About Me

Newfoundland, Canada
I've been a big anime fan for about 10 years or so now. My five all-time favorite animes at this point are, in no particular order... Puella Magi Madoka Magica, El Hazard: The Magnificent World, Love Live!: School Idol Project, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. However, there are hundreds of anime shows that I like. The main purpose of this blog is to provide meta-commentary on anime, and the anime industry - to try to cast a critical, though appreciating, eye upon this entertainment genre that I believe has tremendous potential, but can also be easily wasted. I have always been a fan of animation in general - in the 80s, I grew up on western cartoons like He-Man, She-Ra, Transformers, and G.I. Joe. Through out the 90s, I was a hardcore comic book fan, for the most part. I'm also a big fan of Star Trek. Right now in my life, though, anime is my principal entertainment passion.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

K-On!! Review Part 2 of 2



First off, apologies to long-time readers for not getting to this sooner. I know that I scrounge up regular readers about as well as Afternoon Tea Time scrounges up new members for the Light Music Club, but still, Ritsu would not have left you hanging for almost two months, and I should not have either. 

That out of the way, I'm going to pick up this series review where I left off at the end of Part 1. Just to remind everyone, Part 1 of my series review dealt with the first 13 episodes of K-On!!, while Part 2 will deal with the second half of the anime. And also to further refresh memories, Part 1 of my review dauntlessly delved deeply into the inner conflict and workings of this anime's leading group: Azusa, Mio, Mugi, Ritsu, and Yui

There I spoke at length of the ideological conflicts pitting the lighthearted procrastinators Ritsu and Yui against the relatively stern and serious Azusa and Mio, with Mugi caught inbetween. I perhaps exaggerated the severity of that conflict, as the second half of this anime quickly resolves it, and is mostly free of it.


The key turning point for this conflict is in Episode 16, where we begin to see strikingly substantial character development for Azusa. This episode makes it clear that Azusa is slowly, but surely, becoming more and more like her fellow band mates, Yui in particular. This, along with some key scenes and pieces of dialogue during Afternoon Tea Time's last major school music performance, makes it clear that Yui's fight with the world is decidedly going her way. She is starting to escape her Rodney Dangerfield quality (at least within the narrative itself), as she becomes the recipient of numerous sincere compliments during that last major school music performance.

The anime appears to settle on the following idea: Goofing off and having fun is great, and in fact needed for a happy life, but you have to be prepared and do some work for certain key moments in your life, such as writing final exams or putting on a major performance. To put it into pro sports terminology, you can have fun during the regular season as long as you deliver when it matters most: in the playoffs. 

And "the playoffs", for Afternoon Tea Time, is represented by major musical performances, important school exams, and performing in low-budget theatrical productions.


I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the K-On!! episodes surrounding this school play and showcasing it. It did a masterful job - one which I dare say Shakespeare himself would have appreciated - of accurately reflecting the work, the time, the jitters, the improvisations, and the overall struggles that go into putting on a play; a school play in particular. 

I also felt that Mio and Ritsu did an ultimately excellent job as Romeo and Juliet. Much like them, I felt that Ritsu's personality was well-suited for Romeo, and Mio's was well-suited for Juliet, but then the two characters wisely took advantage of that fact to help them in their acting performances. It was neat to see Mio play Ritsu playing Romeo, and Ritsu play Mio playing Juliet. Alas, Brandon Routh was not that good playing Christopher Reeve playing Superman, but that's a separate discussion. ;)

In the end, Mio and Ritsu's approach probably gave the play its best possible outcome, as Mio's height made her fit the look of Romeo better than the shorter Ritsu would have, in my opinion.

Just before the preparations for the play, there was also a highly amusing episode in Episode 17 that I want to touch on briefly. For sheer entertainment value, it was a lot of fun to watch our beloved quintet try to find a place to practice given the temporary lost of their club room. This was a very good episode premise on the part of the writing staff for K-On!!'s source material (unless it was anime original material, in which case, the credit goes to the anime's writing staff). 

