[Written in December 2017]
Just recently I started to get interested into the animes made by Kyoto Animation, popularly known as KyoAni. Their impeccable animation work and stories focused on the characters’ daily lives caught my attention.
Their third series I watched is maybe their most famous, seeing as it is widely known by anime fans and by casual watchers. I’m talking about K-ON!, yes, the animation about cute girls drinking tea and eating sweets that was extremely successful and left a permanent mark in the anime industry. But how something with such a banal premise made such a big impact? Is it really solely about cute girls doing cute things?
CHARACTERS
K-ON! presents us the lives of five girls that are members of the Light Music Club, playing some pop rock tunes that are able to shake the whole school. They form a band called Ho-kago Tea Time, which translates as After School Tea Time. This name says a lot about the group since drinking tea and eating tasty cakes is what they do the most. They practice only when they feel like it.....if they feel like it.
The singer and lead guitarist is Yui Hiwasawa, a clumsy and extroverted girl, lover of sweets and cute things that only learned how to play her instrument when she entered the club by accident! Despite this, she fell in love with the instrument in a literal level, because she spoils, dresses and even sleeps with her guitar, nicknaming it Giita.
The club’s president and drummer is called Ritsu Tainaka. Upbeat and cheerful, she can’t stand still for much time and loves to play pranks on her friends, always taking a beating when she does so. Her biggest inspiration as an instrumentalist is Keith Moon, The Who’s drummer, so she does have good musical taste.
The third member is Mio Akiyama, bassist and also vocalist. She’s shy and gets easily frightened, but is beautiful and charismatic, winning hearts all over the school to the point she gets a fan club. Even though she’s the same age as the other girls, she’s the most mature of them, trying to make them not lose focus, but she is usually unable to do so and gives in to the after school tea time’s temptation.
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| Notice how much effort is put into animating the movements needed so she can adjust the bass to her body. It’s incredible. |
On the keyboards we have Tsumugi Kotobuki, nicknamed Mugi by the girls. A sweet and affable girl, she’s responsible for the club’s distractions in not being able to practice, because she’s the one who brings to the room the most delicious teas and sweets. Coming from a very wealthy family, she’s fascinated by the ordinary, that is, by everything related to the mundane life of the lower middle class, like going to a fast food, visiting a cheap sweets shop, getting a part-time job, among other stuff.
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| Any small thing, as little as it may be, amuses her easily. |
After a whole year in the club, the girls tried their best to find a fifth member. Their incredible performance at the freshman reception caught the attention of a first year student and then the band got their new member – Azusa Nakano, rhythm guitar. She tries to follow Mio’s steps in trying to keep the band focused, even with her being the youngest one. But even she loses her focus when someone puts cat ears on her or when she gets hugged by Yui.
Every club needs an adviser. In Light Music Club’s case it’s the teacher Sawako Yamanaka, a handsome woman that tries her best to seem diligent and well-behaved, qualities that she really has, but there’s one side of her personality that only the band’s girls know about. An insane and wild side from when she was a member of the same club years ago. At that time, the music they played was far from being light – instead, it was a destructive heavy metal that would make Pantera jealous. Sawako was the guitarist and would go as far as to play her instrument with her teeth.
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| One of her biggest hobbies is making the girls wear embarrassing costumes. |
Yui got a childhood friend that accompanies her in every school she studies since kindergarten, Nodoka Manabe. The opposite of her airheaded friend, Nodoka is an intelligent and studious girl, member of the student council, of which she becomes president in third year. Even though their personalities are a no-match, she tries her best to help Yui and her club whenever they get into troubles. If it wasn’t for her, Miss Hirasawa would have a crayon in her stomach to this day.
Another person close to Yui which personality contrasts is her younger sister, Ui Hirasawa. She’s a fantastic housewife! While her sister is lying down on the floor like a potato, Ui washes clothes, cleans the house and prepares food. But if there’s something she does even better than taking care of home is to love her sister. The affection she feels for her is impossible to be measured; there’s nothing that makes her happier than to see she smiling and nothing gets her more worried than her airheaded older sister. She even went to the same high school as her to always stay close to her.
