all that practice can really wear you out, no doubt.

https://x.com/MyJiq/status/2110659407227031982/photo/1

I'm not that good at reviews and such but I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts.

I’m a bit of a sucker for anime involving music. Your Lie in April has been one of my all-time favourites since high school. Specifically 2021. Anyways wrong anime.

It’s been about 4 years since I’ve graduated from high school. Back then, I was heavily involved with my high school’s music department. I was involved in a Mass Band with the piano and played flute in a concert band. So I was all over music during my high school days. Since then, I’ve moved into uni chasing a degree unrelated to music, but I still manage to teach piano on the side. However, over the course of this year I finally gave Hibike! Euphonium a shot. I remember seeing the anime on MAL back in 2021. I remember joking about it with a mate of mine in concert band who played euphonium going, "HEY LOOK IT'S YOU!" I'd get to it... eventually. Man, it did not disappoint.

I know many people have summed up the series in detail, so I won’t bore you again with another rehash. I will say, this is one of the most human and mundane stories I’ve ever seen, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s what makes this anime brilliant. Kumiko has to be easily one of the most well-written characters in fiction, not because she knows something and sticks to a belief, but because she makes mistakes, learns, and slowly changes into the character that she is by the end of a series. But the biggest takeaway is her determination and humility even when things don’t go her way. It's not just Kumiko, either. Both the main and supporting characters have their own depth, motivations and reasons for acting the way they do, which adds so much flavour to the story. On top of that, what a reminder for me that a dedication to the arts can be painful: perfecting a passage or phrase and then performing when it matters under scrutiny. Sometimes, you tend to look at things with rose-tinted glasses and remember it was all sunshine and rainbows. This anime honestly nails the reality part. Also some of the thoughts and concerns that all the characters had felt very real and felt very teenage in a way. It's also surreal to hear those while you've passed that mark of graduation and moved on with your life.

The biggest takeaway for me was the atmosphere. I'm sure a few people in this thread have been involved in high school bands. For me, it felt genuine. Tuning, scales, warmups, exercises, rocking up to school early to practice before homeroom and class starts. It’s something that this anime reminded me of from my normal life 4 years ago and why I loved playing music. At the moment, I’m teaching a student of mine; he’s currently 11, and he’s preparing for his AMEB Preliminary piano exam in a month’s time. Before watching it, I thought it would be a nice experience for him and a neat little milestone. After watching, it’s given me a reason as to why I want to not only prepare him for the exam but to teach as well. I want him to have a chance to not only have the opportunities I had but to make memories as well that only music can deliver. Honestly, it’s full credit to KyoAni for nailing the feel of it. They definitely did their homework.

But man, what an incredible story of hardship and resilience. Thank you Hibike! Euphonium for your story, for reminding me after being so far removed from music as to why I still love it and for reminding me that music has never left me.

https://x.com/_bluecatarts/status/2109757010652655626

Disclaimer: This is just a fun conspiracy theory. I'm not seriously accusing Yamaha, Kyoto Animation, or anyone involved in the production of anything. The historical dates and production details are real where cited, but the supposed corporate conspiracy, secret meetings, and undercover employees are entirely fictional. I also used AI to help organize, research, and polish this post, although the conspiracy theory itself is my own idea. Please take this as an elaborate joke from someone who has watched Hibike! Euphonium exactly 31.4159 times.

After reading a discussion about how Kyoto Animation has completely ruined people's standards for anime, I was reminded of a theory that has been sitting in the back of my mind for years. It's one of those ideas that sounds completely ridiculous when you say it out loud, but somehow becomes increasingly entertaining the more historical details you discover.

What if Yamaha was the real mastermind behind Hibike! Euphonium? What if, after watching the enormous success of K-On! in 2009, someone at Yamaha realized that anime could be an incredibly powerful marketing tool for musical instruments, and began waiting for the perfect opportunity to replicate that success with one of their more obscure products?

I know how that sounds. But hear me out, because the actual timeline is almost comically convenient.

