Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation comes to an end today with the third and final season of Sound! Euphonium, which also happens to be the most recent production from Kyoto Animation, having finished airing just a few weeks ago! This season (and the accompanying Ensemble Contest OVA) tells the story of Kumiko’s final year in High School and the Kitauji Band’s last shot at taking the Gold at Nationals, and it proves to be a divisive set of episodes amongst our hosts. Sean loved it just as much if not more than the previous seasons, finding it a thoughtful and touching portrait of the cyclical realities of high school life as a teacher, while Jonathan found it mostly frustrating in its thematic gaps, narrative repetition, and lack of focus on the music or performance. Our in-house composer and musical expert Thomas Lack joins to help moderate, and it makes for a really engaging, deep discussion that goes beyond just talking about the anime itself.

Enjoy, and come back on August 4th for the premiere of the seventh and final part of our Kyoto Vacation, “Through Rain or Shine: The Life and Times of Violet Evergarden,” the last set of episodes for this season of the podcast.

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro, History, and Ensemble Contest OVA: 0:01:30 – 0:43:32

Eyecatch Break: 0:43:32– 0:44:09

Sound! Euphonim the Movie Review: 0:44:09 – 2:44:36

End Theme: 2:44:36 – 2:46:06

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

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Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation continues with the second Sound! Euphonium movie, and the one that directly follows on the events of the TV show to continue the story of Kumiko in her 2nd year at Kitauji. And it may be the most divisive episode of the season so far, as although Sean loved the film and found it a compelling exploration of Kumiko moving into her role as senpai to a new group of first-years, Jonathan was mostly unmoved, finding the film narratively insubstantial and awkwardly structured. But it makes for a really great conversation that helps us arrive at what the core of Sound! Euphonium is, the differences between the source material and Kyoto Animation’s adaptation, and what exactly it is we do – or don’t – respond to in this series.

Enjoy, and come back next week for the final episode of Part 6, as we review the just-completed Sound! Euphonium season 3, including the Ensemble Contest OVA.

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 0:21:33

Eyecatch Break: 0:21:33– 0:22:09

Sound! Euphonim the Movie Review: 0:22:09 – 2:00:54

End Theme: 2:00:54 – 2:02:25

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation is titled ‘Yamada Naoko Strikes Back; or, I Have no Voice and I Must Sound! Euphonium,’ and in this week’s episode, both halves of that title meet, and then some. We are discussing the 2018 film Liz and the Blue Bird, a spin-off/side story to the main Sound! Euphonium narrative, focusing on the oboe and flute players Mizore and Nozomi as they navigate their unusual, fraught friendship while rehearsing a major solo for the Kansai competition. With an entirely different visual aesthetic and Yamada Naoko’s unmistakable voice shining through in every frame, Liz and the Blue Bird stands tall all on its own as a singular masterpiece, and to fully break down just how great the film is, we’ve brought in Jonathan’s concert-band-veteran brother, Thomas – also Japanimation Station’s in-house composer – as a guest on today’s episode.

Enjoy, and come back next week as we dive into Kumiko’s second year at Kitauji High with the awkwardly titled 2019 film Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day.

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 0:47:16

Eyecatch Break: 0:47:16– 0:47:52

Liz and the Blue Bird Review: 0:47:52 – 3:06:29

End Theme: 3:06:29 – 3:07:59

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation continues with Sound! Euphonium 2, the aptly titled second season of Kyoto Animation’s beloved adaptation of Takeda Ayano’s novels. This batch of episodes picks up right where the first left off, with the students of the Kitauji High Concert Band working hard to make it to Nationals, but this time working through a lot more interpersonal drama. Where the first season focused on protagonist Kumiko’s relationship with trumpet prodigy Reina, Season 2 follows Kumiko’s encounters with estranged oboe and flute players Mizore and Nozomi, and the fraught journey of the mysterious third-year Euphonium player Asuka. It’s another great set of episodes, and while Jonathan was very slightly less impressed than Sean, his concert band veteran brother Thomas writes in with a sternly-worded letter to set him straight.

