Those of you who read my previous post may notice that it was not as long as some of the other posts I have made (I have even had this pointed out to me). Those of you who watch a lot of modern anime will also notice that the picture I posted is of a character from a very popular anime: K-ON!
I recently finished watching it and I want to talk about but, I don’t know what to say about it. It seems that everything I think of doesn’t do the show justice. Having said that, its not as if the show is easy to describe well.
The synopsis of the show is: A small group of high school girls decide to revive the light music club.
That’s it. No super powers, no magical abilities, no “saving the world”, no romantic developments between characters (although it is parodied).
For me, its the characters that make the show special and so good. Let me introduce you to the cast. (May contain spoilers from here on in)
Name: Yui Hirasawa
Role: Lead guitarist / Lead Singer
Description: Yui is a… carefree girl who loves food. While not the brightest bulb in the box, she does have her moments. She also cannot read music and doesn’t know much in the way of musical terminology, but that has yet to stop her. She didn’t know how to play the guitar before joining the club but has made up for it with plenty of practice. She named her guitar ‘Gitah’.
Name: Ritsu Tainaka (Ricchan)
Role: Drummer / Club President
Description: Ritsu is the resident tomboy and the closest the show has to a genki girl. Ritsu is the one who got Mio into music and has been her friend since they were in Elementary school. Ritsu is not the most responsible when it comes to important tasks as she often forgets to fill in important forms. She has a younger brother called Satoshi. Ritsu became a drummer after watching the Who. Due to how she acts, she often gets hit on the head by Mio as a way of punishment.
Name: Mio Akiyama
Role: Bassist / Lead Singer
Description: Mio is easily the most popular character inside the series. Mio is the shy, mature girl of the group. Her shyness and scaredy nature tend to be her defining points, that and the fact that the characters agree that she looks good in whatever outfit Sawako puts her in. After the club’s first performance, Mio accidently gained herself a fan club when she gave the audience the only pantyshot in the anime. Mio gets scared easily, a fact that Ritsu is more than happy to prove whenever possible. Mio writes most of the lyrics to the band’s songs, though when a vocalist was being picked, she didn’t like the idea of having to sing in front of an audience, something Yui didn’t help with when she (Yui) lost her voice from practising too hard.
Name: Tsumugi Kotobuki (Mugi)
Role: Keyboardist
Description: Tsumugi is a rich airhead. She often gets excited by or wants to try things that people often take for granted, such as ordering fast food or getting hit. Tsumugi provides the tea and sweets that the clubs spend most their meetings consuming. She also provides the group with villas for their summer training camp, though she does not like showing off her family’s wealth. Her family owns the music shop the club normally uses and because of this, the club have had unlikely discounts when the staff recognise Tsumugi. Tsumugi gets entranced by two girls interacting intimately, imagining something different to what is actually going on. Tsumugi was considered a piano prodigy when she was four and has had experience winning contests.
Name: Azusa Nakano (Azunyan)
Role: Rhythm Guitarist
Description: Azusa is the sole student the club managed to recruit when the members went into their second year. She joined after watching their recruitment performance. Azusa is serious about performing and practising, having played the guitar since she was in the four grade. When she first joined, she looked up to Yui’s guitar playing, as she believes herself a novice. This soon changed and she ended up teaching Yui how to play the guitar. Azusa doesn’t like the fact that the club spends most of its time goofing off, however she is easy to calm with sweets. Azusa is in the year below the rest of the members, because of this she is made club president when the remaining member graduate. Azusa’s cuteness is often commented on, whether she likes it or not.
Name: Sawako Yamanaka (Sawa-chan)
Role: Club advisor / Home room teacher
Description: Sawako is the school’s music teacher and was made the club’s advisor after Ritsu and Yui found her picture in the previous Light Music Club band: Death Devil. Sawako wants to throw away her past so that everyone sees her as a gentle and kind teacher, however she always seems to manage to come back to her band persona. Sawako often spends her time lazing in the club room, enjoying Tsumugi’s tea. She has a nack for making outfits for the club and likes to be complemented on her work. She was the lead singer of Death Devil and taught Yui how to sing and play at the same time. Her wild personality came from a desire to please her high school crush, but she overdid it.
Name: Ui Hirasawa
Role: Yui’s younger sister
Description: There is a stark contrast in personality between Yui and Ui, while Yui is lazy and immature, Ui is mature and constantly looking after Yui, acting more like an older sister rather than a younger one. In appearance, however, there is little difference between the sisters, which Ui uses to pretend to be Yui. Ui often does the chores and cooks for Yui. Ui is a fast learner, which she uses to pretend be Yui when she falls ill. Ui is friends with Jun and Azusa and joins Azusa in the light music club when the seniors graduate. Ui cannot see any negatives in Yui, thinking any that are pointed as positives or cute.
Name: Nodoka Manabe
Role: Class Representative / Student Council President / President of Mio’s fanclub / Yui’s childhood friend
Description: Nodoka is a well-mannered and intelligent girl. She acts as the clubs liaison to the student council, often chasing up any forms Ritsu forgets to fill out. Nodoka is made the president of Mio’s fanclub after the previous one graduated. When the club members enter their second year, Mio is grateful to see Nodoka in her class as she doesn’t know anyone in her class. Nodoka occasionally shares stories about Yui’s childhood with the other members of the light music club.
Name: Jun Suzuki
Role: Jazz club member / Friend of Ui and Azusa
Description: Jun is a classmate of Azusa and Ui who hangs out with Ui. She is easygoing but can occasionally be unintentionally rude. She plays a bass in the jazz club and looks up to Mio. She often asks Azusa about what the light music club does, and gets envious of the activities the members get up to. She joins the club when the senior members graduate.
And that is all the main characters. I could give more information so I’ll just give you the K-ON wiki link: http://k-on.wikia.com/wiki/K-ON!_Wiki and may favourite moments from the series:
The band’s first performance
The club’s last performance
When Ui masquerades as Yui so the band can perform
When the club first hears Azusa play
Whenever Yui forgets the Lyrics
When Yui arrived an hour early, so she practised in the clubroom
When Mio uses her bass to wake Ritsu and Yui
See ya
The Blog of Parsonator64 