K-ON! Season 2

This isn’t really a proper review. I’m not trying to convince you that the perspective on this show that I am going to share is well informed or even particularly thought out. But I like writing these “organized rants” as sort of a way of cataloging my opinion beyond just a simple number. And in the case of K-ON! Season 2, I have a lot more to say than normal. Due to the restraints of Anilist’s notes system I am putting this here. Here are some thoughts about K-ON! Season 2 and the show as a whole:

K-ON! Season 2 is special.

I was mostly unimpressed with season 1 of K-ON!. I felt that it relied a lot on its atmosphere which although solid didn't really have a lot to fall back on. I never felt like the show gave me enough reason to care about anything that was happening. It wasn't until the end of season 1 that I even came to notice what K-ON! was doing (you can read more about that on my K-ON! season 1 notes). But season 2 is different and pretty much immediately.

From this point on there will be significant spoilers for K-ON! Season 2.

Right in the beginning of the show we are introduced to what I think is the core of this season. The story is coming to a close and with that there are a few painful goodbyes that need to be said. Perhaps one of the most painful is that between Azusa and her fellow club members. Since she's a year behind, when they graduate she will be left alone, unable to maintain the light music club. The club tries to help find new members to maintain the future of the club and perhaps more importantly help Azusa not become lonely. But they fail (something that does not happen a lot in this show), and instead Azusa chooses to just spend the rest of the remaining time with the club. This creates a time bomb that is slowly ticking in the background throughout this season but it's never forgotten. Especially in the early episodes I got a large looming sense of dread knowing that every bit closer they get to each other and to the end the more painful the departure will be.

Dread is a fascinating feeling to me because it isn't inherently negative. Obviously it isn't comfortable but to me it's more in line with something like melancholy, maybe just a more intense version. But especially in the case of K-ON! Season 2, the dread comes from the fact it is fun. You don't want the fun to end and part of you can't have fun because you know it will (basically the "don't name it or you will become attached" mentality). But Ironically, perhaps via some sort of reverse psychology, this is what hooked me and finally got me to be fully engaged into K-ON!. But even outside of that specific plot this show really levels up its writing in this season. There were so many amazing episodes, and so many episodes that initially seemed to be simple but when they would get to their conclusion it would so beautifully reflect on the series as a whole. I wrote about this for episode 7 but it isn't the only example, in fact it's one of the smaller examples. One of my favorite qualities of this show more generally was how it can weave in bigger ideas so seamlessly that sometimes it would almost skip past me.

But everything for me more or less comes back to Azusa's dynamic with the group, she is more or less an outsider. She's accepted but the difference in age and mentality when it comes to the band means that she doesn't completely fit into the club. And the more that she does fit into the club the more she is concerned she is losing herself. She has grown infatuated with the club and its members yet for some reason feels in debt. And I think Azusa's decision to not find new members is somewhat rooted in this insecurity. Azusa is worried about feeling left behind. But she doesn't have the courage to say that to their face and have them concern their last year with trying to secure Azusa's future.

There's a certain abstract sadness I associate with Azusa's dilemma. Largely because I feel bad for her, she isn't able to be honest and tell her friends what she's thinking out of concern for them. I think it's unfortunate she can't stand up for herself more, but at the same time I don't think I would be much better in the same situation. And that's what I find so compelling about it. I feel like it's exposing a mentality that I myself am guilty of but is ultimately not particularly helpful.

Because regardless of what Azusa does the band is still upset that their time at school is coming to an end. For instance at the end of episode 20 when they are all reflecting on how they aren't going to do another performance, or even in episode 7 when Mio is talking (in poetry) about her love of the band. Even the show itself takes the time to let these moments breath as they are the heart of everything else that happens. Appreciating the time we have left is largely what K-ON! Season 2 is about. You don't realize just how little time you have until it's running out. But if you worry too much about the time you have left it makes it harder to enjoy it. The best way to spend your remaining time is to simply enjoy it without any other concerns, which is exactly what Yui does.

It's actually really cool to see how Yui's growth in season 1 carries over to season 2. She is sure of herself and seemingly is getting the most out of the time they have left. Which is a direct product of the lessons she learned in season 1 about getting to know yourself and chasing what you enjoy.

Much like everything else in K-ON!, Azusa's story has a happy ending. And it’s actually an ending I really like. She ends up making the most of her situation and bringing together a new band with her friends. It’s a really nice conclusion because it shows the growing apart and moving on for both sides. Azusa can finally let go, not forget necessarily, but not be burdened by any guilt and just do what she can with this new band. And the original 4 can do much the same in college. I also think it’s worth noticing how positively Yui reacts to Azusa’s decision to start a new band.

K-ON! as a whole seems to me to be about growing up, in season 1 we learn about the hobbies that fulfill us, the friends that make us happy and accomplishing things we wouldn't have thought ourselves capable of. But season 2 seems to be about the more difficult side of things, the parts of growing up that no one wants to face. All good things must come to an end and that can be a difficult truth to swallow. But in the long run we are better off facing those moments and growing from them. Ultimately I think that's what K-ON! is trying to say and it’s a much more meaningful message than I ever would have expected from this show after watching season 1.

Thanks for reading!

best episodes: 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 16, 17, 21, 22, 24 and 26

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Further additional notes:

Since I'm doing a review and have plenty of room I thought it might be nice to include some of my status comments simply to archive them. Especially once they are far back enough in my history I wont want to scroll to find these specific passages. If you have read my status comments than these will be nothing new:

"I really liked how episode 3 handled not just the group and what roles they are each facilitating but secondarily talks about the birth of inspiration and the drive to do something regardless of if you love it. I don't think any episode of K-ON up until this point has been that ambitious"

"thoughts about episode 7:

The concept of a school club that is completely dedicated to another student at the school is completely ridiculous and hard for me to take seriously. But, this episode was actually really interesting if you can look past that. The relation that the ex club president has to the fan club is parallel to the future of the band. They look back on it and are appreciative it for what it did for them and hope the best for it going forward even if they have to leave it in the past. And Mio watching a slide show of her childhood and early high school memories before reading the lyrics of a song about loving something or someone and giving your self to it out of love is extremely fitting. My point is that despite how ridiculous this episode concept is on the surface it seems very aware of what it's doing."

"thoughts about episode 16:

It's funny how Yui's philosophy about not considering the character of a true self is extremely grounded. Because Yui is a character who lives in fantasy to such a degree that she comes across as immature. So for her to have such a grounded mindset about personality simply due to the fact she doesn't consider it, is really funny. It is also worth mentioning that Yui's mentality is not negating the idea that people can deny who they are or even find a true self to some extent. But the actions and behaviors of one person is the outward appearance and that's it. So changing that is not any commentary on the true self, especially in the case of Azusa, it's actually a showcase of honesty. The fact that she takes on the personalities and traits of the people around her is what you would expect a person to do.

great episode btw"