Hibike! Euphonium 3

Kyoto Animation, almost without fail, has time and time again showed us the gold standard of anime production. It is clear to see just like many of their shows, it was done with passion, love, and most importantly, they had ample time to work on it. This is the result.

Sound! Euphonium Season 3 is divisive, and it is easy to understand why. KyoAni and the staff made risky decisions in how they adapted the source material, making a critical change towards the end of the season, which really divided the community. Of course, there was also the issue of there not being enough performances in ... the season, because previous seasons showed the performances, whereas this season did not do the same. The thing I appreciated the most though, was that with all the themes that the season provided throughout, the end result stayed consistent with the themes presented.

Kumiko’s encounter and relationship with the new transfer student, Mayu Kuroe, was no doubt, a turbulent one. Mayu plays the same instrument as Kumiko, and needless to say, there are only so many spots available in a performance, or in the soli. Now, with Kumiko in her third and final year at Kitauji, and with Mayu being the new kid on the block, there is some pressure on who should play and who should not, and while Kitauji has adopted a variety of ways to decide such things, Kumiko, along with vice presidents Reina and Shuuichi, decide that for each performance during the school year, there would be an audition. Managing a band is not an easy job, and Kumiko saw that firsthand. The thing I love about the series is how well it understands school life and music. In a band, there are always clashes of personalities, people who push others harder than they are used to, people who want to just have fun playing with their friends, and people who take winning competitions very seriously. Being the president, you always have to have your ear to the ground on how the band’s morale is, and for the majority of this season, it is not good at all, with the tension at a fever pitch due to the auditions and their results.

The relatability of the characters is another massive reason why I love this series. Kumiko in particular, is someone that I am sure many of us can relate to on some level. She is a graduating high schooler with a very common problem that many of us might have faced before, not knowing what to do after graduation. By being the president of the school band this season though, she learned a lot about how to deal with people, how to motivate people, but most of all, she learned that a lot of the time, you reap what you sow, and that there will always be someone better than you at something, and I’m glad that this theme was hammered home in the end.

As for Mayu, she was also quite relatable, but to many, very frustrating to watch I would imagine. As a transfer student, especially if they are a very capable one, they will very likely shake the morale of the existing group, because all of a sudden, there is someone that plays better than most of the band populace. Therefore, she adopts an attitude of just going with whatever the majority wants, whether it is to play a certain way, to go somewhere together, just whatever would allow her to fit in, to not influence the pre-existing relationships in the band. Man, she just needs a hug…

Mayu and Kumiko's interactions throughout this season were tense, and understandably so, because not only do the two play the same instrument, they also had clashing viewpoints toward how Kitauji should operate. Kumiko wanted meritocracy, in that the best players should play, regardless of their status. Mayu, however, did not want to rock the boat that is the band, so it seemed like she wanted to forfeit her role in the band to Kumiko, as that was probably what their bandmates wanted, for their president to play. That is another sign of Mayu’s tragic character, where she just cannot bring herself to affect the band in any substantial way. Kumiko, for a good chunk of this season, avoided her, because it reminded her of herself in the past, the one that Reina “hated” for not caring about the result of a competition.

As controversial as Mayu’s addition to the cast might be, I personally loved her role in the story. She can be seen as an antagonist, but she really isn’t, as she is the catalyst that made Kumiko a better person. Kumiko can lament the missed opportunities to tell Mayu what she really felt about things, but in the end, Kumiko and Mayu helped each other, with Mayu pushing Kumiko to confront conflicts within herself, and Kumiko told Mayu something she needed to hear all her life, which was to play for what she believes in, and not “lie to the performance”.

I also loved Kanade’s role in the story, with her bluntness. In a way, she might have voiced how the viewer was feeling towards a certain moment, and that again, is relatability, in a different light.

Kumiko and Reina’s relationship was also incredibly interesting, and it tackles a similar theme to Kumiko and Mayu’s relationship, which is that people have conflicting opinions. Reina was always one of the best talents that the band had to offer. It created tension in earlier seasons of this series, and it also created tension in this season, with how her and Kumiko’s relationship was. One of Reina’s biggest flaws was trusting Taki as wholeheartedly as she did, leading to a sense of coldness toward members who were unhappy with Taki’s decisions on the auditions. Was she an antagonist? Also no, because these conflicts in a band are natural, because there will always be conflicting philosophies, and when someone as successful as Reina is questioned, it feels like an insult. Again, after being put down by Reina, Kumiko grows for the better, and shows why she was the president, and that Reina was not chosen for such a role, as seen in the eventual success in the band’s subsequent performance.

Even if there are reconciliations to be had, another theme of school life is that friendships can also disappear in the blink of an eye. Reina parting ways with Kumiko is another theme in more ways than one, from the meaning on the surface, to what it means in a musical sense. It reminded me of how Mizore and Nozomi’s relationship in Liz in the Blue Bird, my favourite anime, felt like, with one holding back the other. It is difficult, but sometimes, if you truly love your friend, you also have to let them go, and it is another theme that stayed consistent to the end of the series, which is excellent.

Common arguments about why this series was not living up to people’s expectations included the fact that the performances were for the most part, skipped. That may be the case, but I found the tension in the band just as entertaining, if not more. There were no antagonists in the end, leaving the tension as natural, yet as strong as it can be, which is what the performance was to me, the characters interacting, arguing, and in the end, thriving, under Kumiko’s leadership. The other thing was the pacing, and that one I agree with, as it slightly drags the build up to the pay-off, but made the pay-off happen a bit too quickly at the same time, which is an odd place to be in. There is an argument to be made about that, but to me, I found what we got to be extremely rewarding and inspiring to watch nonetheless. I do wish the second year of Kumiko’s high school career was a full tv season though, that would be the thing to lament about for me.

Overall, this season left me breaking down at some of the tension that was so palpable, and left me in awe of how gorgeous KyoAni’s animation and directing was, possibly even superior to the last two seasons. It’ll be a series that will stay with me for a long time to come, and one that I’ll remember fondly.

Each piece along the way was beautiful. For Kitauji, there will always be a next piece, and for Kumiko, Reina, and everyone else, there will also always be a next piece.

There's a scene in Sound!Euphonium Season 3 where the conductor is reading off the audition results, and the camera doesn't show his face but instead his hands. Because of this, you can see him visibly grip the clipboard harder when he reads what he knows will be a controversial decision.

This detail might seem trivial, but when you add up enough of them, the show really starts to come alive. These kinds of details are what have always set Sound!Euphonium apart, and I kept getting reminded of that watching this season. I think the writing in this show is great, but the expressiveness of the ... character animation is what really helped me get invested in the characters and what sets Sound!Euphonium apart from other shows.

I'm sad that this is the final season, but I can't complain. The show really wraps itself up nicely, calling back to themes that it touched on in previous seasons and weaving them together into a satisfying sendoff.

It's been a lovely 3 cours, 2 movies, and 9 years. Thank you Kyoto Animation.

5 years on from the horrific fire that claimed the lives of so many talented staff, Kyoto Animation have shown that they’re resilient and can still make wondrous shows that evoke emotions no other studio can. Hibike Euphonium season 3 may have some new staff working on it, but it retains all the magic of the first two seasons and movies and serves as a fitting capstone for what’s been a decade of magic that’s made us all a little better.

