(L) K-On! Manga discussion

[Ryonea]

Originally Posted by Goggen

That's a fair point. Although, I want to point at that as far as we know, K-On! is still one manga. At least, we haven't been given any title for a new series, the announcement still only refers to it as "K-On!" from what I can tell. The whole splitting up the storylines thing could very well be just for the magazine publications. I wouldn't be surprised if the tankoubon will alternate chapters between storylines and an eventual anime to follow suit.

I believe that's exactly what will happen. I heard that back then, Vol. 2 and 3 of the first K-ON! manga were included in two magazines, but they are packed into 1 tankoubon later.

[Goggen]

Originally Posted by Ryonea

I believe that's exactly what will happen. I heard that back then, Vol. 2 and 3 of the first K-ON! manga were included in two magazines, but they are packed into 1 tankoubon later.

Ah yes, I seem to remember hearing that as well. So there is precedent.

EDIT: The scanlator (no worries, I won't link...) seems to believe the same thing:

There appears to be some confusion about there being *two* series: the "university" one and the "high school" one.
Nothing in the text of the announcement suggests that. Yes, the chapters will be published in two magazines (under the same name "K-ON!"), but when the time comes to publish the tankoubon, chapters from both magazines will go into the same volume (in chronological order of their magazine release). That's how they did it in volumes 2 and 3.

[Ryonea]

Originally Posted by Goggen

Ah yes, I seem to remember hearing that as well. So there is precedent.

EDIT: The scanlator (no worries, I won't link...) seems to believe the same thing:

Yup, I actually got it from there but I didn't mention it since I'm afraid that it'll broke the rules

[Goggen]

Originally Posted by Ryonea

Yup, I actually got it from there but I didn't mention it since I'm afraid that it'll broke the rules

Yeah, that's why I didn't link. That should be okay, right? I mean it's not like we all don't know this is happening, so as long as we don't name names or post links, no harm done, right?

[Lord of Fire]

I'm sure that if KyoAni wants to make a season 3, they will do so and weave both stories into one.

The main thing you have to keep in mind is that I do not believe Azusa and co will lose contact with any of the 4 other girls now that they've split up. Ui will still keep an eye on Yui, as she'll be too concerned if she doesn't. Through Ui, Azusa will know what's becoming of the other girls and I'm sure that goes for Jun as well.

The only thing I am interested in knowing is whether or not Azusa decides to go solo (possibly with Ui, Jun and a new member), or if she is hell-bent on rejoining HTT, assuming the band hasn't folded by the time she gets to JWU (assuming she'll go there too).

[winhlp32]

On the whole manga storyline thing...

To those fans who are looking for a more 'mature' narrative with romance and drama and conflict, sorry to say chances of any of that happening is very very low:

1) It's still a 4-Koma manga. 16 punchlines in 8 pages per month for each of the two series. K-On will be a comedy series with little conflict at all simply because the medium doesn't lend itself well to dramatic story-telling. Also the chapters pretty much have to end with a gag(There are exceptions, but well, exceptions are not predictable)

2) It's serialized in Manga Time Kirara. A collection of magazines where 90% of the serialized work don't contain a single male character. It is literally a hub of fluffy dramaless moe, home to no-male lands such as Hidamari Sketch, Kanamemo, G.A. Art Design, A Channel. Arguably the darkest work its serializing right now is the manga adaptation of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and the characters in that work probably all never had been in a heterosexual relationship either.

What does all this mean? It means...

3) The target audience of the magazine are Otakus, not you. Manga Time Kirara is a self-proclaimed moe comic magazine, its target demographic are Japanese Otaku, not the general population, and certainly not us. Meaning yes, the manga will most likely cater to the Otakudom and their desire for their K-On girls to be 'shared by everybody'.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And no, going to university does not automatically mean clubbing, entering relationships, drugs, and the works. People who thinks that watches too much TV. Moyashimon had in my opinion a pretty accurate depiction of college life, and theres no 'kareshi's nor 'kanojo's in the series. There was a lot of drinking, but most of the time it was well controlled.




What am I looking forward to? College means a whole bunch of new and cool but not necessarily adult things. Yui and Ritsu doing Calculus and Physics should be fun(I bet at least 2 of the 4 girls will be in the same classes). Ui did state in the last Chapter of the K-On manga back last September that Yui has decided to live on her own. That's pretty much enough material for chapter 1, Yui moving into her new home, assemble a shelf, then tries to cook. Chapter 1 done. They might form/join a light music club in college as well, meaning new advisor who I hope is at least half as cool as Sawa-chan. Oh and we'll see Sokabe again because in the manga Ritsu said she goes to the same university, meaning there'll be another fan club or something once HTT played their first live.

To conclude, you worrywarts should expect the same fun that made the first 2 anime series so popular in the first place. Its not like you guys hated it that way right? If Kakifly can make the High School cliches fun without resorting to ecchi, romcom, and angry people, imagine what he can do with university. Think positive.

