One poster in a forum pointed this out succinctly: Kumiko, at the point in her life the anime is portraying doesn't know where she stands on Shuichi yet. However, she's still in her first year of high school, and what's more, it's not even the end of the school year yet. People can change their minds, especially teenagers with their lives ahead of them like Kumiko is.
However the same poster also states that Kumiko and Reina are undeniably tied to each other, but such a thing doesn't have to be romantic. They could eventually end up with other people, but that wouldn't make them any less soulmates now, would it?
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Considering Kyo Ani wrote out Reina's confession of a crush on Taki… eh. This is only an adaption of the first novel anyway, so who really cares.
My prediction: more kinda-flirting between Kumiko and Reina, Shuichi continues to be childhood friendzoned, Riko and Goto continue to be cute. Hazuki can find solace in Sapphire's arms, I guess.
Still, makes me smirk that Kumiko won't take her euphonium to practice with Shuichi, but will carry it up a mountain for Reina.
edited 1st Jun '15 12:28:40 PM by majoraoftime
I really wish people would realize an anime adaptation is not the same as its source, and just not complain about the ending on the light novel already. One, it spoils the story for me. Two, why not enjoy the anime itself?? Kyo Ani is clearly portraying the tension between Kumiko and Reina as the major focus right now. They has to be a reason they're doing this. Perhaps it's because they know they're not going to have another season of this so they're going for broke and ending it in the middle of the story?
There's a twitter bot that just spams the page of the novel where Kumiko accepts Shuichi's confession at anyone who tweets "yuri" and "euphonium" together. Sound! Euphonium is not yuri!
Pretty funny/sad.
edited 1st Jun '15 12:40:39 PM by majoraoftime
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Correction: Euphonium is a traditional novel series . ;) This is not Gate, which DID get a light novel rewrite two years later.
Also, good point about looking at the anime as a stand-alone work, but any future criticism will ALSO have to contend with the work in the context of the original. At least that's what my thesis mentor keeps on hammering into my head.
Specifically, it happens in book 4, set during the Fall.
edited 1st Jun '15 12:44:24 PM by MyssaRei
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There's only fourteen episodes in the season, correct? My statement assumed that Nationals would be the logical endpoint of the season, since we're already on Episode 9 and we haven't even reached the Prefecturals yet. Hell, it looks like Episode 9 will be totally consumed by the audition and the subsequent fallout, so that leaves only four episodes for further practice, the entirety of the competition, and any responses and characterization related to it. There just doesn't seem to be room to consider anything beyond it.
As a viewer only watching the anime, and not having gone out of my way to read anything about the original novels, it seems to me that the dramatic arc of anime revolves around the competition. So while Kumiko does indeed have years of high school left to consider her relationships—which is what evidently happens in the novels—it's not a major consideration for me as a follower of the anime.
Hence my statement above. I doubt Kumiko's going to make any major steps towards a romance in the few episodes we have left.
x9
I'm not sure what that has to do with me choosing not to ship it based on what spoilers I've read.
x5
Sorry but no. People are allowed to let the novels influence how they view the anime as well as to expect the anime to follow them or be upset if it doesn't.
edited 1st Jun '15 7:03:24 PM by Chariot
Um, what? Someone had to take the time out of their day to produce a twitter bot that informs people they have the wrong opinion about cartoon not-lesbians. In your view, this is a reasonable thing to do?
edited 1st Jun '15 7:09:05 PM by majoraoftime
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There are people who only watched the anime and have no interest whatsoever in the novel. They interpret the characters and their relationships based on what they see in the anime, and that's a perfectly valid stance as well. To begin with we don't even know if the anime is going to follow the novel anyway. They already changed a lot of stuff. Not the general plot, but things related to characterization and relationship dynamics. They changed that a lot.
In fact, I will post a list of all the changed I remember from the top of my head. This is stuff the anime already covered so it's not really spoilers:
Reina wasn't a big character in the novel until the date up the mountain. Kumiko wasn't fixated on her from the beginning like on the show. Reina had barely any appearances before the festival in the novel, and it was the first time they were alone together. In terms of major scenes, episode 4's apology was original. Episode 5's meeting with Reina on the train was original. Pretty much the entirety of episode 6 was original, and the scene with Reina popping up to interrupt Kumiko and Shuuichi in episode 7 was original as well.
At the beginning of the anime, Reina positively commands Kumiko's thoughts, especially in episodes 1 and 2. In the book, Kumiko never discusses her history with Reina with Midori, Hazuki or Aoi, there's no struggle with getting to talk to her again, and her not raising her hand during the election to go to the Nationals had nothing to do with Kumiko worrying what Reina would think.
