K-On!

[Sheex]

K-On!


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Okay, I am throwing this up last-minute before bed, so feel free to shred it before I post tomorrow like a boss.

K-On!

Animation 7.5
Sound 7
Story 7
Characters 7
Overall 7.2

Story:
Having spent most of my summer engulfed in the world of engineering, I figured a series based on music would be a great distraction. Tack on some hyper-energetic high school girls and a slice-of-life setting, and it should come as no surprise that K-On’s light-hearted charm would pique my interest.

This premise is undoubtedly what makes K-On so captivating. As a whole, the show never attempts to step beyond its means; it sets itself out to be simple, sweet, and fun, and undoubtedly succeeds. Despite operating off a number of base gags and jokes that find themselves revisited from episode to episode, the series never seems to drag. Ultimately, the musical aspect of the show, while central, pales in comparison to the symbiotic play of the characters, and serves primarily as a catalyst to move the story along – the music does not shape the girls, but rather the girls shape the music. I admit this might disappoint some viewers, but it provides K-On with more universal appeal; though it refrains from excelling in any one genre, it dabbles in several quite well, and manages to juggle humor, drama, and musical feats without any sign of awkwardness.

From air-headed Yui to feisty Ritsu to feminine Mio to whimsical Tsumugi, the cast certainly can’t make any claims to originality. In fact, the series sticks so hard to the tried-and-true formula of slice-of-life comedy that its sole claim to uniqueness stems from its inclusion of music as a focal point. However, while it felt as if the characters were largely recycled archetypes, great lengths were taken to flesh them out to be as endearing as possible. In this way, the series seems – in a strange manner – both fresh and vivacious, and manages to fill its thirteen episode span without much tedium. Just as the antics begin to slip into monotony the anime comes to a close, wrapping up its finale with an expected, but very fitting, encore.

Animation:
K-On certainly branches out from Kyoto Animation’s standard fare, as although the animation works well for the “cutesy” feel, the level of detail is noticeably poorer. A number of menially important scenes feel washed over in quality, and make the visual production seem as if it were substantially rushed. Still, as a whole, the animation generally works well in that it aptly captures the girls’ cheery enthusiasm. Motion and framerates are as crisp as ever, so where it lacks detail, it makes up for it with raw energy.

Sound:
Japanese bands should really stop writing English lyrics into their songs. Sure “lazy” and “crazy” might rhyme, but rhyming doesn’t a coherent sentence make. Anyway, aside from that little quip, I can’t think of anything much to say about the music other than that it’s catchy. All the band’s insert songs make you bob your head along with the beat, and the opening theme delivers the free-spirited feel that pervades the entire series. With solid voice acting to boot, the audible aspects of the show play out in much the same way as the visuals: they don’t break any new ground, but they do their job well.

Characters:
As I mentioned in the story section, K-On’s cast is remarkably unremarkable. Though they all do a fantastic job at connecting with the viewer, they fit the archetypal mold too snugly for my liking. While I found their interplay fun and amusing to watch, I could never shake the sensation that I’d seen this material before but with different faces. Unlike the truly successful comedies such as Fumoffu! And Minami-ke, their characters flaunt no memorable twists, which leaves them simply as good but not great. Still, the musical premise gives the series enough edge to allow much of this to be overlooked, as the band environment adds sufficient flavor story-wise to draw the viewer into their experience. In the end, the characters are simply a bunch of ordinary high school girls getting together to do what they enjoy, and perhaps their largely generic feel is what gives them such overarching charm.

Overall:
K-On is certainly not Kyoto Animation’s best work, but it still passes the acceptability bar by a good half meter. While lacking the originality and flair that have defined the studio’s previous works, the series manages to be entertaining regardless, and avoids making any glaring faults. At thirteen episodes in length, K-On makes a point not to overstay its welcome; it’s fun, amusing, and enjoyable for its span, and can easily find its way onto the shelves of fans of many different genres.

[Ascendancy]

I do agree a lot with you. This series axtually surprised me in the positive way, cause it was so much better then what i expected. I thought it would be all about music, but what it became was even better.
The jokes are indeed not the most original, but these characters plus the animation mood made them perfect.
Also i'm absolutely in love with the animation. Animation shouldnt be about the level of detail. It should simply be about how it fits with the anime as a whole. And to me, this was done perfectly in K-ON. Thus i think, animation should also be about the qualities of the director, since theyre left out here. Just look at the ED and you see how awesome it is.

[azanimefan]

I don't know... it's not that i really disagree with the grade you give it. everyone has their own scale, but i was looking through your other reviews...