They say that in order to achieve something you’ve never had before, you have to be prepared to do things you’ve never done before. So ... after two failed attempts to win gold at nationals, Kitauji high’s music club have taken a different approach in this third and final season. Instead of using the same lineups for competitions, they opt to institute a meritocracy system in which those in best form win their spots in regular auditions. This brings me to what makes this season in my opinion, the best of the bunch. We’ve always had drama in Hibike, but we’ve never had it on this scale. As you can imagine, having everyone competing for their spot constantly introduces a lot of pressure and tension, particularly with the Eupho spot.

The conflict between new transfer student, Mayu and Kumiko serves as the focal point of this season and unlike a lot of people, I loved it. In fact it was the best part of the season for me. Kumiko is n her last year at Kitauji and her first year as president obviously wants to reach her goal to win nationals with her beloved school, but also to play the Soli with her best friend/totally not Yuri lover, Reina. The tension that arises when Mayu shows up out of nowehere and happens to be a Eupho prodigy in her own right, made this season so entertaining. Things get downright nasty at times with passive aggressive behaviour, Kumiko lying and not being as inviting as she should be to a new student and much more. While petty and nasty at times, I thought this was very realistic for teenage girls, especially those competing for a once in a lifetime opportunity AND deciding what they want to do with their lives. You see, Kumiko still hasn’t decided what she wants to do after graduation and the stress of that with everything going on in music club just makes for a really anxious time for her. I think it’s also something that a lot of people can relate to. 18 feels like an age where we should have everything figured out at, but the reality is, very few do, and that’s ok. There’s more to the drama that I can’t really go into without spoiling, but Mayu is a complex character to say the least and while a lot of her actions come off as patronising or mean spirited, she genuinely just wants to keep the peace, but the misunderstandings and angst were awesome and she quickly became one of my fave Kyoani characters.

At this point, we know the foundation of Eupho is the relationship between Reina and Kumiko and well this season is definitely a doozy for it. It’s an up and down roller coaster and depending on who you ask, Reina will have either gained or lost your respect based on how she treated both Kumiko and her fellow bandmates in this season. For me, I can’t look at Reina the same even with all the Mayu stuff being explained and apologies. I just think there’s certain ways you talk to people you supposedly care about and certain things you should never say. Not to mention her blind infatuation and obsession with Taki-sensei which causes her to treat everyone who doesn’t agree with him like shit. She’s just shown herself to be a very toxic and fake friend imo in this season and I know the show tries to mask it with the beautifully animated Yuri bait scenes, but that only goes so far for me. If anything, I feel like Kanade established herself as a better friend to Kumiko in this season than Reina. Regardless of your opinion, it’s a testament to how well written a story is when we can debate things like this about an anime. It shows that the characters feel like real people and are complex just like every day people are. Everyone’s a villain to someone and everyone ain’t for everyone. Hats off to the writers and Kyoani for transporting us to another world for 25 minutes every Sunday these last 3 months.

We can’t talk about a Kyoani anime without mentioning how beautiful it looks. By now we all know the quality Kyoani bring to every anime. The Violet Evergarden movie is widely regarded as one of, if not the most beautiful anime ever made. Hibike season 3 has some scenes that I’d argue surpass even that. This really does just look gorgeous, some of the stills from this season need to go up in the Louvre, and don’t get me started on the expressiveness of characters during emotional moments. Episode 12’s climax scene with Reina and Kumiko genuinely might be the single most beautiful 2 minutes in anime history. The storyboarding and cinematography is just perfection in this and everyone needs to experience something that’s been given this much love and attention before they die.

I found the ending of Hibike season 3 to be very satisfactory and while I’m heartbroken it’s over, the staff gave it the perfect conclusion, bringing this long journey to a beautiful conclusion. There’s so many emotional ups and downs in this season and by the time the credits were rolling in episode 13, I had tears in my eyes. It’s no lie when I say this is one of the greatest anime ever made, certainly the greatest musical anime. Yuribait allegations aside, this was as close to a perfect story as you can get.

Hibike Euphonium season 3 gets a very easy 10 out of 10.

Spectacular is not enough

The work excels in every aspect: story, direction, animation, character design. The most important aspect of Hibike! Euphonium is its subtext. Casual viewers delight in the humor, plot twists, excellent animation, and charismatic characters, while seasoned audiences appreciate a deeper layer of the plot, paying attention to details, getting to know each character individually, noticing changes in shots, color, expressions, and more. These two aspects blend like highs and lows in music, creating a piece worth watching more than once.

Ultimately, what matters most is that it's a labor of love from all the creators involved, which is why I believe anyone who ... watches it is destined to have a great time.

KyoAni's magnum opus. Three seasons, four movies, one spinoff movie, and a few shorts/specials along the way. Now culminating in its grand finale. A wonderful and truly beloved series.

It's a shame that this season, or perhaps the entire series overall, hasn't gained much traction outside of Japan. This season ranked 30th in terms of popularity compared to other seasonal anime that aired at the same time! It's outrageous if you ask me. So many people don't know about this series and I wish that more did.

Production-wise, this is on par with some of KyoAni's better releases such as Violet Evergarden. The animation in this third ... season has definitely outdone the previous two. My only wish was that it lasted longer. I don't know if a 24-episode season would be too long. But it did feel like more could be desired from this 13-episode one.

Even so, this series truly cares about its fans. Knowing when to advance its story and characters but also catering to the loyal fans who've stuck throughout the years. Showing glimpses of the former bandmates and seniors that've graduated. Reminiscing previous seasons through flashbacks at the right moment. You know a character is truly beloved when they reappear even just for a second and the fan base goes wild (at least on Twitter).

The story itself is the culmination after 9 long years of growth of Kumiko and the rest of the cast. A touching coming-of-age story with a great message of passing down tradition and life going on. You won't find many surprising moments in the story, it is a fairly predictable one and I don't mean that as a bad thing. But when you do have a predictable story, I think the best thing a writer could do is create a great buildup to it. KyoAni has delivered upon that. Each amazing moment still captures that skin-tingling emotion that the fans have longed for.

The music and sound design overall has perhaps reached its apex throughout the series. The OST and that final song for the competition really gave me the chills. If you love orchestras/ensembles then you be blasted away. If not, then I think there's a good chance you'll find a new profound appreciation for it.

If you want to watch a 9-year-long series unfold, made by one of the industry's best studios, a studio that has been through great highs and great tragedies, and a studio that truly loves its craft and respects its fans, then please give this series a shot!

[This review assumes you have watched the previous seasons of Hibike! Euphonium]
When consuming anime, there is a rare experience when you feel like there is no screen between you and the characters. You feel like you are watching the events play out right in front of your eyes, between human and human, heart to heart.
Hibike Euphonium!, since its very first season, has taken this as something that sets it apart from all other music anime, and anime in general. In its third season, it shows the challenges of being a leader for the people, while being true to yourself, of being a follower of ... the people, but a rebel to yourself. The characters act incredibly down to earth, not entirely selfish or selfless, not some saint who solves all the problems, or do all the problems have easy solutions. There are grievances we have to live with, but ultimately, being true to your values is worth the agony.

