[Aoi Kurenai]

One of the problems with Hibiki is that neither its writer nor producer had any sort of end game in mind, so they were taking things one step at a time. At this point in the show, and essentially for most of the first half, it's going to be about Asumu taking slow steps to becoming a more assertive person. It's clearly not a show written with any sort of end point in mind, it's quite literally a chapter from an ongoing battle. A lot of the major stories have an in media res vibe to them because of that "ongoing battle" aspect of the show.

A huge complaint people have always had towards the series is that nothing really happens. I personally love the show, but that's because the positives in the show outweigh the negatives for me. I can totally understand the "nothing happens" mindset because of what the story is actually trying to do.