Hibike! Euphonium

A lot of people say this anime was like K-on. I didn't think it was at all apart from moeness and music. I was kind of expecting a K-on type of thing but right from the first episode I knew it was going to be different. Maybe the manga is more like it, however I haven't read it. In my opinion, the music genre for this was rather unique because I haven't seen an anime where they mainly focus on a classical type of genre, which really made it stand out. And that was another thing why I was exited to watch this anime, to see how they would take that type of thing on. The characters were really delightful and the type you would want to see more of. At one point, I begin to not like a certain character but then grow to really enjoy watching them in this anime. This was mainly focused towards Kousaka Reina, who I didn't really like at first but then realised she's actually a pretty sweet person who was ready to go for her dream. The character of Oumae Kumiko was not what I expected. I was expecting much more of a cheerful energetic type of character, like Yui Hirasawa from K-on. But she turned out to be a kind of cool laid back character which I was glad about :) The main thing I liked about this anime was the art style. It just made me go wow, the instruments were absolutely beautiful and so were the character designs. I especially loved the characters eyes, they really did stand out. Overall, I think this anime was a nice unique type of work that can really open up to a lot of people, especially if you were ever in a high school band.

[b]Disclaimer: This is only my second review on this website so it may not be the best but here's my opinion! P.S I'll try to keep i spoiler free as possible![/b] When I first heard about Hibike! Euphonium, I was not entirely excited. I've heard of how K-On wasn't much of a sight to behold (perhaps bias opinion) so when I heard this anime was going to be released, well my thoughts were that of...eh. What I got in the end was a surprise however. I was taken on a journey, one might say. Whilst having little knowledge about classical musical, I found I could quite easily understand this anime. However, lets move on. [b]Story:[/b] 9 I felt the story in this anime was well-developed in the 13 episodes we were given. It was realistic whilst being well-paced; It didn't drag on, as you might say. The information in my opinion was not dumped on us, as many anime do. It was clear, concise and easy to understand especially if you are like myself and lack knowledge of the classical music genre. The story was well-rounded and gave us realistic perspectives from characters that didn't seem forced (however, I'll talk about characters later.) Overall, I rate the story a 9 due to the short amount of episodes and whilst I did say it was well-paced, I believe if it was longer, maybe 24 episodes, we may have seen more development in terms of the characters improving etc. [b]Art:[/b] 9 The art in this anime was quite outstanding. I don't have much more to say. The scenery was lovely; I especially love the scenes where it featured the shrines. They were gorgeous. It was bright and colourful, however in situations it still kept its colour whilst setting the tone. The only downfall I had was with character design. While I did like the characters looks, they were fresh and bold, I felt they were slightly unoriginal (but that'd be due to same companies working on it.) Overall, I rate the art 9 because the scenery was beautiful but the character designs to me seemed a bit lacking. [b]Sound:[/b] 10 An anime about music? You'd expect the sound to be good right? Well in this anime I felt it was indeed. From the classical music they were playing to the background tone, I felt as a viewer I was enticed by pleasant melodies we'd often hear. The instruments themselves seemed very clear and crisp, allowing, me again as a viewer, to feel like I was watching something more realistic. The sound helped me feel 'more in-depth' with the anime, giving the scenes nice ambiance. Overall I gave the sound a 10 due to my absolute love for it. I can't say much else. [b]Character:[/b] 10 I have to say the characters in this exceeded my expectations. I was expecting it to be just 4 or 5 girls playing music and then winning a competition, however it was not. It showed characters such as the protagonist, Kumiko Oumae, , and her growing passion and love for the instrument she played. The characters to me, seemed, within the given time-frame, well-rounded, developed characters with their own sense of personality I have not seen in many other characters. Among them, Reina Kousaka had to have been my favourite as (possible spoiler) she was originally seen as being cold, however developed into a character with genuine feelings. Overall I gave the characters a solid 10 due to their development, personality and the way they interacted with each other. (Reina and Kumiko pls :P) [b]Enjoyment & Overall:[/b] Both 9s My enjoyment of this anime was quite high. I watched all 13 episodes in one sitting xD I'd say it was a sweet anime, that was pleasantly surprising. My overall score is 9 due to just 9 being the majority score :P I'd say in the end this anime was well worth the watch, even if you're not interested in music. It's a short, pleasant anime (that needs a second season) that will please many viewers. Hibiki! Euphonium: 9

