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randomshyperson · 20 days

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Hey Mary I saw you mentioned in one of your fics (amazing work as always btw) that youre watching Hibike! Euphonium??? I've watch over 4 times so it's probably my favorite anime ever and I would love to hear your thoughts about it, how much you liked it, if you also ship Kumirei or nah?

~🦭

I saw your ask a few days ago and was waiting to respond when I finished the anime, and here I am. I can define my emotional state after finishing both seasons in two words: emotionally devastated.

Btw, this will contain spoilers if anyone bothers.

I watched the anime for the first time almost a decade ago, and I had only seen it because of Kumirei. I decided to give it a chance even though I knew beforehand they weren't canon, and I remember being really in love with the couple and being truly outraged when Kumiko ended up with that boy.

At fifteen, I had no idea about concepts like heteronormativity or comphet, or any of those more complex concepts I learned in college. And rewatching the anime today, I found Kumiko's relationship with Shuichi more comical than anything else. Her frequent and clear lack of interest in that boy throughout the entire anime turns any interaction between them into something comical and even frustrating, especially since everyone around her seems to insist that Kumiko should be with him simply because he has a crush on her. When I was the same age as the characters, it really irritated me, now as an adult I just felt sorry for them all. And I found it really frustrating how he got more development with Hazuki, and if the producers had focused on them, it would have made more sense than putting him with Kumiko who had an interest in basically any topic other than that boy.

But male characters aside, I just realized how much I missed female characters (or girls in this case) and their well-written and developed female friendships when I rewatched this anime. Hollywood could never.

Remember that I defined my state as emotionally devastated? Well, that's all the fault of the arc written for Asuka.

Her friendship with Kumiko is absurdly beautiful. The dialogue where Kumiko, who is the youngest between them, shouting about how Asuka doesn't need to act like she knows everything and that the two of them are just kids has easily become one of my favorites in any media. At fifteen years old, I had no idea the weight of several scenes, especially this one, or when Asuka is slapped by her mother? Insane. I had the pleasure and luck of being reminded of how beautiful and well-written this anime was. And the ending with Asuka graduating was deeply painful. Not because something bad happened (thank god), but that fact that she did it! She played for her father, got the best grades in Japan and will probably have a bright future ahead of her. But that means she's leaving and Kumiko still has two years there and even with that incredible connection, Asuka needs to move on. Living through high school while watching, I didn't understand what that scene really meant. The arrival of adulthood. But upon rewatching it I was in tears, completely in shock. For the good of my heart I simply decide that they met again in college.

Also, I still haven't rewatched the movie about the second year because I simply don't want to say goodbye to any more characters.

How difficult was it for the studio to write a band made up of students from the same year? I wanted everyone to graduate together. I guess it wouldn't hurt the same way if they did.

Now talking about what I didn't like? Well, there's just gone thing that really bothers me about this anime: Reina's feelings for her teacher. When I was fifteen, and I heard these teenagers talking about it, and I had no idea whatsoever about life, I didn't see it as a major problem. I even thought that Reina, so mature and intelligent, would turn 18 and embark on a failed romance before realizing that the only person for her was Kumiko, but now at 23 I absolutely hate everything about that matter. What bothered me most was that at no point was there a straight forward take on how the mere idea of this relationship is wrong. We even have a scene where the temporary Instructor makes jokes about the Professor being popular with the girls. I was very uncomfortable with how this subject was not closed in a concrete and absolute way, I would have liked to have seen at least one scene of Reina's parents guiding her about how she was confusing admiration for a talented adult man she has known since she was a child with love, but the anime insisted on a one-sided romance until the end, and it aged really badly.

I haven't had the chance to see both movies and the new season yet, but I really hope the matter has been closed because it was very uncomfortable.

Also, I've come to have a different view of Kumirei now that I'm no longer a teenager; I used to watch the scenes and be outraged, just hoping that they would kiss soon and realize how in love they are. Today, well, yes please just kiss, but also, I noticed an even greater complexity in their relationship. Slow Burn is very welcome, I even have the impression that their fifteen-year-old versions from the first season simply don't have the emotional maturity necessary to understand their own relationship. I know the studio probably won't make them canon, but I don't think I'll mind it as much as I would have a decade ago: I really like the idea that they took time to understand the depth of their feelings, and that the separation during college was perhaps what was necessary for them to realize how emotionally intertwined they are. I feel like as always, the fanfics will make it worth it.

#me venting about hibike euphonium and kumirei in 2024 #this is long #ask box #kumirei #hibike! euphonium #🦭 anon #🦭

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houkagokappa · 1 year

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There are few things I hate more than when an anime gets condensed into whether or not it’s yuribait. I was looking up comments on the upcoming Hibike! Euphonium projects and so many of them focused on the series ending up a failure somehow because it was just bait, or that those who shipped KumiRei must be mad because their ship sunk (and these commenters found joy in it because shippers are delusional).

First of all, these commenters don’t understand shipping at all. Shipping is about fun or interesting what-if’s, not collecting proof of what must happen. It’s supposed to be lighthearted and not that serious. It can be brainrot inducing, but there’s a degree of separation between what’s canon or a headcanon and things you simply dream of seeing without believing or demanding that they’ll happen in the series itself. And yes, representation is important too, but it’s separate to shipping, especially depending on the series and what sort of realistic expectations you can have for it.

Second, those who mock shippers for reading into things too much tend to be very quick with their own assumptions. You can’t presume that a character is straight just because they haven’t shown signs of being gay. If they’re “too young to know” it extends to ALL identities, including heterosexuality. Sexuality can be fluid and there’s a lot more to it than two opposites - bisexuality or asexuality are almost always conveniently forgotten as other possibilities, along with all other romantic and sexual identities. Not to mention how difficult it can be to realize your own sexuality and be open about it thanks to heteronormativity and societal pressure to fit in.

It’s such a shame when the canon status of a ship seems to be the only thing some people get out of a series or think is what others watch or read it for. Of course it’s fine to watch or read something for a ship and it’s not like I haven’t done it myself, but when you equate the value of something to whether or not a ship in the series becomes canon it’s quite sad and disrespectful towards the creators and fans. I love Hibike for its portrayal of finding a passion, working hard towards a goal and all the complex feelings that come with it. Kumiko’s extremely relatable for me and it’s interesting how untypical she is as a protagonist. Her relationship (as it’s shown) to Reina is important to me, but it’s more of an additional treat than the sole purpose for my love towards the series.

I do read their relationship and their feelings towards each other having a romantic undertone. I don’t think it’s far-fetched or impossible even when they’ve shown interest towards male characters. You can love multiple people and you can love them simultaneously in different ways. I don’t need to see them enter a romantic relationship for their feelings or this reading of them to be valid and true, or for me to find enjoyment and meaning from it. It’s sad that those who claim it’s bait can’t comprehend that queer readings are possible even without explicit hand-holding* confessions** kisses and sex (whether it’s a more serious interpretation or just for some fun shipping) and that some yuri fans can’t be happy with what we got, but demand more from a series that never intended to cater to those demands. There are plenty of yuri works to watch and read for those explicit moments, and there are plenty of other things to love about the series in addition to the relationships.

