Whisper Me a Love Song – 09 – A Hot Mess

After Shino tells Himari her backstory (in confidence), Hima takes it upon herself to act as mediator between the two warring bands. With Momoka’s help, she assembles everyone for a taste-testing session that’s actually meant to be a peace summit. But things immediately go downhill, as Shiho has no intention of speaking to Aki.

Shiho’s bandmates scold her, but she decides to peace out. That’s when Hima prepares her a plate of treats, but trips on her way to her. Yori catches her in a romantic embrace, and that’s when Shiho learns that Hima and Yori are a couple. She decides to change the terms of her deal with Aki: she’ll only agree to proceed if Hima becomes Laureley’s manager.

Guilty for putting everyone on the spot, Himari volunteers for the role. Aki didn’t want to get Himari involved, and apologizes to Yori for what has gone down. Yori tells her it’s no big deal, but Aki knows better. And it’s true; Yori doesn’t like the idea of Hima being around another band, listening to them more than her. She knows it’s selfish, but it’s how she feels.

I don’t really think Yori has anything to worry about, especially when she tells Hima that during Summer Break all she has to do is send a text message and Yori will come to her. Hima voices her desire to hang out just about every day with her, and when Yori assents, she gets a big ol’ hug from her. Rather than worry about Hima not being around, Yori decides she’ll write a new song for the festival so that their band has a chance against Shiho’s

Himari fits right in with Laureley, which should come as no surprise as she’s already besties with Momoka and Hajime is a cool and kind senpai. Shiho doesn’t hold her dating Yori against her either, and is happy with Himari’s performance as manager so far—which actually strikes me as somewhat surprising considering her perfectionist nature and desire to go pro. Even so, as Haji and Momoka note how easily Shiho is able to open up to Hima.

When Himari asks how the three of them ended up starting a band in the first place, she immediately feels like she’s stepped in something (again). Shiho agrees to tell her, but both we and Hima will have to wait until next week. Whatever’s up with that story, I still sense an opportunity for Shiho and Aki to make up, even if Laureley wins. I’m sure Himari will do everything she can to make that happen, because it’s never ideal when the people you love are bickering.

Whisper Me a Love Song – 08 – Head Pats and Honesty

After Shiho confronts Aki and shits all over the SSGirls, it’s Yori who ends up getting Aki to consider whether Shiho is actually being honest with her when she says she never liked playing in their band and was only presenting to enjoy herself. If anything, Aki should trust her own instincts at the time that were telling her Shiho was having a blast with them, and with her.

Since Aki took it as a given that Shiho quit because she was genuinely sick of SSGirls and not some other concealed reason, she’d never given the possibility Yori brings up any thought. Now Aki is pretty confident Shiho hasn’t been totally honest with her. If it takes getting more votes at the festival (both bands got a slot), proving SSGirls is the better band, for Shiho to finally be honest with Aki about why she quit, then so be it!

I like how Yori is the one who spurs Aki to stop taking Shiho’s airs at face value; it speaks to what a supportive and caring soul she is. The only one who can surpass her in this department is Himari, who congratulates her GF by getting on her tiptoes to pat her head for once.

When Yori tells Himari about the showdown they’re in with Loreley, she learns that Himari already knows Shiho (through Momoka), and while she’s obviously rooting for Yori in the showdown, she’s also going to be rooting for Loreley. But far from jealous, this is what Yori loves about Himari.

In this second part of Whisper where she and Yori are a couple, Himari isn’t content to tolerate unnecessary drama from her friends, and takes the initiative in paving a path forward for peace between all parties. After all, she loves Yori, Aki, and Shiho, wants them to get along, and more importantly believes they can.

After a shopping trip with Miki, Himari waits for her at a café where Shiho happens to work part-time, against school rules. Shiho takes her break with Himari, and Himari realizes that Shiho isn’t someone who talks about herself a lot. Shiho thinks nobody cares so why should she, but Himari does care. And she becomes the first to really get Shiho to open up about herself; no showdown necessary.

If my theory holds, Shiho left SSGirls not because they sucked, but because she couldn’t bear to be in a band with Aki, with whom she harbored unrequited feelings. But this wasn’t the first time she lost a bestie. That came when she was younger and a violin prodigy aiming for the pros.

Shiho has long believed if she wasn’t the absolute best at what she did, then there was no point in doing it. She became best friends with Kyou, only to dump her when Kyou beat her at violin. This despite it being clear Kyou had no desire to end their friendship.