The story takes shape in Kumiko's third year, during which she becomes the leader of the band. While Kumiko had a role in protecting other characters' interests before, being a person who could bring out others' true wants and frustrations, now she received official affirmation of her capabilities in leadership. While other anime seem to skirt around the challenges of being a leader, preferring to show how leaders are able to lead their group towards an end-goal without any opposition or doubt, Kumiko has to face multiple instances of distrust and animosity. As mentioned before, the anime does not attempt to illustrate a perfect solution that Kumiko comes up with, or does the solution work immediately to make everyone happy. Rather, a soft solution that comes in the form of encouragement and determined affirmation that aligns with what Kumiko believes in. As a leader, speaking the voice of the people is as important as voicing your own, especially when everyone could not agree with each other. While this does not directly address the problem, it allows the other characters space to find solutions to their own inner conflicts. After all, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, so it would be more realistic and practical to encourage others to find something for themselves.

Beyond this overarching theme of leadership, Hibike! Euphonium explores the complexity of human relationships. Mayu is a transfer student who plays the Euphonium just like Kumiko. There is growing pressure from herself, as well as the expectations of others to perform better than this gifted transfer student. What makes Mayu interesting is that she is a reflection of who Kumiko was before she met Reina, a person who does not like to be involved, passive and a person of the people. Her passion of music is muted by conflicts in her past, coupled with a fear of being disliked by everyone else. While she wants to step aside for Kumiko to achieve her dreams in music, Kumiko wants to uphold the integrity of the club's ideals and refuses to let go. The duality of Kumiko's want to reach her musical dreams as well as her beliefs as a leader clash, mirroring the clash of ideals between Mayu and Kumiko. While Kumiko initially wanted to avoid attacking the crux of the issue of why Mayu was so reluctant, she eventually decided to meet the issue directly, and acknowledge what Mayu truly wants without projecting her ideals on her.

The series is relatable on many other fronts, but I would also like to briefly touch on how it manages future ambitions. With this being the last year of high school, the clock is ticking for Kumiko to decide on what she wants to do in the future. The answer is not as obvious as it seems, but the anime is able to slowly reveal how her experiences as a leader and as a musician allows her to form her own decision about what she wants. This is a reflection of her development as a character, who would only listen to herself when making the most important choices in her life. Often, we are influenced by those around us who tells us what to do in the future, but Kumiko shows that while we should listen what to what they have to say, only YOU should own this decision in the end. In tandem with this, the end of high school also brings about winds of change that would separate Kumiko from her friends, particularly Reina. Throughout the season, Kumiko is able to build a relationship with Reina that is noticeably stronger than those with other club members, reflecting how Reina is a special person in her heart. Only to Reina would she able to reveal her true inner desires, unfiltered by her ideals of leadership or her need to satisfy everyone, building a bond that could survive change and distance.

Hibike! Euphonium has a large cast of characters and this season reveals some meaningful development and conclusions to some of them. First of all, for long time Hibike! Euphonium fans, you would be glad to hear that older characters who have graduated in previous seasons have made several appearances within the season, with some playing significant roles in allowing Kumiko to discover what she truly believes and wants to do. Second of all, the new members of the club are not used to the competitive and intense nature of band initially, but slowly they are able to discover the joy of competition and music. Admittedly, the rest of the cast truly takes on a supporting role, more so compared to the previous seasons, as this season focuses greatly on Kumiko's development and role as a leader.

Of course, I could not avoid the elephant in the room, the music. As a music anime, Kyoto Animation is obliged to produce orchestral pieces to add to the performances within the anime. Unfortunately, there is not enough full length performances with accompanying music in this season compared to the previous seasons. Personally, I felt that drama is the centerpiece of Hibike! Euphonium's greatness, and that music is only an accompanying perk, but this is still a noticeable flaw.
Secondly, the series focuses greatly on Kumiko's development and relationship with Mayu to a great extent. While this allows the series to portray a realistic conflict of interests that was resolved in a meaningful and heartfelt way, it does come at the cost of rushed development of some of the other side characters. This is unfortunately what is preventing the series from ascending to a masterpiece, but are also minor grievances that are greatly outshone by the strengths of the season.

Overall, the conclusion of Hibike! Euphonium is close to perfect, capping off Kumiko's incredible journey from being a goal-less middle schooler to a strong leader, a genuine friend and an inspirational role model. The direction of the season, while slightly hampered by its pacing, is able to portray the rawness of the relationships and conflicts between human characters, leading to an exhilarating and thematically powerful conclusion. We often look to media as a means to escape from reality, but watching this season of Hibike! Euphonium feels like you are entering reality through media.

Onto the next piece the characters go, but they will never forget how warm it sounds.

And with that, Hibike has (probably) come to an end. It's not easy to meet the expectations for a final season of a series that is so passionately loved by so many. Especially when so much time had passed waiting for this concluding chapter. While I can't speak to the personal expectations of all fans, I for one found this season to be a near perfect conclusion for one of my favorite series and protagonists of all time.

Hibike has been a very special show for me ever since I discovered it. As a former band kid, I can't recall many pieces of media that ... felt so deeply relatable to me. This feeling has possibly never been stronger than it was in season 3. With many of our characters in their final year, and our most important characters in positions of leadership, there is a powerful feeling of anxiety throughout. Anxiety to achieve their goals with their last attempt. Anxiety about the future beyond high school. Anxiety about the future of their relationships with each other and with music. These struggles our character face managed to be so specific that they evoked parallel memories of my own time in band, and had me reminiscing about whether decisions I made back then were correct and if I would have chosen a different path if I could go back now. To have continuously nailed the high school band experience with each season is a testament to the passion of both the original author and the team at Kyoani.

Kumiko really takes center stage in this season, and I found the conclusion of her arc that began all the way back in season 1 to be immensely satisfying. Rarely do you see such realistic, organic growth of a character in anime to the point that they feel like a genuinely real person. Becoming a leader is not an easy task, and for A LOT of people out there, does not come naturally. Seeing this side of the coin was really refreshing, when so often we see examples of natural leaders with less relatable struggles. I think everyone can see some of themselves in Kumiko.

If I had to give one criticism of this season, it would be that the final episode wasn't double length. Maybe we can hope for an OVA at some point, but the finale was a bit rushed for just 1 episode. Luckily this doesn't impact the important arc of the season. Enjoy this final, special season of Hibike! Euphonium!

It's been months, and I’m still not over this anime, the emotional damage is too much 😭😭😭

First thing I loved was being able to experience the perspective of the third years. I always disliked Haruka’s character as I thought she just lacked so much confidence, was always panicking. But seeing what it’s like to be the president from Kumiko’s perspective, it really made me appreciate Haruka’s characters a lot more.

Kumiko takes front and centre as we really get to explore the full depths of her character, from the stress of having to be the president and trying to keep the band together, the stress ... of maintaining her role as a Euphonist, the stress of her personal relationships and of course the battle with herself and her morals. Kumiko is time and time again forced to choose between what others want of her and sticking to her own morals and identity.

But the character that I really appreciated the most was Mayu, she is a difficult character to handle as she directly opposes our MC and thus she is easy to hate on or just be annoying, but they handled her character very well. We are able to see Mayu as an obstacle to Kumiko but not the enemy, which is something that requires very skillful writing which I really appreciated.

All of this is leading up to what is the greatest ep in anime, scratch that the greatest ep in all of media. I have never been in so much emotional ecstasy, I was crying, excited, in shock from what I witnessed. The balls to pull out a move like this left me speechless. And then the moment with Reina and the parallels calling back the moment from season 1 just hit so hard. Then seeing the pain that Kuimko was experiencing really showed the maturity of the show as it gives a sense of realism, that despite Kuimko winning the battle with herself and finally reaching her goal it was not done without sacrifice, she is sad in this moment and at her lowest really hitting us that this journey was not just rainbows & sunshine. The ending was the cherry on top, it just put a huge smile on my face. It was absolute perfection.