Waiting for a 3rd season of K-ON! was pointless, so instead KyoAni gave us another music anime. K-ON! tells the story of 5 girls in a rock band, but Hibike! is about the people in an high school orchestra. Story: 8 The plot, if only there was much more to it. Why end it at episode 13? It could have gone much further and I would have rated the story part higher if they could. A bit of the story is about the protag named Kumiko Oumae, trying to change herself in high school as a freshman. The wind brass club she wanted to avoid cannot be avoided because she was dragged by her new friends. She had experience with the euphonium, but she doesn't want to because it caused trouble for her old friend, Kousaka Reina. With this as a beginning, the flow went well and then it got quite cut off short because of it containing only 13 episodes. Still, it made out as a good slice of life and music anime, not losing to K-ON! (Sorry for the comparison to K-ON!, I just had to). Art: 10 Yes, we know Kyoto Animation are very good with its animation, but with this one, damn it was serious eyegasm. The scenery, the fingering when holding the instruments, its just too damn good. I ain't much of a visual art person, but the animation was outstanding. Sound: 9 I know my classical music. I don't know much about classical music played by orchestra, but the sound was good too. Especially when Reina had her turn to perform the trumpet solo, the sound just resonates my ears. It was really pleasant, and you can differentiate on how they played in the beginning compared at the end, because it shows the improvements they had. Character: 9 What made me like Hibike! the most was its characters. Yes there were lots of mob characters, but the main 4 (Kumiko, Hazuki, Midori, Reina) they all had so much to them. I just love Reina although she can be depicted as someone mysterious. She's not a kuudere, she actually shows her emotions. Like the deep bond between Kumiko and Reina, that thing's glorious. I don't like yuri but every time their faces are so close to each other I feel like they have to kiss. The character development is serious. Kumiko and Reina became close after trying their best to be in the orchestra under the tutelage of Taki-sensei, the cute demon. Hazuki who had a thing for Shuuichi (Kumiko's childhood friend) was one of the things I liked and I saw it to the end. When Kumiko kept repeating "I want to improve." that was the most shocking part in my opinion. The change in her to have motivation and in the anime the CV was really accurate, with the emotions being able to conveyed to us audience. I could do much more on characters, but it will end up as spoilers so I leave it to the rest. Enjoyment: 9 It's a must. It is a must to watch this beautiful anime. Overall: 9 KyoAni did something amazing, and something of a masterpiece if only the anime had gone longer.

KyoAni is among my favorite studios, but most of the anime they choose to produce, particularly in the last few years, are exceedingly shallow. They became infamous for this with shows like K-On! and Free!, where the key appeal lies in the characters and their charm, with not much thought put into story, and certainly no intricacies such as symbolism or political overtones. That doesn't mean that they don't surprise us with some deeper experiences every once in a while. The less-popular Hyouka stands out as a genuinely unique and exciting take on the high school slice-of-life genre. And then there's Hibike! Euphonium. As a former band geek, I can't help but really, REALLY wish that I had been able to watch this show in middle or high school. I was an unexcited, unmotivated Alto Sax, always lingering in second or third chair, (rightfully) unappreciated by teachers. That being said, I could feel those nostalgic emotions being captured again and again as I moved through the episodes. The tension of filing out onto an unfamiliar stage in front of a large audience. That ever-present fear of something, anything going wrong. Somebody's going to squeak. Somebody's gonna realize they forgot their mouthpiece. The soloist is going to choke. I never played in a band the caliber of the one depicted in Hibike!, and I was never motivated the way the characters in the show were by the end, but I could relate to all the little worries, all the frustration that they felt. I knew what it was like to play alone in front of a strict conductor's judging ears. Even minus all the band stuff, the characters were fantastic. Kumiko was a perfect main character, not too wacky or opinionated, for us to project ourselves onto while at the same time remaining interesting and lovable. Eccentric characters such as Sapphire and Asuka felt like real band geeks, with their strange personality quirks and undying love for their instruments. Taki-Sensei is the perfect, inspiring teacher we all wish we had guiding us. My only complaint would be the number of characters. I felt like I was mixing people up and losing track at times. And then there's Reina. The yuri overtones in Hibike! were strong. Intentional or not, Reina and Kumiko felt like a real budding couple. The tension between Kumiko and Shuuichi stemming from their relationships with Reina and Hazuki was almost palpable. It's really a shame that KyoAni teases their viewers this way, especially knowing full well that there is an established canon they cannot change. I have argued with friends extensively about this topic, and I concede that they were right. What KyoAni instilled in the hearts of viewers for no particular reason was a dirty trick, dirty enough that I must condemn them for it. All that being said, everything else about the show is top-notch. The animation is detailed, colorful, and beautiful. The music is enchanting. The band sounds realistic and un-exaggerated, always matching up to what the characters are saying, whether they be sharp or out of sync, or just plain unskilled with their instruments. The Opening and Ending are fun, creative, and just as well-animated as the rest of the show. KyoAni may have me heartbroken about the relationships in the show, but Hibike! Euphonium is still an absolutely fantastic anime, and it deserves a complete ten out of ten.

Hibike is called a k-on clone by people or whatever with the comparisons but dont give hibike the credit it deserves a really good anime which i personally believe. Story- synopsis is available for ya if you want but in short its about a girl who in junior highschool was in a brass band club and there was a competition to make it to nationals they didnt make it and she didnt really care but her friend reina did and showed her emotions so fast forward shes ends up joining a band club in her new highschool as a first year she meets reina again her old classmate who also attends the same school and the incident that occured when they didnt make nationals in junior highschool. So now the MC Kumiko wants to become a better euphonium player (the instrument she uses is the euphonium) and wants to go to nationals and that becomes her goal. I thought the story was very good and well executed within the 13 episodes it had quite a bit of development in the characters and also had some funny moments along with some dramatic stuff but it was good overall but i cannot say it was amazing mainly because some of the dramatic moments and whats so ever are not elaborated on and seemingly just skipped people who have watched will know the confession episode and the 12th episode are 2 examples of what im talking about. Art- Amazing simply amazing beautiful colors everything is so vibrant the character designs sleek shiny beautiful it has a really great appeal to it kyoto animation for the win putting out amazingly animated and beautiful looking anime for some time. Nothing here i hate everything was just perfect my only gripe would be if people dont like the super shiny bright colourful artwork then its definitly not something you'll like it. Sound- Its basically classical band choir music or something like that you get the wood winds, brass and some drums all the categories are split into the euphoniums, trumphets, drums, flutes i mean it has everything that would fit with the type of band that the students are in and i must say not alot of music to be 100% honest i thought the music scenes and or practice scenes would be majority of the anime but it wasnt but in the mean time the classical music was great to hear even if you dislike that type of music like myself but i appreciated it sounded great and also the op is one of the best ops in the spring anime season just a really catchy song. Character- Some of the better characters ive seen in the entire anime season no matter the genre the main character if the anime kumiko honestly wasnt the star in my opinon that spot belongs to reina kousaka and the two of them go on to inspire and help eachother as well as build a friendship after their rocky ending in the past and also make for some beautifully done scenes throughout the anime and some of the most funny moments in the anime. You get a salty b**** excuse me for that but you get her just a bunch of randoms in the band and the characters who are minor but dont really add to the story but overall kumikos friends and her bandmates help her and just give a really good vibe. (The two characters i mentioned were just the two i found best there are more characters that actually add to the story) Enjoyment- 9/10 overall- im giving this an 8/10 personally would give it like an 8.3/10 but rounding it so 8/10 it is or something along those lines it was a really good anime in my opinion one of the best looking anime of the spring season and very enjoyable after not hearing any hype or anything special about it until i actually watched it suprised me and was suprisingly really good.

