First Impressions – K-On!
KyoAni’s latest new anime which was always going to be popular no matter what. Girls + 4 koma + KyoAni pretty much means automatic popularity. You generally knew if you were going to like this anime before you watched it. Anyone expecting a great music anime rather than a great moe anime was probably delusional.
Well, I guess those that were in it for the music could just watch the ending theme a lot and pretend that’s the anime…
So I guess KyoAni’s record with me is still perfect since I’m liking this anime as well. It’s not like I’d really say I’m going to automatically like everything KyoAni does (I’m still not that fond of Lucky Star, though I don’t dislike it), but…well it’s turning out that way. I was a little afraid that KyoAni was pushing it. It seems like all they can do are Key series and then just humorous, worshiping otaku series like Haruhi and Lucky Star. K-On! was obviously going to fall into the second category.
Right away I’d say that after the opening and ending, you already know it’s not exactly going to break any new ground. But a singing opening and ending actually makes sense here unlike in the others where it was just…fun?
And on the themes…oh gawd! I can’t stop listening to the ending theme “Don’t say Lazy”. It’s so guud. When is my single coming out!?
Ah, but it’s bad for me to lose track and go into incoherent babble as I am always so likely to do. I will try my best for an organized First Impressions post.
The first part of the episode before the opening theme kind of pushed the moe-ness of our dojikko Yui. I almost wanted to turn it off for a minute, because as much as I like my moe, I would like for it to be more subtle (this is why I’m not big on Lucky Star). However, I waited it out since Yui was just one character and the others (aside from Tsumugi) didn’t seem to have any super OBVIOUS moe trait (though I still knew I’d find out their moe-ness later). So sure enough as the episode went on it grew on me, I even elevated Yui from annoying to ZOMG cute (I am easily manipulated by cute innocence).
Well, since I’m pretty much a fan of moe (aside from chibi’s) it was pretty much a sure thing I’d find the anime likable. How likable depends on where it goes from here. It’s got a pretty solid first episode, but it has to be entertaining outside of, “Watch this moe girl do moe things” as it goes on. Some music will be good for this later on I’m sure.
The anime has a surprisingly connected story in the first episode for a 4koma. Though I’m guessing because in this series there’s an actual plot. Starting up their club. Where other 4koma tend to be about…nothing.
Oh yeah and as a warning before I go any further, I watched the episode raw. But I figure for “First Impressions” that’s fine since doing this after it’s subbed would really my my second impression…
I’m also skipping over comments about the animation, since there’s really nothing to say. It’s pretty much as expected. KyoAni, moe = lots of moving around and expressions, instrument-playing, you know the drill.
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Music
The first thing tackled because oh god I love that ending theme~
Compared to the ending especially I don’t find anything special about the opening. It’s too cutesy and moe for me to really find any need to listen to it outside of watching the opening animation. Heck, even the opening animation is so moe it’s ridiculous. It really just felt like the typical song for a moe anime to me. Just with a bit more attempts at having a rock twist because of the story.
It was darn cute though.
Screencap overload makes an extra line of images.
Now then the ending…omg!!!11 I love it. It’s one of those rare songs that fits my tastes perfectly. It’s got a good sound and it’s catchy (meaning it’ll get stuck in my head and stuff). It’s a good catchy song! Oh I love it.
And the ending animation~ I’m not really a fan of that style of clothes being worn out in the street, but it’s so good for the video. Since musicians can really get away with wearing whatever they want to as long as they have the right attitude and music. 
It feels like they’re an actual band doing a real video. I love it. The only problem is that when they were walking along some of them looked fat (Yui, lol).
But the whole ending was just great. I love the camera changes and when Mio would look at the…”camera” (that’s not there because it’s animation ahaha~). Mio’s expressions throughout the ending were just all really great. I wanted so many screencaps! It was just great. I’d say probably my favorite KyoAni ending yet (*gasp* *shock* no wai!). I really think that I’m going to have to use a couple of the screencaps to make a banner for the blog. I don’t care if I already made one K-On! banner already. I have rotating banners now!
lol. I think even if I didn’t happen to be a fan of moe (to the point of moe-induced insanity~), I’d still stick with the anime for a few episodes just because of the awesome theme = awesome anime (incorrect) logic.
