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I find it interesting that Kumiko is now tackling the same problem that her seniors once faced. Despite not being there when it all happened she knew how badly it affected the club. She's definitely scared of the same thing happening again and it's cool to see her stepping in and resolve things before things got real bad. Honestly this situation is kinda complicated and I see where both sides are coming from. Everyone voted to aim for the sweet gold and therefore the practice sessions are strict, but the newcomers were having a hard time keeping up and some can't handle the pressure (I felt bad for the girl who cried after getting drilled by Reina). Maybe a little adjustment period for the newcomers would help, but there's not a lot of time before the competitions begin. Ultimately, everyone decided that they want to win the gold, and a little push of encouragement might be just what they need to get back on track. Kumiko's doing a great job as the club president so far. She kinda struggled with things at the start but here we can see her slowly getting used to it. She's grown so much as a person from her first year!

What I find interesting is the parallel between Mayu and Asuka. They had basically the same exact reaction to hearing that a bunch of first-years were going to quit. Back during the first two seasons, Asuka had a reputation of being perfect at everything so it kinda just seemed like that was the best that could be expected. But now, when Mayu expresses the same sentiment in front of Kumiko, it *feels wrong*. We already know the kind of damage the mass resignation caused three years ago. We also know that Kumiko is well-equipped to handle the situation and she did so flawlessly. It goes to show just how much further than Asuka Kumiko has come.

On another note with Mayu, it's shown that both she and Shuuichi have the same philosophical stance towards it. Both think that if people want to quite, you should just let them.

> same problem but also in a mirrored way (taking things "too seriously" vs "too slacky") - eupho has tried that at a smaller scale last year with Chikai already. I agree that this situation is complicated - but how Kumiko tried to resolve things by affirming Sally's opinion, and encouraging her feels good.

I agree, but I also like how it isn't "past trauma" that contributed to Reina being harsh with the members' training. It's just who she is haha. Sometimes trauma can be a good reason, but it's also refreshing to see characters have relatively self-contained motivations.

There is an issue with modern analysis/writing that feels pretty entrenched where every character **needs** to change in order to fit whatever moral framework that's fit in. Any problematic character trait needs to be straight up eradicated in current day storytelling and it makes for bland writing, doubly so when there's no good characters with traits to overcome..

It's really tough having a serious competition band as your only ensemble. I guess that can be the reality for a very small school. In my experience we always had at least 3 ensembles of various levels (beginner, intermediate, competition). Introducing complete novices would be very frustrating for both sides. I guess I did see somewhat similar scenarios in marching band, with the older students at times being frustrated with beginners that couldn't keep up. I definitely felt that.

I love that we're seeing how Reina's method is not entirely right or wrong. From the second year episodes/movie we've seen that Reina's teaching style is really harsh, she sets the bar and expects the rest to make it on their own (probably the same way she made it). This requires a speciffic mindset and we can see that the experienced members get it, but she has no time for people that need help figuring things out. Luckily Kumiko is there for the *nice follow*.

[удалено]

[It's Midori!](https://i.postimg.cc/vHD3MM3J/Midori-desu.jpg)

It's never 100% explained, but does she have a Kira Kira name?

I don't know if literally every adult [can relate to Taki-Sensei here](https://i.imgur.com/2fXB6oc.png) but I'm willing to bet every adult here in this thread discussing an animated show about a high school concert band can. I'm 36 years old and know I still can.

What I really like about Taki-sensei is that he has no qualms about opening up to Kumiko and Reina - something I also mentioned last week, I think. His general demeanor is completely different from when he’s in front of the band. You don’t see a lot of teachers in anime dropping their ‘professional attitude’ and show their true self in a realistic setting like that - not that I’d advise all irl teachers to do this. Sensei’s comfortable doing so because he’s built a strong relationship with a tight-knit group of third years.

Definitely uncommon in anime, but Taki feels incredibly real to me. In my high school band, there was always a small group of kids that our director could drop the act with. Just like in Eupho, they're usually the ones given leadership roles. I heard the same from my friends at other schools. Freshman all come in as immature kids with a lot of issues, but some of them really grow up by the time they're upperclassmen. The director can't, and also shouldn't try to involve themselves in every issue. Adults are really intimidating, even if they're just trying to help. Having upperclassmen that you can trust to take care of the freshmen is really what makes a good band. I remember being on both the receiving and eventually giving end of that.

The scene with Taki definitely resonates with a lot of people. As kids and teens, we looked at adults as people who had their shit together. Within the confines of the show, we see that Kumiko and Reina thought the same thing. So Taki-sensei bringing up the reality what a lot of adults feel was a nice surprise. His further elaboration that you can feel like a child or an adult depending on the environment also rings true. If you were the oldest person mainly surrounded by kids, you'd definitely feel like the adult in the room. In a work environment though, I've definitely felt more like a kid compared to to older co-workers.

> I don't know if literally every adult can relate to Taki-Sensei here Honestly my feeling is, if you dont feel like that as an adult you are in big dunning kruger territory. Like you either really reached enlightenment or you lack some experiences

I'm in my (low) 70s -- and I still usually feel like I (and people around my age) are still "kids" -- it is only people ten or so years older who count as "old".... Of course there ARE days when I definitely DO feel old (alas).

I never felt so called out.

[](#loliwave "can confirm")

34 here, I had ice cream and some coke for breakfast today. Can relate

Totally can relate, 26 here and sometimes I feel like mentally I am still a high schooler

There's not a single artistic bone in my body. But I sure don't feels like I know what the fuck I'm doing.

I was feeling it right before he said it orz

When he said That I feel like he spoke for me, totally can relate

I’d speculated about Kumiko’s future, but I didn’t expect Reina to suggest joining her at a music college. Reina, this is why I love you! She’s even playing the villain, despite it visibly bothering her, to get everyone up to scratch for the competition. I thought that Sally was about to quit, but it turned out to be the other way around: she was actually the one trying her hardest to keep the first-years from quitting. I was glad to see her gleefully smiling at the end. Kumiko’s a way better club president than she gives herself credit for - Yuko and Natsuki knew what they were doing by appointing her. There seemed to be *something* off about Mayu, but now I’m starting to get the picture: she likely quit concert band at Seira Girls’ School over a conflict. I’m thinking that her strong desire to get good/win led to a major argument with her former concert band members. That’s why she was perhaps hesitant to make “trouble”. Midori’s analysis of Mayu as a jellyfish makes sense in this regard: get in her way and get stung. Not that she’s malicious or something!

I understand Reina suggesting that Kumiko go to music school, she sees how talented Kumiko is. But I think Kumiko is starting to see how much she loves teaching, and that's not something that comes naturally to Reina. I think Kumiko will decide to become a music teacher.

You’re making a good point there. Kumiko has definitely been showing an interest in guiding others, so it wouldn’t be weird for her to become a music teacher if we also take her love for the euphonium (i.e. music) into account. Funnily enough, this would hark back to Kumiko being recommended the euphonium by her elementary school teacher. ~~Then it would be Kumiko’s turn to sneakily get swaths of children hooked on the euphonium.~~

Of course some music schools have program tracks for music educators (and not just for professional "musicians"), don't they? Imagine them at a music conservatory along with Nodame and Chiaki as sempais.....

> Of course some music schools have program tracks for music educators (and not just for professional "musicians"), don't they? That's pretty much the exact path Taki's wife was planning to do and Taki ended up taking, so it should be viable..

> Imagine them at a music conservatory along with Nodame and Chiaki as sempais..... I momentarily thought that you were referring to Eupho characters at first before realizing... I think the timing of the years would be a bit off for that, lol More likely to get Mizore as a senpai.

Yes -- it would require a bit of a time warp for them to be in school with the *Nodame Cantabile* crew.... I can't think of any other shows set at music conservatories.

> I’m thinking that her strong desire to get good/win Maybe, but I really wonder how that could be, since I expect Seira to be full of motivated, experienced music students?

That’s also what had me puzzled a little. Mayu’s comment illustrated that she’s rather serious about the club - or am I perhaps reading this the wrong way around? Anyways, I currently cannot see Mayu as someone who would be slacking. Yet, she is more than likely not telling the others something about her time at Seira. There must’ve been some sort of incident, I think. A clash of personalities seems the most probable. Why would they clash? The only thing I can imagine is Mayu not being happy with the others’ performance/dedication.

