Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day[a] is a 2019 Japanese animated film based on the novel seriesSound! Euphonium by Ayano Takeda and a sequel to the two seasons of the anime television series adaptation. Produced by Kyoto Animation and distributed by Shochiku, the film is directed by Tatsuya Ishihara from a script written by Jukki Hanada. The film follows Kumiko Ōmae in her second year at Kitauji High School mentoring new first-year students who have joined the school's concert band.
The film was one of the two new anime projects announced by the studio in June 2017, with Ishihara being confirmed as its director. It received its official title in June 2018, with Tomoyo Kurosawa confirming her return to voice Kumiko and new characters being unveiled. Additional staff and cast were revealed in September and December 2018.
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day had a screening in Yūrakuchō, Tokyo on April 5, 2019, and was released in Japan on April 19. The film grossed over $3million worldwide. It is followed by an anime television series featuring Kumiko as a third-year student, which premiered in Japan on April 7, 2024.
Plot
On the first day of the school year as a second-year student at Kitauji High School, Kumiko Ōmae meets first-year student Kanade Hisaishi, who joins the school's concert band to play euphonium. First-year students Mirei Suzuki, Satsuki Suzuki, and Motomu Tsukinaga also join the band's bass section. On the first day of the band's practice, Yūko Yoshikawa, the band's president, assigns Kumiko and Tomoe Kabe to oversee the newly joined first-year students and sets the goal for the band to win gold at the national concert band competition. Kumiko notices a distance between the juniors and seniors. At the Sunrise Festival, Mirei leaves the band because she finds Hazuki Katō and Satsuki joking around instead of taking the performance seriously, just like what she wants since joining the band. Kumiko goes after her along with Kanade and convinces her to return. Kitauji High School Concert Band successfully performs at the festival.
At band practice, Noboru Taki announces the designated piece for the competition is "March Sky Blue Dream", the free piece is "Liz and the Blue Bird", and the upcoming audition. Kumiko accompanies her boyfriend Shūichi Tsukamoto at a prefectural festival and later meets up with Reina Kōsaka, who both discuss their future since they are about to enter their third year in high school. Sometime later at practice, Tomoe announces her withdrawal from the competition to serve the band as their manager instead. She then reveals to Kumiko that she has inflammation in her temporomandibular joints. Later, Kanade confides with Kumiko her frustration for Natsuki Nakagawa due to the latter asking her for help despite being a senior to her. On the day of the audition, Natsuki notices that Kanade is not performing seriously so she requests Mr. Taki to delay her audition. A heated argument between Kanade and Natsuki ensues, with the former stating that she is failing the audition to give way to the latter who is about to graduate. Kumiko talks through Kanade, who has revealed her experience with a senior in her middle school. The audition concludes with Kumiko, Kanade, and Natsuki passing.
The band attends a training camp presided by Mr. Taki, Masahiro Hashimoto, and Satomi Nīyama. Later at night, Kumiko and Shūichi agree to break up to focus on the band. At the Kansai band competition, alumni and former band members Kaori Nakaseko, Haruka Ogasawara, and Asuka Tanaka arrive to watch Kitauji's performance. After their performance, Kitauji High School Concert Band obtains a dud gold medal, failing to advance to the nationals. In a post-credits scene, Kanade greets Kumiko, who is now the band's president.