Following the Romeo and Juliet production, we're soon after treated to an episode dedicated almost entirely to an Afterschool Tea Time musical performance. 



This was great to see and watch as it ties this anime back into its wider music-based origins. It was also here that we get a good sense of how beloved Afternoon Tea Time is becoming at their school, and how, as I mentioned before, Yui is finally starting to earn some respect from her peers, even Nodoka. Some of the elements of this performance that really brought a smile to my face were Yui acting like she was hosting Saturday Night Live, Ui briefly going ga-ga over her own sister as though Yui was a celebrity star that Ui was not related to, and the neat T-shirts that Sawako-Sensei made for everyone. 

As it pertains to Yui acting like a stand-up comedian at times, I'd seriously like to see her and Will Ferrell do a comedy bit together. It could be an outrageous laugh riot!

But, moving on, the next thing in this anime that really left an impression on me is this:




When Ui let down her hair while behind Azusa, and then glomped Azusa just like her sister loves to do, I literally did a double-take. I actually rewound Episode 21 back a few moments to see if I could catch the moment where Ui and Yui switched places. Much to my surprise, there was no such moment; it was all Ui. She truly could easily pass for Yui's identical twin. Getting to see that was, I have to admit, kind of cute. 

On the flip side, I felt badly for Yui in the same episode in which Ui did her Yui impersonation. Yui's hair looked perfect after her first try with the scissors, in my opinion. If only she had stopped there...

From Episode 21's school pictures, we move on to Episode 22 about Valentine's Day, and then further unto Episode 23 which focused on the graduating foursome of the band deciding to spend their entire day off in their clubroom at school. Both of these felt a bit odd to me, as I never thought that Valentine's Day would warrant much celebration at an all-girls school, and while anime does an impressive job of making school life seem fun, I still found it hard to swallow that graduating students would actually want to spend a full day at school when they have the day off. 

Nonetheless, the execution of the ideas behind these episodes was truly top-notch. So much so that it made me completely forget the oddity of the ideas behind them while I watched them. It's also in these later episodes that I felt that the trio of Azusa, Jun, and Ui shined the most, and had their characters fully realized. In Part 1 of my Two-Part Series Review, I argued that Azusa, Jun, and Ui can't carry an entire episode, and while I still hold to that, they really do work very well in a supportive plot-moving way. I can certainly say that it was a wise choice to have two circles of friends, with Azusa caught at their intersection. It added a certain welcomed character diversity and spice to this anime. Jun, in particular due to me not remember seeing her at all in K-On!, really added a lot to K-On!! I think it was good to have Jun as an "everygirl" outside perspective to reflect on the goings on of Afternoon Tea Time. 

Finally, we come to the grand conclusion, the Graduation Episode. 

I have to admit, the flowers are very pretty.

There's an enchantingly exquisite elegance to the flower aspect of the Graduation Ceremony. It's simple sweet sentimentality, but it's also very powerful symbolically. I very much liked how the younger girls gave flowers to the graduating girls, symbolizing good will, respect, and an overarching sense of accomplishment and blossoming into adulthood. My only minor nitpick here is that I think it would have been better if more care had been put into which younger girl had given which graduating girl a flower. For example, it's a shame that Azusa never gave her flower to one of her four graduating band mates. An opportunity was perhaps missed there. 

The way the gift to Sawako-Sensei was handled was flawless, though, in my estimation. It added some nice comedy to what could have otherwise been a dull scene, while also leading to a very pleasant and heartfelt moment for Sawako-Sensei herself. I will say that I was surprised at how, well, underwhelming the actual graduation ceremony itself was overall, though. I can honestly say that my own high school graduation ceremony was much more flamboyant. But then, the anime clearly wanted to devote most of its time to the five leading ladies of this anime, and that gave this anime what I felt was a most fitting and wonderful climax.



