Hibike Euphonium episode 12 is one of my favorite episodes of any piece of fiction ever! Kumiko's character development is perfect, its visual language is perfect, everything about it is perfection.

Here's a long thread on everything I love about it!

During this episode there's a lot of box imagery since Kumiko's desire to improve makes her feel confined. She's scrunched between two euphoniums, being squished by Asuka when she plays the part better than her, even framed in front of a square window.

These shots angled down on Kumiko emphasize her feelings of inferiority, especially after hearing Asuka. She moves into the shadow which, in the context of this episode, represents how she feels like she's in the shadow of others.

The interplay between lights and darks also represents Kumiko striving towards the light, the light symbolizing excellence and greatness. However, the bright background being blurry represents how this path towards light is hazy for Kumiko.

This butterfly will appear later but it symbolize's Kumiko's metamorphosis and change. The fact that it's taking off means that a change is starting to occur in Kumiko, she's now about lift off and go on a journey towards achieving the excellence she desires.

This has to be one of my favorite shots ever. Grass typically symbolizes growth and Kumiko is framed in a grass prison, meaning that Kumiko feels as if her growth is being stunted. She wants to go beyond the grass prison and grow even further, just like Reina who isn't trapped.

The light rising up means that Kumiko is improving. The blood dripping down from Kumiko's nose symbolizes her vitality. This means that Kumiko is putting her life, heart, and soul into her desire to improve. Since blood is red, this also represents her overwhelming passion.

The window imagery shows how Kumiko feels trapped since she doesn't know whether she's being passionate or just detached. This is also shown when she's practicing by the river as the pressure in her mind builds and she's scrunched between a tree and her instrument case.

The choice of blues is astounding and only amplifies the melancholic mood. There's also the placement of the tree which creates a roof over Kumiko, a roof that Kumiko is trying hard to reach beyond with her skills. This is similar to the grass imagery from before.

This line shows that Kumiko still has a few things in her mind to work on. Saying "I wonder" as a response shows how Kumiko still has doubt in the band and thus herself. She needs to change the mentality from "Maybe we'll go to the Nationals" to "We'll go to the Nationals".

Aoi and Kumiko are similar but different. They both had a point where band was more of a pastime rather than anything serious. However, the two strayed away in opposite directions as they began realizing their own passions. The lighting shows they're living in separate worlds.

The lighting also leaves Kumiko in a spotlight as Aoi begins making steps towards her own goals. These steps are emphasized by the low shot focusing on Aoi's footsteps. Now Kumiko has to move forward just like Aoi, it's literally Kumiko's time to shine.

While at home, Kumiko grows increasingly frustrated which is amplified by the close-up shot. There's also the low shot angled up at Kumiko, with Kumiko being confined by a table and bed, showing how Kumiko feels more empowered at this moment despite the boundaries.

When Taki asks Kumiko to play, she's framed as small and behind a bunch of band members, making her seem insignificant. This reflects how Taki views her playing at this moment and how Kumiko feels about herself, not up to par with what's needed for the band's success.

The sweat here is great because it only furthermore shows the audience Kumiko's fiery passion and determination. There's also the window shot which, once again, reinforces that good ol' box imagery!

Grass overtakes the screen, the desire for growth is becoming overwhelming, but this emphasis on grass is also pushing Kumiko upwards in the frame which also reflects the pressure building as she's trying to improve her skills.

Just taking this time to point out KyoAni's astonishing attention to detail here, between the lighting, the hair, the instrument, fingerings, the emphasis on character acting, the drive you see in Kumiko's eyes, everything just looks perfect!

Kumiko isn't letting anything stop her! Her drinking water acts as a revitalization so that she won't suffer from a nosebleed from before that might inhibit her practice. She's going all in so she can shine just like Reina.

It's acknowledged that Kumiko has improved, but, once again again again, the box imagery appears with the shot from outside the classroom looking slightly down on Kumiko. She may have improved, but it's still not enough, she's still below the literal bar being created by the box.

Kumiko being confined between Asuka and her euphonium shows how Kumiko still isn't up to par with the others. Taki takes note of this and asks Asuka to play the part alone.

The lighting on Kumiko's face is darkened, reflecting how she feels distraught. Her face is then lit up upon further realization that everyone is entirely serious about making it to the Nationals, and sees herself as dead weight because her playing was holding the band back.

The butterfly imagery appears again! This time is symbolizes how Kumiko's change and metamorphosis has been halted. She feels as if she's unable to grow and improve like she's caught in a web. This is KyoAni's perfect use of visual symbolism at its finest

I already wrote about the famous "I want to improve" scene about 3 months ago, and I think the writing still holds up, so give that a read before coming back to this thread! https://twitter.com/RecklessPeggy/status/1250599801491722240

This is the moment where Kumiko breaks free from the boxes and prisons we've seen throughout the entirety of the episode. She confronts her sister and the visuals show her head moving above the bars as she admits her love for the euphonium!

Kumiko is now self reflecting, she now admits to herself that she's passionate about playing the euphonium and now she has more clarity on who she is as a person.

Kumiko actually looks up to Taki. He's a person who went down a path to pursue something he loves doing, and Kumiko's line saying "That's what really matters in the end" shows how Kumiko wants to go down a similar route.

Taki is the perfect anime teacher. He's critical, but he cares deeply about his students and genuinely wants to see them succeed. This is nicely shown here as Taki says he knows Kumiko can play the part with enough practice, thus igniting the spark in Kumiko even further.

Sapphire kept mentioning how Kumiko was reaching for the moon yet Kumiko didn't understand her lines. Kumiko is often compared to a euphonium, so the toy reaching the moon means Kumiko is now reaching grand heights and has found the route to get there!

Anyways, my brain is fried right now after writing over 25 tweets and having to completely rewrite 15 tweets after accidentally deleting them. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this if you got this far! Consider sharing this around! I love y'all ^_^