be summarized by single sentence narration, if they were addressed at all, from our protagonist instead of being shown to us. The cardinal sin of show, not tell had to be broken for the final episode because the story had to rush through to the end in order to fit everything from the source material being adapted. Unlike previous seasons, season 3 didn't show any performance beyond the final one in the last episode. More evidence of inadequate run time allowed to tell the full story. I haven't read the source material, but based on the comments I have read for the anime, it appears that a lot of plot points were shortened/cut or changed. This resulted in some dead end/unanswered questions that left me wondering why they were even introduced in the anime if they weren't going to be given enough time to be properly developed. A rudderless romantic sideplot, infamous yuri bait, and some issues with execution of the drama, are among some of the issues that readers may have with the story. While I thought the much discussed change from the source material for the 2nd-to-last episode was a very good change to the story, a perfect complement to the themes being expressed that added realism to it, other people are sure to disagree. Aside from those issues, I didn't have any other major complaints. There is no deus ex machina, plot armor, or any other negative literary techniques/tropes used that usually detract from the story for me. It's a very good story overall. Art/Animation - 10 Kyoto Animation isn't so highly regarded for nothing. The art and animation in this season and throughout the entire series is top notch. Better than all but the most hype scenes in any shounen battle series you will find. It maintains that quality throughout the entire run time of the series too. Character designs are simple, realistic, and gorgeous. No moe blobs or unrealistically rendered characters to be found anywhere. Sound - 9.5 I was very torn between a 9 and 10 for the sound so I am going to split the difference at 9.5. My main issue isn't with the quality of the music, which is superb, but with the lack thereof for this season. Previous seasons that had more music deserve recognition for that compared to this final season. The VAs were also excellent as usual for this season as they were for the entire series. This season also had my favorite OPs and EDs for the series, with a nice callback to the OP for season 1 included in the OP too, hence my indecision between a score of 9 or 10. Characters - 7.5 This is definitely the weakest part of the series overall for me, including this season. Setting aside the hyperbole of this hypothetical, if the entire town and all of it's characters died in an explosion at the end of the story, the only character whose death I would mourn is the protagonist, Kumiko. Don't get it twisted though, I don't hate the other characters, I wouldn't celebrate their deaths as I would with terribly written characters in other series. They were just too boring or opaquely characterized for me to care all that much about them. That's a pretty major issue for a musically based character drama. Fortunately, the focus is mostly from the POV of Kumiko, whose journey over the course of the story is a joy to follow from beginning to end. For this season in particular, the new character, Mayu, stands out as one with insufficient characterization for me. I could tell she was supposed to be a foil for Kumiko, given how her past issues mirror those Kumiko had earlier in her life, but not enough time was given to fully explore her background to explain her character. The most difficult thing to balance in a normal school setting such as this is creating characters that are both interesting and realistic. Too boring, and you get characters that the audience doesn't care about. Too quirky, and they feel unrealistic/stupid, ruining the immersion in the story. It's a hard balance to maintain, and at least for me, I felt only Kumiko's character had been executed well in the story. A 10 for Kumiko and a 5 for the others characters average out to 7.5 overall. Enjoyment - 8.5 This was my favorite entry in the series. After so much time spent with Kumiko watching her grow up before our eyes we get a well-deserved finale that ends her story in a satisfying manner. It's the type of story I believe even non-anime fans would enjoy since it is very relatable and realistically executed. If you enjoy coming-of-age school dramas with a realistic story and characters, you will almost certainly enjoy this series as I have. Thank you for reading.
Canlnon
06/30/2024, 09:23 AM
I feel obligated to submit a review for this season's finale. This is how I've felt for a long time after seeing Mugen Train. Perhaps the only anime that puts ensembles into non-musical glasses is Hibike Euphonium. Thank you KyoAnimation for this wonderful work. They portrayed the interactions between the students as humanly as possible - flaws, inferiority, jealously, cooperation, hardwork, victory. The way the teenagers interacted with each other facing the inevitable situations in real life is something I sincerely admire; they are incredibly mature. The choice of words they used in the moment of anger is truly praiseworthy. The musicals are fantastic; they captured theidea that every day effort is what ultimately contributed to the short 15-19 minutes extraordinary performance. The power of daily practice. 10/10. Human connections, shortcomings and inadequacies. Humanity: demonstrating how distinctively different we may all be from one another yet nevertheless functioning as a single, "perfectly" cohesive unit ensemble here. Kumiko is a fantastic character. An extra, Mayu Kuroe is a wonderful and strong character. Just as Kumiko couldn't dislike her, so am I. How Kumiko dealt with her and her disappointments is truly mature and praiseworthy.
CaptainKenshiro
06/30/2024, 07:53 AM
Note: This will cover the whole franchise as it is already finished and there is not much to say about each entry on its own. If Yuru Camp is an exception of my usual disinterest of the cute girls doing cute things subgenre, Hibike! Euphonium is THE exception, as it is easily my favourite anime franchise. I love two of its entries, which rank high among my favourite anime of all times, and I like most of the other entries, amounting to ten titles that I enjoy and in some cases love, if I am not mistaken. That is something that no other franchise has managedto reach, and I do not think any ever will. The reason for that is simple, the series is not just trying to be cute as it has drama and characters actually doing what they are supposed to as in any other normal slice of life show, and also does not include the usual tragic or very dramatic elements of other shows with similar aesthetics. Unlike her older sister K-On!, for example, here the girls look and act the age they are supposed to be, which means they are not just cute to the point something seems off about them. They act more like the teenagers they are, having their own issues, insecurities, and problems with others. They also look their age, they are not cutesy moeblobs and they are not deformed with some chibi artstyle in order to seem cute even when they are not. And the anime is supposed to be about playing in a school orchestra, and you can actually see the characters doing that in some pretty well animated and directed scenes, although the pieces are just background music and not own interpretations like in other anime like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, for example. Still, when the moment calls for it in the plot, you can notice some differences in interpretations and that is a nice detail. Not only that, but the characters are also shown studying, training and preparing stuff for their competitions. They also lose a lot of the times, things not always go their way, so in all it feels closer to other common slice of life or school competitions or sport series, than other moe shows that are meant to watch to relax and have some good sleep afterwards or something. There are even characters that have to leave the band for their own personal reasons or that leave because they have other priorities in mind, so it is not like the scenario is completely idealized. And unlike other shows of its kind, where sooner or later I come to dislike how the characters act in tryhard adorable ways to the point they seem dumb, I like or plain love most characters in this franchise. Starting with the protagonist Kumiko Oumae, which tries and fails to build a typical good girl image around her, as she is actually pretty self-centered even though she tries to hide it. Thus even though she tries to get close to others to help with their problems and maintain the stability of the group, she never takes the extra step to actually get personally invested, and never lets others get to know her that much. It is actually pretty great when she is called out on a few seasons about that. Since she is the protagonist and narrator, is not surprise that she is also the character with the biggest amount of internal monologues and most focus in the franchise, as she goes through several self-discovery moments throughout the seasons. First reaffirming her place in the band and fondness of the world of music in the first season, then her similar relationships with Asuka and her older sister, which she sees as similar, in the second, and then coming to face her old self, her new role in the club, and her own limitations and newfound goal in the third. Then you have Reina, who does not shy away in saying what she has in mind, to the point that she can come off as rude and ends having issues with other characters, and is also one of the most determined and talented characters in the whole show. She still has her own teen quirks like having a crush on her teacher, or being a bit bratty and proud, especially when confronted, so she does not come off as being too mature or something like that, and thus more believable. Another character that I really like, and my favourite of the whole bunch, is Asuka Tanaka, who first appears as the funny one, but is also the one to call out the other on how silly and trivial some of their teen problems are, and also the one that can understand and expose Kumiko the most. Later on, as her own drama is more or less the main conflict of the show, she gets more focus, similarities with Kumiko’s sister, she becomes something like a role model or major influence for her, and is shown to have her own teen problems. The other characters are ok, is just that they do not get as much focus, but is still fine how they see themselves reflected on others or opposites of them, and also how they struggle or feel insecure about their own abilities or roles in the club, and the internal conflict or conflicts within the whole band that that can lead to. Combine all that with polished artwork, backgrounds and special effects with close to no quality drops, and expressive body language and motions, along with good sound effects and music including the openings with perhaps the exception of the endings, all of which are enhanced by good directing especially for the musical parts, and the presentation is often also very good. The negative aspects can include the very typical character designs and voice acting, with perhaps the exception of the most emotional moments for the latter. Despite my praises so far, I can not deny that this franchise is still just another high school drama and at times a generic cute girls doing cute things. So no, not even my favourite gets an above average rating, it is still just a plain and straightforward slice of life with not much substance and does not deserve to be considered by me as something special. And is not like it is free of problems in its writing, which I will cover by going through each entry: -The first season is the introduction phase obviously, so a lot of it is setup, yet ironically it has the biggest amount of content regarding the activities of the ensemble and stuff. Despite that, a lot of it is introducing characters that do not get much focus in the end. For example, do we really care about that one dropout girl that Kumiko knew before joining the school? No, she is just a plot device for the protagonist to clear the doubts of her mind. Then you have Yuko, who in the first season was nothing but cringe, a fangirl of Kaori that turned everything melodramatic for petty reasons. I mean I get it, it is the last chance that her adored senpai will have to play a solo in the ensemble, but since the audience does not follow these characters that much, it is normal to feel indifferent towards the whole thing, and consider the reactions exaggerated and overdramatic. There is also some teen romance that goes nowhere despite taking up screentime, and even though I did not read the novels, the changes in the anime from the source material are well known, such as the relationship between Kumiko and Shuuichi being cut short, and a lot of yuri bait between Kumiko and Reina. If you watched some other KyoAni stuff besides this franchise, you know not to expect them to actually commit to that, and thus you do not bite the fishhook, but if you are unprepared for it, you will set up yourself for disappointment. -There was an extra episode focused on the members that did not get into the ensemble and more specifically Hazuki since she is friends with the protagonist, but honestly is not much of an addition. The most you can say is that she runs an unbelievable distance in such a short time, but nothing else, and even that is something easy to look past it because the work is fiction and normally you not pay attention to it in the moment. -The second season makes the mistake of wasting a third of its duration on two up to that point irrelevant characters with just seconds of screentime, and with such stupid drama around them that turned the whole thing quite hard to get through, especially on a first watch. To top that, Kumiko keeps getting into the conflict by pure coincidence and even takes an active part of it despite having no relation to any of it. Around the second half the conflict shifts to her, her sister and Reina, and even then she is more like pressured by other characters to take an active part of it, instead of doing it by her own will. What I am getting at here is that the main character became a passive plot device that accidentally bumps onto the conflicts for about half the duration, and when she finally does, the whole thing becomes so melodramatic is quite hard to watch. There is so much teen drama in this season that there is barely any music in it, you know, the core element of the show. And the yuri bait in this season was just as strong as in the first, if not even stronger, only with different characters, and of course there is no outcome for any of that. Overall this season gets a negative rating from me. -Both seasons got some of those very short specials that exist just as excuses for buying the physical copies of the stuff that was already shown on tv, and they range from meh to just bad to plain awful, as they switch the usual tone of the series and behaviour of the characters, to typical moe caricatures, screw that. These two installments also get a negative rating from me, especially the specials of the second season. -Both seasons received recap movies. The first one was so rushed for trying to cram all the content into less than two hours by skipping all the preparations for the competitions, that deserves a below average rating from me. The second one did what its season should have and took away almost everything regarding Nozomi and Mizore and focus on Kumiko and Asuka instead, thus is better by default. Despite that, taking it away completely makes part of the dialogues between the core characters to lose part of their meaning, and the whole thing is still kind of rushed for the same reason as the first, even though not as much, partially because it is a little bit longer. I do not think is bad, and is the second entry I love, just behind the first season, but I can not consider it anything above average either. -Then some boneheads had the idea to make Liz to Aoi Tori, a spin off movie about Mizore and Nozomi. THANKS, NOW THE WORST PART OF THE SECOND SEASON HAS AN ENTRY ON ITS OWN. To be frank, I do not fancy this part of the franchise much, is the reason why I barely liked the second season, and why I loved its recap movie a lot simply by removing it. It took me a second watch to even tolerate the whole thing. The beginning is somewhat similar to what was already shown, so what is the point? This part of the movie is plain bad, and no amount of playful directing about unimportant details can save it. Some had issues with its change from the usual artstyle of