K-ON! review

The most popular anime series of the spring 2009 season comes to an end, at least for now…

For series like K-ON!, especially ones by KyoAni such as Haruhi, Lucky Star, and the Visual Art’s/Key series, you either like this slice-of-life genre with its moe character archetypes or you don’t. Although Haruhi has the most universal appeal of KyoAni’s series because of its sci-fi elements and witty writing, the target audience for the majority of their series up to now is obviously the male otaku fanbase. But of course, this doesn’t mean that’s the only fanbase. Although I’m probably one of the few young-adult female anime fans who watched K-ON! and thoroughly enjoyed it, this should at least say something about the fact that fans don’t necessary come only from the target audience. The target audience for Pokemon, Naruto, and One Piece is obviously young boys, but we all know their most dedicated fans come from both genders and all ages, especially older fans. So for K-ON!, I like it not because I fantasize about the female characters, but simply because it’s funny, I like cute characters, and I like the warm, light, intimate feeling of this genre of anime. I’ll acknowledge that K-ON! is mostly the “cute girls doing cute things in cute ways” theme that’s typical of anime targeted at the otaku audience, but overlooking this, if you enjoy funny, character-driven slice-of-life shows and if you don’t have a particular aversion to the moe genre, then K-ON! can be a pretty entertaining series for anyone.

Like other comedy/slice-of-life anime, the appeal of K-ON! comes strictly from the characters rather than an ongoing plot or storyline, and thus the humor is derived from their personalities and flaws. There’s only eight characters in K-ON!’s all-female cast; the four main girls Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, then later Azusa becomes the fifth member of the band, and the three supporting characters Ui, Sawako-sensei, and Nodoka. It’s pretty easy to dismiss the K-ON! characters as being cookie-cutter stereotypes of the moe genre. While I agree that they could indeed fall into certain archetypes, I still think they have enough unique personality quirks and realistic emotions to make them appealing, such as Mio’s fear of gross or scary things, Azusa’s initial frustration with the antics of the other girls, and Ritsu’s jealousy of Mio’s friendship with Nodoka. I think KyoAni has a way with making characters likable even if they are sometimes stereotypical and not particularly well developed.

And speaking of KyoAni, one way they are able to make such popular, appealing characters is by delivering above-average animation in their shows. Although many of us have noticed that KyoAni’s animation style changed around when Clannad After Story first came out, I still think their animation quality is better than the norm. Like KyoAni’s other series, K-ON!’s animation is notably good, with more frames of animation than your average series and few distorted looking scenes. Obviously the cute, moe style character designs are fitting of its genre, and the rest of the animation has a bright, warm, fluffy feel to it, again fitting for the humorous and light theme of the show.

Having a memorable opening and ending helps boost an anime’s appeal too, and K-ON! definitely has this. It’s not every series that gets its opening and ending song among the top 5 on Oricon’s weekly charts. The K-ON! opening and ending may not be the phenomena that the Haruhi ending and Lucky Star opening were, but they’re still among the better ones. The extra music and upgraded animation used in the concerts that the girls perform also helps K-ON!’s appeal, though they’ll constantly be compared to the concert episode in Haruhi.

The 13 episodes of K-ON! are fairly episodic, but with some continuity between them. The girls go through the seasons and the school year, doing their cute, funny things and having their cute, funny slice-of-life adventures, revolving around their light music club. It is a comedy after all, so nothing really dramatic, emotional, or upsetting happens; only humorous, warm, and fun situations abound ^^ Episode 12 is the real ending and, like with most anime final episodes, it’s a little more dramatic and suspenseful than the rest, but it still retains the show’s light, cheerful feel. Episode 13 is an extra episode that fits in earlier in the series.

In conclusion, while I personally don’t think the humor and characters in K-ON! are as unique as similar shows like Lucky Star, Ichigo Mashimaro, and Azumanga Daioh, I would still rate K-ON! as an above average series of its genre even if it’s not the best. If you’re looking for a slice-of-life comedy with great music and animation and with fun, appealing characters, and you don’t mind the obviously moe personalities and designs of the all female cast, K-ON! is a very enjoyable anime =) I hope there will be a second season!