We’re doing it. I think we’re doing it. Sound! Euphonium just keeps holding steady, demonstrating remarkable control in its direction and storytelling. KyoAni are pulling off a top-tier version of exactly the kind of show they do best, and it is damn satisfying to see it in action. At this point, it seems strange to me that the evidence is pointing to this being a one-cour show – the pace of character work and plotting here just seems much more appropriate for a twenty-something episode show. But there haven’t been any missteps yet, so I’ll trust they know where they’re going, and keep enjoying it as long as it stays this good.

Here’s my full ANN post. Notes below!

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Jeez, am I going to be able to do a full season of posts like this? I’m guessing tackling single episodes at a time will prompt me to switch to a more conventional breakdown style, but it was nice to do almost a tiny essay in the format of my KimiUso piece or whatnot for these episodes. I think I’m slowly getting better at achieving a balance of flow and analysis in the ANN pieces.

Oh, right, Euphonium. Euphonium is very good! Really liked these first two episodes, and since I didn’t cover it in the actual piece, I should say that I like the way is handling its establishment of a real ensemble so far. I don’t expect this to be Shirobako or anything, but it does seem like the show wants a bunch of characters to be recognizable people, and I also like that it’s taking pains to bring us in on basically the ground floor of this music group. Even though this really seems like Kumiko’s story, we need to be invested in the group if we’re going to believe in her eventual investment.

Here’s my full ANN writeup. Notes below!

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