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[series:4794#628] | ||||||
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(Rent-) (All episodes watched): Even before the OP sequence rolled, it was clear that this show is on a completely different and higher level than the vast majority of anime. It had been eight years since the second season, after all, and I had only the most vague memory of who's who and where things stood. But I remembered that this is a high class show, and it went without saying that I'd be watching it to completion. Kumiko is now leader of the band as a new crop of prospective members enrolls at the school and must be recruited. Once that is done (the once mediocre band now has quite a reputation) the next test is whether the band as a whole will want to be a competitive one or one that plays just for fun; and thankfully the members vote overwhelmingly for the former option, just as Kumiko and her close friends had hoped. I probably ought to go back and rewatch both of the previous seasons in order to get the greatest possible enjoyment out of season three. Another player of the euphonium has come to Kitauji, and this girl from a school with a prestigious band ought to be a blessing. Yet there is a strange feeling among numerous characters that something will go wrong. This girl doesn't seem particularly haughty or difficult to get along with, yet somehow the message is that she will upset some sort of precious balance that the band has enjoyed until now. I initially thought this was some sort of clever foreshadowing, but exactly why this is remains a mystery, which was frustrating. In episode three Kumiko worries that the draconian training regimen that is considered necessary to make a band with a shot at the National title is demoralizing the first year players to such an extent that they may quit en masse. There are so many characters in this show that I cannot even dream of keeping track of who everyone is. In episode four Motomu, a male member of the band who happens to be related to a highly esteemed conductor of school bands, has a problem and Kumiko must act as a social worker to patch up this hole in her band. I didn't really 'get' what exactly his problem was or how Kumiko fixed it. Again, the thought occured to me that since it has been so long since the last season of Hibike that maybe I should save this season and rewatch the previous ones (and movies) before watching it. I remember very little and might enjoy it more if that were the case. Why, again, do these kids want to win a national championship? But, on the other hand, that would be a big committment to make. To be honest, this latest incarnation of Euphonium doesn't seem like as much fun as I vaguely remember the long ago ones being. Again, maybe that's because it has been so long that I have lost track of who's who and why they want to win this championship so much. Or maybe the staff of season three just got careless. Anyway, in episode eight everyone in the band goes to a three-day camp for special training. Kumiko has a policy that it's not those who are senior (third year students) who should be picked first for competition bands, but those who are best, regardless of their age. That means that even she is not guaranteed a place, however. In episode nine it seems that maybe her egalitarian policy has done more harm than good. Still, it was hard for me to get excited about this matter. Being the leader of the band was somehow less exciting than being an ordinary member. But the final episode was cathartic, despite (or because) of there being no real surprises about how Kitauji fares in the championship. The show was really about the characters themselves rather than the band, which is why it was (mostly) good. And we are reminded yet again of all the extra effort that went into this high class show. Throughout the season Kumiko has been struggling to make a decision about what she will do after graduating, and at the very end we get an answer. In all, not as much fun as I remember the first two seasons being, but fun enough. Last updated Wednesday, July 24 2024. Created Tuesday, April 09 2024. | ||||||||
