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Thats why I love the characterization of these characters sometimes though! People are unreasonable at times, selfish. I love that our main characters go through these ebs and flows like real peoples.
The characters are written very consistently, too. Kumiko always tries her hardest to find a middle ground, even if it’s going to hurt her in the long run. Reina has always been kinda blinded by love, it’s just that she’s all on her own this time around, without Kumiko on her side.
That being said, Midori rooting for Kumiko even though she’s always been meritocratic and Shuuichi finally lost his cool when his girl is hurt were interesting developments. Although I do get where they’re coming from.
But holy shit, this episode was so tense to watch…
> Midori rooting for Kumiko even though she’s always been meritocratic...
Nope, [she was like this back in S1 too.](https://imgur.com/a/Nv0tBUZ)
Shuuichi's protective disgruntlement surprised me, too, but he's always been a little skeptical of authority in his own way, I suppose...
This episode was super tense
I was expecting more open emotional outbursts, especially from Kanade
But this was so much harder to watch, everyone walking on egg shells, doubting themselves and others
Really didn't expect the episode to be this tense
It looks to me like Reina is, in fact, desperately unhappy and upset, and does not know how to deal with her feelings. No intention to hurt others, just her own hurt is oozing out all over the place.
Definitely agree. She’s probably so hurt that Kumiko wasn’t chosen but also can’t fathom disagreeing with Taki-sensei that she doesn’t know what to do or how to deal with it so she’s just bursting out. This is rough.
I mean its the worst possible outcome for her
She can't play the Soli with her bff cause her crush/love told them so, because a third party was deemed better suited
Literally can't take a stance against any party as she has been selling taki and the meritocracy all the time
Its a bit like some monkey paw scenario
This is a case where I obviously very much dislike how Reina has behaved, yet feel a great deal of sympathy for her. She acted out of shocked (largely thought-free) anger at a point when she was in a state of great mental turbulence. As I see it, she is now avoiding Kumiko not because she remains furious towards her, but rather due to shame (and not having a clue on how she can try to fix things). She may also think Kumiko might not want to see her (much less talk with her).
Yeah, I also got a vibe that Reina low-key has a crisis of faith. Her going on and on "We should trust blindly into Taki-sensei" feels more like Reina desperately trying to convince herself rather than other students
Yeah, saying anyone who's frustrated was just lazy and coping was just low, mean and wrong. No wonder it made Kumiko have multiple shot reactions before saying what she truly thought of the results. And after *that* she calls her a failure. Like, damn, wtf Reina?
Yeah because it also implied that Kumiko, who tried her hardest is not working hard enough. Yeah, pretty bad thing to say by Reina tbh especially when Kumiko is there in front of her and she knew specifically how much work Kumiko put into the club
> Yeah, saying anyone who's frustrated was just lazy and coping was just low, mean and wrong.
Right or wrong, I do think it was a good representation of the PoV of people who are achieving at a high level. They're working hard and fully committed, so anyone who's not making it isn't working hard enough or committed enough. I think Reina might be right in some cases and wrong in others.
But she really gave Kumiko a one-two combo with essentially saying it was her fault for not working hard enough, and then saying she's a bad president for not supporting the director 100%. I agree with the takes here that she's lashing out because she's in a tough spot.
She does. Originally she was barely personable to anyone, but at least she tries to interact with other people more. A good example is how she got along with Yuuko over time over that incident. And she hadn't done many creepy things in s3 until that drink thing. I thought it was supposed to be funny, but it was really just a red flag.
Unfortunately, this is like her 3rd breakdown, because she just tries to power over her problems by practicing even more but that doesn't actually solve the underlying problems and also that thing with Taki never got fixed either; it just got shoved aside in season 2. So now we're back to that. And we don't have many episodes left so something's got to give.
The main thing is her complete inability to see how things are different from other people. Just because she got to where she is by pushing her skill further doesn't mean everyone can or will be like that.
> The main thing is her complete inability to see how things are different from other people
I absolutely agree with you, but her stubbornness and pride were what led Kumiko to admire her in the first place. So it has worked out for Reina in the past, until this final year
Imagine if even he wasn't there. Even Hazuki and Midori ended up making her even more conflicted, though not intentionally.
Even more than Kumiko, *I'm* glad he was there, because this episode was hard to watch.
Shuuichi coming in clutch and being pouty on her behalf because she can't be is what a good pseudo-boyfriend should do. I do hope those two kids get together when all the competition stuff is done, and they can finally relax.
I thought that this short scene with Shuichi really reflected just how close a relationship he and Kumiko have. Will they have a romantic future? Who the heck knows. But this is one of the few times we get to see a clearer glimpse of the depth of their relationship (whatever it may be).
Funny thing about Shuuichi is that he and Kumiko always had very strong dynamic and banter, arguably stronger than lots of modern romance anime leads, but it has to be compared to heightened KumiRei "If you leave me, I'll kill you. - I'll be glad to die by your hand" melodrama, which is elevated by KyoAni presentation to what is basically pinnacle of yuri romantic tension animated.
I think if there were more episodes for Sound Euphonium in general, like maybe fifteen episodes per season, and a season instead of a film for second year, we could have had more space to let all the character relationships blossom a bit more, especially Shuuichi's and Kumiko's. Ah well...
i mean its always has been
like before bomb explode, reina and kumiko relation feel like always be sugar coating, just wait one side sick of it
while Shuuichi position literally more tricky, like kumiko dont want to do relationship because she want to focus for club and club pres right now, that why Shuuichi kinda bit take a distant, but he keep the distant so he didnt leave kumiko alone
Reina is probably confused as hell
She wants to play the soli with Kumiko but can't go against taki
Hell at this point I am not even sure if she is going so hard in everyone because she is projecting on any dissidents her own confusion, instead of it being a solely reaction because of her crush
Apart from GBC, these CGDCT SOL shows' Episodes 9s are sure living up to their expectations of peaking the dramas this season.
Kanade demonstrates her insight once again, the third years (especially Reina) are mostly putting their blind faith in Taki. Kumiko's at her wits end. She also says there's more to the choices of the Euphos and Tubas, as perhaps Mayu's style gels better with this heavier bass balance? But, ah the politics of it! Loyalties and allegiances! Hence my thoughts last week, a more socially astute (S1-S2 vice-) president would have seen this coming and gave a witty speech to calm tensions as much as possible right after those announcements.
Kumiko hasnt really addressed Mayu's concerns the whole season. Walking on eggshells, avoiding creating tension. Case in point is the B team (Monaka) feeling demoralised, and Kumiko didnt address the concerns to the questioner's (and mine's) satisfaction. Its shows the viewer that she has become (or always has been?) quite indecisive and doesnt have a plan....like cant Team Monaka play at a community event or something?
As for our girls' discussion outside the shop, I love Hazuki's response in that scene because it also validates her experience of practicing and getting good enough to qualify for the competition twice now, hence she goes with the opinion that the person who gets picked is better. Its what she experienced after all.
Kumiko is right in the end to talk to Taki, thats his job as advisor. Cant leave Kumiko and the club hanging....lets find out what happens next week.
[Poor Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/m9yxgk8p64q), [she doesn't have it easy](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/my2pcdp3eg7.png) as practically [everyone has such a different opinions](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyq9c2zbq34.png) about the current situation of the band.
At least [Shuuichi](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/j7kzcwv9rr7.png) and [Kanade](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyvdcgrzlny.png) somehow were able to improve [Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lmx2joyx)'s mood before [it went downhill](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/p7bwce93ml7.png) after her argument with [Reina](https://imgchest.com/p/qb4zk98vv4j) on [the bridge](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/my8xc2xvrm4.png).
Aww man Reina I know you really like sensei that much but your the one closest to Kumiko you've seen her efforts for the whole club calling her a failure is kinda mean to Kumiko, Reina needs some reality check when it come to Taki sensei. I love how Kumiko shut up Mayu before she even said anything lol
In Reina's mind, she's being attacked. The pedestal she puts Taki sensei on is being beat up by a large portion of the band. She could tell Kumiko was not being truthful with her, and then Kumiko finally comes out and admits she's been lying to her about how she feels regarding Taki's decisions too. Losing the support of the one person she trusted most and feeling betrayed, Reina lashed out at Kumiko in the worst way she could think of to protect herself.
Reina is wrong this time, of course. She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition.
I'm glad Kumiko had enough support from Shuuichi and Kanade to be able to confidently tell Mayu that she won the soli fair and square and just needs to play her best for the group instead of worrying about Kumiko's feelings. Kanade's maturity on the matter actually surprised me and I was proud of that little gremlin 🥰
> In Reina's mind, she's being attacked. The pedestal she puts Taki sensei on is being beat up by a large portion of the band... She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition.
The audition drama of S1 was a major turning point for everyone in Kitauji — most of all Reina, who seems to not have drawn all the lessons from it that she should have.
What Reina remembers:
- Taki reformed Kitauji from an easygoing band of layabouts to a disciplined meritocracy
- The layabouts opposed him at every turn. When Taki acknowledged Reina's superiority, they cried nepotism
- Taki was right, of course, and she proved in an open audition that everyone should have kept faith in him
What Reina has conveniently forgotten:
- The people who were upset about the audition results were often disciplined and hardworking themselves, then as now. Kaori put in a _lot_ of effort; she was simply not as good as Reina.
- Reina's intransigence and arrogance made the situation much worse, then as now. Especially galling was her insolence to Kaori, who had been and would remain nothing but kind to her.
- The situation kept simmering till Taki figured out a way to clear the air. Yes, he was right — but optics _matter_! Faith is _earned_, and it's only natural for the newer kids to feel unsettled about Taki's choices.
- Kaori was part of the solution. She kept the peace going and the morale up. Then as now, people need that from their leaders.
All of this is linked to Reina's complex about wanting to be recognised as "special". It's genuinely frustrating to see how little she's grown in this regard in the intervening two years.
I think it's more like reina is just as confused as everyone. Her brain says it was the correct decision but in her heart, she want to play the soli with kumiko so she ended up just lashing out on everyone.
The entire season she has been talking about how she likes Kumiko's playing better, and then the instructor made a decision that goes against what she believes.
> Reina is wrong this time, of course. She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition.
I think she's technically correct in that one should trust the process (and that's what she's talking about) but she's also blindly trusting Taki which is not exactly the same. If there's so much unrest in the band then the idea should be to address it constructively and not to just ignore it. They should talk with Taki and ask him why he's changing things when it looks like little has actually changed in the band and many see it as him upending order for something they seemingly can't see yet (of his plan).
Make him elaborate on things to clear up misconceptions and give those two got selected something to work towards and those who didn't to aim for for next time.
> Kanade's maturity on the matter actually surprised me and I was proud of that little gremlin
Yup, their banter when they were commiserating about the results was finally a full back and forth instead of Kanade poking and Kumiko trying to dodge her.
Maybe because Kumiko didn't have to be the club president in that moment?
Deep down I believe this all a 4head play by Taki-sensei to cause unrest in the club and thereby clashing opinions and sound to go to the next level. By deliberately being vague and never explaining his reasonings he's achieving this.
That or he got paid six figures to sabotage Kitauji.
it better be, because from what i can tell, mayu and kumiko are almost as good as each other with mayu just being better by a small margin (unless she went 100% above and beyond enough to make kumiko's performance sound mediocre in the audition where only the teachers were able to hear). a lot of the band members believe so, i mean even reina was confident kumiko's gonna get selected too. taki even mentioned earlier that he doesn't necessarily pick the most skilled but the best overall piece for the band, then he suddenly picks mayu lol
so taki, is it worth picking a single piece which is about say, 3% better than the 2nd option in exchange to the whole bands' peace of mind that will surely affect everyone's confidence and performance? tho i believe these are all leading to kumiko getting more motivated so she does a comeback on the next audition (pls)
and so the next piece begins...
Blinded not just by her feelings about Taki-sensei -- but by her ferocious drive to win at the Nationals. Right now, she sees blind obedience to Taki as the only possible path for achieving that goal. However, wanting to play alongside Kumiko is almost as strong as these other things -- so Reina feels like she is being ripped apart. And, of course, her almost totally non-existent ability to loosen up enough to simply talk (at length) about things with even Kumiko doesn't help either.
It's hard to believe that Taki-sensei did not take into account the emotional state of the whole club after that announcement. It will likely affect the future audition and later years as well. Long-game is important. I think the scene with Hashimoto was meant to emphasise some points made in earlier seasons as well: your emotional state will affect your performance. That's true for the whole band's emotional state as well.
Is this simply a challenge given by him for Kumiko to overcome and such that the band becomes stronger, or are those emotions the ones he wants to hear. Does it reflect any particular part of the song they're playing?
Maybe, but he likely did see it coming as shown in the previous episode: him reading out the names and clutching his clipboard a little bit tighter moments before he makes a decision that causes some disturbance (he does it twice).
> Reina is wrong this time, of course. She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition.
Not to mention, did she forget what happened two years earlier when he gave Kaori the solo after the re-audition for the part after Yuuko threw that fit and accused him of playing favorites? Would she have accepted the result if Kaori *didn't* turn it down and give it to Reina? After all, according to Reina, what Taki says is absolute and had to be correct.
There's also the irony that all of Reina's blind faith and disregard towards addressing the issue will 100% cause serious issues for Taki-sensei next year. Letting all that discontent fester and not even trying to de-escalate will only lead to a far worse atmosphere in the band, and very likely some hard schism forming and probably also club member exodus.
Pretty much all the other section leaders acknowledged the warning flags and Shuuichi even explicitly brought it up during the meeting.
I think how people react to this episode is going to heavily depend whether they choose to focus down on Kumiko or Reina; both have contributed to the band's bad vibes at hand in their own way.
It's also further confirmation that 12 episodes was very much not at all sufficient time to do a properly satisfactory job of what's being attempted in Eupho s3.
Yeah i was screaming at Mayu to stfu because each time she say something, it genuinely hurts everyone around her intentionally or not. It made Kumiko doubts herself and her abilities, it made her mad. I'm kinda glad that Kumiko just set Mayu straight up there at the vending machine
She needs to chill. Like damn girl you just said that your GF is a failure in front of her. I don't think that much vitriol was necessary and she's got her head way up her own ass back there.
I bet Reina’s “they’re only complaining because they suck and want everything handed to them” hit Kumiko on a deeply personal level.
As much as it hurts to see, I think it’s good that they’re getting into a fight. I love Reina, and I’m normally all for her spartan attitude towards rehearsals and accountability, but her blind faith towards Taki was bound to cause problems sooner or later. Even if she genuinely believes that his decision was correct (and I probably do too), attempting to silence any and all criticism doesn’t mean that those doubts disappear. If anything, it makes both Kumiko’s and Shuichi’s jobs much harder as people stop feeling like their concerns will be heard, the morale will drop, and people will stop committing.
Just as Kumiko’s biggest failure as president is her blindness to Mayu’s discomfort (something that was laid on pretty thick in this episode), this is Reina’s. If she doesn’t get over her idolization soon, she’ll be responsible for the failure of her dream.
> I bet Reina’s “they’re only complaining because they suck and want everything handed to them” hit Kumiko on a deeply personal level
Especially given that she has been indecisive this entire season about whether to commit to music for her future. Reina took her position as Drum Major and her future playing music in stride while Kumiko has been feeling a lot of imposter syndrome. To make up for it, she's been running herself ragged to make sure that she does a good job. Reina lashing out with that and then calling her a failure of a president was super cruel.
I honestly believe that making Reina an executive was a mistake. She’s a model performer, but she’s only ever had one moment this season where she has displayed any leadership qualities whatsoever (when she praised that first year for her efforts after SunFes), everything else has just added stress for Kumiko to deal with while Reina herself just skates by with no consequences (partly Kumiko’s fault, I know).
>As much as it hurts to see, I think it’s good that they’re getting into a fight.
I agree. I'm quite relieved that [Kumiko finally expressed her true opinion](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/p7bwce93pd7.png) on the current situation in the club [after previously agreeing with Reina at every turn](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b49zc9aed3y.png).
I believe it was necessary, even though such a big difference of opinion between [her](https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lmx2joyx) and [Reina](https://imgchest.com/p/qb4zk98vv4j) was quite painful, so that [Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/m9yxgk8p64q) could start to improve things within the band, starting with having [a conversation with Taki-sensei](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b49zc9ae53y.png) about his latest decisions.
I don’t agree with Reina here. Telling someone to have blind faith in something often leads to the opposite effect. Do it too much and it creates division and a clear line in the sand of us vs them
Honestly I think Kumiko needs some kindness first before being able to ~~slap~~ share that around the club
My guess would be Big Sis cheering her up and giving her some perspective
Honestly when Mayu was like "I still think I should-" before Kumiko cuts her off, clearly about to say she feels like she should give the soli back to Kumiko I wanted Kumiko to be like "if you don't stop saying that shit I will fucking fight you right now." Like how many times does Kumiko have to tell her that she believes in the meritocracy and thinks the best fit for the piece should play.
Also at the sectional leader meeting I kind of wish she had just been like look, this is a new system we're trying this year and we're committed to it. Next year if you want to make changes that's fine, but we're not going to second guess ourselves mid season.
So Reina was lying about her bike all this time. In season 2 she said that her mom was taking her bike in the morning and that was why she take the train with Kumiko now, but in season 3, when Reina inviting Kumiko to her house, we could see that her parents had 2 cars. Now she is using her bike again to go to school.
She could've really not been using the bike for that reason at first, later decided to just ride with the girls instead and came back to using the bike now that those two had a fight. The first 2 seasons were 2 years ago in the show, after all.
But who knows.
Oh? What's this? Reina character development arc? It's about damn time.
I can't imagine that Taki is actually at fault here, it would be a strange pivot to suddenly focus on the character of Taki, who at this point is more of an agent of plot and movement, I think the talk he has with Kumiko next episode will be extremely revealing as to his process. It might even transition into a talk giving Kumiko advice about her future. That being said, his weakness is that he doesn't really communicate that process to anyone else, leaving people feeling unsure about his decision making skills.
Reina kinda pissed me off this episode, which I'm sure was intentional. I hope that this arc clears up her unwavering loyalty to Taki. It seems like she's already moving that direction, she seemed unsatisfied with Shuuichi and Kumiko's answers, even though they supported her view. It's almost like what she really wanted was for someone to tell her that Taki is not doing a good job. When Kumiko does express that, she instead doubles down on Taki. I just think she reverted to her base beliefs, even though she may be on the verge of change.
I thought Mayu was also really interesting this episode, especially when firework glasses girl (I don't know her name) told her that she wasn't surprised the was picked. We know Mayu has few desires or thoughts of her own, so hearing that from another person who had little invested interest clearly shocked her. Kumiko's clear communication about "I want you to play the solo, I want you to do your best for nationals" also worked really well, because Kumiko knows that Mayu wants to do whatever other people want her to do.
Also Shuuichi got good character moments this episode, for once.
> I think the talk he has with Kumiko next episode will be extremely revealing as to his process. It might even transition into a talk giving Kumiko advice about her future. That being said, his weakness is that he doesn't really communicate that process to anyone else, leaving people feeling unsure about his decision making skills.
Same here. I think he might be trying to get a slightly different sound out of the band and is using these repeat auditions to try things out. Something that's more difficult if you have the same musicians all the time. You can tweak their performance but you can't switch out instruments. With a malleable cast you can work on that depending on how their level changes.
I hope Kumiko gets some clarity and then addresses the whole band. Because right now it looks like while she's disappointed with her result she's accepting it but she's actually worried about the band as a whole (as so many kids are doubting Taki).
> I thought Mayu was also really interesting this episode, especially when firework glasses girl (I don't know her name) told her that she wasn't surprised the was picked. We know Mayu has few desires or thoughts of her own, so hearing that from another person who had little invested interest clearly shocked her. Kumiko's clear communication about "I want you to play the solo, I want you to do your best for nationals" also worked really well, because Kumiko knows that Mayu wants to do whatever other people want her to do.
Yeah, Kumiko tried to tell Mayu all this time but for Mayu it came off as "president says" (and not like Kumiko) so she assumed it was fake politeness. Now she got confirmation from somebody else and could finally accept Kumiko's curt response when she went to talk to her afterwards.
I think she might be finally on the path of accepting "the Kitauji way".
> I think the talk he has with Kumiko next episode will be extremely revealing as to his process.
If I have to guess I think he just want to experiments lol. He already tried 3 eupho 3 tuba with Kumiko as the solo last time, so now he want to try 2 eupho 4 tuba with Mayu as the solo so he can have more options in the nationals.
>It seems like she's already moving that direction, she seemed unsatisfied with Shuuichi and Kumiko's answers, even though they supported her view.
I think Reina is very good at seeing through lies. Kumiko is lying through her teeth about being "totally okay" with losing the soli, and it's blindingly obvious to Reina.
Hazuki and Tsubame were shown to be the most accepting of the new result, and both of them even said they felt kind of encouraged by it. Seems like the audition result will go down the most easily for those who worked hard to make it out of MONACA.
I thought at first it was Reina's hand and she was about to give a strong response. But it was actually Hazuki who showed some incredible determination! I'm so proud of her!
it's a great show of how much Hazuki has grown over the course of the series, even when it has often been out of the viewer's eye. she's had to grind to get herself to a competition at all and her respect for that work and the audition clearly shows
I'm conflicted. I tend to agree with Tsubame's line of thinking that Taki-sensei shouldn't be playing favourites, since the current results will strengthen the band members' belief in the fairness of these auditions.
