skreyola wrote:@MangaRocks: I hope I haven't offended you with anything I've said.
Oh gosh, no, you haven't offended me at all!! (If anything, it should be me saying that to you, LOL!
) I just didn't reply until now because I usually only post on here once a week.
skreyola wrote:I wish more of this show was about the music. Maybe it was partly an expectations thing for me, but I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it were like Shirobako, Nozaki-kun, and Glass Mask... I'm not at all feeling like I'm getting immersed in the world of concert band. And I think I ought to be, given how much of the OP is them playing their instruments, how much visual emphasis they put on the instruments, the eyecatches in the middle of each episode highlighting an individual instrument or section, etc. This show promises a peek into the inner workings of music, and instead, it delivers teenage angst and drama that doesn't feel like it has anything to do with concert band. This could just as easily be a soccer team or a colorguard corps, for all the time the show spends on music technique.
Ahhh, I see now. That makes sense. For my part, I went into the series expecting a (music-focused)
drama, which is of course exactly what I got, and which is also why I actually ended up being so impressed with the accuracy of the musical elements that the series does have. I can totally see why different expectations might have led to different enjoyment levels in that respect.
skreyola wrote:Maybe people who were in a band are getting something out of the realism of this kind of conflict, but I'm just not feeling it.
I think this observation is probably spot on
-- one thing I've noticed about the people on the 'net who have been raving with praise for this show (including myself, of course, LOL!
) is that almost all of them (/us
) are musicians, and in addition, almost all of the said musicians have had some sort of band/orchestra/etc. experience them(/our)selves.
skreyola wrote:I think this show would be a lot better if they'd focus on the music, on the difficulties people are having with their parts of the music, and not on the petty sniping at each other that arises out of not wanting to put forth the effort to hold the places they want. My problem isn't that I don't think this kind of conflict happens but an that it's not fun for me to watch that kind of drama. I avoid people who do that kind of thing.
Well, I can certainly see how that might be a little *too* realistic for comfort, LOL.
That said, the conflict there was merely one mini-arc of a larger story, and it's not going to come up again.
As for the focus of the show, it is indeed more about the struggles, thoughts, feelings, and the whole experience in general of the musicians than about the music itself (although it is surprisingly accurate on that latter count); but I think that's why I and many others love this show so much-- because so many of those struggles, thoughts, feelings, and experiences are so relatable and so
real. It's what we struggled through, thought, felt, and experienced (and indeed still do). (...Which, come to think of it, probably explains why I've ended up writing massive essays on this series, LOL...
)
skreyola wrote:And am I supposed to like any of these characters?
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Oh, it isn't fair that you're talented and put in enough practice time to not only be good but to be polished and powerful. You should throw the competition so my friend can be in the competition. It's not like she'll ever get any auditions once she graduates unless she's in the competition, never mind what that will do to the school's chances of winning; what's important is that she plays the solo."
Well, in this case, actually no-- I very much doubt that the viewers were meant to like the majority of the band (particularly that one little brat).
However, I'm pretty sure that the viewers *are* meant to like all the MC's + bass section ( + Taki-sensei, too, although that is of course just my own opinion
). Whether or not one actually does so, of course, is a personal thing.
skreyola wrote:The only one half-way likeable is the MC, and she never does anything proactive. She's just an observer. She didn't even tell bunny-bow girl that Reina's been a top trumpet player for a while. I don't feel like her character is getting any development.
As for telling the little brat about Reina... uh, I'm pretty sure she already knew, LOL.
(And anyway, that wasn't the point, and wouldn't have dissuaded her regardless. *shrug*
) As for Kumiko doing things proactively, well, I think this week's episode should handle any objections with that, LOL.
