Opening Songs
OP 1 - Dream Solister (TRUE)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - Tutti (Tomoyo Kurosawa, Ayaka Asai, Chika Anzai, & Moe Toyota)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Episodes: 13
Almost anything that Kyoto Animation churns out becomes quite popular. With good reason of course, they DO release some pretty good projects from time to time, though they might no appeal to everybody. If anything, most of their projects lean more towards the light hearted viewers. Then comes "Sound! Euphonium", another music themed anime that focuses on 4 female leads. Yes, it sounds awkwardly similar to "K-on!", and it even LOOKS like it. But, fret not, "Sound! Euphonium" manages to differentiate itself well enough to establish its own sort of identity. Instead of a light music club this one focuses more on a proper band and everything to do with it. Formations, sections, marches...."Sound Euphonium" nails everything about this. To those looking for a unique experience with some moe references, this is well worth your time. Otherwise, it stands alone as a strong replication of a band experience for those of you band fans/members.
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| Introducing our 4, cute as f**k heroines. |
The opening theme is "Dream Solister" by TRUE, which is a strong opening theme that's quite exciting to listen to. It fast, has a nice tempo, and just feels nice to listen to, an extremely fitting opening song to an anime about a band. The ending theme though, "Tutti", by the 4 seiyuus of the 4 main heroines, is where my vote goes to. Its fast, it rocks, its catchy, and it reminds me heavily of the old "K-on!" ending themes, which were MUCH heavier than the opening themes. A good change of pace, and a nice surprise, honestly.
Rating: 8.0/10
Not much could have honestly gone wrong with "Sound! Euphonium" with Kyoto Animation in the driving seat. These guys know what they are doing. "Sound! Euphonium" is pretty to look at, VERY pretty. Though its not much different from previous works from "Kyoto Animation", that alone speaks very highly about how great their shows look. Besides all of that, there are a lot of characters in the show, and most of them are interesting. Character interactions are key and the show isn't without its share of club room drama and politics. There are a surprising amount of conflicts between characters, making this show not as smooth of a joy ride as it should have been. Still, character building is done extremely well for its key characters and while the entire experience felt somewhat short-lived, you can't help but to ask for more. Even though I have had ZERO experience in a band and know nothing about it, the formations, practice sessions and heated debates within the club intrigued to quite an extent. Plus, the important performance scenes had such amazing production values and these were amazing to watch. There's not much I can complain about it...except for the fact that some characters are simply throwaways and there seemed to be some pacing issues during some parts of the show. Otherwise, its a solid experience overall.
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| Well then...welcome to the band. |
Kumiko is a girl who's been in the band for almost as long as she remembered. She performed in elementary school and middle school, though her school's performance in middle school left a lot to be desired. Their school obtained the gold award, but she didn't know what to feel about it. Her fellow perfectionist classmate that she had been admiring, Reina Kosaka, was absolutely demolished by the fact that they got a DUD gold, meaning that their school could not attend nationals. While almost everyone else celebrated over their dud gold, Reina sulked away. Fast forward in time and now Kumiko is in high school. She wanted a fresh new start so she chose a high school that she thought nobody she knew would attend. There, she meets 2 new friends quickly, Sapphire and Hazuki. While she didn't want to take band again, she was dragged there and her 2 new friends quickly joined in as well. To her surprise, she sees Reina Kosaka in the club as well, and there, things started to get awkward.
"Sound! Euphonium" may not be an over the top experience, but its still an adventure worth experiencing if you're willing to trying something new. It is NOTHING like "K-on!", and is something else entirely on its own, know that going in. It shows the workings of a band in an adored anime format, complete with its own endearing story and characters. One of the sleeper hits of the year IMO.
