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Thread: Sound! Euphonium (Japanese TV show)

  1. #1

    Sound! Euphonium (Japanese TV show)

    First of all, First Post Greetings! I thought I had an account here years ago, but I haven't done anything with it in awhile, and thus have forgotten the info. I have lurked periodically, but in any case, hello!



    As a fan of both Japanese anime and the Euphonium, I figured some forum-goers who also enjoy anime might find something unique in this little gem:

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    It's called Hibike! Euphonium (Sound! Euphonium). It's about a Japanese HS band, their recovery from a staff change and their road to National competition. The story stars Kumiko, a Euphonium player who played in MS, but has decided that band is no longer for her. But on her first day of HS receives a series of reminders that cause her to reflect on the good experiences she had and possibly reconsider.

    The writers certainly capture the element of how many of us ended up having to play the darn thing:

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    The attention to detail and animation quality are top notch. The studio consulted with the Yamaha corporation and local schools to be as true to detail as possible. Here's an image of a Yamaha Trombone--

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    --which is literally an exact animated replica of a Yamaha Xeno YSL-8802

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    The attention to detail on the Euphoniums is great too. They even got the threading on the valve caps...

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    Pedagogical stuff is accurate as well. The band director in the story addresses concepts like abdominal breathing, harmonic tuning/listening and 8 to 5 step sizes (there's an episode on parade marching).

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    It's a story about band with storytelling in the same vein as Drumline, Mr. Holland's Opus or Whiplash....but told in the format of Japanese anime and with a rare attention to detail you won't find in the former.

    Some might be turned off to the tropes that are typical in a lot of anime. Although its target audience is not girls, it can be very cutesy and has some cultural idiosyncracies that might seem strange (it's also in Japanese with subtitles). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uTNCjgdvIs

    Still, it's a great show that will certainly make you feel very nostalgic and even tug at the heartstrings a little as it's very slice-of-life and emotional:

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    It just starting airing in Japan last month so there are still more episodes to come. You can watch it legally for free with subtitles on Crunchyroll.com:
    http://www.crunchyroll.com/sound-eup...-school-678371

    You can also find episodes if you dig around on Youtube.
    Last edited by eupharitone; 05-08-2015 at 08:35 PM.

  2. #2
    The end credits to episode 8 ended with a very pretty Trumpet/Euphonium duet.

    I have it on good authority that the Euphonium performer in this recording is almost certainly Shoichiro Hokazono....and if it's not him, it's very likely Dr. Mitsuru Saito (a former student of Dr. Bowman), who also contributed studio time for the show.

  3. #3
    Nice duet - thanks!
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Indianapolis area
    Posts
    1,003
    ...and the fingerings were CORRECT when they were shown playing!!!

  5. #5
    I'm in love with Reina's solo part with the accompaniment at the very last episode... I could listen to that for hours. I think that I have before...
    But the trumpet is really sharp in the recording.
    Last edited by rianetheuph; 07-10-2015 at 01:57 PM.

  6. #6
    For further information, here is a link to the Wiki article that covers both the printed and anime versions.

    Oops, forgot that I can't paste links. Why is that, anyway? Anyway, you can find it by searching for the title "Sound! Euphonium" (there's a big surprise!) in Wikipedia.
    David Bjornstad

    1923 Conn New Wonder 86I, Bach 6 1/2 AL
    2018 Wessex EP100 Dolce, Denis Wick 4ABL
    2013 Jinbao JBEP-1111L, Denis Wick 4AM
    2015 Jinbao JBBR-1240, Denis Wick clone mouthpiece of unknown designation
    Cullman (AL) Community Band (Euph Section Leader)
    Brass Band of Huntsville (2nd Bari)

  7. #7
    The series finished a couple weeks ago. It exists as a single pilot season of 13 episodes (roughly 22 minutes each), so it's relatively short. It may or may not be renewed for a 2nd season, but that's probably at least a year down the road.

    In any case, though I understand most people probably won't watch it, I do recommend at least watching the big climactic performance in the final episode (about 4 1/2 minutes). So many minute details; the drag rolls in the snare, legit tambourine technique, accurate fingerings, the stagelight shears reflecting off the Trombone slides....but more than that, we get a little window into a unique aspect of Japanese school band culture: The students leaving little notes of encouragement to each other on one anothers' sheet music, which they see as they follow along in the music when they perform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65LOQWV-UfM You see it in the ginormous purple letters scrawled across the Horn girl's page at 0:23, which translates to "Nationals!", and a multi-colored array of numerous pithy memos on the main characters' sheets at 1:18. Translated in this image:

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    This was a great series. A great story, very true to reality and with a great deal of raw emotion to boot. Truly one of the greatest homages to our beloved instrument told in a modern work of fiction.

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  8. #8
    I've watched three eps, will eventually watch them all when I have time. I don't read Japanese (or understand spoken Japanese) all that well, but when I get to where there is actual euphonium playing, I'll look in the credits to find the name of the player, take a screen shot, and find out from a Japanese friend who the player was.
    David Bjornstad

    1923 Conn New Wonder 86I, Bach 6 1/2 AL
    2018 Wessex EP100 Dolce, Denis Wick 4ABL
    2013 Jinbao JBEP-1111L, Denis Wick 4AM
    2015 Jinbao JBBR-1240, Denis Wick clone mouthpiece of unknown designation
    Cullman (AL) Community Band (Euph Section Leader)
    Brass Band of Huntsville (2nd Bari)

  9. #9
    "Tubacabra" -- snicker
    David Bjornstad

    1923 Conn New Wonder 86I, Bach 6 1/2 AL
    2018 Wessex EP100 Dolce, Denis Wick 4ABL
    2013 Jinbao JBEP-1111L, Denis Wick 4AM
    2015 Jinbao JBBR-1240, Denis Wick clone mouthpiece of unknown designation
    Cullman (AL) Community Band (Euph Section Leader)
    Brass Band of Huntsville (2nd Bari)

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    El Paso, Texas
    Posts
    383
    As far as a visual aspect the only thing missing is the emotions in a players face when playing. Otherwise it is another great product and a fine one that shows the music world.
    Adams E1 SS, Gold Brass Body .6mm DE Euph N103 Jcup, J9 shank
    Meinl Weston 2141 Eb Tuba PT 84

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