1. The initial problem: K-On! accidentally demonstrates the power of anime marketing

Let's go back to 2009, when Kyoto Animation released K-On! and demonstrated that an anime about five high school girls occasionally playing music between tea parties could have a remarkable influence on people's interest in real musical instruments.

The show became enormously popular, and the instruments associated with its characters attracted considerable attention. Yui played a Gibson Les Paul, Mio played a Fender Jazz Bass, Azusa played a Fender Mustang, and Mugi used a Korg Triton Extreme. Ritsu, of course, had her Yamaha Hipgig drum kit, so Yamaha wasn't completely absent from the party. Nevertheless, some of the most recognizable instruments associated with the show's popularity belonged to competing manufacturers, particularly Gibson and Fender.

Now imagine being a Yamaha marketing executive at the time. You've spent years working for one of the world's most recognizable musical instrument companies, probably attended countless meetings about expanding the customer base, and suddenly an animation studio in Kyoto has convinced young people to become interested in buying guitars simply by drawing cute girls playing them.

From a marketing perspective, that's practically a miracle. The characters weren't delivering lengthy product demonstrations or explaining why a particular guitar offered superior value for money. They were simply making music look enjoyable, and the audience developed an emotional attachment to the instruments as a result. Instead of persuading people that they needed a guitar, the anime made them want to become the kind of person who played one.

I like to imagine a completely fictional Yamaha board meeting where someone presents the success of K-On! as a case study, only for another executive to notice that Gibson and Fender seem to be receiving a disproportionate amount of attention.

"So you're telling me an anime studio has discovered a way to make teenagers voluntarily spend money on musical instruments?"

"Yes, sir."

"And we're benefiting from this?"

"Well, our drums are in the show."

"Excellent. What about the guitars?"

"...Gibson and Fender, sir."

Somewhere in this imaginary boardroom, a marketing director quietly closes his presentation and begins contemplating revenge.

Of course, I have absolutely no evidence that such a meeting ever occurred. But the broader business lesson is interesting: a compelling piece of entertainment can create demand for a product category without functioning as a conventional advertisement. And if I were inventing a conspiracy about Yamaha, this is exactly where I would begin.

2. Yamaha's hypothetical secret weapon: The instrument nobody recognizes

Now we come to the euphonium, which is where this theory starts getting ridiculous.

Yamaha manufactures an enormous range of instruments, from pianos and keyboards to guitars, drums, and orchestral and band instruments. Among its brass instruments is the euphonium, a wonderful instrument with a warm, rich sound that plays an important role in concert bands and brass bands, but has considerably less mainstream recognition than instruments such as the piano, guitar, or trumpet.

Think about how difficult marketing something like that must be to people who aren't already interested in concert band music. Most people can identify a guitar immediately. A piano needs practically no introduction. But show somebody outside the music world a euphonium, and there's a decent chance they'll ask whether it's a miniature tuba.

Imagine being responsible for promoting a carefully designed Yamaha euphonium, only to spend half your time explaining that no, it isn't a small tuba, and no, "euphonium" isn't another way of saying UFO. You can talk about its construction, its beautiful sound, the craftsmanship involved, and its importance in wind ensembles, but none of that solves the fundamental problem that a large portion of your potential audience doesn't even recognize its name.

I should clarify that I'm not claiming Yamaha's euphonium sales were terrible or that the company was losing money on them. I haven't seen financial figures that would support that. I'm simply imagining the frustration of trying to popularize a relatively niche instrument outside its established audience.

And that's when our fictional Yamaha executives supposedly have their brilliant idea. What if, rather than spending years explaining what a euphonium is, they could make an entire generation emotionally attached to a character who plays one?

The challenge, naturally, is finding the right anime. Yamaha can't simply show up at Kyoto Animation's headquarters and ask them to make a thirteen-episode advertisement for a brass instrument. KyoAni needs a story that its creators genuinely want to tell, and ideally something that would allow the studio to use its particular strengths in character animation, visual storytelling, and meticulous attention to everyday details.

Around 2011 or 2012, however, the perfect source material doesn't exist yet. There's no Hibike! Euphonium novel for anyone to adapt. Our hypothetical executives might have identified the marketing potential of music anime, but they still lack the most important ingredient: a genuinely good story about their chosen instrument.

