Tag Archives: hibike! euphonium

Bringing the Band Back Together: Sound! Euphonium 3

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Sound! Euphonium 3 concludes a nine-year journey that follows the students of the Kitauji High School Music Club through the drama of high school and band competition. Taken in isolation, this season feels like the end of an era. Factoring in the tragedies that the studio Kyoto Animation has gone through, it’s one of the greatest victories ever.

Euphonium player Oumae Kumiko and her friends are now the seniors, and have thus gone from newbies to leaders. For Kumiko, that’s more than literal; she’s now the president. They’ve seen the club go from recreational to competitive, and they have one more chance to earn what has eluded them the past two years: gold at nationals. But a few challenges lie ahead, like trying to guide the club as its veterans, and figuring out what their respective futures in music (if any) looks like. Kumiko also meets a transfer student named Mayu who’s a euphonium player herself, and she has to think about the degree to which this final year is meant to be her own time in the spotlight or Kitauiji’s. 

Can the club hold together and win nationals, or will it fall apart before even making it back?

In preparation for this review, I read through my old posts about Sound! Euphonium. Seeing where Season 3 begins in comparison really highlights the fact that these characters have each gone on their own journeys while part of a greater overall adventure. Kumiko now sees herself as a euphonium player through and through, and her previous ambivalence about music has made way for a different type of ambivalence focused more on what comes next. Trumpeter Kousaka Reina has gone from upstart prodigy to the central pillar of the club, where her unmatched skill, no-nonsense attitude, and unwavering dedication to music positions her as an intimidating yet inspiring upperclassman. Kawashima “Midori” Sapphire has become the gentle but firm mentor to a fellow contrabass player. And Katou Hazuki, who had joined the club on a lark and with no musical experience, can now play the tuba with consistent confidence. They can all display genuine skill with their instruments now, despite how differently they began.

Being the veterans also means new obstacles. One is the fact that the first-years did not go through the fires of change with their teacher, Taki-sensei, and don’t understand why the older members revere him. Another is that Kumiko and the others have managed to rehabilitate the school’s reputation to the point that some students enroll specifically to join the music club, and so many already have entrenched ideas of what to expect. With the main cast as the seniors, they’re now in a place where they are the most mature people in the room. 

At the same time, the third year of high school in Japan also traditionally marks the end of immaturity. Kumiko struggles with envisioning her future, which is made all the more difficult by the fact that Reina is ready to dedicate the rest of her life to reaching greater heights in music. The previous club leaders can seem like giants who had it all figured out, so why does it seem so different now? The transition from childhood to adulthood underlies this final season. It feels genuine, and I find myself reminiscing a bit about what it was like.

Five years have passed since I last watched any Sound! Euphonium, so it’s hard for me to directly compare this concluding season with the previous entries. Even so, I think it holds up to my memories of the anime and as a work unto itself. But when you’re aware of the catastrophes that Kyoto Animation faced—namely an arson attack that claimed the lives of over 30 people and injured dozens of others as well, and then COVID-19—Sound! Euphonium 3 is a true triumph for everyone involved. The fact that they had such devastating setbacks and managed to pull off a final season that looks and feels so satisfying really speaks to how great KyoAni is at spreading institutional knowledge and making sure it’s not just the veterans who hoard all the glory. When it comes to both the Kitauji High School Music Club and Kyoto Animation, understanding the importance of passing the torch is paramount.

The Versatility of the Kyoani Face

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Though a fair number of anime studios can be characterized to some extent by the types of shows they put out, the only current ones I can think of that have a house “look” on a character design level are P.A. Works (SHIROBAKO, Hanasaku Iroha) and Kyoto Animation (Suzumiya Haruhi, Tamako Market). I think this is especially noticeable with the latter studio, as the “Kyoani Face” is instantly recognizable, and is even sometimes imitated, such as with Sound of the Sky.

While watching the first episode of Kyoto Animation’s newest work, Sound! Euphonium, it occurred to me how versatile the Kyoani face is to a certain extent. It’s not so much that Sound! Euphonium alone that made me realize this, but rather that it was a slow culmination of watching their shows over the years. Namely, i find that their iconic face can be fitted, or perhaps was slowly adapted over the years, to match not only a variety of body types but also a range of character designs from cutesy caricature to more realistic proportions.

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The most obvious example of this would probably be the Free! character designs, shown above, but I think you can see it in their more historical tendency to make stories about cute high school girls. All of these characters are supposed to be roughly the same age, and yet while they share that signature look in terms of their faces, their bodies are all noticeably different. I’ve even made all of the characters the same “height” in order to emphasize this.

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From left to right: Ritsu from K-On!, Hazuki from Sound! Euphonium, and Gou from Free!

Of course, not every one of their shows uses the Kyoani face of course (Lucky Star being the notable exception), but I think it goes to show just how important that particular facial structure is to the identity of the studio. Otherwise why would they use it again and again? At the same time, I wonder if it also shows Kyoto Animation’s willingness to experiment, at least within their particular areas of specialty, in terms of both story and visuals.

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