*no wait they’ve done this **they’ve done this too

#my nonsense #hibike! euphonium #yuri #yuribait #besides hibike i've been seeing similar comments about lycoreco and suisei no majo these past few days #also jojo lmao #along with the hundreds of shows that center around girls with close relationships to other girls #that get called yuribait as soon as the poster is revealed and they're posed together #the threshold to call something yuribait is incredibly low #i should've probably criticized the term too #since actual bait is pretty rare to come by?#altho i guess it's mostly used to specify a targeted audience #altho then again i believe some people truly believe others will get baited #and it's not like those people don't exist...#sigh

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nozomijoestar · 3 years

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Some words on KumiRei since I’m in another Hibike renaissance and can give time to how I feel I don’t agree 100% with any major camps on how its perceived in the anime though I do consider it romantic

First off I believe KumiRei is not only romantic as a WLW, but both characters are aware of this romantic nature they don’t show anyone else, they are not in full denial nor are they just friends- instead its a complex weave of the two, and they act accordingly

Neither do I believe either is heterosexual but rather Bisexual (Reina) and questioning Lesbian (Kumiko)

I’m drawing from deeply personal experience on it which is part of why I think this way regarding them so in saying that I think the issue is people are too used to formulas when viewing media, if A is seen as true then it must lead to B then C and maybe D and so on, but while I’ve been guilty of the same I think that’s a limiting way to view/engage with art, love doesn’t have to follow the old They confess, Everything is fine in the end, They get married, They have babies etc. path

There’s nothing wrong with liking that concept but when you fixate on holding something to a rigid standard of expectations, then you’re missing other perspectives and bigger pictures, you’re kinda locking yourself away from accepting life is made of lives not just your own, experiences not just your own, and how you choose to deal with those lives and yours (See only the tree, miss the forest and so on)

Hibike! is a show dedicated to human interpretation and expression in all of its characters and their intricate relationships so applying formulas to it to me is inherently missing the point to paint it as something its not trying to be (and reading it as strictly heterosexual is ignorance of an lgbt perspective)

All of that out the way and being said, every Kumiko and Reina interaction is a progression of romance that has the complication of being between two girls in a contemporary setting; every word, every silence, every touch or look is framed as openness for two people who’s entire foundation is struggling to find a place among humanity and peers and even initially toward each other, they have a defined separation between how they see themselves as together, as one, with a completeness they show others only in shades, so that every gesture they make as people with others has consideration they practiced and established first between each other, they are the genesis for a measure of each other’s overall humanity

Kumiko shoots higher because she sees Reina live it; Reina humbles her pride for empathy because she saw Kumiko try it, the list goes on and has been said by many- Kumiko is Kumiko near Reina and Reina is Reina near Kumiko, no gimmicks no tricks no hung up reservations on trust like there is with others, they simply are together and that is so hard to achieve, to be understood

People get caught up on Reina’s unreciprocated (thank god jsdifsj Edit: i rewatched the scene where Kumiko tells Reina she's rooting for her after learning Taki's wife died and I love the sentiment but that's still fuckin gross and I'd really like the entire Taki crush situation squashed completely in S3 whatever form it takes- I get they're teenagers so they don't know better and that kinda thing does happen (I know from personal experience even) but it's still wrong) feelings for Taki-sensei as they do the Shūichi + Kumiko situation then think that means KyoAni has no concept of homosexuality for not depicting the expected formula cishet couples (and Yuri as an exploitative genre) depict rather than remember that for now and for most including myself lgbt relationships are not part of the accepted normal and so can't be compared nor should they be expected to integrate in the exact same way to be valid- and Kumiko and Reina themselves seem to operate on knowing this which lends them an air of sadness to a degree because they can't (for Kumiko and her CompHet/Side that dislikes upsetting people which I feel lead her to accept then leave Shūichi's romantic interest even more so because in the end being in love with him isn't who she is and walking away there is growth on her part) be their entire selves and act in more intimate ways on their homosexuality than they already are

They know their closeness is special to them, their attraction is special, they know it's not how they treat other friends, and they know by how they keep treating each other that it's a level of romance especially in the way they say This is a confession of love not just in having said such a thing, they're not in denial enough to stop being as they are together but they are struggling to reconcile and build on how they see their other relationships which includes the men in their life and social expectation given their lgbt sides in their identities, not just because the series treats them as people but because they're teenagers (I feel like people forget they're kids all the time), and no teenager ever has all of themselves sorted out at their age even more than most adults, teens should be allowed to safely explore what the hell the world and other people mean for them to discover themselves and that's what I think is happening

When I was their age I didn't consciously realize my best friend was the love of my life since we were 11 in my eyes because of denial and fear to act on it or take a chance on my intensity being reciprocated, instead I loved her more than I loved myself while still having crushes and being in love with other girls all the time- even as she and I had what I felt was the same level of intimacy, love, and openness, we even entertained the idea of growing up to live together and it was only as an adult that I finally looked back and saw what she told me she already knew about me being in love

Reina and Kumiko canonically mull over the idea that they'd be separated as time goes on, and I think the observation shouldn't be When will they be a couple but rather They're too scared of going all the way as a couple for life to pull the rug from under them, they are for now in love and guarding it, preserving it with the last bit of distance they possess in themselves, and the question is when will they be comfortable enough to not need that fear

Human relationships are complicated and multilayered and can never be fully defined by set order and if the show accepts that then it's how I want to see it

#kumirei #hibike! euphonium

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kitauji-king · 4 years

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‘Liz and the Blue Bird’ Recap Part 3

Our favorite trumpet and euphonium duo are getting ready to practice.

The cracks in Nozomi’s facade are beginning to show.

Nozomi still attempts to preserve the illusion nevertheless.

Speaking of being perfectly in-sync with each other, say hello to the poster children for a perfectly healthy relationship. To me, KumiRei has to be one of the best pairings based on how well they get each other and how they consistently support each other throughout all of their endeavors. They both see the other’s flaws but they still remain devoted to each other regardless. This is represented by them playing Mizore and Nozomi’s duet perfectly in time and in tune with each other.

Mizore overhears the duo practicing too and stops to take a look. She doesn’t stick around for too long though.

We love to see it.

It was a confession of love, after all.

That’s true, if Kumiko and Reina were in the position of Liz and the bluebird, their parting would take on a different meaning. As I said only a moment ago, Kumiko and Reina are always in support of each other. If one of them felt as though the other one was being held back from achieving their full potential and becoming special, they wouldn’t hesitate for a second in letting the other one go. They’d have no doubt that letting the other go would be the correct choice.

Nozomi second guesses herself.

Mizore has read the story through multiple times, but she still can’t seem to get into Liz’s head.

Another area where Mizore and I are quite similar. Just like her, I find myself getting extremely attached to certain people I care deeply about and I even go as far as creating this idealized version of them in my head. The idea of letting that person go is almost unspeakable.

Yuuko is extremely passionate about this because after Nozomi quit, she was the only one Mizore had left. She saw firsthand how strongly this abandonment affected her, even to the point of her getting physically sick. So, it makes sense that she’s frustrated at Nozomi for doing the same thing all over again.

Well, sometimes, but communication is also important too. When was Mizore supposed to find out, then?

Niiyama makes a very astute assumption about Mizore and her sentimentality, to which Mizore can’t deny. Then, she gives Mizore a different perspective to think about.

Back in the fairy tale world, Liz finally breaks the news to the blue girl. She takes it pretty well.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the rug was pulled out from underneath the blue girl. She had been living with Liz and the two of them had been pretty much attached at the hip for a while now. They had come to love each other deeply, but now Liz is telling her she has to leave.

Liz has come to terms with the fact that the blue girl cannot truly be free or happy if she chooses to stay with her.

This particular shot with the way Liz looks at the blue girl and the way she speaks this line really melts my heart. All of her love is being reflected in her eyes. I think what makes this even more emotional is the addition of Liz pulling back for a moment to recompose herself before she speaks. It’s a painful decision to make, but she has to peel off the band-aid. The blue girl is reluctant to leave, but she does so anyway out of respect for Liz’s decision.

Also, I’m going to use this shot to reaffirm my statement that this is a queer movie. Liz’s one line in this shot hints at the nature of her relationship with the blue girl. It’s not platonic. In Japan, there are quite a few ways to say “I love you,” all of them having their own nuances and context. Liz uses “aishiteru,” which is normally used only in romantic situations; for instance what two spouses or two lifelong partners would say to each other. “Aishiteru” marks a very deep, committed, romantic relationship. It has such great meaning that the word isn’t even that commonly used in normal settings. Yes, it’s a bit bold of me to label their relationship as romantic, but I still find it a little ridiculous to assume that the two of them are just friends and nothing more. I would even say that it was willful ignorance. Clearly, whatever this relationship is, it transcends friendship.

But also, it is just a fairy tale.

Suddenly it starts making sense.

All this time, Mizore had been restraining her playing so that she wouldn’t leave Nozomi behind. The whole reason she plays the oboe in the first place is because of Nozomi. Now she realizes that because she loves her, she has to convey her love and all her emotions through her playing to give it back to her. Music is the best way for someone like Mizore to express themselves after all.

Here Nozomi finally comes clean and comes to terms with her own jealousy. She admits that it hurt to see Mizore getting all this attention when Nozomi is also passionate about music. She has to learn to accept that Niiyama just happened to see a greater potential in Mizore that Nozomi just didn’t seem to have. She has to accept that Mizore is going places where she cannot follow.