[Ryonea]

Well-said

Now If only Kakifly's drawing style would go back to his 2007-2008 days... I don't like his drawings from 2009 the characters look too "rounded" and short.

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

@winhlp32

ARIGATOU!! XD exactly my thoughts but i just don't know how to express them! XD

btw,i heard some
people from 2ch find K-ON College BORING and UNINTERESTING now. i fear that this might be the start of k-on's fall? Otakus might not follow the series anymore bec. of this, & they'd just go after Azusa,Ui and Jun since they're still in HS.they don't want to see the 4 grow old

tbh, i kinda love to see 'em in their early 20s..young adultsXD

[Ryonea]

Originally Posted by BaKaBaKaOtaKu

@winhlp32

ARIGATOU!! XD exactly my thoughts but i just don't know how to express them! XD

btw,i heard some
people from 2ch find K-ON College BORING and UNINTERESTING now. i fear that this might be the start of k-on's fall? Otakus might not follow the series anymore bec. of this, & they'd just go after Azusa,Ui and Jun since they're still in HS.they don't want to see the 4 grow old

tbh, i kinda love to see 'em in their early 20s..young adultsXD

I won't take 2ch-ers seriously if I were you

I mean... if they find K-ON! boring, then why Kakifly bother making the continuation of the manga although he wanted it to end in the 4th volume?

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

@Ryonea
*shrugs* prolly he's confident they'd still be interested with them in college(w/c might not go that way for some DX) anyhow, did kakifly originally intended the series to end in 4th volume? maybe yes, but that might've already changed after he saw how the first anime season took moedom by a storm.. XD

[Ryonea]

Originally Posted by BaKaBaKaOtaKu

@Ryonea
*shrugs* prolly he's confident they'd still be interested with them in college(w/c might not go that way for some DX) anyhow, did kakifly originally intended the series to end in 4th volume? maybe yes, but that might've already changed after he saw how the first anime season took moedom by a storm.. XD

As far as I know, yes. I believe it has been discussed here before, but I don't know where exactly since it would require browsing through so many pages

Besides, both the manga and 2nd season of the anime ended almost simultaneously, so I think his decision to continue the series isn't based on the 1st season, but the overwhelming requests from the fans instead

[Sparvid]

Originally Posted by winhlp32

What am I looking forward to? College means a whole bunch of new and cool but not necessarily adult things. Yui and Ritsu doing Calculus and Physics should be fun(I bet at least 2 of the 4 girls will be in the same classes). Ui did state in the last Chapter of the K-On manga back last September that Yui has decided to live on her own. That's pretty much enough material for chapter 1, Yui moving into her new home, assemble a shelf, then tries to cook. Chapter 1 done.

One thing I liked about the last chapter was that it was Yui who expressed excitement about going out into the adult world. Hopefully that wasn't just something Kakifly wrote with the intention of it being the final chapter and will proceed to backtrack in order to reset things. I'd love to see Yui continuing to try her best (and inevitably failing in various humorous ways) at doing things she considers to be "adult".

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

@Ryonea Perhaps yes..XD

@Sparvid
LOL. i'd love to see yui try hard to be an adult only to mess up each time. XD That'd be hilarious! Omg, i'm so missing the mitsu dynamic. can't wait...XD

[Yui Is My Wife]

Since so much of HTT is based on the Beatles, wouldn't it be cool for the girls to meet Ono Yohko?

[Otaku Guy]

Originally Posted by Yui Is My Wife

Since so much of HTT is based on the Beatles, wouldn't it be cool for the girls to meet Ono Yohko?

Ya and then they would break up just like The Beatles did.

[Yui Is My Wife]

Originally Posted by Otaku Guy

Ya and then they would break up just like The Beatles did.

On that note then....

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Bad idea.

[GMT]

Originally Posted by winhlp32

On the whole manga storyline thing...

To those fans who are looking for a more 'mature' narrative with romance and drama and conflict, sorry to say chances of any of that happening is very very low:

Nobody is saying that K-On! should go all grimdark Battlestar Galactica. There's plenty of doujin and fanfic for that. Most of the suggested additional nuance and dramatic effects can still be done in the moe framework (well, maybe not Yui becoming an evil rock god and triggering the apocalypse of moe.) Just like they managed to sneak in a much more nuanced story into K-On!! than the original 4-koma would've suggested.

Basically what I'm hoping for is that KyoAni eventually adapts the new material into two cour (~24-26 episode) "seasons" like they did for Season Two, where they have time to expand a bit; unlike the whirlwind tour of the first season.

Originally Posted by Otaku Guy

Ya and then they would break up just like The Beatles did.

In that case, who'd end up with the unenviable job of being John Lennon? I mean, hasn't poor Yui suffered enough in the doujins?

[Otaku Guy]

Originally Posted by GMT

I mean, hasn't poor Yui suffered enough in the doujins?

Yui Hirasawa's That Is It.
That freaked me out a little when I read that. >.>

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by winhlp32

On the whole manga storyline thing...