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| Judging by their personalities, it’s like if Ui was the older sister and Yui the youngest. |
When they entered school, Ui and Azusa fell into the same class. Their group included another girl, Jun Suzuki, a restless and upbeat girl with a keen sense of irony. She considered entering the Light Music Club before Azusa, but the club’s members crazy antics didn’t leave a positive impression on her, which is to be expected of anyone with the least amount of sanity. Of course she regretted later when she found out that Azusa was drinking imported tea every day, but then it was already too late.
The series’ two seasons covers 3 years of these characters’ lives. Even though the main focus is the band’s girls, the other characters I mentioned also stand out frequently during many moments, to the point they have episodes focused on them. Even some completely minor characters are approached interestingly, such as the Occultist Club members. During the first season, one episode shows them as humble first year students, still starting their activities. In the second season we now see them as third year students with completely different attire and a well-produced room.
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| We can compare their evolution to the familiar faces we know but rarely see, making their changes much more perceptible for us. |
STYLE
When I said K-ON! left a permanent mark in the anime industry I was referring to the fact that this was the work that made the moe style popular, used to refer to anime with extremely cute characters being cute. I believe we only see the girls practicing or playing for real in about 30% of the series – the other 70% are reserved to several moments of their daily lives, like taking care of a turtle, trying to keep focused on studying to a test, getting a part-time job, going to the beach or to a summer festival, doing a pillow fight during a trip, taking part in a marathon and much, MUCH more.
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| And there’s also devastating moments such as this one. An unparalleled act of cruelty. |
I gotta say the anime wasn’t pleasing me during its first episodes. That’s a problem of the first season – while the second season covers 1 year in 26 episodes, the first covers 2 years in 13 episodes. Because of that, everything happens much faster than they should, what made it difficult for me to assimilate the content properly, especially regarding Yui’s guitar abilities that are approached in kind of a superficial way.
However, their friendship is portrayed so honestly it’s difficult not to be taken by the positivity of this relationship. It’s such a light and heartwarming work that makes you feel comfortable watching it, besides the fact it leaves you with a big smile on the face during every episode. I understand people not liking K-ON!, after all, this style doesn’t pleases everyone, but how someone can hate it goes beyond my understanding. You got to be heartless.
The anime is not very realistic in a sense that there are no moments of conflict and drama, but that’s not its purpose. The work was made for you to have fun, no matter what problems you are facing in life. It’s a form of escapism from the harsh reality, but a form that can help you face it with the best tool possible – a smile on your face. One can argue that any comedy series can fulfill this purpose, but K-ON! stands out from these with its sentimental power – the bond between the girls.
Even though it’s completely acceptable one loving the anime because of its humor and cute characters, there’re many nuances below the surface that make it even more special. In K-ON!, a moment of silence can tell much more of a character than several minutes full of dialogues. A look, a smile or a simple gesture can transmit everything a character is feeling or thinking. It’s in these details that this anime’s realism can be found.
Even the most naïve plot has a purpose, as subtle as it can be, like the episode in which Mugi wants to be smacked. If you analyze it superficially it’s just a silly and funny plot, but this sudden wish of hers comes from her yearning to have more physical contact with the girls, 'cause she notices how this makes them closer one to the other. You can feel how K-ON!’s characters are genuinely human, something few animations can transmit with such ease.
Those who complain about this work’s lack of realism fail to notice how several moments are handled with such delicacy. These make we see these characters like if they were persons like us, as with the scene below. Who never kept talking and laughing after the lights were turned off while sleeping in a friend’s house during infancy or adolescence? An ordinary scene, but relatable, enhanced by the silence of the night and by the girls’ laughs. There’s even a spontaneous snort by Mugi. A moment so natural it feels like a real life recording and not an animation scene.
But nothing I mentioned here would be possible if it wasn’t for the exceptional work of one of the main roles in the production of an animation.
