Hibike! Euphonium | The Chuuni Corner

July 9, 2017

Review/discussion about: Hibike! Euphonium 2

Hibike! Euphonium 2 / Episode 10 / Kumiko contemplating

Hosts more excellence than awkwardness

Recently, I have started to learn how to play the guitar. Sort of.

I haven’t purchased the instrument yet; I’m still deciding on the brand and the amp. However, I know what I want to play: heavy metal. It’s my jam, and, after listening to so much of it now, I told myself, “I want to melt faces with my solos like the best of them.” Okay, I’ll probably never be that good, but I do like the idea of expanding my skillset.

But it’s tough. I have never officially played an instrument, so even the notes of the strings are confusing me. Then there’s palm muting. Power chords. Tab sheets. Tremolo picking. Finger placement. A lot to take in for a musical beginner like myself.

After finishing Hibike! Euphonium 2, it made me realize, even with my minimal foray thus far into the world of guitar, that there’s a whole lot more to playing an instrument than just hearing a couple of notes.

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September 10, 2015

Banjo’s Top 10 Spring 2015 Anime

What deserves to be seen this Spring 2015?

Another season is in the books!

While everyone has been enjoying the current season of anime, I was stuck in the past, completing and reviewing the anime of Spring 2015 that I had set out to watch. I am one of those “once I start it, I do not drop it” kind of anime-watchers, which is usually the reason for my (somewhat) late list. Regardless, it is here, primed and ready to be read! This time around, twenty shows entered the arena, ten came out victorious, and only one earned the title “Best Anime of Spring 2015.”

During last season, I saw a post recently that asked a pretty simple question: “Why do you watch anime versus other mediums?” Sitcoms, books, and films are obviously fun in their own right, but something about anime makes it…different. I love that it is a niche hobby that is steadily gaining viewers. I love its uniqueness, where one adventure might be about a dungeon-crawling, would-be adventurer while the next might showcase humanity defending themselves from a plague of vampires. I love the community, with the “Best Girl” wars, the constant conversations, and the insane amount of inside jokes. I love that it started my writing career. I love that it introduced me to my favorite series of all-time, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! (of course I had to mention Chu2Koi at least once!). It is not just one of these facets but all of them that make anime as special as it is and subsequently have me coming back for more. So if someone were to ask me that question sometime in the future, I know what my answer would be: “Because anime is unlike anything else.”

Personal anecdotes aside, before diving into the list, it is important to know two ideas: what counts and the reasoning behind everything.

First, I am an advocate of an anime “counting” in the season in which it completed. Meaning, whether it is fantastic or not, something like Ore Monogatari!! has no place here. On the opposite end, anime such as Assassination Classroom do have a shot since it concluded in Spring 2015 despite starting the season prior. So, if you do not see Assassination Classroom here on my list, that means I either did not see it or it was not good enough to make it (it is the latter!).

Second, each anime has a personalized review that demonstrates why it deserves to be here in the first place. Simply click on an anime’s name to be linked to its review to read my complete thoughts on it. For every review that I wrote last season, follow this link to my Spring 2015 Reviews page!

With all of the introductions, formalities, and rules out of the way, it is time to get to my Top 10 Spring 2015 Anime!

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July 19, 2015

Review/discussion about: Hibike! Euphonium

Get motivated

(As supplementary material for this review, please refer to my writing on the mood-setting for this anime, Hibike! Euphonium and Setting the Mood)

Most people might think going through school is “only” to get an education. That is well and good, and indeed the major purpose. Accruing years of knowledge makes someone more well-rounded and capable as a person, more so than not learning the “ABCs,” integrals of calculus, or the implications of the American Civil War. A smaller reason, but one that is just as important, is a bit more personable: providing motivation. Schooling houses mentors in the form of advisers, teachers looking to instill long-lasting lessons, and professors that give impossible opportunities, who all want nothing more than to make their students shoot for the stars. Hibike! Euphonium shows that motivation is not easy to come by – this is partly why education requires so much time and effort – but once it is obtained, the need and the want to reach new heights never leaves.

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July 15, 2015

Hibike! Euphonium and Setting the Mood

What goes into setting the mood?

An Introduction

Spring 2015 has ended (despite me still reviewing!), with some pretty interesting anime graciously provided for us. One in particular caught my attention: Hibike! Euphonium. Now, I know what you might be thinking. “Banjo, you only like it because it’s KyoAni, the same people who crafted the glorious Chu2Koi and Chu2Ren anime!”

…Maybe.

I won’t lie and say that I love KyoAni for partly that reason. Other positives of the studio include: their ability to do adorable better than anyone, their stories are often filled with heart, and they enjoy moving from one series to the next to flex their prowess. But here (and while these previous three aspects are in full force), they do something expertly once more: setting the mood.

The following essay will be looking at what the heck this thing called mood really is, how it’s used, and ultimately how it’s composed to create not just the right atmosphere but also those oh so magical moments we come to remember. Hopefully, by the end of this piece, you’ll have both a greater respect for mood and higher appreciation of Hibike! Euphonium overall.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

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Tag: Hibike! Euphonium