Note: This post contains spoilers about Hibike! Euphonium Season 3 Episode 12.
I usually don't write about single episodes, but Hibike! Euphonium Season 3 Episode 12 triggered something in me.
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In this episode, Taki-sensei felt that Kumiko and Mayu were more or less equals, and could not decide on who to choose for the euphonium solist. So he decided to hold a one-on-one audition for them in front of the rest of the band, much like the audition between Reina and Kaori in Season 1, and let the band members decide.
Except this time, the circumstances are totally different. Taki-sensei felt that Reina was better than Kaori and therefore chose Reina. The one-on-one audition showed Kaori that Reina was the better choice, which was why Kaori admitted after the audition that she cannot be the one to play the trumpet solo part.
This time, Kumiko and Mayu are on par. If a professional musician like Taki-sensei is unable to choose between the two based on their skills, what makes him think that the rest of the band--some of them beginners, some of them with more experience, but none of them anywhere near as good in music as him--are able to discern who is better at playing the euphonium? Even Kumiko was surprised by the results. This means that, unlike Kaori, she did not feel that she was below Mayu in skill. Instead, she ended up having to give a speech again, like at the Kansai round, to keep the band together (and not because she was convinced that Mayu is better).
This shakes the very principle that Kumiko believes in, and which Reina has been stressing. Kumiko believes that the school band advocates meritocracy: the better player is chosen. Reina believes that Taki-sensei bases his choices on skill: he chooses the better player, and whoever he chooses is the better player.
By deferring the decision of the euphonium solist to the rest of the band, Taki-sensei has pushed away his responsibility of choosing the better player based on his professional knowledge. Whoever the rest of the band chooses, we cannot be sure of the criteria for each person's choice. Did they vote for Mayu because she was better? Did they vote for Kumiko because she was better? Or did they vote based on some other reason (pity, friendship, etc.)? In the end, the school band is no longer about meritocracy, because the professional musician shirked away his responsibility and left the choice up to the amateurs.
This also means that Reina's belief in Taki-sensei was wrong. She believed that he was consistent in his choices: every choice was made based on skill. By deliberately choosing to let others choose, Taki-sensei now allows people to doubt his selection criteria. Because he could not decide. If the only criteria was skill, even if Kumiko and Mayu are on par, there must be that 0.01% difference, or 0.001% difference. But Taki-sensei did not make a decision based on that minute difference. So then, what are the other factors that prevented him from making a decision based on skill?
It was also extremely cruel to make Reina choose. If even Taki-sensei was unable to make a clear choice between the two, Reina would all the more have problems trying to choose one of them. But she was made to choose. I would assume she made her choice based on the skills of Kumiko and Mayu, but it would probably have been hard for her to choose since Reina could hardly be called as good in music as Taki-sensei. And if she chose Kumiko, those who chose Mayu in the band may think Reina was favouring Kumiko. If she chose Mayu, she would be going against her own heart of wanting to perform the solo part with Kumiko.
Taki-sensei's choice of Mayu for the Kansai round split the band, and in the end, Kumiko had to step up and unite everyone together. Taki-sensei's choice to hold a public audition again split the band into two, and once again, Kumiko had to step in to unite the band. It almost seems as if it was a deliberate choice by the production team to get Kumiko to come and clear up the mess made by Taki-sensei.
And this is just one part of the problem.
Next week would be the final episode, when the band performs at the national finals. If the solist had been chosen by Taki-sensei, there would be consistency in the story, and the outcome would naturally be accepted as the skill of the band.
But because Taki-sensei did not make this choice and pushed it to the band, the outcome could be interpreted in different ways. If they do well, what does it signal? That the band knows better than their teacher? And if the band does not perform well? All the choices made for naught.
The decision for having an audition at each stage didn't matter. All
that hard work didn't matter. Hard work is not rewarded. Adhering to
meritocracy is not rewarded. Fan will cry from anguish but hey, they are
still crying.
In the end, I think this twist in the story throws away Kumiko's growth over three seasons; she didn't get to be that special someone, which would be made worse if the band did well even without her playing the euphonium solo part. She entered high school as one of the euphonium players, and she finished high school in that same exact role. She did her best in her third year as the president of the band, held it together, but who is to say that someone else couldn't have done the same thing? In the end, her story got hijacked, and her reward (to play the solo part with Reina) was taken away from her.
When changes are made to a story, it can make the story better when being delivered in another medium. I always like to give the example of Violet Evergarden. But in this case, the changes undermine the story so far. I hate to say it, but if the change was made for shock and awe, well, it achieved its goal, but fans will remember such tricks. No one likes having their emotions played. We all love Kyoani and the fanatics will defend anything that Kyoani does, but such fancy tactics may end up disheartening the broader fanbase over time.
Okay, end of my ranting...
Keeping my fingers crossed for the final episode next week. 🤞
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