The final song that Mio, Mugi, Ritsu, and Yui all sang for Azusa was simply beautiful, both in its harmonious presentation and in its lusciously lovely lyrics, and it so marvelously summed up both the experiences that all of these girls shared together as a group, and also what I think is the main overarching theme of this anime.

It is in this moment, this moment when Azusa comes to tears due to the love and appreciation shown to her by the song of her band mates, that this anime reaches a point where it is genuinely deserving of its popularity and praise. It is in this moment, as well as in an earlier moment in which the girls share a tearful group hug after their musical performance, that we truly see that Afternoon Tea Time was much, much more than simply silly girls goofing off in order to have fun. 

No, this anime was about friendship, and the importance thereof, every bit as much as Clannad was about family, and the importance thereof. Furthermore, I would say that K-On!! is to K-On! what Clannad: After Story is to Clannad.

It's a shame that this anime franchise's harshest critics will likely never watch this far to see where this anime is about much more than basic moe appeal. And yet, at the same time, I wonder if even seeing this would change the mind of such critics. 

For during the entire run of K-On!!, I found myself continually wondering just why this anime gets so much hate.

I've heard it suggested, or at least strongly implied, that K-On!!'s "exploitation" and overall handling of its cast makes it sexist against females. I found this dubious, as its rather difficult to make a work sexist against one gender if the other gender is almost entirely absent. Typically, sexism in entertainment comes through portraying one gender as holding a decisive and overwhelming upper hand over the other. But, aside from Ritsu's brother (who only appears briefly in one episode), this anime has no male characters of lasting importance, and none of them come across as somehow superior to the all-female main cast. 

But, I'll admit that there is one way for K-On!! to be somewhat sexist without having major male characters to measure its female cast against, and that would be by portraying its female cast in an unflattering or overly stereotyped light. 

But that is certainly not the case here, and that is a point that I think needs to be made given the harsh criticism this anime has received from some quarters. Yes, Yui and Ritsu can be goofballs. Collectively, the entire band can be. But since when is being goofballs an inherently bad thing? 

The world of entertainment is littered with widely beloved male goofballs. Everyone from The Three Stooges to Gilligan of Gilligan's Island, to Inspector Gadget of the classic cartoon show, to just about every signal character that Robin Williams ever played. It's a sad state of affairs if we've come to take ourselves so seriously that we're no longer able to have a chuckle over lovable goofball characters.

And with that in mind, my view is that a sure sign of true gender equality is that you can do the opposite gender equivalent of any accepted character type, and nobody will bat an eyelash at it. That doesn't just mean that men can be mothers, or that women can be bad-ass action heroes, it also means that female characters can be goofballs just like Gilligan was. To say otherwise is to limit women in the roles that they can be and play... and isn't that what is truly sexist?

And it's not like the cast of K-On!! are portrayed as hopeless incompetents. Quite the contrary, actually. For all of their goofing off, eating sugary treats, and hilarious hijinks, they still consistently get the job done when it matters most.

Shocking truth be told, the main cast of K-On!! are some of the most well-adjusted, psychologically healthy, and least neurotic, characters in all of fiction, male or female. Their anime world is an eminently realistic one, and hence real practical lessons and themes can be gleaned from these girls and their story. This makes realism one of the chief strengths of K-On!! There's no fantastical elements here: The girls are happy and successful through hard work, believing in themselves, turning to friends or family members when its prudent to do so, and a generally optimistic outlook towards life in general. Along with Superman and Nanoha Takamachi, this makes them some of the best fictional antithesis to cynicism, doubt, and skepticism, that I've ever seen.

And that, I fear, is where much of the hatred for this show actually comes from. It's not about opposing sexism, or the characters failing to be cool (the characters are cool in their own way, in my opinion), or anything like that. It's rooted in cynicism, a loving of the bad-ass and the anti-hero and the pessimist at the expense of other more cheerful and upbeat character types. I like some bad-ass and anti-hero characters myself, but I also recognize where there's much room in the world of modern fiction for a more upbeat and uplifting narrative and character story. And I'm glad that the cast of K-On!! has helped to fill that gaping void, and provide us with a fun and heartwarming, coming of age tale of camaraderie and friendship.

