K-On! follows the events in Yui Hirasawa's high school life soon after joining the Light Music Club. Along with having to learn to play a guitar and making new friends, Yui and the band participate in distinct fun activities such as drinking tea and going to the beach. Even if all of this seems boring at first, Kyoto Animation does an excellent job of creating an enjoyable show carried by its adorable and evolving characters.
I will include the special episode, Live House!, as part of season one.
Most of the plot is just cute girls doing cute things and the conflicts in most of the episodes are created from Yui being an airhead. However, most of the substance of the show comes from its well-crafted characters and relationships. Even with a very bland premise, K-On! is able to establish its character's personalities and motivations to create a very memorable cast, and the proceed on developing these characters and their relationships.
Hirasawa Yui is our main protagonist. She is clumsy and airheaded. At the beginning of the series there isn't much to say of Yui; she is dumb, likes to be lazy, and causes problems for the rest of the band members. However, as the series advances she learns many valuable lessons. K-On! is more of a coming of age story than a "moe" show in this aspect. The encouragement of doing something important in her high school years pushes Yui into a better guitarist, better than anyone would have expected. Even if her sister, Ui Hirasawa, is the more responsible sister, we learn that Yui cares for her sister just as much. At the end of the season, Yui has grown as a person. She is more responsible as an individual, as a musician, and as a friend.
Mio Akiyama is nervous, scared easily, but also determined to be a better musician. Even if she is forced by Ritsu to join the Light Music Club she decides to dedicate herself to the club. As showed by her work in composing the band's songs and lyrics. Through music, Mio is able to become a more confident individual and strengthen her relationship with Ritsu.
Ritsu Tainaka is the Light Music Club's president and an ambitious individual. She is the one responsible for forming the band in the first place and encouraging other to join. Even if she is characterized by her strong will and extroverted attitude (which explains her close relation with Yui), Ritsu still has weaknesses: she is lazy, irresponsible, forgets things easily, and is insecure about her friendship with Mio and a potential boyfriend. Her irresponsible nature is complemented by the leadership of Mio, just as Ritsu complements the timidness of Mio; which makes sense considering these two are childhood friends.
Azusa Nakano is the most serious of all of the girls. She takes playing music very seriously, probably because of her insecurity towards her own ability. This part of her is what makes her relate to Mio a lot more than any of the other girls. She serves as a good counterbalance to the club's laziness. Her introduction helps the band improve as a whole by practicing more. Furthermore by being part of the Light Music Club she is able to learn to relax more and enjoy herself.
Tsugumi Kotobuki is rich, naive, sweet, and just wants to have a happy and normal high school life. She is also a yuri fan. The fact that she is rich is seen by herself as a problem. As it limits her ability to relate to her friends, which she values a lot. However, she finds comfort in the Light Music club because she is treated as an equal and a valuable friend.
The last two episodes and the special are very important some of the best episodes. For they demonstrate how far our characters have come as individuals and a group. Each girl is shown trying to accomplish their goals individually, and even if they sometimes fail the rest of the club girls are there to support each other. The special is also very important and should be seen more like an episode 14, for it focuses on the hard work the girls have invested into their band. And it finally pays off in their Live House performance (and the concert from episode 12).
The show, although very proficient in creating a fantastic cast of characters, has many issues that prevents this series from reaching a 90/100. Mainly its supporting characters feel more like props than actual human beings, and the amount of filler in the middle section of the series. Nodoka, Ui, and Sawako-sensei, are the three main secondary characters, the rest are not worth mentioning. Nodoka is just there to be an intelligent counterpart to Yui, and create jealousy in Ristu. Ui is never expanded upon and her only characteristics are that she is responsible and loves her older sister. Sawako-sensei is weird, slightly perverted, and an ex-musician, even if she is a funny and likable character, she serves mostly as the comedic relief and doesn't really feel like a mentor (although maybe that is part of her personality, I will leave that to your own judgement). Secondly, there is large amounts of filler in the middle part of the story. Although the series makes a good job of establishing its characters, it really only develops them slowly towards the ending of the season. However, if you are only looking for a fun time I doubt you will see this as a problem as there is still much to enjoy here: cute girls doing cute things.
I should mention that the dialogue might not appeal to everybody, as its very cutesy and moe-like (if that even makes sense).
"To the me back then, you don’t need to worry. You’ll soon find something you can do, something you can set your heart on."
Character animation is fluid, expressions are varied and original, and every frame is beautiful and/or cute; there is nothing to criticize in the animation department. The scene at the end of episode 12 that parallels that of the begging of episode 1 were Yui is running to school is very creative and well executed, my favorite of season one. This sequence really shows Kyoto Animation's skill. Character actions feel different depending on which girl is doing them, you can understand their personality just from looking at them. Most of the backgrounds are memorable, especially the club classroom. However, if you do not enjoy moe animation and style this might be a hard watch for you, as the series rarely takes itself serious. This doesn't undermine the emotion expressed in those scenes, but serves more like a warning to those not comfortable with moe animation.
The songs that the band performs are pretty nice and enjoyable. The voice acting is very good, again like in the animation, the voices add a lot to each character. Each character can be differentiated by their voice, something which I rarely can do. However, most of the background soundtrack is nothing exceptional and forgettable.
Both of the opening scenes are enjoyable to watch and I never skipped it. I cannot say the same of the ending, mainly because I did not like the song, however the visuals are somewhat interesting.
The comedy in the show has simple dialogue, but is successful because of its sound queues and great character movement and facial expressions.
K-On! is a straightforward show with very superficial comedy, plot, and themes. However, it is carried by its animation and its memorable cast of characters. Even if you are not a fan of moe shows, I suggest you to watch K-On!. There is much to appreciate here: the characters, funny interactions, cutesy activities, and a great ending that elevates K-On! from just being another moe show into a likable coming of age story.
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