I came in expecting more focus on music and less on drama, however it seems to be the other way around slightly. Despite that, it really outperformed my expectations, even with its popularity and ratings. I didn't expect to tear up at the ending scene, but I did. It's hard to point out what exactly it is, but this anime does something really well when it comes to drama. You get drawn into the competitiveness of playing in an ensemble, you get invested in everyone's individual story: what they do, what they try to achieve, their challenges and achievements. The highs and lows of the band affect you like you're part of it. However it's a bit disappointing that the musical part of a music centered anime is a bit neglected. Most performances are shortened or outright cut out, which sometimes makes you feel like the anime doesn't even focus on music and it's solely a drama that happens to have some music. For example YLIA didn't shy away from featuring full performances (that sometimes even took up half the episode) and it worked out so well. It all comes down to screentime, it's not just musical performances that are shortened/cut, there's a bit of rush in pacing, some tiny time skips and whatnot. This season should've been 23-24 episodes long or should've adapted less. Apart from that there are no issues. There's some yuri bait that felt unnecessary, but not obnoxious so it's not that much of an issue. It's a must watch for everyone I think. If you like music and/or drama it's pretty straightforward, if not then it's one of those animes that shine in their genre that you should try even if you're not a fan.

This anime may not only be my favorite anime (if not, it's in the top five), but it may also be one of my favorite works of art of all time, in any medium. If this were classical music, it would be a work by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, or Rachmaninoff (I know Rachmaninoff isn't, strictly speaking, classical, but oh well). While I can't honestly say this anime has no flaws, I can say that it, in a very real way, changed my life. I don't say that lightly because many people will claim that about anime because they found their favorite waifu, etc., but this is so much more than that. I barely have enough words, but I'll try. This anime has a very simple premise: Oomae Kumiko, a first year high school student, joins Kitauji high school, and then the band. Along with her friends Reina, Safaia, and Hazuki, they work towards entering, and hopefully winning, the national championships. (This is not a spoiler. It's established very early that this is what they are trying to do, and it's news to no one. I will not say whether or not they succeed, *that* would be a spoiler). This is, at its core, a sports anime about music. And the music is treated with at least the same passion with which a sports anime treats its chosen sport. Let's start with the music. The music is *top notch*. Since this is an animation based around music, KyoAni pulled out all the stops and created music that not only pulls you into its world, but can stand on its own amongst serious compositions in the genre. In fact, "Crescent Moon Dance" *has* become a serious composition in the genre, and is played unironically amongst many other great compositions. As a musician, I can tell you it is an amazing piece and the composer did not phone it in. But the same care was taken with all the other music, and the background music as well. They took the music *seriously* in this anime, and it shows. They also take great care to animate the instruments *properly* - every instrument is animated perfectly, or nearly so. The OP is catchy, stands on its own as a work of art, and perfectly encapsulates the spirit of a high school or marching band. I'm not too big a fan of the ED, but can't win 'em all. The characters are fleshed out, and in amazing detail. Every member of the band has a name, and a consistent character design - all sixty or so of them. While there are a few main characters, there are some band characters that you only see once or twice, you don't know their names, but they *have* one. They are human, too, with human motivations. As the anime progresses, you can see the growth in all the characters, including the teacher. And the story is amazing. It's very emotional, and it's difficult to not get invested into the characters and their goal. When they perform, you find yourself on the edge of your seat along with everyone else in the anime, to see if they make it. There is a small amount of fanservice, particularly in the second season, but it's handled well and isn't in any way excessive. That's not the point of this anime, and I think KyoAni was well aware of that. Essentially, this is a work of art, and I believe everyone, but particularly people who are or have been in a band, should watch this anime, and would enjoy it. Now, for the flaws. While this anime is amazing, there *are* a few flaws. The first one is the "yuri-baiting". There are several scenes that could very easily tip over into yuri. They don't, and some people got upset about that. I don't really see it that way, personally - I see these scenes as a rather hamhanded attempt to display close female friendship while also trying to satisfy the yuri-lovers. It kinda falls flat at both. It would have been perfect if they'd dialed those scenes back just a smidge. Nonetheless, I wasn't really bothered all that much - I saw only close friends, who were a couple of adolescents trying to figure out what close friendship actually is. It's pretty realistic, actually. But they kinda didn't know their audience on this one, and made no one happy. Also, it started kinda slow. As I was watching this, I didn't see what was so special about this show until episode 8 (if you know, you know), and then I fell in love with it. But I could easily have left it before then, and almost did. I'm glad I didn't, but my advice is to stick it through till at least episode 8, it starts getting really good right around then and doesn't stop even through the second season. My third criticism is that the band was too good. Reina was a trumpeter on the level of a professional, and while they were believable as a high school band, it was on the higher end of believability, and I almost got knocked out of the suspension of disbelief a couple of times with how good Reina actually was. They could, and maybe should, have dialed that back a little as well. This review isn't about me, but I will say, as I mentioned earlier, this anime changed my life in a real way. It inspired me to write a concert band piece of my own (which I have completed and made available to the world, I don't think I can tell you here, but feel free to ask and I'll point you at it), and now I'm taking composition and piano lessons (I'm working on the Revolutionary Etude as I type this), and this anime was, in large part, my inspiration. Who knows where it will take me, but I don't think I would have done any of this if it weren't for this anime and "Bocchi the Rock". 'umaku naritai" (I want to become good) has become one of my personal mantras, right up there with "I refuse to let it end this way". So is this "recommended"? This is not only "recommended", this is "Don't be baka and watch it already, you may not love it but you owe it to yourself to experience this absolute *awesomeness* at least once." This is an anime that sets the bar for other anime, and it's one of the few that earns a perfect ten from me. And the next piece begins.