And that brings us to the key theme of K-On!!

K-On!! frequently reminds us of the inevitability of change. It reminds us that, as we go through life, we can not stay in any one place permanently, as much as we might like that place. For teenagers, graduation (or failing to achieve it) is inevitable. You can not stay in school forever. And there are other steps along the road of life where people have to leave comforting locales for brand new ones; where the past has to be left behind. 

But while where we physically are in life is ever changing, our relationships with the people we meet can be everlasting. That is the theme of K-On!!, I think. It is reflected gorgeously in the lyrics of the song sung to Azusa, and it is reflected in the choice of Mio, Mugi, Ritsu, and Yui to all attend the same Post-Secondary Institution together. With clear conscientious choices, and with precision effort, friendships can last on through all the stages of one's life. There is comfort in that, and hence there is comfort in this anime. 

9/10 for K-On!!. In conclusion, it was probably superior to K-On!, but it's perhaps not a fair comparison as K-On!! had more episodes to work with. Both seasons had a slice of life appeal, but K-On!! was ultimately a more satisfying anime. It is like comparing the eating of a scrumptiously sweet strawberry tart (K-On!) to the eating of a finely fulfilling full-course meal at a restaurant (K-On!!). Both are good, but the latter is probably more good for you. ;)

And that does it for this review. I look forward to Yui perhaps meeting Will Ferrel after all, as she's soon going to be making it big... 


20 comments:

  1. I came to basically the same conclusion: season two is simply a more substantial anime than season one. I’m not sure I have a lot of detailed comments to give here, although you did touch on some pretty good points. Episode 16 was great, Azusa kind of strikes me as tsundere for the club in general.:) The comments about the show’s upbeat, cheerful nature are also worth noting, because that’s pretty much why I like shows like K-On!! My favourite shows usually end up being more dramatic, but shows like this end up making up a good chunk of the anime I watch – partly because there’s quite a few made, but also partly because the mood is so different from a lot of other entertainment I consume.

    If Haruhi season 2 was a warning of the dangers of essentially giving a company free reign to do what they want with a property, than K-On!! is a reminder that sometimes that’s actually a good thing. I keep getting the feeling that part of the reason that K-On!! turned out so well wasn’t the source material, which never struck me as that impressive, but that the staff was given not only more episodes, but some leeway to come up with a “vision” for the series.

    The accusations of sexism against K-On! basically boil down to “K-On! is anime for otaku who idolize childish and stupid girls”. The argument is based on two (admittedly true) facts: first, that the fanbase idolizes the characters and makes a big deal about some of their weaknesses (Mio’s fears, Yui’s antics, etc.), and second, that Kyoto Animation has a history of producing anime with arguably similar characters (Mikuru, Ayu, Konata, etc.).

    To be completely honest, the show really isn’t that different from some other female-dominated slice of life shows in this respect: Yuno, Koume, and Kanata – the “lead” characters of Hidamari Sketch, Taisho Baseball Girls, and Sora no Woto, respectively – all bare a fairly strong resemblance to Yui, not that this is likely to help your case when arguing with that crowd. Your “beloved goofballs” argument is actually a pretty good defense though, since to be completely honest, the critics are concentrating on the fans (who I honestly think are often portrayed as crazier than they really are) and not the show.

    What’s interesting about all this is that K-On! actually has a significant female fanbase and was directed by one of the few female directors in the industry. In fact, the two might very well be related, since there’s a fair bit of fanservice in the manga that was cut from the anime.

    Not sure if you’ve seen 25 or 26 yet so I’ll refrain from commenting about those.

    I do think it would be interesting to see your thoughts on a few similar shows like Taisho Yakyuu Musume and Sora no Woto, which is kind of why I’ve name dropped them in relation to this. Probably depends on whether you need a break from this kind of show for a bit..