I should also talk about the seiyuu here, since I don’t really find any need to mention them elsewhere. I don’t have any particular feelings on them one way of the other. But I enjoy them all when they’re singing. Especially Mio’s seiyuu, Yoko Hikasa. I’m going to be watching out for her in Asura Cryin’ as well. Aki Toyosaki (Yui) was really the only one I was familiar out of the four main seiyuu and she is very suitably moe and cute~ (Most of my blog readers probably know her as a certain moe desu~ chara called Suu).
On other music though, there wasn’t really a lot I noticed. Except the club’s first, basic performance. They’re off to a good start so I hope the anime gets far enough that they get even close to singing and playing like in the ending. (LOVE that ending dammit!)
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Characters
The girls are all so moe I could almost dislike them. But luckily they stay away from the dreaded (for me) Lucky Star chibi one-dimensional level. They’re safely above that…but it’s still a good thing I’m going to be watching weekly instead of all at once. Too much moe of this sort is bad for me. Everyone has their limits, heck even some of the Clannad girls got on my nerves (never Nagisa, but even some of my second-favorites like Kyou and Mei did).
It looks like this year’s SaiMoe is going to have some KyoAni domination again with Clannad, Lucky Star (OVA), and K-On! all eligible.
Yui
I like her character design the most right now because occasionally with the KyoAni art she’ll remind me of Nagisa just a little bit. Occasionally only though…she’s nopt Nagisa. I have no more new animation of Nagisa to look forward to… *depression* So yeah, she’s not Nagisa, not even close. But her character design is still the one I like the most~
She’s a pretty typical character. A cheerful, silly, dojikko I’d say. Out of all of the girls she’s probably the one overflowing with the most moe, so in that way I’m not fond of her. Too much moe without any realistic things to offset it. But…the more I saw her being cute and clumsy the more I had to like her. She’s so cute~ Dojikko is my major weakness it seems. Plus she’s a good girl so I absolutely can’t dislike her.
Mio
Mio – This girl is probably my favorite. She’s pretty normal compared to the others, which in a series overflowing with crazy moe makes her a good balanced character. She gets to be the straight-man to her ridiculous friend Ritsu a little. The “normal” one that keeps things balanced. And among all the other characters having a relatively normal girl makes her stand out. (Except she’s not normal since she’s still so pretty, perfect, and likely adorable when embarrassed).
Plus it’s been a while since I’ve seen a girl with long black hair that isn’t a cooldere stereotype. It’s nice that she’s…nice. She still fits into that role better than anyone else though, with her cool, calm head. Yup, probably my favorite. She’s so pretty too~ *loves long black hair* Part of me liking her may be because of the awesome ending though. So awesome…
Ritsu
When seeing promotion stuff sometimes for some reason I thought this girl might be the tsundere of the group. No idea why. Since I turned out to be completely wrong. I’d say that she’s the bossy, pushy one. She gets ridiculous ideas in her head and then keeps going ignoring logic, dragging everyone along with her. The whole club seems to have been her idea in the first place.
So you should know that type if you watch KyoAni stuff. Or slice of life, moe, 4koma stuff in general.
Tsumugi
Oh my god eyebrows. It’s not as bad in animation as it was in promotion stuff, but…omg eyebrows. This girl turned out exactly as I imagined she would. Nice and polite. Overall pleasant. Nice ojou-sama. You know the basic drill. All she’d need is some glasses and she’d surpass Yui for the most obvious moe appeal.
Any other characters didn’t really get enough of an introduction and…I don’t really care.
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Random
Hahaha, one of those rare moments where moe and slice of life brings out a moment that’s actually recognizable from my life. I do this all the time with my straw wrappers. Though doing it with soda is messy, it makes the table all sticky. I steal my mom’s water instead. 
I don’t know why, but this made me smile so much that I had to mention it. (Growing straw wrappers are f—ing awesome! Alright!?)
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So in conclusion…this isn’t anything new. You’ll know whether or not you’ll like it probably before you even see it (if you know enough what to expect from KyoAni).
In another season I might not even watch it past a few episodes, but Spring looks so dull to me and I am severely lacking in cute girls!!! So I can hang around with the fanboys for this one. At least unless the girls start to grate on me, but they seem pretty lowkey…compared to some others I can think of anyway. 
