Characters / Sound! Euphonium

Characters from Sound! Euphonium. Names are listed with the given name before the surname.

Mind unmarked spoilers if you're not finished with Season 2 and 3 of the anime in addition to the Ensemble Contest Chapter!

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Main Characters - The Kitauji Quartet

Kumiko Oumae

Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa (Japanese), Courtney Shaw (English, Liz and the Blue Bird), Erica Mendez (English, Oath's Promise: A Brand New Day)

A first-year student and primary viewpoint character. An euphonium player since age 8 and previously hailing from Daikichiyama Middle School, she joins the music club at Kitauji High School alongside her classmates Hazuki and Sapphire, hoping to try out a new instrument instead of having to play the euphonium. Unfortunately, she gets roped into playing the euph by Asuka and winds up in the bass section.

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• A-Cup Angst:
  • Revealed to have this in episode 5, when her physical exams reveal that her bust hasn't grown at all. She starts to feel better about it once she realizes that Hazuki and Sapphire aren't very well-endowed either. That is, until Asuka comes along.
  • Later in the second season, she is also taken aback of how buxom Reina is herself compared to her. She even tells Reina that to Mr. Taki's eyes, she'd look like a woman indeed.
  • In the third season when Mayu reveals how big she is while trying out clothes for Sun Fes.
• Adaptational Sexuality: In the books, Kumiko is more or less straight, having feelings for Shuichi and eventually becoming an item with him. In the anime, her relation with Reina is emphasized more while her romantic moments with Shuichi are largely Adapted Out. Our Promise: A Brand New Day acknowledges she and Shuichi are dating in their second year, though they both agree to put the relationship on hold while attempting to make the Nationals once again.
• Ambiguously Bi: In the anime, her bond with Reina is far more prominent (and homoerotic) while Shuichi is somewhat Demoted to Extra, but his plotline remains, and whenever it becomes relevant she's implied to still harbor feelings for him.
• Best Friend: She is dear to Reina like no other person is in the whole story. Sure, she has Hazuki and Midori, but Kumiko and Reina are joined at the hip.
• Brutal Honesty: More along the lines of Open Mouth, Insert Foot than anything intentional; she usually regrets her less tactful statements as soon as she says them.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Has a hard time talking to Reina at all, let alone about the incident in junior high. She sidesteps the topic when she sees Reina is at least willing to talk to her, and later realizes that Reina let it go.
• Childhood Friends: With Shuichi. They had a fight in junior high, where Shuichi insulted Kumiko. She's also this with Aoi, though they grow distant.
• Childhood Friend Romance: In the novels, Kumiko isn't as dismissive of Shuichi as the anime would lead you to believe. This comes to a head by the fourth book where Kumiko herself finally confesses to Shuichi.
• Cryptic Background Reference: Kumiko reminisces about having upstaged a third-year middle school euph player in an audition during her years at Daikichiyama, which got them into a conflict that almost turned physical. This closely mirrors Mr. Taki's auditions, where Reina and Kaori are engaging in a similar conflict. Kumiko's ordeal receives little to no further exposition thereafter, though.
• The Cynic: It doesn't take much to make her assume the worst out of a person or a situation, and many of her expectations are pretty low. Shuuichi lampshades this early on.
• Deadpan Snarker: Holy cow is she ever.
• Did I Say That Out Loud: Early on she has a habit of speaking aloud some of her thoughts that might've been better kept to herself. She gets a better handle on this with time.
• Experienced Protagonist: A mundane example compared to others, but Kumiko had been playing the euphonium for 7 years by the start of the story, and was a member of a band that won (dud) gold in the past - meaning they were awarded for their efforts, but didn't get chosen for further competition. By the end of the 2nd season, it's implied that Kumiko is close to reaching Asuka's level of dexterity in the euph.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Played with, but ultimately subverted. At the competition in middle school and on the first day of high school she wears her hair in a ponytail, possibly as a way to change herself. However, she lets her hair back down the second day onward. She wears a ponytail for the public gigs, though.
• First-Name Basis: With most of her friends and fellow band members mainly because of Hazuki, though it's of special note when she begins doing this with Reina, as the latter personally asks her to do so when they have their festival date at the mountaintop.
• Flower Motifs: She is partial toward Italian Whites, a cultivar of the common sunflower. Her friends hint this to Shuichi, who buys her a hairpin decorated with the flower; it's shown that at the time they noticed, she was actually thinking of Mr. Taki, who had bought a bouquet of the flowers in remembrance of his late wife.
• Good Is Not Nice: She really is a Nice Girl at heart, although the cynical comments and her dismissive attitude would say otherwise.
• The Heart: Paradoxically, despite her insecurities, Brutal Honesty and distant attitude, she's this to the band. Her being distant and impartial often allows her to see the core of the situation, and her lack of social skills means that she's less afraid to confront the problem than the more socialized members of the band. Even her Open Mouth, Insert Foot habit often works for the better, like during the crisis with Asuka, where it allowed her to directly face Asuka's hypocrisy and made her to reconsider her goals and wishes.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Reina thinks that even though outwardly Kumiko is kind and friendly, on the inside she is a lot more cold and distant.
  • Reina later praises her for having the courage of going into the thick of bad situations and offering her very best as a neutral party.
• Hollywood Homely: Kumiko is very beautiful on her own (enough for Shuichi to be infatuated with her), but Reina and Asuka are just absurdly gorgeous.
• Inner Monologue: There are a lot of details from the original that only make it to the anime adaptation thanks to Kumiko's monologues, such as explanations on band procedure and her own internal character development.
• Innocently Insensitive: In junior high, in response to Reina's frustration over not getting into the Nationals, Kumiko says "Did you really think that we could make the Nationals?". This causes Reina to storm off in tears. Kumiko initially feels guilty about it, but isn't sure if she should apologize to Reina about it. Turns out Reina likes her better for it.
• It's Personal: Her grudge against Shuichi in the anime for shaming her rather publicly during their junior high graduation, which she holds throughout most of the story shown. It's implied that they used to be an awful lot closer than what is presented, with Kumiko gradually getting over this slight, and Shuichi taking her proverbial punches with a stride and not backing down.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed, and also subverted, as she isn't a jerk at all per se, at least not intentionally. However, while hardly an episode goes by without her being callous or dismissive, she is ultimately a well-meaning, empathetic friend at heart.
• The Muse: For Reina. Kumiko represents the type of person who distances herself from others emotionally, yet at the same time seamlessly fits into the expectations of society.
• Nice Girl: Though she's definitely not flawless, being pessimistic and with a tendency to be tactless, she's ultimately kind and empathetic and does have a genuinely good heart.
• Oblivious to Love: Is completely shocked that Shuichi would ask her out.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Kumiko's tendency to talk without thinking combined with her cynicism makes her very prone to this.
• The Paranoiac: She can seldom open her mouth without second-guessing everything that comes out, which goes hand-in-hand with Open Mouth, Insert Foot.
• Passing the Torch: Albeit Asuka leaves Natsuki to take her place as euphonist and vice-president of the concert band, it's implied that Kumiko is given the task of becoming the lead euphonist, as she is the most experienced person in the instrument; this is symbolized by Asuka giving her father's notebook to Kumiko in the last episode, telling her to carry on the melody on it.
• The Pessimist: Played with. She's a glass-halfway-empty kind of person, always assuming the worst out of every situation (Shuichi even points this out to her friends); however, she is not comfortable with dwelling in that pessimism, so she acts with every effort she can muster to quell it until she has peace of mind.
• Prefers Going Barefoot: She's a bit... fussy in footwear.
  • When she and Reina sat down at a bus stop at the end of a long uphill trek to Mt. Daikichi, both of them had sore feet and kicked off their shoes while they played their instruments, resting barefooted.
  • Kumiko also kicked off her shoes during a train ride home to feel more comfortable.
  • The anime exaggerates Kumiko's habit of shedding her shoes, featuring her barefoot in a lot of promotional official art. Even the other major characters are not immune to this treatment. In fact, the second anime ending, which feature the main ensemble sans footwear, even seems to insinuate that they all would rather just run around barefoot- when presented with a shoe-shaped cake, she politely nods in refusal, and everyone's cake shoes are turned into musical instruments, causing them to run outside with joy.
• Rage Against the Mentor: She states with visible anguish to Asuka that at first, she found nothing but annoyance at Asuka's vagueness and general attitude, but later came to realize just how damn much she loves her.
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • The very first thing that we see in her room when she first returns from school is a cactus. Considering that she's a rather prickly person, it's quite fitting. Also, it's rather glaring that she has deeper conversations with the cactus than those she has with her family.
  • Kumiko plays the euphonium, which is considered the brass instrument whose sound approaches the human singing range the best, serves as the highlight of the bass section due to the sweetness of its tone, and is often overlooked in the background as support for the band... much like Kumiko is herself for the band in terms of attitude and speaking out. Just as Asuka tells Kumiko, she's such an euph!
• Shrinking Violet: Kumiko has an incredibly hard time saying 'no' to people and is easily swayed by peer pressure.
• Silver Tongue: Reina praises her for how emphatic and succinct she is when handling dramatic situations, and for how reliable and comforting her words are in spite of herself. Kumiko might not be willing, or it might not be her original intention, but she's the one that kicks the ball rolling where everyone else sits on their hands.
• Take the Third Option: During the vote for whether the club will have "Going for Nationals" as its goal, Kumiko doesn't raise her hand for either nationals or "Just Fun". This reflects her personality in the club very well, she isn't one of the diligent serious players like Reina, nor is she a complete slacker like some of the others, falling squarely in the middle. It also does well in showing her indecision and self-consciousness, because while she thinks she shouldn't put so much effort into something she sees as unattainable (reaching nationals), she doesn't want Reina to think she has no motivation by raising her hand for the latter choice.
• Unknowingly in Love: Kumiko doesn't realize her feelings for Shuuichi until someone else tells her about them.

Reina Kousaka

Voiced by: Chika Anzai (Japanese), Cristina Vee (English, Liz and the Blue Bird), Laura Post (English, Brand New Day)

A beautiful and aloof trumpet player, and Kumiko's former classmate at Daikichiyama Junior High. Reina and Kumiko were in the same music club, but had a falling out after Kumiko accidentally said something insensitive. It's not shown whether she shares classrooms with any other band member at Kitauji.

