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.

Episode 1•25m

Ripples

Takimoto has been skipping morning practice without explanation despite being newly appointed as the second violin section leader. Sakuma, other section leaders and frustrated second violin members confront her about it.

Episode 2•25m

Responsibility

Takimoto, who was transferred from the first violin section to become the leader of the second violin section, has been skipping morning practice. At meetings, Sakuma and the others criticize him for not showing up despite being in a position to lead the section, but Takimoto continues to evade the question and doesn't explain the reason. Eventually, the frustration of the second violin section members explodes, and they confront Takimoto. Aono witnesses this. Takimoto leaves, saying something meaningful, and leaves. Then, Susono, who is worried about Takimoto, makes an unexpected suggestion.

Episode 3•25m

Sports Day

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.

Episode 4•25m

Issues

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.

Episode 5•25m

Regret and Progress

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.

Episode 6•25m

Anger

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.

Episode 7•25m

The Competition

Episode 8•25m

Bacchanale

And then the real competition arrives. Kaimaku High School is aiming for their ninth consecutive victory, while rival schools are determined to win this year. Ritsuko, who says that everyone looks good in their unfamiliar uniforms, is encouraged by Tachibana. Sakuma and Tsutsui renew their secret resolve to not run away from past regrets. Amid quiet tension and excitement, what supports each member is the days they poured all their passion into music. Harada and the other third-year students watch from the audience. With the call of "One sound, one encounter," the curtain rises on the new orchestra club.

Episode 9•25m

Identity

The Kaimaku High School Orchestra Club has overcome differences in motivation among its members and discord over interpretations of the pieces they are performing by seriously competing with each other. Now they are taking on the competition, a stage where performances are judged on their merits. They have discovered the "anger" they feel in the story of "Bacchanale," which depicts the love and hate between Samson and Delilah. Aono and his friends play with all their might, filled with emotion and emotion, a sound that can only be produced in this moment. Will they be able to achieve their ninth consecutive national victory?

Episode 10•25m

Present

After the competition is over and there are no club activities, Aono and Haru go out together. Their destination is a music store that Aono has been going to since he was a child.

Episode 11•25m

Choir

Ritsuko calls Aono to ask for a favor. She wants to give him a performance of Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins," Aono's mother's favorite, as a birthday present. Just like in middle school, Ritsuko tutors Aono, and Aono teaches her violin. On his birthday, Aono is excited to visit a girl's room for the first time. Ritsuko's mother is curious about Aono, whom she's meeting for the first time. The two begin playing. The sound of the violin holds special meaning in the relationship between Ritsuko and her mother.

Episode 12•25m

Morning Mist

Aono, Ritsuko, and Haru. Confused by their fluctuating feelings, the three of them continue to act as usual. Aono receives help from Ritsuko and Haru in his studies and finishes his final exams. The orchestra club's next performance is a Christmas concert held jointly with the choir club. Not only will the choir members sing along with the orchestra, but the orchestra members will also join in on some songs. Aono is embarrassed to sing in front of people and struggles with the unfamiliar songs. Then, a dignified voice resonates. Who is that voice?

Episode 13•25m

Christmas Concert

Saeki heads to school early in the morning. The sky is at dawn, the air is cold. On a quiet winter morning, the voice of "Ave Maria" playing from his earphones brings back memories of his childhood in Germany with his mother.

Episode 14•25m

New Scenery

The Christmas concert, a joint performance with the choir club, opened with the orchestra members also singing "Joy to the World." The voices resonated along with the majestic pipe organ. Ritsuko's mother was overwhelmed by the powerful sound that vibrated through her entire body. Aono's mother was also there. Next came "Ave Maria." As she played, Saeki was enveloped in warm memories of her mother. Then came the magnificent "Hallelujah Chorus." A sense of profound accomplishment remained in Aono's heart. After the performance, the cold rain had somehow turned into snow.

Episode 15•25m

Genroku Iwatora

January 1st is Aono's birthday. Aono's new year begins with a visit to the shrine with Ritsuko, Haru, Saeki, and Yamada. Then comes the first club activity after the winter break.

Episode 16•25m

A Distinguished Father

Aono and his friends pass the audition and become members of the junior orchestra. However, many of the successful applicants are students from high schools attached to music colleges.

Episode 17•25m

Respective Signs

The heat radiating from Iwato's entire body guides the sound. Aono and the others hang on desperately to the strict instruction. The piece is Akutagawa Yasushi's "Music for Symphony Orchestra."

Episode 18•25m

True Nature

Valentine's Day is a time when chocolates fly all over the school. The orchestra club members are also in high spirits. Aono is upset when he discovers chocolate hidden in his desk. He also realizes that Ritsuko, who had been handing out chocolates to everyone, hasn't given him any.

Episode 19•25m

Surpass

The members of the Junior Orchestra, who will be representing Japan in the competition, are all strong-willed individuals who want to pursue a career in music. Among them, Subaru Yukito, who sits in the concertmaster's seat, has a presence that seems to have poured everything into music, and Aono is overwhelmed by it.

Episode 20•25m

Graduation

The auditions were held in pairs, and it was Aono and Haru's turn. The highly synchronized performance of the two astounded the judges.

Episode 21•25m