Hibike! Euphonium 3 – 12 – True Meritocracy

In an unprecedented move, both Kumiko and Mayu are chosen in the auditions to play the soli in the Nationals. But only one can play, so they’ll have another audition in front of the rest of the band, who will then vote who advances to the soli part. Taki-sensei tells her that it’s come to this because he believes either of them is worthy of the part.

Now that it comes to this, Kumiko insists that both she and Mayu be concealed on the audition stage so the others won’t know who is playing. This request impresses Taki-sensei immensely, and he declares it an honor to have such an upstanding student.

The drama is lightened a bit by another Kumiko x Reina scene, tinged with the knowledge it’s one of the last we’ll get as there’s only one episode after this one. Reina puts her palms on Kumiko’s cheeks and tells her she’d better win, because she’ll be upset if she doesn’t.

But while Kanade believes Mayu to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Kumiko finds a third way: detente with Mayu, and, perhaps for the first time in Mayu’s life, acknowledgement that someone understands a little about how she feels. Even now, at the end, Kumiko insists that the best player win.

While I don’t doubt her competitive spirit, I finally believe Mayu values playing together harmoniously with everyone, regardless of her role or how far they rise. That’s because she wasn’t able to play with her friend. Unlike Reina and Kumiko, she played the same instrument as her friend and her friend, never picked for competitions, quit both the band and their friendship.

You can call Kumiko mature beyond her years, or demand that she be more childish or selfish in this scenario, but I totally understand why she won’t: overall, she’s had it better than Mayu to this point. Kanade is wrong; she isn’t choosing the short stick. She’s choosing to be true to herself, to Mayu, and to the band.

We hear each soli from beginning-to-end back-to-back, and even I could tell the first one was better, and was probably Mayu. It was close, and I didn’t want Kumiko to lose, but Mayu was the better player. My heart sank when Reina cast the deciding vote for the first player and Mayu stepped forward, just as Reina could barely contain her emotion and Kanade didn’t bother trying to.

But what made me prouder even than Kumiko beating Mayu fair and square was her showing absolute class and trueness in declaring this the best roster Kitauji could have. She says it forcefully and without hesitation, easing those who felt bad about their president losing. It’s not the president’s job to play the soli, but to make the band as good as it can be and support its members.

That said, Kumiko is obviously devastated by the result, and her placid facade definitely cracks when Kanade rushes up to her in tears and tells her it’s not fair, she shouldn’t have to accept this, and she wanted to play with her in the Nationals. Kumiko simply holds Kanade steady, tells her she’s a strong girl, and thanks her for her passionate sentiments.

But if her president face cracks a little in Kanade’s presence, it absolutely shatters into a million pieces upon meeting a bawling Reina at the same spot they had one of their most romantic scenes back in the first season. Reina feels terrible for choosing the best sound, and that that sound wasn’t Kumiko’s. But Kumiko, while tearful and frustrated to no end, has no doubt Reina did recognize her sound, and the hesitation in it.

But just like their relationship won’t end because they’re not going to music school together, their love for one another won’t change just because Reina picked Mayu for the soli. In fact, Kumiko trusted Reina, the drum major, to make the right decision, using her head and ears, not her heart. They won’t be playing the soli together, but they will be playing for National Gold, and thanks to Reina’s decision, they just might win it.

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Mushoku Tensei II – 23 – His Father’s Son

Rudy is understandably a mess after losing his left hand, his father, and his mother as he knew her. He’s holed up in his room and looks much the worse for wear, neither eating nor sleeping and racked with guilt and impostor syndrome. Why did Paul shield him, when he believes Norn, Aisha, Lilia and Zenith deserved it more?

Roxy comes to his room to invite him to explore Rapan more before they depart, but when he refuses, she locks the door and stays with him. She speaks of the pain of losing someone close while adventuring, considered Paul and Zenith a second family, and offers to stay with Rudy that night and comfort him; he can leave everything to her.

He does, and wakes up the next morning with a naked Roxy sleeping beside him. Her goal was to make him feel a little better by sharing the burden of the pain he felt, Rudy does feel a little better.

It gets his mind off his past life, when he neither honored nor mourned his parents. When he asks his Master what he should do next, Roxy’s answer is clear and direct: look forward, and treasure the family you still have, who are waiting for him.

Thanks to Roxy, Rudy is able to get out of his own head and realize he hasn’t been pulling his weight since Zenith was rescued. He apologizes to Lilia for this, but Lilia isn’t mad; it’s her duty to care for Zenith, who allowed her to stay in her home after her and Paul’s indiscretion, after all.

Zenith’s contact with the crystal didn’t affect her physically, but it did wipe all her mana and memories, a condition that may be irreversible. Lilia, who loved both Paul and Zenith, vows to take care of her in Paul’s stead. When Rudy declares he’ll help to, Lilia politely reminds him that this is her duty, and that he should tend to his own duty. Paul would have told him the same.