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• The Ace: She's a magnificent performer on the trumpet, removing all doubts and chit-chat from her position as lead. She is one of the best musicians at the band, behind only Asuka.
• Agony of the Feet: She made the mistake of climbing Mt. Daikichi in dress heels because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to go there while out with Kumiko on a festival night, who is wearing a beaten up pair of unsuitable clogs herself. After a while, the ankle straps on Reina's shoes rub her skin raw and Kumiko gets worried. Even though Reina admits her feet hurt, she says she doesn't hate pain; Kumiko finds that kinda hot, and Reina calls her a freak. When the two reach the top of the mountain and sit down at an observatory, they both kick off their dirtied-up shoes and trade them for bare feet.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's a beautiful, dark-haired girl who doesn't seem to interact with other people very much and is often seen by herself.
• Ambiguously Bi: In the anime she tends to act very romantic toward Kumiko, and even says that the cold and distant person Kumiko keeps hidden is someone she loves. That said, in both the anime and books she makes no secret of her feelings for Mr. Taki, who is male.
• Ascended Extra: Given a much more expanded role in the anime compared to her appearances in the first book (which the anime is adapting), especially with regards to her relationship with Kumiko. Indeed, much of the narrative significance that was supposed to have been given to Shuichi was passed on to Reina instead.
• The Beautiful Elite: To Kumiko, Reina is intimidatingly gorgeous and on a whole different level than other girls to the point that Kumiko could be mistaken for being in love with her.
• Best Friend: Kumiko might have other friends, but no one else is as close to her heart and as dear to her as Reina is.
• Berserk Button: Don't badmouth Mr. Taki, don't lie to her and don't do things that impede her from playing the trumpet.
• Brutal Honesty: She isn't very keen on social cues, so when she speaks her mind, she comes off as standoffish and uncaring. This starts an atmosphere of resentment against her in the brass section, especially from Yuuko. It's not until she has interactions with Kumiko that she starts minding about what she says and how her bandmates take her attitude.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: She's noted for having a busty figure, causing Kumiko and Midori to be in awe when they see her in a bikini.
• Byronic Heroine: Intelligent, gifted, beautiful, aloof, standoffish, individualistic, passionate, brooding, far more emotional than she looks and loves very deeply.
• Character Tic: She pulls some of her hair over her shoulder sometimes while she talks.
• Characterization Marches On: In the second season finale, she is shown to receive emotional support from her section bandmates after her Anguished Declaration of Love towards Mr. Taki backfires because it goes way over his head. Earlier in the story, such a thing would be a rather remote possibility due to her aloofness.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: At least from Kumiko's point of view, Reina gradually becomes easier to talk to. As far as the rest of the band is concerned, she stays the same.
• Emotionless Girl: Most of the time, though the emotions seem to just be well-contained as she's prone to releasing them in outbursts, whether it be crying or screaming in frustration.
• First-Name Basis: Almost everyone refers to her as Kousaka-san, while only Kumiko calls her Reina without honorifics.
• Foil: She's ostensibly like Mizore, but with self-esteem and with the capacity of standing her ground and making friends by her own volition.
• Friend Versus Lover: Played with in the case of Reina, Shuichi and Kumiko. In the anime, especially considering that Reina's relationship with Kumiko is more developed while Shuichi's is downgraded, there is an overlap of who is Kumiko's "lover" and who is Kumiko's "friend". Still, this is only explored at one instance where Shuichi encounters Reina and Kumiko at a festival and Reina gets Shuichi off Kumiko's hair by playfully butting in by offering to accompany them. Shuichi, who is somewhat afraid of Reina, immediately backs off and leaves the girls alone.
• Good Is Not Nice: Reina has a rather standoffish behavior with her bandmates, but most of the stuff she does is for the sake of music, and not due to any dislike of her peers, if any. Her fights are due to musicianship, and not due to anything particularly personal against them
• Heroic BSoD: During the summer band camp, Reina proverbially flatlines when Mrs. Niiyama is introduced as an assistant to Mr. Taki. Mrs. Niiyama is so beautiful and so familiar with Mr. Taki that Reina immediately assumes that they're dating, and it gets so bad that Kumiko sees Reina on one occasion being barely able to even put food in her own mouth during lunchtime. Girl was shook!
• Hidden Depths: Though she is blunt and aloof, Reina is shown to be a person that loves very deeply.
• Hidden Eyes: Shortly in episode 4 of the anime, to add to Kumiko's assumption that Reina is literally about to murder her at the back of the school.
• Hime Cut: She uses one, but it's not squared like a traditional one.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Reina doesn't think there's anything good about being similar to a lot of people and is uninterested in (possibly even averse to) it. Playing the trumpet is her method of becoming "truly special".
• I Know You Know I Know: Subverted. She gets mad at Kumiko because she never told her that Mr. Taki was married, though she gets madder at the fact that Kumiko didn't realize why she was mad in the first place and had to spell it out for her. Kumiko tells her, however, that she shouldn't pry on the subject because Mr. Taki's wife died five years before... yet Reina still does it at the first opportunity she has.
• Informed Ability: Reina was one of the most important musicians at Daichikijama, and there was much ado regarding where she would go to High School, rejecting an application from Rikka in order to register at Kitauji.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Invoked. In the first season, her role as the lead trumpet player is challenged by Kaori because the latter is on her last year, making it her very last opportunity of performing the part. Reina does not budge an inch, arguing that she herself is the better choice plain and simple; she later comes to regret her harshness towards Kaori, yet she still doesn't see herself in the wrong. In order to quell the tensions, Mr. Taki allows for a second audition for the two trumpeters, where Reina swipes the floor with Kaori, making the latter admit that Reina is just miles better for the part.
  • In Liz and the Blue Bird, she's the only person in the band who realizes that it's not Nozomi that's playing badly, but rather, that Mizore is intentionally lagging to accommodate to Nozomi's playing. She calls Mizore out on this in a rather unsubtle manner, earning herself a reprimand from Yuuko.
• No Social Skills: Reina is very blunt, so people make the assumption that she is prideful and conceited. Before Kumiko came along, Reina made a point in avoiding people and didn't quite care what people thought of her, but Kumiko made her more aware, sensitive and receptive of what her peers have to offer.
• Not So Above It All: She is not above making fun of Kumiko, who is one of the few people that can make her outright laugh.
• Not So Stoic: She's a royal mess when it comes to talking about love and Mr. Taki.
• Meaningful Name: Reina means "an example / exemplary" in Japanese, and "queen" in Spanish and Portuguese. Quite fitting indeed.
• The Muse: For Kumiko. Reina represents a person whose singular drive and focus to excel at their chosen craft propels them on to greater things, something that Kumiko herself, who's always been dragged along by the flow, was unable to do.
• Odd Friendship: She rarely shows emotions outwardly to anyone but Kumiko. Though she is dismissive of other people's opinions, it's shown that she does care about giving the wrong impression of herself, even if the point she's trying to get across is right. This makes her become a little more sociable at the end.
• Perpetual Frowner: Oh, man... the girl's no smiling cookie, alright!
• The Reliable One: Reina is a source of composure for the band, often playing interloping fanfares and trumpet solos whenever the band is in turmoil in order to calm down things, such as a solo during the section leader meeting, and at SunFes before they begin marching. Whatever talking she doesn't do with her bandmates, she expresses with her trumpet in droves.
• Serious Business: Reina seems to take music far more seriously than most of the other members. She practices often and goes to the music classroom even outside of organized practice sessions.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Does this from time to time towards Kumiko, often when she's talking to Shuichi.
• Teacher/Student Romance: In the first book and in episode 10 of the anime, Reina mentions that she's attracted to Mr. Taki. The following books seem to forget this little fact, though it does get mentioned or alluded to more than a few times in the anime's second season.
• Tranquil Fury: Played with. Reina is incredibly difficult to read, making it an ordeal to find out whether or not she's furious or calm.
• When She Smiles: It can be quite a thing to behold◊ and Kumiko is often awed by it.

Hazuki Katou

Voiced by: Ayaka Asai (Japanese), Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (English, Liz and the Blue Bird), Jennifer Losi (English, Brand New Day)

Another first-year student and classmate to Kumiko and Sapphire. Hazuki was part of the tennis club in junior high, but decided to try something new in high school. She's very enthusiastic about the music club and wanted to play the trumpet. She ends up playing the tuba instead. After not making the cut for Mr. Taki's audition, she becomes part of Team Monaka, the support group for the main concert performers.

Hazuki is the focus of the first season OVA Ready, Set, Monaka, which deals with her experiences at the band after she fails Mr. Taki's audition up until the Kyoto Competition.

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• Characterization Marches On: By the middle of the second season, Hazuki's tuba skills have gotten good enough for her to play ensemble with the rest of the band. Still, she is still out of the competition team.
• Companion Cube: She cheers on Tubacabra when she has trouble playing.
• Didn't Think This Through: She buys a mouthpiece that she thinks is for a trumpet before she even gets an instrument. As it turns out, the mouthpiece is too big for a trumpet, and is actually for a tuba.
• First-Name Basis: With Kumiko at the very start, a moment which counts as her Establishing Character Moment by exposing her friendliness and lack of formality.
• Genki Girl: Hazuki is a very cheerful and friendly person.
• Nice Girl: When Shuichi rejects her advances, she is sad indeed, but she takes the punch like a champ. She becomes a good friend to Shuichi henceforth, and she tries to get Kumiko and him together.
• Naïve Newcomer: To music. Hazuki is a beginner to music and doesn't know many of the terms and equipment involved in band.
• Running Gag: Karate-chopping Midori to the head every time the girl almost slips her tongue.
  Hazuki: Chop!
• So Proud of You: After the band finishes their performance at the Kansai competition, Hazuki and her Monaka teammates are shown backstage, huddled together, silently crying while overcome with the elation of their bandmates' performance. Keep in mind, this is before everyone finds out that said performance won them the competition, earning them a trip to the Nationals.
• Unrequited Love: She develops a crush on Shuichi and even manages to go on a date, but Shuichi has a crush on Kumiko and can't return her feelings.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Will not hesitate to say that Mr. Taki is handsome.
• The Watson: For audience members that don't have any knowledge of music or how concert bands work. Music terms and equipment need to be explained to Hazuki, allowing the audience to be educated at the same time.

Sapphire "Midori" Kawashima

Voiced by: Moe Toyota (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English, Liz and the Blue Bird), Kayli Mills (English, Brand New Day)

Kumiko's classmate and fellow first-year hailing from the wealthy Seijo Junior High School. She doesn't really like her name and prefers to be called Midori. She joins the Kitauji concert band club with Kumiko and Hazuki, picking the double bass.

