K-ON!! 1

A new school year has started and Yui is diligently practicing guitar in the music room, much to the surprise of her fellow club members. Has she finally gotten serious they friends wonder? Not quite, Yui had simply set her alarm too early by mistake.

Practicing a few songs together, the four third years eventually head to check the class roster to see which classes they’ve been assigned to and to their surprise discover are all been put in the same class.

Settling in, they see even Nodoka has been assigned to their class, but as they suspect the student council’s power may have been at work through Nodoka, the real culprit arrives, none other than their new homeroom teacher, Sawako.

Asking Sawako afterwards if she had a hand in the girls all being grouped in the same class, the cheeky teacher admits she indeed did arrange for it, since it saves her the trouble of having to remembering too many new names.

Rejoicing at being in the same class, Yui is enthusiastic because they will all be together for many activities in their final high school year like the field trips and school festival.

Heading to the opening ceremony with her friends, Yui stops to admire the cherry blossom petals drifting down from the trees as they bask in the spring sun.

When Nodoka observes that if the light music club gains no new members, Azusa would be left alone once the original four girls graduate, Yui becomes concerned and spurs everyone on to scout new members.

Already having prepared fliers to hand out, the girls seem to have little success at handing them out, undoubtedly because they donned the same odd animal costumes from the previous year.

Trusting in Ritsu to come up with better ideas to attract new members, Yui, Mugi and Azusa can’t help but wonder at the silly ploys the energetic drummer comes up with. Unable to attract even a single student, Ritsu, Yui and Azusa soon tour all the other clubs to scope out how they achieve to recruit new members.

Betting everything on their live performance at the new student welcome event, the five girls give it their all and woo the large crowd of students that gathered in the auditorium. Event though they delivered a terrific performance, no new applicants appear, much to Azusa’s despair.

Hearing Mio lament no one seems to want to join, Yui takes in the sight of the music room where her friends have tea and sweets, Sawako leisurely reads a magazine,… and blurts out she feels fine about things remaining as they are now, with just their current five members.
Enjoying every day they get to spend together in the club, Yui feels they’re already blessed. Concurring, Ritsu says they’ll figure something out as the year goes along.

Having overheard the conversation from outside, Azusa enters and tells the other girls she too would like things to continue with just the five of them. Glad Azusa seems to be in high spirits as well, Yui is about to hug her treasured friend but hesitates when Azusa declares she’ll be a lot stricter on Yui from now on, to make sure she practices plenty!

With the hype surrounding “K-ON!” after the series originally aired and when its second season was announced, to the unfortunate senseless degradation and flaming of the series as moeblob, I had nearly forgotten what made “K-ON!” such an amazing show.

Luckily the first episode of this second season reminded me that this show is all about pure fun and joy, a relaxing time that makes a bright smile appear on your face when watching the fun antics of these bubbly girls having the time of their life in the high school music club.

Those who loathe or hate this series I can only pity as they seem to lack that joy, that lust for life, which a series like this radiates as if it were the spring sun itself bringing life back, warming you up after the cold winter has finally passed.

Animation by Kyoto Animation is stellar, though their integration of the 3D CGI effects in the opening sequence does stick out a bit, nonetheless the whole episode and especially the opening and and ending were superbly well animated, a feast for the eye. When the original “K-ON!” season aired did wonder about the odd resolution and aspect ratio it was broadcast in, am happy to see we can now enjoy this second season in high definition.

Do already like the ending theme song “Listen!!” but am not too sure yet about the opening track “Go go maniac” as the electronically altered overly high pitched singing of Aki Toyosaki who voices Yui doesn’t fit that well with the image of the Houkago Tea Time band. Feel that Youko Hikasa who voices Mio does a better job or is rendered better in the ending theme.

Now I shall have to finally allow my head to explode into millions of pieces as seeing Azusa’s extreme cuteness in the opening animation sequence clad in that pink swimsuit or eating ice cream was just too much for my brain to cope.
How will I be able make it through an entire season of Azunyan’s cuteness and stay alive?