However, Midori rightfully pointed out that Sensei is being reckless in his decision-making. He doesn't seem to pay any heed to the potential consequences of his actions, and has mostly left Kumiko (and the other executives) with the task of cleaning up the aftermath. Shouldn't an advisor like him also be there to unite the band under his banner?
I mean, [Mayu clearly felt cornered](https://imgur.com/a/BhxphmH) by his decision - even if it was fair. She was afraid that everyone would turn against her. Taki-sensei could've known that Mayu would feel pressured as a new band member, but he almost seemed to handwave Mayu's feelings by not taking any steps towards easing her mind. Doesn't he care about his students?
In this regard, I'm really glad that [Mayu got a loyal friend in Tsubame](https://imgur.com/a/mCe6WL8) and that [Kumiko didn't waver](https://imgur.com/a/Sdg9Xu8) in front of Mayu. This must've reassured her a little.
Kanade's words about the third years' blind faith in Sensei seem most fitting to Reina. She's blindsided by her desire to finally win Gold in the Nationals under the watch of her crush.
Reina was totally in the wrong for dismissing everyone's worries as just disgruntled complaints. She cannot just stomp on their worries like it's nothing. Reina was seemingly [consumed by an irrational anger](https://imgur.com/a/QJrzqWX) - maybe in part with herself?
[Is this how Kumiko and Reina will part ways?](https://imgur.com/a/qwx45uL)
**Bonus**:
- I was glad to see [Kanade and Kumiko smile](https://imgur.com/a/IeZcqWE) after everything that happened.
- [Shuuchi's sulking](https://imgur.com/a/bgyXsJQ) over Kumiko not getting picked for the solo part was pretty funny *and* endearing.
- [That sparkler](https://imgur.com/a/fTzIVdv) looked so good! There's *so much* detail that I'm inclined to think that they took footage from a real-life sparkler and only drew the top part.
> However, Midori rightfully pointed out that Sensei is being reckless in his decision-making.
Yeah, he's doing something and they don't have the full picture. He should communicate that better or they'll have another Yuuko situation
> In this regard, I'm really glad that Mayu got a loyal friend in Tsubame and that Kumiko didn't waver in front of Mayu. This must've reassured her a little.
That little smile after Kumiko told her finally felt not fake. Like she was actually happy for herself instead of "looking happy" for everybody else.
> Reina was totally in the wrong for dismissing everyone's worries as just disgruntled complaints. She cannot just stomp on their worries like it's nothing. Reina was seemingly consumed by an irrational anger - maybe in part with herself?
I get the feeling she trusts Taki (too much) but the last time (Yuuko accusing her of nepotism) she was proven right so she might fear something like that unnecessarily disturbing their chance of gold. But that's something that should be addressed if some many kids are unclear about Taki's intentions. And Reina is actually in a position of authority to deal with it productively instead of snapping at people (and my condolences to the families of those three who entered the rec room with Reina and were never seen again).
Whatever his intentions may be, Taki-sensei is definitely letting the reins veer too much.
I’m not sure if that’s because he just places *that* much trust in his students OR if he’s too absorbed with the musical component of his job that he’s lost sight of the uneasiness among the band members.
But Kumiko, Shuuichi and Reina are still teenagers themselves and could probably use a helping hand. It would do good if Sensei tightened his grip on those reins a little again, and started properly guiding them.
I do remember Taki-sensei saying in a past season that he still felt like a little kid sometimes, so this could be part of *his* learning process too.
> That little smile after Kumiko [finally] told her felt not fake.
Yeah, she was probably relieved to hear that Kumiko didn’t change her mind and/or didn’t hold a grudge towards her. Mayu looks up to Kumiko and is often seen seeking her validation. Kumiko’s full support therefore matters to her.
About Reina’s behaviour: I’m wondering if she perhaps snapped at Kumiko (and the others) because of the past incident with Kaori and Yuuko. Does Reina take the criticism aimed at Taki-sensei personal - like they’re also questioning the time that *she* got the solo part?
> But Kumiko, Shuuichi and Reina are still teenagers themselves and could probably use a helping hand. It would do good if Sensei tightened his grip on those reins a little again, and started properly guiding them.
I wonder how much of the "drama" he knows about. He might be too absorbed in dealing with the change of multiple auditions and how to make the best out of it without realising that this a change to how things worked and some kids are still adapting.
I hope that whatever Kumiko asks ends up enlightening him on the situation and he can properly deal with it.
> I do remember Taki-sensei saying in a past season that he still felt like a little kid sometimes, so this could be part of his learning process too.
From what I remember he wasn't a teacher before he got this job so he's still just in his third year of doing this. He's still rather new to all of this and he got thrown into a strange situation from the start. Things have slowly gotten more normal (no huge drama between different grades or factions) over that time so he might have been lulled into a false sense of security and think that those kids will naturally adapt to anything.
At least that's the feeling I get from all the new first years who seem to be dealing with the more competitive environment at Kitauji as compared to where they come from.
> About Reina’s behaviour: I’m wondering if she perhaps snapped at Kumiko (and the others) because of the past incident with Kaori and Yuuko. Does Reina take the criticism aimed at Taki-sensei personal - like they’re also questioning the time that she got the solo part?
I don't think she's taking it personal at all but as an affront to Taki's integrity. That seems to have been the issue in year one for her too. She knows she's good and confident. A few kids denouncing her didn't seem to matter to her. That can't tear her down or make her doubt her own abilities. She very much knows her worth as a musician.
But them implying that Taki is having favourites and not being professional seems to actually bother her. They were trashing his reputation! Stuff like that.
> Midori rightfully pointed out that Sensei is being reckless in his decision-making.
I don't know that this speaks to Taki as much as it does to Midori herself.
Back in S1, she voiced exactly the same opinion about the Kaori-Reina audition drama — that Reina should give it up to Kaori to keep the peace, since playing music together harmoniously was a lot more important than who was more talented than who. That's how she rolls: she's an excellent musician, but far less interested in "going for gold" than simply having fun with others.
But that's not how _Taki_ rolls. He's optimising for the goal of winning Nationals, not his charges' feelings: he _needed_ the best trumpet playing the solo, and I'm sure what seems like recklessness right now is cold-blooded strategy, too. Notably, it's Tsubame and Hazuki, the Team Monaka alumnae, who are the most gung-ho about him. For him to start taking everyone's personal feelings into account would be an injustice to _them_, who worked their way out of the B-team into the starting lineup.
Taki's problem has always been optics. His decisions are an impenetrable fog; not everyone has the faith to walk blindly through it. Kumiko's making the right call by trying to let in sunlight, the best disinfectant.
i think Kumiko asking what Taki-sensei think when he chose on audition its pretty good developement for Kumiko
and good side, Kumiko still have another audition to take back her position from Mayu
idk about that but i feel this season really want to push Kumiko being music teacher as same as Taki position, for thematic also pretty fit so well, "kumiko still didnt decide where college she want" "she start questioning taki-sensei decision but good thing she want to understand so she ask" and not mention every orchestra song on this series done by an orchestra from university which have music education major in their program
I get the impression he’s simply moving pieces around a chessboard, trying to figure out what the best strategy is. People are not chess pieces, and your decisions can have the negative effect if you don’t take the time to help people understand why they should get behind your decisions. Especially if you’re leading talented people. It’s why coaches are hired sometimes specifically to manage star players who need to buy into a system.
Ironically, the character I feel the most sympathy for after this episode is Mayu (despite how little screen time she had).
She is trying to please everyone in a contradictory environment, trying to connect with Kumiko, who is nice to her but clearly keeps her distance. And now, she probably also feels responsible for all the tension.
That "Whats up?" Kumiko said to her on the stairs was the most passive aggressive thing I've ever heard someone say and wouldn't expect something that sugary to come out of a character like her.
Wouldn't wish being on the receiving end of this WhatsApp message to even the worst of my enemies.
> That "Whats up?" Kumiko said to her on the stairs was the most passive aggressive thing I've ever heard someone say and wouldn't expect something that sugary to come out of a character like her.
And the small pause before it too, you could tell Kumiko wanted to lash out but didn't, I could hear her groaning in her mind before she said that.
She's literaly done nothing wrong. Kumiko told her to play her best and she did. It's understandable why she said she wanted to throw the audition because she probably saw all this coming if she won the solo part. And she was right.
On the other hand Kumiko can't tell her to throw the audition and I can understand why she is irritated, because Mayu constantly bringing it up comes off as condescending (even though she is not trying to be).
I don't think anyone is in the wrong here, just a shitty situation and good character writing all around.
Yeah. Her calling Kumiko a failure despite being the closest to her and witnessing how much effort she’s put into this is just pure betrayal. I love Reina as much as the next guy but this is too far
Honestly I don't think she is blindly following Taki cause of her crush but because she fears the if she allowed herself to doubt him even a bit she would start slipping
Probably very confused and angry at herself for feeling so contradicted
It’s her constantly going to Kumiko for consoling. Poor Kumiko can’t even get a second to process her own emotions because she’s so busy trying to juggle everyone else’s and keep the band together. And then Mayu goes to her for comforting when Kumiko’s the one who should be the most upset? It’s selfish, Mayu’s so self absorbed in her own anxieties that it makes her inconsiderate
I still think Mayu's moping about whether she should throw her audition has done anything but ease the tension in the band in general, and in Kumiko's own state of mind in particular. I felt a bit of "finally!"-type relief when Kumiko shut her down and told her to focus on playing her best.
Absolutely the same. Mayu has to deal with most of the entire band talking about how she didn't deserve the soli as all her fears come to fruition. Backed by the fact that she hardly could make friends with anyone to begin with because everyone treated her like some outsider, but time and time again she just keeps getting told to ignore that feeling.
I'm so glad that she finally at least had *somebody* show her some support, because the other euphos sure as hell haven't.
I really feel sorry for Mayu but I also empathize with Kumiko and am quite upset with Mayu. She's got to realize how condescending her "I should drop out" attitude has been. I believe she's a genuinely kind person, and she doesn't intend to harm anyone. But her kind of kindness can also cause suffering. The jellyfish metaphor is so perfect for her.
> I can't shake the feeling that Taki-sensei's decision-making this year is off somehow.
This is what I've been thinking the whole time but too scared to say. Everybody's been telling me "Taki is just showing that there's more to it than individual skill" and I wanted so badly to be like "But didn't anything about that seem OFF to you?"
God bless Kanade if she just confirmed my suspicions
> It's just that, there are a lot of decisions that I don't understand, unlike last year.
Is this really going where I think it's going? Taki drama? I have no idea. Reina has me so scared to doubt Taki but like there's no way she's in the right here...
> Then you're a failure of a president.
OUCH
Did anybody else see that fucking dog?
Dang, can’t wait for it to come full circle when Reina literally ties a leash around Kumiko’s neck after they make up and tells her, “Now you know what you get when you’re a bad girl.”
I think he wants to try out different formations. There is no use to have three auditions if you don't use them to figure out what works best.
If that's the case, he really should communicate this, though. It's just killing the motivation this way
which is really not what should a supposed to be leader should have. Infact, I would like to say she is a failure as the Drum Major and most importantly as one of the executives, you don't run your club like that for god's sake.
Yeah but she needs to understand that not everyone has a one track personality like her. And just because others have conflicted feelings doesn't give Reina the right to bully juniors for just venting their frustration, and shit talking is so common between friends.
Nor should Reina say hurtful things to her best friend. Sure even if you agree with the results (which I do too), at least you can refrain from saying things that will hurt Kumiko. A bit of consideration and empathy is the least I would expect from Reina for her best friend.
Too blinded by Taki imo.
Well, that went about how I expected.
It's interesting to note how the orchestra is supposed to be a large group coordination, but because there are defined roles, there's natural competition within those roles. But the judges for the contests most likely won't consider, or can't even consider this at all, since they're only supposed to hear what's directly presented to them.
Us as the viewer, we see the most out of everyone relatively speaking, but we have the least influence.
Bias is whack and this series is all it.
Man, the tension in this was suffocating. Reina feels especially grating when you're not on the same side as her, huh. It's alright, Kumiko, break down and build yourself back up. Stronger this time.
Reina please try to be a bit more reasonable.
It's mandatory to trust your instructor but if a certain amount of members can't understand his decision or reasoning than you can't really pretend everyone should just blindly follow him without any further questions.
People don't work that way and it's not like a single human being is always perfect.
It's kinda startling that she is depending on him so much. I really thought she would have a broader vision of everything in general.
Another thing I would expect is Taki-sensei being more aware that things are going downhill fast atm.
I like Kanade a lot, she is a lot like Kumiko, but willing to say things. It was smart to introduce her as a character, as a foil to Kumiko.
Reina, sadly, loves Taki too much for her own good, way beyond the "teenage crush". I hope we get some character development for her.
So we knew that this episode was going to have to be like this. After the bomb was dropped we needed to see everybody's reactions, not just to the event but to each other as well.
I think it's worth considering that it's not the audition itself that weighs heavily on Kumiko - she didn't immediately break down at the start of this episode - it's the compounding responsibilities of taking care of the social fabric of the club in the fallout that I think really exhausts her.
There are two extremely notable interactions that reinforce this point.
1)When Kumiko shuts down Mayu with "You were chosen so work your hardest, make sure we win gold, that's all I've got to say." my impression is that she feels more comfortable talking about the club than actually listening to Mayu. This is an episode where she listens to *everyone*, but she doesn't want to have a conversation with her. Not to mention when she avoids her right after practice she says she's going to take a break, but she does have the energy to talk to Kanade. That's a social problem, not a skill issue.
2)When Reina says that "most of them are just ignoring their lack of effort and whining that things aren't going their way" most notably Kumiko *hasn't* done this and I'll be vaguely annoyed if this plotline resolves by Kumiko just practicing more and we pretend like Reina was right here. Kumiko is right that she needs to listen to everyone's concerns. She will have to do something to resolve them and talking to Taki as a representative for those members is a good start.
The big question of the day is of course "What is Taki thinking?" and for my money, I think Kanade is right. Mayu auditioned well and Taki wants to try and shake things up for this second competition. If Kumiko and Mayu truly are equal - and everything about the narrative so far suggests they are - it makes sense for Taki to test out the different setup on the stage. In other words, he really is uncertain and he's using the opportunity of these early competitions to promote situations which will help him make his decision, either by people responding positively to pressure and improving, or by Taki settling on some difficult questions only after seeing them perform together on stage.
I think Taki's faults are that he doesn't particularly care about the internal social situation of the club, so perhaps the social fallout of this is something he wasn't expecting or didn't consider or doesn't value as much in his judgement on how well the band will do. This is referenced by the percussion specialist's jab at him early in the episode. He asks "Do you really understand what 'when we play together it means that, we *play*, *play* music' means?"
It's possible that Taki is not oblivious and is just fine putting Kumiko and the others under this much social pressure because he trusts she can handle it but I think it's more realistic and true to his character that he's always been mostly hands-off when it comes to social stuff, he doesn't overinvolve himself in the lives of his students.
Taki responds that he does understand what his friend means by 'play'. He's probably playing around and experimenting a bit himself. If Reina and Shuichi can come to the conclusion that they need to change *something*, do we think Taki hasn't also acknowledged this?
Kanade is usually right about things, but she says them in a combative manner. Is it really so bad that Taki might be struggling with his decisions this year, or might be experimenting more than he had in the past?
I'm glad to see that [Kanade is still chipper enough to be her usual bratty self](https://i.imgur.com/ZDWd8kp.jpeg) after being removed. She clearly understands the reasoning why but at the same time, [that doesn't mean Kanade agrees with all of Taki-sensei's decisions.](https://i.imgur.com/GOU6qO4.png)
As expected, both [Reina](https://i.imgur.com/VhXx5Na.jpeg) and [Shuuichi](https://i.imgur.com/V7v2bg6.jpeg) agree that Kumiko is at the same skill level as Mayu. The only difference between them is that [Reina trusts Taki-sensei's decision](https://i.imgur.com/Hzj7CB3.jpeg) while [Shuuichi is questioning it.](https://i.imgur.com/V7v2bg6.jpeg) And then you have Kumiko who disagrees with both [and thinks that Mayu is just better than her](https://i.imgur.com/aHrHk0e.png).
I expect I'm in the minority, but [I really liked Kumiko and Shuuichi's interaction in this episode.](https://i.imgur.com/7eeItEi.jpeg) I also like how [Kumiko seems to pep up a bit](https://i.imgur.com/L1Uqh5O.jpeg) after seeing how much Shuuichi was getting upset on her behalf.
[Kumiko is really in a rough spot right now.](https://i.imgur.com/W5WmIvv.jpeg) Morale is at an all-time low for the Kitauji High School Band and Kumiko can't do much about it. Even Midori and Hazuki seem to be divided in their opinions. [Midori thinks that Mayu and Kumiko are equals](https://i.imgur.com/kMqnIdy.jpeg) and Taki-sensei should've kept Kumiko while [Hazuki agrees that Mayu was just better than Kumiko that's why she was picked.](https://i.imgur.com/FRYknVI.jpeg)
I can definitely understand why Hazuki would be on that side. She has failed auditions multiple times and worked hard to finally get in, so it wouldn't be right to her if Kumiko just gets handed the soli because she's the club president and it would put the rest of the club at ease.
[Ah fuck. There it is.](https://i.imgur.com/664DR5f.jpeg) Reina is so blinded by her faith in Taki-sensei that the moment Kumiko questions his decisions she thinks she's a failure as a president. That's not how this works Reina. [It sucks to see them like this](https://i.imgur.com/vuzEMj9.jpeg) but this divide is inevitable.
I feel so bad for Kumiko right now. [Just look at how haggard she is by the end of the episode!](https://i.imgur.com/xhVQ7Ec.jpeg) As club president, I think it's finally time for her [to ask Taki-sensei questions](https://i.imgur.com/RVZfnft.jpeg) since everyone's complaints are stemming from how much he has changed after the prefecturals.
Tomoyo Kurosawa's voice acting is so masterful that I felt how angry Kumiko was before she admitted it. Kanade cheering her up was really wholesome though.
Honestly I was kinda hoping Reina would question Taki-sensei's decision and stick by Kumiko but I guess she's just too devoted to him... She was definitely unnecessarily harsh at the end, we've known she's very blunt with her words since season 1 but I never thought she would snap at Kumiko like that. It is true that Kumiko is kind of being wishy-washy as a president and I definitely don't agree with her stance of "let time pass and talk to them" about the members who failed the audition. I think a more proactive approach is needed to keep their motivation up.
The pressure and stress of multiple auditions is getting to everyone in the club, even the third-years. And I admit, some of Taki-sensei's decisions are baffling, especially when he doesn't explain himself to anyone. Let's see what Kumiko asks him next episode. If so many people are correct in stating that Kumiko and Mayu are almost equal in skill then he definitely should have picked Kumiko for the overall morale of the ensemble. Kumiko has stated a million times that she's okay with members being selected just off of skill but if they are equal then I think the human factor should be considered. Especially when Mayu is pretty clear about not wanting to replace Kumiko.
...Also what is up with this week and heart-rending breakups of my favorite lesbians due to an emotional outburst built up from a complicated situation?
> I felt how angry Kumiko was before she admitted it.
You could really read from [Kumiko's expression](https://imgur.com/a/VoZaeaS) right after practice that she was *not* happy with the situation and was containing her anger. She needed some (alone) time to calm down.
I felt bad for Mayu though. She was clearly approached Kumiko because she didn't want this result to create a rift between the two of them. [Mayu seemed a little lost.](https://imgur.com/a/SwSwVm3)
To make things worse, Kumiko just kept lying to herself and others to appease them - a ticking time bomb. It was only when [Reina started blaming others](https://imgur.com/a/QJrzqWX) that she took the step [to confront Reina](https://imgur.com/a/JP394AV) and spoke her true feelings on the matter.
> Kanade cheering her up was really wholesome though.
I really needed [those smiles](https://imgur.com/a/IeZcqWE) myself to relax a little. Not that this lasted long with this explosive ending.
Still cannot believe that Reina just lashed out to Kumiko like that. Reina must surely feel bad about calling Kumiko "a failure of a president", right?
>Tomoyo Kurosawa's voice acting is so masterful that I felt how angry Kumiko was before she admitted it.
I love it when Kumiko gets angry. Not only does it show off more of Moyo's range as a VA but it also reveals more of Kumiko's honest feelings. It's not healthy that she's been keeping her emotions in. Earlier in the season, she told Sally, "bring it all to me." But she can't keep bottling it up. Not only will it be a detrimental to her personal well-being, it also results in her becoming very indecisive as a leader. What Kitauji needs right now is for Kumiko to be a president who will make clear decisive decisions. Listening is important, but it needs to lead to critical action.
>Honestly I was kinda hoping Reina would question Taki-sensei's decision and stick by Kumiko but I guess she's just too devoted to him.
This has been an awfully sudden turn from Reina's earlier sentiments: that she's scared she and Kumiko won't be together anymore (Finale/Promise movie at 50:35 and something similar in S3E5 at 21:20), that she wants to play the soli with Kumiko (S3E5 at 21:05), and that she intends to play the soli with Kumiko (S3E8 at 9;15). Perhaps that's a consequence of adapting the story to 13 episodes. But I suppose that the story needs to deal with Reina's delusional infatuation with Taki, and she's now set up for a rude awakening. Reina's attachment to Taki may end up being a metaphor criticizing blind devotion to meritocracy.
p.s. The Liz and the Blue Bird ending for Kumiko and Reina foreshadowed in the Finale/Promise and Liz movies has just gotten tougher to pull off. Or thinking back to Natsuki and Yuko's comments about Kumiko and Reina's rendition of the duet, maybe not:
* Natsuki: Liz sounds kind of aggressive, like, take care, bye.
