As Taki prepares for the nationals by moving the practice venue into an auditorium, Kaori receives another chance at earning the solo part as she and Reina challenge each other in an audition. Will she win?
To me, this was a pretty emotional episode. Sure, Kaori said that she is perfectly fine with the results, but of course Yuko can’t accept it considering that she looks up to her. I have to admit that while Yuko is being very unreasonable, Kaori has the right to challenge Reina since the teacher allowed them to have another audition. As mentioned earlier, if someone is not satisfied with the part one is playing and he or she is good enough to earn a higher chair position, they can challenge someone for it. As they say, the parts are not necessarily set in stone. Still, Yuko asking Reina to throw the audition so that Kaori can play the solo is a selfish move on her part and it reflects badly on her.
On the other hand, Kaori’s past is kind of interesting. It seems that while she is good at playing the trumpet, she never got the chance to play the solo part because it was always given to the seniors even if they don’t deserve it. She even tried to resign from the competition to convince the first year members not to quit, but obviously that didn’t work. Still, I wonder why she is obsessed with Asuka since she seems to look up to her. It seems that she wants to take a step beyond of what Asuka thinks. Then again, I may be looking to deep into this.
Of course, there is a scene with Reina and Kumiko before the audition that everyone is talking about. In the last episode, people thought that everything that happened in the 8th episode was meaningless since Reina admitted that she likes Taki. This time, she turns around and brings her face to Kumiko to make it seem like they are going to kiss. Not only that, Kumiko promised to Reina that she will stay together and won’t abandon her no matter what. Honestly, I don’t know what to believe anymore. Despite that, I’m happy that the ship is not dead and that is a good thing. Still, there is one thing to be certain. Kumiko does not want Reina to lose what she stands for.
I have to admit that this scene was very emotional to me since Kumiko does not want Reina to give up the solo and in turn, lose everything that makes her special as mentioned in the 8th episode. No matter how much you look at Reina, she is not like anyone else given her quirks. This is the reason why Kumiko is the only girl who can interact and get closer with her. It’s because they have a lot in common.
In the end, the audition’s outcome is what I expected. It’s obvious that Reina’s performance is better than Kaori since her performance had more expression. Still, I liked how Taki brought resolution to the situation by asking Kaori if she will take the solo. In the end, Kaori turned it since she knew that if she did, it wouldn’t be fair for Reina since she isn’t the best trumpet player. While Yuko cries in the end since Kaori gave up her last chance, we can’t forget that she also plays the trumpet for fun. Besides talent, that aspect is the most important at the end of the day.
With two episodes remaining, it’s quite obvious the focus will be on, the actual competitions and preparations. I can’t wait to see how well they will do.
I wanna thank you for your reviews! And I totally agree with “this ship hasnt sunk” affirmation XD Althoug, this is the strongest yuri bait I’ve seen kyoani make.. lol I wish it would come true but we all know it wont =/ even though, I can say that this anime is pretty cool, the animation is really well done and the way the characters are portrayed is very natural and real.. This rapidly went up to my top 10 animes list without even finishing it =]
Yep, I kind of wish that they went all out and show it like they mean it since they make a good couple… Still, I have a feeling that they are going to bring Suuichi back into the picture somehow.
Still, I have to admit that this show is very good, besides Fate/stay night and Shirobako so far.
The yuribaiting continues and most of us are willing to accept the “business as usual” end rather than make things worse at the last minute. Of course you know what we all really want.
Kaori X Asuka. I’m sure it crossed your mind as you analyzed Kaori’s actions.
We can all agree that for 98% of the show Shuiichi has been pointless. He is a dark cloud looming over episodes 12, 13 and the OVA.
At least the music club part of the show remains awesome.
It’s quite unfortunate considering that Kumiko and Reina act like a couple and even confessed, but it’s still not canon enough? I would rather keep things like they are, but we’ll see.
But yep, it seems that Kaori has some interest in Asuka, but there is of course Yuko and Natsuki as well…
But considering that Suuichi is treated as a background object and Kumiko always shrugs him off, I don’t see why he is there as he doesn’t make any effort to even try. It seems that he given up easily unlike Mochizou despite being very indecisive. It’s better that Kumiko never recognizes his feelings so that everyone is happy. Also, I highly doubt they are going to pull off a “Tamako Love Story” type of story given the premise of this show.
But aside from that, the musical aspect is the main pull for me for this show.
Hibike played everyone like a damn fiddle xD
I think excluding Reina’s “confession”, Kumiko x Reina is looks as canon as it possibly can be. Not sure if KyoAni would go all the way with this. Incidentally, Kumiko’s the one who confessed to Reina, while Reina confessed that she loves Taki (although she didn’t say it directly to Taki). I’m sensing something here. Reina X Kumiko definitely feels more organic though.
About Suuichi, yea, I agree that he’s mostly just there and it seems Kumiko doesn’t really care about him much, romantically-speaking.
It seems that Kyoto Animation likes trolling us around. Still, I highly doubt Reina’s crush on Taki won’t go anywhere since it’s not really possible.
Who knows what will happen since Kyoto Animation has the tendency to break away from the source material in recent years. They have done this with Chuunibyou (with two additional characters not in the novel) and Amagi (quite obvious since the author was part of the production team and wanted to change some things around that he didn’t like)