the franchise to something closer to Koe no Katachi, but despite the long necks of the characters, I do not mind that much, and it is a good choice for the visualization of the tale that the movie is based around. Eventually the movie turns up to not be as overdramatic as the second season was, and the characters confront each other and get a very needed sense of individuality and a good sendoff of each other, culminating Mizore’s character arc on a very needed musical scene with some spectacular directing. Thus as a whole the movie starts really bad but becomes better in its second half and gets a proper conclusion. The negative aspect is the strong yuri bait that again gets no payoff, and this movie renders the first third of the second season even more pointless. Not bad as a whole, but probably takes more than a single watch to fully appreciate. At least that was my case. -The third movie takes place between the second season and Liz to Aoi Tori, introducing the characters that appeared there that no anime only knew a thing about, another issue of that movie I guess, though it is somewhat minor all things considered. Just like the first movie, this one has the problem of being too rushed, and is worse this time around because it is not recap material, it is content from the novels that should have had more duration or a proper series. As it is, the new characters are presented in a hurry, they come off as unlikable, and their drama seems unimportant and very exaggerated. There is a even a second year character that can not play in the esemble any longer, and do you care? Of course you do not, there was no time invested in her. Thus, this one also gets a negative rating from me, -After getting content from the franchise on each year, four years were needed for more content out of it come out, partly because of the fucking arson done by that madman that tragically killed a lot of people, if you remember. The Ensemble content ova is just like the extra episode of the first season, it does not have much content in it, it is essentially filler but not bad for any particular reason. I wish I could say something else about it but besides some very specific moments in its directing and my own enjoyment about it, I do not remember much about it. -Then there is the just finished third and final season and the sendoff of the franchise. I know there will be some more crappy specials and perhaps a recap movie about it just to milk it, but as for the adaptation of the actual content of the source material, this is where it ends. In tone and direction, this entry is close to the second season, as music takes a very secondary role for the teenage drama to be the main focus. The big differences are that it is nowhere near as overblown in here as it was in the previous series, and this time around it is almost entirely focused around the main character, thus you are given a reason to care. Characterization wise, is the season where Kumiko gets explored the most as she struggles to fit in the position of the club president, gets to face her old self in the newly introduced character Mayu, and even gets surpassed by her in what is easily the biggest and boldest change in the canon made by the studio, of which I have nothing but praise for them for it and for not chickening out about it, and for what it means for the protagonist. Despite that, no one can deny how very little music there is in it, how competitions are completely skipped, essentially making the preparations pointless, and how the little bit of drama and explorations other characters have is especially rushed in setup and resolution. This is particularly bad for Mayu, who is an important character but otherwise remains a mystery throughout the whole season, and only gets a tiny bit of exploration when it is about to be over. Essentially, just like it happens with the third movie, you only care about the older cast that was present in previous seasons, regardless of how much screentime they have, but not enough about the newer cast. The conclusion is alright I guess, is well directed and what the audience expected and needed to come at some moment, but I could not be convinced that it was as effective and satisfactory as it would have been if it was the older cast getting that result instead. As a whole, the praises I gave to the franchise in the beginning of the review should be seen as the core minimum of the series of its kind, even though they are the reasons why I like in the first place. It is beautiful to watch, good to listen to and is well directed, and has minimum attempts at a plot and characterization with enough results to get an overall average score from me, but otherwise is still not very good in terms of writing and tone, especially at its lowest points that inevitably deserve some below average ratings. It is my favourite anime franchise, and I will go back to it for sure as I did several times in the past, but in my eyes it is otherwise average in its purest form, and there is nothing wrong in admitting to enjoy something like that, instead of blowing it out of proportions. My personal ranking for the entries First season Second movie Third season Liz to Aoi Tori The Monaka special The Ensemble ova Second season First movie Third movie First season specials Second season specials
KitsuFrost
06/30/2024, 05:24 AM
Room 3-3 - the classroom Kumiko Oumae, Reina Kousaka, Sapphire Kawashima and Hazuki Katou are take part in. As seniors in Kitauji High, they hold a big responsability in the current year. It's their last year in school, and also their final opportunity in reaching the Nationals. A goal that was postponed for two years, but always improving in every way each year and after every try. Kumiko, the club president, holds the trust of not only her classmates but also her seniors who already took their separate ways. Not only trust, but the responsability towards the club's stability due to the seriousness adopted byReina, creating some conflict with the first years. There, the need to conciliate perfection with friendship and union rises. With it, the biggest and most important task, that should not be ignored in the process: keeping the quality and managing the class so that it won't fall apart in the process. Along with all the turmoil and anxiety, comes the internal struggle. The clash between personal wish and objetive duty. The arrival of Kuroe Mayu, and the consequences of this event to Kumiko. The indecision towards the self and the capacity. Everything developed at a moderate pacing, with a plot that grew little by little, with more focus on the characters and their relationships - the bonds and feelings that come along with it. It's really clear that the direction chosen by Tatsuya Ishihara and the main staff leaned more towards the cast as people, and also in their growth along the path they chose. Even though I still don't agree with some changes in the storyline, I acknowledge the courage it takes to surprise the readers of the original material like it was done. As a consequence that came along, most performances were skipped, a decision that made me confused initially due to how the previous two seasons were plotwise. Kyoto Animation didn't disappoint with their level of quality. Everything is classy and beautiful as always; the voice acting is at its best. Chika Anzai, Tomoyo Kurosawa and the whole cast surprised me in several moments throughout this season. Musically speaking, ReCoda and Neiro no Kanata (opening and ending respectively) are two great themes; even though the previous season themes were slightly more catchy to me, these both songs grew on me emotionally every week. And in the end, all the hardwork from Kitauji culminates in a conclusion that reminds us of every moment since episode one. The feelings of not only the current students, but the seniors who already left school and their teachers - strongly united to give the best performance possible. All in all, Hibike! Euphonium 3 is a more than welcome and awaited conclusion to one of KyoAni's most memorable works. Honestly and sincerely, even with the change of directions taken later, I am truly glad. Thank you for reading.
DarkVoyagerx
06/30/2024, 05:17 AM
Sound! Euphonium is my favorite anime of all time. I mean, it doesn't have the genius writing of other shows I've seen or the crazy action sequences of some of my favorite animanga. But at the same time, I could never imagine talking about my favorite anime without mentioning this show. Sound! Euphonium is human, I relate to the characters, I'm moved by the soundtrack, and I admire the life in the art style; it's astounding. Which is why it crushes me to not be able to rate this a 10 like previous seasons. 'Cause don't get me wrong, this season is great; but it just doesn'tstand a chance when compared to the beauty and marvel of the previous seasons. There were two HUGE problems with this season, one: there was no music in a music-themed anime. This show is definitely about a bunch of other important things as well: friendships, love, recovering from trauma, overcoming difficulties, and finding yourself. But the main theme is still music, which is why it was foolish of this season to skip almost every major performance and only show parts of minor performances. Aside from this though I must say that the overall soundtrack was great since it was mostly new songs that had not been used in the previous seasons. Problem number two: the pacing and drama were off. What could've been some interesting drama within the club was ruined by poor pacing, which in turn led to this season suffering and becoming consumed by the drama that took way too long to resolve. In any normal 12-episode show the drama would be resolved within a few episodes since there wouldn't be any episodes to waste, in this season however it just kept dragging on and on until the end. But in all honesty, it's also a little understandable since the writers most likely wanted to emphasize the "beat around the bush" personalities of the characters involved in the drama. But even so, slower pacing only worked in the previous seasons since they were both dedicated to Kumiko's first year, there were enough episodes to waste on slow pacing, unlike in this season. And in the end, it just made A LOT of this season feel like a sequence of awkward moments without any resolution/explanation. With that being said, I do still think that this season is worth watching, because like I said it’s still a good season all things considered. It may not be the same as the previous seasons, but it is still charming in it's own way and definitely a good watch.
Marinate1016
06/30/2024, 03:24 AM
5 years on from the horrific fire that claimed the lives of so many talented staff, Kyoto Animation have shown that they’re resilient and can still make wondrous shows that evoke emotions no other studio can. Hibike Euphonium season 3 may have some new staff working on it, but it retains all the magic of the first two seasons and movies and serves as a fitting capstone for what’s been a decade of magic that’s made us all a little better. They say that in order to achieve something you’ve never had before, you have to be prepared to do things you’ve never done before. Soafter two failed attempts to win gold at nationals, Kitauji high’s music club have taken a different approach in this third and final season. Instead of using the same lineups for competitions, they opt to institute a meritocracy system in which those in best form win their spots in regular auditions. This brings me to what makes this season in my opinion, the best of the bunch. We’ve always had drama in Hibike, but we’ve never had it on this scale. As you can imagine, having everyone competing for their spot constantly introduces a lot of pressure and tension, particularly with the Eupho spot. The conflict between new transfer student, Mayu and Kumiko serves as the focal point of this season and unlike a lot of people, I loved it. In fact it was the best part of the season for me. Kumiko is n her last year at Kitauji and her first year as president obviously wants to reach her goal to win nationals with her beloved school, but also to play the Soli with her best friend/totally not Yuri lover, Reina. The tension that arises when Mayu shows up out of nowehere and happens to be a Eupho prodigy in her own right, made this season so entertaining. Things get downright nasty at times with passive aggressive behaviour, Kumiko lying and not being as inviting as she should be to a new student and much more. While petty and nasty at times, I thought this was very realistic for teenage girls, especially those competing for a once in a lifetime opportunity AND deciding what they want to do with their lives. You see, Kumiko still hasn’t decided what she wants to do after graduation and the stress of that with everything going on in music club just makes for a really anxious time for her. I think it’s also something that a lot of people can relate to. 18 feels like an age where we should have everything figured out at, but the reality is, very few do, and that’s ok. There’s more to the drama that I can’t really go into without spoiling, but Mayu is a complex character to say the least and while a lot of her actions come off as patronising or mean spirited, she genuinely just wants to keep the peace, but the misunderstandings and angst were awesome and she quickly became one of my fave Kyoani characters. At this point, we know the foundation of Eupho is the relationship between Reina and Kumiko and well this season is definitely a doozy for it. It’s an up and down roller coaster and depending on who you ask, Reina will have either gained or lost your respect based on how she treated both Kumiko and her fellow bandmates in this season. For me, I can’t look at Reina the same even with all the Mayu stuff being explained and apologies. I just think there’s certain ways you talk to people you supposedly care about and certain things you should never say. Not to mention her blind infatuation and obsession with Taki-sensei which causes her to treat everyone who doesn’t agree with him like shit. She’s just shown herself to be a very toxic and fake friend imo in this season and I know the show tries to mask it with the beautifully animated Yuri bait scenes, but that only goes so far for me. If anything, I feel like Kanade established herself as a better friend to Kumiko in this season than Reina. Regardless of your opinion, it’s a testament to how well written a story is when we can debate things like this about an anime. It shows that the characters feel like real people and are complex just like every day people are. Everyone’s a villain to someone and everyone ain’t for everyone. Hats off to the writers and Kyoani for transporting us to another world for 25 minutes every Sunday these last 3 months. We can’t talk about a Kyoani anime without mentioning how beautiful it looks. By now we all know the quality Kyoani bring to every anime. The Violet Evergarden movie is widely regarded as one of, if not the most beautiful anime ever made. Hibike season 3 has some scenes that I’d argue surpass even that. This really does just look gorgeous, some of the stills from this season need to go up in the Louvre, and don’t get me started on the expressiveness of characters during emotional moments. Episode 12’s climax scene with Reina and Kumiko genuinely might be the single most beautiful 2 minutes in anime history. The storyboarding and cinematography is just perfection in this and everyone needs to experience something that’s been given this much love and attention before they die. I found the ending of Hibike season 3 to be very satisfactory and while I’m heartbroken it’s over, the staff gave it the perfect conclusion, bringing this long journey to a beautiful conclusion. There’s so many emotional ups and downs in this season and by the time the credits were rolling in episode 13, I had tears in my eyes. It’s no lie when I say this is one of the greatest anime ever made, certainly the greatest musical anime. Yuribait allegations aside, this was as close to a perfect story as you can get. Hibike Euphonium season 3 gets a very easy 10 out of 10.
ZNoteTaku
06/30/2024, 01:44 AM