In episode 8, they added the love song duet up the mountain. In the novel they don't even bring their instrument along. They also added the Yuki Onna (Snow Maiden) references. In the novel Reina doesn't touch Kumiko's lips, she just touches her cheek. They changed where Shuichi asks Kumiko to go to the festival: in the anime they sit at the bench while in the novel they're on the train and Kumiko is flustered instead of confused. Then they removed a scene where Shuichi talks to Kumiko briefly at the festival: the anime has the girls immediately go to the mountain and not interact with anyone else.
The scene in episode 8 where he asked her to practice with him by the river was a particularly large change. In the anime, she says "no, it's too heavy" and he drops it and runs off blushing after trying to invite her to the festival. In the original scene, he strongly implies that he meant it as more than an invitation to brass practice, and she's the one who then runs off embarrassed after tsundere-ly agreeing to it.
Shuuichi has a overall bigger presence in the novel, and Kumiko's attitude towards him is more tsundere and open rather than apathetic like in the anime.
BTW, for what I saw in the preview for episode 9, it also has some anime-orginal content. It seems Midori is depressed for some reason. I think that wasn't in the book.
edited 1st Jun '15 10:03:39 PM by kazukun
Those are interesting differences. I think pitting Reina as Kumiko's ideal—the person she wants to be more like—was a good choice for adaptation, but it does rather show that Reina's interest in Kumiko is somewhat less sophisticated, and that kind of background in the source material makes sense.
It makes sense that Kumiko was more flustered about the whole festival thing in the novel, too. She acts rather flustered in the scenes after the bench, but just not right then.
It puzzles me, actually. Why should she be flustered about the matter in this continuity, anyway? All she has to do is say no to Shuichi, and that resolves things. It makes Hazuki happy, and if Kumiko isn't interested in making Shuichi happy herself, that's the best option. Giving Hazuki a chance is the best option all around, as long as she's okay with the possibility of losing Shuichi to Hazuki. Unless she's concerned about hurting his feelings? That in itself would seem like a new dynamic for them. But given how she puts on a face ("You should go, Shuichi!") to push him toward Hazuki, I'm not sure that's a good theory for what's going through her head.
Author of The Second Coming (NGE) and The Coin (Haruhi).Thanks for sharing, kazukun, that's pretty interesting. I have to say, I like the decisions Kyo Ani made. I guess Shuichi might be more interesting in the novel(s) where he has more scenes, but here he's real bland. Kousaka's Aku No Hana-lite thing with Kumiko is more interesting.
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"My music sheets were soaked in blood" Midori going fuckin' Whiplash.
Really liked the bit where Asuka storms off. Nice that she's getting humanized beyond comic relief.
Does Shuichi eat a corn dog every day. Jesus christ.
KyoAni are being awful cheeky about the Reina thing.
Is this the most blatant yuri bait stuff they've done? I haven't really seen much of their other work.
"When are you going to get out?" Yeeess siblings being dicks to one another
They nailed the tension. Nice.
Aw, messy ponytail sempai couldn't beat Kumiko's experience. But there's next year.
No next year for whatsherface, though. Kousaka jackin' yo swag.
Looks like they reframed the "Taki-sensei's awesome" bit from Kousaka having a crush on him to trying to convince herself she made the right decision to come to Kitauju. Neat trick.
edited 2nd Jun '15 1:06:57 PM by majoraoftime
Episode 9
In which only the mightiest survive.
Yikes. Asuka is Best Girl still?? Right? I hope her sudden mood swings don't ruin the show for anyone.
lol comparing her sound like a fancy restaurant and nudging Kumiko. Yep, Asuka is still Best Girl! :D Even if she's pissed. At least she doesn't yell and scream.
Aah the voice Hazuki gave George-kun is so cuuuuute!
"Don't come in! I'm pretending I'm Cactus-kun giving me love advice!"
Okay NOW she realizes why Reina chose this school.
Woooah. Natsuki's really good.
God I can't take the tension. -__-
Oh nooo. The ones who didn't make it in aren't taking it well. ;___;
What??? No. Natsuki didn't get in?? Nooo!! Nooo!!
lol Hazuki's like, "Oh! I failed?? Huh would you look at that."

Given that apparently Kumiko and her childhood friend get together in the novels I can't get invested in Kumiko/Reina are a romantic pairing. As friends though? Yeah that's pretty clearly the second most important part of the anime after the band as a whole and their struggles together.