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• The Ace: She's considered a true asset and an integral part for the band from the moment she joins, as experienced bassists are not sold by the dozen.
• Advertised Extra: While hardly a background character, her impact on the series is far smaller than Hazuki and especially Kumiko and Reina. It seems like selling her as a fourth main character is primarily because she hangs around the others regularly.
• Aerith and Bob: Her name is unusual even for English standards, which makes her stand out among the more Japanese names of her bandmates and classmates. She likes "Midori" better, though.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: As revealed in the season 1 OVAs, Midori is a massive fan of Mr. Tuba and the related toy line because at one occasion she lost her little sister Kohaku at a park, and a gentleman in a Mr. Tuba costume found the little girl, kept her safe and calm, and returned her to Midori. It's also implied that it's because of this incident that Midori became interested in the concert band, eventually picking up the double bass.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Sapphire's eyebrows are rather thick, denoting her eccentricity.
• Companion Cube: Dubs her double bass 'George'. She also names Kumiko's euph 'Jake'.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": She insists on being called "Midori" rather than Sapphire, which is a name she finds embarrassing.
• Embarrassing First Name: She finds her birth name embarrassing and would rather be called Midori.
• Idiot Hair: A prominent one on her head, but she's not an idiot; just a little eccentric.
• Innocently Insensitive: Towards Hazuki by reading too much into her interest towards Shuichi and pushing her into it.
• Insistent Terminology: She insists on being called Midori instead of her given name.
• Nice Girl: She's a bit shy and very kind, caring, gentle, and soft-spoken.
• Oh, Crap!: When she realizes that she pushed Hazuki into pursuing Shuichi out of her own desire for a stereotypical romance, only for Hazuki to be rejected.
• The Ojou: She doesn't act like a stereotypical rich girl, but she did attend a school for the wealthy, which implies that she comes from an affluent family. If one goes by the second season closing credits, her prim sitting posture does fit the part.
• Rock Theme Naming: She and her sister are both named after minerals; while Sapphire's name is obvious, her little sister is named Kohaku, which means "amber" in Japanese.
• Rule of Symbolism: She plays the double bass, the lowest register instrument in the band, providing support for the whole band. Sapphire is known for being an unbendingly supportive girl.
• Shipper on Deck: For pretty much any couple.
• Shrinking Violet: Invoked. Midori is rather soft-spoken and somewhat of a pushover, but she's enthusiastic and not timid. Her small frame and cuteness don't help her get her points across, though.
• Small Girl, Big Gun: She plays the double bass which completely dwarfs her, even though it appears to be a 3/4 size. The bass guitar she plays during a concert in season 2 also looks way bigger on her than it actually is.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Midori has a very romantic approach to life, often bordering Mr. Imagination territory. This ends up hurting Hazuki, who ends up rejected by Shuichi after Midori pushes her into it.
• Third-Person Person: She refers to herself in the third person sometimes (though by her preferred name Midori rather than her real name).
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: Her little sister Kohaku is basically a miniature version of her. Kohaku even wears the same green bow, but on the opposite side of her head.

Band Section Leaders

Haruka Ogasawara

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese), Allegra Clark (English, Brand New Day)

A third-year student and the president of the concert band club. She plays the baritone saxophone, she is the leader of her section, making her in charge of Aoi, and she is a classmate of Asuka.

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• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Keeps Asuka's antics in check every now and then.
• Club President: She acts as this for the concert band club.
• Dark and Troubled Past: It could be said that this extends to the band as a whole. Last year the serious players and the slackers had a serious fight and half the freshmen quit, so now she is a little wary of putting her foot down in fear of losing more players.
• The Ditherer: An Empathic type thanks to the events of last year. See Dark and Troubled Past above.
• My Greatest Failure: Feels responsible for failing to quell the huge fight between the seniors and freshmen in the previous year, prompting many of the younger members to quit. As a result, she tries not to be too standoffish to avoid antagonizing anyone, but consequently doesn't seem to get much done either due to her fairly weak leadership skills.
• The Heart: Asuka might be The Face of the band and the provider of morale, but it's Haruka fundamentally who keeps the band together.
• Nice Girl: This is actually the source of her insecurities since she often worries that she's too nice to be an effective club president.
• Tender Tears: She is a very emotional girl who gets teary rather easily, especially when compared with Asuka.
• Those Two Girls: She is often seen with Kaori, who is her main means of support. Unlike Asuka, who is there to provide "rescue", Kaori is always there for Haruka.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Asuka keeps her bandmates motivated; Haruka, on the other hand, keeps them disciplined. As such, Haruka is as crucial to the band as Asuka is, yet it takes her a considerable time to realize this.

Asuka Tanaka

Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki (Japanese), Reba Buhr (English, Brand New Day)

The third-year vice-president of the concert band club. She plays the euphonium and is responsible for roping Kumiko into joining her section. She is a classmate of Haruka and the Bass Section leader, making her in charge of Kumiko, Midori, Hazuki, Gotou, Riko and Natsuki.

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• The Ace: She's unquestionably best musician in the band, academically gifted, boundlessly energetic and seemingly all-powerful. She also posted a National Top-30 result in the country-wide mock exams. And on top of that, she's beautiful.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Her mom is as caustic as sulfuric acid and very overbearing, trying to force the school staff to bend to her whims in relation to her daughter. Specifically, she demands that the Vice Principal and Mr. Taki accept Asuka's club resignation, even though Asuka herself clearly doesn't want to quit. She even plays the Single Mother card to get them to acquiesce. [[spoiler:After slapping Asuka across the face, the woman has to be lead out of the teachers' lounge by the hand.

  Asuka's mom: I raised her by myself. With no one else's help. By myself! So my daughter's future is my decision. The club is doing nothing but dragging her down!