From the first episode all the way up through *Ensemble Contest-hen*, Oumae Kumiko’s journey has been one through reconciling her own feelings and trying to become more self-actualized. It’s been a long road getting from there to here, complete with many frustrations, contradictions, confusions, angsts, and apprehensions both from herself and from others that she is privy to hearing about or experiencing. Back then, she was just a student, mending her old relationship with Kousaka Reina and learning to appreciate just how much her senpai Tanaka Asuka meant to her. Here now, at *Hibike! Euphonium* season three, she fully assumes the role of her predecessorsas the president of that band, taking on a new level of responsibility to the group to propel them to winning the gold at Nationals, the prize that has consistently eluded them. With a new year and new leadership however comes new rigor—Reina IS an executive now, after all—and with that also comes new urgencies. It’s not just about winning gold; as Kumiko is so reminded by both her family and her teachers (if not also the occasional conversation with classmates), she’s a senior now, waiting on the doorstep of whatever potential and likely-collegiate future might await her, and needing to decide about such things. But not all decisions need to be made straight away; besides, Reina’s dream of performing with Kumiko at Nationals is only getting closer and closer until, of all things, a euphonium sound coursing through the air catches Kumiko’s ear. It’s only a little later that we learn who made the sound: a new girl transferring to Kitauji High School, sporting a navy-blue uniform and a silver euphonium of her own, Kuroe Mayu. Change isn’t on the horizon – it’s right there, as plain as the reflection on Mayu’s euphonium and Kumiko being taken by the sound that comes from it. If *Hibike! Euphonium* season three had anything that it could plant during the interim between *Chikai no Finale* and the first episode’s lead-up, it was that you could take certain things more or less as a given that they’d occur. The narrative has always followed Kumiko as the point of orientation (with the notable exception of Yamada Naoko’s masterful *Liz and the Bluebird*), and that much has not changed. But, with her now needing to assume greater responsibilities to the ensemble as a whole, it likewise necessitates a major shift in orienting the view of that ensemble. As a student, Kumiko was a participant in the exercises for marching and listening to Taki’s instructions on how to improve a practice’s performance. But in a position of authority, she must take a more centralized birds-eye view of the ensemble (and we, the audience, likewise follow suit), being the person that others would come to with problems and grievances and be expected to navigate through them. That shifted perspective regarding the ensemble accompanies a shift in the music’s usage within the season. In-part because of the single cour’s truncation, there are not as many overt “performances” in the course of the thirteen episodes – there are decidedly fewer times that we see the band collectively working together either in practice or in actually performing before the listening audience, and likewise for the viewer. *Hibike! Euphonium* season three however understands that the performances themselves were never the actual attraction for the series. It’s not that they were outright unimportant or anything of the sort, but rather that they were not the point. The melodrama of the season serves as the ensemble’s true performance, allowing both discordant countermelodies and high emotion to come through as complements to the tone rather than the showboating they might have been otherwise. All of this is realized through its masterful visual-acoustic storytelling and episode directing from some of Kyoto Animation’s most important figures like Kitanohara Noriyuki, or newcomer to the directorial side Miyagi Ryou, who began their career on *Hibike! Euphonium* season one and now gets to take a driver’s seat role for its final act. But Mayu is the final, and arguably most important, ingredient to this general reorientation. Her euphonium playing and coming from a previous school known for its prestigious music program brings its own problems into the fore. Mayu heralds that Kumiko’s place as the “one true eupho” is on far shakier ground than she might have anticipated. It’s not just because she’s good, but rather also due to Mayu’s general demeanor of friendliness and wanting to not rock the boat clashing with the inherent approach that Kumiko has in mind. The prior experiences with the trumpet solo audition from freshman year and Kanade from junior year were signs of needed changes. Those changes manifested in the form of Kumiko and Reina working to make Kitauji’s band a place where, regardless of one’s status as an upperclassman or underclassman, the best performances rein and have the privilege to perform at the competition. It’s a doctrine that reads as the ensemble’s credo, and one that Kumiko especially believes is best for everyone. Mayu’s behavior thus makes for a rather ironic response to Kumiko’s own perception of Kitauji’s meritocracy. The entire notion of competing in Nationals means, in-part by virtue of how audition processes work and having only a finite number of players allowed, that not everyone can be satisfied or be having fun. Mayu’s reticence to replace anyone expressed early in the season serves as a challenge to that meritocracy ideology, questioning its legitimacy and whether everyone sincerely feels that way, and her continued insistence provides a point of consternation for Kumiko who just can’t realize how to respond to this peculiar obstinacy. It’s not that Mayu doesn’t want to win gold at Nationals, because she does – otherwise, she’d never have voted to do so. Yet, it’s a heightened form of Kumiko’s own desire to not have anyone drop out that she’s essentially confronting, a reflection of the passive version of herself from previous seasons that she thought she had moved beyond, but now has to confront from a new angle. Confronting Mayu’s insecurity means confronting Kumiko’s insecurity, creating one of the major thematic threads for the season. Mayu and Kumiko’s perspectives are thus each chasing a metaphorical rainbow that run parallel; they may be headed in the same general direction, but they can’t cross. Because of this fundamental inability to see eye-to-eye, they cannot connect as easily. Mayu’s apprehension is just as despairingly resolute as Kumiko’s belief that what she herself believes in is the truth of how she honestly feels. Yet as each episode progresses and we see that perhaps Mayu’s apprehension seems all-the-more to be coming true, it gives dialogue and entire sequences a particular weightiness to each word and interaction. Emotions run higher and tensions run thicker not just because the stakes have increased for the main cast with increased auditions and graduation drawing nearer, but rather because the ensemble collectively is carrying this sort of held breath every time, with confidence wavering in confusion. I mentioned before that the melodrama within the band is the true performance of the season, and it subsequently manifests in inner-band friction both collectively and between individual members that is true *Hibike! Euphonium* spirit. And that spirit of conflict always has its inverse; that of optimism and understanding. Between Kumiko’s presidency, Mayu’s apprehension, Reina’s perfectionism, the new freshmen, Tsukamoto providing insights of his own, Kanade’s own rounding out of her edges, and everything else, *Hibike! Euphonium* season three is juggling a lot of ideas within its thirteen episodes. It would be easy to assume that it would crumble under the weight of it all, yet like magic, it doesn’t. The endgame for the season is more or less a surefire conclusion, but the route it takes to get there walks the twilight between crushing and soaring. No matter how much it may pull out some brutal pathos punches or moments of sheer deflation, it never tries to leave its characters out in the cold forever; there will always be something to pull them back from the precipice. That may just be its most optimistic message of all for its audience, and one that the series has been comfortingly saying since the very beginning with that flashback that started it all – there will be hardships and times when you have to come face-to-face with your own disappointment, inability, or uncertainty. Sometimes, it may seem cruelly unfair, or you may feel like you’ve taken two steps back for every one step forward. But underneath it all lies the tenderness of love and friendship, bonds worth holding onto no matter how late they may have been forged. If this is indeed likely to be the final installment of this franchise I imagine Kyoto Animation would want to move on to other properties to develop and see what lay within their imagination), then it could not have chosen a better way to finish. Its characters left Kitauji High School better than when they came in. They bettered themselves not just musically, but personally. That’s the true finale that the series had been building to since the beginning. All the desires to improve, all the tears, all the notes, all the drama, all the smiles, and all the goodbyes – season three is the culmination of everything *Hibike!* in the end. Let YOUR next piece begin.
Mcsuper
06/30/2024, 01:29 AM
Kyoto Animation, almost without fail, has time and time again showed us the gold standard of anime production. It is clear to see just like many of their shows, it was done with passion, love, and most importantly, they had ample time to work on it. This is the result. Sound! Euphonium Season 3 is divisive, and it is easy to understand why. KyoAni and the staff made risky decisions in how they adapted the source material, making a critical change towards the end of the season, which really divided the community. Of course, there was also the issue of there not being enough performances inthe season, because previous seasons showed the performances, whereas this season did not do the same. The thing I appreciated the most though, was that with all the themes that the season provided throughout, the end result stayed consistent with the themes presented. Kumiko’s encounter and relationship with the new transfer student, Mayu Kuroe, was no doubt, a turbulent one. Mayu plays the same instrument as Kumiko, and needless to say, there are only so many spots available in a performance, or in the soli. Now, with Kumiko in her third and final year at Kitauji, and with Mayu being the new kid on the block, there is some pressure on who should play and who should not, and while Kitauji has adopted a variety of ways to decide such things, Kumiko, along with vice presidents Reina and Shuuichi, decide that for each performance during the school year, there would be an audition. Managing a band is not an easy job, and Kumiko saw that firsthand. The thing I love about the series is how well it understands school life and music. In a band, there are always clashes of personalities, people who push others harder than they are used to, people who want to just have fun playing with their friends, and people who take winning competitions very seriously. Being the president, you always have to have your ear to the ground on how the band’s morale is, and for the majority of this season, it is not good at all, with the tension at a fever pitch due to the auditions and their results. The relatability of the characters is another massive reason why I love this series. Kumiko in particular, is someone that I am sure many of us can relate to on some level. She is a graduating high schooler with a very common problem that many of us might have faced before, not knowing what to do after graduation. By being the president of the school band this season though, she learned a lot about how to deal with people, how to motivate people, but most of all, she learned that a lot of the time, you reap what you sow, and that there will always be someone better than you at something, and I’m glad that this theme was hammered home in the end. As for Mayu, she was also quite relatable, but to many, very frustrating to watch I would imagine. As a transfer student, especially if they are a very capable one, they will very likely shake the morale of the existing group, because all of a sudden, there is someone that plays better than most of the band populace. Therefore, she adopts an attitude of just going with whatever the majority wants, whether it is to play a certain way, to go somewhere together, just whatever would allow her to fit in, to not influence the pre-existing relationships in the band. Man, she just needs a hug… Mayu and Kumiko's interactions throughout this season were tense, and understandably so, because not only do the two play the same instrument, they also had clashing viewpoints toward how Kitauji should operate. Kumiko wanted meritocracy, in that the best players should play, regardless of their status. Mayu, however, did not want to rock the boat that is the band, so it seemed like she wanted to forfeit her role in the band to Kumiko, as that was probably what their bandmates wanted, for their president to play. That is another sign of Mayu’s tragic character, where she just cannot bring herself to affect the band in any substantial way. Kumiko, for a good chunk of this season, avoided her, because it reminded her of herself in the past, the one that Reina “hated” for not caring about the result of a competition. As controversial as Mayu’s addition to the cast might be, I personally loved her role in the story. She can be seen as an antagonist, but she really isn’t, as she is the catalyst that made Kumiko a better person. Kumiko can lament the missed opportunities to tell Mayu what she really felt about things, but in the end, Kumiko and Mayu helped each other, with Mayu pushing Kumiko to confront conflicts within herself, and Kumiko told Mayu something she needed to hear all her life, which was to play for what she believes in, and not “lie to the performance”. I also loved Kanade’s role in the story, with her bluntness. In a way, she might have voiced how the viewer was feeling towards a certain moment, and that again, is relatability, in a different light. Kumiko and Reina’s relationship was also incredibly interesting, and it tackles a similar theme to Kumiko and Mayu’s relationship, which is that people have conflicting opinions. Reina was always one of the best talents that the band had to offer. It created tension in earlier seasons of this series, and it also created tension in this season, with how her and Kumiko’s relationship was. One of Reina’s biggest flaws was trusting Taki as wholeheartedly as she did, leading to a sense of coldness toward members who were unhappy with Taki’s decisions on the auditions. Was she an antagonist? Also no, because these conflicts in a band are natural, because there will always be conflicting philosophies, and when someone as successful as Reina is questioned, it feels like an insult. Again, after being put down by Reina, Kumiko grows for the better, and shows why she was the president, and that Reina was not chosen for such a role, as seen in the eventual success in the band’s subsequent performance. Even if there are reconciliations to be had, another theme of school life is that friendships can also disappear in the blink of an eye. Reina parting ways with Kumiko is another theme in more ways than one, from the meaning on the surface, to what it means in a musical sense. It reminded me of how Mizore and Nozomi’s relationship in Liz in the Blue Bird, my favourite anime, felt like, with one holding back the other. It is difficult, but sometimes, if you truly love your friend, you also have to let them go, and it is another theme that stayed consistent to the end of the series, which is excellent. Common arguments about why this series was not living up to people’s expectations included the fact that the performances were for the most part, skipped. That may be the case, but I found the tension in the band just as entertaining, if not more. There were no antagonists in the end, leaving the tension as natural, yet as strong as it can be, which is what the performance was to me, the characters interacting, arguing, and in the end, thriving, under Kumiko’s leadership. The other thing was the pacing, and that one I agree with, as it slightly drags the build up to the pay-off, but made the pay-off happen a bit too quickly at the same time, which is an odd place to be in. There is an argument to be made about that, but to me, I found what we got to be extremely rewarding and inspiring to watch nonetheless. I do wish the second year of Kumiko’s high school career was a full tv season though, that would be the thing to lament about for me. Overall, this season left me breaking down at some of the tension that was so palpable, and left me in awe of how gorgeous KyoAni’s animation and directing was, possibly even superior to the last two seasons. It’ll be a series that will stay with me for a long time to come, and one that I’ll remember fondly. Each piece along the way was beautiful. For Kitauji, there will always be a next piece, and for Kumiko, Reina, and everyone else, there will also always be a next piece.

