Hibike! Euphonium

[Kraco]

The point hits home where she didn't even care about the pretty scene, just that she's doing something no one else would.

Her attraction to Kumiko's kind of weird though. Actually, everything that goes on between them is weird. Hot weird, but still weird. I'm in a state of confusion whenever I'm watching it. It's mainly how Reina's advances just come out of nowhere (like that hair-throwing scene at the traffic lights last time)

Didn't you answer your own questions? She did it to be special. I reckon she sees Kumiko a bit special as well due to her bitchiness behind the polite facade. Kumiko was first interested in her, which means Reina could be just using Kumiko for practice and as an outlet as well. The mountain climb was a single, straightforward event, so she could have planned it all out beforehand, and then just followed that script. It's special, after all. If she really wants to become a special musician, it works much better if her whole personality has some peculiarities as that would make her memorable. She just needs the guts to develop herself into that direction. Based on this ep, she has what it takes, at least for now.

[Buffalobiian]

She's dating Kumiko because that would make her special?

[shinta|hikari]

I think Reina was already special from the beginning. Not prodigy special, but she is definitely different from the rest of the mob. Distinguishing oneself without giving into mediocrity or posturing is not what the masses do.

[Kraco]

She's dating Kumiko because that would make her special?

We don't know yet if it goes that far. At this point I'd bet not. But, you know, you aren't special if there's nobody to witness your especialness. Before this date, Kumiko was slightly wary of Reina, even if also somewhat interested in her, wanting to apologise and become friends, possibly. Now she's probably enchanted, like I said before, and likely won't forget that encounter any time soon. So, Reina ought to be special in her eyes now. That's a step forward.

I think Reina was already special from the beginning. Not prodigy special, but she is definitely different from the rest of the mob. Distinguishing oneself without giving into mediocrity or posturing is not what the masses do.

We haven't really seen the beginning, though. We have seen... What? A couple of months of their life. Who knows when she decided she wanted to be special. The teacher doesn't actually seem like a run of the mill Japanese dude, so maybe that's connected, to return to the old theory.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm going off solely on what we have seen of Reina so far and what she said (assuming she wasn't lying). I specifically mean that her mentality is pretty different. It certainly is rarer than Kumiko's bitchiness, which isn't really rare at all.

[David75]

Reina is an attention seeker. Blame it on the parents...

[shinta|hikari]

An attention seeker wouldn't be as quiet as she is. She wants warranted attention. That's different.

[Ryllharu]

I dunno if you can even call it warranted attention. She wants to stand out, and some of the things she did take on a very different light when viewed now.

- She's been playing the trumpet since Kumiko has known her. Trumpets stand out the most in concert bands. It's not like she suddenly came the conclusion that she needed to switch instruments (like Kumiko wanted). She's potentially always been after this, and never told Kumiko before when they were friends in middle school.

- She wasn't just breaking the tension at the SunFes. She was showing off. Putting herself on the same level as the unflappable Asuka.

- She's not single-mindedly obsessed with practicing and wanting to be in a band, practicing on nearby hills when the others are too discouraged to play. She was again...just showing off or displaying her superiority.

I don't want this to sound like I suddenly realize that Reina is a bitch herself or an attention whore. It's just that this little reveal to her inner motivations casts a shadow on what otherwise looked like pure-hearted acts. If anything, I like Reina more because of this, she and Kumiko certainly do have a lot in common.

It explains why they are drawn to each other. Hazuki might have the only pure motives in the show.

[shinta|hikari]

Reina never looked pure-hearted to me. She is very prideful, and that usually causes people to deviate from the crowds. She wants to be truly special, not seem special. That's what I meant by warranted attention. She has the skills to do all those things and deserves the attention she gets. She isn't mouthing off or posing like the other girls who stand out in the band.

She probably did the things you mentioned with the idea of showing off in mind, but she could show off because she was better. I never believed in false humility in the first place, and neither does she. People who get envious because you are displaying your skills simply have self-esteem issues. Unfortunately, that kind of culture is very pronounced in asian countries, including Japan.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 09



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The "lazy voice" makes these interactions quite real and down-to-earth. It's not a super-peppy voice, not an apathetic voice.. just normal.

I didn't expect Natsuki to have dropped out like that. Looking back, it shouldn't have been surprising given she practised little before all of this. I secretly hoped that she was good though and would stick around.

Nothing's stopping her and Hazuki from sticking around I guess.

[shinta|hikari]

Only 2 UFOs were picked. Taki-sensei is so strict.