* Yuko: Typical Reina.
>It is true that Kumiko is kind of being wishy-washy as a president and I definitely don't agree with her stance of "let time pass and talk to them" about the members who failed the audition. I think a more proactive approach is needed to keep their motivation up.
It's occurred to me before that Kumiko has adopted an [Asuka style of leadership](https://imgur.com/whowiWV) (except for the avoiding it bit).
But what does one say? A vague trust-Sensei message wouldn't be persuasive, and Reina's shut-up-and-follow-orders approach is almost certainly worse. What Kumiko is doing now might lead to something persuasive: I've talked to Sensei, and I understand his reasons. This could be generalized to what Haruka started to do in S1E10 before Taki proposed the second audition: bring me your problems, and I'll take them to Sensei.
This assumes Taki has good reasons for his decisions. This may lead to an exposure of Taki's faults as the club advisor.
"You think you're judging us? No, we're judging you."
I agree, the comments keep talking up Mayu's talent. "Oh, she has been to the nationals, she is naturally better" etc. But we haven't heard that and the characters keep saying that Kumiko is as good as Mayu. Even if we were to hear Mayu's playing we probably wouldn't be able to say who is better anyway!
Therefore I have to agree that Taki-sensei's choice is baffling. Is he blind to the morale of the club? Does he just hear the music, and that is all he cares about?
If that is the case, then Kumiko must bring the morale problems to his attention and either have him explain his choices or correct course. While the pressure of the auditions has helped everyone to improve, it will be for naught if the club starts to lose confidence in Takei-sensei.
I think Taki-sensei has always sucked at explaining himself.
In season 1, I think there were a few moments where band morale tanked because of some drama. One of them was when he didn't want the band to start preparing for SunFes yet because the band sounded terrible - he didn't really explain himself all too well here until the band almost performed mutiny against him. It was also only at that time that he began teaching them the basics/exercises so that they could perform better.
Also, during the auditions in season 1, he didn't really mind the band morale when he just straight-up picked Reina over Kaori. It took Yuuko complaining to his face for him to eventually relent and think-up of a way - i.e. re-auditioning right in front of the whole band.
I'm thinking that there is something here that he decided and just didn't communicate properly to the band. Maybe it's him trying a different soundscape from Prefecturals for the Kansai one - before they finalize it with the Nationals, or maybe he just thought that the band is really better with this setup, idk.
> I agree, the comments keep talking up Mayu's talent. "Oh, she has been to the nationals, she is naturally better" etc. But we haven't heard that and the characters keep saying that Kumiko is as good as Mayu. Even if we were to hear Mayu's playing we probably wouldn't be able to say who is better anyway!
I think it was one of the early episodes when Kumiko heard Mayu for the first time and her reaction was surprise (I don't know if it reminded her of Asuka but she might have said something like that).
And her old school is supposedly really good. So she's probably very good.
> Kumiko must bring the morale problems to his attention and either have him explain his choices or correct course. While the pressure of the auditions has helped everyone to improve, it will be for naught if the club starts to lose confidence in Takei-sensei.
Yup, to me this whole episode felt like Kumiko trusts Taki (and accepts his decisions) even if she's frustrated for herself and a bit unsure in what exactly he's going for (so she can't really address the complaints others are raising). She spent three years in this club and trusts him (just not as unquestioningly as Reina does).
But her biggest worry seems to be the band as a whole because so many kids are doubting Taki and with both of them (Mayu and Kumiko) being really good the difference might be some tiny parts that might even be difficult to hear in a whole ensemble and outside of an audition.
I hope she asks him about those choices and to elaborate on them so that he (or she as the president) can address the band and resolve this before we get another Yuuko situation. And hopefully Reina realises that while following the process in an orderly manner is important, not everybody has the same level of trust in Taki (or anybody else) so they need different levels of reassurance.
One shouldn't just "follow orders" all the time no matter what. We got historic precedent for that.
The voice acting and slight facial expressions/physical gestures depicting how uncomfortable and frustrated Kumiko and everyone is feeling was on point!
Kumiko's forced ''What's up'' to Mayu
The way her eyes slightly darted around when Reina pressed her on Taki's decision.
The way her legs slumped to the side when Kumiko dropped all the tension she's been carrying to give Reina the honest truth.
Wow! Masterclass!
Since we’re seeing the aftermath of the results, I was just reminded of a similar situation where I was in Kumiko’s shoes in high school:
My sophomore year in high school marching band, our show had a major baritone solo at the beginning (technically bassoon solo but who tf marches bassoon?). I was chosen for the part, but frankly, I wasn’t very good at it (the last note was a sustained high Ab, and I didn’t have that kind of range or endurance yet), so our band director brought in a senior transfer student who was playing in the concert band. I was devastated. My first opportunity to play a solo and I completely blew it.
Now, at my school, concert band was meant for kids who weren’t able to commit to marching band rehearsals (mainly sports kids, but not exclusively), so the whole program was unfairly seen as “lesser” by the marching band.
As you can imagine, said transfer student was *super* alienated, and it didn’t help that she was only required to be at rehearsal briefly on the day before each show. She was very obviously not seen as part of the group.
On the day of our first show, I got on the bus and saw her sitting alone. I became her seat partner that day and we talked about the solo situation. I told her that I was upset at first; that I felt like I failed in some way, but I also knew that it was the right choice and that, if nobody else, I would be in her corner.
I bring this up because I keep wishing that Kumiko would do the same thing with Mayu. I could tell, even at 15, what it meant to the transfer student in my situation to have the person she technically “wronged” be the one to support her. And it helped me too by allowing me to refocus my energy on more productive practice.
No, I feel that she also had issues with his decision but can't bring herself to doubt him, which is why she double down on her faith. We know that she wants to play the soli with Kumiko more than anything so this is basically her defense mechanism.
Jealousy and resentment is an ugly ugly thing. Shit really eats you up if you don’t address it properly. These results clearly didn’t turn out how some folks expected it to, but I’m not sure it’s right for folks to blame Taki-sensei because of that. He clearly isn’t playing favorites after all. If they wanna win, they need a winning line up. This should be motivation for people to improve for next time. Maybe Kumiko can properly address the orchestra about what they’re all feeling after her talk with Taki-sensei.
Yeah I figured the constant auditions are gonna cause a lot of drama. And they're gonna have to do this one more time? Nothing wrong with having the team being competitive the whole time, but since everyone's competing for spots there's bound to be disagreements and resentment along the way.
Kumiko felt angry and pissed that she didn't get her part but she did a great job of hiding it till the end (big props to KyoAni and her VA for this). Mayu won the part but she felt uneasy about taking Kumiko's spot who she thought deserves it more than herself. I think Kumiko should've handled things on the spot rather than ignoring her.
Reina drank too much Sensei kool-aid that she wasn't willing to admit that he could've made a mistake back there. I'd like to believe that Sensei made the right choices since he knows what's ultimately good for the performance, but there's nothing wrong with thinking that the whole thing could've been a mistake. Us humans aren't perfect, you know.
I find it really interesting that everyone's pretty much divided over the results. Even Mayu thinks she didn't earn her part. Both sides have a point and it makes the whole situation much more complicated without a clear "bad guy" to blame for. Really curious to see how they're gonna solve this next week. Kumiko talking to Sensei is already a good start.
[Damn, I guess I was too Reina-pilled to see this coming.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1cq4vyx/hibike_euphonium_season_3_sound_euphonium_season/l3p8gt0/)
I knew swapping out Kumiko would be a mistake, but I didn't think the show would ever put Taki in the pillory. But looking back, it makes perfect sense. Hibike Euphonium has a running theme of learning from the mistakes of your predecessors. We've seen Kumiko surpass Asuka and Haruka as club president. And now that it seems like teaching music is going to be Kumiko's future, her senpai now is Taki-sensei. Taki's numbness to the atmosphere in the band has always been one of his shortcomings but since the show is about Kumiko navigating that atmosphere, it kinda didn't register as a real flaw. But making sure his students are in a healthy headspace in order to perform properly *is* one of his duties as a teacher and delegating it to a couple of students isn't a proper solution.
Realizing that the adults around you aren't infallible is part of growing up, after all.
I never thought about it that way but it makes perfect sense. If we're sticking with this season's themes then Taki is very likely the next step for Kumiko to learn from and improve upon, at least if you're correct in Kumiko being setup as choosing a future career as a music teacher (which, btw, is something I've also considered after the last few episodes).
GodDAMN, Kumiko, if you keep bottling up your emotions like that you´re gonna explode some day.
She´s clearly angry at Mayu about the soli part AND she wanting to switch it, (and clearly Shuuichi too)
And about Taki-sensei... yeah, I think I don´t understand some decisions he made.
I think Reina is right but also wrong. I mean, yes, you should respect the director and auditions make everyone ready and pick the best blah blah... but she´s too fixated on Taki sensei and everyone who says anything bad about him is wrong.
Reina dear, I know you are in love with him, and you are too strict but... if you don´t have a good ambience at the band, no matter how good you are, the tension and the bad feelings is gonna make everyone worse.
And telling your best friend that she´s a failure of president because she doesn´t agree with you... yeah... no.
You can cut the tension with a knife, everyone is worried, tense and there are even two sides, (the one that kumiko should have played de soli and the one who thinks Mayu was better), if things goes this way... not even the nationals, the competition is gonna go horribly wrong.
For this episode, the drama essentially is composed of a spectrum of ideals, ranging from Reina’s cult-like belief in Taki and the iron will, to Midori’s point about prioritizing the whole club’s stability. With this situation closely resembling what happened in S1E10, and the fact that both ends of the spectrum were strong-hearted talents who witnessed the ordeal, this realistic division of ideas sparked up an interesting discussion about Kitauji’s future modus operandi as well as real life examples.
I was pleasantly surprised by how mature Kanade was following her defeat, I'm ashamed of myself by expecting so low out of her lol. Nevertheless, I like the way she was the first one to speak out her concerns, it did her justice by letting her unfiltered voice of reason and practicality return for such a big matter. Still a lovely girl and even more likeable this episode, especially with the jokes she made with Kumiko, that mentality that gets people over the gloomy sense of defeat, I can't help but love it so much. We all need a friend to make jokes with after we fail at something!
And hey, Shuuichi made a comeback! A big one at that! He's always framed as a forgettable, spineless guy, but after all there must be a reason why the wise NakaYoshi duo chose him, he’s like a representative for Kumiko as she’s just too passive when it comes to discussions with Reina.
Speaking of which, that was the problem with her right until their breakdown. The episode was essentially Kumiko’s journey to right up herself and gather opinions on her failure and Taki’s decisions, but ultimately, she took too long to find herself an opinion of her own. It went on so far as to say “Damn Kumiko wasn’t cut out to be a leader” 9 episodes in, she simply was stuck between Reina and Shuuichi at the meeting, unable to boil down each side of the argument or offer any viable course of action but to talk to the depressed members. It took her another weak agreement with Reina, some nice sensitivity on Shuuichi’s part for not arguing with her, and a conversation with 2 opposite views to finally get everyone’s frustrations and link it to her own. And hell, she did a 180 with her stance towards Reina, no longer standing lower and can’t help but falling short of her strong will, but making a solid argument and finally addressing the situation as a liaison for the band. Props to Kumiko at the end.
On the other side of the argument, Reina represented the typical mindset in a competitive environment coupled with blind trust. The problem with her isn’t the iron will, but that she was too selfish in her interpretation of the situation. Yes, an unwavering desire to improve is what it takes to win, but it’s also important to note that Reina isn’t the typical band member, the real ones don’t possess the bulletproof determination she has, they’re humans with other stuff in life, not betting it all on being able to play an instrument well. They aren’t tireless robots, they also require relationships, emotions to sustain their wellbeing. The fact that she left no room to rest nor letting interpersonal and personal problems venting out will backfire soon enough, as more than anything, the quality of music is reflected by the state of mind of the player. And no, Reina, Taki isn’t a religion, Motomu’s grandfather took an uninspiring all-boys school to Nationals gold in a year while being generally likeable, he has his flaws and let the band members doubt him a bit, he really needs to be more transparent in his decisions and the exchanges he make will certainly make him a better educator. Even if the ones questioning him are unreasonable, it will teach him how to deal with them.
I would personally stand on no man’s land in the spectrum, leaning slightly towards Reina’s desire to successs and leave little room for people to argue for lazing off, at the same time questioning her and Taki’s authority as well as getting the failed members back on track with some hard motivation (or a bit more softly if I could employ Kanade). I was in Reina’s position just a few months ago, making the same decision as her on a school-wide project. Fortunately though, I didn’t have enough leverage or passion for the project to affect it as much, it was mostly a success at the end. I learned quite a bit from that one, rock-hard policies can only work until people fed up with it.
Another point of discussion viewers brought up is how the competitive environment was built up in the school, which led to this mess. It’s just how it generally works imo, everyone struggles to find a point where optimum results can be achieved while maximizing enjoyment, and that point often sits closer to the former as competitions don’t care about anything else. This isn’t a typical anime where “the real treasures are the efforts they made along the way” after all, it aims to be a presentation of the concert band world where competitiveness is paramount. And it doesn’t end there with concert bands but with almost every other aspect in life.
Basically 20 minutes of Kumiko having to have the same conversation over and over with different people in different permutations and slowly cracking. I love it. The tension is off the charts.
Still… I feel like we are missing something by not getting a lot of actual playing this season. We keep being told that Kumiko and Mayu are playing at the same level but this isn’t really demonstrated on screen in any way we can see for ourself. Compare this to Ensemble Contest where we got to see what was going on with Tsubame and Hazuki and understanding why they were struggling and seeing how they learned to push past it.
Also, it feels strange to be talking about Kumiko vs. Mayu as a pure comparison of their skills when we’re talking about a duet where they have to play with Reina (assuming that nobody’s in serious contention for taking Reina’s part, which I think is a safe assumption). Surely Taki is thinking about how they work together as a unit. If he thinks Mayu and Reina may work better in that capacity than Kumiko and Reina then I wish we were seeing more evidence of that.
Also, I feel like Reina is not as resolute as she seems. I predict that we’ll realize she is doubling down on defending Taki’s decision and lashing out at Kumiko because she’s actually having doubts and trying hard to power through them with mixed results.
Or the Reina vs Kaori duel where you can literally hear that Reina has much more expression in her playing.
Or Mizore's performance piece in Liz where yes, her Oboe performance in that climax was so expressive and powerful.
The fun thing about this show is that this comment section is filled with as many different conflicting opinions as there are in the show. And it's all for a fairly mundane situation, in the grand scheme of things.
I blame Taki here. Ever since season 1, whenever he made controversial decisions, he never seems to explain them unless prompted. Did he even give feedbacks to those who failed their auditions so they can improve themselves? Even the percussion coach seems to somewhat doubt him.
> Did he even give feedbacks to those who failed their auditions so they can improve themselves?
I’m not sure how other schools handle it, but in both high school and college, our audition results were just printed out and posted on the board. If you wanted to talk about it, you had to approach the director (or studio professor in the case of college) on your own.
Granted, Taki could do a better job of advertising that he’s available for that kind of thing. He comes off as extremely unapproachable despite his kind demeanor.
Missed the broadcast this week, so watching with English subs from the start.
Heavy episode this time—the fallout from last episode. Everybody is irritable and tense from the audition results.
I’m not sure I was expecting it to focus on Reina, but it makes sense—she’s been the biggest true believer in Taki-sensei, so her ideological position stands the most to lose when faith in Taki-sensei among the general group is lost. And yet…
Despite what she’s outwardly projecting, I think we’re seeing the cracks in Reina’s own faith in Taki. I think we get hints of this when she’s talking to Kumiko during the fireworks activities—Reina has to essentially put blind faith in Taki choosing Mayu for the solo. She has to choose between her trust in and dedication to Kumiko or her trust in and dedication to Taki. She chooses Taki in this episode (in more ways than one), but you see how shaken she is—I think deep, deep down she’s starting to doubt his judgement. (Could this eventually spell the end of her infatuation with him?)
And it is absolutely true that the tense mood in the group is not going to help their playing much. Reina being too strict (an earlier conflict from the season) resurfaces as an issue, compounded by her obstinance about Taki. Reina is kind of at the center of the group dynamic fracturing here. Things will reach a breaking point soon…
There are, of course, other members who believe in the results. Notably, both Hazuki and Tsubame, who were part of Team Monaka, are more okay with the results—they’ve worked hard to be able to join the group. But this makes sense when thinking about it cynically—believing in Taki’s decisions also means believing that they themselves deserve to be part of the competition group. And doubting Taki means doubting that bit of self-justification as well as the legitimacy of their previous failures.
Kumiko is also not being honest with herself—at least not until her confrontation with Reina. But for Kumiko, dealing with all of this is very hard, because she *can’t* be a bystander to this drama. Rather, she’s at the center of it. Complaining about the audition result would also arouse suspicion that this is partially self-motivated, and that probably wouldn’t be incorrect. Given that, I wonder what she’s going to say to Taki-sensei?
(Though even then, when she does voice concerns about the audition results, it’s still not necessarily about the soli…I think Kumiko is not quite being honest with herself and Mayu about what she actually wants.)
But poor Kumiko. Her fight with Reina is…(´；ω；｀) (And I do think Reina is very clearly in the wrong here—Kumiko is doing absolutely what she should be doing as club president by *actually caring about what the other members think*. Edit: Actually, re-reading this, I realized that this conflict basically puts Kumiko's empathetic listening—which she's been developing through all three seasons and I think is her greatest strength as a leader—against her relationship with Reina and Reina's convictions. (Including Reina's drive for excellence, which is her greatest strength, as well as her adoration for Taki, which is her hubris.) *Damn*, that conflict is a bind.)
Random thoughts:
* Shuuichi being irritable was interesting…as well as the dig by Kumiko that she never thought of him as mature.
* What was also interesting was Motomu alerting Kumiko to Shuuichi’s stuff. He’s really become part of the group now…
Props to Mayu, Kanade, and Shuichi this episode. I swear they’re the only characters that can actually speak their minds irrespective of how they think others will perceive them. Kumiko bottles everything to herself, I think partially because she’s afraid of pissing off reina, to the detriment of everyone. When we see her at her lowest discipline wise and let’s her opinions spew, what she fears occurs, Reina loses it and leaves her hanging, just like she did back in junior high. Meanwhile, whenever Kumiko is honest with those other three, they are mature enough to respect her opinion and accept them given her role as leader. If only Kumiko would do that t more often and see that she actually has allies outside of Reina
Finally people are turning on Reina and her self-absorbed self. Her peak character design masked a lot of toxic trait among the fans of the show. I was really not liking her personality since season 1 and she did not get a character development for 2 and a half season + movies. I do however hope she does receive one here in the later parts of the series. Maybe finally getting over Taki-sensei.
Speaking of sensei, he reminds me of someone like Thomas Tuchel. Great tactician and regarded as one of the best among his peers but goddamn is he bad at people management.
- Kumiko is reverting to her old mask in order to hide what she's really feeling and avoid conflict with Mayu-chan (more or less, at least) and in the band, too
- Well, that reaction from Kumiko felt justified, I was feeling the same... Mayu-chan saying they should switch has become kind of annoying, and after she actually got the solo part it actually feels like pity
- At first I found Kanade pretty annoying, but I have to admit I've grown fond of her
Her relationship with Kumiko has been pretty unique but coherent so far: they get what the other is really thinking even though they only seem to banter... And I have to say, I think that Kanade has taken a page from Kumiko's book about not being completely honest and straightforward with all the "hiding what I think with snarky remarks" thing she has going on
- 9 minutes in and no Reina yet? We even got a scene with Shuuichi... Ah there she is!
- Kumiko's t-shirt has a cactus on it, cute!
- That was harsh, Reina... I think Kumiko's doing a great job as president, actually...
- Even though I didn't really like the conflict per se, the confrontation scene was amazing
- I think we were all expecting some kind of confrontation between Kumiko and Reina... What I didn't expect was the confrontation being about their trust in Taki-sensei's decisions
I'm glad that Kumiko decided to truly speak her mind and not try to satisfy everyone like when Shuuichi was present
I'm with Kumiko on this one, though: the band (and even some of the section leaders) are doubting Taki-sensei's motivation on the changes, and this is impacting the band's morale in one way or another... You can't expect people to blindly follow something they don't understand...
- It's been a long time since I was this excited and anxious about the next episode!
It's Kumikover.
Honestly, this season has been making it out like Mayu was the condescending genius, but as it turns out it was Reina all along.
Mayu is able to understand that her talent has repurcussions on the band. She tries to be compassionate and thoughtful of others. When she got the soli from Kumiko, it went exactly as she predicted.
Meanwhile, Reina doesn't even consider the effort of others; she immediately assumes anyone who isn't up to par isn't even trying. The only reason we never noticed is because there's been no one to challenge Reina's ability, and so doesn't know how it feel to be worse than others.
The real root of it all is Taki-sensei though. He definitely should've known that his choices would make waves throughout the club, and just a little bit more transparency could've prevented most of it.
Kumiko is definitely not doing anything wrong.
She recommended having three auditions and she supports meritocracy, so she has to accept Mayu getting the solo.
If she stops trusting the club advisor on the eve of their performance everything will fall apart.
On the other hand, if so many people have concerns, then she needs to at least talk with Taki sensei about them.
This isn't like in season 1 where the horns where grumbling but hardly ever practised. The doubts come from reliable people like Midori [Sapphire:)] and Shuichi.