Originally, they thought of Mizore as Liz, and Nozomi as the bluebird. Nozomi was a strange miracle that came into Mizore’s life when she least expected it. And then, just like the Avatar, when Mizore needed her most, she vanished.

The roles have been reversed.

The bluebird has gone away to be free with others of her kind, and Liz is left to watch as the bluebird soars higher and higher and farther and farther away.

A stray bluebird feather descends from the sky. Liz grabs it and holds it closely, accepting is as something to remember her companion by. Ultimately, she made the correct decision in letting the bluebird go free, but god it still hurts. Now Nozomi knows she must do the same as well.

This last shot is so stunningly gorgeous from color to composition. I like that the film lingers here for a good few seconds.

Act 3 begins at the start of another rehearsal. In a seemingly uncharacteristically bold move by Mizore, she asks if they can go all the way through the Third Movement in Liz.

Niiyama approves.

As they begin playing the duet, Nozomi immediately notices that something is different.

Mizore is playing her part now with a new vigor and liveliness. All of her inhibitions have been thrown out the window and she doesn’t restrain herself to allow Nozomi to keep up. She’s soaring like the bluebird.

This specific portion of the song gives me chills and goosebumps every single time. The music is at a low rumble, Mizore leads as the piece is building up and building up until the cymbals crash and a trumpet fanfare begins, marking the climax of the movement.

Nozomi is so overcome with her emotions she can hardly play. She can’t focus enough to even move her fingers and fake it. The camera going in and out of focus really enhances this.

Nozomi finally drops out, laying the flute down in her lap in defeat. She just can’t keep up anymore.

She firmly grips the instrument in her lap as the tears begin to fall. It’s no use, and she knows it. Mizore has flown too high and far away for Nozomi to even reach her anymore.

Mizore concludes the solo on a literal high note.

The film goes silent. Everyone in the room is left utterly speechless or in tears because of Mizore’s solo. I had the same reaction. Not Niiyama-sensei though. She knew all along that Mizore could play like this; she’s merely proud.

If even Reina offers her kudos to your playing, that’s how you know you’re an amazing musician.

Even with all this praise, there’s still one thing on Mizore’s mind.

Mizore finds Nozomi sulking alone in what was previously her own hiding spot: the blowfish tank in the science lab.

Mizore’s in a difficult position. She doesn’t have that same type A personality that someone like Reina has. Mizore is happy to play as long as she gets to do it with Nozomi, the competition aspect isn’t that important to her. So I can see why she would hold herself back for Nozomi’s sake.

Nozomi’s in a tough position as well. She’s extremely passionate about music and she is a skilled flautist; she was the president of Minami Middle School’s band, the principal flautist to boot, and she only quit Kitauji’s band because she couldn’t stand being around the upperclassmen who didn’t take it seriously. We know this. So it really sucks for her to realize that she’s coming up short in her playing. Now this girl, whom she introduced to concert band in the first place, is turning out to be more skilled than she is and is even getting more attention for it. I don’t care who you are, that’s gotta hurt, petty or not.

This is reflecting the part in the short story where Liz claims to be just “a cage that confines you” and tells the bluebird that with her flight she can go anywhere she chooses.

Mizore is done being talked over and is ready to finally speak her mind.

Nozomi severely underestimates how much of an effect her disappearance had on her friend. It’s even affected how Mizore saw her other friendships (though she didn’t have very many to begin with). For the entire year that Nozomi was gone and Yuuko stuck by her side, Mizore was so sure that she was only doing that out of pity. She didn’t see herself as being worthy enough to be considered someone else’s friend. And now that Nozomi’s back, Mizore felt she had to live with the fear that it could happen again.

Mizore’s main fear is that she’s just another one of Nozomi’s many friends, and that if she ever stopped doing it, there would be no reason for Nozomi to continue to be her friend. Whether or not she actually liked band was irrelevant in that equation. And as we learned in season 2, when asked why she never quit the band even after Nozomi did, she explained that the oboe was the only thing keeping her connected to Nozomi.

Mizore’s as serious as a heart attack when it comes to how much she loves Nozomi.

Nozomi is referring to the part of herself that she doesn’t let anyone else see. The part of her that is petty, jealous, and selfish. She doesn’t feel she lives up to the perfect, kind hearted, divine being that her peers have made her out to be.

It is physically impossible for Mizore to even entertain the idea of hating Nozomi. She loves her, flaws and all.

Cutting Nozomi off from downplaying her confession, Mizore raises her hands in another I Love You Hug attempt. Nozomi is rendered speechless.

Mirroring the last I Love You Hug attempt, the two are froze in time and we, the audience, are left wondering “will they, or won’t they?” Boldly, Mizore is the first one to move; she wraps her arms around Nozomi and clutches onto her. Very hesitant and calculated, Nozomi slowly places her hands on Mizore’s waist.

For some reason, I don’t believe that, Nozomi.

In true I Love You Hug fashion, Mizore gushes about all of the good things Nozomi has brought into her life just by saying hi to her that one day.

Just typical things straight people platonically say about their friends.

This line can be interpreted many ways as I’ve seen when I look at other people’s analysis on this film. Some people say that this is Nozomi rejecting Mizore’s love confession seeing as she doesn’t compliment her on who she is, only what she does (her being a hard worker, and being skilled at the oboe). But I don’t agree with that interpretation. The point of this scene is for Nozomi to let go of the bluebird, just like Liz. I think that’s why she puts herself down, saying things like Mizore had to hold herself back for her sake, that she is very talented and has the whole world ahead of her. She does that so that Mizore will see how great her potential is and choose to live her own life and be free. I believe that if she had returned Mizore’s confession at this very second, that would defeat the entire purpose of her trying to release the bluebird.

Nozomi suddenly bursts out laughing. Maybe at the realization that all they needed to do was communicate with each other? I still stand by my opinion that giving each other cute nicknames would’ve resolved all of this a lot sooner.

See, I think you remember it perfectly, Nozomi.

We get this silent shot of two birds flying side by side in sync with each other.

I hope the school is paying this girl.

Mizore is trying to renew Liz again after who knows how long it’s been, and the librarian’s still trying to nag her. Luckily, Nozomi is there to save the day. However, she’s also there on a mission: she’s here to study for college exams.

This scene is meant to mirror the one at the beginning of the film with both of the girls walking to the band room and with Nozomi leading. In this scene, now the girls are independently following their own paths for the future. Mizore is practicing her oboe to get ready for music school, and Nozomi is studying up for a regular college.

Nozomi left a little doodle for Mizore on her sheet music as a reminder.

Looking through the windows of both domains, we see the same lone bluebird fly across the sky, showing us that both girls have learned to let go.

Some time later, Mizore is leaving the school building and up ahead is Nozomi’s smiling face waiting for her. She hurriedly runs up to catch up to her. Overtop of this is a voice over of Nozomi and Mizore deciding what they should eat on the way home. What’s significant about this scene is that now girls are being depicted as equals; gone are the days of them walking with Mizore trailing behind from a distance. Now they are walking side by side and both of their opinions for what they wanna do are being taken into consideration. It’s not just Nozomi calling the shots anymore.

Some things never change.

This line has kind of a double meaning. Yes, she really is going to practice and learn to play her solo with as much fervor as Mizore, but she also wants to use this time to work on herself as a person. She needs to get over her jealousy and learn to support her friend. And then maybe someday she’ll be able to return Mizore’s confession. She just needs a little time first.

Mizore agrees to keep practicing too, for a different reason though. She’ll keep following her own path.

Further demonstrating that they’ve never been more on the same page with each other than they are right now, Mizore and Nozomi hivemind for a second. Mizore recalls the conversation with Hazuki and Midori she eavesdropped on and uses the ‘Happy Ice Cream’ trick. I don’t think Nozomi realizes she’s going to be the one who has to pay for those ice creams, but you guys can cross that bridge when you come to it.

My god, what do you think she said!?

Wow, what a ride.

If you’ve actually managed to make it to the bottom of this review, I just wanna say welcome, and also thank you for taking the time to read this!

Like I said back in the intro ages ago, this immediately became my favorite film upon watching it. This is becoming one of those films that I can look back on every now again and still love it just as much if not more. KyoAni never fails to disappoint. Shoutout to Naoko Yamada, the amazing director. Would definitely recommend this film to anyone who has eyes and ears.