Asuka was pretty annoying this episode. She got mad because Midori is a good person? She can practice alone if she wants, and she did. But she just had to be all high and mighty before doing so. She basically looks down on everyone like Reina, and that's fine, but at least Reina doesn't wave authority around like she does. Just because she doesn't understand friendship or romance does not give her the right to push around others who do.

Are they gonna do the yuri route or not? There's a lot of focus on Shuuichi if this is gonna go lilicious.

[Ryllharu]

It should be interesting to see if the front that the "nice" girls put up starts to break down completely. We saw some substantial weakening this episode just from the auditions.

Too much to put into real paragraphs, so list time:

- Hazuki knew she wasn't good enough, but still tried anyway. Midori being a shoe-in, but I wished they had shown Taki-sensei being even harsher with her for some reason.

- Nakagawa was a big part of the bullying last year, but really turned around and cared about trying to make it. I think this episode painted a very nice picture of her the same way it did an unflattering one of Asuka. She practiced hard enough that the typically critical Kumiko complimented her, believing it was Asuka playing.

- The normally unflappable Asuka, taking it very seriously. With one of her friends losing the solo part, we might see another shift.

- Reina getting bullied isn't just obvious, it's expected. What I hope is that we see Kaori upset or even encouraging it, and squeaky-ribbon girl not being that predictable. Squaky-Ribbon girl is Koari's ultimate fan, but even she admits that Reina tries harder and plays better than most of their section. Hoping for something not cliché here.

- I'm also hoping they stick more toward the friendly-not-romance yuri route. Kumiko "suddenly" realizing that she still like Shuuichi because he's now interested in her is so dull and boring. Reina enchanting Kumiko to be her social partner again is much more interesting.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't think Asuka will change just because Kaori lost the solo duel. I get the impression that she encourages personal merit and not hierarchial oppression. She challenged Midori because it ate into group practice time. Self-practice is a back-up plan, but not why they were together in the first place.

Kumiko can be bisexual. Reina wouldn't mind that. Bisexuals are probably even rarer than simple lesbians.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't think Asuka will change just because Kaori lost the solo duel. I get the impression that she encourages personal merit and not hierarchial oppression. She challenged Midori because it ate into group practice time. Self-practice is a back-up plan, but not why they were together in the first place.

Sure, but she acted like a bitch. Let's go kick the nice girl while she's down! She even got angrier after finding out the reason lol. Kind senpais ftw.

Bisexuals are probably even rarer than simple lesbians.

Oh man, this will get you into so much trouble with gay people.

[Buffalobiian]

Oh man, this will get you into so much trouble with gay people.

Because... why?

[shinta|hikari]

Well, it depends on who you ask, but the more vocal gays don't want to be called lesbians or bisexuals due to the negative meaning attached to those words. But I think treating them like animals or objects [rare] (I know you don't mean to, it just read that way) is the clincher.

[David75]

But Reina would feel special being able to snatch a bisexual girl from a male lover

[shinta|hikari]

I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of special she wants lol.

[Kraco]

Asuka was pretty annoying this episode. She got mad because Midori is a good person?

I thought she threw the tantrum because she was envious when people started to talk about relationships. On the other hand, I'd have to side with Asuka. It's not cool to drag everybody down for such a minor reason. The whole affair didn't even involve Sapphire. Nobody found anything wrong about Hazuki's effort, and she's the one who should be feeling the worst. At least the issue got sorted out promptly enough.

Bullying Reina would be so unprofessional, childish, and unproductive that I certainly don't want to see it. It would bring down the whole band's level, which in turn would hurt all of them.

It's too bad about Nakagawa. I wonder if she's quitting soon. It wouldn't be strange at all. She is a victim of the band sucking earlier, in a manner of speaking. Not everybody can be like Asuka in that sense. It's team play, after all, even if the strength of the team depends on the individual members.

[shinta|hikari]

It's not cool to drag everybody down for such a minor reason. The whole affair didn't even involve Sapphire. Nobody found anything wrong about Hazuki's effort, and she's the one who should be feeling the worst. At least the issue got sorted out promptly enough.

Minor is relative. It was obviously important to Sapphire, but just because Asuka didn't care for it, she started acting like a bitch. There were better ways to handle that situation, but we already know that Asuka is not a nice person. Her words sound cool but they always contain thorns. Now, it just moved from subtle to obvious.

As the leader of their section, she should've taken measures to fix the problem, not get randomly pissed and leave to do solo practice. It's funny how the person who was dumped and the quasi-bitch Kumiko were the ones to help, but the cool and dependable Asuka just threw a fit. No wonder she didn't want to be president of the club.