The only problem with this is that it’s relatively low on jokes. So we’ll just have to see how it goes.
Oh, but I’m definitely not blogging it. I know that for sure. (I don’t even understand how anyone can blog this stuff? What on Earth can you say?)
But if you decided the anime is not for you, you still like the ending, don’t you? (People who say no…I don’t know…but even if I can imagine the music or something not being to someone’s tastes, I can’t imagine anyone disliking it).
Tags: as expected, awesomes, moe
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April 3rd, 2009 at 3:20 am
Well, I’ll be the first one to say that the ending wasn’t quite to my tastes. The opening got me pumped, it’ll be on my playlist for a while.
I’m kinda torn between Tsumugi and Ritsu. Mio seems like everyone’s favorite, and I can see why. Ritsu is kinda like the in between tsukkomi girl. Mio smacks Ritsu around when Ritsu is being a nut, and Ritsu razzes on Yui for being a complete dojikko. You nailed Tsugumi perfectly. If she had glasses, she’d pretty much be Miyuki. Since I really liked Miyuki, I have a feeling as we learn more about Tsugumi she’ll end up being my favorite.
Nazarielle’s last post…ISML – Aquamarine Round 8
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:11 am
Ah, not one for Queen’s Blade eh?…. me thinks you’re gonna love Shangrila….
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:34 am
from the first time i read the 2009 spring anime and saw this … i decided its gonna be the best one in this season … and from the first episode i can see a lot of potential for this anime : the characters ,the music, the humor , the cuteness …. its all there
i just need to see if the plot is worth watching X3 i have decided from the moment i watched the opening and ending that this anime is really worth it to make an AMV other than SC or SE amvs because this kind of anime are great for lip syncing and cuteness 
soooooooo cute !! 
Mo0on12’s last post…Kiss Your Boyfriend ![SC Girls VS SC Boys !]+ 3 SC colored manga moments !
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
K-On! appears to be one of the most-watched anime in this season. I guess not only for the moeness but the show seems really entertaining
I agree, watching the ED in youtube, I found it really awesome. Even better than the OP.
kirapika’s last post…Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei 02 – Everything is.. different…
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 am
Lolol did someone say this was overhyped? Probably, because it’s KyoAni’s. I can say I was expection a lot from this anime. It was the one I looked forward the most, on the Spring season. And yeah, it fulfilled my expectations… thankfully.
I like both opening and ending songs. I prefer the ending video, though. Those clothes are so cool~ Opening song is a funny one, compared to the ending song, which is more serious. lol. Whatever. I like them both and can’t stop listening to them.
About the main character (not really main but… main.) lol
Nagisa. Yui… I found her cute and likable, her clumsyness made me fond of her. Although my favorite at this time has to be Ritsu. She looks so cool here and oh, drums. Drums are cool. That, and guitar, so I’m looking forward to see what Yui does, altough she has to learn first.Overall, I can’t say much about the first episode, just that I liked it. It’s the basic introduction episode, K-On club, get the members, and then start. So we’ll see what the next episodes will bring, I’m hoping for more songs like the opening and ending ones*
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 am
You wrote the word moe 24 times in this entry not counting SaiMoe. :3
Oh, but then Mio’s scared shatless when she sees/thinks of blood. :D
But I think you’ll look forward to the song that Mio wrote in complete Engrish, not expecting to sing it. xD; “You make my heart go doki doki~”
Hee.
*goes to watch the ending again*
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Hmm looks like a cute new anime. But I have to catch up on JSM on FPC
I’m a bad Blogger
Alice Cullen’s last post…Top ten is Back!
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 am
Eh…meh…it’s KyoAni.
I’m kinda getting bored with them actually. Don’t know why. Probably because of the fact that they only do Key stuff (I don’t mind that but…yea) and cater moe like one would for a Greek wedding. *rolls eyes*
I think what really knocked me off was how they just went ahead right into the dojikko that Yui is. For the first few minutes, I was like “Oh…ok, she’s cute. Dojikko~, hehe” but after it’s just too much. D/
I prefer subtle moe, too. If it goes fully blown out later on, it’s fine as long as they go into it bit by bit but that didn’t happen. *sigh*
Oh well.
Comparing the two 4-koma adaptations they did, I still like Lucky Star more (cuz that actually made me laugh) while for K-ON!, it’s only the music and we don’t even have enough of it yet.