I have never been so passionate in a review before, so when I tell you this, I really mean it from the bottom of my heart. YOU WILL NOT REGRET WATCHING HIBIKE EUPHONIUM!

From the first episode all the way up through *Ensemble Contest-hen*, Oumae Kumiko’s journey has been one through reconciling her own feelings and trying to become more self-actualized. It’s been a long road getting from there to here, complete with many frustrations, contradictions, confusions, angsts, and apprehensions both from herself and from others that she is privy to hearing about or experiencing. Back then, she was just a student, mending her old relationship with Kousaka Reina and learning to appreciate just how much her senpai Tanaka Asuka meant to her. Here now, at *Hibike! Euphonium* season three, she fully assumes the role of her predecessors ... as the president of that band, taking on a new level of responsibility to the group to propel them to winning the gold at Nationals, the prize that has consistently eluded them.

With a new year and new leadership however comes new rigor—Reina IS an executive now, after all—and with that also comes new urgencies. It’s not just about winning gold; as Kumiko is so reminded by both her family and her teachers (if not also the occasional conversation with classmates), she’s a senior now, waiting on the doorstep of whatever potential and likely-collegiate future might await her, and needing to decide about such things. But not all decisions need to be made straight away; besides, Reina’s dream of performing with Kumiko at Nationals is only getting closer and closer until, of all things, a euphonium sound coursing through the air catches Kumiko’s ear. It’s only a little later that we learn who made the sound: a new girl transferring to Kitauji High School, sporting a navy-blue uniform and a silver euphonium of her own, Kuroe Mayu. Change isn’t on the horizon – it’s right there, as plain as the reflection on Mayu’s euphonium and Kumiko being taken by the sound that comes from it.

If *Hibike! Euphonium* season three had anything that it could plant during the interim between *Chikai no Finale* and the first episode’s lead-up, it was that you could take certain things more or less as a given that they’d occur. The narrative has always followed Kumiko as the point of orientation (with the notable exception of Yamada Naoko’s masterful *Liz and the Bluebird*), and that much has not changed. But, with her now needing to assume greater responsibilities to the ensemble as a whole, it likewise necessitates a major shift in orienting the view of that ensemble. As a student, Kumiko was a participant in the exercises for marching and listening to Taki’s instructions on how to improve a practice’s performance. But in a position of authority, she must take a more centralized birds-eye view of the ensemble (and we, the audience, likewise follow suit), being the person that others would come to with problems and grievances and be expected to navigate through them.

That shifted perspective regarding the ensemble accompanies a shift in the music’s usage within the season. In-part because of the single cour’s truncation, there are not as many overt “performances” in the course of the thirteen episodes – there are decidedly fewer times that we see the band collectively working together either in practice or in actually performing before the listening audience, and likewise for the viewer. *Hibike! Euphonium* season three however understands that the performances themselves were never the actual attraction for the series. It’s not that they were outright unimportant or anything of the sort, but rather that they were not the point. The melodrama of the season serves as the ensemble’s true performance, allowing both discordant countermelodies and high emotion to come through as complements to the tone rather than the showboating they might have been otherwise. All of this is realized through its masterful visual-acoustic storytelling and episode directing from some of Kyoto Animation’s most important figures like Kitanohara Noriyuki, or newcomer to the directorial side Miyagi Ryou, who began their career on *Hibike! Euphonium* season one and now gets to take a driver’s seat role for its final act.

But Mayu is the final, and arguably most important, ingredient to this general reorientation. Her euphonium playing and coming from a previous school known for its prestigious music program brings its own problems into the fore. Mayu heralds that Kumiko’s place as the “one true eupho” is on far shakier ground than she might have anticipated. It’s not just because she’s good, but rather also due to Mayu’s general demeanor of friendliness and wanting to not rock the boat clashing with the inherent approach that Kumiko has in mind. The prior experiences with the trumpet solo audition from freshman year and Kanade from junior year were signs of needed changes. Those changes manifested in the form of Kumiko and Reina working to make Kitauji’s band a place where, regardless of one’s status as an upperclassman or underclassman, the best performances rein and have the privilege to perform at the competition. It’s a doctrine that reads as the ensemble’s credo, and one that Kumiko especially believes is best for everyone.

Mayu’s behavior thus makes for a rather ironic response to Kumiko’s own perception of Kitauji’s meritocracy. The entire notion of competing in Nationals means, in-part by virtue of how audition processes work and having only a finite number of players allowed, that not everyone can be satisfied or be having fun. Mayu’s reticence to replace anyone expressed early in the season serves as a challenge to that meritocracy ideology, questioning its legitimacy and whether everyone sincerely feels that way, and her continued insistence provides a point of consternation for Kumiko who just can’t realize how to respond to this peculiar obstinacy. It’s not that Mayu doesn’t want to win gold at Nationals, because she does – otherwise, she’d never have voted to do so. Yet, it’s a heightened form of Kumiko’s own desire to not have anyone drop out that she’s essentially confronting, a reflection of the passive version of herself from previous seasons that she thought she had moved beyond, but now has to confront from a new angle. Confronting Mayu’s insecurity means confronting Kumiko’s insecurity, creating one of the major thematic threads for the season.

Mayu and Kumiko’s perspectives are thus each chasing a metaphorical rainbow that run parallel; they may be headed in the same general direction, but they can’t cross. Because of this fundamental inability to see eye-to-eye, they cannot connect as easily. Mayu’s apprehension is just as despairingly resolute as Kumiko’s belief that what she herself believes in is the truth of how she honestly feels. Yet as each episode progresses and we see that perhaps Mayu’s apprehension seems all-the-more to be coming true, it gives dialogue and entire sequences a particular weightiness to each word and interaction. Emotions run higher and tensions run thicker not just because the stakes have increased for the main cast with increased auditions and graduation drawing nearer, but rather because the ensemble collectively is carrying this sort of held breath every time, with confidence wavering in confusion. I mentioned before that the melodrama within the band is the true performance of the season, and it subsequently manifests in inner-band friction both collectively and between individual members that is true *Hibike! Euphonium* spirit.

And that spirit of conflict always has its inverse; that of optimism and understanding. Between Kumiko’s presidency, Mayu’s apprehension, Reina’s perfectionism, the new freshmen, Tsukamoto providing insights of his own, Kanade’s own rounding out of her edges, and everything else, *Hibike! Euphonium* season three is juggling a lot of ideas within its thirteen episodes. It would be easy to assume that it would crumble under the weight of it all, yet like magic, it doesn’t. The endgame for the season is more or less a surefire conclusion, but the route it takes to get there walks the twilight between crushing and soaring. No matter how much it may pull out some brutal pathos punches or moments of sheer deflation, it never tries to leave its characters out in the cold forever; there will always be something to pull them back from the precipice.

