K-ON! S2 P1 Review

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K-ON! is
easily one
of the more interesting anime series to arrive on Japan's airwaves in
the past
few years. It's a simplistic story in some ways, because it is
basically just a
slice-of-life comedic drama with rock music thrown into the mix. This
actually
is much better than that description is going to make it sound, though.
It's about the way the story is told that
makes it so compelling.
To
quickly summarize K-ON! is relatively
easy: the show is about of high school girls enrolled in a Light Music
Club and
their goofy adventures in class, out of class, and within their rock
club. The
girls each learn or already knew how
to play an instrument and they form a popular rock group amongst their
fellow
students. The series focuses upon their friendship, music, and it's
generally a
blast of good-natured comedic entertainment from start to finish with
beautifully rendered animation and solid scriptwriting and direction.
K-ON! is a series
that is unabashedly aimed more at a
female audience than a male one. This is a show in which none of the
characters
are explored in terms of focusing upon school crushes on male
characters or
upon stereotypical activities that series tend to emphasize in "girls"
anime
series. K-ON! isn't like those types of shows and it doesn't want to be
like
them either. This glorious creation is an original voice expressing the
importance of friendship in high school years. Simultaneously, this
makes K-ON!
an excellent show not only for its primarily girl audience but for a
male
audience as well.
The
characters are undeniably the main reason people enjoy this series
though. Each
of the characters has a unique personality and style that makes it easy
for
people to appreciate the characters as a group. It also allows, to an
extent,
for audience members to pick favorites on series such as this one and
to enjoy
them all while connecting more directly to one of them. I consider this
the
main reason for the success of the show - the likeability of the
characters and
the connections the series creates between the audience and the
characters. Though
the message, entirely universal, of friendship's importance is
toe-to-toe
connected.
Season
2 begins in such a way that newcomers to the show can become familiar
with the cast
of characters without prior knowledge (or less understanding). It isn't
necessary to have seen all of season one prior to starting this second
season.
It's a new year of school for the characters and it does offer up a few
changes. First of all, they all share the same main teacher now and are
in the
same classroom. Secondly, three of them are now seniors and the final
band
member is now the "junior" - as she begins her junior year. Thirdly,
the
characters choose to adopt a pet animal: an interesting turtle that
becomes an "unofficial"
(or is it official?) member of the
club. What isn't so different though is
the wacky good-spirited fun the characters have together while
performing music,
drinking tea, studying for tests, and all the rest.

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Season 2 (Set 2, Episodes 14-27):
This second
season two collection set has arrived
on Blu-ray
and it contains the second half of the anime series second and last
(final?!)
season. I was surprised that the series was ending so soon (relatively
of
course) because it seemed like there were so many ideas in place on
this show
and like it could have gone on and in many different fun directions
that the
audience may have enjoyed. I didn't ever get a sense that this was a
show that
NEEDED to end and arrive at its conclusion. I wanted to experience
the great escapades of these characters as long as possible. This is
actually the
type of series to regularly experience because it is constantly
charming,
lighthearted, cheerful, and vibrant. You want these characters to
succeed and
to experience the journey with them.
The manga
lasted longer (as is so often the case)
so fans of
these characters still had more fun to spend with the characters but
this is an
instance where having a wonderful anime series such as this end early
is
something that disappoints. This is one series I loved so much that I
would
have been enormously glad to see it continued.
I understood
that this was one of the more popular
and
genuinely fan-supported anime productions of recent years, and still...
it only
had two seasons in total. Then it was completely "done". That
is, unless you count the theatrical film
taking place after the end of the series, which I would count
and will
gladly take into consideration once the film has been licensed for
North
America (no announcement has been made yet). Please, Sentai Filmworks,
at least
one fan that has now spoken: we want to
see the film that takes place after season two ends. More K-ON! would be delightful
and appreciated.
This series is
a true joy. Fans of K-ON! will
enjoy the
second half of season two episodes. In fact, I'd even wager that most
fans will
be more satisfied with the quality on display with this set than the
first.
Many of these episodes are amongst the absolute best and the writer's
did not disappoint.
The "After School Tea Time" club has some great successes in this set
and even
have an awesome (if short) concert. Then there's the fact that the last
several
episodes give a relative sense of closure and fans will be pleased in
how it
ends. They might not enjoy it, you know, actually ending... but they
will be
pleased with the final episodes and that should help to reiterate how
wonderful
and special this unique anime series really is.
Viewers
looking
for a different anime experience than usual would do well to check this
series
out. The animation is incredible; the music is fun, and the writing and
characterizations on K-ON! bring it to an amazing height. While
it may
not appeal to all anime fans, the series is one of the gems of the past
several
years and it's clear why it became a massive hit: because it just
simply
flat-out "ROCKS"!

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image to view Blu-ray screenshot with 1080p
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The
Blu-ray:
Video:
K-ON!
looks pretty rockin' on Blu-ray
with a 1080p High Definition presentation that perfectly represents the
highly-detailed and sleek design given to the show. The backgrounds,
character
designs, and additional animation all shine triumphantly. This is a
remarkable
presentation to behold. The series is presented in its broadcast aspect
ratio
of 1.78:1.
Audio:
The
audio
presentation has two main options: English DTS-HD Master Audio and
English
DTS-HD Master Audio. Both options present the series with 2.0 channels
of
audio. I was surprised an English 5.1 mix wasn't included, but I also
was not
underwhelmed by the lack of an option. The series is actually one that
I prefer
the original Japanese language version for anyway, though the dub for K-ON! does have its fans. While either
audio track lacks in truly immersive sound it was interesting to
experience
this series with the sharp clarity provided with lossless audio tracks.
It made
a nice improvement on the show, and is well worth appreciating with
either language
dub.
The
Japanese
audio presentation includes English subtitles.
Extras:
The
only
supplements included on this release are Clean Opening and Ending
animations
and some trailers promoting other Sentai Filmworks releases. However,
It should be noted that several episodes are promoted as normal
episodes but are actually "bonus episodes" that take place after the
series conclusion. These episodes continue the show from where the
"final episode" ended and set thing's up for the theatrical film (in
which the girls decide to visit a foreign country abroad to celebrate
their school graduation). These episodes had some classic comedic
moments and provided a nice counterbalance to some of the sadness of
seeing the series conclude with these characters high school
graduation.

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Final
Thoughts:
K-ON!
is an
awesome, rock-tastic series. If you enjoy rock
music, friendship, and good humor it will be a series that appeals to
you and
your brand of enjoyable coolness. While
K-ON! is aimed more at girls than
boys it is a series that should appeal to both genders and a wide
variety of
ages too. Tales of friendship are timeless, and K-ON! is one of the
more
exciting ones to come out the past few years.
This
set contains the second half of season two (episodes 14 through 27) and
fans will be thrilled with the top-quality nature of these episodes. I
was immensely pleased, but saddened that this was the last batch of K-ON! episodes ever. It's a Blu-ray
set that shouldn't be missed by fans. K-ON!
will remain as a true gem of a show that is worth purchasing and
cherishing by devoted anime lovers everywhere.
Highly
Recommended.
Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.