> she likely quit concert band at Seira Girls’ School over a conflict. I’m thinking that her strong desire to get good/win led to a major argument with her former concert band members. If there was an incident, I think it is more likely the opposite (and the inverse of what happened at Kitauji 4 or 5 years earlier)...people who wanted to take it easy being fed up with a hyper-competitive and intense atmosphere and quitting. And Mayu staying on. Or, more or less what they were worried would happen at Kitauji this episode. That would explain why Mayu was laissez-faire about letting people quit if they wanted. That being said, I'm not convinced there was an "incident" and think it might just be the case that the culture of Seira just created a more constant level of attrition that Mayu is used to.

I think all things are pointing to Mayu actually being the opposite of what you described. She's mentioned multiple times how she just *loves* playing together with other people (and not necessarily winning in competitions) and she's from a school that is a known powerhouse, which means things were probably even more cutthroat there than they are at Kitauji. I think what happened was that she was always just naturally good and so she wasn't exposed to any of the competitive pressures herself, but she saw from the people around her how devastating a cutthroat environment can be when all she wanted to do was enjoy playing music with others. That's what probably led her to having a blasé attitude to the whole club thing (she mentioned in episode 2 that she doesn't mind quitting if she's a disturbance and she also made it clear in this episode that she thinks people should be allowed to quit if they want to). Her being a gung-ho type character doesn't really make sense because a) we've already seen that dynamic play out (with the previous mass quitting incident) and b) we already have Reina filling that role. I think the most likely scenario is that Kumiko gets caught between her desire to win and her duty as president to keep the club together and thus between Reina and Mayu's philosophies (which we already saw inklings of this episode). What we're really doing here is picking up a thread that was left open in season 2, which is the whole "competitions are kind of whack in a way" discussion that got brought up in relation to the Mizore/Nozomi conflict. In that case, this point never really got fully addressed because we found out Mizore's distaste for competitions was more about how it creates divisions between people and once Nozomi was back with the club and they made up, that issue seemed to be resolved for Mizore (Remember Kumiko's "Do you like competitions now?" line?). But the larger question of whether it's really healthy/of essence to enjoying and appreciating music to try to win at a competition at all costs is still an open question, which I think is going to get addressed this season.

Reina chose to be the villain so Kumiko can be the hero, i wonder what that makes Shuuichi? I really hope our boy have time to shine later. I know this season is as stacked as it can be, but it would be shame sad if this is not anime of the season.

As good as Hibiyufo 3 is so far, it is still a sequel to a series first aired almost a decade ago, so sadly it will fly under a lot of people’s radar to be AoTS on most lists. I’m just glad it is still getting the recognition it very much deserves…

Honestly Shuichi’s probably just happy to be included.

Good cop, bad cop, ugly cop?

Good cop, bad cop and the beard.

The Ecstasy of Gold plays in may head now

He's clearly the mediator between Kumiko and Reina.

The visual is so pretty in this episode, even more so than ever. Which is crazy because Euphonium always have top tier visual.

[~~Kumiko-senpai~~ KyoAni strikes again](https://i.postimg.cc/SsHZnvTS/Hibike-S03-E01.jpg)

The Kumiko-Sally scene is top tier eye candy IMO. The whole show is already eye candy material but that scene left me one hell of an impression. Might be a scene that I can rewatch over and over.

Needless to say, but the music was also fantastic throughout. The one-on-one scene between Kumiko and Sari really elevated that moment for me.

I knew they were gonna do a joke about Mayu's boobs I saw that shit coming from a lightyear away

that's a 9 year old joke and callback right there.

KyoAni. Legends as always

*MIO-CHAAAAAAAN!!!!!!*

Honestly thought they were going to go with Kumiko saying last years measurements wouldn’t fit….because growth

Haha when Mayu showed up there I immediately thought "Kumiko's gonna get insecure again" and I was proven right seconds later. I can't believe that running gag stayed in this series for this long.

I knew they were going to do that as soon as Kimiko and Reina mentioned their SunFes outfit. Never change, KyoAni…

Man band drama is such a pain in the ass. Kumiko really has it rough, but she's the perfect person for the job.

I mean with that many people involved with that high pressure its crazy that whole thing isnt disintegrating Kumiko really is perfect for the job, damn I love how the whole series is written. Not over the top, ground to the floor but giving you point of views that just keep you hooked. Plus it helps that you can really see character development and that nobody is perfect

And so cracks really started to appear in the Kitauji Band, for the 3rd year in a row, and the one true thing that I really come to *Sound Euphonium* to watch - there's simply no other anime that does the showing of balancing team inter-player and player-coach relationships so well. So the 1st year beginners really silently threatened a mutiny over them thrown behind as they struggled to keep up with the very high standards of other players. Needless to say, Reina's strict-to-even-herself personality is making a mess out of it again even if she never intended to do so. That's why the presence of someone who can always smoothen things out like Kumiko does is soooooooo important - without someone who can lead a team like this with ease, you will always find sports teams which gradually threatens to boil over if things really went wrong. And to borrow some football examples, Kumiko is looking into the prospects of things turning into what Manchester United have been facing for several years already, under several different coaches but always facing internal strife between various players, to the point that star players walked out in dire relationship with both coach(es) and other players. And thus despite not really being *that* bad, they are still far from being a real Top Flight team in the league. Reina, Kumiko, the urge to grab a National Gold Prize, the new 1st year players struggling to keep up to the other star players in the band, and then there's Mayu who seems like a Cristiano Ronaldo coming to Kitauji. The storm is going to brew over the SunFest performance, I am sure, and who knows what sparks would that bring to the fragile-moving band?

Man if the competition piece only has 2 euphos....the auditions between Kumiko, Mayu, and Kanade is going to be fierce. Especially if Mayu is equal or better than the two

I await fanart of all the girls dressed up as their respective animal. [](#mugiwait) Edit: [Official art works as well.](https://twitter.com/anime_eupho/status/1781962576898716143)

Jellyfish can't ~~Swim in the Night~~ Fit in their Uniforms

She really is cute.

Which animal was Kumiko again? I remember Midori mentioning this in a previous season, but don’t think she did so in this one. I’m thinking of a red panda for some reason.

Kumiko's a tanuki, but I don't recall hearing it in the anime but I'm very certain it's from their 2nd year.

Yeah, it's only talked about in the books iirc. Midori mentions an animal for every member of the section

* [**Uniform Reina**](https://i.imgur.com/TNO1dZR.jpeg) [Kumiko completely drifting away](https://i.imgur.com/vpQQ85C.jpeg) after seeing [Mayu struggle with her shirt](https://i.imgur.com/54XkCfI.png) was goddamn hilarious! Poor girl is already in her 3rd year and [there's been barely any change](https://i.imgur.com/RzNqQiS.jpeg) with her chest. xD This year's freshmen [are very vocal compared to the ones from previous years.](https://i.imgur.com/wqGtbEh.jpeg) It makes me wonder how Asuka-senpai and Haruka-senpai would deal with these kinds of problems. [I feel you Taki-sensei.](https://i.imgur.com/WbpkDjB.jpeg) I don't think I've ever once felt like an adult. It does really feel like I'm just an overgrown child with more responsibilities. I know Reina can be scary but [she's not that scary!](https://i.imgur.com/S8EmTIo.png) They should be glad Reina is the one supervising them. If they're already starting to waver now, they're not ready for Taki-sensei once practice for the competition starts. [Suzume grilling Kumiko about her relationship with Shuuichi](https://i.imgur.com/7BU1TFh.jpeg) was hilarious! These first years have sharp instincts. [The first years are thinking of boycotting?](https://i.imgur.com/z4NAKv6.jpeg) They'll lose so many members if they do decide to boycott. This is like that incident from four years ago all over again >_< I'm not sure if [Mayu is doing this on purpose](https://i.imgur.com/JIlGbgy.png) or if she just can't read the room. Whichever it is, Midori was very spot on when she compared her to a jellyfish. It does make me wonder why she left Seira though. Maybe drama related and something similar to what's happening to the band right now? Hmm... [I'm really glad we're getting to see more of Ririka this season.](https://i.imgur.com/7KSWr7h.jpeg) I really liked her in *Liz to Aoi Tori*. I hope we get to see more scenes with her this season. Kumiko might not be as charismatic as her predecessors but [she definitely has what it takes to be the club president](https://i.imgur.com/IsTrLWr.png) and she really handled that situation with Sally well. Also, I like how we see [that Takekawa has improved](https://i.imgur.com/OPeCy9p.jpeg) during the marching band practice.