The first season of this series is quite interesting and introduces us to our musical artists. To be honest, since I've been watching this anime and ShigatsuWaKimiNoUso I'm starting to like classical music more than before. Anime really changes things. Story, Characters, Animation, Soundtrack The story: The story of the Anime is interesting, it's not like I've never seen this, it's a classic. It's just a combination of what I've seen, Classical Music and Daily Life. And this is quite interesting, it even has sad and happy moments, everything you need. Characters: The characters in this anime aren't original either, but they still look great from our group of girls. But Asuka and Natsuki-Senpai are still my favorites this season at least. Animation: Animation is also a good one, too good in my opinion, especially for instruments, and our girls are drawn so well, of course. Soundtrack: The Soundtrack and it's a good one I can't always complain about the song the sounds in the background are great and the opening and ending must be listened to by everyone at least once, because you can't miss them. Personal Opinion This series is an extraordinary one, especially if you are a fan of classical music and not only, it will inspire you to become a singer too. I've been watching this anime ever since and ShigatsuWaKimiNoUso is still mimicking singing even though I have no idea what I'm doing. Short Opinion and Note: Extraordinary 10/10

Hibike! Euphonium, this is a series that would make you wish you joined band club. DISCLAIMER, I am not from a band club, especially a club in Japan, so I am not fully able to grasp the importance of National in the world of the orchestral band. Where do I begin, I guess to start, this show is amazing. From crisp sound of the band playing together to the fantastic and well-built characters, this show just ticks all requirements for an outstanding show. What the whole show is base on is simple but the studio just does such a damn well job in constantly presenting us with engaging and immersive plots. Straight off the bat, this is one of the most realistic and down to earth show I have seen, from the get-go, the first episode already tells what kind of a show it's like. I am amazed by how pinpoint and accurate the show is, the characters feel so real as if this series just is an animation of a live-action show. Our main character, Kumiko, is unique in her own way and the show does a fabulous job of showing it. She is often quick to think of her own thoughts and the majority of the time speaks out loud her opinions. The show not only creates these marvelous and deep characters they also show progression in their behaviors and actions. Also, the dead-on depiction of the music teacher, Taki, is so true that it's scary. I am not from a band club but I have seen my school's band instructor and the similarities are uncanny. From the super-duper accurate passive-aggressive behavior to the lovable side he has. Truly, I was afraid at times by when he snapped at his students, which just shows how well of a job the studio has done to implement realism in this series. Additionally, the show captures the tension of scenarios perfectly, such as the final competition or when the practices doesn't go as pleased. Moreover, the show goes deep into school-life choices such as either pursuing music or studies. Still, I am blown away by how the studio took such a simple and somewhat boring idea of a school band club and made it so enjoyable to watch. I really applaud them for pulling this off. -SCORES- Character- 9/10: Almost all the characters are human beings, just pure, down to earth, humans. They do such a fantastic job in this category. The reason it's not a 10 is because of characters like Yuuko ( the girl with the bow tie on her head) that made the flaws of the series. Admit it, she was kind of annoying. Plus another slightly strange thing I found was the constant empty classrooms. Like, I know we get to see the baseball club and just a few other school students but the hallways are majority of the time empty. Just a small issue that doesn't affect the show much. Art- 9/10: What can I say, Kyoto Animation strikes again with fantastic visuals and stunning backgrounds. Writing- 8/10: Definitely this was where the show is weakest at, but still it is well above average compared to other animes. The only issue that really bothers me was the occasional overdramatic or emphasize scenes where they try a little too hard to make scenes emotional. Other than that, love the relationships in this series, even the studio teasing us viewers with a few very close kiss scenes with characters. I really wanted Kumiko and Reina to kiss, just a personal opinion, of course, no need to judge. Sound- 10/10: My ears have been blessed with the beautiful and baby-smooth sounds. While I am not a classical person, I do appreciate classical music at times and this, how can I not be in awe by how amazing the piece was. Plus I listened to Reina and Kaori trumpet duel a few times and I must say overall Kaori played good, but Reina's playing has a liquid flow to it, even though her high parts weren't as good as Kaori. Overall, highly encourage people to watch this. Just a well made and all well series and definitely one of the best music anime show I have seen. Strong to Decent 9

