Hibike! Euphonium – 06
It’s time for a bit of reflection…
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…this was probably the most playful and fun episode yet, proving one and again that when Kyoto Animation is in the wheel house, they are in all the wheel houses…. |
The Tale of the Worker Ants and the Tubacabra
Tutti! And this time we mean it!
Behind determination there has to be hard work, and even though he may gather epithet’s around him like a pitcher plant gathers flies, Taki-sensei is working hard to put Kitauji into strict competition. Yes, there will be grumbling, and the names will stick to him like glue, but then, so will the lessons he has to teach, and the respect that will come with that.
I really like the inclusion of the audition system into the proceedings. It works well for the story, and it should come up a treat for character narrative. You only have to look as far as the bass sections work on getting Hazuki up to speed. And I was quite charmed to see them give her such a back to basic approach, that eventually worked out to the one thing that really seal the deal. She has to have fun doing this.
Asuka. Getting scary shit stuff done
But while many are getting geared up for the competition and audition, we can take a few moments for character reflections. Both Kumiko and Reina are pulling more and more on that red string to get closer and closer to each other. For the euhpist, it’s the deepening of her understanding of the trumpeter. It’s about the things she values, something that might still be eluding Kumiko, as she is still facing why she chooses to play.
When her sempai, and fellow euphist, Natsuki asks her how long she has been playing, we see another gap close just a bit, with the second year girl once again shaken from her slump. I think Kumiko is taking that to heart, along with that mysterious bit of past that creeped in while The Dismembering was happening. Oh, and I’ve watched this program three times, if someone could explain what was happening before the Turnipcabra joke, I’d be a bit relieved.
The moral of the story? Do good or be replaced by a Pokemon metaphor…
Oh, and there was that little dance of observations between Riko-chan and Gatou-sempai. Their individual reflections on the nature of tuba playing could very well be the lines that launch the official ship between them. Or not….depends on how far you’re willing to take “it’s big and heavy”, or “it’s modest and hard to notice, but suffocating. And painful”, or even, “it doesn’t have anything going for it, but we try really hard.” But as Riko brings it back around, love and confidence are essential.
But with Hazuki we are going from bottom to top. She’s being taken through the basics again until she comes out swinging. But as Kumiko points out, unless she has a real reason to play, there isn’t much to it. You really can get lost in all the new signals coming your way, so unless you have a point of reckoning to guide you, it all become noise. Feeling left out when you’ve tried hard, is not a great way to progress. Until you find a reason to overcome.
This reason can be to impress your cute peer, as she now pretty much officially has eyes for Kumiko’s designated childhood friend, Shuuichi, or it can be overcoming a past mistake in another area. Finding yourself. I’m glad they worked that out in a way that was productive for all concerned. It may have been as simple as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but even the greatest start off in the smallest of places.
A few more happy ants…
This was the one I wanted to play….
On the more technical side, we got confirmation as too the pieces Kitauji will be playing come competition. From what I can tell, Wind of Provence, is a fairly standard style of piece, so it fits in well with all the schools having to perform to it’s standards. But Crescent Moon Dance is another story. I’ve seen some comments on reddit, that it’s composer is a work of fiction. But that is hardly surprising. I’m willing to bet that it’s, more or less, a name that Matsuda Akito, this series composer, is working under along with KyoAni’s music department. I like the fact that Kitauji will go far with an original piece, and not have to adopt a standard as one of their own.
Oh, is it love?
Cause we know this is?
I swear, this show has nowhere to go but better. Whereas at least one show I actively cover cannot help but contrive melodrama upon melodrama, this one just allows it’s natural writing to take over and win the day, and all the days. It’s confident enough, and smart enough to know that an audience wants to pay attention to the details, and it’s happy to be lead by building those expectations up. I’m glad to see both Kumiko and Hazuki gain some much needed confidence, and it’s good to know there’s room to improve. I’ll see you next time!
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
What was happening was that Hazuki put the wrong slide in the wrong place. Tubas have multiple slides, and they all need to be maintained so they don’t get stuck. But you can put them back the wrong way, and they could get stuck. So they were trying to get it unstuck. Total noob move, but Hazuki is a noob.
This was another good episode, and the idea of the auditions is an interesting twist. I’ve had to go through band auditions, and it can be nerve wracking. It’s just like Midori explained: You’re not just being compared against the other players, you’re being compared against the standard of the band. You have to be good enough to play in the band, not just be there by default
(Relevant personal story: going into my fourth year in high school, I wanted to move up from the second best concert band to the best concert band. But the guy who played bass clarinet, which I played at the time, was only a sophomore, and he was totally better than me. And the band wasn’t of a size that would carry two bass clarinets. But the person who played contra-alto clarinet in the best band was graduating, so I asked to switch to that, which put me head to head against the girl who played that in my current band for the spot (and she was a year behind me as well). I won the audition and got into the band. She was angry that I switched and took ‘her’ spot. But the next year, with me graduating… she didn’t get into that band either. The space was initially empty because noone qualified. She did work hard over the summer and moved up, but it was quite a lesson for her.)
But apart from the messages about not sitting back and letting things come to you, there was a good message about knowing why you’re doing it. I loved Gotou’s description of being the bass section. That’s why I love playing bass guitar in my band. Practicing bass parts sucks. It powerful sucks. And it was good that they realized that that was all that Hazuki had been doing. When it’s all “Oom” and no “-pah!” there’s no spark, no way to feel what you’re being that foundation for.
And speaking of foundation, learning to do maintenance on your instrument is important. That cleaning out of valves and slides? That can be grooooooss.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
So she realized this while polishing? Cause it felt out of place. And that still doesn’t explain ‘tunip’. Unless that is just a weird translantion.
You’re bit about playing bass reminds me of the “tracer” bit from Chasing Amy…
RE: Gross. Ah, so that explains the ice cream gag, a bass player wouldn’t have that much of a concern…
My only personal story with bad is: our family had a trumpet that was gathering dust, so it was that or nothing…We actually have to buy our instruments in the states. Or we did, or some of us did.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Maybe out where you are. We had the opportunity to rent instruments (My first clarinet was rented, to give it a try).
The ‘Turnipcabra’ was the attempt by the translator to make a punny joke in english. The joke Asuka makes doesn’t really translate as a pun (or even anything funny from what I could tell).
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It was long ago, so I really can’t recall why rental wasn’t an option; other than me being a fussy teen.
Not funny?
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 261 comments
So that Tubaboy is kinda…
UGLY!
I Mean man, i would love to give a HEADBUTT!!
Oh Wait…There is a Girl in it! Apologies anyways!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
There is nothing but love for all tuba kind!