And then, almost as if someone had ordered it, the missing piece arrives.

3. December 2013: The universe delivers exactly what Yamaha needs

On December 5, 2013, Takarajimasha published Ayano Takeda's novel Hibike! Euphonium: Kitauji Koukou Suisougaku-bu e Youkoso.

Just look at that title. Euphonium is literally in the name of the work. Not trumpet, not saxophone, not clarinet, but the exact instrument that our hypothetical marketing department wants the public to recognize. You couldn't ask for more direct name recognition if you were commissioning a promotional campaign yourself.

And it gets better. The story follows a high school concert band, with a protagonist who plays euphonium, and explores ambition, competition, friendship, personal growth, and the complicated relationships that develop when talented young people pursue the same goals. It isn't merely a story containing musical instruments. Music and the emotional experiences surrounding it are central to the entire narrative.

More importantly, the author wasn't simply choosing a random instrument because it sounded unusual. Ayano Takeda herself had experience playing euphonium, which gave her a personal connection to the subject matter. The result was exactly the kind of authentic, emotionally engaging story that could make people genuinely interested in an instrument rather than merely aware of its existence.

If you were a Yamaha executive in my imaginary conspiracy, this would already be an extraordinary stroke of luck. After years of trying to promote euphoniums to people who barely know what they are, a novel suddenly appears with the word "Euphonium" prominently displayed in its title, written by somebody who actually understands the instrument.

But the most suspicious coincidence isn't even the title. It's the location.

Ayano Takeda was born and raised in Uji, Kyoto, and Hibike! Euphonium is set in Uji. And where is Kyoto Animation headquartered? That's right, Uji.

Of all the possible cities in Japan, the author and setting are connected to the same city as the animation studio that had already demonstrated, through K-On!, how effectively it could turn a high school music club into a beloved anime.

Now, there is an entirely reasonable explanation for this. Takeda wrote about places and experiences familiar to her, while Kyoto Animation naturally had a strong connection to its local community. None of this implies coordination between the author, Yamaha, and KyoAni.

But if you're trying to construct a ridiculous conspiracy theory, you have to admit that the coincidences are doing an impressive amount of work for you.

4. Early 2014: The two producers, the anniversary, and the final piece of the puzzle

Here's where the actual production history makes this theory even funnier.

According to a detailed production-history compilation by longtime Kyoto Animation researcher and translator Ultimatemegax, two producers at KyoAni, Eiharu Oohashi and Riri Senami, came across the novel in early 2014 and enjoyed reading it. They saw potential in adapting the story, particularly because of its setting in Uji, where Kyoto Animation itself was based.

There's another interesting detail. Kyoto Animation was approaching its 30th anniversary as an incorporated company in 2015, and the studio was looking for a suitable commemorative project. A compelling novel set in its own hometown was an especially attractive candidate. The project was eventually approved, and Kyoto Animation secured the adaptation rights from Takarajimasha.

Let me summarize how convenient this is for our imaginary Yamaha marketing department. By early 2014, there's a novel about euphonium, written by someone with firsthand experience of the instrument, set in the city where the ideal animation studio is located. The studio is approaching a milestone anniversary and is interested in adapting a project with local significance. Two of its producers happen to discover this particular novel, enjoy it, and push for an anime adaptation.

This isn't even a case where Yamaha would need to convince KyoAni to take on a story it didn't like. The source material already aligns with the studio's creative interests, and the staff have their own perfectly legitimate reasons to want to make it.

Which brings us to the only remaining question in my completely unserious conspiracy theory: How exactly did those two producers discover the book?

There are countless normal explanations. They might have encountered it while researching novels, discovered it through publishing industry contacts, seen it in a bookstore, or received a recommendation. The historical account says they came across it and liked it, which is entirely unsurprising for people whose work involves finding promising source material.

But suppose Yamaha wanted to make absolutely certain that the book reached the right people, without making the situation look like a marketing arrangement.