I’m really glad this film gave us all a chance to get a deeper look at Mizore and Nozomi’s relationship. After their 4-episode arc in season 2 of Hibike is concluded, we don’t hear much about them. This was a lovely aftermath to see how they’ve both changed and grown since their falling out and reuniting.

Now I wanna open this up for further discussion on the film. What are your thoughts and interpretations? Do you agree or disagree with me at any points? What did Nozomi say at the end!?! Leave a reply or send me and ask and I’ll try to respond to as many as I can.

Part 1

Part 2

#analysis #Liz and the blue bird #Hibike! Euphonium #Animation Appreciation #Kyoto Animation #kyoani #mizore yoroizuka #nozomi kasaki #anime #recap

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mistyheartrbs · 4 years

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finale oath Thoughts

an anon asked me what i thought about finale oath, so here are my recollections from when i saw it in the theatre back in july, and also my thoughts now that i’ve had several months to think back on it:

-it was better than i thought it would be but still not, like, great. it’s easily the weakest entry in the hibike franchise, due largely to its format - s2 felt cramped because it was two books crammed into one season, this was two books crammed into one movie. characters appear and disappear once their mini-arc is finished, and tonal shifts are sudden and bizarre between these character arcs (one of them is about a girl who wants to make friends but has trouble reaching out. another is about a girl who can’t play in the band anymore because she has early onset jaw arthritis). the entire film is more or less moving from point a to point b without giving the characters much time to breathe, and kumiko’s involvement with all of these individual character arcs starts to feel kinda forced and artificial; she intervenes because she’s the protagonist, not because she as a person would have much motivation to do so - it makes me wonder if the final movement project (fingers crossed for s3) will feature a steven universe-esque arc of kumiko actually realizing how much getting involved all of these people’s lives has weighed her down.

-i know you’re waiting for my reaction to the shuumiko content. my reaction is that i didn’t hate it quite as much as i thought i would because it, to me, actually solidified that kumiko is undoubtably a lesbian. they could hardly have made a more convincing story about comphet if they’d tried (which maybe they did! i don’t know). we hardly ever see kumiko and shuichi actually “dating.” the dreaded moment from the trailers is at the very beginning of the movie and is the only time kumiko gets kind of flustered around shuichi, which is easy to construe as her just being caught off-guard. they never actually do anything that comes close to the casual couple-ness of, say, gotou and riko - hell, they sit on opposite ends of an empty train at one point, a stark contrast to how close kumiko and reina sit. reina compares kumiko and shuichi to herself and taki-sensei. the one scene that really made my skin crawl was kumiko and shuichi at the festival, but even that felt very...artificial, like kumiko was pretending. and then when shuichi drops her off at her apartment and tries to kiss her she HITS HIM WITH AN UMBRELLA I’M NOT MAKING THIS UP and then GOES UP MT. DAIKICHI TO MEET WITH REINA who says “i didn’t think you’d come” (“i thought you were with him, i thought you weren’t like me after all”) and then they talk about the future and reina says she’s worried that she and kumiko will drift apart like liz and the blue bird. shuichi texts kumiko that he’s sorry while she’s on the mountain and then we don’t see him again until she dumps him. while i still wish that it hadn’t happened at all and i could just continue to headcanon kumiko as a lesbian who’s fairly confident in her identity and is just closeted, this is probably the best thing that could’ve happened given the circumstances.

-also reina hits shuichi with a soap bottle

-i didn’t really feel one way or another about kanade - she was just kinda there, not nearly as interesting as the older characters imo, but i am glad natsuki finally sorta got a character arc.

-i’m glad motomu and midori didn’t become a couple or anything and instead midori took one look at this grumpy lad who is taller than her and went “that’s my son now”

-after the sheer perfection that was liz and the blue bird it was admittedly hard to go back to the old hibike artstyle and the slight, uncomfortable undercurrent of sexualization - did we really need a scene at the pool? did the sunfes uniforms really need to look like that? since my second-favorite anime of all time is literally kill la kill it’s not like i’m unexperienced with acknowledging the problematic elements of the things i like but it was still disappointing.

-and that tied into the differences from the novels too. it was something i noticed comparing the novel (and manga) versions of yuuko and mizore’s scene in 2x04 with what we got in the anime - in the novels, yuuko is much angrier and natsuki actually has to physically hold her back from punching mizore in the face, while in the anime she just kinda...squishes her face, and it’s a weirdly comical and “cutesy” moment in what’s supposed to be a serious scene. they do the same thing in this movie; towards the end natsuki just kinda weakly grabs kanade’s hand when she’s mad at her, while in the novel she kabedons her. coupled with the fact that they were still comfortable showing asuka’s mother (unequivocally a character we rooted against, and an older woman to boot) slapping asuka, it gives off the sense that “good” female characters (read: protags) aren’t allowed to be violent, are only allowed to be multifaceted in a marketable way, and furthermore are really only allowed to be a narrow sort of feminine, when you think about the way they changed natsuki’s design from her novel descriptions and the manga and how they changed the concert uniforms from suits to just the winter uniform.

-they got rid of kumiko’s narration throughout the movie which was kind of a bummer

-animation was still beautiful though - highlights include daikichi 3 (obviously), kumiko and kanade in the rain, and the final performance

-yuuko isn’t given much to do in this movie, but (no spoilers) she and natsuki have one of the most impactful shots of the whole thing

-and i liked how some of the characters had subtle design changes - you can tell they’re getting a little older

-“you two seem close” -mirei suzuki, visibly butch, talking to kumiko and reina

-yuuko’s crush on kaori is still very much intact

-the ending theme still slaps

-overall it was...solid, i guess? it didn’t, like, ruin the hibike franchise for me but it didn’t inspire me in the same way the series or even liz managed to do. but kumirei is still the number one ship in my heart

#hibike! euphonium #hibike #finale oath #natsuki's terrible disco pants

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remnantoforario · 4 years

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Just finished the first Sound! Euphonium novel. Let’s talk about it a bit. Warning: this isn’t a review, just a bunch of loose thoughts I had.

As a straight novel, it was ok. A bit dry in spots, but it was overall a breezy read that won’t waste too much time. Would I recommend it as essential reading? No, but if you’re curious enough I wouldn’t be against checking it out.

Obviously as with all light novels that have anime adaptations, there are differences. Euphonium is no different. Now the order events remain the same as the anime, but the real meat of the change comes in the characters.

Might as well get this out of the way right now, KumiRei is extremely downplayed in the novels. Not saying that this is good or bad, just stating the facts. Shuuichi also has much more of a presence instead of being mostly background for the anime. It’s very obvious that this is supposed to be the main romance of the story. This will obviously lead to contention with people.

Somethings also just happen without much build up. Prime example being the re-audition between Reina and Kaori. In the anime (IIRC) Taki announced in class that the re-audition would take place before the competition, giving them time to prepare.

In the novel it happens right on the spot the day before the competition during rehearsals. Kaori just says “I want a rematch” and Taki is just like “cool” and it goes from there.

As such there is no love confession scene between Kumiko and Reina like their was in the anime. Like I said earlier, KumiRei is extremely downplayed, fitting with the Ayano Takeda’s (the author) assertion that the girls were just friends. That is mostly supported in the novel, but there can still be a small bit of homoeroticism to be gleaned from their interactions: Kumiko mentions several times how pretty she finds Reina, they still have their hike during the festival where Reina makes her “love confession” to Kumiko, and a few scenes of them being physically intimate (hugging, hand holding, leaning on each other, etc.). But even then these moments don’t pack the same punch as in the anime.

Beyond that the prose is a tad bland and sometimes it feels like Takeda writes these long paragraphs about the minutiae of concerts, bands, and the pieces they play to fill the page. There a re few interesting lines here and there, but there were more than a few times where I asked myself “did she really have to say ALL of that?”.

The story is also prone to random flashbacks that are SUPPOSED to add to what’s going on in the present, but don’t really amount to much. So the narrative sometimes devolves into the nebulous void that circles around for a bit to get to the point.

As for the characters, Kumiko remains an interesting lead, but the same can’t really be said for everyone else. The basic blocks of their characters are there, but they don’t build to much by the end of this volume.