• The Band Minus the Face: It's rather telling just how much she boosts the morale of the band when one sees how they start performing in her absence due to her mother's meddling.
• Broken Ace: Her bubbly and ditzy facade actually hides a difficult home life and a lot of psychological problems, which made her quite hypocritical; and her overachieving is actually a way to shield herself from these problems.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Her buxom figure is focused on by several characters, especially in the Measuring Day where she triggers Kumiko's A-Cup Angst
• Chick Magnet: Hazuki blushes and has a sparkle in her eyes when she first meets Asuka, then Asuka ruins it by revealing her personality. At one point, Haruka also mentions that Kaori is "obsessed" with Asuka's opinion of her.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She has a very eccentric and playful personality.
• The Cynic: When Kumiko tells you that you're cynic, Kumiko herself being pessimistic as she is, this means that you're talking out of your ass. Even Kumiko is taken aback by how callous Asuka is by the way she rationalizes the incident between Mizore and Nozomi as both parts playing devious agendas (especially Mizore, who is a Shrinking Violet) in order to get what they want. When Asuka is on the verge of being dropped by the band and she starts rationalizing with Kumiko about the motives of the bandmembers to want her back and belittling their noble intentions, Kumiko tearfully pleads to Asuka that she seriously has to stop doing that, as she is underestimating just how much the band loves her and needs her to rejoin.
• Daddy's Girl: Played with. She plays the euphonium first and foremost because it's the legacy that her father left her after he and Asuka's mom divorced. In spite of this, they have neither spoken nor seen each other in quite a long time; it's of note because the euphonium happens to be the most important thing in Asuka's everyday life and it's the single remaining connection they still share that her mom hasn't severed.
• Deuteragonist: Asuka becomes the main focus of the plot in Season 2. This is even more true in the Recap movie Todoketai Melody, where other characters' arcs are either significantly reduced (Mamiko's conflict with her parents) or completely removed (Nozomi/Mizore's arc, Reina learning about Taki's wife) in favor of focusing on Asuka's arc. Almost every new, recap-exclusive scene involves Asuka, added in order to show more of her childhood, life at home, and relationships.
• Didn't See That Coming: Pointed out by Kumiko. She argues that Asuka utterly failed to see just how much she loves her and how dear she is to her by acting high and mighty, basically telling her that she's Asuka's truest friend and confidant whether she likes it or not. This makes Asuka, for the very first time in the story, unable to dismiss her like she does with everyone else, deciding to leave her musical legacy at school in Kumiko's hands.
• The Ditherer: She presents herself as the type that sees all sides, and Natsuki mentions at some point that Asuka is always neutral when a decision needs to be made.
• Education Mama: Has a pretty unpleasant one, who also averts Glamorous Single Mother. She eventually tries to force her daughter to quit the band and focus on college entrance exams.
• Even the Girls Want Her: She is constantly sought after by her girl bandmates for both insight and approval, and especially for her friendship, eliciting fascination from her peers. Kumiko even expresses her sincere love for her after (according to herself) spending most of the story envying Asuka.
• The Face: Natsuki explains that Asuka takes this role because Haruka's too shy to do it effectively. It also helps that she's considered beautiful in-universe.
• Fair-Weather Mentor: To a very mild extent. Asuka has no problem coaching newbies and delivering tips. In fact, she's a good and encouraging teacher when it comes to strictly musical business... but that's where she feels her duty ends. Don't you dare bring any personal baggage into her bass section, or else she'll stomp out and leave everyone else — not just the distracted band member — to it.
• Finger-Tenting: She does this in the section leaders' meeting, complete with Scary Shiny Glasses.
• Genki Girl
• Gratuitous English: Plus the occasional Spanish.
• Hidden Depths: A more negative variant. On the surface, she's all bubbles and Cloud Cuckoolander antics, with enough skill to make her a Bunny-Ears Lawyer. However, she's shown to be fairly manipulative, and a master of getting what she wants while dodging any unpleasantness that she might face as a result. She's also somewhat disingenuous, as she doesn't actually care about the on-goings of other people, and has explicitly expressed this on multiple occasions. That said, most band members value her opinion and praise more than they do for Haruka, the actual president. Thus, Asuka gets the adulation while Haruka gets stuck with the heavy lifting and unpopular decisions.
• Huge Schoolgirl: She's noticeably taller than most of the other girls in the band, with her height being 5'7½" .
• The Leader: She serves as Vice President, Drum Major, and Bass Section Leader. She is also very charismatic; the other band members and even section leaders often look to her for advice. (Unfortunately for them, she is rarely willing to help settle conflicts and prefers to take a neutral stance whenever possible.)
• Legacy Character: She's the daughter of the famed euphonist Masakazu Shindou, and received an euphonium and a score notebook from him when she was little in order to continue his legacy, or whatever little there was left of it after her mother almost completely excised him from Asuka's life. At the end of the series, Asuka leaves said legacy to Kumiko.
• The Mentor: She ends up being this to Kumiko musically, who wants to emulate her. In the second season finale, even other bandmates point out that Kumiko is at that point remarkably close to Asuka's style after hearing her play, at first thinking that it was Asuka herself playing.
• The Millstone: She dispenses useful advice to absolutely no one when it comes to anything other than the band, and it's shown that when she does give sound advice, she's not taken seriously anyway (like when she previously told Nozomi not to quit the band and be patient). Asking her stuff like that is like talking to a wall.
• Ms. Exposition: Done fairly cleverly in the anime. When each instrument leader is introducing the freshmen to the various instruments, Asuka spends a little extra time describing the euphonium, the titular instrument that Kumiko also ends up playing. She is then interrupted by the president who protests that she's talking on too long.
• Nepotism: Invoked and subverted. Asuka's estranged father Masakazu Shindo is a famed euphonist who happens to be a judge in the Nationals; albeit he recognizes his daughter and praises her performance, Asuka's school band still places 3rd.
• No Social Skills: To a point. Because of the barriers she puts around herself, she allows no one to get close to the more vulnerable side of her life. Aside from her Genki Girl facade and assuming the worst of the people around her, she falls short in recognizing when kindness is dispensed onto her and she's awful at receiving sincere praise. The most egregious example comes from the last arc, where she fails to notice that Kumiko is her freakin' friend and she is loved and cherished by her to no end; that is, until Kumiko has to spell it out for her... c'mon, she let Kumiko in, so it's not like she's going to allow Asuka to kick her out!
• Nom de Mom: In episode 9 of season 2 she reveals that she actually goes by her mother's maiden name, due to her parents divorcing when she was young, and to hide the fact that her father is Masakazu Shindo, a famous euphonium player.
• Odd Friendship: Out of all the people in the band, among the girls that have known her for years, it's Kumiko the one that she allows to get closest to her personally precisely because she doesn't grovel to Asuka like the rest of their bandmates, and because Kumiko saw a side of her life that she considers the stone in her shoe. The second season ends with Kumiko not wanting to say goodbye to Asuka, to which she basically promises that they'll see each other later and that she's not leaving Kumiko behind with a "goodbye". To be fair, it's rather hard to dismiss a person who outright tells you that she loves you for everything you are.
• Passing the Torch: When her mother starts pressuring her to leave the band, she spends more time alone with Natsuki, the remaining euphonium player besides herself and Kumiko, who would presumably take her place in the band if she's not able to keep competing, to prepare her for this eventuality. She ends up grooming Natsuki for the vice-president position while Kumiko is implied to assume her role as lead euphonist.
• Playful Cat Smile: She sports a cat smile on her face when she's in a playful mood.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Her antics often lighten heavy moods in the work.
• Prefers Going Barefoot: Because she's so tall, Asuka also has huge feet, and she's more comfortable leaving them bare. It's emphasized several times when Kumiko pays a visit to her house. She tells Kumiko about her oversized feet while showing off a pair of new sneakers that she hasn't gotten used to yet, and one comes untied on the way home and a friend fixes it for her. Once she's at home, she leaves her shoes at the door like any other good-mannered Japanese person, but after she gets to her room, she curiously ditches her socks, too, even though Kumiko leaves hers on (since Asuka has nowhere else to be, it makes sense). The act of being barefoot serves to draw attention to her larger foot size, too. When the two decide to go outside later, Asuka uses a loose-fitting pair of sandals instead of her street shoes and formalwear stockings, hinting that she finds footwear a mite confining for her enlarged feet.
• Proper Tights with a Skirt: She wears black tights under her skirt and she's ostensibly the only band member that does so. This is one of the many examples of how she's the odd one out at the band.
• Revenge by Proxy: It's implied that her father may have given Asuka the euphonium in order to have a little part of himself on her life after his wife almost eliminated him from Asuka's life. The fact that Asuka's life became defined by the instrument only served to spite her mother.
• Running Gag: Numerous times, whenever someone tries to ask her for advice, she asks whether it's relationship advice to deflect the question. It works every time except for the last time, when Kumiko tells her that she is indeed there to talk about their mutual relationship. Asuka is surprised at the fact that her joke backfired on her.
• Shed the Family Name: She is the daughter of famed euphonist and composer Masakazu Shindo, who is the quintessential guideline for the practice of the instrument. He and Asuka's mother divorced and the latter gained custody of the child; as such, Asuka adopted her mother's family name, Tanaka, as her last name.
• Statuesque Stunner: Tall, shapely and beautiful on top of being a tremendous performer. This effectively makes her the face of the band.
• Stepford Smiler: Despite her usually cheerful demeanor, she has a difficult home life, since her mom is an Education Mama who wants her to quit the club and focus more on her college entrance exams. It eventually gets to the point that she rarely shows up for practice, but she still acts cheerful and claims that she doesn't want to trouble anyone in the club. It's later revealed that her father, a famous euphonium player, divorced her mother when she was young, and she resents both her parents.
• Supporting Leader: Despite how everyone looks up to her, Asuka seems to actively avoid being in a position of responsibility herself — which is why she's the vice president rather than the club president.
• Taught by Experience: She is easily the most experienced performer in the band, to the point of being able to play flawlessly by first read.
• Title Drop: The musical piece she gives Kumiko as a keepsake following her graduation is named "Sound! Euphonium", as composed by Asuka's father.
• Tranquil Fury: When Nozomi came to ask for getting back in the club, it was clear that Asuka had a very hard time keeping her happy demeanour.
• Trickster Mentor: It's hard to figure out if she's dishing out tough love and encouraging independence... or just following her own agenda.
• True Art Is Angsty: It's implied that Asuka dedicated herself fully to the euph as a means to cope for her messy family life, and tries to keep her friends at bay because she can't possibly handle more drama than she already does. Her rendition of her father's piece "Sound! Euphonium" is full of bottled feelings and pain, making it hauntingly beautiful to Kumiko's ears. Later, when Kumiko is in a similar emotional state and plays the piece, Nozomi and Mizore rush to the classroom where Kumiko is, thinking that it's Asuka who's playing.
• Trying Not to Cry: It's implied that when Kumiko grills her for being dismissive of the band's best wishes, and having been told by her underclassman that they're waiting for her, she purposely holds Kumiko's face down so that she doesn't see her face overcome with the sheer elation that Kumiko's heartfelt words brought in her.
• The Unfettered: She makes a point in keeping her peers at arm's length to be able to play the euphonium unimpeded by their personal problems.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Kumiko has to outright tell her to stop speculating and belittling her friends' intentions when they claim that they want her to rejoin.
• What You Are in the Dark: It's hard to notice, but she's dismissive and playful in front of most people, while she has no objections talking straight smack about other people when she's alone with Kumiko. This is so glaring at one point that Kumiko has to tell her that this is just plain awful even coming from her, and that she seriously needs to stop doing it.
• While Rome Burns: She states that she doesn't quite care about the inner workings of the band as long as she gets to play the euph, no matter who gets hurt, who fights who, or what comes out. However, she is completely inflexible against those who quit the band. It's not until the new freshmen and Mr. Taki come in that she starts getting more ambitious, yet not particularly more caring of her peers.

Kaori Nakaseko

Voiced by: Minori Chihara (Japanese), Ryan Bartley (English, Brand New Day)

The third year Trumpet Section leader and the club's treasurer. She is thus in charge of her juniors Reina and Yuuko. It's not known whether she is a classmate of any other band member.

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• Always Second Best: She had always yearned to play the lead trumpet, but Reina is simply a more soulful player (see Being Good Sucks).
• Being Good Sucks: Before Reina came along, she was the best trumpet player in the band, but didn't get a solo in her first or second year because the less-talented and less-dedicated senior students had priority. She accepted this without complaint, and even stuck her neck out to try and maintain the band's camaraderie during last year's disaster. She's finally a third year, and in a position for the seniority system to finally work in her favour...when Mr. Taki changes the rules and awards solos on merit. Which wouldn't be a problem, had an exceptionally talented first year trumpeter not joined the band.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Yuuko admires her greatly and doesn't make an effort to be subtle about it. Asuka herself finds her to be very attractive, as she admits to Kumiko.
• Graceful Loser: When Mr. Taki holds re-auditions for the trumpet solo and Reina proves once and for all to the rest of the band that she's the better player, Kaori accepts this with no hard feelings.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: She, above all else, wants to be closer to Asuka than where she currently is because she feels that Asuka understands her better than other people. Still, Asuka, just like with everybody else, has put up walls to block Kaori too.
• Nice Girl: Though she is touted as Reina's rival for the lead trumpet part, she is nothing short of polite, gentle and kind, and only wants to play the lead for the opportunity. As the section leader Kaori makes a point of including Reina into the section activities as to not alienate her and makes sure to make peace with her before the audition regardless of the result. Even Reina is taken aback by her own harshness towards Kaori and promptly apologizes to her and Yuuko for her prideful behavior.
• Those Two Girls: She is for all intents and purposes Haruka's right hand and they spend a lot of time together, especially considering Asuka's emotional unavailability.

Other Concert Band Members

Yuuko Yoshikawa

Voiced by: Yuri Yamaoka (Japanese), Megan Taylor Harvey (English)

A second-year trumpet player who admires Kaori. A former bandmember of the Minami Public Junior High School band and one of the few former Minami students that didn't quit the Kitauji High band. She is Reina's section mate and rival of sorts. It's not shown whether she is a classmate of any other band member.