Hibike! Euphonium 3 響け！ユーフォニアム3

2024 spring | Episodes: 13 | Score: 8.7 (29258)

Updated every Sundays at 17:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Anzai, Chika

Kurosawa, Tomoyo

News

Reviews

johnbradshaw
01/26/2025, 01:16 AM
I couldn't imagine when I added Hibike! Euphonium in my top ten 10 years ago, that it would hold up so well and keep getting better with each and every season after. Kyoto Animation did such a great job with this anime and I'm forever grateful for it. So our journey with Kumiko and Reina finally have come to an end, in this season, they're third years highschool students now and the burden of leading the Kitauji band to earn gold at the National is heavily put on their shoulders. Could they finally achieve theirs and their senpai's dreams after so many tears and hardworks? And what await them in the future? It will all be answered in this wonderful third season. The aspects I love the most in Hibike! Euphonium would always be the characters. Kumiko and Reina both seem to mature quite nicely and yet, at the same time, they seem to not change at all. It brings me joy to witness their friendship from day one and how they both push each other to be better. I especially like how uncertain Kumiko is about the future and Reina is about the friendship. It's really relatable and flesh the characters out. At the end, they're 2 of the most grounded characters I've ever watch in anime. The supporting cast is also colorful and realistic, they blend in really well with the main cast and make this season more memorable. The animation, needless to say, is top-notch. Some of the most beautful and mesmerizing anime out there, there's a lot of scenes I could cut out and show a newcomer just how great a slice of life could be. The ED is catchy, some of the OSTs are emotional and heart-wrenching. Overall, I'm happy that Hibike! Euphonium got the ending it deserves. It solidifies the anime of one of the absolute best coming-of-age slice of life of all time. I'm sad that I couldn't get more Kumiko in my life though, I wouldn't mind a movie that peeks into their adult life, come on, KyoAni, we deserve one.
DNGlist
01/19/2025, 04:44 AM
I don't know if this is the end of the story or if there will be a sequel. But I'm quite happy with Kumiko and her friends' journey until season 3. Considering how they joined this orchestra, to the point where they almost got everything with the various problems that exist. a long journey with reasonable conflicts (I've been involved in a similar music organization, and most of the conflicts presented in this anime are ones I've faced), and this is one of the reasons I really enjoy this anime. But unfortunately, the orchestra performance presented I think is still more climactic in season 2, Iunderstand on the other hand the journey of class 3 needs to be completed in 1 season 13 episodes, but they have to face a lot of competition. So I don't get the performance from the results of the training they have undergone, it seems rushed. But I still enjoy and reminisce with Kumiko and friends
Xinners
09/05/2024, 02:37 AM
A very disappointing final season - it's terribly rushed and there's barely any music. Compare and contrast to the wonderful seasons 1 and 2 - those gave the characters time to breathe and the drama was allowed to develop naturally. The main movie (that was released after season 2) suffers from the same problem - trying to cram in too much. On the positive side, KyoAni as always knock it out of the park with the beautiful art and animation, I have no complaints on that score. The voice acting is top tier as always. Is season 3 worth watching? Yes, just about, but temper your expectations.
NisemonoDesu
09/03/2024, 07:52 PM
Seeing Hibike Euphonium finally come to a close after all these years leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. After watching the first and second seasons about 6 years ago and absolutely falling in love with them, I somehow managed to miss the release of any of the movies or OVAs. But that meant in the back of my mind I knew there was always more; that I could always revisit these characters and continue their journey. When I saw season 3 was airing, I knew it was time to finally catch up on the backlog of released content and then see this thing through toits conclusion. And after finally closing this chapter of my anime experience, I can say that bittersweet feeling is just as much a reaction to the series ending as it is to the quality of this season itself. It should be obvious to anyone with an eye for this sort of thing, but the writing and directing of this show fell off quite a bit after the departure of Naoko Yamada. The first season felt like one of her masterpieces—you could feel her style oozing out of every frame. Folks familiar with the auteur know that she’s the queen of legs—Medium wrote an entire article entitled “Naoko Yamada: Legs as a Language.” Quoting her at the beginning of the article, “The eyes may be the window to the soul, but I think our legs are like that too. Usually, we hide our legs under our desks or else they’ll reveal our true emotions.” Re-watch the first season of Hibike Euphonium and you’ll notice shots of girls’ legs everywhere, and the composition of those shots is so perfect that you can easily identify which character belongs to which set of legs just from their positioning and motion on screen. Re-watch season 3, and there are no legs in sight. Is this a petty thing to care about? Of course it is. But it’s illustrative of just how much the first season of Hibike Euphonium was HER show. You can tell it in all the ways that are more important than legs. Take the writing, for example. I’ve said this in several of my reviews, but my definition of “great art” is something that asks the question, “What does it mean to be human?” in a new or interesting way. In other words, great art is ABOUT something, it has something to say. The first season of Hibike Euphonium was about a listless directionless teenager finding passion and focus with the help of a passionate muse, and what it takes to motivate a large group of similarly floundering people behind a common goal. By the end of the first season, this question had been largely answered, and even though Kitauji High hadn’t won gold, it didn’t matter. Because that’s not really what the show was about anyway. But because the show made money and the novel had more gas left in the tank, the series continued. Yamada is credited on the second season, but her influence feels far diminished. Instead of the tight writing of the first season, where the seeds of all the drama that would unfold were planted up front and created conflict in a way that felt organic throughout the show, in season 2 everything feels like defined arcs. We start the show with problem A, we deal with problem A, and wouldn’t ya know, conveniently just when we’ve got problem A all squared away, here comes problem B and start of the next arc. Real life doesn’t work like that, problems happen concurrently and interact with each other and it’s complicated. Season 1 knew that, season 2 forgot that. I still loved season 2 because I had enough goodwill built up with the show from season 1. These were still the characters we knew and loved, and even though the main themes were basically over after the first season, we wanted to see our characters get to the Nationals and compete, so it felt kind of like a victory lap for the show. But then we ran into the next problem: the third years had to graduate. With this came a new batch of characters for the movies and OVAs, and they don’t hold a candle to the ones we started with. Enter season 3. Naoko Yamada is now nowhere to be seen in the credits. We have the same problem of "arc-y" storytelling season 2 had, and now we have this new crop of characters. Thankfully the characterization of Kumiko, Reina, and the rest of the season 1 first-year gang never got flanderized or messed with too bad, but the new first-years… man, Ayano Takeda really ran out of ideas around here didn’t she? Yayoi, Suzume, Mirei, Motomu, all of them feel like nothing-burgers compared to the original cast. The only new character worth the screen time they got was Kanade, who I think was actually a really good addition to the show. She added a fresh element, a sort of snake-like foil to our terminally good-girl Kumiko. But the rest of these people… I mean, Motomu’s entire arc this season consisted of “Oh, he’s sad.” “Oh, actually he’s not sad.” Arc over. Like, what even is this? This brings me to the new character who gets the most screen time: Mayu Kuroe. Again, I have the same problem with her as I do with the other new characters: she’s nothing. She’s a blank slate. She’s a tabula rasa. She has no memorable personality traits whatsoever, she only exists to cause bring conflict to Kumiko. But, what conflict does she bring, exactly? The point of her joining the club is to cause narrative conflict between Kumiko and Reina vis-à-vis Mayu being better at the euphonium than Kumiko is. But, we already had this same conflict in the third movie, Chikai no Finale. In fact, we retread the exact same story beats, where in that movie Kanade wanted to throw her audition for Natsuki’s sake, and in this season Mayu wants to do the exact same thing for Kumiko for the exact same reason. I guess the stakes are slightly different because there’s a soli on the line, but man… we needed something better. This show deserved something better. Speaking of things we deserved from this show: actual musical performances. In its rush to say a lot of nothing in 13 episodes, we neglect any of the musical performances that have made this show so special. The oboe performance at the end of Liz and the Blue Bird was so incredibly effective at explaining to us without words exactly the emotional state of both characters of Nozomi and Mizure. And yet, in this season where we have a similar structure in regards to the soli, we barely hear any performances. Even when it’s time for the penultimate performance at the regionals—after Kumiko's big dramatic speech—we cut to credits. Boo. So, at the end of the day, is this a bad show? No. It’s merely an average show. But that’s a far fall from grace when season 1 was one of the best things ever animated. Should you watch it? If you’ve come this far in the Hibike Euphonium saga, then yes. It’s nice to see characters get closure, it’s nice to see a certain famous scene in the first season mirrored in an effective way, and it’s nice to see Kumiko finally grow to adulthood and see what choice she made with her life. But nothing will ever beat that incredible artful first season and Naoko Yamada’s signature touch. Thank you for reading.
ham_phd
07/31/2024, 06:14 AM
And with that, Hibike has (probably) come to an end. It's not easy to meet the expectations for a final season of a series that is so passionately loved by so many. Especially when so much time had passed waiting for this concluding chapter. While I can't speak to the personal expectations of all fans, I for one found this season to be a near perfect conclusion for one of my favorite series and protagonists of all time. Hibike has been a very special show for me ever since I discovered it. As a former band kid, I can't recall many pieces of media thatfelt so deeply relatable to me. This feeling has possibly never been stronger than it was in season 3. With many of our characters in their final year, and our most important characters in positions of leadership, there is a powerful feeling of anxiety throughout. Anxiety to achieve their goals with their last attempt. Anxiety about the future beyond high school. Anxiety about the future of their relationships with each other and with music. These struggles our character face managed to be so specific that they evoked parallel memories of my own time in band, and had me reminiscing about whether decisions I made back then were correct and if I would have chosen a different path if I could go back now. To have continuously nailed the high school band experience with each season is a testament to the passion of both the original author and the team at Kyoani. Kumiko really takes center stage in this season, and I found the conclusion of her arc that began all the way back in season 1 to be immensely satisfying. Rarely do you see such realistic, organic growth of a character in anime to the point that they feel like a genuinely real person. Becoming a leader is not an easy task, and for A LOT of people out there, does not come naturally. Seeing this side of the coin was really refreshing, when so often we see examples of natural leaders with less relatable struggles. I think everyone can see some of themselves in Kumiko. If I had to give one criticism of this season, it would be that the final episode wasn't double length. Maybe we can hope for an OVA at some point, but the finale was a bit rushed for just 1 episode. Luckily this doesn't impact the important arc of the season. Enjoy this final, special season of Hibike! Euphonium!
zhewww
07/13/2024, 04:38 PM
There's a scene in Sound!Euphonium Season 3 where the conductor is reading off the audition results, and the camera doesn't show his face but instead his hands. Because of this, you can see him visibly grip the clipboard harder when he reads what he knows will be a controversial decision. This detail might seem trivial, but when you add up enough of them, the show really starts to come alive. These kinds of details are what have always set Sound!Euphonium apart, and I kept getting reminded of that watching this season. I think the writing in this show is great, but the expressiveness of thecharacter animation is what really helped me get invested in the characters and what sets Sound!Euphonium apart from other shows. I'm sad that this is the final season, but I can't complain. The show really wraps itself up nicely, calling back to themes that it touched on in previous seasons and weaving them together into a satisfying sendoff. It's been a lovely 3 cours, 2 movies, and 9 years. Thank you Kyoto Animation.
boxtop
07/11/2024, 08:22 PM
This season has a solid story plot and serves as closure for fans who don't plan on reading the novel. To be frank, the direction and pacing of this season is bad. While KyoAni spent a lot of time ensuring every frame was absolutely gorgeous, it was difficult to watch this season because it was sloppy. The biggest weak point is the lack of time dedicated to developing plot points. We are often told of what's been happening behind the scenes instead of shown. There were times when I was shocked to hear what's been happening in the band since we never actually see that onscreen. This is very different compared to the pacing and direction from seasons 1 and 2. They also can't blame "running out of time" as there was a whole episode dedicated to a side-story with no bearing on the overall narrative. Other issues include the limited music played throughout the season and some OOC events. I'm still happy I watched this season to finish the series, but it pales in comparison to the prior seasons and isn't a good watch on its own.
Justykanna
07/09/2024, 08:51 PM