The party starts the trek back to the teleport circle and home, and during the trip Roxy is a lot more lovey-dovey. When Rudy comes out and tells her he’s married with a kid on the way, she’s not surprised, because Lize and Geese already told her.

While they insisted Rudy would be okay after Paul’s death and weren’t going to do anything, Roxy knew differently. She remembered how Rudy could be from their time in Buena, and then fell in love with him at first sight when he rescued her.

She knew he had a wife back home who would have surely comforted him in his time of grief. But his wife wasn’t there. She was. She doesn’t pretend what she did was moral or selfless; in fact she argues the opposite. But she doesn’t regret what she did, because she was the only one who could do it.

Kohara Konomi is so, so good voicing Roxy in this touching scene, and throughout the episode. Even if we condemn her for taking advantage of Rudy, whom she loved, it’s likely he’d still be wasting away in his room if she’d done nothing. Since she’s unaware that Rudy loves her too, she neither expects nor asks for anything in return other than hearing her excuse.

When they reach and use the teleportation circle that returns them to Sharia, Rudy takes the first night’s watch with Lize. Lize precedes a request by explaining how neither he nor Sylphie are followers of Millis, and thus are not limited to marrying one person. Lize also makes clear that while she’s now happily monogamous with Cliff, she sees no problem with loving two people the same amount.

To this end, she tells Rudy of Roxy’s suffering, standing aside despite loving him so deeply, and asks him to marry her. Lize suspects Rudy loves both women, and he does, differently yet equally. She also tells him that while she did cry at first, Zenith wasn’t miserable after Paul married Lilia. She also tells him he’s Paul’s son, so she knows he can do this.

Lize summons Roxy to speak to Rudy, and after stumbling with his words, Rudy goes what he believes to be “Full Dirtbag,” telling Roxy he loves her and asking if he’ll marry him and take the name Greyrat. Rather than quickly saying yes, Roxy does the practical thing, asking him to ask her again once he secures his first wife’s approval, which he’ll need in order to take a second.

I did not expect things to move this quickly between Rudy and Roxy, even though I suspected something would go down eventualy. It’s super messy (and bound to get messier), but also feels true to these characters, who have never felt more flawed and real.

Roxy is honest in everything she says and does here except when it comes to stepping aside and denying her own happiness simply due to bad timing. In turn, Rudy is able to be honest and request something he would never think of doing back in modern Japan, while proving he’s Paul Greyrat’s son and Paul Greyrat was his father.

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night – 12 (Fin) – Choosing Their Own Colors

Yukine is impressed with Mahiru’s ability to provide hard numbers for why JELEE deserves a spot at the New Year’s show alongside SunDolls, but stats aside, Yukine wants to know what Mahiru is doing this for. Mahiru’s answer is that when someone does something for her, she wants to reciprocate. Kano made her want to get back into art, so she’ll make Kano want to get back into singing.

And Kano does want to sing; she just feels lost without Yukine or Mahiru as people to sing for, believing she’s lost both. While that’s not really the case, the bottom line is she gets pre-show jitters, and is especially intimidated by the live audience in the park. This is where Kiui and Mei step up, steady her hands with theirs, and tell her she’s got this, because they’ve got this.

Even so, once the SunDolls leave the stage and Kano steps onto it, she’s so overwhelmed by the negative voices in her head that she can barely get a whisper out. That’s when Mero of all people, who spotted Kano earlier, tells her to look around her, where she sees that the park has well and truly become something of an aquarium. Mahiru also offers words of encouragement from her perch above the stage; their first interaction since Mahiru went to work for Yukine.

With both former enemy and friend united in their support and surrounded by the “Shibuya Aquarium” she and Mahiru dreamed of building, Kano can sing with her full voice, shining like, well, a jellyfish in the light. It’s an unqualified success, with Kiui spending most of JELEE’s revenue on a 3D JELEE girl model like the ones made for the SunDolls.

When her performance is over, Mahiru rushes to Kano, but the two end up on opposing escalators. Eventually they do embrace and apologize for hurting each other. As the credits for the show run, they’re joined by Kiui and Mei, and while Kano doesn’t see her mom right after the show, Yukine does end up acknowledging her in the credits, as Hayakawa Kano, her daughter. It’s a powerful cathartic moment that causes Kano to bawl her eyes out.

Kano and Kiui end up getting their shit together and graduating after all along with Mahiru and Mei. Kiui continues her fling with Koharu, both off and online; Mei the superfan gains a fan of her own who is far more like she was than she knew; and Yukine shows up to congratulate her daughter and note how much she’s grown. Kano and Mero even bury the hatchet and become friends, while before they were only co-workers.

The members of JELEE commemorate their graduation and the start of the next step in their lives by painting over Mahiru’s old jellyfish mural and painting a new one over it in a collaborative effort, cleverly and intimately documented with the girls’ cameraphone footage.

While before they were four jellyfish drifting in the night, unable to swim, now they’ve each chosen their own colors and thanks to one another’s support are able to shine on their own. It’s a happy, heartening, if tidy way to bring this colorful and beauitifully produced show to a close.