You couldn't have a Yamaha executive walk into KyoAni's office and announce, "Hello, we'd like you to produce an anime about a school concert band because our euphonium division needs better brand awareness." That would be far too obvious, and the studio might reasonably refuse.

No, if we want a proper conspiracy, we need something much more subtle.

5. Operation Janitor: The most absurdly efficient marketing operation in history

Imagine that sometime in early 2014, Yamaha secretly sends an employee to work at Kyoto Animation.

Not as a producer, not as an animator, and certainly not as a corporate representative. Those positions would attract too much attention. Instead, this person infiltrates the studio disguised as an ordinary janitor.

I know. It sounds ridiculous. That's why it's my favorite part.

A janitor would have a perfectly normal reason to move through an office, clean desks, empty bins, and enter rooms without attracting much attention. Nobody would suspect that the person quietly wiping down a meeting table was actually carrying out the most important mission in the history of euphonium marketing.

And the mission itself would be extraordinarily simple. Obtain two copies of Hibike! Euphonium, wait for an appropriate opportunity, and discreetly place them where Eiharu Oohashi and Riri Senami would notice them.

That's it. No advertising campaign, no expensive sponsorship proposal, no attempt to influence the script. Just two books left in exactly the right places.

In my head, the entire operation plays out like a ridiculously low-budget spy thriller. One evening, our fictional Yamaha agent enters the office after everyone has stepped away, places a copy of the novel on each producer's desk, straightens a chair, wipes down the table, and leaves without saying a word. A few days later, the producers read the books, genuinely enjoy the story, and recommend adapting it.

And because the story is actually good, the rest happens naturally. Kyoto Animation develops the adaptation for its own artistic reasons, the production moves forward, and Yamaha doesn't even have to get involved until there's a genuine opportunity to collaborate.

Think about the fictional return on investment here. Assuming our absurd scenario were real, the initial cost would be two books, an undercover employee, and perhaps an unusually large supply of cleaning products. In exchange, the company potentially gets an entire anime franchise introducing euphonium to audiences around the world.

I cannot emphasize enough that there is absolutely no evidence this janitor existed. I invented the entire operation. The two producers are real, and the account of them discovering and enjoying the novel is documented, but the supposed undercover mission is completely fictional.

Still, I think you'll agree that if someone ever made a comedy about corporate marketing conspiracies, a secret agent whose entire assignment was to leave two light novels on a desk would be a fantastic character.

6. 2015: Kyoto Animation unknowingly produces the perfect euphonium commercial

The anime began airing in April 2015, and this is where the hypothetical strategy would have paid off spectacularly.

You could give a series about concert band to many talented studios and still get a perfectly enjoyable adaptation. But Kyoto Animation has a particular reputation for treating seemingly ordinary objects and movements with almost unreasonable care. Their attention to character acting, body language, environmental details, and visual consistency makes them especially well suited to a story in which the physical act of playing an instrument matters.

Musical instruments are notoriously complicated things to animate convincingly. Their construction contains an enormous number of details, and performances require appropriate posture, hand movements, finger positions, and coordination with the music. Brass instruments introduce an additional headache: their polished metallic surfaces reflect light and the surrounding environment.

And what does KyoAni do when presented with all these difficulties? Apparently, they decide that the instruments should look absolutely gorgeous anyway.

The euphoniums in Hibike! Euphonium aren't just vaguely recognizable brass objects. The production pays extraordinary attention to their shape, physical presence, and the way the characters interact with them. The instruments feel like meaningful parts of the characters' lives rather than generic accessories.

This is why KyoAni would have been such a perfect partner in my imaginary Yamaha scheme. You wouldn't need to force the animators to make the instruments look beautiful. Their own artistic standards would push them to research and depict the instruments as convincingly as possible.

Imagine being a marketing executive who simply wants customers to recognize a euphonium, and accidentally getting a studio that treats the reflections on a brass instrument like a matter of national importance.

You asked for product visibility. Kyoto Animation gave you visual craftsmanship that makes people pause the anime to admire a valve casing.

At that point, the advertising department might as well go home. The animators are doing a better job of presenting the product than anything you could put in a brochure.