(note: just to be clear... my issue isn't the 7.2 for k-on... rather a point of curiosity for how consistent your grading is across your reviews.)

when i read someone's review, and decide whether or not im going to take their recommendation, the first thing i do is check how consistent their grades are across certain genres... and how they actually scored and what they scored it on

EDIT: oi.. checking through some of your past reviews.. i couldn't find a pattern for your numerical scores... as the standard for judging isn't apparent. which isn't helpful for me.

just ignore my comments.

[ThePatches]

I agree overall. This is a series where the enjoyment far outstrips the quality. However, I think you sold the sound score a little short. Yeah, the music was merely catchy, but the voice acting was exceptional. Especially, Toyosaki Aki's Yui. All four main characters felt inhabited and convincing because the voice cast really sold the series hard. I feel that it's worth a mention.

EDIT: A more substantive examination follows:

The writing was super-solid, and I found myself disagreeing with your content more than your presentation (which WOULD say to me "counter-review", but between Otakuberries, my intended Toradora! review and work, I'm not sure if I'll get around to it). That said, there are some moments of awkwardness:

Originally Posted by Sheex

Tack on some hyper-energetic high school girls and a slice-of-life setting, and it should come as no surprise that K-On’s light-hearted charm would pique interest.

I'd kill "should" and switch to "comes as no suprise...", but that's just me. Also, I feel that "pique interest" was a little forced. "pique my interest" is standard, but doesn't sound as... contrived?

Originally Posted by You

Ultimately, the musical aspect of the show, while central, pales in comparison to the symbiotic play of the characters, and serves primarily as a catalyst to move the story along

I loved the use of "symbiotic". However, "while central" seems to want a contrary modifier along the lines of "takes a back seat to" instead of "pales in comparison". I also think that turn of phrase is more apt, since as one blogger put it, "Of course we didn't get to see the girls playing the song! That would imply that K-ON! is about music, which it's not." (note: I am not that blogger).

In fact, the series sticks so hard to the tried-and-true formula of slice-of-life comedy that its only unique points stem from its inclusion of music as a focal point. However, while it felt as if the characters were largely recycled from that which I’ve seen time and time again, great lengths were taken to flesh them out to be as endearing as possible.

I'd go with "sticks so closely" as opposed to "sticks so hard" and switch "However, while" for "Although"... maybe. The last one is just an ear thing, and possibly limited to my own strange predilections.

The other sections sounded fine to me, I would just--as I mentioned at the top--take some time to mention the stellar voice acting in the series when discussing the sound. No need to really change the score if you don't want to.

[isaacphantom]

i kinda agree, i think k-on was a solid 8 but for all the same reasons.

Going into it i predicted an 8.5 at least, but it was an 8 because your right, its not KyotoAni's greatest work. I should know since im a Haruhiist at heart. But it was definately passable and great and for that i gave it an 8.

[therik]

Originally Posted by Sheex

Okay, I am throwing this up last-minute before bed, so feel free to shred it before I post tomorrow like a boss.

K-On!

Animation 7.5
Sound 7
Story 7
Characters 7
Overall 7.2

Story:
Having spent most of my summer engulfed in the world of engineering, I figured a series based on music would be a great distraction. Tack on some hyper-energetic high school girls and a slice-of-life setting, and it should come as no surprise that K-On’s light-hearted charm would pique interest.

This premise is undoubtedly what makes K-On so captivating. As a whole, the show never attempts to step beyond these <--- You haven't identified what "these" are yet. Either "the following base characteristics" of "three base characteristics" or something like that base characteristics; it sets itself out to be simple, sweet[,] and fun, and undoubtedly succeeds. Despite operating off a number of base gags and jokes that find themselves revisited from episode to episode, the series never seems to drag. Ultimately, the musical aspect of the show, while central, pales in comparison to the symbiotic play of the characters, and serves primarily as a catalyst to move the story along – the music does not shape the girls, but rather the girls shape the music. I admit this might disappoint some viewers, but it provides K-On with more universal appeal; though it refrains from excelling in any one genre, it dabbles in several quite well, and manages to be enjoyable throughout. <--- What genres does it dabble in apart from slice-of-life comedy?

From air-headed Yui to feisty Ritsu to feminine Mio to the<--- either use "the" every time, or don't use it this once whimsical Tsumugi, the cast certainly can’t make any claims to originality. In fact, the series sticks so hard to the tried-and-true formula of slice-of-life comedy that its only unique points stem from its inclusion of music as a focal point<--- repetition of "point". I'd change "unique points" to "uniqueness". However, while it felt as if the characters were largely recycled from that which I’ve seen <--- Reads poorly. Be more specific and say "recycled from shows/plots/cliches/archetypes that I've seen..."time and time again, great lengths were taken to flesh them out to be as endearing as possible. In this way, the series seems – in a strange manner – both fresh and vivacious, and manages to fill its thirteen episode span without much tedium. Just as the antics begin to slip into a vague bit <--- Maybe something stronger than "bit"? "Bit of monotony doesn't sound right.... of monotony the anime comes to a close, wrapping up its finale with an expected, but very fitting, encore.

