A new year at Kitauji High means the concert band sets ambitious goals. Can a national title be in sight?
Episode 1 — “New Euphonium”
First Thoughts on Sound! Euphonium S3.
KyoAni is back! It’s been seven years since the last season, but much has happened to the animation studio between then. A horrible arson fire destroyed its studio in the summer of 2019, killing many of the animators, writers, and production directors for its popular shows like Violet Evergarden and Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon. Before then, a movie in 2018 (Liz and the Blue Bird) showed us how musical goals can fracture the relationship between best friends. Another movie (Sound! Euphonium the Movie — Our Promise: A Brand New Day) covering Kumiko’s second year adjusting to life without her beloved senior, Asuka, premiered in 2019 Spring. And then, nothing. For four years.
A new movie debuted last summer (Tokubetsuhen Hibike! Euphonium ~Ensemble Contest~) covering Kumiko’s first challenge as Kitauji High School concert band’s new president. A December concert featuring ensembles became fuel for exploring Kumiko’s leadership skills, the new characters who butted heads in the 2019 movie, and it set up the drama for the third season. What would happen if another euphonium player arrived who played better than Kumiko? Would we have the same drama from the first season when Reina competed for a trumpet solo with a popular senior? Kitauji High School aims to win gold at the national contest, so what happens when ambition, friendship, and loyalty collide? Let’s find out!
Hmm.
Sound! Euphonium lays the mirroring narrative device on the audience with a heavy thumb. Transfer student Mayu Kuroe is a senior from another powerhouse high school concert band. She’s also the embodiment of Asuka’s musical soul. She uses a silver euphonium and practices the same song that Asuka always did. When Kumiko first heard Mayu’s euphonium from the riverbank, she thought Asuka had returned to visit. The question in Kumiko’s mind from the Ensemble Contest movie was, “Would Reina pick me over a better player?” Kumiko better practice if she wants to avoid that question.
Sound! Euphonium Makes Me Go Heh.
It’s a spring day, and Kumiko walks to school. She meets her friends along the way as band practice provides the background music. It feels like no time has passed between the second and third seasons of Sound! Euphonium. The three movies could have added together for another season, but the wait would have been too long. Ah. This was a flashforward. We need to meet the new first-year students.
Tsukamoto and Kumiko are (kind of) going out, but they’ve only gone as far as holding hands. The concert band has three officers now: a president (Kumiko), a vice president (Tsukamoto), and a “drum major” officer (Reina). Reina must be in charge of the marching band stuff. Yuuko and Natsuki forced Kumiko to become president! We saw that at the end of the 2019 Sound! Euphonium movie. I saw Taki-sensei talking with a student in the faculty office. Who? Ack. It’s the first day of the new term, and Kumiko doesn’t know which homeroom she’s in. Matsumoto-sensei knows because she put all the band nerd friends together. Haha! Those band nerds respond loudly and in time to Matsumoto-sensei! Kumiko is still so attentive. She noticed an empty desk in the homeroom.
Sound! Euphonium is All About That Bass!
Aha. Sacchan still loves Micchan! And Kumiko is still prickly toward Kanade. The bass section needs to recruit members, but how? Tsukamoto’s poster relies on Midori’s accessory sense. Reina has questions about him and Kumiko. In that way! But Kumiko can tease Reina about her love for Taki-sensei. Speaking of recruitment — Kumiko hears a familiar song written for the euphonium. Reina pronounces Kumiko better than the mysterious player!
Eye catches will feature the concert band’s sections. First up: clarinets.
Hoho! Tsukamoto is a showman! The concert band’s outdoor performances will gather interested students. Four girls want to join the bass section! Ah. The loud one is the percussionist’s little sister. She has a whimsical vibe that matches Kazuki’s. Yayoi is not a pirate but dresses like one. Eccentric students in the bass section? Again? Midori carries the spirit of Asuka-senpai! Kanade, too! Kanade’s style of explaining the euphonium makes Kumiko cringe. After finalizing the band members, the club has to decide its goal: have fun or aim for honors. National Gold Medal!
But now the mysterious euphonium player and transfer student reveals herself. Mayu Kuroe knows who Kumiko is! Welcome to Kitauji.
The opening and closing credits show up in the next episode. The focus for both sequences is playing music with friends through the four seasons.
The Sound! Euphonium Players of Instruments and Heartstrings
The voice cast of Sound! Euphonium has returned, and I couldn’t pick up on any differences from the earlier performances. This anime is famous for its character development, so listening to Kumiko and Reina talk together felt like a trip down memory lane. Oh. And the two dudes giving our heroines heart palpitations are here, too.
- Kumiko Oumae — Tomoyo Kurosawa (Busy lady! She stars in two shows this spring season: Sound! Euphonium and as Ayano Toki in Laid-Back Camp S3). The third-year student plays the euphonium and is the Kitauji High School concert band club president.
- Reina Kousaka — Chika Anzai (Another busy lady. She also voices Shizuru Chikura in Train to the End of the World for Spring 2024). The beautiful trumpet player is Kumiko’s best friend and loves (not likes!) Taki-sensei.
- Hazuki Katou — Ayaka Asai (Kusuri Yakuzane from 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You). The genki tuba player has an oddly charming sense of humor.
- Sapphire (Midori) Kawashima — Moe Toyota (One more busy spring lady. Besides Sound! Euphonium, she stars as Chika Watanabe in The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio). The small girl who plays the huge contrabass has a complex about her parents’ naming sense. Midori also likes to collect music-themed toys.
Heart Breakers and Mood Makers
- Shuuichi Tsukamoto — Haruki Ishiya (Masato Oosuki from Okaa-san Online). The concert band’s vice president is a trombone player and Kumiko’s secret boyfriend. Their relationship is not that secret to the teachers, though.
- Noboru Taki — Takahiro Sakurai (This busy man is voicing four handsome men in Spring 2024, notably Giyuu Tomioka in Demon Slayer and Diablo in Tensura S3). The gentle and mild-mannered widower has a steel spine extracting the best performances from his students. Reina won’t let anyone else get close to her man!
Sound! Euphonium S3 streams on Crunchyroll. The movies are also available, except for the 2023 edition, plus the Liz and the Blue Bird side story.
Thank you for reading these first impressions on the return of Sound! Euphonium. Are you a fan? Have you watched the movies? Are you caught up on… the drama? Are you wondering when Asuka will come back? Let us know in the comments below!
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