7. The collaboration: Yamaha doesn't even have to reveal its imaginary master plan

This is where our fictional conspiracy reconnects with something that actually happened.

Yamaha and Hibike! Euphonium developed a real promotional relationship. In a 2023 announcement, Yamaha Music Japan explicitly stated that it had been organizing activities associated with the franchise since 2015.

Yamaha also has official collaboration materials identifying the real instrument models associated with the anime's characters. Kumiko's euphonium is based on a special-production Yamaha YEP-621, while Asuka's instrument is associated with the YEP-621S. In August 2023, Yamaha even announced a campaign offering a special-production YEP-621 model of the kind used by Kumiko as a prize.

That's eight years after the original anime began airing, and the franchise was still providing opportunities to promote real musical instruments.

The actual commercial arrangements and production costs aren't publicly established by the sources I've seen, so I can't honestly calculate how much Yamaha spent or earned from this collaboration. But it's easy to see why the relationship would be valuable, particularly from the perspective of brand awareness.

Before watching Hibike! Euphonium, someone unfamiliar with concert bands might not have known what a euphonium was. After watching, that same person might recognize the instrument immediately, know what it sounds like, and even associate it with a character they genuinely love.

And if they become curious enough to search for Kumiko's instrument, they'll discover that it corresponds to a real Yamaha model.

This is the part I find most fascinating. Yamaha doesn't necessarily need every viewer to buy a euphonium for the collaboration to have promotional value. A relatively niche musical instrument has gained a recognizable identity among people who otherwise might never have encountered it. Some viewers become interested in playing music, others start attending concerts, and some might eventually become customers.

The promotional benefits can also continue as long as the franchise retains an audience. Instead of paying to introduce the product from scratch every time, Yamaha can collaborate with a story that has already given the instrument an emotional identity.

Now return to our completely fictional conspiracy. If Yamaha really had planned all this from 2009 onward, the final result would be hilarious. They could theoretically have invested relatively little in direct promotion compared with the tremendous creative work required to produce the anime, while receiving years of attention for a specialized product category.

And the best part? The anime doesn't feel like an advertisement. It feels like a genuine story about music, ambition, friendship, and growing up.

Which means our imaginary villains would have discovered the most powerful marketing principle of all: don't tell people to buy your product. Give them a reason to fall in love with the activity your product makes possible.

Honestly, if this were a fictional corporate conspiracy, I'd have to respect the people behind it.

8. Conclusion: The greatest marketing strategy Yamaha probably never planned

So let's review the sequence of events. In 2009, K-On! demonstrates that a popular music anime can generate real enthusiasm for musical instruments. In December 2013, a novel called Hibike! Euphonium appears, with a protagonist playing a relatively obscure instrument whose name is literally in the title. The author comes from Uji, and the story takes place there as well.

In early 2014, KyoAni producers Eiharu Oohashi and Riri Senami discover and enjoy the novel. Its setting makes it particularly suitable for a studio based in Uji that is preparing for an important anniversary. The adaptation goes ahead, and in April 2015, Kyoto Animation releases an anime that depicts musical instruments with an extraordinary degree of care.

Meanwhile, Yamaha, one of the world's major musical instrument manufacturers, has an obvious opportunity to collaborate with a franchise prominently featuring instruments it produces. The company does exactly that, and the relationship continues to generate promotional opportunities years after the original broadcast.

Every step has a perfectly normal explanation. None requires a secret plan. Ayano Takeda wrote a story inspired by her own experiences, KyoAni recognized its artistic potential, and Yamaha became a natural commercial partner for a series about concert band music.

And yet, when you arrange these events into a timeline, the result looks suspiciously similar to a marketing campaign someone could have deliberately designed.

That's what makes this so funny to me. If Yamaha really had orchestrated the whole thing, I would call it a masterclass in long-term brand marketing. But if everything happened organically, then Yamaha somehow benefited from an extraordinarily effective promotional opportunity without needing to invent the elaborate conspiracy I've just spent all this time describing.

In other words, reality is arguably even more impressive than my fictional theory.