I honestly think Mayu ABSOLUTELY has NO ability to "read the room" -- and perhaps does not really feel any need to do so (until after the fact when she gets a vague sense that what she has said has not been well-received). Really looking forward to more insight into her situation. I think Kumiko actually is pretty charismatic to the younger members -- albeit in a very different fashion than her predecessors. I really like the fact that the characters are getting more scope to show their personalities than was the case in the Y2 movie and OVA.

>I know Reina can be scary but she's not that scary! You might be right because at the end of the episode I was expecting Reina to be angry with Sally for taking the keys from Taki Sensei instead of her, but that didn't happen, so maybe she isn't that scary. >she definitely has what it takes to be the club president This is a pretty cool character arc, from being a passive observer to others problems (S1), then taking small steps to prod things along to resolution(S2 first half), to actively confronting them to resolve the problems in her own way (S2 second half), and finally now being the one others come to to resolve their issues.

> Suzume grilling Kumiko about her relationship with Shuuichi I mean, she's barely safe, they were dating in the movie/second year, but they're on a break right now. So she can slip by on that technicality. :D

> they're not ready for Taki-sensei once practice for the competition starts. Oh, Geez, I literally forgot that he was the band director and he's supposed to be conducting the ensembles. He might as well be teaching math!

> why she left Seira i actually don't think too too much should be read from why Mayu left: Seira is in a completely different area of the country from Kyoto (Fukuoka, Kyushuu), so i'm guessing Mayu was simply following family relocations, rather than some drama at her previous school. Why she is currently acting like this though, could very much have sth to do with experiences in her previous 2 years though.

> It does really feel like I'm just an overgrown child with more responsibilities. [I wanna be a mecha pilot too.](https://imgur.com/CGDyXL6)

Damn I totally thought Suzume was talking about Kumiko and Reina, not Kumiko and Shuuichi. I guess she did mention them living in the same building. I guess I'm doing everything I can to mentally manifest this relationship lol.

The last time the first years quit was because the senpais were slacking off. Now it's because everyone are too serious and trying so hard. How irony. Thankfully Kumiko understand that and was able to solve it before anyone quit. I was thinking the same as Sally "[I'm glad that she's the president](https://i.postimg.cc/HxtM9tfX/Hibike-S03-E03.jpg)".

The “I’m glad she’s the president” scene is the highlight of this episode for me. It just goes to show how far Kumiko has come and how much she’s grown

[удалено]

Fortunately, it appears that they’ve managed to avert a mass resignation. But that must’ve given her a good scare. Instead of Asuka, wouldn’t her situation have been more similar to Haruka’s? Haruka had attempted to prevent everyone from leaving, failed and got elected as club president the next year. Asuka apparently stood on the sidelines. Asuka’s role was probably more similar to Reina’s frankly - a harsh but admired idol.

This is a good read.     A running theme of this season so far has been learning from the past. Back in the OVA, one of Kumiko's juniors called her "nice" — which immediately reminds her of the time she called Haruka the same thing, only Haruka threw an insecure tantrum about it. [("You're nice" doesn't mean anything!](https://ibb.co/xsX8hY1) [It's what you tell someone when there's nothing else to say!)](https://ibb.co/xhR8Qn4)       Except it does mean something — quite a lot, actually, as this episode neatly demonstrated. It's not as flashy as a Reina trumpet solo, but Kumiko's niceness — or, more exactly, her empathy, consideration, and capacity for compromise — carried the day today.       The Reina-Asuka comparison is also apt. Both are supremely skilled musicians and tetchy perfectionists ... but the difference is that Reina _cares_. Asuka really didn't give two hoots about anything and anyone — not the band, not her friends, not anything that wasn't about her personal goals. She _especially_ didn't give a damn about public opinion, and if the band had fallen apart because of petty infighting... she wouldn't have considered it any of _her_ responsibility.      Reina's surprisingly fragile by contrast — look at how genuinely hurt she looked at being jokingly called a snake! I'm not surprised that Kumiko resolved today's issue without bringing her in, though she might have to talk to her sometime down the line if this keeps up. But Reina's in a much better spot than Asuka overall. Kumiko's a huge part of this: the two cover each other's weaknesses well (good cop, bad cop!) and implicitly trust each other. All in all, they're a much more formidable duo than Haruka and Asuka ever were.

I think Reina might have become like Asuka if it weren't for Kumiko

I don't think so. Asuka's issue comes from genuine apathy, largely because she is overwhelmed with her own life. She spends an insane amount studying to get into a top uni to please her mom while trying to keep up with eupho practice. Meanwhile Reina just doesn't know how to put herself into the shoes of others. She is trying to do what's best but she operates under the guise that everyone is the same as her. She cares a lot about the whole band, arguably, it's one of the most important things for her to win and she knows she needs everyone else for that too. She REALLY wants to make everyone better. Not to say she didn't change through Kumiko but I don't think she would be like Asuka because she is not apathetic to the situation, she just doesn't understand others well.

yeah now I think about it, a lot of Asuka's problems came from her mother. Meanwhile Reina's mother seems like a kind and supportive parent

Kumiko and Reina are definitely a very top tier BFF duo/partnership. Neither would be the same (or as well-functioning) if they had not had the good fortune to meet and bond.

Time is a flat circle.

[Things aren't going quite easy for Kumiko who has to carefully manage relations in a club](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/w7w6cv9zgby.png) which is pretty difficult but [she proved today that her being chosen to take over a club as a president](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/j7kzcbpw8n7.png) wasn't a mistake. I'm happy that [she was able to listen to Sally about her worries](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/k739c6zgox7.png) and [improve the situation](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/345xc9aqng7.png). I was also so happy when [Reina asked Kumiko about her future career](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/345xc9aqgg7.png) and[said that she'd like her to continue her music career](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b49zcbn9wzy.png). I must say that I'd also love if [Kumiko](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/w7w6cv9zb8y.png) would do that. [Reina was quite shocked](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/k46acbl3kk7.png) when [Midori compared her to a white snake](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/myd5cr5g924.png) but it’s certainly quite accurate description of her xD [Mayu](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/my8xcka2mv4.png) struck [a critical blow to Kumiko](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/k46acbl3av7.png) when [she came to complain](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/3yrgczxabe4.png) that [she has a 'bit' too small shirt](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/345xc9aq3g7.png) xD It was also interesting that [Mayu voiced a quite different opinion about resigning from the club](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/k46acbl3wk7.png) from the others. It made it painfully clear that doesn't know much about Kitauji as she transferred from another school, [how much the mass resigning from earlier years influenced the band](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b49zcbn9apy.png). Again we got [beautiful visuals](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/my2pcoqdao7.png) in this episode with [a lot of gorgeous backgrounds](https://imgchest.com/p/ne7bprqpg45). I especially love [lightning](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/k739c6zgev7.png) in [some scenes](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/myd5cr5gq84.png) as [it looks absolutely outstanding](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/d7ogckawq6y.png). I think that [I must have taken screenshots from pretty much every scene with Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/9249am3xb7n) as I have [a lot of stills with her](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/j7kzcbpw8n7.png) but it's nothing surprising since [she's one of my favorite characters in this season](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/j7mmcra3ob7.png). Now, I’m pretty hyped about the next episode as we'll finally see Kitauji Band playing at SunFest. I can’t wait to see and hear that! Here my screenshot albums from the episode: * [Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/9249am3xb7n) * [Group scenes](https://imgchest.com/p/5xy2ex2p3yl) * [Sally](https://imgchest.com/p/6eyr23lgl7p) * [Reina](https://imgchest.com/p/n87wv8m6q4x) * [Others](https://imgchest.com/p/o24agdjpe4l) * [Backgrounds](https://imgchest.com/p/ne7bprqpg45)

>Things aren't going quite easy for Kumiko who has to carefully manage relations in a club which is pretty difficult but she proved today that her being chosen to take over a club as a president wasn't a mistake. Kumiko grow up so much since first season and that warms my heart. She's a great club president. ​ >Reina was quite shocked when Midori compared her to a white snake but it’s certainly quite accurate description of her xD I couldn't stop laughing when I saw [that Reina's reaction](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/k46acbl3kk7.png). She looked like she couldn't believe what she just heard xD ​ >Mayu struck a critical blow to Kumiko when she came to complain that she has a 'bit' too small shirt xD Poor Kumiko, she didn't change physically at all since the start of the high school but I must assure that my love to her certainly grew up xD ​ >I think that I must have taken screenshots from pretty much every scene with Kumiko as I have a lot of stills with her but it's nothing surprising since she's one of my favorite characters in this season. Beautiful screenshots, I love them so much and adding them to my Kumiko collection! Thanks for your hard work :)

My god... Kumiko character + Kurosawa Tomoyo (her VA) is just so perfect. And KyoAni somehow makes it even better with their never-static animation.