That said, though, she has definitely changed and gotten development-- it was just shown in a more subtle and gradual way than anime often does. She went from being apathetic/I'll-just-go-with-wherever-the-flow-takes-me in the beginning of the series to now discovering her love for her own instrument, truly wanting to do better and better, and, in fact, be special, just like Reina-- so much so that not only were her feelings intense (instead of detached, as they were in the beginning), but she even (unintentionally) pushed her body too far in trying so hard. That's quite a big difference indeed, if you contrast the beginning and ending points of her character arc (Hazuki even comments on that right in this week's episode); it was just so gradual while it was occurring that it might not have been as noticeable unless you compared both ends.
skreyola wrote:Everyone's just floating along, doing nothing likeable, hoping the teacher will bail them out. I don't care if this band wins or loses at the competition, because I have no reason to care about their hopes and dreams. The show wants to tug at my heart strings, but it hasn't given me anything but "These characters feel strongly about their wants." Nobody wants their wants for anything important, they just want them with fervor.
Ah, but that's the thing-- they *aren't* floating along anymore, and Taki isn't bailing them out. He's pushing them-- *hard* (so hard, in fact, that he's apparently been getting chewed out by his superiors for it, although IMHO his level of 'push' is just right)-- and they've actually gotten inspired to want to do as well as they possibly can. That's quite a shift from their attitudes in the beginning (and even somewhat recently). The point is that they *didn't* want this in the beginning-- they didn't have any hopes or dreams when it came to their band (generally speaking)-- but now they do, and are pushing for them nearly as hard as Taki is now. That's quite an improvement. (Also, the 'wants'/hopes/dreams of 'getting better'/'being special'/'going to the Nationals'/etc. are perfectly valid goals in and of themselves, you know...
)
skreyola wrote:I haven't seen anyone mention where they hope to go with their playing after graduation ...
Indeed, most of them will not continue after high school. It takes quite a commitment to do so no matter what country you live in, but I'm guessing it's especially so in Japan. Basically, unless they're intending to (try to) pursue music as a career (which, of course, only a small percentage will attempt-- like Reina, for instance-- and which means specifically going to a music school, not general college), even if they like it, it simply won't be as important to them as other things (as was also pointed out several times in this week's ep.), so they won't continue (and that even goes for Kaori, most likely, despite how good she is-- hence all the previous fuss about that being her last chance and such
).
skreyola wrote:... and there's no indication that any of this really matters in the long run for any of these characters ...
As for the question of why any of that would then matter for their future, despite the fact that most of them won't continue... oh dear, please do not get me started on the many benefits of the training they are receiving, LOL.
Just a *few* of the things I could mention about all of this impacting their lives for the better (whether they continue or not) are: Improving their minds (playing an instrument is good for the brain!); improving their characters (i.e., personal growth); learning discipline; and possibly even igniting a true love for their instrument/music in general that they never had before. And that's all quite significant indeed.
...And now I'd better get on to my usual episode comments before I take up the whole page with the size of this post, ROTFL!
Sound! Euphonium episode 12:
I already mentioned some of my comments on this episode above
, so here I'll just note a few more specific things: Again, the emotions and experiences here were just perfectly done. Kumiko knowing in her mind what she wants that new section to sound like, and what she has to physically do to make those sounds, but it not working like she wants it to, and thus her getting really frustrated... the looks of intense concentration on everyones' faces when practicing... and all of the emotions in the entire end section, from Kumiko
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (apparently) getting cut from the part despite her efforts (including the "I want to improve!"/"I want to improve more!" 'argument,' which while hilariously awesome also went a lot deeper than comic relief) to that soaring feeling at the end when
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Taki kindly reminded her that she said she'd be good enough by the performance, and he still trusted her to do so <3, and everything in between. This show is brilliant. <3
And
Blood Blockade Battlefront, a.k.a.
Kekkai Sensen, episode 11:
Wow.
This episode was amazing. (I mean, the whole series has been awesome, of course, but this episode, just...
)
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: That flashback section... oh man. I laughed, I teared up (twice)... it was adorable and beautiful and heartbreaking. And then holy crap, when it went back to the present... that was more intense than I was expecting. And then to find out that the siblings' lives are (or, at the very least, White's life is) connected to the barrier... I'm just going to leave this link here because it's a brilliant review/analysis and says everything I want to say and just... wow.