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• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: She begs Reina to throw her audition in favor of Kaori, though Reina doesn't relent.
• Berserk Button: Don't try to one-up or hurt her friends, because she'll defend them even if she has to throw mud.
• "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: She asks Kumiko whether she hates her, to which Kumiko answers that she doesn't hate Yuuko; she just doesn't like her.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Very mild example. She is very nice to her idol Kaori and is a caring and loving friend. All in all, she still is a nice person but, to everyone else, and when things don't go her way, her more abrasive and cranky side shows up.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: To Kaori.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Though she tries to become closer to Mizore, the latter doesn't go past the assumption that Yuuko is just hanging out with her because she pities her. Yuuko realizes that her relationship with Mizore is not quite like she thinks it is, recognizing that yes, she's Mizore's friend, but she's nowhere as dear to the girl as Nozomi is. They do remain friends, though.
• Entertainingly Wrong: In Liz and the Blue Bird, she admonishes Nozomi for starting to manipulate Mizore emotionally again by giving her false hope, not knowing that Nozomi is the one trying to reach, as she's the one lagging behind Mizore and trying to give herself a semblance of hope that Mizore won't leave her behind.
• Expository Hairstyle Change:
  • During the summer band camp, she styles her hair differently, as to symbolize a more open route of dialogue with her regarding the problem with Mizore and Nozomi. She looks markedly different, more accessible and even prettier.
  • In Liz and the Blue Bird, she cut her hair to shoulder-length, signifying her change as the new band president; with the change, she manifests a newly-found emotional maturity.
• Extreme Doormat: She cares more for her friends than they care about her. She even berates Mizore for belittling her by saying that they're friends just because Yuuko felt pity for her. In the series she never gets her way, and the only people that seem to understand her are her rivals Kumiko, Reina and Natsuki.
• Friendly Enemy: Invoked. She is very vocal against Reina taking Kaori's place in the ensemble as the soloist. Though they don't quite like each other, she comes to greatly enjoy and admire Reina's musicianship and dexterity at the trumpet as a fellow section member.
• Hidden Depths: It's rather telling when a person like Nozomi, who is touted as a natural leader and an eager musician, quit the band in anger, while Yuuko, who is notoriously impatient and somewhat caustic, stayed in the band even after the turmoil. This goes to show that Yuuko is a considerably more stalwart person than she appears to be.
• Hero Worship: More like Senpai Worship, but she definitely has this towards Kaori.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold / Nice Girl: She tends to sit between the two. She's short-tempered and at times a little abrasive, but she's a kind person at heart and it's not an exaggeration to state just how much she loves her friends and cares for their well being. In time, this extends to the band too, prompting her to become the next president after the seniors graduate.
• The Leader: She becomes the president of the band after the third-years retire, also becoming the trumpet section leader.
• Odd Friendship: When Reina tells Kumiko that she only speaks to people she finds interesting, this gradually starts applying to Yuuko too, who happens to be her bandmate and fellow trumpeter. She also has this dynamic with Natsuki, who becomes Yuuko's vice-president.
• Oh, Crap!: A couple:
  • When she hears Reina's rendition of the trumpet solo in the re-audition for the part, recognizing just how good she is, and when Kaori relents the part to Reina;
  • When she sees Nozomi, unaware of being the catalyst for their mutual fallout, approaches Mizore;
  • When she realizes that Natsuki is to become her vice-president.
  • In Liz and the Blue Bird, she gets one alongside Natsuki when Nozomi halfheartedly states that she'll apply for musical college alongside Mizore, a huge red flag if they ever saw one.
• Older Than She Looks: Played with. Yuuko is very girly and looks as if she were younger because of her hair tie and the way she conducts herself; thing is, she is actually of average height, but she hangs out with Kaori, who is almost a head taller than her.
• Respected by the Respected: She develops a mutual admiration towards Reina and Kumiko, also leaving no objections whatsoever to her appointment as president of the concert band club when the seniors graduate.
• Rivals Team Up: This is the basis for her relationship with Reina and Kumiko, as they're not "friends" per-se, but bandmates with a common goal. Kumiko even praises the virtue of how much Yuuko cares about her friends in spite of herself.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Yuuko and Natsuki spend enough time together to warrant doubts as to their claim of not being mutually friends. They are borderline Those Two Girls, though Yuuko in particular is more vocal about the denial.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Developing this dynamic with Natsuki is what stops her from being a Satellite Character.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Natsuki praises her for being there for Mizore, especially considering that Yuuko is the reason Mizore didn't fall apart throughout her ordeal with Nozomi.

Natsuki Nakagawa

Voiced by: Konomi Fujimura (Japanese), Sarah Anne Williams (English)

A withdrawn second-year euphonium player. Her lack of enthusiasm in the club is implied to be a side-effect of the incident in the previous year that caused half of the first-years to leave. She also hails from the Minami Junior High School, though she didn't belong to the band then, having just started playing the euph just a year before. She shares classrooms with Nozomi and Mizore. She is one of the titular second-year members of the support Team Monaka (her being the Nakagawa in Monaka).

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Her design is entirely original for the anime, as the light novels describe her having short brown hair, and she's one of the few characters who didn't have a pre-established drawn design from the books prior to the adaptation. As stated by Word of God, her redesign made her deliberately cuter and more accessible.
• Alliterative Name: Natsuki Nakagawa. Also Repetitive Name.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Natsuki argues that, unlike most of the Minami students that quit the band, she didn't care enough to quit with them, so she stayed. She later tells Kumiko that she made her care by making her practice, bringing in her the enthusiasm that she was lacking.
• Best Friend: To Yuuko. In Liz and The Blue Bird she states that she'll go to the same university as Yuuko to be with her best friend.
• Cool Big Sis: Proverbially. Once she gets fully invested in the band, Kumiko and Reina praise how much of a support she provides them during competitions and how much admiration she inspires in spite of not making the cut. She also develops this kind of relationship with Hazuki, her junior and Monaka teammate.
• Enemy Mine: Played with. She is this with Yuuko, as they butt heads constantly throughout the story. Nevertheless, she mostly antagonizes Yuuko just for kicks, and they get along considerably better than what they think.
• Headphones Equal Isolation: She wears earphones even during sectionals, and seems to prefer staring out the window with them on rather than actual practice. At least, until Kumiko gets her to.
• Hidden Depths: She deeply cares about Yuuko and looks out for her, even though they constantly butt heads with each other; it's also shown that when her ball gets rolling, she is both supportive and enthusiastic.
• The Gadfly: She often knows what buttons to push to get the reactions she wants from people like Yuuko and Kumiko.
• Graceful Loser: Very willingly accepts not making the auditions, and proceeds to cheer on Kumiko. She also readily relinquishes her position as Asuka's replacement at the band after the latter returns, contrary to Asuka's own speculation that Natsuki was just being diplomatic when she said that she was waiting for Asuka's return.
• The Lancer: Once the seniors retire from the concert band, she becomes Yuuko's vice-president to take care of her and the band, fulfilling Asuka's wishes.
• The Leader: She is one of the leaders of Team Monaka, meaning the ten band members that didn't cut it for competition after Mr. Taki's auditions. As such, she and the group provide support for the main band while they catch up with their bandmates. She later becomes vice-president and the bass section leader after Asuka.
• Lonely Together: She spends a considerable time with Yuuko because Yuuko's friends tend to leave her on her own a lot. Still, she chooses to be with Yuuko, while Yuuko just resigns herself to her company.
• My Greatest Failure: She feels that she precipitated the mass resignation from the Minami ex-alumni from the band by insulting the seniors when they acted dismissive towards Nozomi. This makes her attempt to get Nozomi back into the band once the dust apparently settles down.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: She's always there for Yuuko whether she likes it or not, though Yuuko would never admit that Natsuki is her friend.
• Nice Girl: She's a kind, gentle and supportive girl, and once she's past her apathy, her bandmates consider her just great, for lack of a better word.
• Not So Above It All: This is what she argues is her biggest fault. She states that she's a sucker for the enthusiasm of other people: she joined the concert band at Kitauji because of her admiration of Nozomi, she gained enthusiasm for the band with Mr. Taki's ambition and she later embraced the band as a whole because Kumiko drove her to take the risk. Though she considers this a fault, it's actually a source of admiration and endearment towards her for her juniors.
• Oh, Crap!: As stated on Yuuko's entry, they get one in Liz and the Blue Bird when Nozomi states that she'll apply for musical college with Mizore.
• Passing the Torch: Asuka grooms her to take her place in the band as an euphonist in case she cannot return, and later makes her vice-president under Yuuko and bass section leader.
• The Reliable One: Natsuki is an excellent friend towards her peers, so much that Asuka entrusts her temporarily with her part at the Nationals and later with the role of vice-president of the concert band when she graduates.
• Repetitive Name: See above.
• Spanner in the Works: Invoked. Natsuki states that she's bad at sensitive situations and she lets her anger get the better of her, adopting an offensive attitude rather quickly. This is later confirmed by Yuuko, who purposely leaves Natsuki outside the loop regarding the Nozomi/Mizore drama because she might unintentionally make things worse.
• Those Two Girls: She is part of two pairings. The first would be with Yuuko, with whom she spends a lot of time; the second would be with Hazuki, her fellow section member and Monaka teammate, especially during competitions.
• Vitriolic Best Friends: For better or for worse, even while pulling each other's hair, and whether they like it or not, Natsuki and Yuuko are best friends. Just don't expect them to say nice things about each other.
• When She Smiles: Averted. Kumiko finds her smile terrifying, though that may have had more to do with just how bubbly she was acting at the time than anything.

Takuya Gotou

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English, Brand New Day)

A second-year tuba player in Asuka's bass section. Alongside his girlfriend Riko, he is an informal second-in-command at the section behind Asuka.

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• The Comically Serious: He's usually in the receiving end of Asuka's craziness, always serious and always deadpan.
• Gentle Giant: Probably has the biggest build out of all the band members, and aside from the occasional blunt comment, is generally polite and has genuine concern for the members of his section.
• Foreshadowing: A minor one. When he says that he loves the tuba, what he means is that he loves Riko and playing the tuba with her; this is made more evident when it's revealed later that they're an item.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Riko, and by extension all the other girls in the bass section aside from Asuka.
• Official Couple: With Riko. It's implied that he loves the tuba precisely because he gets to play with Riko at his side.
• The One Guy: Of the bass section.
• Stoic Spectacles: In the anime. He's reserved and doesn't express himself much vocally.
• Straight Man: If Haruka isn't around to react to Asuka, Gotou does. The difference is that he doesn't stop her.
  • Not So Above It All: He plays along with Asuka's schemes in episode 6.

Riko Nagase

Voiced by: Miyuki Kobori (Japanese), Lauren Landa (English, Brand New Day)

The other second-year tuba player in the bass section and Gotou's girlfriend, who takes on a coaching role for her junior section members.

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• Big Beautiful Woman: She's a bit more heavyset than the other girls, but Gotou likes her enough to date her and even calls her cute when she's wearing a yukata for the festival in episode 8.
• Girlish Pigtails
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Gotou.
• Nice Girl: She's forthcoming as a mentor tuba player to Hazuki, and doesn't react negatively when the club incident in the previous year is brought up.
• Official Couple: With Gotou.

Shuichi Tsukamoto

Voiced by: Haruki Ishiya (Japanese), Christian La Monte (English, Brand New Day)

A first-year student and Kumiko and Aoi's childhood friend. He lives in the same building as Kumiko, though they seldom commute together and have few common friends. In middle school, he played the French horn, but in high school, he chose to switch to the trombone.

