[WBoon]

Originally Posted by bloppyblue

How would you compare the character differences between S1 Mio and S2 Mio?

Ah, boy. Here we go again. I really wanted to leave K-On behind me, but fine. lol Just remember that these are just my sole opinions.

Mio is, without a doubt, moe. But at least in Season One, it was done within reason. Yes, in the moe-blob obsessed Season One, the moe is ironically more rational. But you have to remember that Mio's personality was heavily moe-fied in Season Two. (Oh, and I think the reason many people consider S1 to be sillier than S2 is because Yui and the others are lazier, taking breaks every five minutes during practice. But this really forces Mio to show her decisive side, which is good. I digress.)

1. She was more significant as a character in Season One.

In Season One, albeit being a Shrinking Violet, you could really see Mio being in control of the whole operation in the background. She's not a character to stand out in the spotlight, like most voices of reason (and she would had been better off not being as popular as she is today). Like a Bassist. Like a shield enwrapping round a group of warriors. You get the point. She reminds Ritsu to fill in the application forms on time, assures Azusa that it was okay to have a little fun, and she even showed understanding in Yui's character to ward Azusa off when she was being too serious with Yui."Calm down, Azusa! Yui can't comprehend all that yet!" (Episode 11, Pinch!) You could easily see why I consider her 'motherly.' She cleans up the shit for the girls, relatively speaking.

"You do have a point, though (Azusa). We should be working harder, Got that?"
"I don't think it's good to be slacking off with a new member around. Azusa might quit if we go on like this!"

That said, I still consider Ritsu a very practical person that is the gut feeling pushing Mio's overly composed voice of reason. You can't rely on logic all the time, after all. And Yui has obvious good points, too, being able to stand out on her own with a little push. I digress.

All that significance was abandoned in Season Two, but one could argue it is because the other characters have grown by then, and has no need for the 'voice of reason' to remind them to practice, hence rendering Mio... well, kinda useless, to tell you the truth. Another argument is that S2 focuses more on having fun/slice-of-life than serious practicing for Budokan. Thus, a 'serious' character would just act as a third wheel. Since the rational side of her personality is no longer in need, KyoAni makes the best use of what's left of her undeveloped personality and emphasizes on her moe side. It's alright to see her being more in touch with her moe side, being feminine and all, but the point being, her significance as a character is greatly downgraded in S2, hence the lack of screentime.

2. She was moe, not a wet-rag.

Seriously, even after many times of convincing myself otherwise, I still say that the portrayal of her moeness in S2 couldn't be more ridiculous. I see myself relating more to Mio as a voice of reason to my zany friends than I could relate to her in S2 (so that at least makes her that much more realistic as a character at one point). Up till episode 4 of Season Two, Mio's moeness was more balanced out with her sense of responsibility, so you know that she at least wants to overcome her delicate side for the sake of her friends (singing on behalf of Yui - twice - in Episode 6 and 12, not to mention Episode 8 for a little while), and not a complete "I want to run away forever and abandon my friends" yellow weasel in S2.

Being moe is fine, nothing wrong with that, but there is still a point where there's too much moe it's suffocating (and utterly annoying). Imagine a real girl, a real female person who's squealing and squirming all the time at the sight of the most harmless things. She would be too scared to care about anything and, more to the point, anyone, including her friends. Hence, acedia/indifference. That's not what S1 Mio is. S1 Mio was very caring.

3. She's closer with Azusa back then, and vice versa.

Why tear away the good relationship of Azuio/Miosa and replace it with the yuri Mitsu... I seriously don't want to think about it. Yes, there's still a hint of admiration for Mio in S2 from Azusa, but the problem is, the reason for her admiration in the first place is gone. As explained above, the focus was more on a carefree life in S2, making a role model redundant for Azusa. However, I would have loved to see their relationship developed further. Mio and Azusa being together is, I'll admit, really adorable.

On an unrelated note, the difference between Mio and Azusa is that Mio voices reason for the sake of her friends. Azusa was initially just another stranger, and was more like, "Why should I help you crazy bunch of people out?"

4. Sense of Initiative/Acedia

Lord of Fire once argued that Mio was just putting up an act of maturity to hide her true moeish side. I say this is both true and untrue. I tried acting mature on behalf of my slacking friends back in Secondary School, but one part of me also wanted to join their zaniness because it looks fun. That's the accurate part of LoF's statement. The untrue part is his implication of Mio being as childish as the rest of them, possibly even more so. Again, take a look at S1 Mio here. If she's really childish in the first place, she would had not take the initiative to act mature on her own. Contrary to what Ritsu presumed, she was not acting calmly because of the pressure, she was acting calmly, saving Yui's ass twice because she knew better. Nobody forced her to sing on behalf of Yui in both Episode 8 and 12. Yes, you could argue that the lack of a vocalist in Episode 12's Culture Festival pressurizes Mio to sing, but do remember who was the one who constantly prepared the band to perform without Yui.

Regarding the acedia in Mio, this is just my gut feeling, as I noticed a 'couldn't-care-less' change of attitude in Mio in S2. She took no initiative in any kind of action at all, always doing stuff only after Yui and Ritsu request her to do so. She was just, there. And when she does something, it's to show how moe she is. Again, this might be just due to S2 not requiring a voice of reason, leaving Mio with so little to do she practically looks indifferent to her friends.

So, you know, there's such a rapid change of personality between S1 Mio and S2 Mio, you can't really put them together. It's like comparing Mary Jane of the Steve Ditko era and the one of the post-Ditko era. It's amazing, though, how little changes in Mio's personality in S2 could leave such a significant effect.