K-On!

[shinta|hikari]

She was too tired.

She didn't sleep because she was excited. It was her first "normal" trip with her friends after all. Of course she looked tired.

She really insisted on how the housekeepers have been overboard in the preparations as opposed to what she had asked. But we've seen no one, those girls were totally left to themselves.

Did it not occur to you that Mugi could have told the servants to leave or get out of the way? It would hardly seem like a "normal" trip if there were maids there (not that I would mind, personally).

Having a "normal" trip is her dream, much like how "normal" haggling etc were. Why in the world would she go out of her way to make it feel unnatural? Putting flower petals on the bed? Preparing special meat? She also looked the most surprised and disappointed (in a weird way) the moment they saw those things, and she was also the first to ask for forgiveness. Why do it in the first place if you will just apologize immediately even when no one else sees it as a negative thing (except Mugi herself)?

[Yukimura]

Maybe I'm just tired, but I read this sentence at least seven times and I'm not clear on what you are trying to say. A little help, Yuki?

Yeah that was quite a rough attempt to make a sentence out of a paragraph (or two) of my thought process....sorry ;( Buff seems to have gotten the gist of it but I'll try to go into more detail.

I knew she'd have to have them for there to be a chance that the band would realistically be a success but I wasn't fully convinced until this ep that the show wasn't going to treat musical success as something to be sought after for the sake of binding the cast together instead of an end result that would eventually be reached or at least meaningfully approached.

Translation via outline

Prior to watching episode 4 I had come up with two different scenarios which I thought highly plausible directions for the show to take. I was lacking evidence to lean towards either as my primary expectation but episode 4 provided some.

Scenario 1: The plot would primarily milk the moe and high school camaraderie angles for the entire run of the show culminating with a finale that highlighted the bond between the band members and glanced over the struggles they'd faced as musicians. this finale would probably end right as they were about to go on stage for their first big live performance. In this scenario the music would represent more an excuse for the club members to interact with each other than an integral part of the stories development. I would liken it to the way the S.O.S Brigade in Haruhi only really did one thing in the pursuit of supernatural phenomena but was otherwise just an excuse for the cast members to interact as a group. I think this scenario could be fun because in interacting with one another we would learn about the cast members and the trials and tribulations they face in life and get to see them overcome through friendship and teamwork.

Possible character issues to be dealt with: Mugi's closeted nature, Mio's fearfulness, Yui's inexperience and shaky attention span, Ritsu's deep dark secret which is responsible for her genki personality (It's a total guess that she has one but it would fit I think).

Scenario 2: Scenario 2 is basically Scenario 1 but with the development of both the band members as musicians and the 'sound' of the band as a whole incorporated as a major part of the story. The finale would probably show either their first live performance or their first successful live performance. The ups and downs of each characters musical development would get a prominent role in the story along with the developments in their interpersonal relationships and back stories. For this scenario I postulated that Yui would need to be a prodigy of some sort otherwise her idiot moe persona would get in the way of her being able to learn and develop as a musician the normal way (determination, hard work, and practice).

Now all that said, when I watched episode 4 and learned that Yui has the Mystic Fingers of Guitar Perception and the band has a mountain to climb (be better than the previous club) I started leaning further towards Scenario 2 as my expectation. Ultimately I don't mind where the show goes as long as the cast members have fun and create humor but I am interested in seeing their musical development and I think it would be cool if my expectation was in line with the path the show will actually take.

[Kraco]

What we saw might be abnormally little preparation from the point of view of their underlings. Who knows what the place looks like when Mugi normally goes there with her family. Besides, the maids might be well treated and paid and thus happy employees, and despite Mugi's (no doubt very mellow) commands thought surely the place would need a little something for Mugi and her friends to have a nice training camp. Their perception might be just as skewed as Mugi's in any case, because they are experienced in thinking in Mugi's family's terms.

[David75]

[CoalGuys] K-ON! - 05 [E278D326]​.mkv 200.75 MiB torrent from TokyoTosho

Downloaded that one and the first minute showed subtitles that seemed ok

Edit: Some Moe moments and a bit of animation.

Loved the AKG K701 on Mio's head. I own Very Old K280 Parabolic and I still love them. The 701 with it's light grey/white fits perfectly.
Incredible how this show displays such magnificent material (you could argue there's better, but prices aren't for mere mortal beings...)

[Kraco]

This was a jolly good episode. Very nicely ensnared teacher.

I'm loving Mio's contradictions more and more.

[KrayZ33]

So, Mugi likes lesbian-love ^^? haha

but man, she really got me whe she said "yes" in english, such a gentle voice
and the other girls were awesome again, too

[animus]

So Mugi is open about her yuri-love. Quite contradictory to her Ojou-sama background. Was kinda random.

