Hajime Aono

Ritsuko Akine

Umimaku High Orchestra Club

Nao Saeki

So Harada

A Rainy Day

Haru Kozakura

Air on the G String

Upperclassmen

The Novice and the Expert

The Night Before the Decisive Battle

Auditions

My Own Timbre

Coming Together

Sounds of Truth

Worries

More Sounds of Truth

Truth

Being You

A Summer Place

Humoresque

Parting Words

The Subscription Concert

From the New World

Coming Apart

After their successful subscription concert performance, the Umimaku High School Orchestra Club sets their sights on winning the national competition. But with a new lineup of second-years leading, things are off to a rocky start. Only a few violinists turn up for the first morning practice, and Sakuma, the percussion section leader, bluntly criticizes Hatori, the newly appointed concertmaster, and other string members.

Ripples

Takimoto has been skipping morning practice without explanation despite being newly appointed as the second violin section leader. When Sakuma and other section leaders question her about it, she tries avoids the subject. Later, frustrated second violin members confront her. She responds by walking away, but not before muttering something. Susono is worried and gives Takimoto a surprising suggestion.

Responsibility

On his way home from school, Aono unexpectedly bumps into Takimoto, who is crying alone in pain. As Aono shows concern for his senior, Takimoto slowly begins to speak. He talks about the events surrounding the club member who quit, and his own cold feelings and confusion after no longer finding meaning in club activities. These feelings overlap with Aono's, who once gave up the violin due to his relationship with his father. Aono talks about the pain he felt when he stopped playing, and how his feelings toward his father are different now than they were back then. Aono's words make Takimoto decide.

Sports Day

With two months until the competition, the string instruments are beginning to come together under the guidance of concertmaster Hatori, and the sports festival is upon us. Ritsuko, a member of the inter-club relay team, is inspired by Aono's determination to have fun and give it her all as she competes. However, she is also chosen as the class's leader for the horse-riding battle. Aono is timid, and Saeki, who is also competing in the battle, becomes competitive. Haru, who can't help but root for Aono, who is in a different group, asks him a question that has been bothering her for a while.

Issues

There is one month until the competition. With the entire band still unable to agree on an interpretation of the piece, they split into three groups and begin block practice, with Aono ending up in the same group as Sakuma. "Bacchanale" from Saint-Saëns' opera "Samson and Delilah" depicts the love and hate between a man and a woman amidst an antagonistic relationship. It is filled with elegance and charm, anger and sadness, lies and secrets. Haru, who is in a different group from Aono, grasps something from a conversation with Machii, a third-year senior who knows how Haru feels about Aono.

Regret and Progress

Tachibana, who is in the same group as Ritsuko during block practice, is irritated by the other members of the club who refuse to take the initiative. Ritsuko senses that Tachibana is always conscious of Sakuma, a senior from the same junior high school. Tachibana tells Ritsuko about how he took over as captain from Sakuma at the junior high school orchestra club, which was a regular gold medalist in competitions, and about the bitter experience and regret he had when his own enthusiasm and sense of responsibility didn't translate into results. Tachibana and Ritsuko are tuning their instruments together. Sakuma is playing the timpani in a separate room.

Anger

Aono is at home nursing a cold and is haunted by terrible nightmares. The competition is just around the corner, and he should be diving into rehearsals; however, everything is at a standstill. Apparently, the theme of the play has still not been fully grasped by everyone. In several meetings, they are searching for the anger that Samson must have felt, which needs to be expressed musically.

The Competition

The big day has arrived, and the competition is underway. Old acquaintances sit in the audience, watching over their former protégés. The competition is fierce, and just now, Mr. Ayukawa is criticizing his club members more severely than ever.

Episode 9

Episode 10