Cross posted from my
blog.
First off, I want to say that's a strange roller coaster of a ride with K-ON! Yes, it's a Kyoani show, but it's also nothing more than a light and fluffy SOL anime that shouldn't have had riled up this much conflict in my heart. It's kind of embarrassing now that I think about it, but there was a lot more thought and discussion put into this than say something like Eden of the East. Regardless, here's hoping this final analysis puts all that to an end, and I can finally move on with my life.
Animation Quality
For a show that's labeled as SOL, the amount of animation and detail given to it was definitely one of the highlights of the show. Sure, it's not mind-blowing... it's not even on the same level as CLANNAD or anything; however, the easy-going and laid back style fit well with the series in my opinion. There's lots of little details which Kyoani took into account that deserve brownie points: the natural movement and interactions between the characters, the hands, the feet, the hair, etc. My only two complaints are that they didn't spend as much moolah animating them actually playing their instruments (the panning to still frames annoys me, but it's understandable), and at the beginning I was excepting at least one sequence on the same level as that infamous Haruhi performance. What they did do though, they did really well, especially in the opening and ending. The other issue I had is a minor one, but the child/chibi version of the characters look rally weird and deformed, most notably Yui and Ui at the start of the Christmas episode. Apart from that, animation was as solid as it can be.
Voice Actors
Another one of the things I absolutely adored in this series... the voice acting. Of course, most of it has to do with the fact that the VAs for the four main characters are relatively scrubs in the voice acting business. On that note, the fact that they were able to hit their respective characters personalities spot on without ever faltering or sounding too grating... well I can do nothing but hope that the popularity of this show takes their career to new heights and great places. Special props go to Yōko Hikasa, as she was my favorite performance throughout the entire series. Not only was she able to quickly ascertain the right tones for the many moods of Mio, she pulls them off really well. When Mio is frightened, shy, or nervous... Yōko makes sure that we can feel those feelings she is feeling in her voice. Not only that, but she really shines when she sings too! Aki Toyosaki also gets special mention, because pulling off something like Yui's voice isn't easy, and in my opinion, it was just the right amount of high-pitched cuteness... never got annoying to me. There's also the fact that she managed to keep up with that raspy voice and the end of episode 5 and all of episode 6... AND sing with it as well. She's not as good of a singer as Yōko is, but she's still damn talented and I still love her. All in all, the whole cast was great, and both Mio and Yui were beyond great.
Script
Here's where things start going stale. Yes, the anime is pretty much an adaption of a 4Koma, and the problem with that is usually a chapter of a 4Koma isn't exactly brimming with enough material to fill up a full episode. The main problem with this is, the source material itself isn't all that good, as it doesn't utilize the fact that they're a music club as much as I would have wanted them to. The first two episodes were good hooks, as they drew me in to the series and really made me think this could be something different compared to the other SOL slithering out around there. Thing is, for most of the series, they tend to forget that they're a Light Music club, and thus resort to repeated jokes and gags that have been seen a million times before. I have to give it more credit than I have in the past, as I did enjoy these jokes and found them cute, enough to make me watch the next episode; however, that itching feeling in the back of my head that they could have made this much more enjoyable than it already was will always be there. One thing I can say I didn't like with confidence though is using Mio's "moe" as a pillar for their humor and basically being what makes up the first half of the show. I like moe as much as the next person, but even I know there's a line that's obviously been crossed, and the amount of moe they milked out of Mio at the start really annoyed me, so I'm glad that died down during the second half. I've said this numerous times, but episodes like Sawako's introduction and the first live performance for the Freshman are the best examples of this show taking advantage of its setting and using it to be unique and humorous. It's few and far between, even for something that's supposed to be a light and fluffy show about nothing.
Another thing that requires attention is the original material that Kyoani had no choice but to implement into the show, and that led into some unnecessary and forced drama. I'll go ahead and say that I did like the drama, if only because it shook things up a bit and brought some life into the series, but could it not have come out of nowhere and done way better? You damn well bet it could have. Really, if Kyoani only implemented little chunks and hints of the drama and built it up to say the climax of episode 11, then it would have a been a lot better and much more believable in my eyes. The only "forced drama" bit that I really took in was the situation with Azusa joining the band. She was a relatively new character and I felt that they really did build up the tension and frustration along with the viewer up to the climax and Azusa breaking down. Kyoani knew what they were getting themselves into, they could have planned ahead, and fit both the source material and build up to something more... and it would have been a much better and more enjoyable script in my eyes. For what it is now though, I have to call it below average, even from a "show about nothing" standard.