That may just be its most optimistic message of all for its audience, and one that the series has been comfortingly saying since the very beginning with that flashback that started it all – there will be hardships and times when you have to come face-to-face with your own disappointment, inability, or uncertainty. Sometimes, it may seem cruelly unfair, or you may feel like you’ve taken two steps back for every one step forward. But underneath it all lies the tenderness of love and friendship, bonds worth holding onto no matter how late they may have been forged. If this is indeed likely to be the final installment of this franchise I imagine Kyoto Animation would want to move on to other properties to develop and see what lay within their imagination), then it could not have chosen a better way to finish. Its characters left Kitauji High School better than when they came in. They bettered themselves not just musically, but personally. That’s the true finale that the series had been building to since the beginning. All the desires to improve, all the tears, all the notes, all the drama, all the smiles, and all the goodbyes – season three is the culmination of everything *Hibike!* in the end.

Let YOUR next piece begin.

I feel obligated to submit a review for this season's finale. This is how I've felt for a long time after seeing Mugen Train.
Perhaps the only anime that puts ensembles into non-musical glasses is Hibike Euphonium.

Thank you KyoAnimation for this wonderful work. They portrayed the interactions between the students as humanly as possible - flaws, inferiority, jealously, cooperation, hardwork, victory.

The way the teenagers interacted with each other facing the inevitable situations in real life is something I sincerely admire; they are incredibly mature. The choice of words they used in the moment of anger is truly praiseworthy.
The musicals are fantastic; they captured the ... idea that every day effort is what ultimately contributed to the short 15-19 minutes extraordinary performance. The power of daily practice.

10/10.
Human connections, shortcomings and inadequacies.
Humanity: demonstrating how distinctively different we may all be from one another yet nevertheless functioning as a single, "perfectly" cohesive unit ensemble here.
Kumiko is a fantastic character.
An extra, Mayu Kuroe is a wonderful and strong character. Just as Kumiko couldn't dislike her, so am I. How Kumiko dealt with her and her disappointments is truly mature and praiseworthy.

As someone new to this franchise I wanted to share my perspective on this season, and on the franchise as a whole, to any readers curious about this series. Having watched everything through to the end of this final season over the past month my conclusion is that this is an all time great series that has some issues that prevent it from being a full on masterpiece. I will go over those issues for this season in particular while also touching on them for the entire series.

Story - 8

A simple coming of age story prefaced around a love for music culminates in the end ... of Kumiko's journey through high school in season 3. While the ending was satisfying, it still felt incomplete. Too many plot points and character stories were left to be summarized by single sentence narration, if they were addressed at all, from our protagonist instead of being shown to us. The cardinal sin of show, not tell had to be broken for the final episode because the story had to rush through to the end in order to fit everything from the source material being adapted. Unlike previous seasons, season 3 didn't show any performance beyond the final one in the last episode. More evidence of inadequate run time allowed to tell the full story. I haven't read the source material, but based on the comments I have read for the anime, it appears that a lot of plot points were shortened/cut or changed. This resulted in some dead end/unanswered questions that left me wondering why they were even introduced in the anime if they weren't going to be given enough time to be properly developed. A rudderless romantic sideplot, infamous yuri bait, and some issues with execution of the drama, are among some of the issues that readers may have with the story. While I thought the much discussed change from the source material for the 2nd-to-last episode was a very good change to the story, a perfect complement to the themes being expressed that added realism to it, other people are sure to disagree. Aside from those issues, I didn't have any other major complaints. There is no deus ex machina, plot armor, or any other negative literary techniques/tropes used that usually detract from the story for me. It's a very good story overall.

Art/Animation - 10

Kyoto Animation isn't so highly regarded for nothing. The art and animation in this season and throughout the entire series is top notch. Better than all but the most hype scenes in any shounen battle series you will find. It maintains that quality throughout the entire run time of the series too. Character designs are simple, realistic, and gorgeous. No moe blobs or unrealistically rendered characters to be found anywhere.

Sound - 9.5

I was very torn between a 9 and 10 for the sound so I am going to split the difference at 9.5. My main issue isn't with the quality of the music, which is superb, but with the lack thereof for this season. Previous seasons that had more music deserve recognition for that compared to this final season. The VAs were also excellent as usual for this season as they were for the entire series. This season also had my favorite OPs and EDs for the series, with a nice callback to the OP for season 1 included in the OP too, hence my indecision between a score of 9 or 10.

Characters - 7.5

This is definitely the weakest part of the series overall for me, including this season. Setting aside the hyperbole of this hypothetical, if the entire town and all of it's characters died in an explosion at the end of the story, the only character whose death I would mourn is the protagonist, Kumiko. Don't get it twisted though, I don't hate the other characters, I wouldn't celebrate their deaths as I would with terribly written characters in other series. They were just too boring or opaquely characterized for me to care all that much about them. That's a pretty major issue for a musically based character drama. Fortunately, the focus is mostly from the POV of Kumiko, whose journey over the course of the story is a joy to follow from beginning to end. For this season in particular, the new character, Mayu, stands out as one with insufficient characterization for me. I could tell she was supposed to be a foil for Kumiko, given how her past issues mirror those Kumiko had earlier in her life, but not enough time was given to fully explore her background to explain her character.

The most difficult thing to balance in a normal school setting such as this is creating characters that are both interesting and realistic. Too boring, and you get characters that the audience doesn't care about. Too quirky, and they feel unrealistic/stupid, ruining the immersion in the story. It's a hard balance to maintain, and at least for me, I felt only Kumiko's character had been executed well in the story. A 10 for Kumiko and a 5 for the others characters average out to 7.5 overall.

Enjoyment - 8.5

This was my favorite entry in the series. After so much time spent with Kumiko watching her grow up before our eyes we get a well-deserved finale that ends her story in a satisfying manner. It's the type of story I believe even non-anime fans would enjoy since it is very relatable and realistically executed. If you enjoy coming-of-age school dramas with a realistic story and characters, you will almost certainly enjoy this series as I have.

Thank you for reading.

I love Sound! Euphonium and I'm not ready for it to be over. The incredible journey from start to finish has been an unforgetable one, topped by season 3. The OVA that occurs between the third movie and this new season, Sound! Euphonium: Ensemble Contest Arc, is not a required watch, but I still recommend watching it before this, if you can.

Story: Sound! Euphonium 3 takes place at the start of our main gang's final year of high school. With Kumiko now president, and Reina and Shuuichi now co-vice presidents, they encourage their new group to try their hardest and make the ... goal the same as it has been in years past - get Gold at Nationals. While that serves as the main storyline, there are many incredible short arcs in between, and they really add to the layers upon layers that exist in this final season of Sound! Euphonium.

The base storyline is basically the same, but they look to expand and add more plot points to make the third time through feel more fresh to the target audience. With this you'd think the third run through would get old, but it holds up very well. While the main competitions are certainly present, the locations themselves are not the main focus. They serve as a place to develop our new storylines and character interactions. While we don’t get to see as many as some audience members wanted, they probably aren’t necessary.

One of the changes that occurs during the course of the season is that they change up how auditions are done and I loved how they executed on the drama around them. This creates so many more tense moments for our characters and creates new issues that our band needs to work through. You’re stacking up on an existing idea and the drama it creates are second to none – some of which was changed from the source material. This isn't really a spoiler, but there are more to the auditions than who makes it through. I loved everything about it.

Much of the story is character driven, and I'm very impressed that they managed to create new story lines for the existing cast, when we think we know who they are. Yes, I'm talking about Kumiko mainly, but Reina gets meaningful time too. There are a few first year students that get some attention though, with Suzume being my favourite of the bunch. Disappointingly, Shuuichi, who had some nicer story moments in the past, didn't add much to the season, despite being the vice-president. I wasn't expecting much, but even his moments where he acted like a mentor to some younger Trombone players were absent.