Animation:
K-On certainly branches out from Kyoto Animation’s standard fare, as - although the animation works well for the “cutesy” feel[,] - the level of detail is noticeably poorer. A number of menially important scenes feel washed over in quality, and make the visual production seem as if it were substantially rushed. Still, as a collective<--- a collective is a group of people. You mean "as a whole", the animation generally works well in that it aptly captures the girls’ cheery enthusiasm. Motion and framerates are as crisp as ever, so where it lacks it detail in in detail, it makes up for it with raw energy.

Sound:
Japanese bands should really stop writing English lyrics into their songs. Sure, “lazy” and “crazy” might rhyme, but rhyming doesn’t a coherent sentence make. Anyway, aside from that little quip, I can’t think of anything much to say about the music other than that it’s catchy. All the band’s insert songs make you bob your head along with the beat, and the opening theme delivers the (same?) energetic feel that pervades the entire series. With solid voice acting to boot, the audible aspects of the show play out in much the same way as the visuals: they don’t break any new ground, but they do their job well.

Characters:
As I mentioned in the story section, K-On’s cast is remarkably unremarkable. Though they all do a fantastic job at connecting with the viewer, they fit the archetypal mold too snuggly for my liking. While I found their interplay fun and amusing to watch, I could never shake the sensation that I’d seen this material before but with different faces. Unlike the truly successful comedies such as Fumoffu! And Minami-ke, no chances are taken with the characters to go the extra mile<--- Clumsy. Maybe "No chances are taken and the characters are unable to go the extra mile", which leaves them simply as good but not great. Still, the musical premise gives the series enough edge to allow much of this to be overlooked, as the band environment adds enough<--- Repetition of "enough". Use "sufficient" flavor story-wise to draw the viewer into their experience. In the end, the characters are simply a bunch of ordinary high school girls, getting together to do what they enjoy, and perhaps their largely generic feel is what gives them such overarching charm.

Overall:
K-On is certainly not Kyoto Animation’s best work, but it still passes the acceptability bar by a good half meter. While lacking the originality and flair that have defined the studio’s previous works, the series manages to be entertaining regardless, and refrains from making any glaring faults<--- "Refrains" makes it seem like the series has a desire to make glaring faults, but resists the temptation. Perhaps "avoids making any glaring faults" would fit better. At thirteen episodes in length, K-On makes a point not to overstay its welcome; it’s fun, amusing, and enjoyable for its span, and can easily find its way onto the shelves of fans of many different genres<--- I still find the "many different genres" claim spurious. However, if you can justify the assertion where I highlighted it earlier, I'll accept it as a given here..

Hope that's some help.

[Sheex]

Very helpful, thanks Therik. Writing at 1 am when you have to be up in 5 hours in a heat wave after not having done so in months is tough. :/

azanimefan: oi.. checking through some of your past reviews.. i couldn't find a pattern for your numerical scores... as the standard for judging isn't apparent. which isn't helpful for me.

I'm not sure what you mean. How would I go about making a "pattern" for my scores?

[VivisQueen]

Originally Posted by ThePatches

However, I think you sold the sound score a little short. Yeah, the music was merely catchy, but the voice acting was exceptional. Especially, Toyosaki Aki's Yui. All four main characters felt inhabited and convincing because the voice cast really sold the series hard. I feel that it's worth a mention.

As an fyi, none of my scores for Sound in the past 20/30 reviews or so have included voice acting in the analysis. Primarily, this is because I realised I don't understand Japanese to any sufficient degree to really know what I'm actually judging.

How well do you understand Japanese, just out of interest, that you're so certain the voice acting is brilliant?

[Sheex]

Stop picking fights in my thread, Vivi! My return is a joyous occasion.

[r-18]

actually details have very little effect on my enjoyment of an anime i really like there is a lot you could;d pick at in k-on ....none of which do i care a thing about.....for me k-on is up there with az-da, lucky star. and ichigo mashimaro anyone with a problem with that does not have to watch it....

i always watch subs because i like to hear the actors doing their thing and even though i know virtually nothing about japanese i like to think i can pick out when a group of actors is clicking together and getting into it rather than just doing the job....of course i could be wrong...