I like to imagine someone at Yamaha discovering this Reddit post, reading my explanation of the supposedly brilliant six-year corporate strategy, and slowly realizing that the imaginary marketing department I've invented sounds far more organized than anything that actually happened.

Meanwhile, somebody at Kyoto Animation is probably wondering why a stranger on the Internet believes two of their producers were manipulated by a secret agent disguised as a janitor.

At the end of the day, I genuinely think all of this was just a remarkable series of coincidences. A good author wrote a story worth adapting, a studio with the right creative strengths happened to be in exactly the right place, and a musical instrument manufacturer recognized the value of supporting a work that presented its products and the joy of music so beautifully.

No conspiracy necessary. Just a rather wonderful example of art, circumstances, and commercial interests aligning naturally.

Still, if someone ever uncovers a 2014 Yamaha document titled "Operation Janitor," I expect a full apology from everyone who doubted me.

And Yamaha, if you're reading this, I've just spent an unreasonable amount of time voluntarily explaining why euphoniums are interesting, identifying your product models, and introducing your collaboration to an entire subreddit. I've effectively become an unpaid marketing employee.

The least you could do is give me a discount on a YEP-621.

TL;DR: After K-On! demonstrated the commercial power of music anime in 2009, Yamaha had every reason to appreciate a successful anime centered on one of its more niche instruments. A few years later, Hibike! Euphonium appeared in KyoAni's hometown, two producers discovered it, and the studio made an adaptation so beautiful that Yamaha ended up with years of valuable promotional opportunities. I've invented a secret janitor operation to connect the dots, but the real timeline is entertaining enough without it.

Sources for the actual history, not the imaginary conspiracy:

• Sound! Euphonium production history, Ultimatemegax — The original novel's publication, Eiharu Oohashi and Riri Senami, the Uji connection, and the development of the adaptation.
• Kyoto Animation company information — The studio's corporate history and its location in Uji.
• Yamaha's official Hibike! Euphonium collaboration page — Real Yamaha instrument models associated with the characters.
• Yamaha Music Japan's August 2023 announcement — Confirms promotional activities connected to Hibike! Euphonium since 2015 and the YEP-621 collaboration campaign.

Artist: vodka13

The hands I mean

I'd seen a scoring of Crescent Moon Dance scoring by Budapest Scoring Studio sometimes last year where the conductor is sort of fan of Hibike Euphonium, and I have been searching the video since.. from what i remember roughly the Youtube video titled with something "...w/ bass" or something and some comments was joking about Reina being so stressed that she turn out to be an almost bald Hungarian trumpet soloist...and sort of remembered roughly that the vidoe thumbnail was simple violinist in orchestra seatings or something

so if you guys have that video, or recognises it, may you send or help me where i can rewatch it...

..because i feel that was the num 1 best sounding of Crescent Moon Dance scoring compares to all other videos i've seen on Youtube

edit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HibikeEuphonium/s/NPjgKQRpaQ
https://www.reddit.com/r/HibikeEuphonium/s/Z87l8jqhUa

i think this was the creator/uploader? https://www.reddit.com/r/HibikeEuphonium/s/L2xWb6cpvN

I mean all the years and all side characters included as well.

I personally like the looks of Ririka Kenzaki

I wanted to create a poll at first, but 6 options max.

What is your favorite character?

I personally really like Kanade Hisaishi.

https://x.com/rananakano/status/2106582019086094652?s=46

With the heat the series been getting from the final movie part 2 releasing, I got myself the recording of the solo euphonium audition. Haven't watched the series in a while I kinda forgot whether Kumiko was the first or the second performance, played both few times and concluded that the second is hers. Rewatched the season 3 again and of course the second performance is played by Kumiko.

I feel like I understand why Reina chose Mayu to be the euphonium soloist, Kumiko's playing is by no mean bad, but it feels like she poured too much emotion and that emotion tried to overpower the trumpet and euphonium duet. On the other hand, Mayu played it without said emotion, causing her performance to have a better balance with Reina's trumpet.

This is just a small take from me who isn't a musician, and I would love to know a musician's take on this!