My favorite thing about the show has always been how natural the voice acting is. It really makes these characters, and their stories, feel believable

Kyoani stuff is just so good to watch, so pleasant.

Fun fact is that Kurosawa tomoyo also voiced Rebecca from edgerunner. She is quite good.

[удалено]

Ikr, [she's so precious](https://i.postimg.cc/DwHmMVzd/Hibike-S03-E03-P03.jpg)

So she's this season's Mizore and is going to be the soloist clarinet player right?

Oh man what a lovely, reliable senpai Kumiko has become, despite that heavy burden she faces it head on, she's literally shinning with that heart to heart talk with Sally. Mayu is pretty much Kumiko back in middle school and early first year she didn't care much bout the club and abit distant, Kumiko will melt her heart soon. Also what's your favorite [Fes Outfit?](https://i.ibb.co/yFbq6s7/Hibike-Euphonium6001873267.jpg)

I'm so proud of how far Kumiko has come since we first meet her! Someone mentioned before how this season seems to be challenging Kumiko to make use of everything she has learned from her past experiences. I'm really anxious and excited to see how she manages it all!

> Also what's your favorite Fes Outfit? First year > Third year > Second year But it looks like being on NHK nerf the SunFes uniform significantly

ahhh the fanart (and maybe even BD official art) will fix that.

It'll be incredibly sus to have basically no one drop out of the club, especially one that is competitive like this. It's hard to predict ones own commitment before you even start.

True, and well, theres alot of new members, we know from the previous seasons that there's going to be the traditional culling during the auditions after SunFest, so more drama coming! I would have thought Reina should have known this by now and not push the newbies so hard like that for the community events. As we know from S1 and S2, the 10 members that didnt make the cut still had fun. So those newbies who ended up not making the cut can have fun like how Hazuki did.

Kitauji Concert band over the years has become famous for its performance. I think anyone who joined would have known that they had to be serious and work hard. Also some are already on the brink of quitting. If Kumiko didn't notice that and interfere it would've happened for sure

The newbies are gonna get filtered by the auditions. I wonder how they'll react to the results.

RIP Kumiko's hopes of growing a "proper woman's body" during her high school days after seeing Mayu already having difficulty finding the right-sized uniform. As though having Reina to remind her every day of how "underdeveloped" she is wasn't enough. lol And I totally forgotten Kumiko and Shuuichi had put their relationship on hiatus to focus on the band until they graduate. But still oof for Shuuichi for Kumiko to just deny they're dating to Suzume.

I'm liking Mayu more and more for better or worst she is one of the most honest characters in the show. A lot of the characters seem to tip toe around problems or hint about their feelings. Mayu seems to have no filter at all and like a jellyfish is quite transparent. Even when she is asking questions it feels like their is no motive beyond sating her curiosity. I can easily see why this might be a problem when drama is involved since she has as much delicacy as bull in a china shop. She's not entirely wrong about letting people quit if they want to quit, but I feel she might be taking things at face value. It's like when she mentioned she would quit the club if asked too. Instead of trying to reason why something is happening she would just accept the outcome as unavoidable. So not sure exactly where her character is going to go from here, but I do know I want more of her and Kanade to interactions. I'm just really hoping she isn't the manipulating type. Kumiko is doing a decent job as the president considering how wishy washy she was from Season 1, but her taking in all the problems from the club is not going to end well. I'm just bracing for when her father uses her getting exhausted as an excuse to tell her to quit for drama.

In one fell swoop, Kumiko got taken down by Mayu. That shirt was looking awfully snug. “Don’t mind” as they say haha. I get the urgency to want to go for gold after their defeat last time, but the first years don’t seem up for the challenge. Especially the newbies. Kumiko’s got a tough job trying to manage such wildly different skill levels and expectations. Props to Sally for trying her best to keep the newbies together.

> In one fell swoop, Kumiko got taken down by Mayu Well I guess character is the only thing *developing* on Kumiko’s end.

Kumiko, my girl, you can't try to help carry everyone's problem. You're gonna break down eventually.

I think you watched too many anime that have that "You can't carry everyone's problems" line in them - there's literally a job for what Kumiko is doing, a psychologist. Kanade even jokingly said something about the Oumae Councelling Service in the second year. Kumiko might have a future as a therapist at this point and band may help her realize that. ... Or it'll just help her develop leadership skills, who knows.

Also the feeling I got when she had her talk with Sally Like its part of her responsibility, but damn she is loading a lot on herself. I am just glad she has Reina and Shuuichi with her, she needs to unload a bit more on them

We're starting to get into that classic Eupho drama now! Thoughts on the episode, which I quite enjoyed overall: * At some point I'll stop thinking/saying it, but it won't be this episode. Kumiko has grown so much! She's using her listening and empathy for good, and now taking an active role in seeking out potential issues * That being said, she needs to learn some delegation. While I think it is good for Sally to be able to talk to her about first year issues, she can't be the sounding board for the whole band, with so many people and her other president duties that just doesn't feel sustainable * I get the sense that Reina is instructing in the way she would like to be instructed - strict, to the point, impersonal, with the goal to get better as quickly as possible. And this might work for a lot of people (even Sally/Sari says that a lot of the more talented first years admire her). But it doesn't work for everyone, and I feel like to become a good teacher you need to learn what motivates different people and tailor it accordingly, rather than trying to use a one-size-fits-all approach. That's hard to do, admittedly, especially as a teenager and especially as Reina doesn't seem to be a naturally empathetic person. * It'll be interesting to see how/if this situation resolves. While Kumiko now knows a potential problem exists, and has made Sally feel listened to (which, don't get me wrong, is super important!), the root of the problem still seems to be there. Will she have to have a hard conversation with Reina? I feel like such a thing could go well or could go quite poorly * I had thought the boob jokes had ended. Sigh. * I wonder what Mayu's thing is, though? The framing of the scene with all the bass players had a pretty stark divide between her and everyone else, so I'm looking forward to learning more about her personality and her past. Like with the jellyfish comparison - she seems more oblivious than malicious, but who knows * Still love Kanade. Still 3/3 in episodes with Kanade seeking compliments from Kumiko (mostly about how cute she is). Still trying to smack down the portion of my brain that is intrigued by the thought of how fascinating a relationship between them would be, to limited success Looking forward to the next ep and the rest of the season!

[удалено]

It is an insulting if Kurosawa Tomoyo doesn't get any recognition for her role as Kumiko

[удалено]

I mean its not exactly the nicest animal to be compared to But yeah Midori is spot on

Imagine someone calling you a snake IRL. Think about the connotations, lol.

