K

Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: April 2nd, 2009

Episode Length/Run-time: 14 episodes

Summary:

Yui Hirasawa is a high school freshman and she needs a club to join.  She discovers a club on the brink of extinction, the light music club.  Yui joins the current members of the club Ritsu and Mio and later, Tsumugi and Azusa, as they save the club and become best friends.

Review:

K-On is a “moe” anime.  There really isn’t much to it.  Five girls get together after school and eat cake and have tea and occasionally, practice rock music.  That’s about all there is to it.  Like most “moe” shows, this one wastes many of its episodes on mindless content that is meant to serve one purpose, being cute.  These episodes include school festivals, trips to the beach, and endless sessions of cake eating.  So at this point you might wonder, “how does this show get a 4/5?” The show does have some good things going for it that make it likely, one of the best, if not the best “moe” show out there.

The show, aesthetically is very pleasing.  First off, the music in the show is fantastic.  Making it’s way to the top of Japanese pop charts, the opening and ending themes, “Cagayake! Girls” and “Don’t say “Lazy”, make the music very special.  This not only because the songs are good but because the themes are performd by the seiyuu actresses themselves; Aki Toyosaki with Yoko Hikasa, Satomi Satou, Minako Kotobuki and Ayana Taketatsu.  In addition to the music, the visuals are excellent as well.  I think it’s a shame however that good production values get wasted on watching “moe” girls tripping all over themselves.

It was also nice watching the girls working towards their live performances together, something that is sorely lacking in the second season.  As a musician, it was also quite interesting watching Yui trying to learn the guitar.   So in the end, this is a pretty nice show that really does what it’s intended to do very well.  In terms of a “moe” show it’s much more tolerable than most and because the characters are enjoyable and the music is great, it’s generally a show that can be recommended to most audiences.

[starrater]