Hibike! Euphonium S2 Rewatched:

Another series knocked off my checklist.  I've now watched and rewatched Hibike! Euphonium in full.  Since this show is the most beautiful anime ever, it was a real treat seeing it in blu-ray for the first time.

The sheer scale of creating 50 separate, unique character designs for every single member of the band is unbelievable and unprecedented.  Combine that with the incredible background scenery, the gorgeous lighting (watching people get highlighted by the headlamps of cars and then returning to shadow as the cars drove by was just insane.  No anime has ever even attempted something like that before.), the trademark moe of Kyoto Animation, and the again unprecedented running scenes where even when the camera rotates it's still all hand drawn. . . it's just unmatched.  Even compared to other works by Kyoto Animation, it's still unmatched.

The series is not only a visual treat but also an auditory one, with great classical music throughout, as expected of a show about band.  Though I guess to be technical, they're not a brass band, but a wind ensemble, which apparently just means every type of instrument except stringed, except the bass is still allowed despite being stringed.

Then on top of it you have great (and unique!) characters, realistic and relatable drama, and a full story from beginning to end.  Well, it's no wonder it's ranked higher than Sword Art Online.

And Hibike! isn't even done yet.  With the upcoming movies, we'll get to see how they fare in their next year of classes as well.  I'll be sure to watch the movies twice too when the chance arises.

I will give a wry complaint, that Kumiko seems to always be at the exact right place at the exact right time to always gain necessary, otherwise 'out-of-character' information.  She must have been a spy/ninja in her former life, her eavesdropping skill is so maxed out.  But I guess that's something we just have to accept in order for the plot to move forward.  I don't see any way around it except for something even more unnatural to happen -- for people to suddenly start confiding in her all their deepest secrets out of the blue when before they preferred to keep it all secret.

In other news, BanG Dream's ova came out subtitled today.  It was just an excuse to see our heroines in swimsuits at the beach, but I don't mind.  They also put on a proper band performance so the story stayed true to itself at the same time.

Now we just have to wait for BanG Dream! to come out in blu-ray so it too can be rewatched.