Enjoy, and come back next week for our review of the Sound! Euphonium spin-off film, Naoko Yamada’s Liz and the Blue Bird!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro & Review Part 1: 0:01:30 – 0:44:32

Eyecatch Break: 0:44:32 – 0:45:10

Sound! Euphonium 2 Review: 0:45:10 – 3:03:40

End Theme: 3:03:40 – 3:05:10

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation is titled ‘Yamada Naoko Strikes Back; or, I Have no Voice and I Must Sound! Euphonium.’ And from here on, we’re looking at the second half of that title, as we review Kyoto Animation’s beloved adaptation of Takeda Ayano’s Sound! Euphonium novels (co-directed, of course, by the one and only Yamada Naoko). In today’s episode, we’re looking at the 13 episodes (and 1 OVA) of the show’s first season, from 2015, a spectacular stretch of television that sees KyoAni taking on perhaps its biggest animation challenge yet: Meticulously, lovingly, and accurately drawing an entire concert band’s worth of instruments as they are practiced and performed. They rise to the challenge, of course, while also delivering a huge ensemble of characters with an extremely intense relationship at the show’s core, making for a very special season of TV indeed.

Enjoy, and come back next week as we make our way to Nationals with the second season of Sound! Euphonium!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 1:10:15

Eyecatch Break: 1:10:15 – 1:10:52

Sound! Euphonium Review: 1:10:52 – 2:46:59

End Theme: 2:46:59 – 2:48:29

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Welcome back for Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation, entitled ‘Yamada Naoko Strikes Back; or, I Have no Voice and I Must Sound! Euphonium.’ And while most of this part will deal with the second half of that title, today’s subject is all about the aforementioned Yamada Naoko, the Kyoto Animation wunderkind behind K-On! and Tamako Market, and the director of what might well be the best thing we’ve watched all season: The 2016 movie A Silent Voice – aka The Shape of Voice – based on the manga by Ōima Yoshitoki. It’s an absolute masterpiece, a stunningly animated story tackling some very intense subject matter – including bullying and suicidal ideation – with incredible amounts of empathy, sensitivity, humor, and humanity.

Enjoy, and come back next week for our review of the first season of Sound! Euphonium.

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 0:54:31

Eyecatch Break: 0:54:31 – 0:55:09

A Silent Voice Review: 0:55:09 – 3:24:29

End Theme: 3:24:29 – 3:25:59

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” comes to a close with one last adventure with the characters of Love, Chuunibyo, and Other Delusions, in their 2018 movie, Take on Me! The film finds Rikka and Yuta off on a journey across Japan as they ‘elope’ after Rikka’s big sister Toka plans to move her to Italy for her final year of high school. Many hijinks ensue, and while Sean and Jonathan are again slightly divided on how effective the storytelling is, as they were with season 2, we enjoy celebrating just what a funny, lively production the film is, and the strong ending it delivers this great group of characters.

Enjoy, and come back in June for the premiere of Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation, where we’ll be reviewing the film A Silent Voice before leaping into the world of Sound! Euphonium.

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Review Part 1: 0:37:18

Eyecatch Break: 0:37:18 – 0:37:55

Review Part 2: 0:37:55 – 1:53:47

End Theme: 1:53:47 – 1:54:48

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “Rolled Into One” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com

We are back for a particularly ‘colorful’ episode of Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” with our review of 2016’s Myriad Colors Phantom World. While this series isn’t one of KyoAni’s ‘masterpiece’ shows, it might just be their most underrated. A madcap comedy packed with wall-to-wall creativity, vivid characters, and a smarter and more emotionally engaging structure than viewers might first realize, Myriad Colors is a consistent delight, with its second half in particular delivering one great episode after another. Sadly, the show flopped upon release and has been unfairly dismissed as a major creative misfire, meaning it’s due a real re-evaluation, which we hope today’s show kicks off!

Enjoy, and come back next week for the end of Part 5 with our review of the Love, Chuunibyo, and Other Delusions ‘finale’ movie, Take On Me!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro and History: 0:01:30 – 0:44:54

Eyecatch Break: 0:44:54 – 0:45:32

Myriad Colors Phantom World Review: 0:45:32 – 2:58:15

End Theme: 2:58:15 – 2:59:16

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “Rolled Into One” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com