I forgot to mention it last month, but the series has a Twitter account @hashikko_music. Also, Volume 3 is coming out September 20th!

With that out of the way, on to Chapter 19 of Hashikko Ensemble, titled “God is Dead.”

(I was thinking of adding the chapter title in these reviews. What do you think?)

Chapter Summary

The Hashimoto Chorus Appreciation Society has left Nishigafuchi, and they’ve taken away different lessons. Mimi-sensei discovers that the M-Con doesn’t require conductors, so her training and practice were unnecessary. Shinji finds out that extensive singing can really work out the stomach muscles to the point of pain. And Shion is reminded of how the memory of squeezing Mimi-sensei’s boobs is the key to her keeping her grip soft when playing piano.

In the clubroom, as Jin explains to everyone Nishigafuchi’s ability to minimize the amount of noise in their singing, Himari makes an appearance to deliver Orihara’s earphones, which she’s finally repaired. However, Himari is shocked to see the number of girls there, and after some awkward fumbling while handing over the earphones to Akira, the sheer amount of blushing going on triggers Hasegawa’s romance radar.

Meanwhile, as Mimi-sensei is advising the Volleyball (she wears many hats at school), we’re introduced to a kind of unofficial Mimi-sensei fan club. Its four members hold a grudge against the Chorus Appreciation Society because they’ve heard a rumor that one of the members has squeezed Mimi-sensei’s breasts, though they assume it’s one of the guys. They confront Akira and threaten him to tell them their target’s identity, but Akira, not wanting Shion to get hurt, decides to pretend that he’s the culprit.

However, Hasegawa interrupts and claims that Orihara is the one they’re looking for, even exaggerating the story to be extra obscene and extra gropey to troll them. Hasegawa reasons that they wouldn’t mess with Orihara, and this would end their whole endeavor. Unfortunately, she turns out to be very wrong, and one of the members tries to get into a fight with Orihara. Not long after, a teacher bursts into the faculty office and informs Mimi-sensei of a rumor that she was raped by Orihara, which causes her to do a literal spit take.

The Mimi-sensei Fan Club

The four members–Muro, Naga, Ouga, and Tsuyama–all seem to resemble animals, but I can’t for the life of me figure out if it’s supposed to be a specific reference. They don’t seem to fit Journey to the West, Momotaro, or the Four Symbols. If anyone knows what they could be, I’d be interested to know.

In addition, I like that the chapter points out how this little quartet is viewed with some disdain by other members of the school. They kind of come off as creeps, and you can practically hear the utter loathing in the voices of the Volleyball Club members when the four visit the club’s practice just to see Mimi-sensei. One of the members even calls Mimi “Mimi-kami-sama,” and they’re all obsessed with her large breasts, even more than the rest of the boys in the school. For some reason, they like to compare her boobs to different insect-like creatures, including pillbugs and large crustaceans known as Bathynomus giganteus. Doesn’t exactly sound hot, but…

Shion is the closest thing Hashikko Ensemble has had to antagonists thus far, so I have to wonder if they’ll somehow fulfill that function. Knowing the manga, though, I bet at least one or two (if not all of them) will somehow end up joining the main cast.

Another New Character! What Could It Mean?

The reason why Hasegawa is able to rescue Akira in time is because another classmate, Kurotaki Mai, mentioned the incident. Apparently, she relates to Akira because she also has an unusually deep voice, though Hasegawa thinks it might be something more. In fact, between Mai and Himari, Hasegawa has the impression that Akira is some kind of unrealized Casanova.

Speaking of Himari, I was wondering when she would show up again. The fact that she reacts with such shock at the amount of girls in their clubroom makes me wonder if she’s more nervous around other girls than guys. There’s a lot we still don’t know about her, but she does come across as shy and reticent.

There’s an amusing gag where both Hasegawa and Himari think of the other as looking mean, despite or perhaps because the two have different personalities. Is that another friendship in the making? And could Mai’s deep voice somehow land her in the Chorus Appreciation Society?

Deep Breath Languages and Non-Integer Overtones

I wonder what languages count as ones that require deep breaths. I only speak a few languages myself, and I can’t seem to think of any of them as requiring extensive use of deep breaths or strong use of stomach muscles. It’s a topic I’m fascinated to learn more about–I just wish I knew where to start!

