Hats off, gentlemen. A genius! - "Hibike! Yuufoniamu (Sound! Euphonium)" 12th episode

 "Hats off, gentlemen. A genius!" said Robert Schumann on Chopin's variation op. 2 when both were 21 years old. Is it effusive to use the same words on Tomoyo Kurosawa's play in the scene on a bridge of "Sound! Euphonium" episode 12? At any rate, this woman who is a 19-year-old university student is obviously a gifted voice actress.
 This scene is a climax before the final movement of the entire story. At the beginning of the story, Kumiko did not seem to be enthusiastic about the activity of the band, euphonium, and almost anything. Kurosawa's voice has been suppressed from the beginning to express this. In episode 8, Reina ignited Kumiko by declaring she wanted to get better to be special. In episode 12, Kumiko got pulled off a technically difficult part by Noboru Taki, which fired her up definitively.
 Then the scene of running on the bridge. Kumiko walked by a river recalling Noboru Taki's notice, picked up the pace, started running screaming inwardly "Umaku naritai (Want to get better)," and finally shouted out to the river. Chagrined inner voice ran, tears couldn't catch up. Kurosawa did an extremely good job here - every "Umaku naritai" had a unique expression, agogics was emotionally stunning, and all were controlled musically, like this:

 In this anime, Kyoto Animation decided to go classic of storytelling - a Bildungsroman of adolescent children. There are no aliens, no time-travelers, and no espers. This is a realistic story of high school students. What makes this anime special is Kyoto Animation's mastery and aesthetic. I don't trust anyone who wasn't impressed by the camera works and the background when Kumiko turned the corner of the bridge.

 "Sound! Euphonium" episode 12

Street view of the Uji-bashi bridge

And Tomoyo Kurosawa also shouted out "Umaku naritai" on the bridge.

( June 22, 2016, link updated)