Damn, it feels good to be a best girl.
Impression
I’m impressed! And not only with the performance Kitauji put on at the Sunrise Festival, but also with the way they went about rehearsing for it. It is pretty clear that things have changed a lot, and changed for the better – it was incredible to see that one girl actually ask to practice more, given that they would not be able to easily access the field after that particular day. An overall change in mood has definitely happened, and it’s a much brighter atmosphere as a result – it feels like marching practice would have become a lot of trouble had there still been such widespread discord. Of course, it’s not perfect – Aoi-chan is proof of that, and they’re subtly reminding us of it each week. But some things are harder to change, like Kumiko repeatedly forgetting to affix -senpai to her name. A lot of band members did stay behind though. I think something like the situation surrounding Aoi-chan is a sub-plot that may or may not be explored further, depending on how much breathing space this adaptation has – we still have no idea how many episodes this will be running for, although I hope it’s more than one-cour. Another potential sub-plot might revolve around Natsuki-senpai and the problems that have been troubling her. “I guess you don’t necessarily like the things you’re good at,” she says, and I have a feeling that it’s something that applies to her in particular.
If we call Aoi and Natsuki sub-plots, then the main character-based plot is definitely Kumiko and Reina. I absolutely love this pairing. I said it last week too, and if their awkward interactions continue being this cute I will say it as many times as I have to. It’s glorious. Kumiko is generally a very cynical girl, you know? She usually isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and if she’s bored or annoyed it really shows – when she asked if a coach seat was available she was the epitome of politeness, but when she saw it was just Shuichi her face contorted into one of hilarious irritation. I think there’s something to be said in having a ‘realistic’ protagonist like this, as cute as the ever-happy girls are in other similar shows. But this all changes with Reina. Kumiko actually cares, a lot, about what Reina thinks of her. It must partially be because of the middle school incident, but surely it’s more than just that by now. Kumiko immediately relaxed and fell into ‘lazy home’ mode when her train carriage was empty – kicking her shoes off and yawning widely and all that. Then she realizes Reina is the next carriage staring at her, and she suddenly sits perfectly straight. The two of them even look away in embarrassment after wordlessly comparing marching outfits!
It really is like Kumiko is crushing on Reina! In every conversation we get all these adorable worried Kumiko faces as she agonizes over everything Reina says to her – or everything she doesn’t say, given that Reina responds curtly a lot of the time. Then all of a sudden, Reina gives her a brilliant smile and my heart swooned – and I bet Kumiko’s did too! It really is hard picking a best girl for this show, you know. Asuka is an obvious contender, and Kumiko herself is a great character. I also like Natsuki-senpai a lot for some reason, and I know some people are quite into Sapphire.
But look at this wonderful smile, guys. How can you resist?
Reina needs to smile more. I think they’re also setting her up for a major plot arc in the future, given that Azusa (sadly, not Azu-nyan) has mentioned that Reina declined a place at Rikka to go to Kitauji. Now, that’s really interesting. Is it really to do with Taki-sensei, then? She declined a place at a powerhouse school like that just for him? Or just for Kumiko, nyahaha! If she cares as much as she does about doing well in band and participating in competitions, it should have been at the forefront of her mind. And we know that she cares a lot, just as much as Kumiko cares about Reina. So her relationship with Taki-sensei must really be significant if it made her choose Kitauji – is he a relative of some sort? Or her trumpet instructor? I just hope it’s not anything scandalous enough to cause a problem if it gets out. All this time they’ve acted as if they don’t know each other, after all.
To round off, here is a yawning Kumiko.
A connection between Reina and Taki-sensei, huh? The thought never crossed my mind, but it’s a good thought! I just happened to begin following a story about a student-teacher relationship recently, it’s perfectly innocent and sweet. If it has gone or has the potential to go that far with Reina and Taki-sensei, I hope it’s just about the same.
As for Kumiko, well, I know how she feels. I keep falling behind with anime this season, anywhere from 2 to 6 episodes at a time, because I care a lot about what someone thinks of me. I definitely feel more connected to the show after this episode due to that though. Even if I didn’t, I REALLY like how Kitauji made their mark through musical superiority and that alone!