I love Sound! Euphonium and I'm not ready for it to be over. The incredible journey from start to finish has been an unforgetable one, topped by season 3. The OVA that occurs between the third movie and this new season, Sound! Euphonium: Ensemble Contest Arc, is not a required watch, but I still recommend watching it before this, if you can. Story: Sound! Euphonium 3 takes place at the start of our main gang's final year of high school. With Kumiko now president, and Reina and Shuuichi now co-vice presidents, they encourage their new group to try their hardest and make thegoal the same as it has been in years past - get Gold at Nationals. While that serves as the main storyline, there are many incredible short arcs in between, and they really add to the layers upon layers that exist in this final season of Sound! Euphonium. The base storyline is basically the same, but they look to expand and add more plot points to make the third time through feel more fresh to the target audience. With this you'd think the third run through would get old, but it holds up very well. While the main competitions are certainly present, the locations themselves are not the main focus. They serve as a place to develop our new storylines and character interactions. While we don’t get to see as many as some audience members wanted, they probably aren’t necessary. One of the changes that occurs during the course of the season is that they change up how auditions are done and I loved how they executed on the drama around them. This creates so many more tense moments for our characters and creates new issues that our band needs to work through. You’re stacking up on an existing idea and the drama it creates are second to none – some of which was changed from the source material. This isn't really a spoiler, but there are more to the auditions than who makes it through. I loved everything about it. Much of the story is character driven, and I'm very impressed that they managed to create new story lines for the existing cast, when we think we know who they are. Yes, I'm talking about Kumiko mainly, but Reina gets meaningful time too. There are a few first year students that get some attention though, with Suzume being my favourite of the bunch. Disappointingly, Shuuichi, who had some nicer story moments in the past, didn't add much to the season, despite being the vice-president. I wasn't expecting much, but even his moments where he acted like a mentor to some younger Trombone players were absent. As you get closer and closer to the end, you do get a sense of where the story ends. And that's perfectly okay. Being somewhat predictable isn't always a bad thing - it's how you execute on them is what matters. And man, did they execute. All the storylines were finished nicely and after the final moments of Sound! Euphonium 3 end, we get full closure on basically everything. There are a few odd details that I feel like I would have liked to see, specifically with Reina, but I wasn't going to gripe about it. (9/10) Characters: Kumiko is the complete focus on this final season and she is where the juicy bits start and end. Many times in both seasons 1 and 2, she would often be the person, being there to fix things when everything didn't go right. She would be there to stand by her friends when they needed support. Now? Being tasked with a heavy burden is very clearly not something she is used to. Watching her try and deal with everything, while also trying to be fair to everyone is incredibly hard on her. She also has her personal values, and you can tell those were being tested at all times too. This final season makes that final. Reina likely got the second most screen time and for good reason. While she didn't star as much in season 2, she was very clearly in the focus for this season once again. She is the source of much of the drama that exists, and not even in a bad way. She also has her amazing moments and, obviously her interactions with Kumiko are where the highlights exist. Also included in our colourful cast? New transfer student Mayu Kuroe. Mayu comes in as a third year student and enters the band, seemingly with a free pass. The reason for this? She’s exceptional at playing the euphonium. She has her own personal values and you can really tell she wanted to uphold them too. That being said, I always felt like I never knew whether she was being true to herself, or fake. It’s a hard thing to focus on and while it did create some interesting moments, I didn’t love every scene she was included in. She is one of the reasons the story was so fresh though, which is obviously a good thing. Sapphire and Hazuki still hang out with Kumiko and Reina, but like with season 2, take kind of a backseat, once again. As I somewhat eluded to before, a lot of the character interactions are a mix between the three aforementioned characters, and returning band geek, Kanade. Kanade is a character that was really focused on for the third movie, and at this point, we kind of know who she is. She has, however, matured quite a bit. She doesn’t start drama as much anymore, but she still feels like the same Kanade that we know because she lets her opinion be known. And she makes some very good points throughout the series. She is basically Kumiko’s understudy. Near the back half of the series a bunch of familiar faces return as well. I won’t spoil who, but it was nice to see some familiar faces. (10/10) Art: As per usual, Kyoto Animation does A+ work with Sound! Euphonium. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The detail and polish of the instruments, the consistent animation and character models, the glistening background – they spared no expense. It all looks fantastic. Not only that but as an added tribute to the victims of the Kyoto Animation arson, those people were drawn into the audience at one of the Kitauji’s band performance. Bravo. (10/10) Sound: Oh, and the sound? Yes, also top notch. I’m still not entirely sure if they literally hire a band to create all the instrumental sounds, but this couldn’t have been easy to put together. It amazed me from day 1, and I’m still amazing. I wasn’t as high on the OP and ED as I was in previous seasons, but they still matched well. VA work was similarly strong with Tomoyo Kurosawa (Kumiko) and Chika Anzai (Reina) being the best here. I really wish I could talk about the final audition scene, but there were so many aspects – for story, character and sound – that made me completely flip out at this scene, in a good way. (10/10) Overall: Sound! Euphonium 3 somehow managed to top season 2 with great new moments in a familiar setting, further character development with characters we know and love already, with top notch production values. I can barely find faults in this series, one that I can’t help but obsess about – especially as a former bank geek myself. This would really suit most any audience, but I feel like anyone who took music through a large portion of their high school life would connect the most here, once again. I’ll say it again – I’m not ready to say goodbye to this series. It was “that” good. (10/10)
osricen
07/09/2024, 02:47 PM
I'm a 34-year-old teacher, writer, and filmmaker... and I hope good at either of those because I think I'm very passionate. I first watched Sound! Euphonium years ago, and almost instantly fell in love with its characters, their goals, struggles, and most of all: their learning and constant aim for the better. And there's also the hypnotizing visuals, voices, music, sounds, and uncanny little details that -music connoisseur or not- make you believe this all is actually happening right in front of you. Eupho's Season 1 and 2 were, for me: practically flawless; and even though I have mixed feelings about the movie and OVA that comebefore this 3rd and final season, I want to express: as of 2024, SOUND! EUPHONIUM is my favorite serialized audiovisual production of all time. And I put it like that because it now tops my former favorites: Twin Peaks, True Detective... and other live action, animated, and anime classics. Sound! Euphonium - Season 3 tells about the last school year of our beloved president Kumiko Oumae, who now plays the euphonium like no other... until someone new comes to "threaten" her place in the ensemble. And with that little premise, once again: a universe of memorable moments unleash. Slices of beautiful friendship, uncertainty of the future, battles of wills and convictions, personal realization, reencounters, and much more. 13 episodes of around 24 minutes build up to some of the most amazing, gorgeous, intense, and INSPIRING scenes I've experienced in arts and entertainment. And the delivery of the aforementioned, through a big cast of wonderful characters, voiced by a hell of a perfect cast (special mention to Kumiko's Japanese voice actress) makes this season a must know, watch, finish, share, and repeat. Artistically and technically, like its music: EXQUISITE; fresh, youthful, feminine, fun, a little sexy, moving, thought-provoking, and again: INSPIRING, Sound! Euphonium and its final season are an invaluable document of adolescence and humanity and is here to stay in the hearts of its audience forever. A treasure. I'm a 34-year-old teacher, writer, and filmmaker... and my world has been rocked by an anime show about schoolgirls, their circumstances, and music. You can't imagine how much I can relate to them and how much of a Kumiko I found out I was and I still am. Eupho is that thing I wanna reach out and "achieve" and I'm sure gonna use it whenever my own inspiration falters. From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU, KyoAni and everyone involved in this marvelous masterpiece. Here's my personal GOLD for this one. I'm gonna miss these a lot. P.S. I chose #2.
deimos96
07/01/2024, 09:44 PM
KyoAni's magnum opus. Three seasons, four movies, one spinoff movie, and a few shorts/specials along the way. Now culminating in its grand finale. A wonderful and truly beloved series. It's a shame that this season, or perhaps the entire series overall, hasn't gained much traction outside of Japan. This season ranked 30th in terms of popularity compared to other seasonal anime that aired at the same time! It's outrageous if you ask me. So many people don't know about this series and I wish that more did. Production-wise, this is on par with some of KyoAni's better releases such as Violet Evergarden. The animation in this thirdseason has definitely outdone the previous two. My only wish was that it lasted longer. I don't know if a 24-episode season would be too long. But it did feel like more could be desired from this 13-episode one. Even so, this series truly cares about its fans. Knowing when to advance its story and characters but also catering to the loyal fans who've stuck throughout the years. Showing glimpses of the former bandmates and seniors that've graduated. Reminiscing previous seasons through flashbacks at the right moment. You know a character is truly beloved when they reappear even just for a second and the fan base goes wild (at least on Twitter). The story itself is the culmination after 9 long years of growth of Kumiko and the rest of the cast. A touching coming-of-age story with a great message of passing down tradition and life going on. You won't find many surprising moments in the story, it is a fairly predictable one and I don't mean that as a bad thing. But when you do have a predictable story, I think the best thing a writer could do is create a great buildup to it. KyoAni has delivered upon that. Each amazing moment still captures that skin-tingling emotion that the fans have longed for. The music and sound design overall has perhaps reached its apex throughout the series. The OST and that final song for the competition really gave me the chills. If you love orchestras/ensembles then you be blasted away. If not, then I think there's a good chance you'll find a new profound appreciation for it. If you want to watch a 9-year-long series unfold, made by one of the industry's best studios, a studio that has been through great highs and great tragedies, and a studio that truly loves its craft and respects its fans, then please give this series a shot!
GentleDragonite
06/30/2024, 06:42 PM
[This review assumes you have watched the previous seasons of Hibike! Euphonium] When consuming anime, there is a rare experience when you feel like there is no screen between you and the characters. You feel like you are watching the events play out right in front of your eyes, between human and human, heart to heart. Hibike Euphonium!, since its very first season, has taken this as something that sets it apart from all other music anime, and anime in general. In its third season, it shows the challenges of being a leader for the people, while being true to yourself, of being a follower ofthe people, but a rebel to yourself. The characters act incredibly down to earth, not entirely selfish or selfless, not some saint who solves all the problems, or do all the problems have easy solutions. There are grievances we have to live with, but ultimately, being true to your values is worth the agony. The story takes shape in Kumiko's third year, during which she becomes the leader of the band. While Kumiko had a role in protecting other characters' interests before, being a person who could bring out others' true wants and frustrations, now she received official affirmation of her capabilities in leadership. While other anime seem to skirt around the challenges of being a leader, preferring to show how leaders are able to lead their group towards an end-goal without any opposition or doubt, Kumiko has to face multiple instances of distrust and animosity. As mentioned before, the anime does not attempt to illustrate a perfect solution that Kumiko comes up with, or does the solution work immediately to make everyone happy. Rather, a soft solution that comes in the form of encouragement and determined affirmation that aligns with what Kumiko believes in. As a leader, speaking the voice of the people is as important as voicing your own, especially when everyone could not agree with each other. While this does not directly address the problem, it allows the other characters space to find solutions to their own inner conflicts. After all, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, so it would be more realistic and practical to encourage others to find something for themselves. Beyond this overarching theme of leadership, Hibike! Euphonium explores the complexity of human relationships. Mayu is a transfer student who plays the Euphonium just like Kumiko. There is growing pressure from herself, as well as the expectations of others to perform better than this gifted transfer student. What makes Mayu interesting is that she is a reflection of who Kumiko was before she met Reina, a person who does not like to be involved, passive and a person of the people. Her passion of music is muted by conflicts in her past, coupled with a fear of being disliked by everyone else. While she wants to step aside for Kumiko to achieve her dreams in music, Kumiko wants to uphold the integrity of the club's ideals and refuses to let go. The duality of Kumiko's want to reach her musical dreams as well as her beliefs as a leader clash, mirroring the clash of ideals between Mayu and Kumiko. While Kumiko initially wanted to avoid attacking the crux of the issue of why Mayu was so reluctant, she eventually decided to meet the issue directly, and acknowledge what Mayu truly wants without projecting her ideals on her. The series is relatable on many other fronts, but I would also like to briefly touch on how it manages future ambitions. With this being the last year of high school, the clock is ticking for Kumiko to decide on what she wants to do in the future. The answer is not as obvious as it seems, but the anime is able to slowly reveal how her experiences as a leader and as a musician allows her to form her own decision about what she wants. This is a reflection of her development as a character, who would only listen to herself when making the most important choices in her life. Often, we are influenced by those around us who tells us what to do in the future, but Kumiko shows that while we should listen what to what they have to say, only YOU should own this decision in the end. In tandem with this, the end of high school also brings about winds of change that would separate Kumiko from her friends, particularly Reina. Throughout the season, Kumiko is able to build a relationship with Reina that is noticeably stronger than those with other club members, reflecting how Reina is a special person in her heart. Only to Reina would she able to reveal her true inner desires, unfiltered by her ideals of leadership or her need to satisfy everyone, building a bond that could survive change and distance. Hibike! Euphonium has a large cast of characters and this season reveals some meaningful development and conclusions to some of them. First of all, for long time Hibike! Euphonium fans, you would be glad to hear that older characters who have graduated in previous seasons have made several appearances within the season, with some playing significant roles in allowing Kumiko to discover what she truly believes and wants to do. Second of all, the new members of the club are not used to the competitive and intense nature of band initially, but slowly they are able to discover the joy of competition and music. Admittedly, the rest of the cast truly takes on a supporting role, more so compared to the previous seasons, as this season focuses greatly on Kumiko's development and role as a leader. Of course, I could not avoid the elephant in the room, the music. As a music anime, Kyoto Animation is obliged to produce orchestral pieces to add to the performances within the anime. Unfortunately, there is not enough full length performances with accompanying music in this season compared to the previous seasons. Personally, I felt that drama is the centerpiece of Hibike! Euphonium's greatness, and that music is only an accompanying perk, but this is still a noticeable flaw. Secondly, the series focuses greatly on Kumiko's development and relationship with Mayu to a great extent. While this allows the series to portray a realistic conflict of interests that was resolved in a meaningful and heartfelt way, it does come at the cost of rushed development of some of the other side characters. This is unfortunately what is preventing the series from ascending to a masterpiece, but are also minor grievances that are greatly outshone by the strengths of the season. Overall, the conclusion of Hibike! Euphonium is close to perfect, capping off Kumiko's incredible journey from being a goal-less middle schooler to a strong leader, a genuine friend and an inspirational role model. The direction of the season, while slightly hampered by its pacing, is able to portray the rawness of the relationships and conflicts between human characters, leading to an exhilarating and thematically powerful conclusion. We often look to media as a means to escape from reality, but watching this season of Hibike! Euphonium feels like you are entering reality through media. Onto the next piece the characters go, but they will never forget how warm it sounds.
KvnKyo
06/30/2024, 12:39 PM