As you get closer and closer to the end, you do get a sense of where the story ends. And that's perfectly okay. Being somewhat predictable isn't always a bad thing - it's how you execute on them is what matters. And man, did they execute. All the storylines were finished nicely and after the final moments of Sound! Euphonium 3 end, we get full closure on basically everything. There are a few odd details that I feel like I would have liked to see, specifically with Reina, but I wasn't going to gripe about it. (9/10)

Characters: Kumiko is the complete focus on this final season and she is where the juicy bits start and end. Many times in both seasons 1 and 2, she would often be the person, being there to fix things when everything didn't go right. She would be there to stand by her friends when they needed support. Now? Being tasked with a heavy burden is very clearly not something she is used to. Watching her try and deal with everything, while also trying to be fair to everyone is incredibly hard on her. She also has her personal values, and you can tell those were being tested at all times too. This final season makes that final.

Reina likely got the second most screen time and for good reason. While she didn't star as much in season 2, she was very clearly in the focus for this season once again. She is the source of much of the drama that exists, and not even in a bad way. She also has her amazing moments and, obviously her interactions with Kumiko are where the highlights exist. Also included in our colourful cast? New transfer student Mayu Kuroe. Mayu comes in as a third year student and enters the band, seemingly with a free pass. The reason for this? She’s exceptional at playing the euphonium. She has her own personal values and you can really tell she wanted to uphold them too. That being said, I always felt like I never knew whether she was being true to herself, or fake. It’s a hard thing to focus on and while it did create some interesting moments, I didn’t love every scene she was included in. She is one of the reasons the story was so fresh though, which is obviously a good thing.

Sapphire and Hazuki still hang out with Kumiko and Reina, but like with season 2, take kind of a backseat, once again. As I somewhat eluded to before, a lot of the character interactions are a mix between the three aforementioned characters, and returning band geek, Kanade. Kanade is a character that was really focused on for the third movie, and at this point, we kind of know who she is. She has, however, matured quite a bit. She doesn’t start drama as much anymore, but she still feels like the same Kanade that we know because she lets her opinion be known. And she makes some very good points throughout the series. She is basically Kumiko’s understudy. Near the back half of the series a bunch of familiar faces return as well. I won’t spoil who, but it was nice to see some familiar faces. (10/10)

Art: As per usual, Kyoto Animation does A+ work with Sound! Euphonium. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The detail and polish of the instruments, the consistent animation and character models, the glistening background – they spared no expense. It all looks fantastic. Not only that but as an added tribute to the victims of the Kyoto Animation arson, those people were drawn into the audience at one of the Kitauji’s band performance. Bravo. (10/10)

Sound: Oh, and the sound? Yes, also top notch. I’m still not entirely sure if they literally hire a band to create all the instrumental sounds, but this couldn’t have been easy to put together. It amazed me from day 1, and I’m still amazing. I wasn’t as high on the OP and ED as I was in previous seasons, but they still matched well. VA work was similarly strong with Tomoyo Kurosawa (Kumiko) and Chika Anzai (Reina) being the best here. I really wish I could talk about the final audition scene, but there were so many aspects – for story, character and sound – that made me completely flip out at this scene, in a good way. (10/10)

Overall: Sound! Euphonium 3 somehow managed to top season 2 with great new moments in a familiar setting, further character development with characters we know and love already, with top notch production values. I can barely find faults in this series, one that I can’t help but obsess about – especially as a former bank geek myself. This would really suit most any audience, but I feel like anyone who took music through a large portion of their high school life would connect the most here, once again. I’ll say it again – I’m not ready to say goodbye to this series. It was “that” good. (10/10)

Room 3-3 - the classroom Kumiko Oumae, Reina Kousaka, Sapphire Kawashima and Hazuki Katou are take part in. As seniors in Kitauji High, they hold a big responsability in the current year. It's their last year in school, and also their final opportunity in reaching the Nationals. A goal that was postponed for two years, but always improving in every way each year and after every try.

Kumiko, the club president, holds the trust of not only her classmates but also her seniors who already took their separate ways. Not only trust, but the responsability towards the club's stability due to the seriousness adopted by ... Reina, creating some conflict with the first years. There, the need to conciliate perfection with friendship and union rises. With it, the biggest and most important task, that should not be ignored in the process: keeping the quality and managing the class so that it won't fall apart in the process.

Along with all the turmoil and anxiety, comes the internal struggle. The clash between personal wish and objetive duty. The arrival of Kuroe Mayu, and the consequences of this event to Kumiko. The indecision towards the self and the capacity. Everything developed at a moderate pacing, with a plot that grew little by little, with more focus on the characters and their relationships - the bonds and feelings that come along with it. It's really clear that the direction chosen by Tatsuya Ishihara and the main staff leaned more towards the cast as people, and also in their growth along the path they chose. Even though I still don't agree with some changes in the storyline, I acknowledge the courage it takes to surprise the readers of the original material like it was done. As a consequence that came along, most performances were skipped, a decision that made me confused initially due to how the previous two seasons were plotwise.

Kyoto Animation didn't disappoint with their level of quality. Everything is classy and beautiful as always; the voice acting is at its best. Chika Anzai, Tomoyo Kurosawa and the whole cast surprised me in several moments throughout this season. Musically speaking, ReCoda and Neiro no Kanata (opening and ending respectively) are two great themes; even though the previous season themes were slightly more catchy to me, these both songs grew on me emotionally every week. And in the end, all the hardwork from Kitauji culminates in a conclusion that reminds us of every moment since episode one. The feelings of not only the current students, but the seniors who already left school and their teachers - strongly united to give the best performance possible.

All in all, Hibike! Euphonium 3 is a more than welcome and awaited conclusion to one of KyoAni's most memorable works. Honestly and sincerely, even with the change of directions taken later, I am truly glad.

Thank you for reading.

Hibike! Euphonium 3 is the final season of the series, wrapping everything up. More than anything, this review is kind of my way to 'vent' that I finished the show and there is nothing more after this. I'll start this review with how I felt about season 3 individually and I'll end it with my personal letter on how I feel about the series as a whole. This review is spoiler-free (assuming you have watched all previous instalments) so do not worry if you have not watched this season yet.