To those fans who are looking for a more 'mature' narrative with romance and drama and conflict, sorry to say chances of any of that happening is very very low:

Gee, who exactly asked for that? The posts I'm reading are just asking they take the completely underwhelming step of going to college with what that entails and perhaps go professional with their group. There's *already* drama/romance/conflict ... its just in 4-koma haha goofy terms.

1) It's still a 4-Koma manga. 16 punchlines in 8 pages per month for each of the two series. K-On will be a comedy series with little conflict at all simply because the medium doesn't lend itself well to dramatic story-telling. Also the chapters pretty much have to end with a gag(There are exceptions, but well, exceptions are not predictable)

Yet... the existing material manages to accomplish exactly what you say it can't. It operates quite well within the constraints of the medium.

2) It's serialized in Manga Time Kirara. A collection of magazines where 90% of the serialized work don't contain a single male character. It is literally a hub of fluffy dramaless moe, home to no-male lands such as Hidamari Sketch, Kanamemo, G.A. Art Design, A Channel. Arguably the darkest work...

(snip) again... no one is asking for a 'dark work'. And Hidamari Sketch manages to have a lot of angst in it, GA Art Design even covered death, hmmm.

What does all this mean? It means...

3) The target audience of the magazine are Otakus, not you. Manga Time Kirara is a self-proclaimed moe comic magazine, its target demographic are Japanese Otaku, not the general population, and certainly not us. Meaning yes, the manga will most likely cater to the Otakudom and their desire for their K-On girls to be 'shared by everybody'.

At this point, I think you're the one tilting at imaginary windmills. The target audience in Japan wants to continue to worship their girls... yeah, that means it is unlikely to include romance UNLESS he ends it like ZONE (a *real* group) ended with a closing all-seats-sold concert as the girls "grew up".

And no, going to university does not automatically mean clubbing, entering relationships, drugs, and the works. People who thinks that watches too much TV.

Who are you talking to? Which posts? Are you sure you're on the right forum?

...

To conclude, you worrywarts should expect the same fun that made the first 2 anime series so popular in the first place. Its not like you guys hated it that way right? If Kakifly can make the High School cliches fun without resorting to ecchi, romcom, and angry people, imagine what he can do with university. Think positive.

Again, this seems to be a post addressed to the wrong forum - I'm scanning back a number of pages and I'm not seeing what you're flailing at. Most of the posts hoped they would GO to college and not just rehash the 4 years again. There was some debate over hoping for the focus to be on Asuza's last year or the Four in their first year at college -- we're getting both (which leads to the possibility the fans here are not totally different than the fans in Japan).

I think what we can all agree on is that there's a faction in 2-ch (not all of 2-ch) that are raving loonies and its unfortunate when they try to drive the bus.

[winhlp32]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Gee, who exactly asked for that? The posts I'm reading are just asking they take the completely underwhelming step of going to college with what that entails and perhaps go professional with their group. There's *already* drama/romance/conflict ... its just in 4-koma haha goofy terms.
I think there were some posts a few pages back (and in the movie thread as well) about people making a big deal out of the stupid stuff being said on that anime tabloid site someone linked to, and stuff being said about how they want the events in fanfics & doujins to become canon. I guess I decided to vent here.

Yet... the existing material manages to accomplish exactly what you say it can't. It operates quite well within the constraints of the medium.
Really? My impression was that any elements of drama were from the anime. The manga kept most of what happened in the last 5 episodes of the anime storyline pretty jovial in my opinion, and never failed to reach a punchline even on graduation day.

(snip) again... no one is asking for a 'dark work'. And Hidamari Sketch manages to have a lot of angst in it, GA Art Design even covered death, hmmm.
I guess 'dark' was the wrong word to use. But I think most of the more 'responsible' topics covered in Hidamari, G.A. and others are pretty fleeting. Also in the Hidamari manga most of Yuno's angst ends with herself or Miyako shattering the mood with slapstick comedy.

At this point, I think you're the one tilting at imaginary windmills. The target audience in Japan wants to continue to worship their girls... yeah, that means it is unlikely to include romance UNLESS he ends it like ZONE (a *real* group) ended with a closing all-seats-sold concert as the girls "grew up".
Sorry, my English is sub-par. Could you please elaborate?


Who are you talking to? Which posts? Are you sure you're on the right forum?
Apparently I'm talking to 2ch, who believes "Its unnatural if they don't get a boyfriend in college", which is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in a while.

Again, this seems to be a post addressed to the wrong forum - I'm scanning back a number of pages and I'm not seeing what you're flailing at. Most of the posts hoped they would GO to college and not just rehash the 4 years again. There was some debate over hoping for the focus to be on Asuza's last year or the Four in their first year at college -- we're getting both (which leads to the possibility the fans here are not totally different than the fans in Japan).
Yeah at this point, I think this post could've found a better home on the ANN forums or 2ch. But I don't have an account there. My bad.

I'm looking forward to more K-On.