DIRECTION
K-ON! exceeded every expectations I had, but the aspect that fascinated me the most was the direction. I never thought that an anime with such a simple premise would have such a sensible direction, full of subtleties, but that’s how the director Naoko Yamada works. She doesn’t hesitate in humanizing the characters by formidably exploring the space they’re inserted and their body language.
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| Even the slightest detail has its meaning, such as this ladybug – it represents the light and pleasant environment the Light Music Club room is. |
The scenes I included in the last section are great examples of Yamada’s masterful direction; so is the following scene. Shots that show the empty school rooms, desks with no one in them, an umbrella resting on the wall, a girl preparing her musical gear and a walk to the school makes us feel this early morning perfectly, enhanced by the incredible lighting work. But the main attraction is Yui’s improvised performance, with shots that explore her body language and transmit with excellence the character’s emotional state.
Another fantastic example is this kind of "post-school" background shots during noon that are shown frequently. The empty classroom, the girls chatting by the sunset light... It's easy to feel the moment. Especially in this case, right after a festival that mobilized the entire school, in which everyone got tired. And there they are, chatting and resting after so much effort they put... It's so pacific... A shot that lasts like 3 seconds is able to convey all these sensations.
I already said this, but I’ll say it again – one of the most fascinating aspects of this series are the shots that explore body language. In many moments we’re shown what the characters are feeling though small gesticulations, like uneasiness in their feet, a side-look, hand movement… It’s not only through facial expression that people express their feelings and K-ON! approached this masterfully.
Of course, KyoAni’s incredible animation work is crucial to the anime’s quality. Observe below how her lifting up is meticulously animated with such detail and realism. Animating this kind of trivial movement is this studio’s specialty. Most studios would probably cut to her close up shot as soon as she started lifting up, while here we see the full movement.
Here’s another example, now with an acting overflowing with expressiveness. Observe her mouth and the look on her face. Seriously, this gives me chills. There are few studios that can animate such convincing and expressive acting to the point you can feel the character’s emotions without the need to hear what she’s saying.
Yamada’s impeccable direction is the main factor that makes it possible for us to see the characters as human beings living their lives just like us and allows us to feel acquainted to the environment they live as if they were places we once visited.
MUSIC
Something people need to have in mind while watching K-ON! is that it is not a work about music, but about friendship. The development of the girls’ personalities and their interaction is the main focus. But music surely is immensely important in their lives, as it is in ours, because it is the bond that keeps them connected with such synergy.
But before talking about the songs they play as a band during their high school years, I would like to talk about the opening and ending themes. All of them – 8 in total, if you count the movie – are fantastic and extremely catchy. I could save a paragraph to each one of them, but I like them almost equally. Highlights to the Cagayake!GIRLS section in which the names of each members are sung, the killer guitar solo of GO! GO! MANIAC, the cute sounding orchestra of Ichiban Ippai and the cool attitude of Don’t Say Lazy.
However, if there’s a opening that deserves a paragraph it's the third opening, Utauyo!! MIRACLE. What makes it so special, besides the song itself, is the accompanying animation. It’s like if it was a music video the girls produced themselves, presenting their names and the instruments they play. They put a performance to their classroom and images of what they do best – having fun – are shown. This is the opening that better embodies the series’ spirit; the music emanates an energizing positivity that always makes me want to do the same movements as Yui when I listen to it on the street. And this smile could put an end to a war.
The endings’ animations also deserves a paragraph. They’re like high budget music videos by famous artists, with several special effects and stylish costumes. But what always catches my attention in these is how Ritsu acts like if she was a cool girl, contrasting with her real cheerful personality.
In K-ON!’s case, not only opening and ending songs remind you of the series while listening to them in your daily routine, but also the songs played by the girls themselves. They’re songs that represent their personalities and unforgettable moments of their lives, composed with body and soul.