Reina is more flippant(?) in this novel if that makes sense in terms of her speech and mannerisms. Shuuichi exists for awkward teen romance, Hazuki and Midori don’t do much, Asuka remains somewhat the same, and Natsuki just provides the snark when needed. No one really goes beyond this.

There was potential in this story, but it ultimately doesn’t do much with it. You’re better off watching the anime.

#sound! euphonium #hibike! euphonium #kumiko oumae #kumirei #reina kousaka

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bodakim · 4 years

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Happy new year everybody!!!

I know I haven’t updated my tumblr for quite a long time, so I felt like doing a little news post (thanks for those that were worried =‘) but no worries, I am fine!)

I finally graduated back in June, and ever since, I immediately found a job, which explain why I have less time than before (and sometimes I must admit I kind of forget updating as well once I am back). I love what I am doing, and it also allow me to finally get more money for my yuri (YAY to that).

Some amazing series finished last year (Bloom into you) and I still want to do a review about ... well, everything, because wow... the feels till the end. Some amazing series are still ongoing (like My Unrequited love, I am still sharing dynasty link everytime we release something. We are slowly catching up so the dynasty links to 28 and then 29 once 29 is done :D). I have also a lot to say about it because damn, so many things happening lately ! I will probably do so after this month chapter, because it will be the end of volume 5 (and thus, the beginning of a new arc next month)

After what happened at Kyoani last year, there weren’t many events with new arts (though there’s a wonderful new art I wanna share soon coz damn :3) and thus I couldn’t really post new Hibike things. The movie will soon be released in dvd, which mean I will probably finally be able to watch it (I am kind of fearing this moment though I want to make my own opinion about it even though I am already « meh » about some parts of it.

I started writing fan fictions again also, and I must admit I have a lot of fun writing :D Always feared to do so because I didn’t really consider myself as a writer. But last year was quite productive, and I hope this year will be as good for me and the writing.

I will probably resume the posting about Starira because I am mostly writing fictions in the fandom and just ... DAMN this is great =3 (I never thought I would love a ship as much as I love Kumirei before TamaRui, but yeah it happened).

So yup that’s it for the news :D I hope you spent some great holidays and followed a lot of yuri last year. I wish you a lot of gayness for 2020 as well (in yuri or other way)

#news #yuri #happy new year

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imsvg · 6 years

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first chord, last bow

Fandom: Hibike! Euphonium Pairing: KumiRei (Kumiko/Reina) Words: 1535 Summary: In which Kumiko and Reina await their graduation ceremony. Links: FF is here! AO3 is here!

hi im back hibigay

The band room feels deserted.

The chairs are shoved to the side, stacked on top of one another to save room. Cases of woodwind instruments that need repairing are tucked away in a corner. The chalkboard is, for once, spotless. Save for the podium in front of the chalkboard, the middle of the classroom is filled with empty space. Looking at it from the side, Kumiko feels strange, to say the least. It feels as if something needs to be there—like an ensemble, for example.

“You’ve been standing there for over five minutes.”

Kumiko looks over her shoulder to see Reina standing in the threshold of the doorway.

“I can’t help but appreciate the view,” Kumiko says with a smile on her face.

Reina rolls her eyes, but returns the smile. She walks towards Kumiko, running a hand through her neck-length hair.

“It’s one hell of a view, isn’t it?”

Kumiko exhales a breath of amusement through her nose. “It sure is.”

“How come the underclassmen didn’t put the desks together?”

“The band meets up here to practice a bit before the graduation ceremony, remember?” Kumiko breaks into a cheeky smile. “Or have you forgotten, you senior citizen?”

“Oh, please,” Reina says with a laugh, “I wasn’t the one who forgot when band practice was.”

“That was one time!”

“One time too many, Ms. Vice President.”

Kumiko rolls her eyes and reaches out for Reina’s hand. She twines their fingers together, and in silence, the both of them stand there.

“What do you see?” Reina asks, her voice so soft Kumiko almost misses the question.

“…I see dead people.”

Kumiko breaks out into a fit of chuckles when Reina pushes her shoulder.

“I-I don’t really get what you’re trying to say, Reina,” Kumiko says, fighting to gain her composure.

“Like, do you see a memory of someone or something or of some event when you look at this empty space.”

“Well…what do you see?”

“I see the countless hours of work we’ve put to prep for our competitions. Each passing year, we grew, both in size and skill, and every year, we’ve always made it to Nationals until we reached Gold. And because of that….”

Kumiko feels Reina tighten her hold. She looks and sees Reina staring at her with misty eyes, the brilliant purple glimmering in the setting sun.

“…I can leave here happily,” she mumbles, her grin holding the warmth of a thousand stars.

Kumiko leans in and places the softest of kisses on Reina’s cheek. “Of course you would see something like that, Ms. President,” she says with a smile.

She chuckles again when Reina pushes on her shoulder with a croak of a laugh, but a part of Kumiko wonders when the nostalgia of high school will truly hit her.

-X-

“Wait.”

Reina grabs onto Kumiko’s wrist, and she stops in her tracks.

“What—what is it?”

“I want to go on the roof,” Reina says as she gestures to the stairwell next to them.

The corner of Kumiko’s lips curl downward. She takes a quick glance around them: aside from them, no living being is present. It was well past the final bell, and she is sure everyone had already left.

“You sure…?” she asks.

Reina’s eyes hold a silent conviction as she nods her head yes.

Kumiko adjusts her bag on her shoulder as Reina leads her by the hand. They climb the stairs, their footsteps bouncing off of the walls. Reina opens the door, ignoring its groans of protest, and Kumiko follows suit.

A cool breeze welcomes them, running its fingers through their hair as it passes by. It leaves behind the scent of something delicious, yet unidentifiable. Kumiko’s stomach growls, and it reminds her of how late it’s getting—the both of them should be heading home soon.

“Is there something you wanted to do here?” she asks.

Reina says nothing. Instead, she lets go of Kumiko’s hand and walks forward, towards the railing. Kumiko waits before finally joining her.

The sun has sunk below the skyline, yet its rays paint the sky a vibrant pink. Wisps of clouds are painted purple, with highlights of smokey white as jets fly overhead. Lights are flickering on, and the traffic begins to rush past as people make their way home. The Uji River twinkles, as if the fabled River of Stars is flowing in this familiar city of theirs.

It’s in this moment Kumiko thinks this sight is more beautiful than the view on Mount Daikichi.

“I wanted to come up here one last time,” Reina says quietly.

“…Yeah?” is all Kumiko can muster out.

“Mhm. Since this’ll be the last time we see this as students here.”

The weight of the realization falls heavily on Kumiko’s chest. She sucks in a breath, suddenly finding it hard to breathe past the knot in her throat. She tries to say something, but the words die in her chest. Instead, she reaches out and grabs Reina’s hand. It’s surprisingly warm, and as they intertwine their fingers together, Kumiko can feel Reina’s heat melting away the chill biting her hand.

“We made it,” Kumiko breathes out. “We actually made it. We did…all of it. We made to Nationals, we won gold this year, we made Kitauji a school renowned for its music program, and now we’re graduating tomorrow….”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“Yeah….” Kumiko laughs breathlessly. “God I remember how bad the band sounded when I first heard them in my first-year.”

“We’ve certainly came a long way since then.”

Kumiko tries to answer, but the tail of the breath gets caught in her throat—the rest escapes her mouth in a quiet, inaudible sigh. She opts not to break the silence this time, and takes in the scenery below.

This time, Kumiko feels no need to rush back home.

-X-

Before Kumiko knew it, the graduation ceremony came and went in a blur.

Now she is standing outside, weaving her way through the masses. The chatter of excited families, graduates, and a sobbing Hazuki fill the air as Kumiko slips away from the crowd.

I’ll deal with all that later, she thinks as she walks across the empty courtyard.

Kumiko feels the bite of winter hiding under the cool, spring air. It sinks its teeth into her skin, goosebumps rising, and it reminds Kumiko of the end of her first-year. She's walking to the exact spot where she ran into Asuka, on top of the staircase leading to the band room. Kumiko half expects to see a tall girl wearing an overcoat walking out of the building right now, clutching her bag as if she was leaving just another school day and not her graduation ceremony. Kumiko imagines Asuka's face, her expression, and her small smile of realization that, in this school that caused her so much unnecessary trouble, she will be leaving behind her father’s notebook with someone precious.