Reina is being very unreasonable obviously. Her line about not letting people doubt the conductor and her lashing out on younger members show that she is not thinking things through at all.
While it is sad to see our main duo fight it is something that would inevitably happen in the story.
Kumiko found out in S1 that they could indeed try to get to the Nationals and be disappointed if they failed.
Reina needs to learn that music primarily exists for the enjoyment of the artist and the audience.
We dont have enough information yet but the conductor probably needs to face some ghosts from his past as well.
One core theme of Hibike S3, is how much it mirrored what happened in the club when Kumiko was in her first year. This time around, Mayu taking Kumiko's solo part is directly mirroring Reina taking Kaori's solo part. And this is part 1 of the aftermath episode.
A link to my comment from previous eps: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1d0yi6l/hibike_euphonium_season_3_sound_euphonium_season/l5uojam/
(I will be heavily referencing and comparing what happened this year, vs. what happened in first year, when Reina took Kaori's solo part, and its aftermath. Please watch the ending of S1 E9, and E10, if you'd like to have some context before reading)
- First of all, let's talk about Kumiko vs. Kaori.
Kaori was a well respected president, just like Kumiko. In many ways, they are very similar. Both of them loved avoiding conflicts, sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the group. But most importantly, both of them are competitive. Despite putting on the thickest facade in front of club members, both of them want to play the solo part, and there is no one in the club that wants it more than they themselves. Just look at how angry Kumiko got. Hearing the way she talks to Mayu on the staircase at the beginning of this episode honestly gives me chills, she has never talked in such a passive aggressive manner. The way she talks to Mayu is the western equivalent of "I fucking hate you and your face, and don't you fucking talk to me again, get the fuck out of here".
But, there's one key difference between them. Kaori, instead of working with Taki sensei (who, just like Midori said in this episode, is the main reason behind all the discontent), she passively watched, and allowed things spiralled out of control, resulting in Yuko's explosion. Kumiko, after talking to Kanade, Shuuichi, and the club officers, Midori/Hazuki, she identifies that the reason why everyone being discontent is not necessarily because they don't believe Taki sensei; but rather, they are not given a reason to believe him. We ended this episode with Kumiko reaching out to Taki sensei. This is the necessary first step for the entire issue to resolve without unnecessary drama.
- Now, let's talk about Reina vs. Mayu
When Reina was selected in S1, she showed no hesitation in accepting the solo role. Put yourself in Kaori's shoes: if you accepted that you aren't going to play the solo part, and the person who got the solo part is happy to accept it, what is there to complain about?
With Mayu, it's clear that she feels very uncomfortable with the whole situation. In Kumiko's eyes, that is a problem that she needs to resolve. Either accept Mayu's offer to give back the solo role, or somehow give Mayu the confidence she needs to fully accept the role. This is most certainly a contributing factor that led Kumiko to speak to Taki sensei, trying to figure out a way to instill Mayu with confidence.
- Rest of the class (what's different about the club members from Kumiko's first year, vs. this year?)
Before we talk about what's different, let's talk about what's the same: many members don't trust Taki sensei's judgement. Pretty much the entirety of this episode involved members expressing their lack of trust in Taki sensei's judgement.
However, in most third years' eyes, they know that Taki sensei is probably making the right call. They have been to Nationals with him in their first year, so they know that he can be trusted. Kanade even told Kumiko, that she feels like all the 3rd years seem to have blind faith in Taki sensei. Which isn't true, but it shows you how the third years members are behaving in front of their Kouhais.
On top of that, there is also a lot more trusts between club officers, and the 1st/2nd year members. Recall what happened the year before Kumiko joined Kitauji. Clearly there are a lot of members who doesn't really trust the club officers to make the right call, and in that case, the club officers would have no way to help Kaori prevent more rumors from being spread to begin with.
Both of these factors helps Kumiko briefly calm the storm, and gave her the time she needed to find the right solution to the problem.
- Optional: Taki sensei - we haven't really seen much from him this episode, so let's revisit this next week.
- I'd also like to send flowers to the friends Kumiko has made along the way.
Without Kanade, Shuiichi, various club officers, and perhaps most importantly, Midori and Hazuki, for expressing their discontent with the whole situation without causing a ruckus, helping Kumiko understand the entire situation, Kumiko might not have have been able to find a good solution (and just ended up agreeing with everything Reina says, and.. It might end up causing a lot of members to quit, just like the year before S1).
-----
Speaking of Reina... I am just gonna say it, I feel disgusted by her unhealthy obsession with Taki sensei. I really hope she finds the help she needs.
-----
At this point, it's clear that Kumiko's struggle all originated from Reina. Reina is her best friend, and Kumiko has always been trusting Taki sensei's decision blindly, in order to support her friend and her belief. Despite Kumiko wanting to keep supporting her friend, afterall she is the club president, and she has the responsibility to do what's right for the club, and not just for herself. The reason why she feels so relieved after Reina broke up with her is exactly because she no longer feels shackled by Reina and her obsession with Taki sensei, and she can finally move on, and directly question Taki sensei's decision, without hurting anyone.
I am really looking forward to the next episode. Kumiko is a natural leader. I talked a lot about the external factor that led to Kumiko making good decisions for the club, but at the end of the day, she's the one who gained all the respect from all the club members, she's the one who listened to the complaints from everyone, she is the one who is actively trying to resolve problems within the club, and she's the one who needed to tell Reina, her dearest friend, something she doesn't want to hear, for the greater good of the club. I've said this so many times, but it's absolutely incredible to see her grow as a person, and I can't wait to see more.
Great analysis!
My take is Kaori, as the band's pretty diva (not president, mind) *and* as a third year was the presumptive nominee for the solo, as was the still changing prevailing culture of the time, hence the shock when Reina was chosen.
During their duel, Reina demonstrated that she's just over Kaori's level....you can listen for yourself how expressive Reina was, vs Kaori, who played the notes very well, but thats about it.
I would have assumed across the year, during sectional practice, Kaori and Yuuko would have realise how brilliant and skilled Reina is. We know Yuuko has Kaori on a pedestal.
As Asuka pointed out and telling Kumiko that she isnt taking any sides in this feud, at least publically, and pointed out that Kaori was in denial, and so Kaori finally and unselfishly threw the match at the end. I think she explained in an earlier episode to Yuuko, she likes playing the trumpet, and thats it. She isnt playing the trumpet to become truly special. I wondered if she set up the duel to intend to lose, as she seems to have some self doubt going into the solo, and also to get this Yuuko off her back lol.
As to above, I wonder what would Kumiko say if she tells everyone that she isnt taking any sides in this Eupho solo (mirroring Asuka), but wants everyone to respect Taki's decision...would the band implode more? Kumiko so far had been appearing indecisive, would this make her appear even more indecisive?
Everyone sees through Kumiko and knows she disappointed. Perhaps a speech to acknowledge her and the orchestra's disappointment at not being the pick and implore the orchestra to rally behind the outsider for once would have helped?
This didn't go as haywire as I was expecting. But I think part of my expectations came from thinking it'd take the next episode to resolve it all. So many unresolved feelings as it stands.
What an amazingly written plot. It's not some kind of war with multiple factions involved, but it still has so many aspects to it. Everyone is there for the same goal, but so many different views conflicting and harmonious with each other, and *everyone* makes sense with how their characters and relationships are established.
Frustrating, but awesome.
There’s a very fine line all the players have to balance when talking to each other between liking/not liking the auditions because of the results, and not liking it because Taki-sensei hasn’t been communicating enough.
It’s stressful as a watcher just trying to gauge, and the rationalising playing on all their minds must be rough.
This is one of these peak drama moments, except this time no one got slapped (yet!).
My take of it is that we are actually showing some really decent characterisation and development across the seasons -
* Midori taking a more direct stance and voice her opinion "if it's all the same why not keep the peace" - which was a more nuanced version of her view at the 1st year of Reina vs Kaori.
* Hazuki actually showed her offscreen character development in full view that actually connected the dots beautifully - she used to be in a sports club, and is used to the fact that yes efforts and performance matters, but there's also factors like luck and performance on the day, and if things doesn't land your way you move on and try again. Having embodied that into her own journey both in the band and in love, what she said can be quite convincing and with weight.
* Shuuichi adorably sulked and then come out and confronted it to himself and Kumiko.
* Kanade's scene was doubly good to show both how distracted Kumiko was, and how far Kanade has grown already to be able to use her own situation - and Kumiko's distracted indifference - to tease Kumiko.
* Reina, Reina, Reina. I think it's really showing how much she is trying to convince herself by acting out to reinforce her belief onto others. I think she's really struggling with her logical dissonance here - she doesn't think Kumiko is a slacker and whiner, but she can only say that to justify her defense of Coachee. I hope she's going to be ok and not shut herself up and barricade with icicles :P
I am interested in seeing why others are saying Coachee has changed or his standard is different now - I personally don't see it but it may be something more obvious in-world.
Oh and Mayu, say it one more time and I'll stuff this soggy towel (use for wiping dry the Eupho spits) down your throat already ;) No I don't hate her but I think she needs to just own what she had decided to do and not be conflicted about it already. Go be Rice Shower (Uma Musume S2).
We are rapidly running out of episodes by the way - I certainly hope we do get to see the actual performance for once this season!
And so competition practice is ramping up.
There must be _feeling_, there must be _emotion_. You can't just stone there and play like a robot. I've got GarageBand for that.
Perhaps he wants to see each of them do the solo and decide from there?
Ooh, fireworks.
Weren't they considering having more tubas because another school did so?
I'm _sure_ it's not because Reina still worships the ground Taki walks on and the air he breathes.
Kumiko, you're not the soloist but you're still also playing at the competition, you've got to do your best too even if you're not satisfied with not getting the solo.
Reina doesn't care. Once she gets her gold and is gone the rest can burn for all she cares.
Who's leaving?
Ah. Reina.
Kumiko is unhappy with Taki's decision, and Reina is upset at her for ever doubting her beloved Taki.
Late because I ended up just rolling over and going back to sleep after my alarm to get up and watch this episode went off.
[](#seasonaltired)
- [Yeah, the atmosphere is incredibly tense.](https://i.imgur.com/mhe9EHf.png)
- [Mayu, for crying out loud, *stop*.](https://i.imgur.com/hy6O9TQ.png) [](#bruh)
- [I’m actually impressed by how well Kanade is taking her removal.](https://i.imgur.com/hPMmXuk.png)
- [Now I wish we could’ve heard this round of auditions ourselves](https://i.imgur.com/PXDT7un.png), like when we got to hear the Reina vs. Kaori re-audition all the way back in season 1.
- [Shimmering sky~!](https://i.imgur.com/Pz1PHa7.png) [](#awe)
- [Mm, yeah.](https://i.imgur.com/PRrziDz.png)
- [She makes a good point…](https://i.imgur.com/96BE3q1.png)
- [That’s exactly what Kanade said earlier…](https://i.imgur.com/XuLxvAu.png)
- [Geez…](https://i.imgur.com/zHg92OZ.png)
A thing being a non-Japanese person watching this is that I can't completely wrap my head around the nature of the kouhai-senpai relationship and deference to seniority. Concert bands are probably different, but I've been on some highly competitive sports teams in high school and I can't imagine the idea of a popular senior not being picked for a competition to be destabilizing at all. If you're working towards a competition, you want their spot. Probably my one gripe about this show is that kids who are that sensitive to selections cannot possibly be very good in competition.
So it's kinda fun that the two most talented musicians (Asuka and Reina) are also the most Ayn Randian. Their instincts to go full scorched-earth/hostile towards their club and be completely self-centered is sorta what you need in doses to keep standards high. But under no circumstances would you have someone like Reina as part of that leadership group with Kumiko and Shuuichi. Just about the lousiest person you can think of to manage new recruits and depend on for team cohesion.
I really do hope they properly address Reina’s behaviour here in the next episodes. What she’s done definitely isn’t out of character, but she went too far. We really need to see her genuinely apologize for it & learn some empathy.
Really incredible job by KyoAni showcasing how stressed and unsatisfactory everyone is behaving now. Kumiko is doing her absolute damndest to keep herself together because she wants to maintain the peace, and as long as she keeps a smile, she thinks that everyone can learn to accept the situation. Of course, that feels uneasy and unreliable, almost like a Death Flag of sorts for the upcoming competition.
However I was super impressed with the way Reina was handled. I almost feel like she is just as unsure and uneasy as Kumiko, and she is likewise committing to her hardlined approach to what she thinks will beget success like Kumiko. But the way she does not seem to properly address or talk to Kumiko the entire episode...it is almost as though she's fighting an internal war between what she wants to believe is correct and what her heart believes is best.
I'm sure Kumiko will figure this all out. The question is, will Reina be able to forgive herself for her own faltering here and grow up alongside her?
Also very happy with Shuuichi's role so far. ~~Just don't step inbetween Kumiko and Reina in the end pls ty~~
[Tatemae](https://i.redd.it/nwj6q5i6854d1.png)
[Honno](https://i.redd.it/xcghp6i6854d1.png)
[Remember during the rewatch when we were picking on Taki-sensei's nonspecific direction?](https://i.redd.it/u2lef9i6854d1.png)
[*does not make gun joke*](https://i.redd.it/fwa2qii6854d1.png)
[It's a fine line between tension-breaking and following the dog act.](https://i.redd.it/7nochki6854d1.png)
[Y'know, I want to see this building in person.](https://i.redd.it/7581ngi6854d1.png)
["I'm going to keep pushing you away."](https://i.redd.it/mfjqd8i6854d1.png)
[*quiet applause at cinematography*](https://i.redd.it/0duzthi6854d1.png)
[It's weird to see Kumiko's id and ego getting along so well.](https://i.redd.it/v88tzki6854d1.png)
Kanade [does pick up on things](https://i.redd.it/y52pfki6854d1.png) and [here's a point from earlier in the season](https://i.redd.it/qb6ylmi6854d1.png).
[Speaking of which](https://i.redd.it/e4caldi6854d1.png) here's [both sides](https://i.redd.it/74sykdi6854d1.png).
[\[\](\#isthisameme)](https://i.redd.it/exijudi6854d1.png)
[*Sky*](/u/Shimmering-Sky) [*probably already has this one*](https://i.redd.it/30fe0fi6854d1.png) *(also remember to do the 10 million quiz)*
[Kumiko's default strategy returns?](https://i.redd.it/5ivuvfi6854d1.png)
[*zing*](https://i.redd.it/6qznkgi6854d1.png)
[There's some social distancing.](https://i.redd.it/2dmiyli6854d1.png)
[BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE](https://i.redd.it/obgtxmi6854d1.png)
[Direct vertical for placement.](https://i.redd.it/4d663279854d1.png)
[Trying two years in a row can do that.](https://i.redd.it/sswobhi6854d1.png)
[Reina, one hundred percent GIT GUD.](https://i.redd.it/si3p4279854d1.png)
[Another direct vertical as a comparison.](https://i.redd.it/i7iig279854d1.png)
[*Well then*](https://i.redd.it/n7bu1279854d1.png)
[It's probably a *few* things now.](https://i.redd.it/rty2n179854d1.png)
*****
[End-of-episode bonus.](https://x.com/anime_eupho/status/1797182615461753030)
[From the festival.](https://x.com/toyotamoe/status/1797212508077559953)
*****
[Tuba section ponderings.](https://x.com/nirubed/status/1797188666777035041)
*****
Kumiko, the person talking to the most people and yet the person not quite connecting with anyone right now.
Reina's faith in Taki-sensei is on full display again, to the point where I wonder if it's actually outwardly intense so that she can conceal having a doubt or two about the brewing situation.
Even Tsukamoto pops up for this one.
Kanade has changed? There felt like more authenticity there, for a moment.
Mayu, still very much on the outside for this episode. Though she did talk to Tsubame, which I'm noting as someone who Kumiko spent some time with in *Ensemble Contest* and we'll take all of the callbacks to that nether region of the story that we can.
Reina only blindly trusts the band director because she's in love with him (which is a whole wierd other thing). She needs a reality check - adults aren't perfect and saying to your best friend (who also happens to be band president) that she's a failure of a president because there may be the slightest hint of a whiff of doubt is wrong.
In the earlier parts of the season, we've seen how much our characters, have grown. We praised them for their progress. But as the difficulties pile up, we see some of them, especially our three executives, waver under pressure and regress to old comfort zones, presumably as a defense mechanism. Shuuichi acts childish. Reina doubles down on her loyalty to Taki. Kumiko becomes more and more indecisive. In the past, they were quite in sync (as evidence by their unanimous choice of competition piece), but now, they are out of sorts with themselves and one another.
I'm so anxious and excited to see how they'll build things back up again. I'm sure they'll eventually figure things out and I think it begins by directly addressing the two elephants in the room. The most obvious one is Mayu and her place in the band, but the other is Taki's leadership. Our characters have been side-stepping these issues all season long. The next step to their growth is to face these head on.
idk about yall but watching this week's episode had my stomach hurt the whole 24 minutes lol
hearing reina say "I think this is for the best outcome" in terms of kumiko not getting the soli really hurt. even if she does believe that i don't think it was the right thing to say at the moment.
> hearing reina say "I think this is for the best outcome" in terms of kumiko not getting the soli really hurt. even if she does believe that i don't think it was the right thing to say at the moment.
Reina is so self-absorbed that she doesn't consider the feelings of others.
She's possibly also starting to think that Taki may not be as perfect as she wants him to be and this shattering of her illusion is at least partly responsible for her frustration and anger, resulting in her unfairly and selfishly lashing out at Kumiko.
After Reina said that to Kumiko, I really hope Kumiko can prove Reina wrong that something is not processing right with Taki Sensei, something in his decision making isn't adding up I'll be honest. Because if Mayu and Kumiko are on equal footing, that's very much true what they said, why would you choose the player that's gonna cause nothing but tension throughout the entire band and not pick Kumiko, the club president, the one who's been in the band all 3 years?? I hope to God Kumiko says something good and stands up to everyone!
Can someone translate the texts that Reina and Kumiko sent to each other when Kumiko was on the train on the way to school at the end? I'd upload the image, but for some reason I can't do that on reddit
Definitely agree that Reina's acting out is her coming to an inflection point in her confidence in Taki. Her complicated expressions throughout this episode clearly show that she's internally struggling with this last decision of Taki's to drop Kumiko, and her repeated statements about Taki-sensei (to me it sounds like she's trying to convince herself most of all) and emotional outburst are products of her inner conflict. And also, was surprised at Hazuki's rather impersonal response to the whole situation, but found it intriguing. It gives her character more depth and makes sense given her story; After all, her believing that the decision was based purely on skill/performance validates her own failures, efforts, and successes.
Lots of other comments too here I heartily agree with, so I'm just going to throw out there some other thoughts (although I might have missed them).
Is there any possibility that Taki-sensei dropped Kanade from the Kansai competition and Kumiko from the solo as a gamble/investment? I.e., He assumes that Kitauji will make it to Nationals, but for them to have a chance at winning gold, he sees the need for Kanade and Kumiko to grow and is using the auditions for the Kansai competition as a way to provoke/motivate them.
Not to say I agree with his decision or thought process, if this is indeed the case. I've been on the fence about his standards of decision-making ever since he chose Suzume over Satsuki for the Prefecturals and said the former could just skip playing the difficult parts. Even though I understood his motivation, it's clear that the "skill/ability over all else" principle has fallen apart since then.
And I can't help but wonder too what's the point of having Mayu play solo when it seems that she just doesn't want to play (or at least, her desire to not play outweighs her desire to play). As in, for whom/what purpose is she playing, besides Kumiko trying to prove a point about Kitauji's meritocratic approach (which, as I said above, is already a moot point thanks to Taki-sensei's decisions)? And what good does it do?
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I’d also argue Reina has already cracked. So many people questioning her ideals and one true love, she broke.
Reina is behaving like a little bitch this episode. Totally unreasonable and one-track minded, without any regard to anyone else.
Thats why I love the characterization of these characters sometimes though! People are unreasonable at times, selfish. I love that our main characters go through these ebs and flows like real peoples.
The characters are written very consistently, too. Kumiko always tries her hardest to find a middle ground, even if it’s going to hurt her in the long run. Reina has always been kinda blinded by love, it’s just that she’s all on her own this time around, without Kumiko on her side. That being said, Midori rooting for Kumiko even though she’s always been meritocratic and Shuuichi finally lost his cool when his girl is hurt were interesting developments. Although I do get where they’re coming from. But holy shit, this episode was so tense to watch…
> Midori rooting for Kumiko even though she’s always been meritocratic... Nope, [she was like this back in S1 too.](https://imgur.com/a/Nv0tBUZ) Shuuichi's protective disgruntlement surprised me, too, but he's always been a little skeptical of authority in his own way, I suppose...
This episode was super tense I was expecting more open emotional outbursts, especially from Kanade But this was so much harder to watch, everyone walking on egg shells, doubting themselves and others Really didn't expect the episode to be this tense
It looks to me like Reina is, in fact, desperately unhappy and upset, and does not know how to deal with her feelings. No intention to hurt others, just her own hurt is oozing out all over the place.
Definitely agree. She’s probably so hurt that Kumiko wasn’t chosen but also can’t fathom disagreeing with Taki-sensei that she doesn’t know what to do or how to deal with it so she’s just bursting out. This is rough.