In June 2017, Kyoto Animation revealed one of the two new anime films that would be directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, which would depict Kumiko Ōmae entering second year in her high school.[11] The studio first revealed it under the title Kumiko and Company Who Became 2nd-Year Students (2年生になった久美子たち, 2-Nensei ni Natta Kumiko-tachi).[12] The film's official title was revealed in June 2018, with the subtitle as Chikai no Fināre (誓いのフィナーレ, lit.'Oath's Finale' or 'Oath of the Finale').[4][5] That month, Tomoyo Kurosawa was confirmed to reprise her voice role as Kumiko,[5] while four new characters joining the Kitauji High School's concert band as first-year students were introduced: Kanade Hisaishi,[13] Mirei Suzuki,[14] Satsuki Suzuki,[15] and Motomu Tsukinaga.[16]
In September 2018, screenwriter Jukki Hanada and character designer Shoko Ikeda were revealed to be part of the staff working on the film. Additionally, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Ayaka Asai, Moe Toyota, Chika Anzai, Haruki Ishiya, Konomi Fujimura, Yuri Yamaoka, Kenjiro Tsuda, and Miyuki Kobori were set to reprise their voice roles from the anime series for the film.[17] Additional staff were revealed in December 2018, including Mutsuo Shinohara as the art director, Hiroyuki Takahashi as the instrument designer, and Kazuya Takao as the cinematographer. That month, Minako Kotobuki and Takahiro Sakurai joined the returning cast to reprise their roles from the anime series, while the voice actors for the new characters were announced, namely Sora Amamiya as Kanade, Ayaka Nanase as Mirei, Misaki Kuno as Satzuki, and Shimba Tsuchiya as Motomu.[18]
In May 2019, Eleven Arts licensed the film under the title Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day.[19] The following month, the company announced the main English dub cast for the film, namely Erica Mendez as Kumiko, Laura Post as Reina Kōsaka, Kayli Mills as Sapphire Kawashima, Jennifer Losi as Hazuki Katō, Christine Marie Cabanos as Kanade, Katelyn Gault as Mirei, Xanthe Huynh as Satsuki, and Lucien Dodge as Motomu.[6]
Music
In September 2018, Akito Matsuda was revealed to be composing Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day.[17] In December 2018, True was revealed as the performer of the theme song for the film.[20] The song's title was revealed in February 2019 as "Blast!", with its single being released in Japan on April 17.[21] The film's original soundtrack, subtitled The Endless Melody,[22] was released in Japan on May 22, 2019,[23] and digitally on April 4, 2022.[24]
All music is composed by Matsuda, except where indicated
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Original Soundtrack: The Endless Melody [Disc 1][22]
The first key visual for Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day was released in June 2018.[5] It was followed with the second key visual and a teaser trailer in September 2018.[17] The main key visual for the film was released in December 2018.[18] Additional trailers for the film were released that month and in March 2019.[20][25] The official fan book of the film was released in Japan on March 20, 2020.[26]
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day held its early screenings at Yūrakuchō Asahi Hall in Yūrakuchō, Tokyo on April 5, 2019,[31] and at the Movix theater in Kyoto on April 11.[32] The film was widely released in Japan on April 19, 2019.[17] It was previously scheduled to be released in 2018.[4] In light of the arson attack at Kyoto Animation, Shochiku held a special screening for the films produced by the studio "to create an opportunity for people to be able to watch... works... by Kyoto Animation on the big screen"; Our Promise: A Brand New Day was screened at Movix in Kyoto on November 29, 2019.[33]
Eleven Arts, in partnership with Fathom Events, screened the Japanese-dubbed version of the film in the United States on July 11, 2019, and the English-dubbed version on July 15.[19] The company also screened the English-dubbed version of the film in Canada on July 16, 2019, and the Japanese-dubbed version on July 18.[34]
In North America, the film was released digitally on May 19, 2020, and on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack on June 2.[42] It was made available for streaming on Tubi on April 8, 2021,[43] and on Crunchyroll on December 8, 2022.[44]
Reception
Box office
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day grossed ¥320 million (US$2.94 million) in Japan and US$90,341 in the United States and Canada, for a worldwide total of US$3.03million.[2][3]
The film earned ¥93 million (US$853,345) in its opening weekend in Japan, ranking fifth place at the box office.[45] It earned additional ¥27 million (US$247,181) in its second weekend and ¥17 million (US$154,063) in its fourth weekend.[46][47]
Critical response