Jin also explains that the key to the beautiful harmony that Nishigafuchi is capable of has to do with “non-integer overtones,” a term I don’t fully understand, but seems to imply an unusual harmonics of some kind. As Shion comments, it’s a difficult word even in Japanese (非整数次倍音, hiseisuujibaion). It appears to be more common of a term in audio engineering, which also speaks to Jin being the biggest sound nerd there is. I guess you could describe him as an audiophile, but that word doesn’t quite fit all the way, as he cares less about audio equipment and more about the science of sound and its interactions with the art of singing.

Wonder Cooooore!

There’s a weird gag in this chapter where the word “Wonder Coooore” keeps getting censored. It turns out that Wonder Core is an exercise machine promoted on Japanese TV.

It’s advertised around the world, including in the US through the Home Shopping Network, but it’s not nearly as funny or interesting.

Songs

No songs this month. Only conflict!!!

Final Thoughts

It’s a minefield to touch on the topic of rape in a joking matter, even if it all comes out of an elaborate misunderstanding (plus intentional obfuscation). I have faith that Kio won’t do anything truly in poor taste, but I still wanted to express some concern. We’ll have to see with the next chapter.

Can Akira overcome himself and finally sing in front of an audience alongside his peers? That’s the big question of Chapter 18 of Hashikko Ensemble. 

Summary 

Still at Nishigafuchi High School’s elite Chorus Club, Jin has declared that the Hashimoto High School Chorus Appreciation Society will put on a small performance of their own in front of the other school’s members. Orihara is against it, having noticed that Akira didn’t sing during their prior practice. Still, Hashimoto ends up going along with it anyway.

While there are clear strengths to the group, notably Jin’s singing and Shion’s piano-playing, it’s clear to the members of Nishigafuchi that they’re still not organized as an ensemble—it’s like four different people merely singing at the same time instead of together. Even then, it’s not really four, as Akira continues to stay quiet to the extent that Orihara takes over the entirety of the bass part. But as his club mates continue to sing, even Akira’s timidity begins to recede inch by inch, until he comes in at the very end, unifying the various sounds for a brief moment. Akira inadvertently matches the subject of their song, a star that’s small but manages to shine.

Akira Did It

As I read through this chapter, I really wanted to see Akira overcome his fear, but I genuinely didn’t know if he would. Page after page, they kept singing while Akira kept his mouth closed, and I found myself cheering for him to break through this wall. When it finally happened, I almost felt like I wanted to grab him by the shoulders, and yell, “You did it!!!”

Between suggesting Hashimoto sing in front of Nishigafuchi and encouraging Orihara to just do the bass part himself if need be, Jin is the main reason Akira is in a position to do more than lip sync. Putting him on the spot like that can seem somewhat mean, but I’d like to think that Jin notices Akira’s genuine desire to sing. Just having attention on Akira wouldn’t work, so it’s crucial that Akira be surrounded by his club mates putting their all into their performance—an open invitation to join them.

I believe Jin is clever and cunning enough for all this to be his plan. He can act naïve at times, and in certain ways he is, but there’s a sharp mind behind those eyes.

Culmination of Ideas

Near the end, when Akira finally joins in, Jin’s thinks about how everything is come together for their group. In doing so, he brings up a lot of the terms that have come up in previous chapters—high-pitched tones, low-pitched tones, overtones, and singer’s formant. It’s as if this chapter is there to bring together all these concepts, and to show that the Chorus Appreciation Society has managed a breakthrough. The rough direction that the series has been taking has tightened up.

I read a bit more about singer’s formant—the ability for a singer to sound louder than an accompanying orchestra despite that seeming impossible—and realized that a less technical explanation works in introducing the idea. Essentially, singer’s formant is what opera singers are trained to have, and Akira more or less has this quality to his voice without any sort of practice required. It’s his nine-tailed fox, one might say.

