K-ON!eps 1

Series Information
ANN Encyclopedia | TBSアニメーション・けいおん！公式ホームページ
Genre: Comedy, Slice-of-Life
OP: 「Cagayake! GIRLS」 by Sakura High Light Music Club (Toyosaki Aki, Hikasa Yoko, Satou Satomi, and Kotobuki Minako)
ED: 「Don’t say “lazy”」 by Sakura High Light Music Club (Toyosaki Aki, Hikasa Yoko, Satou Satomi, and Kotobuki Minako)
Production: Kyoto Animation
[ Episode 1: Disbanded Club ]














As one of the most anticipated new shows this spring, I was very eager to see this one ASAP. Needless to say I loved the premiere from start to finish. Mio quickly swooned me and I’m now in love. It’s not surprising, as I look at her as the Kagami of K-ON! She’s the girl with a logical mindset and the most normal one of the bunch. When I look at the other characters, they’re just like the Lucky Star girls, as well. Yui is Tsukasa; they’re both clumsy and silly, they space out, and they have short hair. Mitsu is energetic, loud, and talkative like Konata, though she reminds me more of Haruhi than her. Lastly, Tsumugi is clearly Miyuki, the high-class long-haired girl with a wonderful personality. Though they may seem similar, the girls of K-ON! are not superdeformed nor are they as wacky. Konata and Kagami are good friends but even then, they have completely different interests. On the other hand, Mio and Mitsu are like childhood friends and sisters who share common interests. Of course, having four girls as the main cast is just asking for parodies of the two shows. In fact, this show is as if it were Lucky Star meets BECK, with a premise similar to Linda, Linda, Linda. Simply put, it’s about four girls that want to form a band for their light music club. Yui is the only one that can’t pick up an instrument and play, so she has to learn the basics of it first before playing, which is basically what the girls in Linda, Linda, Linda did. So in the end, I’m expecting a live performance at Sakura High’s cultural festival, similar to Live Alive. Make it happen, KyoAni!
It was fun seeing the girls trying to (and strategizing how to) get Yui to join the light music club by bombarding her with food and questions. My favorite part was the scene where Mio was commenting on how they were getting off topic, but Mitsu suddenly kicked her hard before she got to finish her sentence. Another part I laughed at was when Yui tried to get out of the club, saying she plays harmonica. Mitsu just so happened to have one on her, and Yui quickly confessed she doesn’t play it. The pacing of the episode is just about right, so it’s not difficult to follow. I enjoyed the little performance the girls had for Yui, showcasing their abilities on their respective instruments. It’s a mellow tune and it’s light, as it should be. I hardly ever hear elevator music, but I wouldn’t mind listening to this while waiting. Speaking of music, I initially was a bit skeptical about how KyoAni would handle this without Kousaki Satoru’s music, but all concerns disappeared and I love  these fresh, new tunes.
Presentation-wise, everything looks great, as expected of KyoAni. The lighting and shading takes me back to CLANNAD’s scenery, with the vibrant colors. The look doesn’t stick out the way Lucky Star did, but from my point of view, it was almost like watching a movie. The animation is, naturally, very good, though they must’ve used up all their time animating the OP and ED. See how they put a lot of detail into the strumming, drumming, and keyboarding?! Who could blame them for that, though? The OP was upbeat and fun, and the ED Don’t be “lazy”, while not as fast-paced as Cagayake! GIRLS, was quite stunning in every way. Basically, Mio steals the whole ED, hands down. A bassist that sings? There aren’t many like that. I have to admit though, all the girls look really beautiful when they blend with gothic tones. Just like I went through with Lucky Star, I wasn’t familiar with the seiyuu talent involved, but after hearing everything, these girls can become a hit later on, too. I’m sure of it. Overall, a splendid premiere that will surely become one of the best this season.
Here we are. Spring season at last. And what’s a better way to start it off than a moeblob filled comedy like K-ON! The main character is Hirasawa Yui. She’s a shy, awkward, and clumsy girl and resembles Tsukasa (Lucky Star) a bit in terms of looks. Actually, I could easily draw parallels to the four main characters to K-ON! to the ones in Lucky Star by character archetypes. And like Lucky Star, each one is uniquely different from each other, but as a group they manage to connect and balance each other out.
Yui left a really good impression on me. Right now, I’m leaning towards her as my favorite of the lot. She was so moe in this episode I thought I was gonna die. From the castanets flashback to the scene where they questioned her interests, it was so stupid I couldn’t help but laugh. Mio seems to be the most reasonable person of the group, Ritsu is the energtic go-getter, and Tsumugi makes the tea and cake. Speaking of Tsumugi, did anybody else notice those EYEBROWS? I really wanted somebody to just go up to her and shave them off.
This was a first good episode and really drew me into to the series with its humor and premise. We got a taste of what kind of music that light music is all about, despite the OP and ED songs being more on the pop/rock side. I’m wondering how far they’ll get in terms of progress within thirteen episodes. Learning to play a guitar is something you can’t do with little hard work and time, so it’ll be interesting to see how the dopey Yui will catch up with her guitar playing. Last episode will probably be something like BATTLE OF THE BANDS or an in school concert.
As much as I was enjoying the moeblob antics in this episode, I would like to see the anime be more focused on the four main girls growing as a band in terms of the individual and skill. You know, that thing called character development. At this point I have high hopes for the show. Though I’m sure whatever direction they’ll decide to take it, it’ll be popular nonetheless.