This is an edited version of a post I wrote a few years ago here . I still stand by most of that post, but after watching Naoko Yamada's episode of Modern Love Tokyo , I found I had more to say about this film, and felt a sort of update was in order. Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki both belong to the Kitauji High School Concert Band. Mizore plays oboe, and Nozomi plays the flute. The film is a spin-off of a TV series called Sound! Euphonium , but there’s no need to have seen the series to appreciate the film. The film is almost entirely self-contained. It’s a very private affair, containing only a few characters besides Mizore and Nozomi who really matter. Mizore is extremely withdrawn: she often speaks in a whisper and hesitates to socialize with anyone other than Nozomi. Nozomi is more sociable. With the concert band, they’re practicing a piece of music called “Liz and the Blue Bird,” based on a fairy tale about a lonely woman named Liz w...
"We are in the world, not against it." - Ursula K. Le Guin