Kumiko blinks when she feels something warm run down her cheek. She quickly wipes the tear away with the back of her hand, wondering what got into her. When did she stop walking? How long has she been standing here?

She's waiting for you, a quiet voice reminds her.

Kumiko feels her legs move towards her destination. She slips under the overhang and enters the building, the deafening thud of the metal door echoing through the empty halls. She makes her way towards the band room, and as she does, she can see the ghosts of memories lurking: Asuka’s raucous laughter during sectionals, Hazuki’s blares, Shuuichi’s looks of disapproval, Nozomi’s and Mizore’s quiet duets, Reina’s solos drifting in through open windows.

Kumiko slides open band room door, and sees Reina standing where she was yesterday. She turns around, her black hair, though shorter, still flowing as gracefully as it did the first day Kumiko ran into her.

And then suddenly, she feels a knot forming in the middle of her throat. Tears blur her vision, and Kumiko finds she’s having a hard time breathing all of a sudden. Nostalgia is pulling on her heartstrings so hard she thinks they’re going to snap at any minute.

“Reina,” she croaks out, “w-we did it.”

Reina smiles and comes closer. She cups Kumiko’s cheek with a warm hand and brushes away a tear with her thumb.

“We did,” she says quietly.

“I-it k-kind of hurts to l-leave,” Kumiko blubbers out, ending her sentence with a clumsy chuckle.

“It does,” Reina agrees quietly.

“Because we’ve made so many memories here, y-you know?”

“I know.”

“I-I’ll miss everyone.”

“I will, too.”

Reina comes even closer, pressing their foreheads together. The scent of lavender and her warmth is overwhelming Kumiko, but she latches onto it, relishing this closeness as if her life depends on it.

“But we move on,” Reina continues, “and we’ll start the beginning of our new movement—together.”

Kumiko sniffles and chuckles to herself. “Of course you had to make a music reference.”

“I had to.”

“But we’ll move onto this next part together”—Kumiko looks expectantly into Reina’s brilliant purple eyes—”right?”

Reina gives her a heart-warming grin.

“Of course.”

looking back on it, i feel as if this ending was kind of lacking - sorry about that. it's been real hard for me to write lately, but i'm slowly getting back into the groove of it all. im glad i got to write this story, though - i needed something to vent out this pent-up nostalgia in my chest that's been resting ever since i graduated. kumiko suddenly crying happened to me after my graduation ceremony - walking into my band room where i've spent most of my time in my four years of high school was almost overwhelming. i'd feel like kumiko would have a similar reaction.

anyways, hope you enjoyed. thanks for reading. love you.

#hibike #kumirei #i write

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shuturquibble · 7 years

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The Girl with the Raven Hair

Fandom: Hibike! Euphonium Pairings: KumiRei (Kumiko/Reina) Words: 2397 Summary: In which Kumiko is waiting for her train, and speaks to someone completely unexpected. Links: FF is here! AO3 is here!

It’s a somewhat similar story to “Garden of Words,” but in high school, there was someone who I could only meet when the weather was bad. The railroad I used at the time was weakened by driving rain, and if there were a typhoon in the morning, the train would be late without a doubt. But because of this, I could meet that person who normally took a train an hour earlier than me. So at the time, I liked typhoons. -Sugaru Miaki (Fafoo)

Kumiko held her breath when she saw the woman.

The woman in particular was, without a doubt, beautiful. She had raven hair that danced in the winds and piercing purple eyes that sparkled in the dim orange lights of the subway, yet somehow managed to hold a hardened gleam. She gave off the impression she could take on anything in the world, and succeed with flying colors, especially with the way she held herself, all prim and proper: back straight, purse in front of her, standing at attention. The moment Kumiko first laid her eyes on the woman, she knew from the beginning how different they were.

Kumiko had, as her sister once put it, a beauty that needed to be refined. Her brown hair poofed at the sides, and although her eyes were “caramel-colored” that shined brilliantly in the sun (those were Midori’s words, not hers), Kumiko knew that in the lighting of the subway, the color of her eyes was akin to mud. Her mother once told her she let off a lazy and lousy atmosphere, especially with the way her shoulders slouched, how she swayed her bags at her side, and how her eyes had a dull glow in them. Her mother once said, “You look as if your soul already left you.”

Kumiko remembered saying back, “Can’t lose what you don’t have.”

The howling winds outside came in through the tunnel, and Kumiko tensed up in an effort to keep herself warm. The cold nipped at her, leaving her nose and cheeks a bright red. Kumiko took a quick glance at the woman’s direction; it seemed to be the case for her as well.

Suddenly, the woman began to turn her head, and Kumiko quickly averted her gaze. She admonished herself. Here she was, standing off to the side, staring at an attractive woman she didn't even know the name of. If anything, she was the literal definition of a creep.

Maybe you should actually go and talk to her, a part of her piqued.

And have her turn me down? No thank you, another part chided.

At least you tried.

At least it gives her a chance to hate me.

You could know her name.

Or I could give her a reason to hate me.

There was a sudden boom of thunder, jolting Kumiko back to reality. Someone beside her cursed, and Kumiko took a glance. It was a large man, both in stature and build, whose spiky brown hair was mixed with a tinge of red. He would have had a look of a delinquent if it weren’t for those square glasses of his.

“Damn typhoons,” he muttered under his breath.

Kumiko took a small step in his direction. Then another. And then she said, “Good morning, Goto.”

Goto blinked before tilting his head down to look at her. “Kumiko. Good morning.”

“Your train late again?”

“As usual during this time of year.” Goto sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, they should do something about tracks during the other times of the year. They know how rickety they get during typhoon season—it’s basically a safety hazard!”

Kumiko’s lips quirked into a little smile. “Guessing you don’t like typhoons?”

Goto sighed again. “Well, if you’re going to be late to class for over two months, then yes, I really don’t like typhoons.”

“As diligent as ever,” Kumiko said with a soft chuckle.

Goto gave one of his own. “Some things don’t change after graduating high school.” He looked ahead with a small smile, before his eyes grew wide with a sudden realization and he looked at Kumiko again. “What about you?”

“…What about me?”

“Do you like typhoons?”

“At first, no. But then they grew on me.”

“…Interesting. How so?”

Kumiko fell into a silence. The truth was, typhoons didn't grow on her at all—it was because she was able to see that mysterious black-haired beauty of a woman during the typhoon season did she find the storms tolerable. It was an excuse for her to find herself closer, one way or another, to someone unattainable. Kumiko couldn’t help but scoff at herself—she was already a freshman in college and she still had trouble talking to a cute stranger. If she was being brutally honest with herself, it was pathetic. Truly, truly pathetic.

But Goto didn’t need to know that.

“I think there’s something about the rhythm of the rain,” Kumiko finally said. “Listening to it almost makes me want to fall asleep.”

Goto hummed, eating up the lies Kumiko was handing to him from her palm. “I’ve never thought of it that way,” he said after a long while.

Their conversation was put on a sudden pause as the sound of the train squealing to a stop filled the tunnel. Those who were waiting finally looked up from what they were doing—which was either on their phone or, if they were really old-fashioned, their newspaper—and filed to line up behind the door with blank eyes and dead expressions. Kumiko wondered if she looked the same way whenever she boarded the train. She wouldn’t be surprised if she did.

“My train’s finally here,” Goto said with a relieved smile. “Looks like I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, then.”

Kumiko forced herself to wear a smile and nod once. “Until tomorrow.”

She watched as Goto jogged off, falling in line behind the doors before being swallowed by the growing crowd. Kumiko looked over to where the woman was, and saw she had fallen in line as well.

She takes the same train as Goto, Kumiko noted. It made sense—she never saw the both of them when the trains were running on their normal schedule.

She sighed, her breath coming out as a white puff. Another day passed. Another opportunity wasted. Another promise that she would gather her guts to speak to the woman tomorrow…or if that didn't happen, one day.

A gale came through, howling its bitingly-cold laughter at Kumiko. She tensed up, shutting her eyes as she shivered. She cursed under her breath. Kumiko wished she wore another layer, but after looking down at her attire, she wondered how it would have worked—she was already wearing a sweater and two jackets. Another layer more and she would have looked like a walking marshmallow.

The imagery was enough to coax a smile out of her.

