It doesn’t matter what Kumiko wants.
(Minor Eupho finale spoilers ahead)
That’s the painful reality of Hibike! Euphonium’s third season, especially for the viewer who (presumably) aligns with our hero’s desires.
The third season does an excellent job in rehashing what we all loved about the first, but its biggest success is in twisting our expectations from the familiar to the uncharted. Kumiko becomes president, which means she can exercise greater control in getting what she wants right? Wrong.
As I’ve argued before, this (in part) is what makes Kumiko an excellent president. She realizes her place within the band is as a mediator, a punching bag, a soundboard, and—most importantly—a selfless decision-maker. It doesn’t come without pain, but it’s in learning to live with the disappointment that our hero grows to become the most effective (and successful) leader the Kitauji band has ever seen.
Kumiko isn’t the only one with unfulfilled desires, of course. Asuka doesn’t win gold, Nozomi can’t live out her dream, Shun doesn’t win Kumiko’s heart (yes i know what happens in the source material but let me have this one), Kanade doesn’t play at Nationals, Reina can’t…well…you know. And Kumiko doesn’t get the soli, even when getting the soli would be the most obvious thing in the world to happen for someone who deserves it.
But the thing is, someone else deserves it, too. Someone else will always deserve the thing that you want, and sometimes that means you won’t get it. It happens all the time! But in a medium filled with so much wish-fulfillment, it’s important to get these occasional reminders that disappointment is natural…and that it will all be okay in the end.
There are a lot of reasons why I think Hibike! Euphonium is the greatest televised anime ever made, many of which are technical and aesthetic and lean heavily towards personal taste. But perhaps the biggest reason is how a show about a high school band on the other side of the world—the most innocuous premise conceivable—manages to bring out some of the most important life lessons anyone of any age could possibly learn. Yes, I want what Kumiko wants, and it upset me so much that she doesn’t get it—just as much as it uplifts me to see the results of her growth born from that pain and frustration.
Hibike’s final act is the show’s greatest movement—a soaring testament to KyoAni’s storytelling power and the emotional height of what televised fiction can attain. Perhaps that’s a recency bias showing, but then again—how could I expect less from the greatest anime ever made?
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