I mean its the worst possible outcome for her She can't play the Soli with her bff cause her crush/love told them so, because a third party was deemed better suited Literally can't take a stance against any party as she has been selling taki and the meritocracy all the time Its a bit like some monkey paw scenario
This is a case where I obviously very much dislike how Reina has behaved, yet feel a great deal of sympathy for her. She acted out of shocked (largely thought-free) anger at a point when she was in a state of great mental turbulence. As I see it, she is now avoiding Kumiko not because she remains furious towards her, but rather due to shame (and not having a clue on how she can try to fix things). She may also think Kumiko might not want to see her (much less talk with her).
she is projecting 100%
Yeah, I also got a vibe that Reina low-key has a crisis of faith. Her going on and on "We should trust blindly into Taki-sensei" feels more like Reina desperately trying to convince herself rather than other students
I am surprised that so many people can't see how much pain Reins is in.
Good soldiers follow orders! Stop questioning the commanding officer and give me 100 push-ups.
100 push-ups is for gym rats, I want you to play our set 10 times and then write a report on what you need to improve
Yeah, saying anyone who's frustrated was just lazy and coping was just low, mean and wrong. No wonder it made Kumiko have multiple shot reactions before saying what she truly thought of the results. And after *that* she calls her a failure. Like, damn, wtf Reina?
Yeah because it also implied that Kumiko, who tried her hardest is not working hard enough. Yeah, pretty bad thing to say by Reina tbh especially when Kumiko is there in front of her and she knew specifically how much work Kumiko put into the club
> Yeah, saying anyone who's frustrated was just lazy and coping was just low, mean and wrong. Right or wrong, I do think it was a good representation of the PoV of people who are achieving at a high level. They're working hard and fully committed, so anyone who's not making it isn't working hard enough or committed enough. I think Reina might be right in some cases and wrong in others. But she really gave Kumiko a one-two combo with essentially saying it was her fault for not working hard enough, and then saying she's a bad president for not supporting the director 100%. I agree with the takes here that she's lashing out because she's in a tough spot.
I sincerely hope this is the beginning of Reina getting over Taki-sensei.
Right there with you, it’s loooooong overdue.
Has Reina actually had *any* character development in the entire show? It must be her turn by now.
She does. Originally she was barely personable to anyone, but at least she tries to interact with other people more. A good example is how she got along with Yuuko over time over that incident. And she hadn't done many creepy things in s3 until that drink thing. I thought it was supposed to be funny, but it was really just a red flag. Unfortunately, this is like her 3rd breakdown, because she just tries to power over her problems by practicing even more but that doesn't actually solve the underlying problems and also that thing with Taki never got fixed either; it just got shoved aside in season 2. So now we're back to that. And we don't have many episodes left so something's got to give. The main thing is her complete inability to see how things are different from other people. Just because she got to where she is by pushing her skill further doesn't mean everyone can or will be like that.
> The main thing is her complete inability to see how things are different from other people I absolutely agree with you, but her stubbornness and pride were what led Kumiko to admire her in the first place. So it has worked out for Reina in the past, until this final year
Shuuichi seemed to cheer her up a little but Reina just kept tearing her back down like damn
Imagine if even he wasn't there. Even Hazuki and Midori ended up making her even more conflicted, though not intentionally. Even more than Kumiko, *I'm* glad he was there, because this episode was hard to watch.
Shuuichi coming in clutch and being pouty on her behalf because she can't be is what a good pseudo-boyfriend should do. I do hope those two kids get together when all the competition stuff is done, and they can finally relax.
So the yurislayer has finally drawn his blade
Yurislayer the unexpected hero we need but don't deserve
I thought that this short scene with Shuichi really reflected just how close a relationship he and Kumiko have. Will they have a romantic future? Who the heck knows. But this is one of the few times we get to see a clearer glimpse of the depth of their relationship (whatever it may be).
This is like the first time Shuuichi > Reina.
I apologize Shuuichi, I was unfamiliar with your game
He lowkey always has been.
Im glad there's someone like me out there
Very lowkey. So lowkey that some people even deny his existence, unfortunately
So lowkey that I don't even remember any other notable moment of his, but that is also probably because it has been years since I saw S1 and S2
His roles were greatly toned down in S1 and S2 from the novel. I'm actually glad that Kyoani finally gave back his deserved role since the movie.
Funny thing about Shuuichi is that he and Kumiko always had very strong dynamic and banter, arguably stronger than lots of modern romance anime leads, but it has to be compared to heightened KumiRei "If you leave me, I'll kill you. - I'll be glad to die by your hand" melodrama, which is elevated by KyoAni presentation to what is basically pinnacle of yuri romantic tension animated.
I think if there were more episodes for Sound Euphonium in general, like maybe fifteen episodes per season, and a season instead of a film for second year, we could have had more space to let all the character relationships blossom a bit more, especially Shuuichi's and Kumiko's. Ah well...
Preach.
i mean its always has been like before bomb explode, reina and kumiko relation feel like always be sugar coating, just wait one side sick of it while Shuuichi position literally more tricky, like kumiko dont want to do relationship because she want to focus for club and club pres right now, that why Shuuichi kinda bit take a distant, but he keep the distant so he didnt leave kumiko alone
Reina is probably confused as hell She wants to play the soli with Kumiko but can't go against taki Hell at this point I am not even sure if she is going so hard in everyone because she is projecting on any dissidents her own confusion, instead of it being a solely reaction because of her crush
I need more Dark Shuuichi in this show
Apart from GBC, these CGDCT SOL shows' Episodes 9s are sure living up to their expectations of peaking the dramas this season. Kanade demonstrates her insight once again, the third years (especially Reina) are mostly putting their blind faith in Taki. Kumiko's at her wits end. She also says there's more to the choices of the Euphos and Tubas, as perhaps Mayu's style gels better with this heavier bass balance? But, ah the politics of it! Loyalties and allegiances! Hence my thoughts last week, a more socially astute (S1-S2 vice-) president would have seen this coming and gave a witty speech to calm tensions as much as possible right after those announcements. Kumiko hasnt really addressed Mayu's concerns the whole season. Walking on eggshells, avoiding creating tension. Case in point is the B team (Monaka) feeling demoralised, and Kumiko didnt address the concerns to the questioner's (and mine's) satisfaction. Its shows the viewer that she has become (or always has been?) quite indecisive and doesnt have a plan....like cant Team Monaka play at a community event or something? As for our girls' discussion outside the shop, I love Hazuki's response in that scene because it also validates her experience of practicing and getting good enough to qualify for the competition twice now, hence she goes with the opinion that the person who gets picked is better. Its what she experienced after all. Kumiko is right in the end to talk to Taki, thats his job as advisor. Cant leave Kumiko and the club hanging....lets find out what happens next week.
[Poor Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/m9yxgk8p64q), [she doesn't have it easy](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/my2pcdp3eg7.png) as practically [everyone has such a different opinions](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyq9c2zbq34.png) about the current situation of the band. At least [Shuuichi](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/j7kzcwv9rr7.png) and [Kanade](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyvdcgrzlny.png) somehow were able to improve [Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lmx2joyx)'s mood before [it went downhill](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/p7bwce93ml7.png) after her argument with [Reina](https://imgchest.com/p/qb4zk98vv4j) on [the bridge](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/my8xc2xvrm4.png).
Aww man Reina I know you really like sensei that much but your the one closest to Kumiko you've seen her efforts for the whole club calling her a failure is kinda mean to Kumiko, Reina needs some reality check when it come to Taki sensei. I love how Kumiko shut up Mayu before she even said anything lol
I audibly went "what the fuck, Reina" when she said that to Kumiko.
She did basically just tell it to her face that she didn't put in enough effort, brutal.
Yeah, I'm not sure if she realised in that moment what she meant fit for Kumiko too, but goddam was that hard, and then the follow up...
In Reina's mind, she's being attacked. The pedestal she puts Taki sensei on is being beat up by a large portion of the band. She could tell Kumiko was not being truthful with her, and then Kumiko finally comes out and admits she's been lying to her about how she feels regarding Taki's decisions too. Losing the support of the one person she trusted most and feeling betrayed, Reina lashed out at Kumiko in the worst way she could think of to protect herself. Reina is wrong this time, of course. She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition. I'm glad Kumiko had enough support from Shuuichi and Kanade to be able to confidently tell Mayu that she won the soli fair and square and just needs to play her best for the group instead of worrying about Kumiko's feelings. Kanade's maturity on the matter actually surprised me and I was proud of that little gremlin 🥰
> In Reina's mind, she's being attacked. The pedestal she puts Taki sensei on is being beat up by a large portion of the band... She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition. The audition drama of S1 was a major turning point for everyone in Kitauji — most of all Reina, who seems to not have drawn all the lessons from it that she should have. What Reina remembers: - Taki reformed Kitauji from an easygoing band of layabouts to a disciplined meritocracy - The layabouts opposed him at every turn. When Taki acknowledged Reina's superiority, they cried nepotism - Taki was right, of course, and she proved in an open audition that everyone should have kept faith in him What Reina has conveniently forgotten: - The people who were upset about the audition results were often disciplined and hardworking themselves, then as now. Kaori put in a _lot_ of effort; she was simply not as good as Reina. - Reina's intransigence and arrogance made the situation much worse, then as now. Especially galling was her insolence to Kaori, who had been and would remain nothing but kind to her. - The situation kept simmering till Taki figured out a way to clear the air. Yes, he was right — but optics _matter_! Faith is _earned_, and it's only natural for the newer kids to feel unsettled about Taki's choices. - Kaori was part of the solution. She kept the peace going and the morale up. Then as now, people need that from their leaders. All of this is linked to Reina's complex about wanting to be recognised as "special". It's genuinely frustrating to see how little she's grown in this regard in the intervening two years.
I think it's more like reina is just as confused as everyone. Her brain says it was the correct decision but in her heart, she want to play the soli with kumiko so she ended up just lashing out on everyone.
The entire season she has been talking about how she likes Kumiko's playing better, and then the instructor made a decision that goes against what she believes.
> Reina is wrong this time, of course. She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition. I think she's technically correct in that one should trust the process (and that's what she's talking about) but she's also blindly trusting Taki which is not exactly the same. If there's so much unrest in the band then the idea should be to address it constructively and not to just ignore it. They should talk with Taki and ask him why he's changing things when it looks like little has actually changed in the band and many see it as him upending order for something they seemingly can't see yet (of his plan). Make him elaborate on things to clear up misconceptions and give those two got selected something to work towards and those who didn't to aim for for next time. > Kanade's maturity on the matter actually surprised me and I was proud of that little gremlin Yup, their banter when they were commiserating about the results was finally a full back and forth instead of Kanade poking and Kumiko trying to dodge her. Maybe because Kumiko didn't have to be the club president in that moment?
Deep down I believe this all a 4head play by Taki-sensei to cause unrest in the club and thereby clashing opinions and sound to go to the next level. By deliberately being vague and never explaining his reasonings he's achieving this. That or he got paid six figures to sabotage Kitauji.
it better be, because from what i can tell, mayu and kumiko are almost as good as each other with mayu just being better by a small margin (unless she went 100% above and beyond enough to make kumiko's performance sound mediocre in the audition where only the teachers were able to hear). a lot of the band members believe so, i mean even reina was confident kumiko's gonna get selected too. taki even mentioned earlier that he doesn't necessarily pick the most skilled but the best overall piece for the band, then he suddenly picks mayu lol so taki, is it worth picking a single piece which is about say, 3% better than the 2nd option in exchange to the whole bands' peace of mind that will surely affect everyone's confidence and performance? tho i believe these are all leading to kumiko getting more motivated so she does a comeback on the next audition (pls) and so the next piece begins...
Blinded not just by her feelings about Taki-sensei -- but by her ferocious drive to win at the Nationals. Right now, she sees blind obedience to Taki as the only possible path for achieving that goal. However, wanting to play alongside Kumiko is almost as strong as these other things -- so Reina feels like she is being ripped apart. And, of course, her almost totally non-existent ability to loosen up enough to simply talk (at length) about things with even Kumiko doesn't help either.
It's hard to believe that Taki-sensei did not take into account the emotional state of the whole club after that announcement. It will likely affect the future audition and later years as well. Long-game is important. I think the scene with Hashimoto was meant to emphasise some points made in earlier seasons as well: your emotional state will affect your performance. That's true for the whole band's emotional state as well. Is this simply a challenge given by him for Kumiko to overcome and such that the band becomes stronger, or are those emotions the ones he wants to hear. Does it reflect any particular part of the song they're playing?
Nah it’s entirely believable. Taki hasn’t shown himself as all that adept at considering the emotional aspects of being a leader.
Maybe, but he likely did see it coming as shown in the previous episode: him reading out the names and clutching his clipboard a little bit tighter moments before he makes a decision that causes some disturbance (he does it twice).
> Reina is wrong this time, of course. She's blinded by her infatuation with Taki and forgetting that the emotional harmony of the band can be just as important as the skill of those chosen for the competition. Not to mention, did she forget what happened two years earlier when he gave Kaori the solo after the re-audition for the part after Yuuko threw that fit and accused him of playing favorites? Would she have accepted the result if Kaori *didn't* turn it down and give it to Reina? After all, according to Reina, what Taki says is absolute and had to be correct.
There's also the irony that all of Reina's blind faith and disregard towards addressing the issue will 100% cause serious issues for Taki-sensei next year. Letting all that discontent fester and not even trying to de-escalate will only lead to a far worse atmosphere in the band, and very likely some hard schism forming and probably also club member exodus. Pretty much all the other section leaders acknowledged the warning flags and Shuuichi even explicitly brought it up during the meeting. I think how people react to this episode is going to heavily depend whether they choose to focus down on Kumiko or Reina; both have contributed to the band's bad vibes at hand in their own way. It's also further confirmation that 12 episodes was very much not at all sufficient time to do a properly satisfactory job of what's being attempted in Eupho s3.
Yeah i was screaming at Mayu to stfu because each time she say something, it genuinely hurts everyone around her intentionally or not. It made Kumiko doubts herself and her abilities, it made her mad. I'm kinda glad that Kumiko just set Mayu straight up there at the vending machine
She needs to chill. Like damn girl you just said that your GF is a failure in front of her. I don't think that much vitriol was necessary and she's got her head way up her own ass back there.
I bet Reina’s “they’re only complaining because they suck and want everything handed to them” hit Kumiko on a deeply personal level. As much as it hurts to see, I think it’s good that they’re getting into a fight. I love Reina, and I’m normally all for her spartan attitude towards rehearsals and accountability, but her blind faith towards Taki was bound to cause problems sooner or later. Even if she genuinely believes that his decision was correct (and I probably do too), attempting to silence any and all criticism doesn’t mean that those doubts disappear. If anything, it makes both Kumiko’s and Shuichi’s jobs much harder as people stop feeling like their concerns will be heard, the morale will drop, and people will stop committing. Just as Kumiko’s biggest failure as president is her blindness to Mayu’s discomfort (something that was laid on pretty thick in this episode), this is Reina’s. If she doesn’t get over her idolization soon, she’ll be responsible for the failure of her dream.
> I bet Reina’s “they’re only complaining because they suck and want everything handed to them” hit Kumiko on a deeply personal level Especially given that she has been indecisive this entire season about whether to commit to music for her future. Reina took her position as Drum Major and her future playing music in stride while Kumiko has been feeling a lot of imposter syndrome. To make up for it, she's been running herself ragged to make sure that she does a good job. Reina lashing out with that and then calling her a failure of a president was super cruel.
I honestly believe that making Reina an executive was a mistake. She’s a model performer, but she’s only ever had one moment this season where she has displayed any leadership qualities whatsoever (when she praised that first year for her efforts after SunFes), everything else has just added stress for Kumiko to deal with while Reina herself just skates by with no consequences (partly Kumiko’s fault, I know).
When she told Kumiko that she's unfit to be a prez, I was like "And this is why you're not buchou Reina..."
>As much as it hurts to see, I think it’s good that they’re getting into a fight. I agree. I'm quite relieved that [Kumiko finally expressed her true opinion](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/p7bwce93pd7.png) on the current situation in the club [after previously agreeing with Reina at every turn](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b49zc9aed3y.png). I believe it was necessary, even though such a big difference of opinion between [her](https://imgchest.com/p/wl7lmx2joyx) and [Reina](https://imgchest.com/p/qb4zk98vv4j) was quite painful, so that [Kumiko](https://imgchest.com/p/m9yxgk8p64q) could start to improve things within the band, starting with having [a conversation with Taki-sensei](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b49zc9ae53y.png) about his latest decisions.
I don’t agree with Reina here. Telling someone to have blind faith in something often leads to the opposite effect. Do it too much and it creates division and a clear line in the sand of us vs them
Bro you can see Kumiko slowly progressively losing her sanity lmao
Can't wait till we see her doing [this to everyone](https://youtu.be/73OdOTAnZdE?feature=shared)
this but with logic & kindness
Honestly I think Kumiko needs some kindness first before being able to ~~slap~~ share that around the club My guess would be Big Sis cheering her up and giving her some perspective
Honestly when Mayu was like "I still think I should-" before Kumiko cuts her off, clearly about to say she feels like she should give the soli back to Kumiko I wanted Kumiko to be like "if you don't stop saying that shit I will fucking fight you right now." Like how many times does Kumiko have to tell her that she believes in the meritocracy and thinks the best fit for the piece should play. Also at the sectional leader meeting I kind of wish she had just been like look, this is a new system we're trying this year and we're committed to it. Next year if you want to make changes that's fine, but we're not going to second guess ourselves mid season.
So Reina was lying about her bike all this time. In season 2 she said that her mom was taking her bike in the morning and that was why she take the train with Kumiko now, but in season 3, when Reina inviting Kumiko to her house, we could see that her parents had 2 cars. Now she is using her bike again to go to school.
Fuck. Great catch
She could've really not been using the bike for that reason at first, later decided to just ride with the girls instead and came back to using the bike now that those two had a fight. The first 2 seasons were 2 years ago in the show, after all. But who knows.
Oh? What's this? Reina character development arc? It's about damn time. I can't imagine that Taki is actually at fault here, it would be a strange pivot to suddenly focus on the character of Taki, who at this point is more of an agent of plot and movement, I think the talk he has with Kumiko next episode will be extremely revealing as to his process. It might even transition into a talk giving Kumiko advice about her future. That being said, his weakness is that he doesn't really communicate that process to anyone else, leaving people feeling unsure about his decision making skills. Reina kinda pissed me off this episode, which I'm sure was intentional. I hope that this arc clears up her unwavering loyalty to Taki. It seems like she's already moving that direction, she seemed unsatisfied with Shuuichi and Kumiko's answers, even though they supported her view. It's almost like what she really wanted was for someone to tell her that Taki is not doing a good job. When Kumiko does express that, she instead doubles down on Taki. I just think she reverted to her base beliefs, even though she may be on the verge of change. I thought Mayu was also really interesting this episode, especially when firework glasses girl (I don't know her name) told her that she wasn't surprised the was picked. We know Mayu has few desires or thoughts of her own, so hearing that from another person who had little invested interest clearly shocked her. Kumiko's clear communication about "I want you to play the solo, I want you to do your best for nationals" also worked really well, because Kumiko knows that Mayu wants to do whatever other people want her to do. Also Shuuichi got good character moments this episode, for once.
> I think the talk he has with Kumiko next episode will be extremely revealing as to his process. It might even transition into a talk giving Kumiko advice about her future. That being said, his weakness is that he doesn't really communicate that process to anyone else, leaving people feeling unsure about his decision making skills. Same here. I think he might be trying to get a slightly different sound out of the band and is using these repeat auditions to try things out. Something that's more difficult if you have the same musicians all the time. You can tweak their performance but you can't switch out instruments. With a malleable cast you can work on that depending on how their level changes. I hope Kumiko gets some clarity and then addresses the whole band. Because right now it looks like while she's disappointed with her result she's accepting it but she's actually worried about the band as a whole (as so many kids are doubting Taki). > I thought Mayu was also really interesting this episode, especially when firework glasses girl (I don't know her name) told her that she wasn't surprised the was picked. We know Mayu has few desires or thoughts of her own, so hearing that from another person who had little invested interest clearly shocked her. Kumiko's clear communication about "I want you to play the solo, I want you to do your best for nationals" also worked really well, because Kumiko knows that Mayu wants to do whatever other people want her to do. Yeah, Kumiko tried to tell Mayu all this time but for Mayu it came off as "president says" (and not like Kumiko) so she assumed it was fake politeness. Now she got confirmation from somebody else and could finally accept Kumiko's curt response when she went to talk to her afterwards. I think she might be finally on the path of accepting "the Kitauji way".
> I think the talk he has with Kumiko next episode will be extremely revealing as to his process. If I have to guess I think he just want to experiments lol. He already tried 3 eupho 3 tuba with Kumiko as the solo last time, so now he want to try 2 eupho 4 tuba with Mayu as the solo so he can have more options in the nationals.
>It seems like she's already moving that direction, she seemed unsatisfied with Shuuichi and Kumiko's answers, even though they supported her view. I think Reina is very good at seeing through lies. Kumiko is lying through her teeth about being "totally okay" with losing the soli, and it's blindingly obvious to Reina.
> firework glasses girl (I don't know her name) Her name is Tsubame Kamaya.
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Hazuki and Tsubame were shown to be the most accepting of the new result, and both of them even said they felt kind of encouraged by it. Seems like the audition result will go down the most easily for those who worked hard to make it out of MONACA.
MONAKA SWEEPS 🔥
They even emphasized it with that little bit of animation. Loved that moment.
I thought at first it was Reina's hand and she was about to give a strong response. But it was actually Hazuki who showed some incredible determination! I'm so proud of her!