    (I do think it’s interesting to note that Taisho Baseball Girls breaks the “stick to a group of four-five girls” rule that seems common in the genre, simply due to its premise. Therefore a definite “primary vs. secondary character” line within the group – I think my personal favourite (Yuki Souya) falls to the latter.)

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  2. 0utf0xZer0 - Azusa being tsundere for the band; that's a very funny but accurate way of describer her relationship with the rest of the band. :)

    I can kind of see where Mio's fears and Yui's occasional airheadedness are played up soooo much in the first season that people might see it as a bit exploitative and degrading of female characters. But I think that Mio and Yui are more balanced in K-On!!, where you see both of them in many moments of competency (Yui) and strength (Mio).

    Having a female director was probably very important here, though, as I think that a lot of fanservice might have made it more difficult for Mio and Yui to come across as well-rounded characters. I am glad that this season didn't have anything on par with the implied ultra-embarrassing panty shot of episode 6 of the first season, lol

    Also, while watching K-On!!, I felt that this would make a really great show for girls in high school. Because at the end of the day, these are actually pretty good "role model" characters. I could see them being to teenage girls what Will Smith and Carlton (in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) are to African-Americans maybe. Will Smith and Carlton could be pretty goofy too at times, but just like the girls of K-On!!, there heart is usually in the right place.

    I've watched episode 25 but have yet to watch episode 26. I hopefully will get a chance to watch it later today.

    Anyway, thanks a lot for your reponse! :)

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  3. This is a very, very good review! You nailed most of my own feelings about K-ON!!. I especially like your assessment of the theme that the girls' friendship can persist forever with a little effort. It would be a shame if it didn't, considering their bond is among the tightest I have ever seen in fiction.

    However, that strong friendship causes, to me, some moments that are so heartrending it gets uncomfortable. I am talking about episode 20, their final school concert, and, to a lesser extent, episode 12, the Summer Festival episode.

    While episodes 24 and 26 serve as a slightly melancholic, but ultimately upbeat and optimistic conclusion to the show, the two aforementioned episodes are set before episode 21, where it is decided that the senior members will attend the same university. Hence, their future is still up in the air, considering none of them except Mugi can decide what to do after graduation.

    Thus, when I see that tightly-knit group musing over the future, wondering and fearing whether their band will split up soon in episode 12 and bitterly crying in episode 20 because most of their fun high school time is over, it crushes my heart. It's especially depressing because their final concert is such a raving success. I can't help but wonder if they really did waste too much time goofing off, when they're desperately clinging to the futile prospect of repeating their activities once again the next year.

    Luckily, these moments only bring them all so much closer together, and they eventually manage to pull through and secure themselves a happy future. Even Azusa, I'm sure, will follow them to their university.

    One more thing: you express it perfectly when saying that K-ON!! is first and foremost about friendship, especially within the light music club, and that it executes that subject matter exceedingly well. However, I would have really liked to see some other relationships of Yui's. Namely her bond with Ui and Nodoka. While the episodes centering on Ui, Azusa and Jun do a good job of fleshing them out, I feel there were too many of them. I would have loved an episode centering specifically on Yui and Ui, and why the younger sister is so fully devoted to her Onee-chan. I really loved the song "U&I" that Yui wrote specifically for Ui when she fell sick. It really marked the point when Yui realized and fully appreciated all the intense love and care given to her by Ui. Their bond, I feel, may be the strongest in the entire show after all.

    I'm sad that Nodoka's character is largely neglected. We're just not given much to work with at all when it comes to here, and at this point, I feel that it is too easy to cynically conclude that Nodoka has always been just a responsible young person dragging along Yui, the inattentive problem child, all her life. I really don't want to think of Nodoka in such a cruel way. The evidence that there is deeper friendship between the two is certainly there (definitely on Yui's part and most likely on Nodoka's part), considering Nodoka "put up" with Yui's antics so long and with so little frustration, when she is usually shown with an strict no-nonsense approach to school matters. I would have loved to see more of their history together, considering they have been friends much longer than Yui has been in the light music club.

