Great episode with some great character drama. Kumiko was fence-sitting so hard this episode. Luckily, she realised that doesn’t help the situation and said what she actually thinks. Sadly, that seemed to cause a rift between Kumiko and Reina.

Kumiko hiding her frustration that she didn’t get the soli was a bit hard to watch too. You can be frustrated while also accepting the result. Mayu also doesn’t seem to realise that her need to people please can also be quite hurtful.

I think part of the reason why people are displeased is that Taki-sensei doesn’t explain his decisions. They are left to figure out for themselves why. Like, why switch Kumiko with Mayu if they’re about even? Why suddenly use 4 tubas and 2 euphos instead of the previous 3 and 3? This was shown the previous audition too, where a tuba player who was less skilled was chosen over a more skilled player. Taki had his reasons, but because no one knew, it was uncomfortable, hence why Kumiko asked about it. To Reina, his rationale doesn’t matter, since she thinks he knows best, but I think it’s fair that people are criticizing him. Sadly, Reina is a bit too utilitarian, unempathetic and biased to see this.

Maybe it’s a culture difference, but not allowing criticism of your leader seems quite counterproductive. Blind faith is rarely a good thing.