I will begin this review with the exterior aesthetic of the show : As you can expect from Kyoani, Hibike! Euphonium has great visuals and amazingly detailed sound ambiance (mere steps, moving chair, manipuling musical instruments...), and has tons of little details in the animation (the way the characters move, lighting effects). The OST are equally beautiful and are fitting for this serie, which contributes to the already great atmosphere the anime has. They also put a lot of symbolism and ambiguous shots in their scenes that are up to the viewer to interpret. For the scenario, it is rather simple and that is not detrimental to the show (you don't necessarily need a complex scenario to have a good series) : the club is aiming gold in the national competition. In my opinion the main interest is the everyday lives of the club members (see next paragraph) and for that it's great. However it doesn't prevent the main theme of the anime, concert band, being well depicted : in the majority of the episodes you see all of the practices, and you observe the results of their training in the very well animated competitions. These are intense, beautiful, and you can feel all the tension there is on the members. In fact they show the entire performances, and several times I actually feared that one of the members would make a mistake. Now the what I consider the main focus of Hibike! Euphonium is the way its characters are depicted : they are EXTREMELY realistic and they have a natural behaviour, be it in their gestures (all of the little movements they do that makes them look alive) or their interactions with each other. Especially Kumiko, who is probably the character that gives the most 'real' vibes that I have ever seen in anime in general. She makes decisions (it is often inaction) that are easily relatable and she don't suffer too much of the main character syndrome : she doesn't always have the right word to say (in fact, she often hasn't) at the right moments to solve problems, doesn't behave in an excentric manner and at the same time isn't too generic, but she does have the luck to be in the right place at the right time. The other characters also feels alive, even the background ones. Indeed, the club has over 50 members, they all have unique design, and, more importantly, they consistently appear in the show : if paying attention you can identify some of them regularly appearing in the background and in 'irrelevant' scenes. From all these appearences you can begin to see their personality and their relashionships, and it's easy to imagine that they could have been support characters (or even main character) if the context was different. They live their lives even though their names are never really explicitly mentionned in the show. I absolutely loved this attention given to the support and background characters. One particularity is that the majority of the cast is female, and, while I don't personally mind, it can be perceived as a negative point to others. Furthermore, the 'main characters' (the ones who are named) have great development, most of them have changed from the beginning to the end. It's particularly true for sleepy senpai (I won't say who it is as it may be perceived as a spoiler, but that would be a minor one) who goes from lazy/uninvolved/unoticeable to basically the opposite, revealing one of the best support character in the show, and Kumiko. These changes are not caused by one major event happening (as it is generally the case in most anime), but rather little by little, it's the accumulation of small events that makes a character change/open themselves (but the major events do play a part in these changes). In addition to that, the VAs are doing a fantastic job, especially Kumiko's who is doing an INSANE job. You can hear when she is relaxed. You can hear the inconfort in her voice (in a natural way!) when she is uneasy. You can hear when she is bored. And as a bonus, you can clearly hear when she does her Kumiko noises (which I personally find adorable). Thank you for reading my review up to this point. For all of these reasons, I think that Hibike! Euphonium is a masterpiece and I fell in love with it. Ultimately it's my opinion on this anime so it might be a little biased, but nevertheless I heartedly recommend watching this anime to anyone. TL;DR : To summarize, the outstanding visuals (art & animation), the gorgeous OST, the insane attention to details, the consistent large cast of characters, the great character developments (and Kumiko, seriously she's THAT good) contribute to create a convincing world in which we take pleasure in observing the story unfold and its characters living and evolving. If you enjoy discovering characters's personalities, their developments and good relationship depiction between them, surely you will love Hibike! Euphonium.

What idiot is cutting onions in here? Is it raining? After watching this, I really regret quitting band after my sixth grade year. The show brought back all the happy feelings of performing in front of an audience of people. If you’ve never experienced that before, whether it be in a concert hall, a football field, a soccer field, whatever stage you can imagine; this anime will show you exactly how terrifying and thrilling it is. It will also make you appreciate what people put themselves and others through to become better performers and people. There was never a character that I could bring myself to dislike at the end. The music was beautiful, the characters were wonderful, it was relatable, and I had fun every episode. I’d recommend this anime to literally anyone. I can’t wait to watch it again.

Since Hibike! Euphonium is a slice of life anime, the main plot is simple without many twists. Nothing exciting here! The art is clean, nice to look at, and some scenes are animated brilliantly (that hair flip/turn, anyone?) Pretty good. A few extra points for them animating the instruments correctly. Some of the characters that the show puts focus on has some sort of depth, but the main few characters have the most. We get a good idea of their struggles and their desires for the future. The interactions between different characters is interesting to watch unfold, and there are plenty of unique situations and dilemmas that occur that aren't cliche or recycled from other animes. This being a music-focused anime, I had to rate the sound the highest. The OP is excellent, and the few pieces that are showcased in the anime are wonderfully and realistically presented. You can hear the intricacies of each different instrument, from Kumiko carefully articulating the notes of an unfamiliar part on her euphonium, to Reina's difficult octave jumps and gentle vibrato on trumpet. I mention these brass instruments because I played trumpet and horn in school. I'm not quite sure about the accuracies of the other band instruments, but from what I can tell, they're spot on. Overall, Hibike! Euphonium focuses more on the lives of the students in the band and their struggles with practicing rather than on the actual music. I wish there was more of a focus on the music and more pieces played in general, but this is simply because I'm not a big fan of slice-of-life. To those of you who like slice-of-life and want to know what it's like to be in a concert band (or those who want to reminisce about it), this anime is perfect. After all, music is 99% practice, 1% performance. An average plot with good characters and very good sound leaves Hibike! Euphonium with a score of 7.