Animation I can see some Lucky Star similarities meshed in with what looks like Kannagi’s art and nothing more to it than that.
The OP was cute…and the ED was better. =P
Haha “Don’t be Lazy”…someone put that as the tagline on their banner. Too awesome not be displayed in big bold letters. |D Other than that, it didn’t really make me jump or “WANT IT NAO!”…which is weird, cuz songs like these grab my attention really quickly. :/
I liked the costumes best, though. One of the perks of being a musician…hmm. That’s what I want to be in my next life. Lol xD;
&& waaahh~ Separating singing from voicing, Yoko Hikasa was AWESOME! 8D
Seems like we got a lot of newcomers making their way into seiyuu industry, huh? And most of them have snatched significant roles in a couple of Spring titles already. Wow…I give all credit to Kanae-san for starting this trend. Cuz she’s just awesome. Too bad I can’t call her a rookie anymore but she will always be the best rookie EVAR~ |D
Haha, my favorite has got to be Mio, too (can I really say that since I won’t be following it? ^^; ). You pretty much worded all of my thoughts on why. And YES! Cooldere are…well, cool, but long-black hair stereotypes always going along with it is just |P
Not much else to say about the other girls…‘cept Tsugumi’s eyebrows look fatal. xD;
Straw worms~! 8DDDD
Ah…yep…so what’s KyoAni’s next year plan to try and keep SaiMoe to themselves? Those monopolizing bastards. Lol xD;
Xiao Jie’s last post…~*~ S. o. M. T. 2008 ~*~
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I like Mio the best for now. The others are okay (Tsugami is cool too). I actually enjoy this show, since I just laugh at the over the top moeness of it.
warriorhope’s last post…K-ON!- First Impressions
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Nazarielle: Bah! Well you at least appreciate the awwsome Mio expressions in the ending, right?
Miyuki without some of the dojikko because Yui is so clumsy she’s enough dojikko for two people. lol
lord jagganth: No Queen’s Blade ever. Though I am going to give Shangrila a shot.
Mo0on12: Decided so quickly! But it certainly seems that it will be one of the best. Even just based on animation, It has a lot of potential.
Oh~ I’d love to see an AMV for this anime. I’ll look forward to it! (Make it as awesomely cool as usual)
kirapika: Of course! It’s moe and KyoAni, you can’t expect anything but incredible popularity. (I’m looking forward to other stuff besides moe-ness more)
The ED >>> The OP (though the OP is still cute)
Meball: Oh lol yes. Even I’d say it was overhyped because it’s really not going to be the next Lucky Star or Haruhi really. Right now it’s too low key. But it got more hype than either of those series did…beforehand. (Well actually I think Lucky Star got a bit of hype)
Yeah! Let’s hear it for the ending animation and its awesome clothes! Out of place serious, but still oh so good~
Yui’s totally the main character. The others are just…almost as main. Ritsu is probably my third favorite (right now it goes Mio, Yui, Ritsu, Tsumugi). She is pretty cool, but she’s also goofy which makes her lovable.
Yup. You really have to judge K-On! from how it does from here on out. It’s a basic first episode, but the real entertainment will come from her.
Kiseki: Did I really? Well, that just shows how moe this show it. Moe X 24!!!
I want to see that. I want to see all Mio moments! (Oh god, I’m already completely a Mio fan)
Xiao Jie: I know why you’re getting bored with them. Because they never do anything new. Which might be fine, but the fact that all of the fans continuously spam the world with their excitement about the series and it seems to get old before it’s even started. (This is why I’m not much of Haruhi or Lucky Star fan anymore)
Subtle moe is why I like Mio. But she’s really the only one…I guess Ritsu isn’t really moe, just kind of ridiculous and stuff.
It probably didn’t catch your attention because you’re so “meh” on the anime as a whole. I find songs I’d like otherwise, but when they’re paired with an anime I don’t intend to watch I’m usually just meh on them.
I’d like to be a musician in this life, but I have no talent! (This translates to: I’m too impatient to learn an instrument and my voice is…awful)
Everyone can have a favorite even if they don’t follow along! Everyone’s in love with a character after one episode so if you watched one episode you get a favorite too.
“lol…eyebrows” is all I can say.