Everytime I listen to Ho-kago Tea Time’s songs a huge smile opens up on my face, because they capture beautifully the essence of these girls’ chemistry that makes their friendship so special. The band plays a pop rock with some punk and hard rock influences with lyrics that are a little.....different from what you expect when you listen to the instrumental. Nearly all of their songs talk about love, food and, of course, the delicious tea and sweets combo that gave the group their name.
It’s hard not to be happy with the joyful aura their songs emanate. Pure Pure Heart and Watashi wa Koi no Hotchkiss with their cheesy love lyrics are like Mio herself, Curry Nochi Rice and Gohan wa Okazu are like love letters the girls wrote about their feelings for curry and rice, while Fude Pen ~Ball Pen~ is literally a love letter to a pen that’s being used to write a love letter.
Not every song by the band is played during the series. Some can only be listened in the studio album Ho-kago Tea Time II, released after the second season ended. A detail I consider fantastic is that references to some of these songs are made during the anime – some lyrics excerpts are shown during the girls’ reunions to think of new songs (Fuyu no Hi [ep. 13 season 1], Tokimeki Sugar [ep. 7 season 2]) and one of them, Honey Sweet Tea Time (one of my favorites), is even shown with its melody being presented to the girls by Mugi.
But there’re three songs that need to be talked about individually. The first one is Fuwa Fuwa Time (Fluffy-Fluffy Hour). This is the band’s main song, their biggest hit, like We Are the Champions is for Queen and Money for Nothing is for Dire Straits. It was the first song they composed and the initial reaction to Mio’s lyrics was shown in season one’s episode 5. Sawako-sensei and Ritsu didn’t react positively; they thought they would die of diabetes, but Yui and Mugi loved it. The thing is even the lyricist got embarrassed when she found out she would have to sing her creation live!
Kimi wo miteru to itsumo HEART DOKI DOKI (When I look at you, my heart always goes thump-thump)
Yureru omoi wa MARSHMALLOW mitai ni fuwafuwa (This shaking feeling is fluffy-fluffy, like a marshmallow)
The lyrics may be silly, but what makes it so special is that it was the key all the important moments of the band, like the first year festival, which was their first performance and a moment of overcoming, especially to Mio. Then during the second year festival, in which Yui arrived late; the first time they performed together with Azusa and even performed an improvised encore due to the energy everyone was feeling from that incredible moment. And there was other performances they made that provided a fuwa fuwa time to them and to the audience.
It is aptly the last song we hear in the movie’s end credits, K-ON!’s farewell after 41 episodes of pure happiness. If you didn’t get emotional with the song during any moment it played previously, this is where you give in to the tears of joy.
One of the most emotive songs is U&I. The title, an abbreviation of You and I, also forms the name Ui, Yui’s sister, whom this song is dedicated to. Yui composed it one day when Ui got sick and couldn’t do anything. It was when she noticed how her younger sister is important to her and how she would miss her if she disappeared from her life. This reason would solely be enough to fill the eyes with tears of those who know the relationship between these two, but Yui did her best to express everything she felt from the bottom of her heart through the lyrics.
KIMI ga soba ni iru dakede itsumo yuuki moratteta (Simply being by my side you've always given me the courage)
Itsumade demo isshoni itai (I wanna be with you forever and a day)
Kono kimochi wo tsutaetai yo (I wanna tell you that this is how I feel)
Hare no hi ni mo ame no hi mo (Whether under the sun or under the rain)
KIMI wa soba ni ite kureta (You were always there when I needed you)
Me wo tojireba KIMI no egao kagayaiteru (Whenever I close my eyes I can see your smile shining brightly)
With this fraternal purpose and for having debuted during the girls’ last performance at the school festival, the feelings this song portrays overcomes us from our head to our toes and are converted into buckets of tears. U&I is a love letter written with all the passion in the world.