Kim Morrissy of Anime News Network graded Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day "B+", criticizing the film for introducing new characters and their relationships in a limited runtime, its subplots that were "underdeveloped" and had "similar ground to the conflicts established in the first season of Sound! Euphonium", and the cathartic moments that "hinge primarily on callbacks to previous seasons" instead of letting the viewers to "connect the dots themselves and observe the changes in the characters over time." However, Morrisy lauded Kumiko Ōmae's growth and the "breathtaking" musical performance.[48] Richard Whittaker of The Austin Chronicle gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, feeling that it was "a little unrelenting, in that it's not designed to be a standalone film, but is instead more of a continuation of the two-season anime that started it all". However, Whittaker found that the film's joy was its "earnest simplicity."[49] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times felt that the characters, such as Kumiko and Shūichi Tsukamoto, were "undeveloped" in the film. Solomon suggested that director Tatsuya Ishihara should have "devoted more time to the club members and less to the long sequences of them performing, which feels like padding."[50]
Sequel
In June 2019, Kyoto Animation greenlit an anime project in which Kumiko becomes a third-year student at Kitauji High School.[51] The project was confirmed to be a television series in June 2022.[52] It was revealed to be a third season in August 2023,[53] which premiered in Japan on April 7, 2024.[54]
Notes
^Japanese: 劇場版 響け！ユーフォニアム ～誓いのフィナーレ～, Hepburn: Gekijōban Hibike! Yūfoniamu: Chikai no Fināre, lit.'Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Oath's Finale'[4] or 'Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Oath of the Finale'[5]
References
^ ab劇場版 響け！ユーフォニアム 誓いのフィナーレ [Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day]. Eiga.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
^ ab2019年映画興行収入ランキング日本おすすめ（上半期/下半期/洋画/邦画/アニメ） [2019 Movie Box Office Rankings Japan Recommended (First Half/Second Half/Western/Japanese/Animation)]. Movie Evaluation Pick Scene (in Japanese). October 24, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^アニメ「響け！ユーフォニアム」関連楽曲のサブスクリプション配信開始！ [Subscription of songs related to the anime Sound! Euphonium are now available!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). April 4, 2022. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^公式ファンブックが3月20日に発売決定！ [The official fan book will be released on March 20!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). December 24, 2019. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^Tカードコラボ決定！2019年3月25日(月)より発行開始！ [T Card collaboration decided! Issuance begins on Monday, March 25, 2019!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
^映画の公開を記念して、京阪電車との連携スペシャル企画が決定！ [To commemorate the release of the film, a special project in cooperation with Keihan Electric Railway has been decided!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). March 30, 2019. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
^京都府赤十字血液センターとのタイアップが決定！ [A tie-up with the Kyoto Red Cross Blood Center was decided!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). April 17, 2019. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
^京阪電車とのコラボ試写会が決定！ [Preview to be held in collaboration with Keihan Electric Railway!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). March 8, 2019. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
^AT-Xにて『響け！ユーフォニアム』シリーズ特集が3月に放送決定！ [Sound! Euphonium series will be broadcast on AT-X in March!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). February 12, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^U-NEXT・dアニメストア・バンダイチャンネルにて『劇場版 響け！ユーフォニアム〜誓いのフィナーレ〜』配信開始！ [Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day is now available on U-Next, d Anime Store, and Bandai Channel!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). December 1, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^Huluにて『響け！ユーフォニアム』シリーズが2月6日より配信開始決定！ [Sound! Euphonium series will be distributed on Hulu from February 6!]. anime-eupho.com. February 4, 2022. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^BS12にて『劇場版 響け！ユーフォニアム～誓いのフィナーレ～』が7月10日に放送決定！ [Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day will air on BS12 on July 10!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^DMM TVにて『響け！ユーフォニアム』シリーズ配信開始！ [Distribution of Sound! Euphonium series on DMM TV starts!]. anime-eupho.com (in Japanese). March 15, 2023. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^【アマプラ】『響け！ユーフォニアム』シリーズ全作がAmazon Prime Video見放題入り。『リズと青い鳥』も [[Amapura] The entire Sound! Euphonium series is now available for unlimited viewing on Amazon Prime Video. Also, Liz and the Blue Bird]. Famitsu (in Japanese). April 22, 2023. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