Four in Unison

An interesting thing about the art in this chapter is how it shows the characters at different angles in a way that emphasizes how uncomfortable Akira is, as well as how they’re all over the place as a group. The key angle, however, is when they’re facing left, as it gradually goes from being only able to see Jin and Shinji, to an imagine situation of all four silent, to eventually Akira joining in and completing the group. It’s not easy to convey the impact of a song through image and text alone, but I can really feel that unity and harmony (pun somewhat intended) in the spread above.

Songs

The only song this chapter is “Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi o” (Behold the Nighttime Stars) by Kyu Sakamoto. It’s the song they’re planning on singing for the MHK competition.

Final Thoughts

Akira seems to have finally found himself. Now I’m just wondering if his childhood friend Himari is eventually going to sing as well, or if she’s going to be outside the club forever.

I also continue to be entertained by Andou, the sadistic soprano. At the beginning of the chapter, she mentions wanting to here Hashimoto’s performance, but it’s clear that she’s motivated by a desire to see them flounder. To her, something like an out-of-tune band that knows how bad they’re doing is probably the ultimate pleasure. The core group of Hashikko Ensemble is plenty quirky, but this makes it seem like there’s a whole ocean of weirdoes out there.

We learn a lot—maybe too much—about Nishigafuchi’s students in Chapter 17 of Hashikko Ensemble.

Summary

Nishigafuchi lead tenor Saiga (first name Shinnosuke) is in a funk, and the reason is that Shindou Yui, the lead soprano. Shindou mentioned that she sometimes doesn’t want to thing about how they’re breathing in the same space, and that with the way he keeps panting, he should just run around outside like a dog. To prove himself, he plans on challenging Jin to a competition, but gets punched in the mouth by Orihara instead. Shinji wonders if Orihara did it to defend Jin, but Orihara claims it was because he wanted to sing more Brahms. The punch actually makes Saiga want more because it reminds him of Shindou’s sadistic behavior.

Instead of competing, Jin actually helps Saiga with his singing and breathing (so he didn’t have to breathe the same air as her!), and the results are noticeable. Even Shindou is impressed, though she’s no slouch herself. Afterwards, Saiga goes up to Shindou and asks her…if she can be his master. Shindou happily gives him commands like a dog, everyone is confused (especially Kurata), and the Nishigafuchi adviser awkwardly comments that there are all kinds of relationships these days.

As they’re singing, however, Akira doesn’t, and his old middle school classmate Sadamoto notices again. But before he could say anything, Jin asks if the Hashimoto Chorus Club could perform for everyone on their own. Will Shinji finally sing here?

All Kinds

In the last chapter, Nishigafuchi student Andou described Shindou as appearing gentle but actually having a nasty tongue, and she certainly lives up to reputation. I figured that would be the case, but she far exceeds my expectations. I have to wonder if it’s like an entire club of masochists who enjoy the verbal lashing.

Meanwhile, Orihara’s punching Saiga (potentially) in defense of Jin is kind of a serious tsundere move by way of delinquent behavior. Maybe Orihara really does see him as a friend.

Great Teacher Kimura

According to Jin, Saiga tries too hard to keep his head from lifting up and tries to create too much space in his mouth—things that are generally considered good form in singing, but an area where Saiga overcompensates. The consequence is that the surrounding throat muscles to be overly tense and rigid, and this results in him breathing oddly while performing. To Jin, this might be why Shindou made her dog comment.

To help all of the tenors with this, Jin has everyone do an exercise where they “play catch” with their voices. The idea is that they breathe out like you’re trying to form a parabola, and like it’s coming out the top of your head—like they’re “throwing” their voice to the other team.

Jin is thus portrayed as someone who can teach even an elite singer from an elite school, and it furthers the idea that he’s on another level when it comes to understanding sound and music. It’s not clear what his power level is, but when Saiga challenges him, I was expecting a shounen manga moment where Jin can show his stuff and make clear the size of the disparity between them, but it didn’t happen. Yet.

Songs

Referenced last chapter too, they sing Johannes Brahms’s “O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf, Op. 74, No. 2.”

Final Thoughts

Is Jin purposely requesting a Hashimoto-only performance so that Akira will feel more comfortable singing, or does he have a different motivation?

Also, Kurata’s utter bewilderment over the Saiga-Shindou thing is the cutest thing.