Yeah! Finally someone got with me about it! Straw worms!!!
They’ll release Little Busters? Rin can monopolize it all by herself. Ohoho~
warriorhope: Yeah! Mio!
But that’s probably how I’ll be enjoying it too. Laughing at the over the top moe. Then enjoying the (probably) rarer moments of Mio moe.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I’m hoping this will be a little bit like Hitohira – a lot of moe, but it’s still very entertaining because of all the touching moments. Oh my gosh, HITOHIRA~
-fond memories-
And I hope it won’t be TOO much like Lucky star. I’m not really into taht show. I’ll watch it, but I can only listen to a bunch of moe girls talk about nothing for so long.
Anyway, I like Tsumugi the most right now. She has a pretty cliche personality, but something about her just apeals to me. I dare say – I can relate to her. I have a very similar personality around my peers at school. I actually find the eyebrows cute, in a way. It does make her a bit different. :B
Oh gosh, I’m just a sucker for girls with long blonde hair.Actually, Tsumugi is tied with Mio. Just like you said, Mio is a nice normal character. And her pretty hair makes her stand out.
The opening was …okay. I almost turned me off to the series. I was like “Oh. A bunch of moe girls.. no guys.. small chance of romance.. okay.”
But the ending was AMAZING. <333
April 4th, 2009 at 1:14 am
The bloggers at HSA that already watch this all agree on one thing: The OP sucks. I’m sorry. I don’t want to mince words but the OP really does suck. But I forgive them for the OP because like you said, Fuyu, the ED is amazing. The animation and the song are memorable.
My favorite character is Mio by far. I love the other girls as well with Yui being the least because I don’t care for moe blobs. They serve their purpose and that’s great but they would never be my favorite favorite. Still, all the characters are cute and the storyline is cute too so I will stick to this series. I will definitely not blog it (I’m leaving it to Oni and Steve) but I will continue to follow it.
Nice post like always Fuyu~
Minnie’s last post…The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk, Episodes 3-11 (Recap): Everything Happens
April 4th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Finally got around to watching this. I’d be watching this for the moeblobness regardless, but I’ve read a handful of the 4koma it’s based on and have faith that KyoAni will do it justice. I think the overhyping leads to a lot of (understandable) hatred, but I don’t pay much attention to that junk so it really doesn’t bother me.
On Yui–I agree the intro segment was a bit overdone, but I really like her character design and hopefully they won’t continue to exaggerate her doji-ness and focus on her silliness—the next episode will be fun at the music store. ^_^
On Mio–totally agree, she’s way awesome. Not much more to say there. <3
On eyebrows–rich ojou-chan should wax or something. Are eyebrows moe nowadays or something?
On the ED–you know, characters who wear that sort of clothing usually bother me too, but some of my favorite images have characters I love in that style. I think it’s a combination two factors. First, the wild impracticality of the clothing makes it ridiculous when worn like it were just street clothes. Second, the usually intricate detail it has when it’s done well rarely translates well into animation or even manga, making those characters often look subpar. Of course, neither of those is an issue in single drawings, or in this ED for that matter (except Yui’s rather unfortunate dress, though I think that’s a function of the dress design rather than the art quality -_-). Sadly, the single doesn’t come out for almost three weeks. ;_;
April 4th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Since its a show about 4 schoolgirls and I like this kind of shows I think I will give it a shoot and watch it for myself.
phossil’s last post…New member in myanimelist
April 5th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
[...] But Mio,for me, stole the show. Yes, its quite obvious that she already huge fan favourite of many, and the ED solidifies this [...]
April 5th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
“ending theme “Don’t say Lazy”. It’s so guud. When is my single coming out!?”
april 22
April 5th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
I enjoy everything or what it is so I never thought of how generic or cliche something is. However, I felt a bit upset when some people were complaining how generic or cliche some of the series was like (hmmm.. Asura Cryin) and then that was all gone when talking about K-ON which really was nothing new either but oh well. Anyway, Ritsu is definitely the crazy type! Yui is really really cute but somehow I thought Mio could probably be the more cute one at rare times. So Yui is probably the outwardly cute one and Mio the hidden cute one. So… definitely will continue to watch this one and a lot of the others. So far, I liked everything except Queens Blade and some odd ones. Hopefully though, someone will sub Polyphonica.