Story:
Season 3 in my opinion had a rough start. Knowing that my favorite characters from previous ... seasons and movies will no longer be shown and that I had to get used to having new band members sucked. Characters that I thought I wouldn't care for kept being introduced and focused on, and I was not attached to a single one. However, as more episodes pass and we learn more about these new/existing characters alongside their backstories, I was no longer complaining and I was even more intrigued to find out more about them. This season is 100% without a doubt the most drama-filled season and it is not even close. There are so many tense moments between characters and there are also so many developments that I did not expect to happen. The second half of the season is where my feelings changed and clicked for me, where I understood the importance of these new dynamics and how they shaped Kumiko's journey. The conflicts felt real, the emotional highs and lows hit harder than ever, and by the end, I was fully invested in the story’s direction. This season not only tested the band's ability to work together but also Kumiko's growth as a leader, making for a super engaging narrative. 9/10

Characters:
This section has always personally been my favorite part of the series. In season 3, Kumiko is obviously still the main focus of development. I was naive to think that there was no more development required for Kumiko and this season proved me wrong wonderfully. The growth she goes through this season is just as good as the previous instalments. Aside from Kumiko, new characters also have their chance to shine. Specifically Mayu Kuroe, who I have seen many people dislike. (me included but my feelings changed near the end) Without giving away too much, she is one of the main reasons for Kumiko's growth and she herself is written extremely well. Other characters who had their backstories and growth also felt just as compelling. Reina also had her presence in this season. Her dynamic with Kumiko remains as strong as ever and her inclusion in the drama this season made for many emotional moments. Even when she's not in the spotlight, her influence on Kumiko is very apparent, proving why she's one of the most captivating characters in the series. 10/10

Art/Animation:
This section will never change. Hibike Euphonum continues to be such a beautiful show and the quality never takes a drop. Animation is so fluid, and the art stays as consistent as before. One of the best things I appreciate in its art is the lighting. KyoAni does such a great job with the lighting and it just makes every scene so much more lively. I cannot find anything to nitpick here as always. 10/10

Music/Sound Design:
While I was mildly disappointed with the previous movie (Ensemble Contest-hen) for not showing the full performance even at the end, this season does a good job with the performances that matter! While there are still moments that lack a full soundtrack, I cannot complain at all since the ones that do have a full soundtrack make up for it beautifully. The sound design continues to be one of the strongest aspects of the show, with every note played feeling rich and passionate. Whether its a grand ensemble piece or a simple solo, every moment is immersive. Voice acting is just phenomenal this season. Especially Kumiko, her unique voice always captivates me and in this season her voice gets to shine very often and when it does, wow is it amazing. It adds so much depth to her already amazing character. The rest of the cast also delivers outstanding performance, making every dramatic moment hit harder. 9.5/10


Overall, Hibike! Euphonium Season 3 did NOT fall off at all. The quality delivers as per usual, maintaining the series' great storytelling, emotional impact, compelling character development, and stunning music. While the transition to new characters was initially rough, the season proves its worth by the end, making me care about the new additions as much as the old ones. This season wrapped up the series delightfully and Kumiko's journey is one of the best character developments I have seen in any anime. Please watch the show.

Now, with that being said, this is my personal letter:
I LOVE THIS SHOW SO GOD DAMN MUCH ITS INSANE. What I initially thought would be a cute show with nice music and nothing special turned out to be one of the best pieces of media I have ever seen. This show literally changed me and got me crying so many times. Kumiko is one of the best written characters I have ever seen. Comparing her in the latest season to the first season has such a drastic difference. Reina is also such a good character oh my god they are so cute together. Overall, season 2 is still my favorite season out of all of them. (i havent wrote a review on it but i will when i inevitably rewatch this show) PUT SOME RESPECT ON KANADE AND MAMIKO THEY ARE SUCH UNDERRATED CHARACTERS I DONT SEE ENOUGH PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THEM. ASUKA DOESNT EVEN NEED TO BE PRESENT TO HAVE INFLUENCE ON THIS SERIES GOD I LOVE HER SO MUCH. KUMIKO IS THE GOAT. THE BEST CHARACTER IN THE SERIES. I FELT LIKE I WAS LITERALLY GROWING UP WITH HER. There's so much I can say about this series but to keep it short, this series is absolutely amazing and it will forever be one of my favorite anime of all time. It is an experience like no other and if you still haven't picked up this show yet, please do. You will not regret it. Thank you Ayano Takeda for this masterpiece and thank you KyoAni for doing such a phenomenal job adapting it.

For the last time, KITAUJIFIGHTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Kumiko is best girl.

I couldn't imagine when I added Hibike! Euphonium in my top ten 10 years ago, that it would hold up so well and keep getting better with each and every season after. Kyoto Animation did such a great job with this anime and I'm forever grateful for it.

So our journey with Kumiko and Reina finally have come to an end, in this season, they're third years highschool students now and the burden of leading the Kitauji band to earn gold at the National is heavily put on their shoulders. Could they finally achieve theirs and their senpai's dreams after so many tears and hard ... works? And what await them in the future? It will all be answered in this wonderful third season.

The aspects I love the most in Hibike! Euphonium would always be the characters. Kumiko and Reina both seem to mature quite nicely and yet, at the same time, they seem to not change at all. It brings me joy to witness their friendship from day one and how they both push each other to be better. I especially like how uncertain Kumiko is about the future and Reina is about the friendship. It's really relatable and flesh the characters out. At the end, they're 2 of the most grounded characters I've ever watch in anime.

The supporting cast is also colorful and realistic, they blend in really well with the main cast and make this season more memorable. The animation, needless to say, is top-notch. Some of the most beautful and mesmerizing anime out there, there's a lot of scenes I could cut out and show a newcomer just how great a slice of life could be. The ED is catchy, some of the OSTs are emotional and heart-wrenching.

Overall, I'm happy that Hibike! Euphonium got the ending it deserves. It solidifies the anime of one of the absolute best coming-of-age slice of life of all time. I'm sad that I couldn't get more Kumiko in my life though, I wouldn't mind a movie that peeks into their adult life, come on, KyoAni, we deserve one.

I'm a 34-year-old teacher, writer, and filmmaker... and I hope good at either of those because I think I'm very passionate.
I first watched Sound! Euphonium years ago, and almost instantly fell in love with its characters, their goals, struggles, and most of all: their learning and constant aim for the better. And there's also the hypnotizing visuals, voices, music, sounds, and uncanny little details that -music connoisseur or not- make you believe this all is actually happening right in front of you.
Eupho's Season 1 and 2 were, for me: practically flawless; and even though I have mixed feelings about the movie and OVA that come ... before this 3rd and final season, I want to express: as of 2024, SOUND! EUPHONIUM is my favorite serialized audiovisual production of all time. And I put it like that because it now tops my former favorites: Twin Peaks, True Detective... and other live action, animated, and anime classics.
Sound! Euphonium - Season 3 tells about the last school year of our beloved president Kumiko Oumae, who now plays the euphonium like no other... until someone new comes to "threaten" her place in the ensemble. And with that little premise, once again: a universe of memorable moments unleash. Slices of beautiful friendship, uncertainty of the future, battles of wills and convictions, personal realization, reencounters, and much more.
13 episodes of around 24 minutes build up to some of the most amazing, gorgeous, intense, and INSPIRING scenes I've experienced in arts and entertainment. And the delivery of the aforementioned, through a big cast of wonderful characters, voiced by a hell of a perfect cast (special mention to Kumiko's Japanese voice actress) makes this season a must know, watch, finish, share, and repeat.
Artistically and technically, like its music: EXQUISITE; fresh, youthful, feminine, fun, a little sexy, moving, thought-provoking, and again: INSPIRING, Sound! Euphonium and its final season are an invaluable document of adolescence and humanity and is here to stay in the hearts of its audience forever. A treasure.
I'm a 34-year-old teacher, writer, and filmmaker... and my world has been rocked by an anime show about schoolgirls, their circumstances, and music. You can't imagine how much I can relate to them and how much of a Kumiko I found out I was and I still am.
Eupho is that thing I wanna reach out and "achieve" and I'm sure gonna use it whenever my own inspiration falters. From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU, KyoAni and everyone involved in this marvelous masterpiece.
Here's my personal GOLD for this one. I'm gonna miss these a lot.

P.S. I chose #2.

Bittersweet conclusion to a classic coming of age story trough a female lens. Rock solid characters create palpable tensions over rivalry, separation and hints of yuri. Creates K-On grade emotions, gorgeous 2024 KyoAni animation, direction, and music.