“Looks like I’ll be here for another ho—guah!” A piece of paper landed squarely on her face, causing a comically loud SMACK! Kumiko took a moment to gather herself before peeling off the paper off. She examined it, staring at it confusedly as she tried to make sense of the lines and strange symbols on the page.

Sheet music, Kumiko realized. But whose is it—

“Ah, there’s where it went. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about i—” Kumiko’s words and remnants of her soul left her body as she stared at the person in front of her.

It was the woman. The same woman she had been so scared to approach for God knows how long. The same woman who was now approaching her. A part of Kumiko said her blessings to whatever deity was listening. Another part of her was jumping into the six-foot-ditch she dug herself.

The sudden horn of the train departing filled the station. Kumiko was pulled out of her thoughts and watched as the train left. “Ah, your train is leaving,” she said, the words slipping from her lips.

The woman tilted her head to the side, her hair dancing with the movement, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Kumiko felt herself turn to ice as she racked her brain to save herself. “Or, uh, I’m assuming that’s your train. Since I never see you around on the normal schedule.” She mentally gave herself a point for actually pulling it off.

And the woman seemed to buy it, with the way she nodded and looked over her shoulder. If she was upset that she missed her train, she didn’t show it at all; her voice stayed unsettlingly still as she watched the train disappear from view.

“Looks like I have to wait for the next train, then,” she muttered, voicing her thoughts aloud.

“Y-yeah, it’s a bother isn’t it?” Kumiko laughed shakily. She forced herself to stop right there, but the words kept spewing out, much to her chagrin—she could never shut up when she was nervous. “I can’t imagine anyone getting anywhere on time because of these typhoons, you know?”

The woman replied with a hum, moving to stand next to Kumiko. “I don’t really mind them, though.”

Kumiko’s anxieties melted away with that simple answer. “Really?” She asked in a quiet voice.

“Listening to the rain makes me want to fall asleep.” The woman smiled the smallest of smiles as she turned to Kumiko. Kumiko’s heart leapt, and she was taken aback by how beautiful the woman was up close.

She has long eyelashes, Kumiko absently noted.

“A-ah,” Kumiko finally said after a longer-than-necessary pause, “here’s your sheet music.” She held out the slightly crumpled score to the woman.

The woman’s hardened eyes softened with gratitude as she took it. “Thank you. Although, I’m surprised you know what it is,” she said with hidden amusement as she put away the score in her bag.

“I actually play in my spare time,” Kumiko admitted with a small smile. “But nothing as complex as…that.”

The woman’s eyebrows rose up with surprise. “Do you?”

“Euphonium.”

“Interesting.” The woman’s smile grew in the tiniest of ways. “I play trumpet.”

Kumiko let out an amused puff of air. “Really?”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, not at all. It’s just…a little surprising, I guess.”

“How so?”

“I always thought of trumpets as loud and abrasive. You know, kind of like that obnoxious kid that everyone likes.”

“Oh? And how do you know I’m not loud and abrasive when you’ve only just met me?” The woman’s smile turned coy, and although it was attractive, Kumiko didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Well, er, uh, you don’t…seem like the type…?” Kumiko gave a sheepish smile to top of her lame statement.

The woman laughed, the sound that sang in the air with such richness that Kumiko thought it was the street performer performing behind her. “You’re strange.”

“I’m…assuming that’s not a compliment.”

“Oh, but it is,” the woman said with a smile so cute and precious Kumiko felt part of her soul return to her body to just to see it.

“H-how so?”

The woman’s purple eyes twinkled, the look in her eyes a mix between mischief and coyness. “People are attracted to the mystery of strangeness.”

Kumiko could feel her cheeks burn and her eyes widen. Everything slowed and everything quieted. Even the deafening screech of the upcoming train’s whistle was nothing but a drone to Kumiko as she stared at the enigmatic beauty of a woman. Maybe she was foolishly reading too much into a stranger’s words, but with the way the woman was looking at her, a part of Kumiko couldn’t help but entertain the thought that, perhaps, the woman also felt that sense of intrigue towards her.

If this is a dream, I don’t think I ever want to wake up, Kumiko thought.

“Say,” Kumiko found herself saying, “what’s your name?”

The woman’s smile turned into a smirk as she slung her hair over shoulder. Kumiko gulped and cursed her—she knew exactly what kind of effect she had on Kumiko.

“Reina,” she said. Her voice was quiet, yet held all the confidence and conviction in the world.

“Reina,” Kumiko breathed out. The name rolled off her tongue easily, leaving nothing but the desire to say it even more. Reina. Reina. Reina.

Reina was a beautifully mysterious name, fitting for the woman in front of her.

“What’s yours?” was the sudden question that pulled Kumiko out of her thoughts.

“K-Kumiko,” she stammered. Kumiko felt her lips tug down into a frown—her name sounded too chunky, too clumsy, a stark contrast to Reina’s.

But Reina didn’t seem to mind at all—in fact, her smile grew just a tad larger. “Kumiko,” she whispered, the noise of the bustling crowd around them almost overwhelming her. “How fitting—it’s strangely adorable.”

Kumiko sucked in a breath, taking in the rancid smell of the station, but picking up the faintest trace of jasmine underneath it all. She held her breath as well as her words, not trusting herself to say anything.

“The train’s here,” Reina said. Kumiko looked to the side, watching the train screech to a stop. She felt her heart slow to a stop as well; the train’s arrival meant an abrupt end to their conversation.

Soon the noise in the subway erupted, people filing to the doors as they lined up. Out of the corner of her eye, Kumiko saw Reina drifting towards the crowd. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but Kumiko quickly reached out and grasped Reina’s wrist. Reina stopped, and looked at her quizzically.

“Will I see you again tomorrow?” Kumiko blurted out, her volume louder than she had anticipated.

Reina’s smile came back and she slipped out of Kumiko’s grip to place a cold finger on Kumiko’s warm lips.

“If it rains,” was all Reina said before she took her hand back and stepped into the crowd, her sparkling, purple eyes shining pieces of amethyst in the black and white crowd of soulless people.

Kumiko took another breath, the fading scent of jasmine coaxing the rest of her hidden soul to come out to watch Reina shoot one final smile over her shoulder before entering the train.

Kumiko felt herself smile as well.

There really was something strangely attractive about mysteries.

The girl with the raven hair was certainly one of them.

Decided to stick my AN at the end so that it wouldn't interfere with the flow of the story. the quote in the beginning is actually a tweet that i found on tumblr (take a chance to read one of his stories - they can be found translated on vgperson's tumblr. they're very interesting, to say the least). i actually wrote a story inspired by this quote a while back, but i decided to rewrite it for kumirei because it really reminded me of them. it's what really makes kumirei such an attractive couple to me. unlike asukumi (which i do ship), which portrays a loner-meets-loner-to-create-a-whole-and-therefore-understand-each-other kind of love, kumirei gives this you're-a-mystery-and-i-want-to-solve-you-to-understand-you definition to love. to me, it gives kumirei a childishly mature vibe to their love, which makes sense - in the show, the both of them are in the process of growing up and understand the world and people around them. the attraction to mystery is something i always picked up from the both of them whenever they interacted. i feel like they understand each other, yet at the same time, don't. that kind of juxtaposition makes me smile - to find comfort in someone you hardly, truly know, yet at the same time do is a special kind of relationship.

i hope that i managed to communicate that kind of relationship in this story. i might even continue it, if i feel the motivation to. but until then, it'll remain a oneshot.

fun fact: the title is a play on the song The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Claude Debussy. he's one of my favorite composers. give it a listen and reread the story as you wish - i listened to it nonstop while i was working on this story, aha.

wow, i rambled. it's beginning to become a habit.

but i hope you enjoyed regardless.

#Hibike! Euphonium #sound! euphonium #h!e #h!e fanfic #Oumae Kumiko #kousaka reina #takuya gotou #inspired by a quote #kumirei #reikumi #honestly kumirei and asukumi are so precious to me i love them so much #i usually don't post my ANs on my tumblr crossposts but i felt the need to for the past two storeis #idk why #but i really do hope that you guys enjoy #i have another h!e story in the making #hopefully i can finish it soon :)

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a-bucket-full-of-feels · 4 years

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Thoughts about Hibike Euphonium Chikai no Finale:

As usual, the animation quality and the story writing was excellent; listening to Liz and the Blue Bird being performed in its entirety was beautiful (a great callback to the Liz movie), and i was moved by all their emotions portrayed.