    Well, that concludes my thoughts. I would love to hear your opinion on them.

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  4. MDH - Thanks a lot for that great reply!

    Well, as I argued in Part One of my two-part review, the trio of Azusa, Jun, and Ui can't carry an episode. So, especially with that in mind, I completely agree with you that there were too many episodes focusing almost entirely on that trio. I also agree that some of the time spend on them as a group would have been better spent exploring Yui's sibling bond with her younger sister, and also exploring Yui's bond with Nodoka.

    I also have to admit that episodes 12 and 20 made me feel pretty melancholic, and like yourself, even a bit emotionally uncomfortable.
    It made me sad for Afternoon Tea Time, and also sad over the general truths that these episodes raised (that youth and time is very fleeting, even when you don't want it to be, and you can't ever get those days of youth and vigor back). I certainly see your point that maybe they did good off too much. At the very least, it's a shame that Mugi, Mio, Ritsu, and Yui only started to really bond with the rest of their classmates and student body during their final year in school together.

    And yes, Nodoka's character could have been better developed, yeah. There's an old saying that "opposites attract", and I think that has something to do with why Nodoka and Yui get along so well. I think that they see a complimentary friend in one another; Nodoka helps to keep Yui honest and responsible when needbe, while Yui reminds Nodoka that it's important to let your hair down every now and then and just have a good time.

    I think that Nodoka inwardly realizes that life can't be all work and no play, and Yui inwardly realizes that life can't be all fun and games, and so they turn to one another to get greater balance in their lives.


    Anyway, thanks for raising these other issues that I never really dealt much with in my review.

    There's a reason why this anime didn't get a 10/10 from me, and it mostly has to do with the critiques that you brought up.

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  5. >It's a shame that this anime franchise's harshest critics will likely never watch this far to see where this anime is about much more than basic moe appeal. And yet, at the same time, I wonder if even seeing this would change the mind of such critics.<

    As one of the "harshest critics", I'm not sure if I should bother with season 2 or not. Honestly, the first season is the worst show ever and was nothing more than cute girls doing cute things. Season 2 could be much more than that, but I don't want to waste my time if it's just going to be more of the same.

    As much as I don't like K-on, I will say that it isn't sexist in any way. Anyone who believes that the show is sexist is a fool by default.

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  6. Anonymous - While there's more to this 2nd season than there is to the 1st, I'm not sure if the difference is great enough to make someone go from "worst show ever" to something that they'd like.

    I think that the very first episode of K-On!! had a bit of a more serious feel than any of the first season episodes did, so it probably can't hurt for you to give that one a try anyway. If it's not enough to persuade you to watch the rest, then so be it.

    I fully accept that K-On!! isn't for everybody.

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  7. The first episode kinda surprised me, it did have a more serious feel to it, like the girls were actually doing something important.

    I actually wouldn't even call it bad, but it's too soon to say. I hope this keeps up.

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  8. Anon - Well, I'm glad that I wasn't seeing something that wasn't there when it came to K-On!!'s first episode, lol

    If you liked the first episode, I'd encourage you to stick with this anime to the end, mainly since the 2nd half of K-On!! is better than the first half. So, if you liked the first episode, you kind of owe it to yourself to get to see the best episodes that come in the 2nd half of the anime.

    Be forewarned that there's a few K-On!! episodes that even I myself found a bit dull and uninteresting. Thankfully though, I don't recall there being a long stretch of them at any one point - if you get through a stinker, chances are the next episode will be good.

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  9. Alright, I will. Don't worry, boring episodes won't stop me, I finished season 1 after all, despite finding it completely dull.

    Any other shows you'd recommend while you're at it?

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  10. Well, if you end up liking K-On!!, you'd probably like the following...