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• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Kumiko. As Kumiko notes, he called her ugly and told her to never talk to him again after she asked (out loud) if he wanted to come over to her place during their junior highschool graduation ceremony.
• Butt-Monkey: The anime treats him like one to an extent. He's sometimes shoved aside during some sequences, and one classmate mentions that the person who said they couldn't make it to nationals was an idiot (which Shuichi says in the books, but because of his decreased presence he doesn't directly say it in show). On the Valentine's Day poster for the series, of all the relevant boys, he's also the only one among them without a chocolate.
• Childhood Friends: With Kumiko and Aoi. He's almost extended family to Kumiko, though he's not satisfied with this.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: In the novels. His confession to Kumiko leads to positive results.
• Demoted to Extra: A minor case: much of Shuichi's narrative significance is given instead to Reina, and later Asuka in the anime. Compare this to him being the de-facto love interest of Kumiko in the original novel. Then he gets it even worse as of season 2, not even necessarily getting a Mandatory Line per episode, with his voiced appearances generally being as brief as they ever were.
• Dogged Nice Guy: He likes Kumiko, though she barely pays attention to him.
• Everyone Went to School Together: He attended Daikichiyama Junior High School, being band mates with Kumiko, Reina and Azusa.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Like Kumiko, he has a history of saying or doing things that come across as insensitive despite by no means being a bad person.
• Like Brother and Sister:
  • He has this kind of relationship with Kumiko, though it's shown that he wants more from this liaison.
  • Having grown alongside Kumiko, he also developed this kind of dynamic with her sister Mamiko, whom he greatly admires, as he joined the band precisely because of her example. He is also seen to be rather distraught at her dropping out of college.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: His shaming of Kumiko has come to bite him royally in the rear-end for most of the story in the anime. Even by the end of the second season, she still hasn't quite forgiven him, but they are in more friendly terms.
• The Rival: To Reina in terms of Kumiko's affections in the anime. Humorously, Shuichi is shown to be afraid of Reina and her relationship with Kumiko, so he's on the losing side of the Love Triangle.

Aoi Saitou

Voiced By: Yōko Hikasa

A third-year student and Kumiko's other childhood friend. She plays the tenor saxophone and presumably played lead before quitting the band.

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• Chekhov's Gun: She is assumed to be the lead sax player in the band, so during the concert at the station months late, Haruka takes the duty as her own to motivate Asuka to return to the band.
• Childhood Friends: With Kumiko and Shuichi.
• First-Name Basis: Kumiko has some difficulty employing honorifics when talking with Aoi and tends to drop them unconsciously as a reflex. Though Aoi initially tries to make Kumiko use them, Kumiko ends up dropping them anyway.
• My Greatest Second Chance: She didn't get into her first choice for high school and had to go to Kitauji instead. Currently, she's studying hard in order to get into the university she wants. Unfortunately, this leads her to quit the club in episode 7 since she doesn't want the club to interfere with her studies.
• Nice Girl: She is very supportive of the concert band, even after she quits; she even attends the Nationals to watch them play, and the bandmembers speculate that she must have went through a lot of trouble obtaining a ticket and traveling to Tokyo.
• Put on a Bus: After she quits the band, she doesn't show up again aside from a brief scene with Kumiko in episode 12.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Mid-practice, she realizes and tells Mr. Taki that she ultimately won't be able to continue playing the sax for the concert band, quitting on the spot and never looking back. Still, it's not as nonchalant as the trope suggests.

Tomoe Kabe

Voiced by: Erika Harlacher (English, Brand New Day)

A second-year trumpeter and a personal friend of Natsuki and Yuuko. After she fails the auditions, she becomes the leader of Team Monaka, of whom she is one of the titular second-year members (her being the Kabe of Monaka). She eventually plays a somewhat more prominent role in the movie Brand New Day.

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• Bit Character: She has no major development and mainly serves to bridge Natsuki and Yuuko, and fill the ranks of the trumpet section. She later is given some airtime in Brand New Day.
• Canon Immigrant: She is an anime-original member who was later introduced in the light novels.
• The Leader:
  • Of Team Monaka as a whole.
  • In Brand New Day, she's appointed as the leader for the underclassmen alongside Kumiko, and later takes a support role for the band because she had to quit the trumpet due to an osteomandibular problem, as playing became literally painful for her.

Tsubame Kamaya

Voiced by: Ayaka Ohashi (Japanese)

A second year percussionist that is in the same year as Kumiko. She was introduced in the first season but wasn't touched upon until Ensemble Contest. Member of Team Monaka.

Season 2 Band Members

Nozomi Kasaki

Voiced by: Nao Tōyama (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)

Nozomi is a 2nd year student and the leader of the Minami Junior High School former alumni faction that quit the band en-masse on the previous year. She was previously the president of the Minami School concert band, where she played the flute. She was also a close friend of oboist Mizore Yoroizuka, and she is her classmate alongside Natsuki. Though she appears sporadically in the first season, her formal appearance and arc takes place during the second season.

Nozomi, alongside Mizore, is the protagonist of the movie Liz and the Blue Bird, which takes place on the year after the events of the main series.

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• All for Nothing:
  • All of her fighting against the senior members ended with her resignation from the concert band, amounting to her being left outside, looking in.
  • Even though she's able to rejoin the band, Asuka still doesn't endorse her.
• The Atoner: She gets to rejoin the band once she reconciles with Mizore, but she's relegated to support in Team Monaka.
• Commander Contrarian: She was the vocal leader who was against the apathetic 3rd-years that stifled the band's wishes. The problem lied in the fact that she did not heed to sound advice when it mattered, when Asuka told her to just wait for the seniors to graduate. As such, she did not find the middle ground that Haruka and Aoi were trying to reach and quit on the spot until she realized the mistake she made.
• Dramatically Missing the Point:
  • Asuka tells Kumiko that Nozomi's problem is not only with her, but mainly with Mizore, who cannot stand the sight of her.
  • It takes her some time to realize how demoralizing her quitting was to the band, considering that she was touted as an enthusiastic leader.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Though she appears repeatedly in flashbacks in the first season with an obscured face, her formal first appearance happens when she attends the Kyoto competition as an audience member.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Liz and The Blue Bird, it's implied that Nozomi loves Mizore just as much as Mizore loves her, but has to turn her down for the sake of Mizore's future as a prodigious musician.
• If You Thought That Was Bad...: It's implied that Nozomi was a serious candidate for president of the Kitauji concert band like she was at Minami, but she blew her chances when she quit on her first year and failed to be endorsed by Asuka when she rejoined. Still, she states that she rejoined just to help and for the sake of being able to play again. Instead, her fellow Minami teammate Yuuko becomes the president once the seniors retire and graduate.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Nozomi has no idea of how much she hurt Mizore by quitting the concert band and not telling her, leaving the girl dejected and thinking that she didn't matter to Nozomi.
  • In Liz and The Blue Bird it's shown that she's musically and emotionally dragging down Mizore, so she has to let her go for her to flourish.
• It's Personal:
  • Asuka doesn't take lightly that Nozomi didn't take her advice when she told her not to fight and not to quit. As such, Nozomi specifically seeks Asuka's endorsement to join even though she doesn't technically need it, precisely because she feels as if her actions were a personal affront to Asuka.
  • It's hard to blame her for quitting the band when she reached her wit's end while trying to make the 3rd-years listen, especially after realizing how little her and her fellow Minami students' opinion mattered to them.
• Living Emotional Crutch: She is one for Mizore, albeit she didn't realize this at first. In Liz and The Blue Bird, it's revealed that it's mutual, and she herself started to lean on Mizore so much that it affected Mizore's performance for the worse.
• The Muse: She's the whole reason Mizore plays the oboe, though the whole turmoil caused her to become more of The Lost Lenore for Mizore.
• My Greatest Failure:
  • The main reason she and the Minami students entered the Kitauji band gung-ho to aim for the stars is because their last competition in Minami ended up earning them only silver for the first time after years of consecutive golds. This made her and her Minami classmates overenthusiastic for Kitauji's prospect whereas the 3rd years and the previous band director Mrs. Rikako didn't quite care that much, resulting in a fight and a mass exodus from most of the Minami alumni.
  • She admits that she should have listened to Asuka when she told her to be patient, especially since the seniors would be gone the next year. As such, she makes a considerable effort trying to convince Asuka to vouch for her and to forgive her.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Played with. Albeit the Minami exodus happened en masse, Asuka implies that it was Nozomi's swaying power which led them to quit. In reality, they were all treated pretty badly.
  • She should have checked on everybody she left behind, especially Mizore, who specifically joined the band because of her in the first place. Her not talking to Mizore led the girl to fall into a depressive nadir that started affecting her role in the band, until every assumption of foul play from Nozomi is cleared out eventually.
• Oblivious to Love: Though they were friends, Nozomi had no idea of how much Mizore cherishes her and needs her at her side, or how much she hurt Mizore by quitting the band.
• Oh, Crap!: When she realizes that Mizore mistakenly thought that she abandoned her and the girl's on the brink of falling apart due to it.
• Opportunistic Bastard: Played with. This is one of the reasons Asuka refuses to endorse her return to the band, as she quit even when Asuka asked her not to; now that Mr. Taki has raised the bar for the band, she wants in even though she gave it up, reaping the benefits without doing the footwork. Her reasons are actually more altruistic than what Asuka thinks, though.
• Stubborn Mule: Her anger against the seniors overcame her, refusing to heed to Asuka's advice to be patient.
• Tender Tears: Her frustration to Asuka's refusal to let her back in the band leads to her crying in front of Kumiko, who in response promises to at least intervene.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Liz and the Blue Bird, Yuuko berates her for once again attempting to toy with Mizore's feelings by promising to go to a musical college together, only to chicken out. Nozomi argues that she is nowhere near as good a musician as Mizore, who is naturally talented.

Mizore Yoroizuka

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese), Laurie Hymes (English)

Mizore is a 2nd year student, and the Kitauji concert band's only oboist. A former student and concert band member of Minami Junior High School, Mizore is painfully shy and reserved. She is a friend of Yuuko and was a close friend of Nozomi Kasaki, being her classmate alongside Natsuki. Like Nozomi, Mizore appears in the first season with no spoken lines, becoming more prominent in the second season.

As stated on Nozomi's entry, Mizore is also a protagonist of the movie Liz and the Blue Bird, being the lead soloist for the year's musical number.

