When I first heard of this anime, I did not have high expectations, with the reason being that it could turn into the biggest stereotypical moeblob extremely easily. After all, the premise is set so perfectly for this to happen: High-school, club activities, slice of life style etc. It is almost screaming the cliches I already had in mind at my face. What I got instead was a pleasant surprise, a production that not only succeeded in technicalities but also engaged my emotions very well.
Sound! Euphonium does not beat around the bush. It throws the viewer right into the fray, right into the high school band left in quite a dissociated state with a change of advisor and a mediocre performance in the past. The plot is narrated from, for the majority, the point of view of Oumae Kumiko, who I would say has nothing extraordinary to start with. Under the influence of the enthusiasm of the newcomers, especially Reina Kousaka, the club's desire to get into the national competition is rekindled. The development of Kumiko as a character parallels the club's growing spirit to endure through hardships and challenges to realize the collective dream.
As I mentioned above, the best thing about this show is how it succeeds in avoiding cliches. Reina could have easily been the twin sister of Rei Ayanami, or the epitome of tsundere; Taki could have been devil's spawn and strict in every way; Instead, all these characters were given depth and an alternate side to their personality, making them resemble real people. This is probably the reason why the plot, despite not involving matter of life and death, being simply the experience of a typical high school club, managed to grip me tightly throughout its runtime.
In this show, I see the concepts of realism and idealism being challenged. The angst of motivating a group of people to pursue a dream that has never been achieved before, of struggling to achieve more than any other can do. To others (and perhaps to me), music is but a vessel of emotions or ideas. To this band, we see music being the goal, the hallmark of hard work and improvement and realization of their dreams. As the band members improve over time, what was once mere talk transforms to reality. This transformation, too, is presented very well throughout the series.
It might be quite strange for me to talk about this feeling of actualization, since if I were one of the characters in the show, I would be Saitou Aoi, a rather insufficient player who cannot take the constant pressure to play difficult parts because of an innate lack of skills. Eventually, she chose to focus on academics and left the band, just as I did five years ago. Indeed, I was filled with cynicism and disdain to those who were more skilled in the trade. They probably put more effort into practicing, and had a greater skillset. I was overwhelmed with something probably akin to jealousy, and, under the pressure of constantly having to skip lessons, I quit without looking back.
I would not say that I was totally blinded by this cynicism towards teamwork and idealism though, as I still hold to some of these views, yet after viewing this show I reconsidered whether the decision to leave the orchestra for me was wise. It was quite clear that I did not have the dexterity and hand-eye coordination, as I still struggle with some basic techniques (I picked up erhu when I was 9 or so, so it's been like 10 years now). Of course this is mostly due to a severe lack of practice and motivation. What this show made me do, perhaps, was to reconsider whether it would have been worth it to push further with this art, to practice until my fingers hurt, to not be daunted with natural disabilities. Even if eventually I were not good enough, as in Katou Hazuki's case, I would have stuck to the orchestra, and witnessed their achievements as the sidekick. Perhaps some of the excitement of actualization and achievement would have spilled over to me as I pretend to have been a part of their efforts, and I would not have been such a cynic.
In any case, I will let the past be what it is: The past, the unchangeable and clearly written history. Again, for a show probably not intended to be densely packed with feels, it does an excellent (rather creepily excellent in fact) job of inciting so many thoughts in my mind. My only criticism would be it short length impairing the development of some key plot elements. Otherwise, this show easily beats most I have seen and deserves the highest praise.
I admit I am a fanatic of OPs and EDs. Also sorry for 1999.