Spectacular is not enough The work excels in every aspect: story, direction, animation, character design. The most important aspect of Hibike! Euphonium is its subtext. Casual viewers delight in the humor, plot twists, excellent animation, and charismatic characters, while seasoned audiences appreciate a deeper layer of the plot, paying attention to details, getting to know each character individually, noticing changes in shots, color, expressions, and more. These two aspects blend like highs and lows in music, creating a piece worth watching more than once. Ultimately, what matters most is that it's a labor of love from all the creators involved, which is why I believe anyone whowatches it is destined to have a great time.
Seansy
06/30/2024, 12:31 PM
As someone new to this franchise I wanted to share my perspective on this season, and on the franchise as a whole, to any readers curious about this series. Having watched everything through to the end of this final season over the past month my conclusion is that this is an all time great series that has some issues that prevent it from being a full on masterpiece. I will go over those issues for this season in particular while also touching on them for the entire series. Story - 8 A simple coming of age story prefaced around a love for music culminates in the endof Kumiko's journey through high school in season 3. While the ending was satisfying, it still felt incomplete. Too many plot points and character stories were left to be summarized by single sentence narration, if they were addressed at all, from our protagonist instead of being shown to us. The cardinal sin of show, not tell had to be broken for the final episode because the story had to rush through to the end in order to fit everything from the source material being adapted. Unlike previous seasons, season 3 didn't show any performance beyond the final one in the last episode. More evidence of inadequate run time allowed to tell the full story. I haven't read the source material, but based on the comments I have read for the anime, it appears that a lot of plot points were shortened/cut or changed. This resulted in some dead end/unanswered questions that left me wondering why they were even introduced in the anime if they weren't going to be given enough time to be properly developed. A rudderless romantic sideplot, infamous yuri bait, and some issues with execution of the drama, are among some of the issues that readers may have with the story. While I thought the much discussed change from the source material for the 2nd-to-last episode was a very good change to the story, a perfect complement to the themes being expressed that added realism to it, other people are sure to disagree. Aside from those issues, I didn't have any other major complaints. There is no deus ex machina, plot armor, or any other negative literary techniques/tropes used that usually detract from the story for me. It's a very good story overall. Art/Animation - 10 Kyoto Animation isn't so highly regarded for nothing. The art and animation in this season and throughout the entire series is top notch. Better than all but the most hype scenes in any shounen battle series you will find. It maintains that quality throughout the entire run time of the series too. Character designs are simple, realistic, and gorgeous. No moe blobs or unrealistically rendered characters to be found anywhere. Sound - 9.5 I was very torn between a 9 and 10 for the sound so I am going to split the difference at 9.5. My main issue isn't with the quality of the music, which is superb, but with the lack thereof for this season. Previous seasons that had more music deserve recognition for that compared to this final season. The VAs were also excellent as usual for this season as they were for the entire series. This season also had my favorite OPs and EDs for the series, with a nice callback to the OP for season 1 included in the OP too, hence my indecision between a score of 9 or 10. Characters - 7.5 This is definitely the weakest part of the series overall for me, including this season. Setting aside the hyperbole of this hypothetical, if the entire town and all of it's characters died in an explosion at the end of the story, the only character whose death I would mourn is the protagonist, Kumiko. Don't get it twisted though, I don't hate the other characters, I wouldn't celebrate their deaths as I would with terribly written characters in other series. They were just too boring or opaquely characterized for me to care all that much about them. That's a pretty major issue for a musically based character drama. Fortunately, the focus is mostly from the POV of Kumiko, whose journey over the course of the story is a joy to follow from beginning to end. For this season in particular, the new character, Mayu, stands out as one with insufficient characterization for me. I could tell she was supposed to be a foil for Kumiko, given how her past issues mirror those Kumiko had earlier in her life, but not enough time was given to fully explore her background to explain her character. The most difficult thing to balance in a normal school setting such as this is creating characters that are both interesting and realistic. Too boring, and you get characters that the audience doesn't care about. Too quirky, and they feel unrealistic/stupid, ruining the immersion in the story. It's a hard balance to maintain, and at least for me, I felt only Kumiko's character had been executed well in the story. A 10 for Kumiko and a 5 for the others characters average out to 7.5 overall. Enjoyment - 8.5 This was my favorite entry in the series. After so much time spent with Kumiko watching her grow up before our eyes we get a well-deserved finale that ends her story in a satisfying manner. It's the type of story I believe even non-anime fans would enjoy since it is very relatable and realistically executed. If you enjoy coming-of-age school dramas with a realistic story and characters, you will almost certainly enjoy this series as I have. Thank you for reading.
Canlnon
06/30/2024, 09:23 AM
I feel obligated to submit a review for this season's finale. This is how I've felt for a long time after seeing Mugen Train. Perhaps the only anime that puts ensembles into non-musical glasses is Hibike Euphonium. Thank you KyoAnimation for this wonderful work. They portrayed the interactions between the students as humanly as possible - flaws, inferiority, jealously, cooperation, hardwork, victory. The way the teenagers interacted with each other facing the inevitable situations in real life is something I sincerely admire; they are incredibly mature. The choice of words they used in the moment of anger is truly praiseworthy. The musicals are fantastic; they captured theidea that every day effort is what ultimately contributed to the short 15-19 minutes extraordinary performance. The power of daily practice. 10/10. Human connections, shortcomings and inadequacies. Humanity: demonstrating how distinctively different we may all be from one another yet nevertheless functioning as a single, "perfectly" cohesive unit ensemble here. Kumiko is a fantastic character. An extra, Mayu Kuroe is a wonderful and strong character. Just as Kumiko couldn't dislike her, so am I. How Kumiko dealt with her and her disappointments is truly mature and praiseworthy.
CaptainKenshiro
06/30/2024, 07:53 AM
Note: This will cover the whole franchise as it is already finished and there is not much to say about each entry on its own. If Yuru Camp is an exception of my usual disinterest of the cute girls doing cute things subgenre, Hibike! Euphonium is THE exception, as it is easily my favourite anime franchise. I love two of its entries, which rank high among my favourite anime of all times, and I like most of the other entries, amounting to ten titles that I enjoy and in some cases love, if I am not mistaken. That is something that no other franchise has managedto reach, and I do not think any ever will. The reason for that is simple, the series is not just trying to be cute as it has drama and characters actually doing what they are supposed to as in any other normal slice of life show, and also does not include the usual tragic or very dramatic elements of other shows with similar aesthetics. Unlike her older sister K-On!, for example, here the girls look and act the age they are supposed to be, which means they are not just cute to the point something seems off about them. They act more like the teenagers they are, having their own issues, insecurities, and problems with others. They also look their age, they are not cutesy moeblobs and they are not deformed with some chibi artstyle in order to seem cute even when they are not. And the anime is supposed to be about playing in a school orchestra, and you can actually see the characters doing that in some pretty well animated and directed scenes, although the pieces are just background music and not own interpretations like in other anime like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, for example. Still, when the moment calls for it in the plot, you can notice some differences in interpretations and that is a nice detail. Not only that, but the characters are also shown studying, training and preparing stuff for their competitions. They also lose a lot of the times, things not always go their way, so in all it feels closer to other common slice of life or school competitions or sport series, than other moe shows that are meant to watch to relax and have some good sleep afterwards or something. There are even characters that have to leave the band for their own personal reasons or that leave because they have other priorities in mind, so it is not like the scenario is completely idealized. And unlike other shows of its kind, where sooner or later I come to dislike how the characters act in tryhard adorable ways to the point they seem dumb, I like or plain love most characters in this franchise. Starting with the protagonist Kumiko Oumae, which tries and fails to build a typical good girl image around her, as she is actually pretty self-centered even though she tries to hide it. Thus even though she tries to get close to others to help with their problems and maintain the stability of the group, she never takes the extra step to actually get personally invested, and never lets others get to know her that much. It is actually pretty great when she is called out on a few seasons about that. Since she is the protagonist and narrator, is not surprise that she is also the character with the biggest amount of internal monologues and most focus in the franchise, as she goes through several self-discovery moments throughout the seasons. First reaffirming her place in the band and fondness of the world of music in the first season, then her similar relationships with Asuka and her older sister, which she sees as similar, in the second, and then coming to face her old self, her new role in the club, and her own limitations and newfound goal in the third. Then you have Reina, who does not shy away in saying what she has in mind, to the point that she can come off as rude and ends having issues with other characters, and is also one of the most determined and talented characters in the whole show. She still has her own teen quirks like having a crush on her teacher, or being a bit bratty and proud, especially when confronted, so she does not come off as being too mature or something like that, and thus more believable. Another character that I really like, and my favourite of the whole bunch, is Asuka Tanaka, who first appears as the funny one, but is also the one to call out the other on how silly and trivial some of their teen problems are, and also the one that can understand and expose Kumiko the most. Later on, as her own drama is more or less the main conflict of the show, she gets more focus, similarities with Kumiko’s sister, she becomes something like a role model or major influence for her, and is shown to have her own teen problems. The other characters are ok, is just that they do not get as much focus, but is still fine how they see themselves reflected on others or opposites of them, and also how they struggle or feel insecure about their own abilities or roles in the club, and the internal conflict or conflicts within the whole band that that can lead to. Combine all that with polished artwork, backgrounds and special effects with close to no quality drops, and expressive body language and motions, along with good sound effects and music including the openings with perhaps the exception of the endings, all of which are enhanced by good directing especially for the musical parts, and the presentation is often also very good. The negative aspects can include the very typical character designs and voice acting, with perhaps the exception of the most emotional moments for the latter. Despite my praises so far, I can not deny that this franchise is still just another high school drama and at times a generic cute girls doing cute things. So no, not even my favourite gets an above average rating, it is still just a plain and straightforward slice of life with not much substance and does not deserve to be considered by me as something special. And is not like it is free of problems in its writing, which I will cover by going through each entry: -The first season is the introduction phase obviously, so a lot of it is setup, yet ironically it has the biggest amount of content regarding the activities of the ensemble and stuff. Despite that, a lot of it is introducing characters that do not get much focus in the end. For example, do we really care about that one dropout girl that Kumiko knew before joining the school? No, she is just a plot device for the protagonist to clear the doubts of her mind. Then you have Yuko, who in the first season was nothing but cringe, a fangirl of Kaori that turned everything melodramatic for petty reasons. I mean I get it, it is the last chance that her adored senpai will have to play a solo in the ensemble, but since the audience does not follow these characters that much, it is normal to feel indifferent towards the whole thing, and consider the reactions exaggerated and overdramatic. There is also some teen romance that goes nowhere despite taking up screentime, and even though I did not read the novels, the changes in the anime from the source material are well known, such as the relationship between Kumiko and Shuuichi being cut short, and a lot of yuri bait between Kumiko and Reina. If you watched some other KyoAni stuff besides this franchise, you know not to expect them to actually commit to that, and thus you do not bite the fishhook, but if you are unprepared for it, you will set up yourself for disappointment. -There was an extra episode focused on the members that did not get into the ensemble and more specifically Hazuki since she is friends with the protagonist, but honestly is not much of an addition. The most you can say is that she runs an unbelievable distance in such a short time, but nothing else, and even that is something easy to look past it because the work is fiction and normally you not pay attention to it in the moment. -The second season makes the mistake of wasting a third of its duration on two up to that point irrelevant characters with just seconds of screentime, and with such stupid drama around them that turned the whole thing quite hard to get through, especially on a first watch. To top that, Kumiko keeps getting into the conflict by pure coincidence and even takes an active part of it despite having no relation to any of it. Around the second half the conflict shifts to her, her sister and Reina, and even then she is more like pressured by other characters to take an active part of it, instead of doing it by her own will. What I am getting at here is that the main character became a passive plot device that accidentally bumps onto the conflicts for about half the duration, and when she finally does, the whole thing becomes so melodramatic is quite hard to watch. There is so much teen drama in this season that there is barely any music in it, you know, the core element of the show. And the yuri bait in this season was just as strong as in the first, if not even stronger, only with different characters, and of course there is no outcome for any of that. Overall this season gets a negative rating from me. -Both seasons got some of those very short specials that exist just as excuses for buying the physical copies of the stuff that was already shown on tv, and they range from meh to just bad to plain awful, as they switch the usual tone of the series and behaviour of the characters, to typical moe caricatures, screw that. These two installments also get a negative rating from me, especially the specials of the second season. -Both seasons received recap movies. The first one was so rushed for trying to cram all the content into less than two hours by skipping all the preparations for the competitions, that deserves a below average rating from me. The second one did what its season should have and took away almost everything regarding Nozomi and Mizore and focus on Kumiko and Asuka instead, thus is better by default. Despite that, taking it away completely makes part of the dialogues between the core characters to lose part of their meaning, and the whole thing is still kind of rushed for the same reason as the first, even though not as much, partially because it is a little bit longer. I do not think is bad, and is the second entry I love, just behind the first season, but I can not consider it anything above average either. -Then some boneheads had the idea to