5.525 minSeason 3 • Episode 13
LatestThe final competition for the third-years is at hand. The Kitauji High School Concert Band performs together one last time in a bid for National gold.
Spring in the first year of high school. Kumiko, a member of the brass band in junior high school, visits the high school brass band club with classmates Hazuki and Sapphire. There, she comes across Reina, her former classmate from junior high. Hazuki and Sapphire decide to join the club, but Kumiko can’t make up her mind. She recollects her experience with Reina at a competition in junior high school.
Direction
Naoko Yamada's microscopic emotional framing
Sound
Actual brass recordings, every breath audible
Cinematography
KyoAni's obsessive light on instruments and skin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kyoto Animation consulted real Kitauji High School's band; students appear in season 2's competition audience.
The 'kiri-kae' uniform scene in season 1 episode 8 became a landmark for subtle lesbian representation in anime, discussed in academia as 'queer baiting vs. queer coding'.
JP