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• The Ace: Her remarkable musical talent quickly gains her a position as the band's only oboe soloist. This is a point of contention in both the main series and in Liz and the Blue Bird, where a solo performance by Mizore during practice drives many of the band members to tears.
• Agony of the Feet: Tired and crestfallen like the rest of her bandmates, she rested barefoot on the long bus ride home from a competition that her middle school lost, having shed her footwear to rest a bit easier and squeezing her weary toes in exhaustion.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Mizore's design in the anime is markedly different from the novels, as there she has short black hair and blue eyes while appearing plainer◊. As she is an important secondary character, much like in Natsuki's case, the redesign was intentional so that she stands out.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: She gives one to Nozomi in Liz and the Blue Bird, but is rejected.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Nozomi is utmost dear to her, to the point that she plunged into depression because Nozomi left her alone in the band. As a matter of fact, the whole reason Mizore is part of concert band is because of Nozomi, who personally invited her after seeing her sulking in loneliness when they were at Minami.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She appears on the first season, though she has no spoken lines; she becomes more prominent in the second season. She's always practicing alone in spite of being part of the woodwind section
• Foil: To Reina. Her solo comes right after Reina's in the Crescent Moon Dance number and it's just as important because between her solo and Asuka's afterward, they bridge the melodic section and the change of cadence where the song continues. She is as deadpan as Reina, but ostensibly more shy. In her case, she is how Reina would've turned out if Kumiko had quit the band after they bonded; when it came to Mizore, she lost her muse.
• Establishing Character Moment: When Kumiko and Reina first hear her playing the oboe, Kumiko comments that her playing is somewhat flat, and at the practice room she responds to their questions as dryly and with such a deadpan expression that even Kumiko is taken aback.
• Fire-Forged Friends: After the ordeal with Nozomi is finally settled, Mizore starts considering Kumiko a personal friend, seeking her company from time to time.
• Foreshadowing:
  • On her interactions with Yuuko, it's rather evident that Mizore is more chafed than glad of having the girl around her. She even asks Yuuko whether Reina and Kumiko are her friends as to imply that she should leave with them, thus showing how little actual attention she gives Yuuko.
  • Mizore becomes physically ill when she listens at Nozomi playing the flute. The mere mention of Nozomi fills her with dread, though it's later revealed that it's not rooted on hate, but rather shame.
• Hates Being Alone: Nozomi was her first and dearest friend, so Mizore's loss of her plunged her so much into depression that she didn't quite notice that Yuuko is her friend too.
• Heroic BSoD: When Nozomi approaches her unbeknownst of the ordeal she's causing Mizore, the latter bolts away and heads to a classroom on the top floor where she hides crouching into a ball.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: She feels that she didn't deserve to be happy to have won at Kyoto with the concert band, though Yuuko dispels this notion out of her.
• Hidden Depths: She's a fantastic oboist and nowhere as flat a player as she's presented, as the older bandmates argue from having heard her playing before. She is a heartfelt musician and quite literally The Ace on the oboe.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Mizore knows that she is quiet and gloomy, and that she's have had considerable problems getting friends, so the arrival of Nozomi was godsend to her.
• Informed Ability: The show makes a point in informing that the oboe is considered the most difficult woodwind instrument to play, which goes to demonstrate just how good a performer Mizore is by being able to play it colorfully. As a matter of fact, this is one of the reasons Nozomi didn't ask her to quit the band together, as an oboist as good and as dutiful as Mizore is not easily replaceable.
• Innocently Insensitive: Yuuko takes great offense at Mizore for saying that they're friends just because she pitied her.
• Locked Out of the Loop: When Nozomi quit the band, she wasn't told and she assumed that Nozomi just didn't care about her. Nozomi dispels this notion eventually, arguing that she couldn't possibly ask Mizore to quit with her because she had been dutifully practicing and she wasn't picked on by the seniors.
• Nice Girl: In spite of her Shrinking Violet and Heroic Self-Deprecation tendencies, Mizore is nothing short of a loving and kind person, though sadness gets the better of her.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When she's told, from a third party, that Nozomi quit the band;
  • When Nozomi approaches her unbeknownst of their mutual problem;
  • When Yuuko admonishes her for belittling their friendship by saying that it stems out of pity;
  • When Nozomi tells her why she didn't tell her she quit the concert band. It's so poignant that it drives her to tears.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Invoked. The way Nozomi describes her musicianship is in stark contrast to what is shown in the story, as she touts her as a color-rich and heartfelt musician, all the while Mizore is proverbially flattening out.
• Refusal of the Call: In Liz and The Blue Bird, she's supposed to be the leader of the woodwind section, but her emotional distance prevents her from getting involved with her fellow section members.
• Shrinking Violet: She has considerable difficulties making friends, and she can barely string two words together with her shyness.
• Survivor Guilt: Mizore tells Yuuko that, while she was happy about winning in Kyoto, she felt just as guilty for all the Minami faction that quit, making her think that she didn't deserve to be happy.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Yuuko berates her for saying that she's her friend because of pity, stating that she's always been there for Mizore supporting her.

Year 2 / Movie Band Members

Ririka Kenzaki

Voiced by: Shiori Sugiura (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English)

A first-year oboist and newcomer to the wind section. First appearing in Liz and The Blue Bird, she's known for her lackadaisical personality, she's a dutiful admirer of Mizore and wants to be her friend.

Kanade Hisaishi

Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English)

A first-year euphonist and newcomer to the bass section. First appearing in Brand New Day, she's a confrontational and snappy understudy and foil to Kumiko.

Mirei Suzuki

Voiced by: Ayaka Nanase (Japanese)

A first-year tuba player and newcomer to the bass section. First appearing in Brand New Day, she's a towering, serious and no-nonsense member with loner tendencies. She's been a childhood friend of fellow section member Satsuki.

Satsuki Suzuki

Voiced by: Misaki Kuno (Japanese)

A first-year tuba player and newcomer to the bass section. First appearing in Brand New Day, she's a small, bubbly and friendly girl who strikes a quick friendship with Hazuki. She's been a childhood friend of fellow section member Mirei, striving for her to integrate with the section more.

Motomu Tsukinaga

Voiced by: Shimba Tsuchiya (Japanese)

A first-year double bass player and newcomer to the bass section. First appearing in Brand New Day, he's Sapphire's understudy and admirer who has a height complex and resents being seen as cute or immature.

Season 3 Members

Suzume Kamaya

Voiced by: Shiina Natsukawa (Japanese)

A first-year tuba player that joins the club during Kumiko's 3rd year. She is the younger sister of Tsubame Kamaya.

Kaho Hariya

Voiced by: Momoka Terasawa (Japanese)

A first-year that joins the club during Kumiko's 3rd year. She plays the Euphonium

Sari Yoshii

Voiced by: Emiri Suyama (Japanese)

A first-year Clairnet player that joins the club during Kumiko's 3rd year. She went to the same middle school as Mirei.

Yayoi Kamiishi

Voiced by: Ayane Matsuda (Japanese)

A first-year tuba player that joins the club during Kumiko's 3rd year.

Mayu Kuroe

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese)

A third-year transfer student Euphonist from Fukuoka that plays the Euphonium.

Concert Band Directors and Associates

Noboru Taki

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Wayne Grayson (English, Liz and the Blue Bird), Robbie Daymond (English, Brand New Day)

The new music teacher and advisor of the music club. A former trombonist and the son of famed conductor and former Kitauji music director Tohru Taki, he is the homeroom teacher for class 2-5 in the novels. Though he replaced Mrs. Rikako altogether in the anime as the music teacher, in the light novels he's her temporary replacement during her maternity leave. He's polite, but doesn't seem to be very involved in the club at first.

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• The Ace: He took Kitauji High School to the Nationals and placed third, and obtained gold in both Kyoto and Kansai on his very first year at the helm, this also being the first time the school has ranked at all in any of those competitions in a whole decade.
• Adaptation Expansion: Mr. Taki's plan to take Kitauji to the Nationals is far more urgent in the books, as he is a temporary teacher whose tenure will end with the school year's end in Spring. As a matter of fact, this is stated to be the reason why he pressures the students so much as to fulfill his own ends. As such, Kitauji's bid for the Nationals is effectively nullified at the end of the books because his tenure ends when the school's music teacher returns from her leave; in change, the anime specifies that Mr. Taki will have a more permanent role after the end of the school year.
• Ambition Is Evil: In the light novels, he is apathetic and borderline cruel with the students because he is focused on taking Kitauji to the Nationals and only has until the end of the school year to be able to do so. In the anime, his ambition is far more altruistic and he isn't being pressured by a timetable.
• Apathetic Teacher: Moves back and forth between this and Stern Teacher. After the club votes on entering the Nationals, he tells them not to bother him until they can play as an ensemble. He doesn't show up to any of their first few practices or give any students advice, leaving it up to the section leaders to teach new students and organize practices. When the club tries to play together for the first time, he harshly shuts them down, criticizes them, and forbids them from playing in a concert until they learn how to play together. His expression and voice never changes, even when criticizing the club.
  • He takes a more active role after the band proves themselves. The only time he openly raises his voice in anger is when he catches the band removing the blankets that helped soundproof the room, though he realises the ensemble has been fractured following the decision to let Reina perform the trumpet solo rather than Kaori under the belief it is due to favouritism. He later welcomes the performers to re-audition in the orchestra.
• Brutal Honesty: He doesn't hold back when telling the club they suck.
• Childhood Friend: Invoked and subverted. He has known Reina since he was on middle school and their fathers used to be colleagues, but they're not particularly close per se. Still, he knows her enough to admire her musicianship, and she has had a crush on him from the moment she met him.
• Cryptic Background Reference: In the anime, he is presented as the new music director for the Kitauji Concert Band; this implies that his predecessor was either let go or forced to quit due to the complaints and mass exodus of band members the previous year. In the light novels, he's only the temporary replacement of Mrs. Rikako, a laissez-faire teacher who is on maternity leave.
• Dissonant Serenity: His defining feature. For all his harshness and blunt statements towards the band, Mr. Taki almost always sports a light smile and speaks in a calm manner. This makes him both endearing and feared by the band.
• Foregone Conclusion: Invoked. When he asks Kaori whether she will play the solo during the audition re-try, he's not asking her because he chose her, but rather, if she's willing to play it even after she heard Reina playing the hell out of the same solo. Kaori immediately relents that she won't, winning Reina the solo.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: Though it's not apparent in the anime, in the light novels Mr. Taki hires Mr. Hashimoto and Mrs. Niiyama to help him with the other sections because he realizes that he's focusing too much on the brass sections (being a college trombone major himself).
• Hidden Depths: He's an awful lot more caring and helping than he lets on. Though he berates the ensemble for playing awfully, he still goes section by section to correct their shortcomings and offer his much needed input, while still being harsh as sandpaper. In fact, the first time the ensemble is able to play in harmony, they do so just with the drive to spite him and his attitude. In the novels, he pushes his students due to the fact that he's only there temporarily and only has less than a year to make it to the Nationals.
• Hot Teacher: He's noted to be attractive by his students. Hazuki points this out to Kumiko shortly after he's introduced himself to the club.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When Yuuko accuses him of playing favorites on the auditions in favor on Reina because he's known the girl for years, he resorts to have both Reina and Kaori play the lead trumpet together in front of the whole band. Reina, his original choice, plays the hell out of the solo, making Kaori relent that her rival is just the better performer, and giving credence to his judgment.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Kumiko and Hazuki witness how Mr. Taki berates a flutist girl at the band to the point of making her cry during his sectional instructions. Later, it's rather glaring how Mr. Taki doesn't berate the Bass section like he did with the rest of the sections, implying that he combed through all of the rest in an equal manner and that they were in better footing themselves.
  • Subverted in the case of Kumiko. After spending a considerable effort trying to improve in a particularly hard bar from Crescent Moon Dance, Kumiko is surreptitiously dropped from the part by Mr. Taki. She gets upset to the point of tears at the frustration, though in a later conversation, Mr. Taki tells her that he hasn't forgotten that she promised to nail the part, providing her with the drive to regain it.
• Never Accepted in His Hometown: After the band wins in Kyoto, Mr. Taki hires Mr. Hashimoto to coach the percussion section. On his introduction, Mr. Hashimoto jokingly asks whether Mr. Taki is popular among the girls in the band, to which they emphatically tell him that he's popular among the girls that are not in the band, precisely because they don't know him.
• Odd Friendship: He allows Reina to pry on the subject of his deceased wife because he's known the girl since she was very little, as he was an understudy of her father. On Reina's side, she'd rather have a Teacher/Student Romance.
• In-Series Nickname: "The Meddling-Cute Demon", according to Kumiko.
• The Lost Lenore: His wife died several years ago, which made him apathetic.
• Oblivious to Love: Reina declares her love for him during the Nationals in front of the whole audience, yet he takes it as an attempt to cheer him from the ensemble itself as a whole. Reina later tells him to his face that she freakin' loves him, but he still doesn't take the hint and he's more elated at the fact that the ensemble likes him even with all his harshness. Reina's section bandmates console her, telling her that he'll understand eventually.
• Running Gag: Arriving late to the band's presentation and failing to deliver a remotely decent pep talk when put on the spot. It happens to him at least three times.
• Stern Teacher: A mix between this and Apathetic Teacher. Criticizes the club's first attempt at playing together, telling them that they're wasting his time and to call him only when they learn how to play in ensemble.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: At first impression, he is quite the dreamy guy... but don't ask the concert band girls about how he actually is.