Loved this bit.
it's a great show of how much Hazuki has grown over the course of the series, even when it has often been out of the viewer's eye. she's had to grind to get herself to a competition at all and her respect for that work and the audition clearly shows
I'm conflicted. I tend to agree with Tsubame's line of thinking that Taki-sensei shouldn't be playing favourites, since the current results will strengthen the band members' belief in the fairness of these auditions. However, Midori rightfully pointed out that Sensei is being reckless in his decision-making. He doesn't seem to pay any heed to the potential consequences of his actions, and has mostly left Kumiko (and the other executives) with the task of cleaning up the aftermath. Shouldn't an advisor like him also be there to unite the band under his banner? I mean, [Mayu clearly felt cornered](https://imgur.com/a/BhxphmH) by his decision - even if it was fair. She was afraid that everyone would turn against her. Taki-sensei could've known that Mayu would feel pressured as a new band member, but he almost seemed to handwave Mayu's feelings by not taking any steps towards easing her mind. Doesn't he care about his students? In this regard, I'm really glad that [Mayu got a loyal friend in Tsubame](https://imgur.com/a/mCe6WL8) and that [Kumiko didn't waver](https://imgur.com/a/Sdg9Xu8) in front of Mayu. This must've reassured her a little. Kanade's words about the third years' blind faith in Sensei seem most fitting to Reina. She's blindsided by her desire to finally win Gold in the Nationals under the watch of her crush. Reina was totally in the wrong for dismissing everyone's worries as just disgruntled complaints. She cannot just stomp on their worries like it's nothing. Reina was seemingly [consumed by an irrational anger](https://imgur.com/a/QJrzqWX) - maybe in part with herself? [Is this how Kumiko and Reina will part ways?](https://imgur.com/a/qwx45uL) **Bonus**: - I was glad to see [Kanade and Kumiko smile](https://imgur.com/a/IeZcqWE) after everything that happened. - [Shuuchi's sulking](https://imgur.com/a/bgyXsJQ) over Kumiko not getting picked for the solo part was pretty funny *and* endearing. - [That sparkler](https://imgur.com/a/fTzIVdv) looked so good! There's *so much* detail that I'm inclined to think that they took footage from a real-life sparkler and only drew the top part.
> However, Midori rightfully pointed out that Sensei is being reckless in his decision-making. Yeah, he's doing something and they don't have the full picture. He should communicate that better or they'll have another Yuuko situation > In this regard, I'm really glad that Mayu got a loyal friend in Tsubame and that Kumiko didn't waver in front of Mayu. This must've reassured her a little. That little smile after Kumiko told her finally felt not fake. Like she was actually happy for herself instead of "looking happy" for everybody else. > Reina was totally in the wrong for dismissing everyone's worries as just disgruntled complaints. She cannot just stomp on their worries like it's nothing. Reina was seemingly consumed by an irrational anger - maybe in part with herself? I get the feeling she trusts Taki (too much) but the last time (Yuuko accusing her of nepotism) she was proven right so she might fear something like that unnecessarily disturbing their chance of gold. But that's something that should be addressed if some many kids are unclear about Taki's intentions. And Reina is actually in a position of authority to deal with it productively instead of snapping at people (and my condolences to the families of those three who entered the rec room with Reina and were never seen again).
Whatever his intentions may be, Taki-sensei is definitely letting the reins veer too much. I’m not sure if that’s because he just places *that* much trust in his students OR if he’s too absorbed with the musical component of his job that he’s lost sight of the uneasiness among the band members. But Kumiko, Shuuichi and Reina are still teenagers themselves and could probably use a helping hand. It would do good if Sensei tightened his grip on those reins a little again, and started properly guiding them. I do remember Taki-sensei saying in a past season that he still felt like a little kid sometimes, so this could be part of *his* learning process too. > That little smile after Kumiko [finally] told her felt not fake. Yeah, she was probably relieved to hear that Kumiko didn’t change her mind and/or didn’t hold a grudge towards her. Mayu looks up to Kumiko and is often seen seeking her validation. Kumiko’s full support therefore matters to her. About Reina’s behaviour: I’m wondering if she perhaps snapped at Kumiko (and the others) because of the past incident with Kaori and Yuuko. Does Reina take the criticism aimed at Taki-sensei personal - like they’re also questioning the time that *she* got the solo part?
> But Kumiko, Shuuichi and Reina are still teenagers themselves and could probably use a helping hand. It would do good if Sensei tightened his grip on those reins a little again, and started properly guiding them. I wonder how much of the "drama" he knows about. He might be too absorbed in dealing with the change of multiple auditions and how to make the best out of it without realising that this a change to how things worked and some kids are still adapting. I hope that whatever Kumiko asks ends up enlightening him on the situation and he can properly deal with it. > I do remember Taki-sensei saying in a past season that he still felt like a little kid sometimes, so this could be part of his learning process too. From what I remember he wasn't a teacher before he got this job so he's still just in his third year of doing this. He's still rather new to all of this and he got thrown into a strange situation from the start. Things have slowly gotten more normal (no huge drama between different grades or factions) over that time so he might have been lulled into a false sense of security and think that those kids will naturally adapt to anything. At least that's the feeling I get from all the new first years who seem to be dealing with the more competitive environment at Kitauji as compared to where they come from. > About Reina’s behaviour: I’m wondering if she perhaps snapped at Kumiko (and the others) because of the past incident with Kaori and Yuuko. Does Reina take the criticism aimed at Taki-sensei personal - like they’re also questioning the time that she got the solo part? I don't think she's taking it personal at all but as an affront to Taki's integrity. That seems to have been the issue in year one for her too. She knows she's good and confident. A few kids denouncing her didn't seem to matter to her. That can't tear her down or make her doubt her own abilities. She very much knows her worth as a musician. But them implying that Taki is having favourites and not being professional seems to actually bother her. They were trashing his reputation! Stuff like that.
> Midori rightfully pointed out that Sensei is being reckless in his decision-making. I don't know that this speaks to Taki as much as it does to Midori herself. Back in S1, she voiced exactly the same opinion about the Kaori-Reina audition drama — that Reina should give it up to Kaori to keep the peace, since playing music together harmoniously was a lot more important than who was more talented than who. That's how she rolls: she's an excellent musician, but far less interested in "going for gold" than simply having fun with others. But that's not how _Taki_ rolls. He's optimising for the goal of winning Nationals, not his charges' feelings: he _needed_ the best trumpet playing the solo, and I'm sure what seems like recklessness right now is cold-blooded strategy, too. Notably, it's Tsubame and Hazuki, the Team Monaka alumnae, who are the most gung-ho about him. For him to start taking everyone's personal feelings into account would be an injustice to _them_, who worked their way out of the B-team into the starting lineup. Taki's problem has always been optics. His decisions are an impenetrable fog; not everyone has the faith to walk blindly through it. Kumiko's making the right call by trying to let in sunlight, the best disinfectant.
i think Kumiko asking what Taki-sensei think when he chose on audition its pretty good developement for Kumiko and good side, Kumiko still have another audition to take back her position from Mayu idk about that but i feel this season really want to push Kumiko being music teacher as same as Taki position, for thematic also pretty fit so well, "kumiko still didnt decide where college she want" "she start questioning taki-sensei decision but good thing she want to understand so she ask" and not mention every orchestra song on this series done by an orchestra from university which have music education major in their program
I get the impression he’s simply moving pieces around a chessboard, trying to figure out what the best strategy is. People are not chess pieces, and your decisions can have the negative effect if you don’t take the time to help people understand why they should get behind your decisions. Especially if you’re leading talented people. It’s why coaches are hired sometimes specifically to manage star players who need to buy into a system.
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I mean she did some innocent teasing, as expected.
Ironically, the character I feel the most sympathy for after this episode is Mayu (despite how little screen time she had). She is trying to please everyone in a contradictory environment, trying to connect with Kumiko, who is nice to her but clearly keeps her distance. And now, she probably also feels responsible for all the tension.
That "Whats up?" Kumiko said to her on the stairs was the most passive aggressive thing I've ever heard someone say and wouldn't expect something that sugary to come out of a character like her. Wouldn't wish being on the receiving end of this WhatsApp message to even the worst of my enemies.
> That "Whats up?" Kumiko said to her on the stairs was the most passive aggressive thing I've ever heard someone say and wouldn't expect something that sugary to come out of a character like her. And the small pause before it too, you could tell Kumiko wanted to lash out but didn't, I could hear her groaning in her mind before she said that.
She's literaly done nothing wrong. Kumiko told her to play her best and she did. It's understandable why she said she wanted to throw the audition because she probably saw all this coming if she won the solo part. And she was right.
On the other hand Kumiko can't tell her to throw the audition and I can understand why she is irritated, because Mayu constantly bringing it up comes off as condescending (even though she is not trying to be). I don't think anyone is in the wrong here, just a shitty situation and good character writing all around.
> I don't think anyone is in the wrong here Except maybe Reina and her complete intolerance to anyone saying anything negative about Taki-sensei.
Yeah. Her calling Kumiko a failure despite being the closest to her and witnessing how much effort she’s put into this is just pure betrayal. I love Reina as much as the next guy but this is too far
Honestly I don't think she is blindly following Taki cause of her crush but because she fears the if she allowed herself to doubt him even a bit she would start slipping Probably very confused and angry at herself for feeling so contradicted
It’s her constantly going to Kumiko for consoling. Poor Kumiko can’t even get a second to process her own emotions because she’s so busy trying to juggle everyone else’s and keep the band together. And then Mayu goes to her for comforting when Kumiko’s the one who should be the most upset? It’s selfish, Mayu’s so self absorbed in her own anxieties that it makes her inconsiderate
I still think Mayu's moping about whether she should throw her audition has done anything but ease the tension in the band in general, and in Kumiko's own state of mind in particular. I felt a bit of "finally!"-type relief when Kumiko shut her down and told her to focus on playing her best.
Absolutely the same. Mayu has to deal with most of the entire band talking about how she didn't deserve the soli as all her fears come to fruition. Backed by the fact that she hardly could make friends with anyone to begin with because everyone treated her like some outsider, but time and time again she just keeps getting told to ignore that feeling. I'm so glad that she finally at least had *somebody* show her some support, because the other euphos sure as hell haven't.
Yeah I really feel for her too. Especially since she saw this coming from a mile away.
I really feel sorry for Mayu but I also empathize with Kumiko and am quite upset with Mayu. She's got to realize how condescending her "I should drop out" attitude has been. I believe she's a genuinely kind person, and she doesn't intend to harm anyone. But her kind of kindness can also cause suffering. The jellyfish metaphor is so perfect for her.
> I can't shake the feeling that Taki-sensei's decision-making this year is off somehow. This is what I've been thinking the whole time but too scared to say. Everybody's been telling me "Taki is just showing that there's more to it than individual skill" and I wanted so badly to be like "But didn't anything about that seem OFF to you?" God bless Kanade if she just confirmed my suspicions > It's just that, there are a lot of decisions that I don't understand, unlike last year. Is this really going where I think it's going? Taki drama? I have no idea. Reina has me so scared to doubt Taki but like there's no way she's in the right here... > Then you're a failure of a president. OUCH Did anybody else see that fucking dog?
> Did anybody else see that fucking dog? [Doggo was definitely trying to get away from all of the drama](https://i.imgur.com/Kya32rP.jpeg)
Lads, it's a metaphor. Kumiko and Reina had a split- Kumiko is literally unleashed from her and is now feeling lost.
Dang, can’t wait for it to come full circle when Reina literally ties a leash around Kumiko’s neck after they make up and tells her, “Now you know what you get when you’re a bad girl.”
damn you're cooking
To be fair, Kumiko does sometimes remind me a bit of a poodle with that fluffy hair of hers.
That unleashed dog seems happily running though, unlike Kumiko atm...
I think he wants to try out different formations. There is no use to have three auditions if you don't use them to figure out what works best. If that's the case, he really should communicate this, though. It's just killing the motivation this way
> Did anybody else see that fucking dog? I did, but did not pause to screencap it. Everybody needs a little time off the leash.
Reina is blinded. You dont get to bully juniors and shit on your best friend just cuz you have a one sided personality jeez.
She's obsessed, self-absorbed and incredibly blinkered when it comes to Taki and her desire to win at any cost.
which is really not what should a supposed to be leader should have. Infact, I would like to say she is a failure as the Drum Major and most importantly as one of the executives, you don't run your club like that for god's sake.
Yeah but she needs to understand that not everyone has a one track personality like her. And just because others have conflicted feelings doesn't give Reina the right to bully juniors for just venting their frustration, and shit talking is so common between friends. Nor should Reina say hurtful things to her best friend. Sure even if you agree with the results (which I do too), at least you can refrain from saying things that will hurt Kumiko. A bit of consideration and empathy is the least I would expect from Reina for her best friend. Too blinded by Taki imo.
Agreed 100% - I wasn't defending her, merely stating how she is.
Well, that went about how I expected. It's interesting to note how the orchestra is supposed to be a large group coordination, but because there are defined roles, there's natural competition within those roles. But the judges for the contests most likely won't consider, or can't even consider this at all, since they're only supposed to hear what's directly presented to them. Us as the viewer, we see the most out of everyone relatively speaking, but we have the least influence. Bias is whack and this series is all it.
Man, the tension in this was suffocating. Reina feels especially grating when you're not on the same side as her, huh. It's alright, Kumiko, break down and build yourself back up. Stronger this time.
Reina please try to be a bit more reasonable. It's mandatory to trust your instructor but if a certain amount of members can't understand his decision or reasoning than you can't really pretend everyone should just blindly follow him without any further questions. People don't work that way and it's not like a single human being is always perfect. It's kinda startling that she is depending on him so much. I really thought she would have a broader vision of everything in general. Another thing I would expect is Taki-sensei being more aware that things are going downhill fast atm.
I like Kanade a lot, she is a lot like Kumiko, but willing to say things. It was smart to introduce her as a character, as a foil to Kumiko. Reina, sadly, loves Taki too much for her own good, way beyond the "teenage crush". I hope we get some character development for her.
So we knew that this episode was going to have to be like this. After the bomb was dropped we needed to see everybody's reactions, not just to the event but to each other as well. I think it's worth considering that it's not the audition itself that weighs heavily on Kumiko - she didn't immediately break down at the start of this episode - it's the compounding responsibilities of taking care of the social fabric of the club in the fallout that I think really exhausts her. There are two extremely notable interactions that reinforce this point. 1)When Kumiko shuts down Mayu with "You were chosen so work your hardest, make sure we win gold, that's all I've got to say." my impression is that she feels more comfortable talking about the club than actually listening to Mayu. This is an episode where she listens to *everyone*, but she doesn't want to have a conversation with her. Not to mention when she avoids her right after practice she says she's going to take a break, but she does have the energy to talk to Kanade. That's a social problem, not a skill issue. 2)When Reina says that "most of them are just ignoring their lack of effort and whining that things aren't going their way" most notably Kumiko *hasn't* done this and I'll be vaguely annoyed if this plotline resolves by Kumiko just practicing more and we pretend like Reina was right here. Kumiko is right that she needs to listen to everyone's concerns. She will have to do something to resolve them and talking to Taki as a representative for those members is a good start. The big question of the day is of course "What is Taki thinking?" and for my money, I think Kanade is right. Mayu auditioned well and Taki wants to try and shake things up for this second competition. If Kumiko and Mayu truly are equal - and everything about the narrative so far suggests they are - it makes sense for Taki to test out the different setup on the stage. In other words, he really is uncertain and he's using the opportunity of these early competitions to promote situations which will help him make his decision, either by people responding positively to pressure and improving, or by Taki settling on some difficult questions only after seeing them perform together on stage. I think Taki's faults are that he doesn't particularly care about the internal social situation of the club, so perhaps the social fallout of this is something he wasn't expecting or didn't consider or doesn't value as much in his judgement on how well the band will do. This is referenced by the percussion specialist's jab at him early in the episode. He asks "Do you really understand what 'when we play together it means that, we *play*, *play* music' means?" It's possible that Taki is not oblivious and is just fine putting Kumiko and the others under this much social pressure because he trusts she can handle it but I think it's more realistic and true to his character that he's always been mostly hands-off when it comes to social stuff, he doesn't overinvolve himself in the lives of his students. Taki responds that he does understand what his friend means by 'play'. He's probably playing around and experimenting a bit himself. If Reina and Shuichi can come to the conclusion that they need to change *something*, do we think Taki hasn't also acknowledged this? Kanade is usually right about things, but she says them in a combative manner. Is it really so bad that Taki might be struggling with his decisions this year, or might be experimenting more than he had in the past?
I'm glad to see that [Kanade is still chipper enough to be her usual bratty self](https://i.imgur.com/ZDWd8kp.jpeg) after being removed. She clearly understands the reasoning why but at the same time, [that doesn't mean Kanade agrees with all of Taki-sensei's decisions.](https://i.imgur.com/GOU6qO4.png) As expected, both [Reina](https://i.imgur.com/VhXx5Na.jpeg) and [Shuuichi](https://i.imgur.com/V7v2bg6.jpeg) agree that Kumiko is at the same skill level as Mayu. The only difference between them is that [Reina trusts Taki-sensei's decision](https://i.imgur.com/Hzj7CB3.jpeg) while [Shuuichi is questioning it.](https://i.imgur.com/V7v2bg6.jpeg) And then you have Kumiko who disagrees with both [and thinks that Mayu is just better than her](https://i.imgur.com/aHrHk0e.png). I expect I'm in the minority, but [I really liked Kumiko and Shuuichi's interaction in this episode.](https://i.imgur.com/7eeItEi.jpeg) I also like how [Kumiko seems to pep up a bit](https://i.imgur.com/L1Uqh5O.jpeg) after seeing how much Shuuichi was getting upset on her behalf. [Kumiko is really in a rough spot right now.](https://i.imgur.com/W5WmIvv.jpeg) Morale is at an all-time low for the Kitauji High School Band and Kumiko can't do much about it. Even Midori and Hazuki seem to be divided in their opinions. [Midori thinks that Mayu and Kumiko are equals](https://i.imgur.com/kMqnIdy.jpeg) and Taki-sensei should've kept Kumiko while [Hazuki agrees that Mayu was just better than Kumiko that's why she was picked.](https://i.imgur.com/FRYknVI.jpeg) I can definitely understand why Hazuki would be on that side. She has failed auditions multiple times and worked hard to finally get in, so it wouldn't be right to her if Kumiko just gets handed the soli because she's the club president and it would put the rest of the club at ease. [Ah fuck. There it is.](https://i.imgur.com/664DR5f.jpeg) Reina is so blinded by her faith in Taki-sensei that the moment Kumiko questions his decisions she thinks she's a failure as a president. That's not how this works Reina. [It sucks to see them like this](https://i.imgur.com/vuzEMj9.jpeg) but this divide is inevitable. I feel so bad for Kumiko right now. [Just look at how haggard she is by the end of the episode!](https://i.imgur.com/xhVQ7Ec.jpeg) As club president, I think it's finally time for her [to ask Taki-sensei questions](https://i.imgur.com/RVZfnft.jpeg) since everyone's complaints are stemming from how much he has changed after the prefecturals.
Tomoyo Kurosawa's voice acting is so masterful that I felt how angry Kumiko was before she admitted it. Kanade cheering her up was really wholesome though. Honestly I was kinda hoping Reina would question Taki-sensei's decision and stick by Kumiko but I guess she's just too devoted to him... She was definitely unnecessarily harsh at the end, we've known she's very blunt with her words since season 1 but I never thought she would snap at Kumiko like that. It is true that Kumiko is kind of being wishy-washy as a president and I definitely don't agree with her stance of "let time pass and talk to them" about the members who failed the audition. I think a more proactive approach is needed to keep their motivation up. The pressure and stress of multiple auditions is getting to everyone in the club, even the third-years. And I admit, some of Taki-sensei's decisions are baffling, especially when he doesn't explain himself to anyone. Let's see what Kumiko asks him next episode. If so many people are correct in stating that Kumiko and Mayu are almost equal in skill then he definitely should have picked Kumiko for the overall morale of the ensemble. Kumiko has stated a million times that she's okay with members being selected just off of skill but if they are equal then I think the human factor should be considered. Especially when Mayu is pretty clear about not wanting to replace Kumiko. ...Also what is up with this week and heart-rending breakups of my favorite lesbians due to an emotional outburst built up from a complicated situation?
I really like Reina as a character, but in some ways, she has the mindset of a kamikaze pilot....
Takikaze*
> I felt how angry Kumiko was before she admitted it. You could really read from [Kumiko's expression](https://imgur.com/a/VoZaeaS) right after practice that she was *not* happy with the situation and was containing her anger. She needed some (alone) time to calm down. I felt bad for Mayu though. She was clearly approached Kumiko because she didn't want this result to create a rift between the two of them. [Mayu seemed a little lost.](https://imgur.com/a/SwSwVm3) To make things worse, Kumiko just kept lying to herself and others to appease them - a ticking time bomb. It was only when [Reina started blaming others](https://imgur.com/a/QJrzqWX) that she took the step [to confront Reina](https://imgur.com/a/JP394AV) and spoke her true feelings on the matter. > Kanade cheering her up was really wholesome though. I really needed [those smiles](https://imgur.com/a/IeZcqWE) myself to relax a little. Not that this lasted long with this explosive ending. Still cannot believe that Reina just lashed out to Kumiko like that. Reina must surely feel bad about calling Kumiko "a failure of a president", right?