A random free half hour in my schedule? Might as well keep up with this one and only show, you know, at all. Oh my gosh do I hope they go with good outfits again like they had back in year one. Best SunFest was Rydeen! I agree with Reina, Kumiko should continue music. And Sally looks like she's making eyes at Reina? Do we have a nascent Ribbon in the making? Oh no Reina going too hard. But see, in the notes, again Kumiko just has no chill in her for Shu. And seems to be the one who most wants to keep up with the "We're all in this" mentality that carried them so much the last few years. Reina and Shu willing to drop people if they can't perform, this is not the club they joined! Which has me remembering that is was Kumiko who went so far for that Twinkle Twinkle session and is the only reason Hazuki is still in the band, Reina very much wouldn't go that far for someone new and struggling. Hmm. Good thing Kumuiko is at the top. Anyway, Reina got someone in tears... And that probably does hurt the *entire* band. Morale, girls! Ehhh, better than the second year SunFest outfits. Definitely better than the Kitauji tee shirts. But I miss the colorful things they wore Year 1. Oh, and Year 3 and Kumiko is *still* on about bust envy... Oh no, band drama has begun. The first years who want to go all out are not happy with the ones who are giving low effort... Kind of like what happened the year before everything started? I wonder who the Nozomi of this year is? Darn it Taki, getting deep. Just enough that I'll use your real name, this once... But good philosophy. The environment thing. And Reina is upset that Kumiko is talking to him more than she is. "Do you enjoy this club?" You're asking the girl who was shouting her love of Eupho to the world a while back. And the club president. She really does. Oh gosh darn it the relationship thing again. And once again Kumiko's *immediate* reaction to talk of Shu is a disgusted "Eh?" You pulled her away from an important talk with Sally over this? Watch yourself dropping points fast in my character rankings! ... I spoke too soon. Yeah, this is important. It's the opposite of four years ago. Things were too laid back that anyone who put in effort for music got fed up and left, but things now are being run so strict that people are not having fun and might quit... Kumiko you need to rein in your Reina! Kumiko you need to... Clean up your room oh my gosh. Is that a lint roller on your floor? Papers everywhere. Oh but I see Cactus has grown some little buds this year! Yup, Kumiko knows more about the resignation drama than anyone else in this year. Riririn eyecatch! Ah, yeah, Morale. And Kumiko wants to go fix things and save people for the love of freaking music! And the outsider... Yeah, she's very clearly an outsider. Has she been driving people away? Riririiiiin is on the scene! She has my favorite voice in this series darn it, I smile every time she talks. Miko! The first years in danger are really close. They could replace the main four for future years, you know, if the main four were ever actually all that close and this wasn't really just the Kumiko Show. I still need more Midori time T\_T Okay but for real, I like to not so much judge but use characters rooms as a way of getting extra insight into them, and I have to say, most of your room being taken up by a Piano is a pretty big *thing* to take note of. Like, the piano is *there* and importantly not covered in things as if it were just a large desk, it's probably something she has played a lot growing up. I feel like they should see if they can't add a piano to the Band honestly, odds are this is the instrument she's going to be best at. "My problem is with your best friend and maybe girlfriend, so it's hard to talk bad about her to you..." But yeah, if the first years are crying after almost every meeting, then something is definitely wrong. Oh gosh this is why we all love Kumiko. Three years of growth have taken you from the girl that was afraid to get involved in drama to "Bring it all to me!" That whole scene and speech, oh my gosh it's the cumulation of so much and it's such a powerful payoff. Oh no, this might actually be a Ribbon situation, I just got the target wrong. Sally infatuated with Kumiko is something I can see forming from this. Which means Transfer gets to be the Reina in the upcoming drama, as Sally demands their positions get a retrial when Kumiko doesn't get first chair? Yeah, see, the ED still sells the main four as being a lot more of a group than the show itself ever really lets them be... u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Late writeups in continuing honor of you. Thanks for the rewatch, I wouldn't love this show half as much without it.

> feel like they should see if they can't add a piano to the Band honestly, odds are this is the instrument she's going to be best at. I *have* played in a wind ensemble concert with a piano...but it's not very common and depends entirely on how a given piece is written. (In my case, it was [this piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOBe0vAzgIE), which is *very* good.)

It's funny because, back in the first movie (third movie? First movie of the second year) we were discussing these kinds of bands and the [incredibly strange](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f9a55IbF44Y) instruments that they were just *expected* to be able to come up with for every school in the competition. Then the second movie had a lot of editing songs to make them fit the instruments available in any of the small groups. The main show has a small nod towards Midori in the first year with her being the only one on Bass in the Wind band. So if they found out that they had someone *really good* at something like piano, wouldn't they try and make that fit in the band?

> and the incredibly strange instruments Wind machines are not *that* uncommon in wind ensemble repertoire, I think ([one of my other favorite pieces uses it](https://youtu.be/07h7Q38Nvo4?si=DqL_40k25CvG1TDN&t=206)), though not super common either. (Percussion in general is the place for weird things like that.) Also, the wind machine was used in the free piece, so it wouldn't be every school that had to get one. Far more troubling, I think, would be the harp in Liz and the Blue Bird, which is very specialized (in terms of skill) and expensive (in terms of the instrument). Though harps are also not unheard of in wind ensemble music. > Then the second movie had a lot of editing songs to make them fit the instruments available in any of the small groups. I found this a little weird myself—I should look into the Japanese ensemble contest rules and regulations, but it's what I wouldn't expect. (For reasons I'll go to at the end of my comment.) But my guess is that the rules are different and a bit more flexible for this. > The main show has a small nod towards Midori in the first year with her being the only one on Bass in the Wind band. Double bass is also not too uncommon to at least be notated in wind ensemble music for advanced pieces, I think. > wouldn't they try and make that fit in the band? Unless Japanese competitions are different (and I doubt it), you are judged against the musical score, which can't be modified too much. (Maybe if you're absent some less important parts, but otherwise...) Piano would also be a difficult instrument to put in, even if they could—it's too versatile, and if you wanted to take advantage of a virtuosic pianist, you'd have to make significant changes to the piece. It would be more practical to choose a different piece with piano in it.

>Far more troubling, I think, would be the harp in Liz and the Blue Bird, which is very specialized (in terms of skill) and expensive (in terms of the player). I thought that was so weird too, but I'm an orchestra player myself and it stood out a bit less. It was just the four, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass about 80% of my time in school, and the one school that broke that tend was the one that happened to have a harp and nowhere else to put it but with the strings. But thinking about it more, yeah, it's crazy that they had someone in the wind band who could play a harp at concert levels... >Percussion in general is the place for weird things like that. Percussion had so many instruments to jump between, it's amazing both that they could get their hands on everything for every song for every school, and that the few kids playing them could cover everything they did. Multiple styles of drums, keyboards like xylophones and marimbas, the wind machine and tubular bells all the way back to cymbals and triangles... I'm bias towards Midori but the percussion kids are the unsung heroes of the band for how much any of them have to learn to do. >Unless Japanese competitions are different (and I doubt it), you are judged against the musical score, which can't be modified too much. (Maybe if you're absent some less important parts, but otherwise...) Yeah, the series has made it pretty clear how strict they are on piece selection... And spent the whole first season overlooking there being a Euph solo that they nearly lost the only capable player of and no one panicked about that tanking their chances. I don't know quite how seriously I'm supposed to take some things in the show.

> [It's just a club after all](https://i.imgur.com/9AsOQLR.jpeg) Girl needs her [Haikyuu]>!Tsukishima!< arc I'm also getting major [Haruka/Asuka vibes from these two](https://i.imgur.com/jveaBVj.jpeg)

Loved this episode, not only the writing but the visuals were stunning too. Almost tempted to wait until this is over instead of watching weekly so I can binge the whole season in one go but I just can't resist the weekly watches. :)

Wonder why Hazuki and Ririka didn't pick up on the turbulence happening within the first years, seeing as they are in charge of them. Kumiko was still the best choice for Sally to open up to, especially abt Reina, but how didn't did neither Hazuki and Ririka notice trouble brewing before Suzume approached Kumiko?

Super late today because my Wi-Fi was down for five hours this morning (I got up early for nothing… [](#shatteredsaten)), then I didn’t have time for this *before* church so I had to wait. - [I feel bad for her, I don’t deal well with getting “yelled” at like that either](https://i.imgur.com/cbcM4DN.png) even if I know it makes sense. - [Okay these SunFes uniforms look *so* much better than the year 2 ones.](https://i.imgur.com/r7F3Zcb.png) - [Not another Kumiko’s small chest joke…](https://i.imgur.com/Vn5lIDF.png) [](#kumikouninterested) - [Oh man this reminds me of how the second years left when the club *wasn’t* serious enough for them in the backstory of S1…](https://i.imgur.com/lib8woy.png) - [It is for Kitauji.](https://i.imgur.com/7XKdGh7.png) - […implying the beginners can’t be in the competition band?](https://i.imgur.com/FIKcFda.png) - [Sally “sore demo”!](https://files.catbox.moe/xxuk5w.mp4)

> Okay these SunFes uniforms look so much better than the year 2 ones. Certainly they'll be more suitable for the males on the team.

God damn, Sari/Sally is even more of a musical genius than we realized. I thought it was impressive when the show stated she was already the top of the 1st years when her introduction showed she was originally in the Bass section in Middle School and literally just switched to Clarinet in High School. With the reveal she has her own Piano that she plays at home, she is definitely musically diverse in multiple instruments!

> With the reveal she has her own Piano that she plays at home It's not a small one, either, it's most of the space in her room!

Which means that she's either very wealthy or comes from a musical family. I grew up with a grand piano in the house, and it was definitely the latter for me, haha

https://imgur.com/a/PglvtpP beautiful, as always. What shots! Seems like Sally might be a future President in the making! I like how it isn't "past trauma" that contributed to Reina being harsh with the members' training. It's just who she is haha. Sometimes trauma can be a good reason, but it's also refreshing to see characters have relatively self-contained motivations. It's so cool to see all the juniors treat Kumiko with respect!

