K-ON! 8

The new school year is about to start and to her sister’s joy, Ui has been accepted into Sakuragaoka.

Ecstatic not only because she and her friends made it to their second year in high school, but also that Ui will now attend the same school, Yui hugs her younger sister tightly, much to the other girls’ merriment.

When the first day of the new school year arrives, Yui, Ritsu and Tsumugi happily discover they’re all grouped together in the same class.

Unfortunately it seems that Mio is left out, being assigned to a different class. Although the bass player brushes off any teasing remarks from Ritsu, she feels lonely as soon as the bell rings and her friends depart to their own class.

Sitting by herself in her new class filled with students she doesn’t know, Mio is surprised to see Nodoka appear.
When Yui’s childhood friend explains she’s glad to see Mio as she feared not knowing anyone in this new class as well, Mio is brought to tears and gratefully grabs Nodoka’s hands.

Seeing the other clubs vividly advertising themselves to try and entice new first year students into joining, the keion-bu girls wonder what they can do to stand out as a club and recruit new members.
Lucky for Mio, Yui, Tsumugi and Ritsu, their adviser Sawako is there to help them out and dresses them up animal costumes!

That indeed makes the four stand out as they distribute fliers outside on the school grounds, alas not in a very positive way.
Spotting her sister Ui and some girls, Yui pursues them in her chicken animal costume, downright traumatizing the girls.
When Azusa, one of the other new students that passes by, she wonders what all the commotion is about. Receiving a flier advertising the club from Mio, she’s rather reluctant to check this weird club out.

Lamenting the lack of interest shown by the new students after their flier hand out, the keion-bu girls soon fall subject to Sawako’s next ploy, maid outfits!

When Ui accompanies a fellow student that had expressed interest in checking out the keion-bu to the club room, they’re flabbergasted to see the members all dressed up in maid outfits. Serving the two young visitors tea and sweets, Tsumugi and Yui hope they’ll seen get new members.

After a short interlude of Nodoka appearing and getting into a vivid argument with Ritsu who again forgot to turn in the necessary paperwork for their live performance to be held the next day, Mio being all embarrassed about the maid outfit, the keion-bu girls finally try and play a song for their visitors.

Hampered by the maid outfits, the girls quickly change into their training jerseys and play a hasty song, failing to impress their visitors.
Walking by the music room at that very moment, Azusa thinks the club is indeed not suited for her after all.

At home that evening, Ui is saddened that her sister’s club doesn’t seem to have much success in recruiting members after all, but she does rejoice in the fact that joining the keion-bu changed Yui a great deal, for she now more vivacious and driven.
But when Yui playfully begs for some ice cream even though they’re about to have dinner, Ui ponders some things are still the same after all.

The next day, the keion-bu girls play four songs during the welcome reception for the new students.
Yui is handling the lead vocals with Mio still reluctant to sing after she ended up in an embarrassing pose at their last live performance.
Although Yui manages to play all songs just perfectly, she forgets to start singing during one but luckily Mio picks up and sings after all. Perhaps there is hope yet for the shy to a fault bass player?

Watching from the back of the room, Ui and Azusa are both in awe.

Not much later, Mio, Yui, Tsumugi and Ritsu sit dejectedly in the music room, wondering why no one joined even after they pulled off such a great live performance.
When the door suddenly opens and a cute twin tailed girl enters introducing herself as Nakano Azusa and declares she wants to join, the girls are overjoyed.

What adventures will await Azusa next now that’s she’s joined the keion-bu?

An awesome episode, full of humor and most of all, it perfectly hit the tone of a slice-of-life chain of scenes. Loved seeing everyone’s antics, Mio, Yui, Ritsu and Tsumugi were all adorable, each had scenes perfectly fitting their character that were hilarious or heart warming.

As supporting characters, Ui and Nodoka both seem to have become a more consistent part of the cast as well, with Ui now in the same school as her sister and Nodoka becoming Mio’s classmate.

This week also introduced a new character, the short, twin tailed Nakano Azusa. Her character design looks absolutely adorable, though I couldn’t shake the impression of her as a visual mix between Kana of “Minami-ke” and Kooh from “Pangya”.
Can’t wait to see what she’ll be like and how she’ll fit in the crazy gang that is the keion-bu!

For the more yuri inclined viewers among us, this week again offered plenty of scenes where we can dream away that the slight implied gestures of words may be more than what is shown, from Yui embracing her sister Ui so lovingly, to Mio’s plea with Nodoka and of course Tsumugi, who is much like a yuri inclined audience all by herself.
In that, Tsumugi’s reaction upon seeing Ritsu face off against Nodoka was priceless.

While all merely innocent moments with such implied hints are no doubt deliberately created by the makers to cater to such tastes of the audience, in a series like ‘K-ON!” they provide innocent fun.

Some may have observed the striking similarities with the scene where Mio is the only left out and forced into another class, separate from Yui, Tsumugi and Ritsu to the same events in “Lucky Star”, when Kagami is left out and can’t join Konata, Miyuki and Tsukasa.

Although this could rub viewers the wrong way, the scene does take a unique character of its own in “K-ON!”’ by the different outcome with Nodoka being in Mio’s class and Mio’s priceless reaction.
Also liked the fact that Nodoka, even though she’s very social and on the student council, expresses she too is anxious at being in a class full of new faces.

Next week Sawako sets her sights on the new member Azusa, ready to pounce on her and dress her up with nekomimi, I can hardly wait!