Watching Shiho befriend and then walk away from Kyou is some truly heartbreaking stuff, as is the montage of Shiho practicing so hard she breaks her violin. While we don’t see her play till hands bleed, it’s clear that the obsessive practice takes a toll on her health, both physical and mental.

Worse still, no matter how hard she practiced, Shiho couldn’t catch up with Kyou’s talent, so one day she set the violin down and never picked it back up. Instead, she remembered Kyou saying she’d always wanted to play the electric guitar, but due in part to parental pressure she couldn’t. When the guitars at the music store catch Shiho’s tearful gaze, she suddenly decides  she’ll become the best guitarist, fulfilling a dream Kyou couldn’t.

Whisper doesn’t have two-dimensional baddies. Everyone has a story and everyone is redeemable. This only marks the midpoint of Shiho’s tale to Himari, but I’m already invested in her despite hating her guts just last week. Newbie seiyuu Nemoto Yuuna delivers an excellent performance, and we get the full Loreley song (featuring Shiho’s singing voice, Mizukami Sui) during the credits.

Whisper Me a Love Song – 07 – Bad Girl Blood

With Yori and Himari now officially a couple, this series could have honestly ended last week as far as I’m concerned. It certainly felt like an ending, at least for this kind of show where it takes nearly the entire run for a couple to get together. That said, I did enjoy the bonus flirting between Yori and Himari, who are both on top of cloud nine and adorable as hell when they’re together.

Himari ends up meeting her senpai Momoka’s two friends Shiho and Hajime, who also happen to be her bandmates. There’s clearly something between Momoka and Hajime. Himari seems oblivious to this, but more importantly, she doesn’t know sho Shiho is to Aki, nor does Shiho know that Yori is Himari’s girlfriend. Yori also doesn’t understand the bad blood between Aki and Shiho, so she proactively invites Aki to her place to provide a safe space to talk about it.

Aki is always going on about Yori being her “bestie”, so to Yori this is simply living up to that title. As for the story, it basically amounts to Aki once inviting Shiho to join their band, but one day after quite some time (Aki’s hair goes from black to blonde) Shiho suddenly says she thinks SSGirls is a joke of a band and she never enjoyed playing with them. A truly hurt Aki lashes out in turn, and their friendship is torn asunder—if there ever even was one.

Shiho was a wallflower when Aki invited her to join SSGirls, and she’d probably still be one without Loreley, the band she formed with Momoka and Hajime. She doesn’t play music to have fun, but to become the best, and she expects the best out of everyone she plays with. At the culture festival audition, SSGirls performs well, but Loreley blows them out of the water with a much darker, more intense, and technically impressive performance.

Shiho proceeds to confront Aki to gloat over how much better she sounded than Yori, whom Shiho knows Aki has always loved. I don’t know what Whisper ultimately wants to do with the Shiho the character, but at the moment I tend to agree with Aki’s opinion of her when Shiho split from the group: she’s a complete ass! That said, Aki wasn’t painted in the best light when she asked Himari to let her have Yori, so perhaps Shiho can be similarly redeemed. I wouldn’t put it past Himari playing a role in that, but we’ll see.

Classroom of the Elite – S2 10 – Farewell My Lovelies

“The game is rigged, but you cannot lose if you do not play.” —Marla Daniels, The Wire

Paper Shuffle came and went with no students being expelled, and thanks in no small part to Class D’s increased unity and harmony, they picked up quite a few points on Class C. Ascension seems imminent, they just need to remain focused. When Kiyotaka’s study group spots 1-A’s Sakayanaki Arisu chatting with 1-B’s Ichinose Honami, whom Haruka deems “too perfect”, as someone has to have some flaws to be likable. Kiyotaka notices someone is hiding behind a pillar eavesdropping on them.

While walking along with Maya, Kei notices she’s being tailed by a large and unpleasant Class-C student; on their nightly call Kiyotaka tells her she can safely ignore the tail as it’s unlikely to escalate further. But how can he be so sure, and will he be in a position to keep his promise to protect Kei if the harassment does get worse? Meanwhile, Kei snapped a photo of the girl stalking his study group; she’s from Class A, suggesting she was doing so on Arisu’s orders.

In class, more reports of Class-D students being messed with by Class-C, suggesting the class is desperate with D about to supplant them. Suzune asks Kiyotaka if he’ll keep helping her bring their class to Class A. In a nice bit of foreshadowing, he says “as long as it remains necessary”, and then she gives him a book called Farewell My Lovely to check out at the library, as he’d stated his interest in it.

While at the library, Kiyotaka exhibits a measure of chivalry by taking a book off a high shelf for the petite Class-C student Shiina Hiyori; the two have a pleasant little chat about books. Kiyotaka is then taken aside by Chabashira-sensei, who tells him he has a visitor: his father.