Michie Matsumoto

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Cindy Robinson (English, Brand New Day)

Mrs. Matsumoto is Kumiko, Hazuki and Sapphire's hard-nosed homeroom teacher and Mr. Taki's assistant band director, presumably handling the logistics.

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• The Dragon: To Mr. Taki in the eyes of the band.
• Last of Her Kind: She was the assistant director of the Kitauji band when it was conducted by Mr. Taki and Reina's fathers.
• Long-Runners: She has been a teacher and assistant band director at Kitauji for at least ten years. She's the oldest character in the series, as she's at least fifty years old.
• Mentor Archetype: She provides guidance to Mr. Taki, who is new to his job. She is both a source of security and experience for him.
• Odd Friendship: She is very fond of the band president Haruka Ogasawara, and even cries when she graduates.
• Older Than They Look: She's at least 50, but looks barely past 35.
• Not So Above It All: She is very sentimental, often seen crying after the band's competition performances.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: Invoked. By the way she carries herself, is either her way or the highway. She's more caring than that, though.
• Stern Teacher: She's quite the disciplinarian.

Masahiro Hashimoto

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Mike Pollock (English, Liz and the Blue Bird), Patrick Seitz (English, Brand New Day)

Mr. Hashimoto is a professional percussionist and a former student of Kitauji. He is a close friend of Mr. Taki who used to be under the conduction of Mr. Taki's father in high school alongside Mr. Taki's wife; he is hired to assist him in the band.

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• Cloudcuckoolander: He is notoriously eccentric and laid back, often going to the practices in Hawaiian shirts, shorts and sandals.
• The Heart: He is very sentimental, arguing that he almost cried when he heard that Mr. Taki would instruct at Kitauji after five years of mourning.
• Hidden Depths:
  • In spite of his appearance and attitude, he is a consummate professional who ultimately seeks that the band express their feelings through music.
  • He can accurately judge the emotional mood of particular players just by listening to their performance.
• The Mentor: To the percussion section members.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: He spills the beans on Mr. Taki's deceased wife onto Kumiko, though he makes a point of immediately telling Mr. Taki about it as soon as he can.

Satomi Niiyama

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Ryan Bartley (English)

Mrs. Niiyama is an instructor hired by Mr. Taki to assist him with the instruction of the woodwind section. She was Mr. Taki and Mr. Hashimoto's underclassman and close friend at college.

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• The Beautiful Elite: The first impression that the bandmembers get from her is that she is a drop-dead gorgeous woman.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • She personally apologizes to Mizore after deeming her as good as a high school girl, having realized that Mizore is way better than she thought;
  • In Liz and The Blue Bird, Nozomi asks her about getting into a music college, and albeit she's courteous, she treats her request dismissively, as she doesn't think that Nozomi is a musician good enough to pursue professionalism.
• The Mentor: To the woodwind section members. In Liz and The Blue Bird, she starts personally coaching Mizore after seeing her potential as a musician.
• Nice Girl: She apologizes to Mizore because she thought that the young oboist had already peaked in the potential she could possibly reach, later realizing that Mizore is actually holding back.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: She has long flowing hair.
• Ojou: She conducts herself as a proper lady, and has the appearance to boot.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Invoked and subverted. She is a close friend of Mr. Taki and she speaks to him familiarly, so the bandmembers speculate that there's something between them. In turn, she is married.
• The Tease: From her introduction, the bandmembers speculate that she has something going on with Mr. Taki, though it's later revealed that she's married.

Other Characters

Azusa Sasaki

Voiced by: Azusa Tadokoro

Azusa is a former classmate and bandmate of Kumiko, Reina and Shuichi in the Daikichiyama Kita middle school. She is now a member of the Rikka High School Band playing the trombone, and the only former bandmate that Kumiko keeps in contact with. She is the protagonist of the spinoff light novel Sound! Euphonium Series: Welcome to the Rikka High School Marching Band Prequel, a story shown from the perspective of her concert band.

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• Early-Bird Cameo: She's the first named character besides Kumiko that appears in the series, sitting right next to Kumiko when the middle school competition results are being announced.
• Informed Ability: She is a part of the Rikka High School Marching Band, implying that she is a dexterous trombonist.
• Last of Her Kind: Azusa is Kumiko's last remaining friend and bandmate from Daikichiyama; it's shown in the beginning that, albeit not that close, Kumiko and Azusa were in more friendly terms with each other than how Kumiko was with the rest of her bandmates (even Reina, as they didn't become close friends until they were both at Kitauji).
• Mr. Exposition: She is the first person that tells Kumiko that Reina outright refused the invitation to register on Rikka, though Kumiko later puts two and two together, realizing that Reina joined Kitauji because of Mr. Taki. She also tells her that most of their bandmates are attending Minamikami High School.
• Nice Girl: She's nothing but friendly, and she's the only former bandmember that Kumiko keeps tabs on.
• The Rival: To Kumiko as a member of a rival school band; other than that, they're friends.

Mamiko Oumae

Voiced by: Manami Numakura

Mamiko is Kumiko's older sister. She's a third year college student who often visits her family home. She has a cold relationship with both her family and Kumiko. She attended an unspecified high school where she used to be a concert band trombonist.

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• Broken Pedestal: Kumiko is shown to be deeply affected by her sister's quitting of concert band.
• Cool Big Sis: To Kumiko when she was little and to Shuichi by extension. She's the entire reason Kumiko began playing the euph, and it's implied that she's the reason Shuichi is in band too, and ended up playing the trombone in high school like Mamiko did. Lately, she and Kumiko can barely look at each other eye to eye.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: It takes her quite a while to pick up just how much Kumiko misses her and how distant they've grown to each other.
• Foil: Various in relation to the concert band:
  • To Kumiko. Mamiko argues that Kumiko gets to enjoy the concert band while she was forced to quit; Kumiko herself doesn't quite see it as "enjoyment", precisely because she's missing Mamiko herself.
  • To Aoi. They both quit the concert band with the intention of getting into their college of choice, though Mamiko was actually forced into it by her father.
  • To Asuka. Both their parents tried to force them into quitting the band to focus in their studies, though Mamiko didn't have the academic resourcefulness to justify her staying at the band. Mamiko is what would have happened to Asuka had she budged to her mother.
  • To Nozomi. Both came to regret their decision to quit the band and they unwittingly left two dear friends behind and brokenhearted by doing so (Mizore for Nozomi, Kumiko for Mamiko), after having inspired them to pick up their instruments.
• Foreshadowing: One has to wonder why Mamiko keeps pestering Kumiko about the concert band and why she doesn't want Kumiko to either play the euph at home or play concert band music on her stereo. She's quite the one-trick-pony in that respect, explaining why she comes to regret her quitting the trombone years earlier.
• Hero Worship:
  • In the last arc, Kumiko tells her that everything that she's accomplished is due to her example, and that she has always loved her.
  • She's the very reason Shuichi picked up the trombone in high school after having played the French horn at Daikichiyama.
• Hidden Depths: Deep down she has nothing but pride and love for Kumiko's accomplishments.
• Hypocrite: Kumiko berates her because she used to talk her down for focusing on the band rather than studying, having dropped out of college.
• I Coulda Been a Contender!: She berates her father because he stifled her wish to play the trombone.
• Like Brother and Sister: It's shown that Shuichi greatly admires and cares for her much like Kumiko does, even though they're not related.
• The Mentor: She's the reason Kumiko and Shuichi joined concert band, and the reason they both want to switch to trombone when they enter high school. Shuichi is successful in switching from the French horn, while Kumiko is roped into the euph once again by Asuka.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her quitting concert band and her general attitude are implied to be among the main reasons why Kumiko is so pessimistic and aloof with her family.
• My Greatest Failure: Witnessing how Kumiko is being nurtured in her musicianship pursuits, she admits that she deeply regrets having given up the trombone to focus on her studies.
• Rebuilt Pedestal: She eventually starts realizing that all that Kumiko wanted was to be able to play music with her; in the last arc of the anime, Kumiko makes a point in telling her that she's the whole reason she plays music and that she'll always love her for it.
• Tragic Dropout: By seeing how Kumiko is fully embracing her concert band, she comes to realize that she didn't want to quit the trombone or the concert band and go along the way that her parents dragged her into by guilt-tripping her. Thus, she drops out of college and her father disowns her.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Kumiko's parents might be doting to her much unlike they were with Mamiko, but Mamiko gave Kumiko an invaluable treasure that defines her very being: the gift of music. In the end, Kumiko makes a point to let Mamiko finally know of how grateful she is and how much she loves her for this.

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