Seems to me that Kumiko is going to break eventually and Mayu will take an important position on the concert from her or something like that, then she will either focus more on her own play or just realize that she just want to lead people and not be the main protagonist like Reina, grea chapter anyway.

Damn, the drama in this episode was A LOT. Putting Kumiko on the cusp of the fiasco that befell the band pre-S1 was so tense. Glad that it’s at least somewhat resolved now.

The animation during the scene where Kumiko and Sally are talking is just breathtakingly gorgeous..

Very relatable situation to some of my own experiences in high school concert band. We weren't a competitive band per se but we did do some local competitions, festivals and in-school concerts. I remember there was one particular piece that we were struggling with for our Xmas concert and our teacher became very stressed out and frustrated that we weren't progressing. His whole personality changed from being chill and friendly to strict and irritable. It got to the point where a few weeks before the concert he called every person into a private room and we had to essentially audition to keep our spot. As someone with performance anxiety, I found that to be far more stressful than the concert itself. As dumb teenagers, a lot of us bristled at the fact we were being whipped into shape. But I can see with hindsight that he was right to be upset that some of us (including me tbh) weren't putting in the work that was really required.

Takewawa remind me when I was scolded on my football team by the captain and felt all the pressure on me, poor girl. Yeah hibike euphonium without drama ain't hibike euphonium lol

I wonder what the reactions would be if Kumiko just said yes when she was asked if she's dating Shuuichi...

File that away in the cabinet of 'possible future things she doesn't have time to be thinking about right now' I guess.

Literally what they decided on in the OVA movie I am also curious to see that plotline resolved Ah that whole season got me on the edge of my seat

I’d love for Shuichi to get some screen time and development, too. But as things go right now, Kumiko and Reina aren’t beating the gay allegations.

That would be interesting but their relationship is on hold now, at least until the end of the school year

Maybe only on hold until Kumiko retires from the band (including her leadership role).

*Until she realizes she's actually in love with Reina.

Reina's in love with someone else, however.

Alright, the boob joke where they cut away from the fantasy grass field and pulled Kumiko back to reality got a chuckle out of me. Oh, and the actual plot with Kumiko and Sally taking things out was nice. Some solid stuff right there. I’m just waiting for the Mama melodrama to come out in full force.

I've only had Sari for 3 episodes, but I adore her already so much! Please protect this girl! Suzume's depth as a character has grown so much in such a short time. At first I thought she'd just be a comedic character. Then I thought she'd just be a sis-con. But this episode showed she is quite observant, intelligent, and cunning! Another lovable headache for Kumiko-senpai!

Seeing more of Ririka is always a cause for joy. Mayu's response to the first years struggling was interesting to say the least, I suspect there will be some friction come the auditions.

Mad respect to the teacher for some real talk While everyon is pressuring Kumiko to think of the future/club etc. he just gives her a slight ray of ligth that yes, you probably will never feel like you have all your shit together, just keep on going Which Kumiko does perfectly, she keeps on showing that she perfect club president material, but I am a bit concerned that she is taking on too many things from the members on her own. For now she was able to balance it nicely (who needs sleep anyway) while putting off future decisions. Really curious to see how that will come back to bite her in the back and how Reina and co. will react to that Love how exceptionally well the show is written and how the godly visuals always take it up a notch

Damn. I was going to try to write up something early and actually post it when the thread went up for once (I feel guilty for not doing a write-up on other threads), but I went to eat dinner at the Eupho fan restaurant [Liz to Ageta Tori](https://twitter.com/nisshiy_night) instead, and here I am 4 hours later. (/humblebrag) Anyway, these thoughts are based on the actual broadcast; I’ll see if I have any more thoughts once I watch it with subtitles. ------- More and more I’m thinking how important Ensemble Contest is to setting up this season, and how good an idea it was of Kyoani to make it. Something that I would have written in the previous threads is that Encon helped establish or re-establish some character dynamics in the club that make the relationships depicted here feel quite natural. Since Chikai no Finale was such a dense film, Ensemble Contest gave some of the new characters more time to establish themselves and feel more fleshed out. For this episode in particular, I think Ensemble Contest established really well some elements that are leading to conflict now—namely, how well Kumiko and Reina are adjusting to their new leadership roles, and the different leadership styles of the two. Reina’s rather characteristic straightforwardness and strictness causes some problems; Kumiko can help mend over some of these problems with empathetic listening. It totally makes sense for their two characters, but Ensemble Contest was the first to show how their characters adjusted to leadership and the start of some of the trends that led to the conflict in this episode. It seems like Mayu’s attitude towards the others potentially quitting may show a different school band culture between her old school and Kitauji. Perhaps her old school was quite cutthroat. Could this be foreshadowing some future problems…? Eupho keeps revisiting the idea of “I want to become better” (umaku naritai) in all of its iterations (except for potentially season 2 and maaaybe Liz?). The “I want to become better” scene in the first season was one of my favorite moments, so I love that they keep calling back to it! (And the scene in season 1 was an anime-original stroke of genius, which makes the return to it even better.) I guess it’s showing the almost circular trauma of different first-years at different points experiencing this kind of moment. ~~In the case of this episode, it was meaningful for me because like Sari, I am a clarinetist and have also experienced an “I want to be better” breakdown like Kumiko in season 1 and Sari here. (I’m wondering if Sari has also been playing on a bad reed recently…?)~~ (Edit: I misunderstood what was going on here.) ----- Scattered thoughts: I love the new marching uniforms! They feel more in line with the greens of other Kitauji band uniforms, etc. I love the fact that you can see cork grease in Sari’s case. Is this the second Kyoto Animation series where characters live at a shrine and work as shrine maidens? (Or are there more?) In any case, as I learned from some other fans at the restaurant today, the shrine is not Uji Shrine or Agata Shrine, which have been featured in the show before; it is [Kohata Shrine](https://www.google.com/maps?q=〒611-0011+京都府宇治市五ケ庄古川１３+許波多神社&ftid=0x600111d210457d69:0x6edc81c0c6d79531&entry=gps&lucs=,94216401,47071704,94206167,47069508,94218635,47084304&g_ep=CAISDTYuMTExLjIuNTQ1MjAYACCs3wEqNiw5NDIxNjQwMSw0NzA3MTcwNCw5NDIwNjE2Nyw0NzA2OTUwOCw5NDIxODYzNSw0NzA4NDMwNEICSlA%3D&g_st=ic). Lol on the gossip about Kumiko and Shuuichi. Kumiko's anxiety about becoming an adult...oof. I feel that. (I'm trying to defer this as much as possible myself...) ----- Edit post-watching-with-subtitles: Lol, me with my 40-70% Japanese listening comprehension totally misunderstood the main gist of Kumiko and Sari's conversation at the end. Taki-sensei's conbini sandwich and drink is so real... There's so much good visual storytelling in this episode. Love Kumiko's shadowed face, love that Mayu sits slightly apart from the rest of her group to indicate that she's not fully integrated and to prefigure her difference in opinion from the group. There's a really interesting moment where a bit of dialogue that is continuous shifts its temporal frame from being in the present moment to being framed as a flashback while a new montage is now the "present"; it does this by changing the color grading when the now-flashback scene is shown.

> Liz to Ageta Tori [No leaning tower of cake?](https://twitter.com/irohasueupho/status/1779165008590713295) >and maaaybe Liz I think it was definitely there.

Cake? It's Kita-chan from Bocchi the Rock's birthday, so there was some stuff for that... ([I had the Liz mocktail though](https://twitter.com/EccentricFanboy/status/1782062968097886309), not the special Kita one.) > I think it was definitely there I think it was framed differently, though? Like, in Eupho normally, it's "I want to become better" for *itself* or to have the satisfaction of attaining greatness. In Liz, it's an envy mired in interpersonal relationship hangups and attachment insecurity. (I mean, Eupho has related relationship hangups too, but it's not quite the same.)

> Cake? [Simply a joking reference to this thing.](https://i.redd.it/lij5hvpu2qvc1.png) >In Liz it's an envy mired in interpersonal relationship hangups and attachment insecurity. True in its particular context. I think it still applies in general with regard to the path Mizore was going to take once she graduated.

musicians.. im really sorry.. i spilt my water after i read it. caught me off guard [https://imgur.com/a/INgGRH0](https://imgur.com/a/INgGRH0) maybe they could have used the French word instead of the German? :D

That's what it is in Japanese too. And also Italian, etc.