This show blends the character development of K-on, the subtle yuri romance of Maria-sama, the ganbatte spirit of Chihayafuru and the character drama tension of Fruits Basket. It achieves this on a rather trivial subject matter, the trials and tribulations of a high school brass orchestra and select individual members. It managed to get me emotionally hooked to both, and it is written well enough that you never ... know what will happen. Some plans work, some don't, some tough call decisions have to be made, and group dynamics sometimes spread change like wildfire in short time.

The focal point is Kumiko and her growth from a gifted but not genius musician into what could be described as the boss everybody would love to have. Her yuri baiting de-facto romance with rich and highly musically gifted Reina intensifies again. It never crosses the line, but Yamada-sensei's invisible hand is always there. Half a dozen side characters are developed and have their own arcs, which makes the show so much richer without losing itself into the side-stories. All development is always held tightly together by the overall band development and their way trough contests. Pacing is steady and just the right tempo. And it's eventually Kumiko who holds the band together, even if that means personal sacrifices.

This show is probably not for everybody. There is no action, there is no over the top drama, it's shoujo-esque CGDCT in the end. Also prominently missing are male gaze shots and high-school comedy. Good riddance. Like many shoujo shows, they spent the extra budget to create changing outfits for all characters, not only the ever same school uniforms. Reina comes closest to fan-service girl, especially her zettai ryouiki outfits. But this is handled with the same grace as Mio from K-On, a doujin favorite and all-time fan favorite waifu.

Season 3 sticks the franchise landing without any sweat, and satisfyingly concludes all arcs and characters. KyoAni production values after almost a decade of hiatus to season 2 hit like a hammer, quality in every detail. This season is the highest rated show of 2024 on anidb, and as Frieren technically is a 2023 show, i can second this. Hibike Euphonium is an instant classic and the best show of 2024. Not bad for just a CGDCT story.

I don't know if this is the end of the story or if there will be a sequel.

But I'm quite happy with Kumiko and her friends' journey until season 3. Considering how they joined this orchestra, to the point where they almost got everything with the various problems that exist. a long journey with reasonable conflicts (I've been involved in a similar music organization, and most of the conflicts presented in this anime are ones I've faced), and this is one of the reasons I really enjoy this anime.

But unfortunately, the orchestra performance presented I think is still more climactic in season 2, I ... understand on the other hand the journey of class 3 needs to be completed in 1 season 13 episodes, but they have to face a lot of competition. So I don't get the performance from the results of the training they have undergone, it seems rushed. But I still enjoy and reminisce with Kumiko and friends

This was magical. I will always love Hibike. Every single character, every note, every song... god.. I will cherish this anime with my life.
The art style was on point. You can see the little details that changed throughout the years and they were wonderful.
I actually felt the same way as Kumiko a few years ago, and the way it felt so relatable made me fall in love with this season a lot more.
The way every title gave you some idea of what the ep was about, was also something nice!
Things were just condensed and developed in an interesting, kind and lovely way.

My final review, replacing a preliminary review: This is a solid, very good anime, but I was spoiled by season 2, and it doesn't quite measure up to what came before. I think I would think this anime were absolutely amazing if I didn't have Season 2 to hold it up against.

So let's get the technical stuff out of the way first: This is an anime that lives up to KyoAni's high standards. The music, art, animation, story... all good. Lately I have been watching a few rather disappointing anime that I ended up bored with after two episodes, ... and this anime was not like that. I will be watching it through, and I will have enjoyed it. There were a few moments were I was actually genuinely impressed, KyoAni's attention to detail is legendary and they didn't disappoint.

The story is also as good as what you would expect, except that it's something of a rehash of Chikai no Finale. Perhaps it says something about Japanese culture that most of the drama centers, again, around the fact that Kitauji suisougakubu is a meritocracy instead of the third years getting priority. In fact, that has been the one consistent theme through all seasons and movies - who gets to play, the people who've put in the time, or the people with the skill to bring results? The answer to that question is no surprise given seasons 1, 2, and Chikai no Finale, but they've managed to get even more mileage out of that premise, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't getting just a tiny bit old and predictable. In fact, one of the major plot points (of which I will not say) turns that up to eleven because it makes the difference even that more stark and drama-inducing.

All that said, though, the realism of the interpersonal relationships and drama are still top notch. Reina and Kumiko's friendship/relationship still gets quite a bit of screen time, and if you were upset about yuri-baiting before, you'll probably not be much happier now. There's no yuri. That's no spoiler, I don't think anyone was seriously expecting it, but Reina and Kumiko do not and never have had that kind of relationship. But that's not to say there aren't some deep, profound, and amazingly emotional moments between these characters, so I think they played it exactly right.

The emotional moments are more subdued in general, but that's not to say there sometimes aren't the kind of dramatic and tearjerking moments that you've come to expect from this anime. There are. And I'm not sure how anyone could escape those with a dry eye. I sure didn't.

There are also lots of subtle and not so subtle callbacks to earlier events, and some of them are pretty interesting. I can't tell you what they are because spoilers, but they serve to show how much the characters have grown up in the past three (in-story) years. We also get cameos from some popular characters of the past. I wasn't really impressed, tbh. Your mileage may vary.

I think one of my biggest critiques - and I really hate to say this - is that the pacing is still too fast. Seasons 1 and 2 were paced pretty well, and had time to include all of the little human moments that turned this from being a great anime into a phenomenal anime. This season shoved an entire school year into one series, and that just leads to it feeling a bit rushed. It's far, far better than the speed run that was Chikai no Finale, but it's still rushed. I like not having to wait for a season four, but a 22 episode season 3 would have been just about perfect. I hate saying that but it's true. It's still too rushed.

One of the consequences of this rushing - and it's a very, VERY disappointing consequence - is we rarely get to see the band play. We do see them play, but most of the time the performances are skipped. They just didn't have time to show the performances. This really takes away from the charm of the anime, of which a major element has always been watching the band perform.

Another critique is that, in some places, they really forced the plot to go in dramatic directions that it really didn't naturally want to go. How those directions *turned out* was great and made sense, but how they got there was particularly forced. This may tie back into the fact that they just didn't have enough time to do a slow burn and had to just kind of yank the plot around until it got where they needed. It all made sense in the end, but it was particularly blatant, and took away from the story in my opinion. It led to some of the best moments in the entire series (all seasons) so don't take this criticism too harshly, but it's definitely something I noticed.

Also, the OP and ED were bangers in seasons 1 and 2, and I still even now really enjoy them. The OP and ED for season 3 are very much forgettable. Maybe they'll grow on me. They haven't yet.

At the end of the day, it was an excellent story, it ticked all the boxes for how you'd want the third season of Sound! Euphonium to go, and while the ending wasn't perfect, I did not leave feeling cheated or unsatisfied.

So do I recommend this anime? Yes. Do I regret watching this anime? Not at all. Does it hold its own in the storyline? Yes. Is it as good or better than the previous seasons (not including the movie)? Sadly... no. I can't honestly say it is. So don't be surprised if you leave just a little disappointed. Maybe instead just enjoy it on its own terms, and consider it as a standalone work of art, and you'll probably enjoy it that much more. I'm rating this a 10 on its own terms, but I seriously debated an 8 or 9, because I rated season 2 a 10, and this is no season 2.