However, the duration of the movie didn’t do the story justice - they essentially attempted to cram an entire year’s worth of events into 1.5 hours - as compared to the entirety of Kumiko’s first year being spread out over 2 seasons. There were too many story arcs happening at once, with some being more well-fleshed out than the others. The euphonium players story arc was good (being the focal point of the film after all), but some of the other side stories left more to be desired. I really wanted to find out more about Motomu’s backstory, as well as how his relationship with his contrabass senpai Midori developed; it seemed really cute but unfortunately it was just glossed over in favour of time. The Satsuki/Mirei arc also ended much sooner than it should have; there was a lot more potential to develop if let’s say it was given an entire season’s worth of air time.

And I think that’s the main flaw of the movie - it lacked the magic that the Hibike anime had. Because every scene had to be dedicated to moving all its story arcs forward, there were barely any scenes where it was just the characters being themselves, getting ready for practice, engaging in small talk, and hanging out after school - all these little things that added to the atmosphere of the original series. Nonetheless, even though it was jam-packed with multiple story arcs, the stories were still well-told and enjoyable. However, as compared to Liz and the Blue Bird, where they really only focused on one main story between two characters, it didn’t leave such a lasting impression on me as Liz did.

Now onto the elephant in the room - Kumiko and Shuichi’s romantic relationship. By far the movie was the most explicit about their burgeoning romantic attraction for each other, albeit it ended with them deciding not to pursue a relationship (yet), as per the light novel canon. Although I still ship Kumirei till the very end, I have to acknowledge that their relationship was never meant to be romantic in the original canon and would honestly be kinda out of place for their individual narratives, and it honestly felt like Kyoani hyped up the romantic imagery way too much in season 1 (although I must admit their relationship seems a lot more like soulmates rather than just ordinary friends). Nonetheless, I’ve just come to accept the canon as it is, and it’s just nice to enjoy an alternative universe where Kumirei is romantic in the world of fanfiction and fanart.

Not too sure about developments on Kyoani’s side, but they seem to be leaving a rather open ending hinting that they may be continuing with the canon with Kumiko in the third year as the club’s president. Honestly it’s kinda bittersweet - seeing the original third year trio graduate was sad, and now the original second years (owarai combi Yuuko/Natsuki and Nozomizo) would be gone. I wonder how the new first years (now becoming second years) would pull their weight. Kanade seems to be a Reina parallel (exceeding her senpai’s skills, being extremely straightforward, even that final scene as a callback to Reina’s “I’m so frustrated I could die” line), and if the Hibike anime canon does continue, I hope she becomes more than just that.

All in all, while the movie was generally good, I felt that they tried to cram what could be an entire season’s worth of writing into the length of a movie, which could’ve been a lot better. (I still like Liz and the Blue Bird as a movie more.)

#Show Reviews #hibike euphonium: chikai no finale

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bodakim · 5 years

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Happy new year everybody ! I wish you all the best for this year 2019 :D May all your wish come true and may a lot of yuri enlight your life again.

I am going to do a few rant about tumblr and about all the yuri I love for the past year and for the incoming year :) (and you can read whatever interest you or not because yeah, my rants can be long.)

About Tumblr : I started my blog a bit more than a year ago now (I never posted on it before). The main goal was being able to fangirl about all the yuri I love when I couldn’t really do so somewhere else (or more likely, not as much as I wanted). Obviously I wanted to show my love to Kumirei everyday as well. And gosh, I am pretty surprised because in a bit more than a year, you are almost 7700 to follow this blog and I am like “wow, that’s a LOT of people”. So thank you for following my usual yuri ranting (or shitpost, depend), I didn’t expect so many people to be there but yeah. I will keep doing the same for this year. Obviously I don’t agree with the new Tumblr policy about NSFW (I find it... Pretty stupid. It has good intention, but it’s really really badly done) but I won’t stop this blog because personally, even if I do post NSFW from time to time (there’s an amazing Kumirei doujinsh cover I would have loved to share... RIP) but most of my post are shitpost or safe for work so it doesn’t really affect this blog. (And it’s still the easiest place for me to fangirl).

About Hibike : This year was pretty amazing with Liz to Aoi tori release. This movie is just gorgeous (please watch it if you haven’t yet). The movie has even been screened in the USA and is now planned in France ! I am so happy the Hibike fever is starting again. The movie gave me so many emotion, too. As I’ve mentioned, I am just a bit sad (like after this Comiket period) there were so less Kumirei doujinshs. Talking about that, Oath’s finale is coming up in april and I am both excited and worried about the movie. I know there might be a lot of Kumirei cute scenes because I heard there’s some in the novel. Actually my worries are pretty much over : I was a bit scared about the eventual shoe Kumiko (even though it’s not that way even in the novel). I wouldn’t have minded Kumiko ending up with anybody tbh, as long as it’s logical and they have a great bond (because we can’t really complain about something like that, even if we can be disappointed) but... Not him. Because I think Kumiko would be more hot and bothered by a cube of ice than the Shoe. I am looking forward for the first movie impression by people in april and I really hope the movie could lit the Kumirei fire inside people heart once again (and a lot of gay merch pls Kyoani).

About My Unrequited Love : this serie became clearly my favorite serie along Yagate. Maybe the fact I am working on it helps big time, but I absolutely adore all the characters and the pacing. I do love angst as much as I love fluff and I don’t mind slow pacing. I am conscious this kind of story isn’t for everybody (according to the complain I read also), I do think personally this is a really “real” slice of life. In a way that tMnR is really good to show the different point of view of the characters (and how a scene can be totally different depending of who saw it... That’s why I don’t mind the skip after chapter 14) and the serie take its time because yes, sometimes in life, not a lot happen and people are mixed with their own struggle. They can have some issue because they don’t talk with each other and I love how it’s done here. I am really looking forward to see how the story will progress (starting from february because this month, we get the volume 4 release). And tMnR is love.

About Yagate : The anime just ended and gosh, it was really an amazing anime. I would even say so far probably my favorite yuri anime released (and by that I mean “really yuri labelled” since i consider Hibike as yuri too). I love the way they adapted the serie, they did their very best and you could really feel it in the animation and all the adaptation idea like with the background play and the metaphore (though they were some animation quality drop for some episode, but we can’t complain about that). I really hope they will be able to do a season 2 to match the manga ending! I don’t think the manga should end this year (with probably one more volume after this one), or more likely at the very end of the year. I am really looking forward to follow Yuu and Touko. I can’t wait for them to be finally happy together and seeing them as a couple. (And I do hope for a great girlfriend for Sayaka! She really deserves love).

About Citrus : Citrus main serie ended in 2018, letting place to the spin off Citrus plus that started in december. It’s an odd feeling since it’s a serie that really affected me and helped me during quite some time of irl struggle (I started it back in 2013-2014) and I have a special thing with this manga. The animation at the beginning of 2018 was maybe not the best, but surely a kind of dream coming true that made us fangirl big time. Citrus has also been my main manga collection so it is a huge part of my life. Unfortunatly, though I still enjoy reading Citrus plus because I am curious about it, it’s not my number one serie anymore (after a volume 10 that left me a bit... Meh). I am still really curious to see what Saburouta has for us in 2019. About other series : I started quite some yuri series in 2018, and so there’s a few things I want to mention

I started 2DK G pen, and it is a really great yuri. The manga just finished in Japan this year, and I am pretty surprised it wasn’t picked by SevenSeas to be released in english book. The pace is slow but the manga is great and popular in Japan, so I would really like if they could pick this one someday.

I started Nettaigyo too... Lesbians + aquarium = <3 (I can’t do a faster summary, this is just amazing)

I watched Bandori (BanG Dream!) anime with a friend, and recently she convinced me to play the game... And gosh it really got me. I got myself a new bae (with Rinko) and some new ship I love. (Fun fact: Misaki x Kanon : Misaki is voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa, Kumiko’s VA while Kanon is voiced by Toyota Moe, Midori’s VA. So Bandori is the only place you can ship Kumiko with Midori x’) ) There’s a lot of other ship I love, but damn.

And I think that’s it for the ranting... Happy New Year again, and looking forward for more yuri :D

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