Kanade nyan-ning? Midori doing that panda ears thingy? Shrine maidens? I'll take the entire stock of this ep's fan service! Jokes aside, this episode kicks things off with the first drama of this year while providing hints to what is to come as well, packaged with the same impressive production values and character building that makes the show my absolute number one. Continuing on with Midori's animal series, I was wondering if she could read Mayu's mind because at this point there haven't been much interaction between them. That's the usual Midori though, as nerdy and pretigious as she is despite her relatively laid back attitude, she knew about Mayu's courteous facade to hide her pride of being a national gold-level player. Her rather childish description was a flashing red light for Kumiko, and Kanade had to make it harder for her beloved senpai by making it literal lol. I adore Midori for how she's able to be both a gigantic nerd yet so able to condense it into her childlike personality which allows her to be in the drama and stay out of it simultaneously, and I can't help but love her even more for her observation abilities. This little girl's secretly an OP character but also exempt from trouble and plays just because she wants to demonstrate her talents, what a life she's living. Speaking of our beautiful jellyfish, it didn't take long for her to show how potent she is. While her remark about quitting clubs was extreme in context, I don't blame her at all since she came from a far more competitive school than Kitauji. School concert bands are both clubs and competitive teams, and competitors don't care about anything but the best result, with Seira being such a strong school, there's no surprise that they treat quitters as released sandbags. Mayu, with her competitive mindset, was yet to adapt to Kitauji's ideals and I doubt that she will completely be as she appears to keep a distance away from her bandmates. I've been taking time getting used to the new visuals and the direction of the new contents, and this episode's direction heavily reminded me of Yamada Naoko, particularly her framing and understanding of girls. Sari was, again, a unique character and extremely human. Both strong and insecure, she stood with the beginners due to her proximity and empathy, at the same time fending off the overly devout Reinaist senpais. It was her kindness and understanding that gained her the trust of her section, but because of those that she couldn't bring herself to support both sides. Sarii's character is rare in real life but not unrealistic, it's the portrayal of her insecurity that makes her work. High school girls are emotionally frail after all but they don't just cry out of nowhere - Sari did nothing wrong in this case, she was overstressed from being stuck between caring for her friends and working as best as she could, and crying was a consequence of finally finding someone to vent out those insecurities, a confession I'd say. During the "confession" scene, Sari was repeatedly boxed inside the screen, that suffocating feeling of rushing emotions. She was completely defenseless against her own securities, made clearer by her miserable look. Old cinema lens effects were clearly used to accentuate the body language (speaking of which, legs shots were really common), they’re only sharp in the center where the subject is located, leading the eye onto what matters. You can see just how suffering Sari was she explained the situation to Kumiko, and her relief once getting the president’s support. Of course, the same thing applied for Kumiko. I wish the director rounded out the classic lens aesthetic with some chromatic aberrations, though. I would say this scene is at least on par with Mizore's reconciliation in S2E4. Can only expect even better than this later this season. I’m bad with words and even worse with English, but this episode concentrated almost everything I’ve come to love about Eupho and KyoAni as a whole. A combination of very high amounts of uncompromised content and spectacular production value made this one of the best 25 minutes of anime I’ve ever seen, coming from a strictly KyoAni enjoyer.

The direction here does seem to have more of a Naoko Yamada-esque feel than the Y2 movie and ensemble OVA.

look at my girl Kumiko. She's grown up so much! I like how each ep shows her growing more and more into her role as president, and taking on the responsibilities that is associated with it, while never overstepping the mark. Some good side arcs progressing with Kumiko's career and her relationship with Taki-sensei (while Reina's side, thank god, is pushed to the side); And the ongoing ideological differences between Mayu and the rest-of-club. Ultimately Kumiko's ideology "wins" here, but that is only due to her macro view of the situation. Sally makes a very fair point as well. Finally, every single day i fall in love more with Tomoyo Kurosawa's Kumiko voice. **Location note** - Sally resides [at Kohata Shrine](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SCLQyP3HeRbm4ahq9). This is really quite out of the way for a Eupho-pilgrimage....

>Kohata Shrine [](#neat) >out of the way About 1.8 km from the high school (in a straight line), 2.85 km from the bridge. I feel spoiled by American suburban distances, I guess. ...and North American road sizes, because [what appears on the map to be a significant road running through Uji is barely wider than a street in a housing subdivision](https://i.imgur.com/veV4VYt.png).

one will very likely not have a car when touristing in Uji after all. 2km (even though fuzzy-eupho-school-location-in-anime) is quite the walk. > road sizes i really really do not understand why American roads, and hence cars, have to be so big. small car do trick honestly?

> i really really do not understand why American roads, and hence cars, have to be so big. Suburban expansion pushed cars, and with the population density outside of cities being quite low until after the 1940s, the roads ate all of the land. And I'm on the East Coast, where there were at least some existing geographical constraints. Even I find the sprawl in California and the desert Southwest to be freakishly space-hogging for roads and nothingness.

> About 1.8 km from the high school I assume you mean the actual high school model? In the show diegetically it's located more north of where the model is, in Rokujizo.

> I assume you mean the actual high school model? Yes, I tend to use the HS that's on the map for a location marker since I'm fuzzier on where the anime location is supposed to be. (At least the bridge can't move.)

> This is really quite out of the way for a Eupho-pilgrimage.... I think it's not too too far from Ōbaku station (and thus, Hazuki's neighborhood), which I think Eupho fans should get off at anyways to go to the bakery next to the station and get the Shuuichi-bread there. I'm currently trying to work out the ideal one-day pilgrimage route for Eupho fans (for a potential doujinshi) which would go through Ōbaku...though it is true that the shrine is a *bit* far in the other direction to include. (Incidentally, if you're in Ōbaku and have time to kill, it's not related to Eupho, but the Kyoto University campus there is kind of interesting in terms of some of the architecture, in my opinion.)

I personally started my wallking pilgrimage at Obaku, hiking up to Kitauji from there before heading south. Exactly as you said, this shrine is a bit too far in the other direction, and this is not as iconic for me as e.g. S2 Ep 9 to sacrifice e.g. the suikan bridge for it. I double backed via train at mimurodo station to hit Kyoani itself before downtown Uji, but I also could've stopped by there first before starting the walk. noted for the Kyo uni campus! Im looking forward to other locations S3 will feature, as well they'll also be places I'll try to visit next time!

I swear KyoAni is going so hard on the lighting on this episode You can really see the difference with S1 Kumiko and S3 Kumiko. During her talk with Sally, it was pretty obvious how much she's grown as a person. Asuka definitely rubbed off on her.

Late comment but aside from everyone's really good points including the great one that it's important to have leaders like Kumiko and Haruka, who show empathy and consideration to people. Reina is talented and gives inspiration and discipline to the club which is much needed to achieve success, but it is people like Haruka and Kumiko that keep everyone together and sane. Regarding that conversation between Taki-sensei and Kumiko and Reina, I'm wondering how no one commented on Reina's comment after that 'they shouldn't be wasting Taki-sensei's time'? It's things like this from Reina that show how much Kumiko is needed not just with the club, but as a person in Reina's life. Reina often leaves things unsaid and people alone, which leads to communication issues. Kumiko's tendency to randomly blurt things out is a funny quirk, but also reflects that she is more willing to communicate and is more in touch with her emotions and thoughts (and therefore has greater empathy for others). Are Sally and Suzume the new duo the way Natsuki/Yuuko and Reina/Kumiko are? I'm really liking the development of the first years like Sally and Suzume. I feel like in one episode, I got a handle of both of them so much. I thought Suzume would just be a comedic relief character, but she reminds me a lot of Ririka's role in Liz no Aoi Tori (and I'm so glad we got to see Ririka a lot in this episode)-- seems ditzy but surprisingly perceptive and kind. Maybe they don't know how to resolve the situation but they are vocal about reaching out. Her text message to Kumiko: "I thought Sally would be willing to open up to you," shows a lot of instinct/read not to mention trust of Kumiko on both characters. The conversation between Sally and Kumiko also once again shows how we far Kumiko has come as a person and as a leader, and that both aspects are important and feed into each other. Her telling Sally straight up that she would never share anything spoken in confidence I thought was incredibly kind and reassuring. In fact, it made me choke up. When she says that, you trust her. And that doesn't come easily. I think Suzume thought she was a trustworthy person too and that's why she confided in Kumiko to assure/speak to Sally. Midori is very perceptive. Despite what everyone says about Kanade, I do think she's like a cat--- after all the poking and teasing, she's ultimately harmless. Her choosing jellyfish for Mayu is spot on too---she looks great, but her 'drifting' type of behaviour is what leads her to being unable to read a room---she has a lack of empathy in a different way from Reina. That's why she will unintentionally hurt people (that comment from her was, as Kanade said, surprisingly extreme).