For characters individually, I find it funny that that same problematic root etched deep with their bands structure can be said about the characters and their relationship. Azusa put it best at the end of episode 9 when she started critiquing them playing their individual instruments, but they sound so good when they get together and perform... that's exactly my view on the characters. Individually, the characters are your generic personality characters with little to no depth or even non-existent (hi Mugi). What covers that up though, is how well they play off of each other. United they stand, divided they fall. Yui is the best catalyst out of all of them, as her relationship with Ritsu, Ui, and Nodoka made for some cute and interesting moments in the show. Besides that, there is an okay amount of development for the characters, but maybe I'm just expecting too much out of a slice of life show again. It just feels so inconsistent, having one-dimensional characters at the start, then have them develop out of nowhere ten episodes later. There was a path they did follow, but it was a shaky one I would have liked straightened out.
Speaking of inconsistencies, my the character I have the biggest issue with to this day has to be the club adviser Sawako. When she was introduced, she was shown to have a crazy and unpredictable heavy metal personality, which was one of the reasons episode 5 was such a good episode. After that episode though, her personality changes to hat of a cosplay fanatic who likes dressing the girls up. What? I'm all for characters having more than one hobby, but her heavy metal persona just vanished, and instead they replaced that interesting and funny character with a not so funny costume of the week provider. Thanks K-ON, she was shaping up to be one of my favorite characters too, but now she's just as forgettable as Mugi.
Soundtrack
Mixed bag on this one. One one side, saying that the actual OST is forgettable? Quite the understatement, because there are really only one or two tracks that stand out in my mind, and even then not by much. Sure, it's SOL, so I wasn't really expecting anything beautifully composed and stuff, but that doesn't stop me from docking points on something it didn't do well in. What it did do well in, and what saves this section from getting a far worse score than it has now, is the vocal tracks of the show. It was supposed to be the main selling point of the show to begin with, and they didn't disappoint once the girls got up on stage and started performing. Not only do the songs have... unique titles, but they're to the point where I've listened to the songs on numerous occasions outside of watching the anime. Some people complain there weren't enough songs, but with the OP and ED + the insert songs, I think 5 is a good number for a 13 episode series. I'm not the only one who thinks these songs are great too, as the single CDs have been selling like hotcakes all over Japan. So yes, the greatness of their vocal tracks is the highest peak this show has managed to elevate to, while their OST is one of the lowest of the lows.
Enjoyment/Emotional Involvement
Yes I enjoyed the series. Did I like it more than Haruhi? Yes. Did I like it more than Lucky Star? No. Did I like it as a stand alone SOL series? Yes. Compared to other SOL series? Would have been a lot better if they used the musical aspect of the show as a catalyst for their gags and jokes more often, but I say it's one of the better SOL I've seen.
As for emotional involvement, there really two situations in which I felt anything for the characters. I've already the first one earlier, that being the situation with Azusa during episode 9. I felt sorry and understood Azusa's desire to join the band and play, only to find out that they do nothing but loaf around. The frustration building up in Azusa built up along the same time as mine, and the climax made me understand Azusa better as a character and made me want to slap the other members of the cast minus Mio. The other moment where I felt a connection to a character emotionally was the final sequence with Yui during episode 12. I have to give this part a lot more credit than I probably should be, as I'll once again admit it gave me goosebumps. It made me understand what the show was about, Yui's development as a character (no matter how little people consider it), and the bond with her friends. Repeating myself again, that flashback run would have meant a lot more to people if there were more drops of development throughout the show, but I understand what they were trying to do, and I can understand Yui's fear of growing up without doing nothing and finding a place that accepts her for who she is.
Conclusion
So with all the hype, anti-hype and Kyoani pain train long gone, I can say with confidence that I enjoyed this series in it's purest form. Yes, I have a lot of problems with it, but it makes up for it in other categories, and it's something that I probably will end up remembering down the road. As you can see, I probably put too much thought and time into a show as simple as this, but this is something you should just enjoy on a whim. It's light and fluffy, and taking it as anything more than that would probably ruin the entertainment for you, as it did for me. It's nothing special, it's nothing different or unique (though it could have been), but I enjoyed the ride, and will probably end up getting in line at least one more time.
Review
Graphic Designer
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kind of anime for me, but it is at least a nice warm 
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