Hibike! Euphonium – Episode 10 – Audition Dissatisfaction

With the audition results in, it seems that someone feels particularly salty and that would be Yuko.

From the looks of it, Yuko is not satisfied at all with Reina getting the solo instead of Kaori considering that it’s her last year to compete in competitions. Instead of accepting the results like it is and move on, which Kaori wanted to do, she added fuel to the fire by throwing rumors that Taki choose Reina for the solo part because she is his favorite and that he knows her father.

Of course, that is a baseless rumor. Sure, there is some favoritism with some band teachers, but in most cases, the parts are decided by the amount of talent the person has shown in the audition. The same goes for hiring someone. It’s true that there are some sleazy employers that pick their favorites to hire along with things like age discrimination or nepotism, but in most cases, they will hire the person who is the most qualified. Perhaps Taki believed that Reina is the most talented, which is why he picked her to do the solo, not because he knows her father.

With this rumor, it’s quite obvious to see why Reina decided to turn down the offer to go to a highly ranked high school for concert band. She looks up to Taki and she reveals this fact to Kumiko. She also admits that she likes him as in love.

Sure, people might become salty into thinking that the ship has sunk, but people have to realize that this relationship is not legally possible and is unethical if it actually happened. In other words, it’s not going to develop any further. It’s true that we tend to look up to teachers that teach something that we are passionate about. This is why it comes at no surprise considering that she defended him numerous times. Still, I don’t think she would tell Kumiko about this if she didn’t get closer to her like they did in the 8^th episode. In other words, no ships have been sunk by this realization.

To me, I think the relationship between Reina and Taki won’t go anywhere just like with Hazuki and Shuuchi. He will only see it as a non-romantic student and teacher relationship and nothing more. Not only that, if it actually happens, besides the fact that his career will be ruined, he basically set the band up for disaster as nobody will trust him. In short, he would make Yuko’s rumor become true. As for Shuuchi, that is a different story.

As a whole, I like the buildup. It seems that Natsuki took her loss pretty well and admitting that Kumiko is talented since she bombed the part she didn’t practice. Not only that, it seems that Haruka is finally stepping her game up and not relying too much on Asuka. Still, I’m curious about Kumiko’s past as she experienced a similar situation that Reina is now facing in middle school.

Aside from that, we are up for another audition as Kaori challenges Reina for the solo part with Taki possibly turning down Reina’s crush in the next episode. Either way, we are up for some more drama next week. ¶