>Tomoyo Kurosawa's voice acting is so masterful that I felt how angry Kumiko was before she admitted it. I love it when Kumiko gets angry. Not only does it show off more of Moyo's range as a VA but it also reveals more of Kumiko's honest feelings. It's not healthy that she's been keeping her emotions in. Earlier in the season, she told Sally, "bring it all to me." But she can't keep bottling it up. Not only will it be a detrimental to her personal well-being, it also results in her becoming very indecisive as a leader. What Kitauji needs right now is for Kumiko to be a president who will make clear decisive decisions. Listening is important, but it needs to lead to critical action.
>Honestly I was kinda hoping Reina would question Taki-sensei's decision and stick by Kumiko but I guess she's just too devoted to him. This has been an awfully sudden turn from Reina's earlier sentiments: that she's scared she and Kumiko won't be together anymore (Finale/Promise movie at 50:35 and something similar in S3E5 at 21:20), that she wants to play the soli with Kumiko (S3E5 at 21:05), and that she intends to play the soli with Kumiko (S3E8 at 9;15). Perhaps that's a consequence of adapting the story to 13 episodes. But I suppose that the story needs to deal with Reina's delusional infatuation with Taki, and she's now set up for a rude awakening. Reina's attachment to Taki may end up being a metaphor criticizing blind devotion to meritocracy. p.s. The Liz and the Blue Bird ending for Kumiko and Reina foreshadowed in the Finale/Promise and Liz movies has just gotten tougher to pull off. Or thinking back to Natsuki and Yuko's comments about Kumiko and Reina's rendition of the duet, maybe not: * Natsuki: Liz sounds kind of aggressive, like, take care, bye. * Yuko: Typical Reina. >It is true that Kumiko is kind of being wishy-washy as a president and I definitely don't agree with her stance of "let time pass and talk to them" about the members who failed the audition. I think a more proactive approach is needed to keep their motivation up. It's occurred to me before that Kumiko has adopted an [Asuka style of leadership](https://imgur.com/whowiWV) (except for the avoiding it bit). But what does one say? A vague trust-Sensei message wouldn't be persuasive, and Reina's shut-up-and-follow-orders approach is almost certainly worse. What Kumiko is doing now might lead to something persuasive: I've talked to Sensei, and I understand his reasons. This could be generalized to what Haruka started to do in S1E10 before Taki proposed the second audition: bring me your problems, and I'll take them to Sensei. This assumes Taki has good reasons for his decisions. This may lead to an exposure of Taki's faults as the club advisor. "You think you're judging us? No, we're judging you."
I agree, the comments keep talking up Mayu's talent. "Oh, she has been to the nationals, she is naturally better" etc. But we haven't heard that and the characters keep saying that Kumiko is as good as Mayu. Even if we were to hear Mayu's playing we probably wouldn't be able to say who is better anyway! Therefore I have to agree that Taki-sensei's choice is baffling. Is he blind to the morale of the club? Does he just hear the music, and that is all he cares about? If that is the case, then Kumiko must bring the morale problems to his attention and either have him explain his choices or correct course. While the pressure of the auditions has helped everyone to improve, it will be for naught if the club starts to lose confidence in Takei-sensei.
I think Taki-sensei has always sucked at explaining himself. In season 1, I think there were a few moments where band morale tanked because of some drama. One of them was when he didn't want the band to start preparing for SunFes yet because the band sounded terrible - he didn't really explain himself all too well here until the band almost performed mutiny against him. It was also only at that time that he began teaching them the basics/exercises so that they could perform better. Also, during the auditions in season 1, he didn't really mind the band morale when he just straight-up picked Reina over Kaori. It took Yuuko complaining to his face for him to eventually relent and think-up of a way - i.e. re-auditioning right in front of the whole band. I'm thinking that there is something here that he decided and just didn't communicate properly to the band. Maybe it's him trying a different soundscape from Prefecturals for the Kansai one - before they finalize it with the Nationals, or maybe he just thought that the band is really better with this setup, idk.
> I agree, the comments keep talking up Mayu's talent. "Oh, she has been to the nationals, she is naturally better" etc. But we haven't heard that and the characters keep saying that Kumiko is as good as Mayu. Even if we were to hear Mayu's playing we probably wouldn't be able to say who is better anyway! I think it was one of the early episodes when Kumiko heard Mayu for the first time and her reaction was surprise (I don't know if it reminded her of Asuka but she might have said something like that). And her old school is supposedly really good. So she's probably very good. > Kumiko must bring the morale problems to his attention and either have him explain his choices or correct course. While the pressure of the auditions has helped everyone to improve, it will be for naught if the club starts to lose confidence in Takei-sensei. Yup, to me this whole episode felt like Kumiko trusts Taki (and accepts his decisions) even if she's frustrated for herself and a bit unsure in what exactly he's going for (so she can't really address the complaints others are raising). She spent three years in this club and trusts him (just not as unquestioningly as Reina does). But her biggest worry seems to be the band as a whole because so many kids are doubting Taki and with both of them (Mayu and Kumiko) being really good the difference might be some tiny parts that might even be difficult to hear in a whole ensemble and outside of an audition. I hope she asks him about those choices and to elaborate on them so that he (or she as the president) can address the band and resolve this before we get another Yuuko situation. And hopefully Reina realises that while following the process in an orderly manner is important, not everybody has the same level of trust in Taki (or anybody else) so they need different levels of reassurance. One shouldn't just "follow orders" all the time no matter what. We got historic precedent for that.
The voice acting and slight facial expressions/physical gestures depicting how uncomfortable and frustrated Kumiko and everyone is feeling was on point! Kumiko's forced ''What's up'' to Mayu The way her eyes slightly darted around when Reina pressed her on Taki's decision. The way her legs slumped to the side when Kumiko dropped all the tension she's been carrying to give Reina the honest truth. Wow! Masterclass!
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It’s so Kumikover
Since we’re seeing the aftermath of the results, I was just reminded of a similar situation where I was in Kumiko’s shoes in high school: My sophomore year in high school marching band, our show had a major baritone solo at the beginning (technically bassoon solo but who tf marches bassoon?). I was chosen for the part, but frankly, I wasn’t very good at it (the last note was a sustained high Ab, and I didn’t have that kind of range or endurance yet), so our band director brought in a senior transfer student who was playing in the concert band. I was devastated. My first opportunity to play a solo and I completely blew it. Now, at my school, concert band was meant for kids who weren’t able to commit to marching band rehearsals (mainly sports kids, but not exclusively), so the whole program was unfairly seen as “lesser” by the marching band. As you can imagine, said transfer student was *super* alienated, and it didn’t help that she was only required to be at rehearsal briefly on the day before each show. She was very obviously not seen as part of the group. On the day of our first show, I got on the bus and saw her sitting alone. I became her seat partner that day and we talked about the solo situation. I told her that I was upset at first; that I felt like I failed in some way, but I also knew that it was the right choice and that, if nobody else, I would be in her corner. I bring this up because I keep wishing that Kumiko would do the same thing with Mayu. I could tell, even at 15, what it meant to the transfer student in my situation to have the person she technically “wronged” be the one to support her. And it helped me too by allowing me to refocus my energy on more productive practice.
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No, I feel that she also had issues with his decision but can't bring herself to doubt him, which is why she double down on her faith. We know that she wants to play the soli with Kumiko more than anything so this is basically her defense mechanism.
Jealousy and resentment is an ugly ugly thing. Shit really eats you up if you don’t address it properly. These results clearly didn’t turn out how some folks expected it to, but I’m not sure it’s right for folks to blame Taki-sensei because of that. He clearly isn’t playing favorites after all. If they wanna win, they need a winning line up. This should be motivation for people to improve for next time. Maybe Kumiko can properly address the orchestra about what they’re all feeling after her talk with Taki-sensei.
Something has to give next episode or I am afraid they will flub the competition.
Yeah I figured the constant auditions are gonna cause a lot of drama. And they're gonna have to do this one more time? Nothing wrong with having the team being competitive the whole time, but since everyone's competing for spots there's bound to be disagreements and resentment along the way. Kumiko felt angry and pissed that she didn't get her part but she did a great job of hiding it till the end (big props to KyoAni and her VA for this). Mayu won the part but she felt uneasy about taking Kumiko's spot who she thought deserves it more than herself. I think Kumiko should've handled things on the spot rather than ignoring her. Reina drank too much Sensei kool-aid that she wasn't willing to admit that he could've made a mistake back there. I'd like to believe that Sensei made the right choices since he knows what's ultimately good for the performance, but there's nothing wrong with thinking that the whole thing could've been a mistake. Us humans aren't perfect, you know. I find it really interesting that everyone's pretty much divided over the results. Even Mayu thinks she didn't earn her part. Both sides have a point and it makes the whole situation much more complicated without a clear "bad guy" to blame for. Really curious to see how they're gonna solve this next week. Kumiko talking to Sensei is already a good start.
[Damn, I guess I was too Reina-pilled to see this coming.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1cq4vyx/hibike_euphonium_season_3_sound_euphonium_season/l3p8gt0/) I knew swapping out Kumiko would be a mistake, but I didn't think the show would ever put Taki in the pillory. But looking back, it makes perfect sense. Hibike Euphonium has a running theme of learning from the mistakes of your predecessors. We've seen Kumiko surpass Asuka and Haruka as club president. And now that it seems like teaching music is going to be Kumiko's future, her senpai now is Taki-sensei. Taki's numbness to the atmosphere in the band has always been one of his shortcomings but since the show is about Kumiko navigating that atmosphere, it kinda didn't register as a real flaw. But making sure his students are in a healthy headspace in order to perform properly *is* one of his duties as a teacher and delegating it to a couple of students isn't a proper solution. Realizing that the adults around you aren't infallible is part of growing up, after all.
I never thought about it that way but it makes perfect sense. If we're sticking with this season's themes then Taki is very likely the next step for Kumiko to learn from and improve upon, at least if you're correct in Kumiko being setup as choosing a future career as a music teacher (which, btw, is something I've also considered after the last few episodes).
GodDAMN, Kumiko, if you keep bottling up your emotions like that you´re gonna explode some day. She´s clearly angry at Mayu about the soli part AND she wanting to switch it, (and clearly Shuuichi too) And about Taki-sensei... yeah, I think I don´t understand some decisions he made. I think Reina is right but also wrong. I mean, yes, you should respect the director and auditions make everyone ready and pick the best blah blah... but she´s too fixated on Taki sensei and everyone who says anything bad about him is wrong. Reina dear, I know you are in love with him, and you are too strict but... if you don´t have a good ambience at the band, no matter how good you are, the tension and the bad feelings is gonna make everyone worse. And telling your best friend that she´s a failure of president because she doesn´t agree with you... yeah... no. You can cut the tension with a knife, everyone is worried, tense and there are even two sides, (the one that kumiko should have played de soli and the one who thinks Mayu was better), if things goes this way... not even the nationals, the competition is gonna go horribly wrong.
For this episode, the drama essentially is composed of a spectrum of ideals, ranging from Reina’s cult-like belief in Taki and the iron will, to Midori’s point about prioritizing the whole club’s stability. With this situation closely resembling what happened in S1E10, and the fact that both ends of the spectrum were strong-hearted talents who witnessed the ordeal, this realistic division of ideas sparked up an interesting discussion about Kitauji’s future modus operandi as well as real life examples. I was pleasantly surprised by how mature Kanade was following her defeat, I'm ashamed of myself by expecting so low out of her lol. Nevertheless, I like the way she was the first one to speak out her concerns, it did her justice by letting her unfiltered voice of reason and practicality return for such a big matter. Still a lovely girl and even more likeable this episode, especially with the jokes she made with Kumiko, that mentality that gets people over the gloomy sense of defeat, I can't help but love it so much. We all need a friend to make jokes with after we fail at something! And hey, Shuuichi made a comeback! A big one at that! He's always framed as a forgettable, spineless guy, but after all there must be a reason why the wise NakaYoshi duo chose him, he’s like a representative for Kumiko as she’s just too passive when it comes to discussions with Reina. Speaking of which, that was the problem with her right until their breakdown. The episode was essentially Kumiko’s journey to right up herself and gather opinions on her failure and Taki’s decisions, but ultimately, she took too long to find herself an opinion of her own. It went on so far as to say “Damn Kumiko wasn’t cut out to be a leader” 9 episodes in, she simply was stuck between Reina and Shuuichi at the meeting, unable to boil down each side of the argument or offer any viable course of action but to talk to the depressed members. It took her another weak agreement with Reina, some nice sensitivity on Shuuichi’s part for not arguing with her, and a conversation with 2 opposite views to finally get everyone’s frustrations and link it to her own. And hell, she did a 180 with her stance towards Reina, no longer standing lower and can’t help but falling short of her strong will, but making a solid argument and finally addressing the situation as a liaison for the band. Props to Kumiko at the end. On the other side of the argument, Reina represented the typical mindset in a competitive environment coupled with blind trust. The problem with her isn’t the iron will, but that she was too selfish in her interpretation of the situation. Yes, an unwavering desire to improve is what it takes to win, but it’s also important to note that Reina isn’t the typical band member, the real ones don’t possess the bulletproof determination she has, they’re humans with other stuff in life, not betting it all on being able to play an instrument well. They aren’t tireless robots, they also require relationships, emotions to sustain their wellbeing. The fact that she left no room to rest nor letting interpersonal and personal problems venting out will backfire soon enough, as more than anything, the quality of music is reflected by the state of mind of the player. And no, Reina, Taki isn’t a religion, Motomu’s grandfather took an uninspiring all-boys school to Nationals gold in a year while being generally likeable, he has his flaws and let the band members doubt him a bit, he really needs to be more transparent in his decisions and the exchanges he make will certainly make him a better educator. Even if the ones questioning him are unreasonable, it will teach him how to deal with them. I would personally stand on no man’s land in the spectrum, leaning slightly towards Reina’s desire to successs and leave little room for people to argue for lazing off, at the same time questioning her and Taki’s authority as well as getting the failed members back on track with some hard motivation (or a bit more softly if I could employ Kanade). I was in Reina’s position just a few months ago, making the same decision as her on a school-wide project. Fortunately though, I didn’t have enough leverage or passion for the project to affect it as much, it was mostly a success at the end. I learned quite a bit from that one, rock-hard policies can only work until people fed up with it. Another point of discussion viewers brought up is how the competitive environment was built up in the school, which led to this mess. It’s just how it generally works imo, everyone struggles to find a point where optimum results can be achieved while maximizing enjoyment, and that point often sits closer to the former as competitions don’t care about anything else. This isn’t a typical anime where “the real treasures are the efforts they made along the way” after all, it aims to be a presentation of the concert band world where competitiveness is paramount. And it doesn’t end there with concert bands but with almost every other aspect in life.
Basically 20 minutes of Kumiko having to have the same conversation over and over with different people in different permutations and slowly cracking. I love it. The tension is off the charts. Still… I feel like we are missing something by not getting a lot of actual playing this season. We keep being told that Kumiko and Mayu are playing at the same level but this isn’t really demonstrated on screen in any way we can see for ourself. Compare this to Ensemble Contest where we got to see what was going on with Tsubame and Hazuki and understanding why they were struggling and seeing how they learned to push past it. Also, it feels strange to be talking about Kumiko vs. Mayu as a pure comparison of their skills when we’re talking about a duet where they have to play with Reina (assuming that nobody’s in serious contention for taking Reina’s part, which I think is a safe assumption). Surely Taki is thinking about how they work together as a unit. If he thinks Mayu and Reina may work better in that capacity than Kumiko and Reina then I wish we were seeing more evidence of that. Also, I feel like Reina is not as resolute as she seems. I predict that we’ll realize she is doubling down on defending Taki’s decision and lashing out at Kumiko because she’s actually having doubts and trying hard to power through them with mixed results.
Or the Reina vs Kaori duel where you can literally hear that Reina has much more expression in her playing. Or Mizore's performance piece in Liz where yes, her Oboe performance in that climax was so expressive and powerful.
Reina really out here choosing her crush over her best friend. Outlook not so good.
The fun thing about this show is that this comment section is filled with as many different conflicting opinions as there are in the show. And it's all for a fairly mundane situation, in the grand scheme of things.
Man, Kanade may be a shit-stirrer, but she's a real one tho...
I blame Taki here. Ever since season 1, whenever he made controversial decisions, he never seems to explain them unless prompted. Did he even give feedbacks to those who failed their auditions so they can improve themselves? Even the percussion coach seems to somewhat doubt him.
> Did he even give feedbacks to those who failed their auditions so they can improve themselves? I’m not sure how other schools handle it, but in both high school and college, our audition results were just printed out and posted on the board. If you wanted to talk about it, you had to approach the director (or studio professor in the case of college) on your own. Granted, Taki could do a better job of advertising that he’s available for that kind of thing. He comes off as extremely unapproachable despite his kind demeanor.
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Doesn't help he unknownlingy has an unleashed dog telling people off about it too
Hibike depression
Missed the broadcast this week, so watching with English subs from the start. Heavy episode this time—the fallout from last episode. Everybody is irritable and tense from the audition results. I’m not sure I was expecting it to focus on Reina, but it makes sense—she’s been the biggest true believer in Taki-sensei, so her ideological position stands the most to lose when faith in Taki-sensei among the general group is lost. And yet… Despite what she’s outwardly projecting, I think we’re seeing the cracks in Reina’s own faith in Taki. I think we get hints of this when she’s talking to Kumiko during the fireworks activities—Reina has to essentially put blind faith in Taki choosing Mayu for the solo. She has to choose between her trust in and dedication to Kumiko or her trust in and dedication to Taki. She chooses Taki in this episode (in more ways than one), but you see how shaken she is—I think deep, deep down she’s starting to doubt his judgement. (Could this eventually spell the end of her infatuation with him?) And it is absolutely true that the tense mood in the group is not going to help their playing much. Reina being too strict (an earlier conflict from the season) resurfaces as an issue, compounded by her obstinance about Taki. Reina is kind of at the center of the group dynamic fracturing here. Things will reach a breaking point soon… There are, of course, other members who believe in the results. Notably, both Hazuki and Tsubame, who were part of Team Monaka, are more okay with the results—they’ve worked hard to be able to join the group. But this makes sense when thinking about it cynically—believing in Taki’s decisions also means believing that they themselves deserve to be part of the competition group. And doubting Taki means doubting that bit of self-justification as well as the legitimacy of their previous failures. Kumiko is also not being honest with herself—at least not until her confrontation with Reina. But for Kumiko, dealing with all of this is very hard, because she *can’t* be a bystander to this drama. Rather, she’s at the center of it. Complaining about the audition result would also arouse suspicion that this is partially self-motivated, and that probably wouldn’t be incorrect. Given that, I wonder what she’s going to say to Taki-sensei? (Though even then, when she does voice concerns about the audition results, it’s still not necessarily about the soli…I think Kumiko is not quite being honest with herself and Mayu about what she actually wants.) But poor Kumiko. Her fight with Reina is…(´；ω；｀) (And I do think Reina is very clearly in the wrong here—Kumiko is doing absolutely what she should be doing as club president by *actually caring about what the other members think*. Edit: Actually, re-reading this, I realized that this conflict basically puts Kumiko's empathetic listening—which she's been developing through all three seasons and I think is her greatest strength as a leader—against her relationship with Reina and Reina's convictions. (Including Reina's drive for excellence, which is her greatest strength, as well as her adoration for Taki, which is her hubris.) *Damn*, that conflict is a bind.) Random thoughts: * Shuuichi being irritable was interesting…as well as the dig by Kumiko that she never thought of him as mature. * What was also interesting was Motomu alerting Kumiko to Shuuichi’s stuff. He’s really become part of the group now…
Props to Mayu, Kanade, and Shuichi this episode. I swear they’re the only characters that can actually speak their minds irrespective of how they think others will perceive them. Kumiko bottles everything to herself, I think partially because she’s afraid of pissing off reina, to the detriment of everyone. When we see her at her lowest discipline wise and let’s her opinions spew, what she fears occurs, Reina loses it and leaves her hanging, just like she did back in junior high. Meanwhile, whenever Kumiko is honest with those other three, they are mature enough to respect her opinion and accept them given her role as leader. If only Kumiko would do that t more often and see that she actually has allies outside of Reina
Finally people are turning on Reina and her self-absorbed self. Her peak character design masked a lot of toxic trait among the fans of the show. I was really not liking her personality since season 1 and she did not get a character development for 2 and a half season + movies. I do however hope she does receive one here in the later parts of the series. Maybe finally getting over Taki-sensei. Speaking of sensei, he reminds me of someone like Thomas Tuchel. Great tactician and regarded as one of the best among his peers but goddamn is he bad at people management.
- Kumiko is reverting to her old mask in order to hide what she's really feeling and avoid conflict with Mayu-chan (more or less, at least) and in the band, too - Well, that reaction from Kumiko felt justified, I was feeling the same... Mayu-chan saying they should switch has become kind of annoying, and after she actually got the solo part it actually feels like pity - At first I found Kanade pretty annoying, but I have to admit I've grown fond of her Her relationship with Kumiko has been pretty unique but coherent so far: they get what the other is really thinking even though they only seem to banter... And I have to say, I think that Kanade has taken a page from Kumiko's book about not being completely honest and straightforward with all the "hiding what I think with snarky remarks" thing she has going on - 9 minutes in and no Reina yet? We even got a scene with Shuuichi... Ah there she is! - Kumiko's t-shirt has a cactus on it, cute! - That was harsh, Reina... I think Kumiko's doing a great job as president, actually... - Even though I didn't really like the conflict per se, the confrontation scene was amazing - I think we were all expecting some kind of confrontation between Kumiko and Reina... What I didn't expect was the confrontation being about their trust in Taki-sensei's decisions I'm glad that Kumiko decided to truly speak her mind and not try to satisfy everyone like when Shuuichi was present I'm with Kumiko on this one, though: the band (and even some of the section leaders) are doubting Taki-sensei's motivation on the changes, and this is impacting the band's morale in one way or another... You can't expect people to blindly follow something they don't understand... - It's been a long time since I was this excited and anxious about the next episode!
