It's the big day: the All Japan Concert Band Competition Nationals.

Taki decides that the band will choose the euphonium soli player by voting on one final audition. Kumiko then decides that they should choose based on sound alone, and so the two of them audition anonymously.

The competition performance is "only" 12 minutes long. It's both a blink of an eye and an eternity. The Concert Band members bet their entire youths on this competition. And Kitauji High School Concert Band's performance begins.

The concert band receives its Kansai competition results. Reina and Kumiko see Yoroizuka perform with some of their senpais. However, Kumiko and Reina's relationship becomes precarious as she continues to insist she won't go to music school.

Now that she's well into her third-year, Kumiko is now facing pressure from teachers and parents alike to choose what she's doing after high school. Concert band members form groups to attend the Agata Festival, but Kumiko has other plans.

Mayu taking the soli part has made the concert band uneasy. Despite Kumiko's insistence that this is how it should be, several members take issue with Taki's decision.

The concert band receives their marching band uniforms and begins marching practice in preperation for SunFes. Things are different now, with the members all more engaged in practice. And SunFes day arrives.

The competition's coming up. Kumiko is suddenly asked to play a difficult phrase from a different part. She begins practicing, but...

Asuka is about to lose her seat competing in the Nationals. But that might not be why she invited Kumiko over.

Taki's deadline for Asuka draws near. She refuses to admit that she wants, more than anyone, to compete in the Nationals.

With Asuka back in the competition, the orchestra is just about set for the Nationals. Meanwhile, Kumiko tries to understand why Reina is upset at her.

The three-day summer camp has begun, and members of the concert band are faced with a rigorous training regimen. Mayu hesitates to audition yet again, afraid that she'll take the soli part from Kumiko. Motomu speaks to Midori in private.

The Kansai competition is right around the corner, and the band's dissent about Taki-sensei's decisions only continues to grow. Kumiko goes to speak with him, and she has to decide whether to speak her mind.

The final competition for the third-years is at hand. The Kitauji High School Concert Band performs together one last time in a bid for National gold.

A new year is starting at Kitauji Kyoto Prefectural High School, and that means clubs are clamoring to recruit new members. The concert band welcomes newcomers and sets their goals for the season. Will they choose to fight for gold at Nationals?

Kumiko enters Kitauji High School having been unable to forget what Reina said at a middle school concert band competition. She goes to visit the concert band at school along with classmates Hazuki and Sapphire, where they meet Reina again.

The band is abuzz with talk about who they'll be going to the upcoming festival with. There's someone Hazuki wants to go with, but that someone is already going with someone else. Meanwhile Kumiko somehow ends up going with you-know-who.

The concert band begins taking itself very seriously to give itself the best chance possible of winning gold at Nationals. Unfortunately, the intense environment has some of the new recruits discouraged and intimidated.

The Prefecturals are coming up and that means the first of many auditions for the members of the concert band. Mayu is still hesitant to audition despite reassurance from the others. Some of Taki's choices for the competition confuse members.

Taki decides to let the band executives choose their competition piece this year. The leadership deliberates on this decision while trying to get the rest of the band ready to perform at the Sunrise Festival.

The day of the Sunrise Festival finally arrives, and it's time for the concert band to have their first performance of the year. Proximity to other schools and bands brings some of Motomu's family issues to light.

Members of the concert band are given a brief, three-day summer break that quickly fills with plans of all sorts. Some of the third-years attend an event to gather information on different colleges and plan their futures.

Kumiko and the others prepare for Sunrise Festival. Kumiko and Shuichi talk about Taki-sensei on the way home from school, when they run into Reina.

Starting this year, the band holds auditions for members participating in the competition. First-year Hazuki has a chance, too. The bass section does everything they can to encourage her.

The band is hard at work preparing for the audition and the competition. Aoi has trouble with her part, to which Taki says, "when will you be better by?"