Papa Ayanokouji doesn’t mince words: the White Room has resumed, and he wants Kiyotaka, who has strayed from the path laid out for him, to sign a letter expressing his wish to withdraw from the school.

Kiyotaka refuses, Mr. Ayanokouji threatens, and their stalemate is broken by a very unexpected party: Mr. Sakayanagi, Ayanokouji’s former secretary, the current school chairman, and Arisu’s father.

He explains that this school puts a high value on the independence of its students, and he won’t allow a parent to bully one of them into withdrawing against their will. That is that, as Mr. Ayanokouji leaves, but only for now. His mission to bring Kiyotaka, his “most prized possession”, back into the fold has only begun.

Kiyotaka learns that Sakayanagi was the one who recommended him for enrollment, having had his eye on him for some time and seeing his potential (no doubt Arisu sees it too). It’s also clear that Chabashira never knew Kiyotaka’s dad. He considers this a betrayal, for now it’s clear Chabashira has only been using him to try to advance her class to Class A.

That’s something that no longer interests him. He’s content to leave Suzune, Hirata, and the others to continuing those efforts, and he won’t get in their way, but he’s personally done trying to advance the class to Class A. What he’ll do instead remains to be seen, but one of his first calls is to Kei. He apologizes for getting her mixed up in so much trouble, but when he abruptly tells her they’ll no longer be having these phone calls, she’s shocked and genuinely hurt.

Watching him interact with and even seemingly befriend other students of late might’ve softened his image, but we know this kind of brutal coldness is Kiyotaka’s normal M.O. He’s never come out and named any of the people he’s interacted with friends. He even uses the “transactional relationship” label to him and Kei.

While he might not be 100% wrong on that note, the fact is their relationship has evolved to something beyond that, and his inability to see that or act accordingly is one of the flaws that make him likable, despite him acting like such a cold jerk most of the time. I can only imagine Suzune’s outrage at his sudden decision to walk away from the game.

Hibike! Euphonium 2 – 01

Ah, no more messing around. Here comes a properly good Autumn hump day show that immerses you in its gloriously naturalistic and precise world. Granted, I was pre-immersed last year, but it takes no time at all in this sprawling-yet-measured 47-minute season premiere to fall back under the spell of Sound!

Oumae Kumiko and Kousaka Reina have never been closer, literally or figuratively. Perhaps it’s a factor of Reina being satisfying with their level of success: they placed first in Kyoto and are representatives at the Kansai competition, the next step to the Nationals she dreams of winning someday. Right there with her, kind of in her wake, is Kumiko, who is more open and affectionate to Reina than anyone else, even, no especially her mom and big sister.

Kumiko and Reina are relatively steady variables in this opener: all of the conflict comes from the uneasy atmosphere being created by still-open wounds among the upperclassmen.

Specifically, one former member who quit in the great second-year purge wants back in, but Asuka won’t budge. The first years are kept out of the loop, and it hurts their focus. As usual, KyoAni is impeccable at not just telling but showing the subtle but increasingly assertive effect of the senpai drama.

Kumiko is a great protagonist because she’s so good at being in the middle of things while not dominating those events with her personality. She’s a deceptively very “normal” girl hiding multitudes beneath her exterior, brough to life with a skilled performance by Kurosawa Tomoyo (in a total 180 from her character of Sylphy in Amaburi). I love how drastically Kumiko’s tone changes when she’s talking to her fam, as if it’s a huge imposition to do so, which makes perfect sense since she’s a teenager.

But most gratifying in a sea of senpai uncertainty and a looming life-altering competition is to see the collective rock that is Kumiko and Reina. They’re far past their troubles of past years, and both value one another’s company and conversation above all others.

They are proof that previous bad blood can not only be corrected, but flourish into a beautiful friendship. As the assistant instructor (a pro in the music industry) says to the band: be more imposing. Make more of an impact. Don’t be reticent, because it all comes through in their music.

Everyone has to be more open with one another to succeed and become the best band they can be, as well as the best people. Unpleasant things like resentments and grudges and infamous incidents can’t be allowed to fester. And most importantly, life shouldn’t be a constant struggle. You gotta stop and ogle the fireworks in rapt awe once in a while.

This was a baller premiere that reminded me why KyoAni is so good with such regularity. It doesn’t just nail the fundamentals, but sweats the details to the extent there are gestures and tones you won’t see anywhere else, to say nothing of the complexity of the emotions in play. A very solid and confident start.