In a word: Band As a band nerd (and someone who plays Euph), I must say that I started this anime almost exclusively because of the title. I didn't have any expectations going in, since I had not watched any KyoAni stuff before watching Hibike! Euphonium. Story: 9/10 Overall Plot: In a word: Realistic The plot of Hibike! Euphonium is rather down-to-earth, in my opinion. In the beginning, the band members and their director, Taki, set a goal to make it to the national competition. At the beginning, the band seems hopeless. They don't practice, they can't play together, their intonation is all over the place, etc. Taki refuses to ensemble the band until they all can play better and take it more seriously. As the series goes on and the characters grow, so does the band. In the end, they compete at the regional competition. Subplot: In a word: Tasteful There is just the right amount of subplot in this anime to add depth, yet not overpower the main plot. Friendships strengthen, past conflict within the band gets uncovered, and Kumiko tries to come to terms with her past. For anyone who was told this is Yuri/Shoujo-Ai and hasn't watched this, I invite you to make that distinction yourself. I'm of the opinion that it is not, since that particular romantic subplot is just that, a subplot. It's not the main focus, and, in my opinion, is not all that important to the story. That's not to say I don't ship it. I do, but I don't think there's enough focus to put it in the Yuri/Shoujo-Ai category. Art: 10/10 In a word: Detailed Focus blur, lighting, camera angles, flare, and so much detail was put into making this anime beautiful. I love the art style and really appreciate the time it must have taken to make Hibike! Euphonium stand out, art-wise. I think everything I'd like to say has already been said, so I'm not going to bother with this one that much. Sound: 10/10 In a word: Euphonious (Euphonious means having a beautiful sound) The sound is beautiful. Period. Characters: 9/10 In a word: Deep I'd like to talk about two characters in particular: Kumiko and Taki. Kumiko: A euphonium player who said something stupid to Reina in middle school. The memory haunts her, and she wants to quit band going in to high school. She doesn't quit due to Hazuki and Midori urging her to join, and she ends up coming face to face with Reina. She has to come to terms with the incident in middle school, and that drives the subplot for the first bit. Taki: As a high school band member, I can draw quite a few parallels between Taki and my band director. For starters, both set a goal and an expectation that we will attempt to reach that goal. While Taki has the students "choose" the goal, and my band director creates our goal, I think the goal-oriented nature of both directors is apparent. The expectations set by both Taki and my director drive the work ethic of the students, and in the Hibike!'s case, the plot. Enjoyment: 10/10 In a word: Biased I'm a band nerd, I play euphonium, I'm biased. I saw a lot of things I related to because I'm in band. I saw a lot of things I liked because I'm in band. But Just because that bias exists doesn't mean you won't enjoy it if you aren't in band. It's engaging and it has some really good writing, art, sound, and characters. It feels real and makes for a great watch. Overall: 9.6/10 In a word: Recommended I highly recommend this to anyone who is in or has been in band, anyone looking for a slice-of-life that is in the middle between light and dramatic, and anyone who wants to try slice-of-life.

This is a musician's review. "Motivation means everything for a human. Once you get motivated you can reach the limits of yourself, the personal sky you own though you dont know yet. You can get grabbed from the joy of improvement and the tears of your efforts. Winning or losing is the last thing you need to care about. Cause the happiness and pleasure of discovering your personal sky is an extraordinary and unique experience which can only be born in a journey. The destination is the goal. It matters. But in the end its you and yourself." This is an anime that teaches this. An anime made to motivate not only the people who love music but everyone who love something. Something that mean everything for each person's soul. This is an anime that offers all these feelings in a year (2015) when, even the amount of good anime series that got aired, only two managed this. And this is the one. I will now speak for each part and justifie my scores. Story : -8- Amusing story, with a beginning that fill the audience with the necessary feelings as the plot is about to unfold. My -8- would be a -9- if every single episode could enfill you with need to watch the next. But this didnt happen as i wached the series in 3 days. Its still a freaking nice story. Art: -9- There isn't much to tell about the art. Music is wonderfull, colors are attractive, and we are in a new anime age especially after 2014 so... Sound: -9- Great opening, gread ending and perfect ost's. Its an anime about music anyways. The anime also achieves to present to the audience the world of some instruments like euphonium, trumpet, tuba and trombone that many would never figure out how difficult and beautiful can be. Character: -10- They act like they are in a band. They act exactly how someone would react if was part of real band. Cooperation among the band, tensions between the members, high goals and the dream of getting better and better. Spontaneity and pure love, uncoditional aid, pure friendships and real support. And of course motivation. Some data for the characters of this anime. Definetely a -10- . Enjoyment: -9- I never got bored, experienced funny moments, sad moments, moments i felt like i was part of this anime (as i also play music) and the most important thing. I loved my trumpet even more :D Overall : -8- A nice review is providing objectivity. And this one im sure it does. Cause i may bombed you with good comments, but i understand that im a music lover and i may got a bit more excited that some others may do. Never forget that the things that will change your life are little and are always next to you. The only thing that you have to do is to find these things and then find the person or the emotion that will motivate you to cultivate your love for them. Have fun watching Hibike! Euphonium ^_^