And then we have the final song, Tenshi ni Fureta yo! (We touched an angel!). This is literally the final song, because it was the final time they played together as the Light Music Club on the graduation day, the last day of class. It’s a farewell song to Azusa, conceived secretly by the girls as a surprise to the band’s younger member. I don’t think I need to say that my eyes and Azusa’s were like a waterfall during their performance.
demo ne, aeta yo! suteki na tenshi ni (But hey, we met one! A wonderful angel)
sotsugyou wa owari ja nai (Graduation isn't the end)
kore kara mo nakama dakara (We're buddies from here on out!)
issho no shashintachi (Pictures of us together)
osoro no KIIHORUDAA (Our matching keychains)
itsumademo kagayaiteru (Will shine on forever)
zutto sono egao arigatou (And always, we thank you for your smile)
Their relationship with Azusa and vice-versa is so intense that the main plot of the movie isn’t their trip to London but the composition of this song. We see their diligence in making sure Azusa doesn’t find out what they’re doing and how the sight of a white dove flying in the skies after a sudden wind current gave them the word "angel" to describe their precious friend.
K-ON! may not be a series that properly approaches the hardships of music making, but if there’s something it knows to approach is feelings. Joy, gratitude, happiness, kindness... When you connect all of these feelings to this powerful medium that is music, the result is a product that installs itself in your heart, capable of illuminating your road.
tobikiri no yume to deai kureta (We were able to encounter an extraordinary dream)
ongaku ni arigatou (So we say thank you to music)
eki no HOOMU kawara no michi (The platform at the station, the path by the riverside)
hanaretete mo onaji sora miagete (Even if we're apart, we can look up at the same sky)
YUNIZON de utaou! (And sing in unison!)
*tears wiped* And I almost forgot to talk about the background music! They’re very pleasant and joyful compositions that matches perfectly with the series content. I believe some of them work as therapy because of how relaxing they are, such as Karui Joudan, Cotton Candy and Crepe wa Ikaga? (this one reminds me of the Animal Crossing games’ soundtrack a lot), while others make me euphoric, such as Doki Doki Friday Night, Pinch Daisuki and Tanpopo Takkyubin, and some of them are Yui personified in sound waves, like Happy languidness and Patrol of stroll. But there’s no doubt that the most remarkable tune and the one that reminds me the most of K-ON! is this one:
INSPIRATION
If you, a skeptical person who criticizes K-ON! without having watched it, still isn’t convinced about this work’s value even after all I wrote, I would like to show two posts:
https://www.reddit.com/r/k_on/comments/7knfa0/how_many_of_you_have_picked_up_an_instrument_or/
https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=77470&show=0
These posts shows several stories of people that were inspired by this series’ content. Yes, this silly anime about girls drinking tea and eating cakes awakened an interest in their lives, something that can be used to develop talents, personal fulfillment and even professional fulfillment. I myself will buy a keyboard this year, an instrument I always wanted to learn, but my experience with K-ON! was one of the triggers that made me finally decide to buy it and who knows if I will develop a new passion, as it happened with a little girl we know...
The first season may be pretty inferior to the second one, but if there’s something incredible in it is to watch its first episode and then the last one and notice how much Yui matured. When she entered high school she didn’t have anything that would motivate her to do anything useful in her life, but as she entered the Light Music Club and started to play guitar, all her actions started to reflect on this new activity that started to shape her life. In the first episode she runs aimlessly to the school, without any worries. In the last episode she runs determinedly with a sole purpose in mind – taking a step further with her performance at the festival.
Yui finds something she loves to do when she starts playing guitar, something that changes her life. This passion, also shared by the other girls and evident in their compositions and performances they give together, is possibly this anime’s most important aspect and what makes it so inspiring to me, to the people in the posts I shared and who knows to how many more hundreds of people out there.
CONCLUSION
K-ON! is definitely not a anime solely about cute girls doing cute things. Underneath this premise there’s a sentimental and inspiring work, full of subtle details, with a humane and sensible direction, done with a lot of passion and affection. To all who criticize the work for its cutesy stuff and lack of drama, all I can do is leave you with the following words of wisdom:
-by Vinicius "vini64" Pires
Check out my other writeups about KyoAni's works:
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