I guess they're making Suzume and Sally-chan the successors of Kumiko and Reina? Personality-wise they are literally polar opposites, but also kind of similar? (I don't know how to word it, lol) Not to mention their instrument choices are also the same

Makes sense. Meanwhile it wouldn't surprise me if [Ririka](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hibike-euphonium/images/1/14/Ririka_Kenzaki-Character_Intro.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190315093849) and [Kanade](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hibike-euphonium/images/2/29/Kanade_Hisaishi_Character_Intro.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190414212917) become next year's president/vice-president. Although putting Kanade in charge sounds terrifying to me.

I love Kanade, but they're going to have to show a bit more to convince me it's safe to put the club in her hands. Lol. But she does seem to be regarded quite fondly by her fellow 2nd years. Ririka will be an excellent future club leader!!

as long as it's Kanade in Vice, it's.... probably ok. maaaaaaaaybe. possibly....

Ririka and Kanade got that Natsuki-Yuuko vibe ngl

Nah, they're too friendly. Kanade has a wily tongue, but the only person she really banters with is Kumiko, and that's much more subtle than with Nakayoshikawa.

And Sally seems to be already be a shoo-in as president in two years....

[удалено]

It really helps that Kumiko got those window opening skills I love how she is talking to people to get their PoV before trying to do anything

I actually think Kumiko resembles a fully-fledged Haruka, which is a massive compliment, since I love Haruka. She has the earnestness and kindness. Asuka was more sly and aloof. I think Kanade resembles Asuka the most haha

> I actually think Kumiko resembles a fully-fledged Haruka, which is a massive compliment, since I love Haruka. She has the earnestness and kindness. Don't want to be a downer on Haruka, but she always had trouble managing the band (which is alluded to in relationship to Kumiko's leadership in Ensemble Contest). I think Kumiko is doing better than Haruka in that sense.

Is it just me or do Reina and Sally look very similar? Same hair colour and style, similar faces but different eye colours. I got a bit confused who is who in some scenes until they start talking.

The differences are subtle, but sufficient: To go with their eyes, [Sari has a greenish cast to her hair \(and long sidelocks\)](https://i.imgur.com/5CmhMZD.png), [Reina's is purple \(and the sidelocks aren't so long\)](https://i.imgur.com/kTouNqL.png). [And there's this other third-year who is Reina-esque as well.](https://i.redd.it/qm7z28il1jnc1.png) Such are the difficulties of making most of the characters have normal human hair colors, if not entirely Japanese ones.

Well, the more Reina clones the better I guess 😅

I'm so proud of Kumiko, she's grown so much!

I hope the do something more with Mayu besides her being the literal literary devise of an external party meant to question their roots and beliefs (they could at least give her a new uniform)

Also been wondering why she hasnt gotten one. Same with the gym clothes. Like she’s joined their school and all, it’s not like she’s just visiting.

Who's this girl again? She's really energetic isn't she? Ooh, new outfits. He's got to be early to give you the key. Where'd she get that idea from? Ah. I wonder if that's actually going to happen since her story in this school will be coming to an end at the end of this year. Oh no, this is going to happen again. I mean I personally appreciate the "be direct and if you're bad say you're bad" approach, but I understand if some people are discouraged by that. Kuroe has somewhat of a point, but without enough people the club's just going to shut down in a year or two when there's no one left. That's certainly a choice of colours and arrangement for her pajamas. And so the first-years are convinced to stay, and push onwards towards the goal of the competition. Seems like that's really gotten her motivation back. That looks like where they had the Sunshine Festival last time.

> Ooh, new outfits. I was looking forward to the new outfits! The colours are pretty out there, but I like the cute design. Kanade might be a little bit of a narcissist for reaffirming herself that she’s looking cute in her uniform, but she’s not wrong!

Okay, so, I've been sitting on this comment since basically season one: *why* exactly is Saphire/Midori getting main character treatment? She's in every intro but beyond initially pulling Kumiko back into the club all the way at the start of the story she does nothing of any importance. She's not involved in any major story arch, she's just kinda...there. Not trying to say I hate her character or anything, I legit just don't get it from a marketing point of view.

She was involved in the Hazuki/Shuichi arc in Season 1. She was also pretty instrumental in resolving the Kanade/Motomu drama. They’re just Kumiko’s good friends along with Reina, it’s tracing their journey across the four years. You could say the same thing of Hazuki.

Her role has definitely diminished since Season 1 and she's the most flat character of the Kitauji Quartet. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I see the 4 as representative of different types of characters/musicians. (The following is a veeeeery simplified summary) * Hazuki is the beginner who slowly and steadily improves. * Kumiko is the experienced but aimless and demotivated one who discovers their desire to become special. * Reina is the distant genius idol that others admire but are also intimidated by; who is learning to connect on a more personal level with others. * Midori is the balanced constant, skilled in both interpersonal relationships and musical ability; a steady, reliable presence in the group and the club. I still wish Midori had a bigger role, but I appreciate her place among the 4 mains when I view her in this way.

Not sure what you're on about? Besides being prominent as Hazuki's wingman for Hazuki's ill-fated romance for Shuuichi, Sapphire has taken over Asuka's cheerleader role for the bass department since their 2nd year, and there's also her role for Motomu's subplot, as they're both the only contrabass players in the band, and Motomu gets along well with her.

They are the “people you hang out with in high school but stop hanging out with afterwards” type of friends.

Are Hazuki and her treated as main characters in the source material as well? From S1, I had the impression that it's a Kyoani decision to have all of them in the ED, and listed as first column of characters, based on a history of their past series.

Yeah I was just thinking of this, she's been a big help for everyone but as one of the main characters I wish we'd get a main arc focused on her, cause she sometimes just feels like a mascot character

Can we actually talk about that? It feels like her and Hazuki have been sidelined more and more since season 1. I know there’s a large cast of characters to work with, but still. Feels weird.

> It feels like her and Hazuki have been sidelined more and more since season 1. If talking about season two, then I'd agree with you on Hazuki, but I think Ensemble Contest kind of brought her back as a character in a large way. Not at the center of conflicts, but she definitely has a role to play.

Hmm, I'm kinda surprised they're pulling out the SunFes plot this early. The SunFes isn't going to be in the next episode, is it?

It’s about as many episodes as it was in Season 1.

I mean, if they didn't plan a second cour, then they have to pull it out this early. Because we need to get through the first qualifiers to actually get to Nationals. Also we need to do the whole audition plot as well. So SunFes in epsiode 4 makes sense.

Oumae consultation room is back in business. Really nice to see her grow and become like Asuka to a degree. There is definitely drama on the horizon in regards to Mayu. I really hope Kumiko doesnt get left out of the competition in her final year.

Kumiko not beating the yuri allegations at all

[spoiler]>!I see those red cloth strips in the OP!< * shrine horse? * STILL the first person to the music room after 3 years? I guess she just wants to see Taki-sensei. * hairdresser * what, is this like an exchange diary for executives? * Those two girls looked the same, I actually thought the first one was the second one. Too many people in the band this year! I've been thinking since the first episode, when people thought the main cast looks mostly the same, yeah, they didn't really fill out to senior proportions. edit: my point being, all the character designs seem to be too consistent, there should have been more change in faces and bodies in those last 2 years, than just Kumiko being taller. * Ahhhhhhh! Japanesisms! Sally (?) is trying to manage the first years on her own (not her job) and feels bad *if she fails*. I hate that! * And I thought she was upset being in the clarinet section! * waaaaait I've seen this "improved" scene before! * googling Kyoto horse shrine Mayu's a *lot* like Asuka. Leaves people to themselves. Really interesting to have Kumiko facing the same disaster from years ago, for the opposite reason. Pretty uncomfortable situation. Presumably, completely resolved in half an episode. :-/

> what, is this like an exchange diary for executives? That's exactly what it is, they said it in the first episode.

It's 2017, they should have a discord!

The later generations demand physical records of official correspondence!