This is my first review for an anime so let me shortly introduce myself before it starts: Well I'm a simple person, with simple pleasures, so I'm not as critical as others. I watch anime just for the enjoyment of watching anime. That's all. Simple, right? So let's begin. I'm not good at expressing myself, but if you are asking yourself, to watch or no to no watch this series, this may help. Hibike! Euphonium is great series, one of the best that I've seen in this season. Music is a theme for which I am fascinated, so this anime came like no other. I really enjoy watching the series 9/10, for everything: The art was incredible in each episode, I really like the drawing style for both characters to landscapes, completely awesome. I think the story could be better, but I'm not complaining, it's kinda slice-of-life anime, so I know what to expect. Unlike other slice-of-life, it is going at a nice pace, not too fast, not too slow, and always there is something in the screen that makes you wanna watch. In summary, Hibike! Euphonium is a great series to watch, it has a bit of everything for all tastes. You would enjoy it, trust me. Extra: It's a spin-off of PMMM! (May contain a minor spoiler) Hahaha, well, not really, but do you ever notice the similarities of the characters, I mean, attitude and appearance are similar to each other. -Reina Kousaka = Akemi Homura Both distant and cold, but with a great heart. Also black hair and purple eyes. -Oumae Kumiko = Kaname Madoka Innocent and always trying to be friends with anyone. Even she felt useless once. -Katou Hazuki = Miki Sayaka Our "genki" girl, always smiling and never let anything get her down, except... their chrush. -Nakagawa Natsuki = Sakura Kyouko Veteran in the group, and she seems too often to have a carefree attitude, but we all know that's not entirely true. Is a person in who you can trust. -Ogasawara Haruka = Mami Tomoe Third year student both, a reliable senpai, but at some point she have to leave. Twintails! -Kawashima Saphire (Midori) = Nagisa Momoe Cute and sweet, but don't let she fool you. she knows exactly what's she doing.

I was pretty involved in a concert band during my time in high school, so I could relate to a lot of what was going on in this show from personal experience. I found that a lot of the drama was pretty realistic to what happens in real bands, so I was a little bored watching things that I've pretty much seen before. Though personally I felt that the season was pretty boring, there were some moments that were absolutely beautiful which made it worth checking out I guess. Story 5/10 Like I said, most of the drama in Euphonium is pretty realistic, so I had already experienced those kind of moments before. Especially the merciless verbal abuse from the conductor. For many hours. I used to play in my province's honour band, so the band room is very familiar to me. Don't get me wrong; I would be content rehearsing with a band forever, but frankly watching the band room in cartoon version was kind of dull for me. The drama with auditions, the anxiety on stage, drama with who gets to play the solos (well I was the best in a section of about 5 or played every solo) , I had experienced all of that in real life, so I guess it was interesting to watch, but story-wise not very strong for me. Art 10/10 I believe the art is by far the strongest aspect of Euphonium. The characters are so well drawn they look shiny. The sunset through the windows, reflection from objects that cast light into the shade on a sunny day, the lights from the street lamps and cars on a street at night, the starlight mixed with the cityscape view from the mountain, the art was all mind-blowingly well done. It was so beautiful that it made my heart hurt. Strangely the most beautiful scenes were always centred around Kousaka but I'll talk about her in the characters section later. Even if you don't care for anything that was happening in the band, enjoy the art. Sound 10/10 You probably don't need to be told this but the anime Hibike!(Sound!) Euphonium is about sound. Consequently the effort put into sound in the production was pretty amazing. There was one moment in the anime (this might be a spoiler, but not really. I'm trying to give you adequate time to consider whether or not you will consider this a spoiler or not before you read on) where Kousaka and Kimiko climb a mountain and play a duet with the backdrop of the city's night skyline. I think this moment in the show made it worth watching for me because it was really beautiful. The duet wasn't especially complicated......it was just a really simple duet, but I found it really special and memorable. Characters 6/10 I wasn't really a fan of most of the characters in the series. I found Kousaka to be a pretty interesting character, and after a little while Kimiko caught her interesting-ness.......if that makes any sense. Kousaka was kind of a controversial character within her band. Because she was so good, there were people who hated her as well as loved her, but she really didn't care about any of them. She also said some.....controversial things and I'm still deciding on my understanding of her sexual preferences. I really liked how decisive and strong her personality was and I think every scene with her in it was some kind of beautiful. There were two scenes in the series that were so beautiful that they're hard to forget, and both of them involve Kousaka. The first was the scene I described above on the mountain. The second was a scene where Kousaka turns around to face Kimiko on a city street at night, and smiles for once. It was only a couple seconds long, but it was animated insanely well: the first time we see her smile, the night lights reflecting off her face, sparkling eyes, it was just amazing to watch. I feel like the creators put a little extra work when making her if you know what I mean. Kimiko started off as kind of a indecisive person. It was pretty realistic how on the fence she was about everything, but as the story progressed she picked up on some of Kousaka's......absoluteness? I guess I was a little interested watching her become stronger. I'm glad with what the creators did with Kousaka and Kimiko because they are so distinctly different from any other characters in anime, but other than that I didn't really see much. Enjoyment 8/10 Like I said before, I was a little bored by the band room scenes which take up most of the time, but seeing Kousaka be beautiful made it worth it for me. Overall 8/10 I feel like this was better than the average anime because of its incredible quality of production. Without showing off with action-packed fighting scenes Euphonium still tops as one of the most well animated shows I've seen. I wouldn't say this was a "must-watch", but those couple moments of beauty made the whole series worth it. I admit that it made me a little nostalgic and I did spontaneously run upstairs a couple times to blast a few notes on my trombone.