    Clannad and Clannad: After Story
    Kanon 2006
    ef a Tale of Memories
    Sora no Woto
    True Tears
    Sola

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  11. I'm the person that posted on your After Story review saying it was drama for kids and so on. I probably should use a name here.

    Seeing as I didn't like Clannad, I'll probably skip Kanon. I'm avoiding anything written by Jun Maeda really, he's a mediocre writer. Memories is already on my plan to watch list on MAL. I'll look at the others though.

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  12. Quick update on K-on S2. Watched 2 episodes. I'm actually not bored of it at all.

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  13. Rail Tracer - Glad to see you take a name, and thanks for stating how you were also the anon on the Clannad review comments section. Out of curiosity, were you also the anon I had a bit of a debate with in the comments section of my "Defending Moe" post?

    Anyway, it's great to hear competing viewpoints, so I'm glad you came back to make your voice heard on the K-On franchise.

    If you're a poster from Comic Book Resources or Anime Suki (two forums that I've promoted this blog at), feel free to tell me your handle there. If you're NOT from one of those two places, I'm kind of curious about how you found my blog.


    Anyway, glad you're enjoying K-On S2 so far. Please come back to post your thoughts on K-On S2 once you're through episode 24 (the last two episodes of S2 are kind of just extras).

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  14. >Out of curiosity, were you also the anon I had a bit of a debate with in the comments section of my "Defending Moe" post?<

    No.

    I sometimes look on Anime Suki, but I've never posted. I think I found the blog on a search engine.

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  15. Seeing as you mentioned the Defending Moe post, there's a few others that are worth a read. They make some good points about the hatred towards moe.

    http://chikorita157.com/blog/2010/11/18/moe-and-an-argument-against-genre-elitist-much-more-than-just-cuteness/
    http://animeyume.com/blog/2010/11/27/1500-words-in-defense-of-moe/

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  16. >>(the last two episodes of S2 are kind of just extras)

    Oh, I disagree. While both are (thankfully) more comedy-focused than the couple episodes before them, they both serve a certain purpose. Episode 25, while being one of the funniest in the season, reassures the viewer that, with a very nice recruitment video produced, the future of the light music club is in good hands, hopefully saving it again from the brink of disbandment. Episode 26 wraps up some other small loose ends that 24 does not cover. Sawako and her memories with the club are being given some more treatment, and the presence of her old bandmates shows that, like Azusa, she won't be left alone. Afterwards the successful future of the club is hinted at once again when we get a glimpse of their practice session for next school year's concert.

    Honestly, I'm pretty baffled that those episodes were tacked on after the real ending. I guess KyoAni wanted to dampen the impact of the show's ending with a last bit of comedy.

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  17. Finished K-on S2. Most stuff I didn't like is sorted out. I'm particularly happy that Mio isn't having a mental breakdown and Yui isn't a fucking useless retard.

    Most characters are better. Episodes 18 and 19 are probably the best for that reason.

    Still, the artstyle and opening songs are terrible and Mugi is still a weak character.

    I would say it's good, but I still don't particularly like the characters besides Azusa.

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  18. Rail Tracer - Like yourself, I found Mio very annoying in Season 1 (her fears were played up to the point that, yeah, she was having a mental breakdown in just about each and every episode), and Ritsu/Yui both came across as goofing off so much that they were useless to their fellow club members. Mio, Ritsu, and Yui were all massively improved here.

    I also felt that Mugi was the character that developed the least in S2. She doesn't bother me, but she's just kind of there. That's why I had relatively little to say about her in my blog review here compared to the other 4 members of Afternoon Tea Time.

    Anyway, glad that you found it good at least.

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  19. Ritsu didn't bother me so much in S1. She just felt like a fun loving slacker unlike Yui who was too stupid to do actually do anything. Though yeah, Ritsu did improve now that I think about it.

    BTW, I decided to watch Sora no Woto.

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  20. I just finished watching K-On and it was great. Do you have any more to reccomend that are similar to LUcky Star and K-On?

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