You know the story, girl meets boy, boy is a drooling idiot, a total cliché and tries too hard to make her like him. In the end, against all odds, the boy gets the girl. Well that’s also what happened with K-on and me, I hated the series on the first episode, absolutely despised it. It was the anime equivalent of Taco Bell: flavorless, cheap, an unintended parody of its genre.

So how is it that after only 3 episodes I’m a true believer?

First of all lets lay down the facts on this review.

K-ON

• Genre: Slice of Life
• Appeal Factor: Moe
• Number of episodes watched for the review: 3
• Fansub group followed: Frostii
• In a nutshell: K-ON is a slice of life school comedy that follows 4 girls in high school who form the soft music club at school. Yui, the would-be guitarist, knows nothing about guitars, music or even proper motor skills.

 
Mio: lightly tsudere and shy, Ritsu: energetic and funny, Yui: brain-dead clumsy and Tsumugi: refined waifu-material

The above image and caption should provide you with enough background on these characters as these kinds of series are always based on clichés. Now lets move on to the nitty gritty on why I hated K-ON and why I now love it.

Why I Hate It

One word: Yui. Oh god! I know this series is supposed to rely heavily on the moe factor but for fucks sake there is moe and then there’s this. K-ON lays the moe on too thick. It uses nearly every moe scene ever written in the first 2 episodes. Its the equivalent 14 year old girls putting make-up to look older, they might have the right idea but in the end they look like clowns.

You know who also sucks? YOU!

Lets take for example the clumsy thing with Yui, at one point during the first episode Yui is walking to the club room for the first time and I imagine the director decided she had to look a little clumsy while walking. I guess somewhere down the line ‘clumsy’ got somehow changed to ‘make her walk as if she’s drunk enough alcohol to kill a bear’.

There’s also moments where Mio’s shyness causes some pauses that last for way too long but overall Yui is the main issue with the series. If Yui doesn’t violently annoy you during the first episode chances are you are either dead or someone with a fetish for mental handicaps.

Why I Love It

It turns out that as the episodes pass the studio figures they already have the moe-loving crowd on-board so they stop being so in-your-face with the moe stuff. With Yui approaching a very tolerable level of stupidity, the series has a chance to shine and there is a solid school comedy below all that moe.

The other characters’ personalities and quirks start being more prominent and there’s some really funny moments in there. Ritsu even has some moments where she’ll remind Azumanga fans of why they loved Tomo and that is a very high compliment.

The other great thing about the series is the music, or at least the promise of great music. Three episodes in there has been nearly no music for a series that’s supposed to be about girls forming a band. However, the opening and ending are remarkably good, especially the ending which is very catchy.

Please don say you are crazy, datte honto wa crazy~

And lastly but not least important, the animation is extremely detailed and fluid. While this is par for the course when it comes to appealing to the moe-loving crowds, who want to make GIF animations of every scene, it’s also a breath of fresh air for musicians who have had to endure many series and movies where the animators only do a half-assed attempt at reproducing the actual way an instrument is played. K-ON matches every beat, every finger movement and every chord to what you hear.

Final thoughts

As a school comedy K-ON is a solid show but nothing groundbreaking, don’t expect any substance or depth to it. If K-ON were food it would be junk food, probably Cheetos, tastes good but don’t expect to be left with anything but sticky fingers. (Oh snap! Did I just do a double entendre inside a simile?)

Watch it if you enjoy anime about music, are a diehard fan of high school comedies or if moe floats your boat. We might do an overall review once the series ends, that is if there’s anyone left watching it by the time it ends.

Score

Are you currently watching K-ON? What are your Thoughts? Will you start watching it because of this review? Will you avoid it like the plague? Do you have a mental handicap fetish? Oh man, so many questions! Just hit us up in the comments with your thoughts!