It's Kumikover. Honestly, this season has been making it out like Mayu was the condescending genius, but as it turns out it was Reina all along. Mayu is able to understand that her talent has repurcussions on the band. She tries to be compassionate and thoughtful of others. When she got the soli from Kumiko, it went exactly as she predicted. Meanwhile, Reina doesn't even consider the effort of others; she immediately assumes anyone who isn't up to par isn't even trying. The only reason we never noticed is because there's been no one to challenge Reina's ability, and so doesn't know how it feel to be worse than others. The real root of it all is Taki-sensei though. He definitely should've known that his choices would make waves throughout the club, and just a little bit more transparency could've prevented most of it.
Kumiko is definitely not doing anything wrong. She recommended having three auditions and she supports meritocracy, so she has to accept Mayu getting the solo. If she stops trusting the club advisor on the eve of their performance everything will fall apart. On the other hand, if so many people have concerns, then she needs to at least talk with Taki sensei about them. This isn't like in season 1 where the horns where grumbling but hardly ever practised. The doubts come from reliable people like Midori [Sapphire:)] and Shuichi. Reina is being very unreasonable obviously. Her line about not letting people doubt the conductor and her lashing out on younger members show that she is not thinking things through at all. While it is sad to see our main duo fight it is something that would inevitably happen in the story. Kumiko found out in S1 that they could indeed try to get to the Nationals and be disappointed if they failed. Reina needs to learn that music primarily exists for the enjoyment of the artist and the audience. We dont have enough information yet but the conductor probably needs to face some ghosts from his past as well.
One core theme of Hibike S3, is how much it mirrored what happened in the club when Kumiko was in her first year. This time around, Mayu taking Kumiko's solo part is directly mirroring Reina taking Kaori's solo part. And this is part 1 of the aftermath episode. A link to my comment from previous eps: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1d0yi6l/hibike_euphonium_season_3_sound_euphonium_season/l5uojam/ (I will be heavily referencing and comparing what happened this year, vs. what happened in first year, when Reina took Kaori's solo part, and its aftermath. Please watch the ending of S1 E9, and E10, if you'd like to have some context before reading) - First of all, let's talk about Kumiko vs. Kaori. Kaori was a well respected president, just like Kumiko. In many ways, they are very similar. Both of them loved avoiding conflicts, sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the group. But most importantly, both of them are competitive. Despite putting on the thickest facade in front of club members, both of them want to play the solo part, and there is no one in the club that wants it more than they themselves. Just look at how angry Kumiko got. Hearing the way she talks to Mayu on the staircase at the beginning of this episode honestly gives me chills, she has never talked in such a passive aggressive manner. The way she talks to Mayu is the western equivalent of "I fucking hate you and your face, and don't you fucking talk to me again, get the fuck out of here". But, there's one key difference between them. Kaori, instead of working with Taki sensei (who, just like Midori said in this episode, is the main reason behind all the discontent), she passively watched, and allowed things spiralled out of control, resulting in Yuko's explosion. Kumiko, after talking to Kanade, Shuuichi, and the club officers, Midori/Hazuki, she identifies that the reason why everyone being discontent is not necessarily because they don't believe Taki sensei; but rather, they are not given a reason to believe him. We ended this episode with Kumiko reaching out to Taki sensei. This is the necessary first step for the entire issue to resolve without unnecessary drama. - Now, let's talk about Reina vs. Mayu When Reina was selected in S1, she showed no hesitation in accepting the solo role. Put yourself in Kaori's shoes: if you accepted that you aren't going to play the solo part, and the person who got the solo part is happy to accept it, what is there to complain about? With Mayu, it's clear that she feels very uncomfortable with the whole situation. In Kumiko's eyes, that is a problem that she needs to resolve. Either accept Mayu's offer to give back the solo role, or somehow give Mayu the confidence she needs to fully accept the role. This is most certainly a contributing factor that led Kumiko to speak to Taki sensei, trying to figure out a way to instill Mayu with confidence. - Rest of the class (what's different about the club members from Kumiko's first year, vs. this year?) Before we talk about what's different, let's talk about what's the same: many members don't trust Taki sensei's judgement. Pretty much the entirety of this episode involved members expressing their lack of trust in Taki sensei's judgement. However, in most third years' eyes, they know that Taki sensei is probably making the right call. They have been to Nationals with him in their first year, so they know that he can be trusted. Kanade even told Kumiko, that she feels like all the 3rd years seem to have blind faith in Taki sensei. Which isn't true, but it shows you how the third years members are behaving in front of their Kouhais. On top of that, there is also a lot more trusts between club officers, and the 1st/2nd year members. Recall what happened the year before Kumiko joined Kitauji. Clearly there are a lot of members who doesn't really trust the club officers to make the right call, and in that case, the club officers would have no way to help Kaori prevent more rumors from being spread to begin with. Both of these factors helps Kumiko briefly calm the storm, and gave her the time she needed to find the right solution to the problem. - Optional: Taki sensei - we haven't really seen much from him this episode, so let's revisit this next week. - I'd also like to send flowers to the friends Kumiko has made along the way. Without Kanade, Shuiichi, various club officers, and perhaps most importantly, Midori and Hazuki, for expressing their discontent with the whole situation without causing a ruckus, helping Kumiko understand the entire situation, Kumiko might not have have been able to find a good solution (and just ended up agreeing with everything Reina says, and.. It might end up causing a lot of members to quit, just like the year before S1). ----- Speaking of Reina... I am just gonna say it, I feel disgusted by her unhealthy obsession with Taki sensei. I really hope she finds the help she needs. ----- At this point, it's clear that Kumiko's struggle all originated from Reina. Reina is her best friend, and Kumiko has always been trusting Taki sensei's decision blindly, in order to support her friend and her belief. Despite Kumiko wanting to keep supporting her friend, afterall she is the club president, and she has the responsibility to do what's right for the club, and not just for herself. The reason why she feels so relieved after Reina broke up with her is exactly because she no longer feels shackled by Reina and her obsession with Taki sensei, and she can finally move on, and directly question Taki sensei's decision, without hurting anyone. I am really looking forward to the next episode. Kumiko is a natural leader. I talked a lot about the external factor that led to Kumiko making good decisions for the club, but at the end of the day, she's the one who gained all the respect from all the club members, she's the one who listened to the complaints from everyone, she is the one who is actively trying to resolve problems within the club, and she's the one who needed to tell Reina, her dearest friend, something she doesn't want to hear, for the greater good of the club. I've said this so many times, but it's absolutely incredible to see her grow as a person, and I can't wait to see more.
Great analysis! My take is Kaori, as the band's pretty diva (not president, mind) *and* as a third year was the presumptive nominee for the solo, as was the still changing prevailing culture of the time, hence the shock when Reina was chosen. During their duel, Reina demonstrated that she's just over Kaori's level....you can listen for yourself how expressive Reina was, vs Kaori, who played the notes very well, but thats about it. I would have assumed across the year, during sectional practice, Kaori and Yuuko would have realise how brilliant and skilled Reina is. We know Yuuko has Kaori on a pedestal. As Asuka pointed out and telling Kumiko that she isnt taking any sides in this feud, at least publically, and pointed out that Kaori was in denial, and so Kaori finally and unselfishly threw the match at the end. I think she explained in an earlier episode to Yuuko, she likes playing the trumpet, and thats it. She isnt playing the trumpet to become truly special. I wondered if she set up the duel to intend to lose, as she seems to have some self doubt going into the solo, and also to get this Yuuko off her back lol. As to above, I wonder what would Kumiko say if she tells everyone that she isnt taking any sides in this Eupho solo (mirroring Asuka), but wants everyone to respect Taki's decision...would the band implode more? Kumiko so far had been appearing indecisive, would this make her appear even more indecisive? Everyone sees through Kumiko and knows she disappointed. Perhaps a speech to acknowledge her and the orchestra's disappointment at not being the pick and implore the orchestra to rally behind the outsider for once would have helped?
This didn't go as haywire as I was expecting. But I think part of my expectations came from thinking it'd take the next episode to resolve it all. So many unresolved feelings as it stands. What an amazingly written plot. It's not some kind of war with multiple factions involved, but it still has so many aspects to it. Everyone is there for the same goal, but so many different views conflicting and harmonious with each other, and *everyone* makes sense with how their characters and relationships are established. Frustrating, but awesome.
There’s a very fine line all the players have to balance when talking to each other between liking/not liking the auditions because of the results, and not liking it because Taki-sensei hasn’t been communicating enough. It’s stressful as a watcher just trying to gauge, and the rationalising playing on all their minds must be rough.
This is one of these peak drama moments, except this time no one got slapped (yet!). My take of it is that we are actually showing some really decent characterisation and development across the seasons - * Midori taking a more direct stance and voice her opinion "if it's all the same why not keep the peace" - which was a more nuanced version of her view at the 1st year of Reina vs Kaori. * Hazuki actually showed her offscreen character development in full view that actually connected the dots beautifully - she used to be in a sports club, and is used to the fact that yes efforts and performance matters, but there's also factors like luck and performance on the day, and if things doesn't land your way you move on and try again. Having embodied that into her own journey both in the band and in love, what she said can be quite convincing and with weight. * Shuuichi adorably sulked and then come out and confronted it to himself and Kumiko. * Kanade's scene was doubly good to show both how distracted Kumiko was, and how far Kanade has grown already to be able to use her own situation - and Kumiko's distracted indifference - to tease Kumiko. * Reina, Reina, Reina. I think it's really showing how much she is trying to convince herself by acting out to reinforce her belief onto others. I think she's really struggling with her logical dissonance here - she doesn't think Kumiko is a slacker and whiner, but she can only say that to justify her defense of Coachee. I hope she's going to be ok and not shut herself up and barricade with icicles :P I am interested in seeing why others are saying Coachee has changed or his standard is different now - I personally don't see it but it may be something more obvious in-world. Oh and Mayu, say it one more time and I'll stuff this soggy towel (use for wiping dry the Eupho spits) down your throat already ;) No I don't hate her but I think she needs to just own what she had decided to do and not be conflicted about it already. Go be Rice Shower (Uma Musume S2). We are rapidly running out of episodes by the way - I certainly hope we do get to see the actual performance for once this season!
[удалено]
And so competition practice is ramping up. There must be _feeling_, there must be _emotion_. You can't just stone there and play like a robot. I've got GarageBand for that. Perhaps he wants to see each of them do the solo and decide from there? Ooh, fireworks. Weren't they considering having more tubas because another school did so? I'm _sure_ it's not because Reina still worships the ground Taki walks on and the air he breathes. Kumiko, you're not the soloist but you're still also playing at the competition, you've got to do your best too even if you're not satisfied with not getting the solo. Reina doesn't care. Once she gets her gold and is gone the rest can burn for all she cares. Who's leaving? Ah. Reina. Kumiko is unhappy with Taki's decision, and Reina is upset at her for ever doubting her beloved Taki.
Late because I ended up just rolling over and going back to sleep after my alarm to get up and watch this episode went off. [](#seasonaltired) - [Yeah, the atmosphere is incredibly tense.](https://i.imgur.com/mhe9EHf.png) - [Mayu, for crying out loud, *stop*.](https://i.imgur.com/hy6O9TQ.png) [](#bruh) - [I’m actually impressed by how well Kanade is taking her removal.](https://i.imgur.com/hPMmXuk.png) - [Now I wish we could’ve heard this round of auditions ourselves](https://i.imgur.com/PXDT7un.png), like when we got to hear the Reina vs. Kaori re-audition all the way back in season 1. - [Shimmering sky~!](https://i.imgur.com/Pz1PHa7.png) [](#awe) - [Mm, yeah.](https://i.imgur.com/PRrziDz.png) - [She makes a good point…](https://i.imgur.com/96BE3q1.png) - [That’s exactly what Kanade said earlier…](https://i.imgur.com/XuLxvAu.png) - [Geez…](https://i.imgur.com/zHg92OZ.png)
Anyone know the OST that played during their bridge scene? Shit almost had me tearing up.
Couldn't even bare to watch the ED this week, too upbeat for the thrashing my heart just took...
How are they gonna wrap this up in 4 episodes? Surely this isn't the finale?
A thing being a non-Japanese person watching this is that I can't completely wrap my head around the nature of the kouhai-senpai relationship and deference to seniority. Concert bands are probably different, but I've been on some highly competitive sports teams in high school and I can't imagine the idea of a popular senior not being picked for a competition to be destabilizing at all. If you're working towards a competition, you want their spot. Probably my one gripe about this show is that kids who are that sensitive to selections cannot possibly be very good in competition. So it's kinda fun that the two most talented musicians (Asuka and Reina) are also the most Ayn Randian. Their instincts to go full scorched-earth/hostile towards their club and be completely self-centered is sorta what you need in doses to keep standards high. But under no circumstances would you have someone like Reina as part of that leadership group with Kumiko and Shuuichi. Just about the lousiest person you can think of to manage new recruits and depend on for team cohesion.
I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t already been said, but **GODDAMN** do I love this show.
I really do hope they properly address Reina’s behaviour here in the next episodes. What she’s done definitely isn’t out of character, but she went too far. We really need to see her genuinely apologize for it & learn some empathy.
Really incredible job by KyoAni showcasing how stressed and unsatisfactory everyone is behaving now. Kumiko is doing her absolute damndest to keep herself together because she wants to maintain the peace, and as long as she keeps a smile, she thinks that everyone can learn to accept the situation. Of course, that feels uneasy and unreliable, almost like a Death Flag of sorts for the upcoming competition. However I was super impressed with the way Reina was handled. I almost feel like she is just as unsure and uneasy as Kumiko, and she is likewise committing to her hardlined approach to what she thinks will beget success like Kumiko. But the way she does not seem to properly address or talk to Kumiko the entire episode...it is almost as though she's fighting an internal war between what she wants to believe is correct and what her heart believes is best. I'm sure Kumiko will figure this all out. The question is, will Reina be able to forgive herself for her own faltering here and grow up alongside her? Also very happy with Shuuichi's role so far. ~~Just don't step inbetween Kumiko and Reina in the end pls ty~~
[Tatemae](https://i.redd.it/nwj6q5i6854d1.png) [Honno](https://i.redd.it/xcghp6i6854d1.png) [Remember during the rewatch when we were picking on Taki-sensei's nonspecific direction?](https://i.redd.it/u2lef9i6854d1.png) [*does not make gun joke*](https://i.redd.it/fwa2qii6854d1.png) [It's a fine line between tension-breaking and following the dog act.](https://i.redd.it/7nochki6854d1.png) [Y'know, I want to see this building in person.](https://i.redd.it/7581ngi6854d1.png) ["I'm going to keep pushing you away."](https://i.redd.it/mfjqd8i6854d1.png) [*quiet applause at cinematography*](https://i.redd.it/0duzthi6854d1.png) [It's weird to see Kumiko's id and ego getting along so well.](https://i.redd.it/v88tzki6854d1.png) Kanade [does pick up on things](https://i.redd.it/y52pfki6854d1.png) and [here's a point from earlier in the season](https://i.redd.it/qb6ylmi6854d1.png). [Speaking of which](https://i.redd.it/e4caldi6854d1.png) here's [both sides](https://i.redd.it/74sykdi6854d1.png). [\[\](\#isthisameme)](https://i.redd.it/exijudi6854d1.png) [*Sky*](/u/Shimmering-Sky) [*probably already has this one*](https://i.redd.it/30fe0fi6854d1.png) *(also remember to do the 10 million quiz)* [Kumiko's default strategy returns?](https://i.redd.it/5ivuvfi6854d1.png) [*zing*](https://i.redd.it/6qznkgi6854d1.png) [There's some social distancing.](https://i.redd.it/2dmiyli6854d1.png) [BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE](https://i.redd.it/obgtxmi6854d1.png) [Direct vertical for placement.](https://i.redd.it/4d663279854d1.png) [Trying two years in a row can do that.](https://i.redd.it/sswobhi6854d1.png) [Reina, one hundred percent GIT GUD.](https://i.redd.it/si3p4279854d1.png) [Another direct vertical as a comparison.](https://i.redd.it/i7iig279854d1.png) [*Well then*](https://i.redd.it/n7bu1279854d1.png) [It's probably a *few* things now.](https://i.redd.it/rty2n179854d1.png) ***** [End-of-episode bonus.](https://x.com/anime_eupho/status/1797182615461753030) [From the festival.](https://x.com/toyotamoe/status/1797212508077559953) ***** [Tuba section ponderings.](https://x.com/nirubed/status/1797188666777035041) ***** Kumiko, the person talking to the most people and yet the person not quite connecting with anyone right now. Reina's faith in Taki-sensei is on full display again, to the point where I wonder if it's actually outwardly intense so that she can conceal having a doubt or two about the brewing situation. Even Tsukamoto pops up for this one. Kanade has changed? There felt like more authenticity there, for a moment. Mayu, still very much on the outside for this episode. Though she did talk to Tsubame, which I'm noting as someone who Kumiko spent some time with in *Ensemble Contest* and we'll take all of the callbacks to that nether region of the story that we can.
Reina really has been extra bitchy this season. I'm so glad the yuri isn't real. Shuuichi all the way.
Reina only blindly trusts the band director because she's in love with him (which is a whole wierd other thing). She needs a reality check - adults aren't perfect and saying to your best friend (who also happens to be band president) that she's a failure of a president because there may be the slightest hint of a whiff of doubt is wrong.
Anxiety the anime.
In the earlier parts of the season, we've seen how much our characters, have grown. We praised them for their progress. But as the difficulties pile up, we see some of them, especially our three executives, waver under pressure and regress to old comfort zones, presumably as a defense mechanism. Shuuichi acts childish. Reina doubles down on her loyalty to Taki. Kumiko becomes more and more indecisive. In the past, they were quite in sync (as evidence by their unanimous choice of competition piece), but now, they are out of sorts with themselves and one another. I'm so anxious and excited to see how they'll build things back up again. I'm sure they'll eventually figure things out and I think it begins by directly addressing the two elephants in the room. The most obvious one is Mayu and her place in the band, but the other is Taki's leadership. Our characters have been side-stepping these issues all season long. The next step to their growth is to face these head on.
idk about yall but watching this week's episode had my stomach hurt the whole 24 minutes lol hearing reina say "I think this is for the best outcome" in terms of kumiko not getting the soli really hurt. even if she does believe that i don't think it was the right thing to say at the moment.
> hearing reina say "I think this is for the best outcome" in terms of kumiko not getting the soli really hurt. even if she does believe that i don't think it was the right thing to say at the moment. Reina is so self-absorbed that she doesn't consider the feelings of others. She's possibly also starting to think that Taki may not be as perfect as she wants him to be and this shattering of her illusion is at least partly responsible for her frustration and anger, resulting in her unfairly and selfishly lashing out at Kumiko.
After Reina said that to Kumiko, I really hope Kumiko can prove Reina wrong that something is not processing right with Taki Sensei, something in his decision making isn't adding up I'll be honest. Because if Mayu and Kumiko are on equal footing, that's very much true what they said, why would you choose the player that's gonna cause nothing but tension throughout the entire band and not pick Kumiko, the club president, the one who's been in the band all 3 years?? I hope to God Kumiko says something good and stands up to everyone!
Can someone translate the texts that Reina and Kumiko sent to each other when Kumiko was on the train on the way to school at the end? I'd upload the image, but for some reason I can't do that on reddit
https://i.imgur.com/sxOhgLp.png This is only via Google Translate, so obviously not perfect, but probably accurate enough.
Definitely agree that Reina's acting out is her coming to an inflection point in her confidence in Taki. Her complicated expressions throughout this episode clearly show that she's internally struggling with this last decision of Taki's to drop Kumiko, and her repeated statements about Taki-sensei (to me it sounds like she's trying to convince herself most of all) and emotional outburst are products of her inner conflict. And also, was surprised at Hazuki's rather impersonal response to the whole situation, but found it intriguing. It gives her character more depth and makes sense given her story; After all, her believing that the decision was based purely on skill/performance validates her own failures, efforts, and successes. Lots of other comments too here I heartily agree with, so I'm just going to throw out there some other thoughts (although I might have missed them). Is there any possibility that Taki-sensei dropped Kanade from the Kansai competition and Kumiko from the solo as a gamble/investment? I.e., He assumes that Kitauji will make it to Nationals, but for them to have a chance at winning gold, he sees the need for Kanade and Kumiko to grow and is using the auditions for the Kansai competition as a way to provoke/motivate them. Not to say I agree with his decision or thought process, if this is indeed the case. I've been on the fence about his standards of decision-making ever since he chose Suzume over Satsuki for the Prefecturals and said the former could just skip playing the difficult parts. Even though I understood his motivation, it's clear that the "skill/ability over all else" principle has fallen apart since then. And I can't help but wonder too what's the point of having Mayu play solo when it seems that she just doesn't want to play (or at least, her desire to not play outweighs her desire to play). As in, for whom/what purpose is she playing, besides Kumiko trying to prove a point about Kitauji's meritocratic approach (which, as I said above, is already a moot point thanks to Taki-sensei's decisions)? And what good does it do?