make Liz to Aoi Tori, a spin off movie about Mizore and Nozomi. THANKS, NOW THE WORST PART OF THE SECOND SEASON HAS AN ENTRY ON ITS OWN. To be frank, I do not fancy this part of the franchise much, is the reason why I barely liked the second season, and why I loved its recap movie a lot simply by removing it. It took me a second watch to even tolerate the whole thing. The beginning is somewhat similar to what was already shown, so what is the point? This part of the movie is plain bad, and no amount of playful directing about unimportant details can save it. Some had issues with its change from the usual artstyle of the franchise to something closer to Koe no Katachi, but despite the long necks of the characters, I do not mind that much, and it is a good choice for the visualization of the tale that the movie is based around. Eventually the movie turns up to not be as overdramatic as the second season was, and the characters confront each other and get a very needed sense of individuality and a good sendoff of each other, culminating Mizore’s character arc on a very needed musical scene with some spectacular directing. Thus as a whole the movie starts really bad but becomes better in its second half and gets a proper conclusion. The negative aspect is the strong yuri bait that again gets no payoff, and this movie renders the first third of the second season even more pointless. Not bad as a whole, but probably takes more than a single watch to fully appreciate. At least that was my case. -The third movie takes place between the second season and Liz to Aoi Tori, introducing the characters that appeared there that no anime only knew a thing about, another issue of that movie I guess, though it is somewhat minor all things considered. Just like the first movie, this one has the problem of being too rushed, and is worse this time around because it is not recap material, it is content from the novels that should have had more duration or a proper series. As it is, the new characters are presented in a hurry, they come off as unlikable, and their drama seems unimportant and very exaggerated. There is a even a second year character that can not play in the esemble any longer, and do you care? Of course you do not, there was no time invested in her. Thus, this one also gets a negative rating from me, -After getting content from the franchise on each year, four years were needed for more content out of it come out, partly because of the fucking arson done by that madman that tragically killed a lot of people, if you remember. The Ensemble content ova is just like the extra episode of the first season, it does not have much content in it, it is essentially filler but not bad for any particular reason. I wish I could say something else about it but besides some very specific moments in its directing and my own enjoyment about it, I do not remember much about it. -Then there is the just finished third and final season and the sendoff of the franchise. I know there will be some more crappy specials and perhaps a recap movie about it just to milk it, but as for the adaptation of the actual content of the source material, this is where it ends. In tone and direction, this entry is close to the second season, as music takes a very secondary role for the teenage drama to be the main focus. The big differences are that it is nowhere near as overblown in here as it was in the previous series, and this time around it is almost entirely focused around the main character, thus you are given a reason to care. Characterization wise, is the season where Kumiko gets explored the most as she struggles to fit in the position of the club president, gets to face her old self in the newly introduced character Mayu, and even gets surpassed by her in what is easily the biggest and boldest change in the canon made by the studio, of which I have nothing but praise for them for it and for not chickening out about it, and for what it means for the protagonist. Despite that, no one can deny how very little music there is in it, how competitions are completely skipped, essentially making the preparations pointless, and how the little bit of drama and explorations other characters have is especially rushed in setup and resolution. This is particularly bad for Mayu, who is an important character but otherwise remains a mystery throughout the whole season, and only gets a tiny bit of exploration when it is about to be over. Essentially, just like it happens with the third movie, you only care about the older cast that was present in previous seasons, regardless of how much screentime they have, but not enough about the newer cast. The conclusion is alright I guess, is well directed and what the audience expected and needed to come at some moment, but I could not be convinced that it was as effective and satisfactory as it would have been if it was the older cast getting that result instead. As a whole, the praises I gave to the franchise in the beginning of the review should be seen as the core minimum of the series of its kind, even though they are the reasons why I like in the first place. It is beautiful to watch, good to listen to and is well directed, and has minimum attempts at a plot and characterization with enough results to get an overall average score from me, but otherwise is still not very good in terms of writing and tone, especially at its lowest points that inevitably deserve some below average ratings. It is my favourite anime franchise, and I will go back to it for sure as I did several times in the past, but in my eyes it is otherwise average in its purest form, and there is nothing wrong in admitting to enjoy something like that, instead of blowing it out of proportions. My personal ranking for the entries First season Second movie Third season Liz to Aoi Tori The Monaka special The Ensemble ova Second season First movie Third movie First season specials Second season specials
KitsuFrost
06/30/2024, 05:24 AM
Room 3-3 - the classroom Kumiko Oumae, Reina Kousaka, Sapphire Kawashima and Hazuki Katou are take part in. As seniors in Kitauji High, they hold a big responsability in the current year. It's their last year in school, and also their final opportunity in reaching the Nationals. A goal that was postponed for two years, but always improving in every way each year and after every try. Kumiko, the club president, holds the trust of not only her classmates but also her seniors who already took their separate ways. Not only trust, but the responsability towards the club's stability due to the seriousness adopted byReina, creating some conflict with the first years. There, the need to conciliate perfection with friendship and union rises. With it, the biggest and most important task, that should not be ignored in the process: keeping the quality and managing the class so that it won't fall apart in the process. Along with all the turmoil and anxiety, comes the internal struggle. The clash between personal wish and objetive duty. The arrival of Kuroe Mayu, and the consequences of this event to Kumiko. The indecision towards the self and the capacity. Everything developed at a moderate pacing, with a plot that grew little by little, with more focus on the characters and their relationships - the bonds and feelings that come along with it. It's really clear that the direction chosen by Tatsuya Ishihara and the main staff leaned more towards the cast as people, and also in their growth along the path they chose. Even though I still don't agree with some changes in the storyline, I acknowledge the courage it takes to surprise the readers of the original material like it was done. As a consequence that came along, most performances were skipped, a decision that made me confused initially due to how the previous two seasons were plotwise. Kyoto Animation didn't disappoint with their level of quality. Everything is classy and beautiful as always; the voice acting is at its best. Chika Anzai, Tomoyo Kurosawa and the whole cast surprised me in several moments throughout this season. Musically speaking, ReCoda and Neiro no Kanata (opening and ending respectively) are two great themes; even though the previous season themes were slightly more catchy to me, these both songs grew on me emotionally every week. And in the end, all the hardwork from Kitauji culminates in a conclusion that reminds us of every moment since episode one. The feelings of not only the current students, but the seniors who already left school and their teachers - strongly united to give the best performance possible. All in all, Hibike! Euphonium 3 is a more than welcome and awaited conclusion to one of KyoAni's most memorable works. Honestly and sincerely, even with the change of directions taken later, I am truly glad. Thank you for reading.
DarkVoyagerx
06/30/2024, 05:17 AM
Sound! Euphonium is my favorite anime of all time. I mean, it doesn't have the genius writing of other shows I've seen or the crazy action sequences of some of my favorite animanga. But at the same time, I could never imagine talking about my favorite anime without mentioning this show. Sound! Euphonium is human, I relate to the characters, I'm moved by the soundtrack, and I admire the life in the art style; it's astounding. Which is why it crushes me to not be able to rate this a 10 like previous seasons. 'Cause don't get me wrong, this season is great; but it just doesn'tstand a chance when compared to the beauty and marvel of the previous seasons. There were two HUGE problems with this season, one: there was no music in a music-themed anime. This show is definitely about a bunch of other important things as well: friendships, love, recovering from trauma, overcoming difficulties, and finding yourself. But the main theme is still music, which is why it was foolish of this season to skip almost every major performance and only show parts of minor performances. Aside from this though I must say that the overall soundtrack was great since it was mostly new songs that had not been used in the previous seasons. Problem number two: the pacing and drama were off. What could've been some interesting drama within the club was ruined by poor pacing, which in turn led to this season suffering and becoming consumed by the drama that took way too long to resolve. In any normal 12-episode show the drama would be resolved within a few episodes since there wouldn't be any episodes to waste, in this season however it just kept dragging on and on until the end. But in all honesty, it's also a little understandable since the writers most likely wanted to emphasize the "beat around the bush" personalities of the characters involved in the drama. But even so, slower pacing only worked in the previous seasons since they were both dedicated to Kumiko's first year, there were enough episodes to waste on slow pacing, unlike in this season. And in the end, it just made A LOT of this season feel like a sequence of awkward moments without any resolution/explanation. With that being said, I do still think that this season is worth watching, because like I said it’s still a good season all things considered. It may not be the same as the previous seasons, but it is still charming in it's own way and definitely a good watch.
Marinate1016
06/30/2024, 03:24 AM
5 years on from the horrific fire that claimed the lives of so many talented staff, Kyoto Animation have shown that they’re resilient and can still make wondrous shows that evoke emotions no other studio can. Hibike Euphonium season 3 may have some new staff working on it, but it retains all the magic of the first two seasons and movies and serves as a fitting capstone for what’s been a decade of magic that’s made us all a little better. They say that in order to achieve something you’ve never had before, you have to be prepared to do things you’ve never done before. Soafter two failed attempts to win gold at nationals, Kitauji high’s music club have taken a different approach in this third and final season. Instead of using the same lineups for competitions, they opt to institute a meritocracy system in which those in best form win their spots in regular auditions. This brings me to what makes this season in my opinion, the best of the bunch. We’ve always had drama in Hibike, but we’ve never had it on this scale. As you can imagine, having everyone competing for their spot constantly introduces a lot of pressure and tension, particularly with the Eupho spot. The conflict between new transfer student, Mayu and Kumiko serves as the focal point of this season and unlike a lot of people, I loved it. In fact it was the best part of the season for me. Kumiko is n her last year at Kitauji and her first year as president obviously wants to reach her goal to win nationals with her beloved school, but also to play the Soli with her best friend/totally not Yuri lover, Reina. The tension that arises when Mayu shows up out of nowehere and happens to be a Eupho prodigy in her own right, made this season so entertaining. Things get downright nasty at times with passive aggressive behaviour, Kumiko lying and not being as inviting as she should be to a new student and much more. While petty and nasty at times, I thought this was very realistic for teenage girls, especially those competing for a once in a lifetime opportunity AND deciding what they want to do with their lives. You see, Kumiko still hasn’t decided what she wants to do after graduation and the stress of that with everything going on in music club just makes for a really anxious time for her. I think it’s also something that a lot of people can relate to. 18 feels like an age where we should have everything figured out at, but the reality is, very few do, and that’s ok. There’s more to the drama that I can’t really go into without spoiling, but Mayu is a complex character to say the least and while a lot of her actions come off as patronising or mean spirited, she genuinely just wants to keep the peace, but the misunderstandings and angst were awesome and she quickly became one of my fave Kyoani characters. At this point, we know the foundation of Eupho is the relationship between Reina and Kumiko and well this season is definitely a doozy for it. It’s an up and down roller coaster and depending on who you ask, Reina will have either gained or lost your respect based on how she treated both Kumiko and her fellow bandmates in this season. For me, I can’t look at Reina the same even with all the Mayu stuff being explained and apologies. I just think there’s certain ways you talk to people you supposedly care about and certain things you should never say. Not to mention her blind infatuation and obsession with Taki-sensei which causes her to treat everyone who doesn’t agree with him like shit. She’s just shown herself to be a very toxic and fake friend imo in this season and I know the show tries to mask it with the beautifully animated Yuri bait scenes, but that only goes so far for me. If anything, I feel like Kanade established herself as a better friend to Kumiko in this season than Reina. Regardless of your opinion, it’s a testament to how well written a story is when we can debate things like this about an anime. It shows that the characters feel like real people and are complex just like every day people are. Everyone’s a villain to someone and everyone ain’t for everyone. Hats off to the writers and Kyoani for transporting us to another world for 25 minutes every Sunday these last 3 months. We can’t talk about a Kyoani anime without mentioning how beautiful it looks. By now we all know the quality Kyoani bring to every anime. The Violet Evergarden movie is widely regarded as one of, if not the most beautiful anime ever made. Hibike season 3 has some scenes that I’d argue surpass even that. This really does just look gorgeous, some of the stills from this season need to go up in the Louvre, and don’t get me started on the expressiveness of characters during emotional moments. Episode 12’s climax scene with Reina and Kumiko genuinely might be the single most beautiful 2 minutes in anime history. The storyboarding and cinematography is just perfection in this and everyone needs to experience something that’s been given this much love and attention before they die. I found the ending of Hibike season 3 to be very satisfactory and while I’m heartbroken it’s over, the staff gave it the perfect conclusion, bringing this long journey to a beautiful conclusion. There’s so many emotional ups and downs in this season and by the time the credits were rolling in episode 13, I had tears in my eyes. It’s no lie when I say this is one of the greatest anime ever made, certainly the greatest musical anime. Yuribait allegations aside, this was as close to a perfect story as you can get. Hibike Euphonium season 3 gets a very easy 10 out of 10.
ZNoteTaku
06/30/2024, 01:44 AM