as being a band geek as myself, I LOVED THIS ANIME. It was a fresh approach on something different, other than your basic school drama cliche, it stands out as focusing on concert band, which people overlook. There may be some flaws, but none of those are a deal breaker. Hibike! Euphonium is a great anime for anyone who loves not just music, but a fresh approach on a grand surface. Story: The story is simplistic, yet holds a lot more than meets the eye. There re so many key aspects to it. From the relationship of Kumiko and Reina, a connection of all the band members as one, The band council, and so much more! And I believe that it unfolds perfectly, even though if I didn't agree much on one decision, but that doesn't break the deal. I also like how realistic band drama is, like how people get jealous, pressure, and the occasional break in the case. The story is well done. Art: Hibike! Euphonium has some really great art pieces! The background design is absolutely gorgeous, the animation is great, which compliments the art, and OH MY GOD DO THE INSTRUMENTS LOOK ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The design and the realistic shine from the brass is very pretty and was one of the key aspects of the show. Even the woodwinds had that occasional shine! The art, truly stands out from many other animes! Sound: From this being an anime around music, It still has that slice of life feeling, which in no way is bad. The background score has that simple charm to add into the mood, and is fairly quiet yet simplistic. And you don't necessarily want a loud and obnoxious feeling! However, the concert band songs, ARE GREAT! Especially the two songs they used for the competition, they gave me chills the whole entire time! So the soundtrack, is fairly great! Character: The characters of Hibike! are very quirky and lovable. What I thought was really cool about this anime was that the background characters still uphold a lot of detail, yet the main characters stand out by many things by wearing different socks, hair tie, etc. and that is what makes me so happy, because band is for uniting and they do! Kumiko and her shyness to Reina is very cute and makes me giggle at some points but ASUKA IS AMAZING. She is perfect as being the vice president and section leader, yet still makes you laugh and be slightly aroused. She truly is the comedic act of the show and it shines! I love her role as for thee others and can't wait to see more! Enjoyment: If you don't like slice of life, you probably won't enjoy it as much as I did, but if you are very musical, you will love it! As for me, I really enjoyed it! This made me so happy about how realistic, and fun it was to watch! I loved everything about this show and I never wanted it to end! Overall, Hibike! Euphonium reaches a new pinnacle of music oriented anime and has given people like me the outstanding lift of something new and original. I am very looking forward to season two and hope to see more original animes like this come out fondly soon.

So is it definite that there will be a second season for this series? This series was a very interesting one. To put it simply it is a series similar to that of La Corda d'Oro with a mixture of Tamako Market. A school competes in a Musical competition. Thus this anime is focused on a music genre. The part where it makes this anime similar to Tamako Market is how the coupling works however for this series there's a little twist that was; if I may say SUPER UNEXPECTED (I mean viewers may have already started shippings after episode 1 or 2 but DAMN that twist was UNEXPECTED). There are very surprising moments after watching episode 8 of the series, explaining would just spoil it so I would suggest you to just watch it and you will understand what I am talking about. Overall the series is interesting and I look forward to a second season (Hopefully they do deliver a second season unlike Tamako Market :/ )

I'm very familiar with KyoAni's work, we all are. They have their own distinct animation style that we've all seen in every anime they've put out. Their smooth, undeniable pace that drives their anime to its full potential. Even managing to stay true to its adaptation. Coming into this, I knew it was a hit from the moment I started. Even going as far as watching the PV & CM several times before digging my way into this show. The feel of this instrumental and character-driven show was soothing, to say the least. There were some moments that left me uneasy, as some conflicts between characters arise during the long-run. But it still managed to make me feel human, as this is by far the most 'slice of life' anime you'll ever get. Well done in every category, KyoAni. And so, the next piece begins (for KyoAni).

Regardless of genre or theme, there has always been certain elements which accentuates a great anime from an average one and when you develop these core elements masterfully, you get a gem that outshines the other animes of its kind. Hibike! Euphonium is that gem and could easily be the best anime of Spring 2015 and maybe even best of 2015. As it turns out, Hibike! Euphonium does in fact seem a little bland at first glance from the synopsis having being a school life story with an emphasis on music. Its been done- time and time again for example series such as K-ON!, Love Live!, and Tari Tari. What will win you over however, is the depth of the main characters, the flow of the story, and the overall animation. Hibike! Euphonium builds a wonderful story from the ground up with a solid foundation of characters which develop over the 13 episode series along with the main plot which unfolds just as nicely. Each episode has meaning and leaves you with more than enough to keep you hooked and wanting more. By the end of the season, Hibike! Euphonium does more in 13 episodes than many anime series can do in 24. In the event that Hibike! Euphonium does not have a second season, you are still left with some closure and it doesn't make you feel like you wasted your time. All in all, whether you are a picky anime viewer or someone pondering on what series to watch in Spring 2015, Hibike! Euphonium will not be a disappointing choice.