Anyways, really good and funny episode. Been a while since I genuinely laughed in any anime series.

[Nadouku]

Another interesting aspect of Mugi has been revealed. An excellent episode, I must say.

[TheBladeChild]

The teacher was awesome, teething the guitar haha.

[David75]

The teacher was awesome, teething the guitar haha.

I thought we'd have Yui reacting over it afterwards, when playing it. Sadly she didn't.

Yuri-Mugi wasn't that expected, I've been suspecting Yui before with the "Mio callous fingers" scene. But since Yui has got such an idiotic behavior, you can't be so sure.
But for Mugi, well I guess we didn't see much of her to analyse anything.
I'd have to rewatch the bath scene.
Edit: nothing really suspicious Mugi-wise, more like Yui/Mio

[Ryllharu]

I guess now I perfectly understand why Asami Sanada (Kanako from Maria+Holic and Vita from Nanoha) was cast as the "delicate" and "refined" Sawako-sensei. Her freakouts and overreactions balanced by her awkward/failing attempts to improve her image were the best part of the episode for me. I don't think anyone else would really be as suited for the role, except maybe Haruka Tomatsu (Nagi from Kannagi). The race up to the music room in a desperate attempt to destroy her past was the icing on the cake.

Her character kinda reminds me of Ohno from Genshiken now that I think about it, only a much more closeted version, and metal rather than otaku. I guess she's a lot like Krauser II.

I don't think it's really worth ranking them anymore. The four main girls are always even now, and even Sawako reached the same level in only one episode.

[Yukimura]

I fully second the Krauser II vibes streaming off Sawa-chan as well as her all around awesomeness. When she started tooth picking I was fully ready for her to just burst into Sataugai. I really enjoy how the calm collected persona totally clashes with the metal monster persona but you can tell there's a part of her strongly pulling her in each direction.

Mugi's shoujo-ai-ai puts some things in a different perspective. I initially had her pegged as a maternal figure since she always seemed to want to smooth things over between the band members and have harmony, now I'm suspecting she had an alterior motive of wanting to witness more of the delicious shoujo-ai vibes the group occasionally throws off while interacting with one another in a positive manner. Can't say I blame her at all.

[Xelbair]

I want DMC second season now...
After seeing Krauzer II trademark - tooth-guitar i was excepting satsugai too.
Interesting anime up till now - we shall see what comes next
oh and on the other side - OP is annoying me deeply, and their music sounds like improvised punk rock(G, A, b/H(depends where you live this sound has other letter set to it),C and D powerchords mixed up with palm mutes and dead notes) on guitar

[Ryllharu]

I want DMC second season now...
After seeing Krauzer II trademark - tooth-guitar i was excepting satsugai too.

oh and on the other side - OP is annoying me deeply

Playing a guitar with your teeth comes from blues musicians, but it was really popularized by Hendrix, along with most of the other crazy play-styles. I thought Krauser II's trademark playing styles involved certain...other body parts.

The OP is indeed a deeply annoying song...but I can't stop listening to it for some reason.

[Xelbair]

Tooth-guitar epic solo in blues? Hendrix dosen't count - he is too awesome to be compared to anything(except Van Halen in skills) :]

[narutosharingan]

That was hilarious.

And it was good to see Mugi get more face time.

[KrayZ33]

The OP is indeed a deeply annoying song...but I can't stop listening to it for some reason.

whats wrong with the OP song?

I like it, not as good as the ED but still ok. The refrain and the part before they sing something about their skirts sound pretty good. The only annoying thing I could think of in this song is the keyboard which makes sounds similiar to my old Amiga or C64 :/

[Ryllharu]

whats wrong with the OP song?

The refrain and the part before they sing something about their skirts sound pretty good. The only annoying thing I could think of in this song is the keyboard which makes sounds similiar to my old Amiga or C64 :/

It's one of those annoying candy-rock songs that I've never really liked the style of. Like, it would be Top 40 music back in the late 60s or 1998. Bubblegum pop almost. The intro alone would probably keep it in rock rather than bubblegum pop. The intro, refrain and the "Octavu, tataku!(?)" parts are what makes me keep listening to it.

It's an annoying song because of the lyrics and the way that Aki Toyosaki sings the lead. That doesn't mean I can help myself from listening to it twice a day, especially at work with my good headphones.


Mio's lyrics, by the way are absolutely Bubblegum Pop.

[Kraco]

Mio's lyrics, by the way are absolutely Bubblegum Pop.

They were exactly the kind of lyrics some girl who has never before written any lyrics would come up with. I "liked" them (not the lyrics themselves but the fact he wrote them), because it's so funny and fitting the most serious and solid looking of the four would write something... bubbly like that.

[Kraco]

The next epoch in Mio's life:

Episode 6 - CoalGuys