If I was to sum up my experience with Hibike! Euphonium in just one phrase, this would be it. The final quote from our "protagonist" of this story, if that's what you want to call her.

I wouldn't though.

Kumiko Oumae wasn't the protagonist of this story. Reina Kousaka, Asuka Tanaka, Mizore Yoroizuka. None of these characters were the protagonist of Hibike! Euphonium, but instead protagonists of their own story within the compilation that is Hibike! Euphonium.

I'll get into my scores soon, but before I comment on anything else, I want to make this clear. I cried watching this series. It wasn't during Yoroizuka's story that had felt like a punch to my gut. It wasn't during the competition finale where our favorite team earned bronze. It wasn't when Reina realized that her love was lost... for now. No, I cried at the same place where KyoAni made me cry before. The same place where I cried during the beautiful ending of K-On!. The Graduation Ceremony.

High School anime is a popular genre, and we all know it, but nothing is worse than when a high school anime is so good that you care about every character so deeply, that you end up balling your eyes out just knowing they're leaving. As someone who graduated this previous Spring, and watched as the underclassmen waved us off, I feel like it hurt just a little more this time. Enough about me being a crybaby over fictional goodbyes though (or lack of goodbyes), I'll get into my final thoughts.

From the beginning, I loved the story and idea of Hibike! Euphonium. It was a simple one just following a concert band in their goal to win the national championship, topped nicely with drama, worldbuilding, and characters that made me want to love each and every one of them dearly. Just this second season, especially after the first 3 episodes which were a bit slow, was some of the best anime I have watched. I love idol anime, as you can easily figure out just by looking over my list, and I have a passion for music like I think we all do. Music is something that can move the world, and connect with someone no matter where they are, proven solely by the fact that all across the world, we listen to these songs that traverse barriers and ignore warfare, from Korean Music being celebrated in the US to J-Pop making its way around the globe because of this medium that we adore so much. Though, no music traverses the globe as well as an orchestra. No music can move people the way simple instruments can. That's why Hibike managed to melt its way into my heart so easily, and why the music in this series is what really tops it all off.

From the animation to characters to story, this show was another masterpiece from Kyoto Animation. It was beautiful and smooth, every character felt important and led a role that no one else could fill, with Kumiko acting as our way into this world, Asuka keeping us more attached to an empty character than seemingly possible, and Reina showing us that love doesn't just mean romance, and that sometimes the strongest love we can show is through the things, not the people, that we love. Through all of this though, the sound is what brought this series to greatness. From the roles each VA played, perfectly capturing us in scenes when they demanded the attention, from the melancholy tracks that played throughout the underlying sadness that continued to be built off of in this high school series, all the way to the music that we listened to the band play, the music that carried the characters into our hearts, the music that made our emotions sway like a pendulum, the music that connected the world to this simple series, and most importantly, the music that even the cast held close to their hearts: