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R2 DVD Reviews
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Tuesday, 22 November 2011 00:00 |
 The Light Music Club are back for another four episodes of fun, and with the school festival coming up shortly they've got the perfect chance to show off their skills to the rest of the school. If they can just sort the paperwork out on time...
5 - Advisor!
Ritsu's found an old photo album in the club room, ofa previous incarnation of the Light Music Club, and it seems they were a very different outfit from the current bunch - although I don't know that death metal would really class as 'light music'. The club still need a teacher as an advisor, and when Sawako-sensei turns out to have some musical knowledge, the girls approach her to take them on. At first, she's not interested - but that old photo album turns out to have some useful blackmail material in it...
6 - School Festival!
It's the day of the school festival, and the girls' first live performance - lyrics and vocals by Mio, who's currently a nervous wreck at the prospect. It doesn't help that, when she arrives at the club room for pre-gig rehearsals, none of the other girls are there - they've all been roped into helping out with other activities.
7 - Christmas!
Ritsu's planning a Christmas party for the Light Music Club (admission 100 yen), and Yui's house has been selected as the place to hold it - if only because no-one else's was available. It's an added bonus that her parents will be out of the country at the time, and that Ui will be on hand to cook for them, honest. Which leaves the small matter of what Christmas presents people are going to buy...
8 - Freshman Reception!
A new school year means new students at the school, and the possibility of recruiting them to the Light Music Club. Ui, unfortunately, is resistant to her sister's approaches, but there are other possibilities - if they can just persuade Sayako-sensei to stop dressing them up as animals, thank you. And when freshman Azusa Nakano shows an interest, there's no way in hell they're letting her leave...
K-On! being K-On!, in a way there's not a lot to talk about this volume - the series makes a point of not being about very much, which makes it hard to write about without getting really repetitive. That said, there are a few particularly fun scenes this volume that are worth pointing out. The first of them revolves around the girls' recruitment of Sawako-sensei as their club advisor, with their use of very blackmail-able material from Sawa's own schooldays leading to a classic KyoAni corridor chase. And we all know who wins that one.
Scene two of note is the culture festival performance - one of the things I always wish the series did more of is actually letting you see the girls play, as the music used for the show is really quite good - as long as you don't read the translations of the lyrics, which are top-tier daft. One full song is all we get this time, but along with Mio's epic faceplant while walking off the stage, it's enough to make for a really worthwhile episode that does something a little different from the usual.
Finally, we get the introduction of Azusa, who has always been my favourite member of the club. We have to wait until next volume to really see her get involved (and see Yui & Ritsu's teasing of her really get into gear), but hey, she's here, and the show in 20% better as a result. From there, though, we're into familiar territory of the girls getting together and simply goofing off - great fun to watch, less so to write about. Sometimes it's the simple ideas that are the best, and K-On!'s core idea is as simple as it gets - and, correspondingly, great fun. Even if you'll forget a lot of it straight after you've watched it. Just the sort of thing to watch when you want to wind down.
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