S01E05
The Barefooted Vibrato
October 29, 200625m
On the day of the first selection, Hino turns up dressed informally through her ignorance. Thankfully, Lili shows up in her dressing room and uses magic to provide her with a selection of dresses. At one point, Hihara enters without knocking and sees her wearing a nun's habit. However, Lili quickly switches her back to the school uniform and Hino attempts to pass it off as "seeing things". A teacher then directs Hihara away from the girls’ dressing room. Hino and Lili eventually choose a knee-length white dress. During the performance, Hino's accompanist ducks out, criticizing Hino's lack of commitment to music practice. Tsukimori arrives at the scene and defends Hino, while her accompanist runs away crying. Hino goes on without accompaniment; after a few notes, she is asked to leave the stage because all participants are required to have an accompaniment. Tsuchiura steps forward from the audience and takes the place of Hino's accompaniment. Tsuchiura tells Hino to forget their arguments, and the two take the stage. Hino plays Chopin's Tristesse, or "song of parting" but she feels that it is not an ending, but a beginning, during the performance; Tsuchiura admires Hino and her way of performing. Everybody, even the judges, remarks on how joyful and vibrant the piece sounds when Hino plays it. The concourse members, too, are overcome with emotion. Then Tsukimori goes on and gives a powerful performance. In the end, Hino comes last in the selection and Tsukimori comes first.