From the first episode all the way up through *Ensemble Contest-hen*, Oumae Kumiko’s journey has been one through reconciling her own feelings and trying to become more self-actualized. It’s been a long road getting from there to here, complete with many frustrations, contradictions, confusions, angsts, and apprehensions both from herself and from others that she is privy to hearing about or experiencing. Back then, she was just a student, mending her old relationship with Kousaka Reina and learning to appreciate just how much her senpai Tanaka Asuka meant to her. Here now, at *Hibike! Euphonium* season three, she fully assumes the role of her predecessorsas the president of that band, taking on a new level of responsibility to the group to propel them to winning the gold at Nationals, the prize that has consistently eluded them. With a new year and new leadership however comes new rigor—Reina IS an executive now, after all—and with that also comes new urgencies. It’s not just about winning gold; as Kumiko is so reminded by both her family and her teachers (if not also the occasional conversation with classmates), she’s a senior now, waiting on the doorstep of whatever potential and likely-collegiate future might await her, and needing to decide about such things. But not all decisions need to be made straight away; besides, Reina’s dream of performing with Kumiko at Nationals is only getting closer and closer until, of all things, a euphonium sound coursing through the air catches Kumiko’s ear. It’s only a little later that we learn who made the sound: a new girl transferring to Kitauji High School, sporting a navy-blue uniform and a silver euphonium of her own, Kuroe Mayu. Change isn’t on the horizon – it’s right there, as plain as the reflection on Mayu’s euphonium and Kumiko being taken by the sound that comes from it. If *Hibike! Euphonium* season three had anything that it could plant during the interim between *Chikai no Finale* and the first episode’s lead-up, it was that you could take certain things more or less as a given that they’d occur. The narrative has always followed Kumiko as the point of orientation (with the notable exception of Yamada Naoko’s masterful *Liz and the Bluebird*), and that much has not changed. But, with her now needing to assume greater responsibilities to the ensemble as a whole, it likewise necessitates a major shift in orienting the view of that ensemble. As a student, Kumiko was a participant in the exercises for marching and listening to Taki’s instructions on how to improve a practice’s performance. But in a position of authority, she must take a more centralized birds-eye view of the ensemble (and we, the audience, likewise follow suit), being the person that others would come to with problems and grievances and be expected to navigate through them. That shifted perspective regarding the ensemble accompanies a shift in the music’s usage within the season. In-part because of the single cour’s truncation, there are not as many overt “performances” in the course of the thirteen episodes – there are decidedly fewer times that we see the band collectively working together either in practice or in actually performing before the listening audience, and likewise for the viewer. *Hibike! Euphonium* season three however understands that the performances themselves were never the actual attraction for the series. It’s not that they were outright unimportant or anything of the sort, but rather that they were not the point. The melodrama of the season serves as the ensemble’s true performance, allowing both discordant countermelodies and high emotion to come through as complements to the tone rather than the showboating they might have been otherwise. All of this is realized through its masterful visual-acoustic storytelling and episode directing from some of Kyoto Animation’s most important figures like Kitanohara Noriyuki, or newcomer to the directorial side Miyagi Ryou, who began their career on *Hibike! Euphonium* season one and now gets to take a driver’s seat role for its final act. But Mayu is the final, and arguably most important, ingredient to this general reorientation. Her euphonium playing and coming from a previous school known for its prestigious music program brings its own problems into the fore. Mayu heralds that Kumiko’s place as the “one true eupho” is on far shakier ground than she might have anticipated. It’s not just because she’s good, but rather also due to Mayu’s general demeanor of friendliness and wanting to not rock the boat clashing with the inherent approach that Kumiko has in mind. The prior experiences with the trumpet solo audition from freshman year and Kanade from junior year were signs of needed changes. Those changes manifested in the form of Kumiko and Reina working to make Kitauji’s band a place where, regardless of one’s status as an upperclassman or underclassman, the best performances rein and have the privilege to perform at the competition. It’s a doctrine that reads as the ensemble’s credo, and one that Kumiko especially believes is best for everyone. Mayu’s behavior thus makes for a rather ironic response to Kumiko’s own perception of Kitauji’s meritocracy. The entire notion of competing in Nationals means, in-part by virtue of how audition processes work and having only a finite number of players allowed, that not everyone can be satisfied or be having fun. Mayu’s reticence to replace anyone expressed early in the season serves as a challenge to that meritocracy ideology, questioning its legitimacy and whether everyone sincerely feels that way, and her continued insistence provides a point of consternation for Kumiko who just can’t realize how to respond to this peculiar obstinacy. It’s not that Mayu doesn’t want to win gold at Nationals, because she does – otherwise, she’d never have voted to do so. Yet, it’s a heightened form of Kumiko’s own desire to not have anyone drop out that she’s essentially confronting, a reflection of the passive version of herself from previous seasons that she thought she had moved beyond, but now has to confront from a new angle. Confronting Mayu’s insecurity means confronting Kumiko’s insecurity, creating one of the major thematic threads for the season. Mayu and Kumiko’s perspectives are thus each chasing a metaphorical rainbow that run parallel; they may be headed in the same general direction, but they can’t cross. Because of this fundamental inability to see eye-to-eye, they cannot connect as easily. Mayu’s apprehension is just as despairingly resolute as Kumiko’s belief that what she herself believes in is the truth of how she honestly feels. Yet as each episode progresses and we see that perhaps Mayu’s apprehension seems all-the-more to be coming true, it gives dialogue and entire sequences a particular weightiness to each word and interaction. Emotions run higher and tensions run thicker not just because the stakes have increased for the main cast with increased auditions and graduation drawing nearer, but rather because the ensemble collectively is carrying this sort of held breath every time, with confidence wavering in confusion. I mentioned before that the melodrama within the band is the true performance of the season, and it subsequently manifests in inner-band friction both collectively and between individual members that is true *Hibike! Euphonium* spirit. And that spirit of conflict always has its inverse; that of optimism and understanding. Between Kumiko’s presidency, Mayu’s apprehension, Reina’s perfectionism, the new freshmen, Tsukamoto providing insights of his own, Kanade’s own rounding out of her edges, and everything else, *Hibike! Euphonium* season three is juggling a lot of ideas within its thirteen episodes. It would be easy to assume that it would crumble under the weight of it all, yet like magic, it doesn’t. The endgame for the season is more or less a surefire conclusion, but the route it takes to get there walks the twilight between crushing and soaring. No matter how much it may pull out some brutal pathos punches or moments of sheer deflation, it never tries to leave its characters out in the cold forever; there will always be something to pull them back from the precipice. That may just be its most optimistic message of all for its audience, and one that the series has been comfortingly saying since the very beginning with that flashback that started it all – there will be hardships and times when you have to come face-to-face with your own disappointment, inability, or uncertainty. Sometimes, it may seem cruelly unfair, or you may feel like you’ve taken two steps back for every one step forward. But underneath it all lies the tenderness of love and friendship, bonds worth holding onto no matter how late they may have been forged. If this is indeed likely to be the final installment of this franchise I imagine Kyoto Animation would want to move on to other properties to develop and see what lay within their imagination), then it could not have chosen a better way to finish. Its characters left Kitauji High School better than when they came in. They bettered themselves not just musically, but personally. That’s the true finale that the series had been building to since the beginning. All the desires to improve, all the tears, all the notes, all the drama, all the smiles, and all the goodbyes – season three is the culmination of everything *Hibike!* in the end. Let YOUR next piece begin.
Mcsuper
06/30/2024, 01:29 AM
Kyoto Animation, almost without fail, has time and time again showed us the gold standard of anime production. It is clear to see just like many of their shows, it was done with passion, love, and most importantly, they had ample time to work on it. This is the result. Sound! Euphonium Season 3 is divisive, and it is easy to understand why. KyoAni and the staff made risky decisions in how they adapted the source material, making a critical change towards the end of the season, which really divided the community. Of course, there was also the issue of there not being enough performances inthe season, because previous seasons showed the performances, whereas this season did not do the same. The thing I appreciated the most though, was that with all the themes that the season provided throughout, the end result stayed consistent with the themes presented. Kumiko’s encounter and relationship with the new transfer student, Mayu Kuroe, was no doubt, a turbulent one. Mayu plays the same instrument as Kumiko, and needless to say, there are only so many spots available in a performance, or in the soli. Now, with Kumiko in her third and final year at Kitauji, and with Mayu being the new kid on the block, there is some pressure on who should play and who should not, and while Kitauji has adopted a variety of ways to decide such things, Kumiko, along with vice presidents Reina and Shuuichi, decide that for each performance during the school year, there would be an audition. Managing a band is not an easy job, and Kumiko saw that firsthand. The thing I love about the series is how well it understands school life and music. In a band, there are always clashes of personalities, people who push others harder than they are used to, people who want to just have fun playing with their friends, and people who take winning competitions very seriously. Being the president, you always have to have your ear to the ground on how the band’s morale is, and for the majority of this season, it is not good at all, with the tension at a fever pitch due to the auditions and their results. The relatability of the characters is another massive reason why I love this series. Kumiko in particular, is someone that I am sure many of us can relate to on some level. She is a graduating high schooler with a very common problem that many of us might have faced before, not knowing what to do after graduation. By being the president of the school band this season though, she learned a lot about how to deal with people, how to motivate people, but most of all, she learned that a lot of the time, you reap what you sow, and that there will always be someone better than you at something, and I’m glad that this theme was hammered home in the end. As for Mayu, she was also quite relatable, but to many, very frustrating to watch I would imagine. As a transfer student, especially if they are a very capable one, they will very likely shake the morale of the existing group, because all of a sudden, there is someone that plays better than most of the band populace. Therefore, she adopts an attitude of just going with whatever the majority wants, whether it is to play a certain way, to go somewhere together, just whatever would allow her to fit in, to not influence the pre-existing relationships in the band. Man, she just needs a hug… Mayu and Kumiko's interactions throughout this season were tense, and understandably so, because not only do the two play the same instrument, they also had clashing viewpoints toward how Kitauji should operate. Kumiko wanted meritocracy, in that the best players should play, regardless of their status. Mayu, however, did not want to rock the boat that is the band, so it seemed like she wanted to forfeit her role in the band to Kumiko, as that was probably what their bandmates wanted, for their president to play. That is another sign of Mayu’s tragic character, where she just cannot bring herself to affect the band in any substantial way. Kumiko, for a good chunk of this season, avoided her, because it reminded her of herself in the past, the one that Reina “hated” for not caring about the result of a competition. As controversial as Mayu’s addition to the cast might be, I personally loved her role in the story. She can be seen as an antagonist, but she really isn’t, as she is the catalyst that made Kumiko a better person. Kumiko can lament the missed opportunities to tell Mayu what she really felt about things, but in the end, Kumiko and Mayu helped each other, with Mayu pushing Kumiko to confront conflicts within herself, and Kumiko told Mayu something she needed to hear all her life, which was to play for what she believes in, and not “lie to the performance”. I also loved Kanade’s role in the story, with her bluntness. In a way, she might have voiced how the viewer was feeling towards a certain moment, and that again, is relatability, in a different light. Kumiko and Reina’s relationship was also incredibly interesting, and it tackles a similar theme to Kumiko and Mayu’s relationship, which is that people have conflicting opinions. Reina was always one of the best talents that the band had to offer. It created tension in earlier seasons of this series, and it also created tension in this season, with how her and Kumiko’s relationship was. One of Reina’s biggest flaws was trusting Taki as wholeheartedly as she did, leading to a sense of coldness toward members who were unhappy with Taki’s decisions on the auditions. Was she an antagonist? Also no, because these conflicts in a band are natural, because there will always be conflicting philosophies, and when someone as successful as Reina is questioned, it feels like an insult. Again, after being put down by Reina, Kumiko grows for the better, and shows why she was the president, and that Reina was not chosen for such a role, as seen in the eventual success in the band’s subsequent performance. Even if there are reconciliations to be had, another theme of school life is that friendships can also disappear in the blink of an eye. Reina parting ways with Kumiko is another theme in more ways than one, from the meaning on the surface, to what it means in a musical sense. It reminded me of how Mizore and Nozomi’s relationship in Liz in the Blue Bird, my favourite anime, felt like, with one holding back the other. It is difficult, but sometimes, if you truly love your friend, you also have to let them go, and it is another theme that stayed consistent to the end of the series, which is excellent. Common arguments about why this series was not living up to people’s expectations included the fact that the performances were for the most part, skipped. That may be the case, but I found the tension in the band just as entertaining, if not more. There were no antagonists in the end, leaving the tension as natural, yet as strong as it can be, which is what the performance was to me, the characters interacting, arguing, and in the end, thriving, under Kumiko’s leadership. The other thing was the pacing, and that one I agree with, as it slightly drags the build up to the pay-off, but made the pay-off happen a bit too quickly at the same time, which is an odd place to be in. There is an argument to be made about that, but to me, I found what we got to be extremely rewarding and inspiring to watch nonetheless. I do wish the second year of Kumiko’s high school career was a full tv season though, that would be the thing to lament about for me. Overall, this season left me breaking down at some of the tension that was so palpable, and left me in awe of how gorgeous KyoAni’s animation and directing was, possibly even superior to the last two seasons. It’ll be a series that will stay with me for a long time to come, and one that I’ll remember fondly. Each piece along the way was beautiful. For Kitauji, there will always be a next piece, and for Kumiko, Reina, and everyone else, there will also always be a next piece.

Hibike! Euphonium 3 響け！ユーフォニアム3

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'Hibike! Euphonium' 3rd Season Premieres in 2024, Gets Theatrical OVA in 2023

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Hibike! Euphonium 3 響け！ユーフォニアム3

Spring 2024 Simulcast List [Update 6/10]

Spring 2024 Preview

'Hibike! Euphonium 3' Reveals New Cast, Key Visual

PV Collection for Jan 29 - Feb 4

PV Collection for Sep 4 - 10

'Hibike! Euphonium' 3rd Season Premieres in 2024, Gets Theatrical OVA in 2023

'Hibike! Euphonium' Gets New Anime Project