k-on! 11
Categories: episodic review, k-on
Tagged: k-on
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Wait, only 1 episode left? Where did the time go?
So I’m watching this episode, and I’m thinking of classic 80s, 90s TV shows where there’s always an episode about infidelity. That episode might have gone with the mom and dad getting into some argument, and then suddenly, an old flame of the mom’s appears out of nowhere. The parents bicker more and spend more time apart, and the kids are notably troubled. The mom then has the fork in the road moment to have an affair with the old flame or go back to her husband. That’s what this K-On! episode reminded me of… Mio cheating on Ritsu with Nodoka with Asuza helpless in the middle. (The stuff about Yui’s guitar… well… side story filler.)
There’s only one problem. It doesn’t work in those classic TV shows. The infidelity episodes never made any sense to me… I’m watching Family Ties, and one episode has Alex P. Keaton (not to be confused with Alex Q. Keaton) comically buying an used car… and another episode has Mallory entering a beauty pageant… and sandwiched in between is a very special episode about infidelity? Just doesn’t fit. It’s like squeezing in an episode about shopping in the middle of the climax of a giant mecha space opera (oh wait…).
What’s worse about this episode of K-On! is that Kyoto tried applying their own special sauce (didn’t work) and deviated (again) from the tried-and-true formula (moe fanservice). I dunno. Four months ago, I had no opinion about K-On!. Now, I think that it’s going to be to 2009 what the Orlando Magic is to 2009… a great series that couldn’t close it out because of some boneheaded moves. Not showing Mio’s panties would probably be playing a super rusty Jameer Nelson over Skip-to-my-Lou…. this episode would be missing four important free throws at the end of game 4… and Eden of the East showing up with a gun and a Johnny would be the Fisher threes at the end of game 4.
Classic desperation bid for attention by the kid to stop parents from arguing. Honestly, I wonder what would have happened if Takumi tried this in Clannad instead of the almost suicide. Would his parents have sent him to some psychiatrist? Would it have led to Takumi trying to not just observe Tomoyo and Tomoya at the beginning of Tomoyo After but instead trying to start a really messed up threesome featuring him, his sister, and the real object of Takumi’s affections?
(Needless to say, Azu-nyan’s method might be an effective way to stop arguments. It’ll work on me.)
“You get to see Mio’s panties!”
Uh, wait? We do? I’ve seen no panties, Senator.
We waited with baited breath for widescreen episode 6…. and it didn’t deliver. I… I… I feel like an Orlando Magic fan. On one hand, I can’t complain about Stan Van Gundy in that he did get the Magic into the playoffs with 14 guys who can’t play defense… on the other hand, he’s screwing up badly in playing JJ over Lee… and definitely Jameer over Rafer. Just crushing. It sucks to be a Magic / Red Wings / K-On! / Sarah Palin fan right now.
(Thank Oyashiro-sama I’m only a K-On! fan.)
(I don’t understand Kyoto’s sudden “I don’t need you!” attitude towards fanservice. Puzzling, especially if you’ve watched the Tess OVA.)
Yui’s a cross between Clannad‘s Fuko and Married with Children’s Kelly with less sexual experience.
Though I loved Azu-nyan chewing her out. It’s like watching Kobe snap at Andrew Bynum. Never gets old.
And now we’ve entered the Twilight Zone. That’s the same face I have when I see a new batch of Mio fanservice fan art pop up on gelbooru…
… the same expression of joy…
… the same “Wait, I want to download just one more!!!” face.
Here’s the updated normalized percentage plot for this week. Notice how pretty much every K-On! member has been roughly the same in popularity, except Mio, who has been steadily declining since Azu-nyan? Azu-nyan has really eaten in Mio’s mindshare of the fan artists whereas Mugi, Yui, and Ritsu have been largely unaffected. I find this fascinating since I was wondering who in 2009 could dethrone Mio as the moe goddess.. and it just might as well be the Azu-nyan express.
(Keep in mind, we saw a similar pattern in Haruhi Suzumiya where Mikuru started off strong, but Yuki rules the roost three years later. Never underestimate the DFC… no wonder Rie Kugimiya can get so many roles so easily. But can Yuki take on Azu-nyan? Mmm… fan artists are fickle.)
Cute!
(Only the evolutionary Fuko would name her guitar “Guitah”. Isn’t that like naming my iPod “iPoddy” or my Diet Pepsi “Peppy”?)
Eh, Afterschool Tea Time fits them… though I liked Mio’s suggestions of “Pure Pure” and really like Mugi’s “Recharge Time.” I really, really like Mugi’s idea if Mugi were more of a fan of Fate/Stay Night.
Still can’t believe they stuck a jealous Ritsu crashing Mio’s and Nodoka’s threesome with Yui… but they cut the most epic joke of volume two where Yui tries to sell Mio to Sawa-chan such that Sawa-chan would repair her guitar.
Most appropriate DVD bonus skit for K-On!?
A. Learning how to play drums with Ritsu.
B. Learning how to play the piano with Mugi.
C. Bass Paizuri 101.
D. Guitar Spooning 101.
E. Adventures of Azu-nyan-chan where a mini-Azu-nyan rides on top of Yui’s head as they through a typical K-On! practice session. Hilarity ensues as Azu-nyan-chan drips cake crumbs on Yui’s head.
Can this be considered make-up sex between Mio and Ritsu?
(Or is it make-up sex, but botched to smithereens by Kyoto a la Fuwa Fuwa Time?)
ithekro: Sometimes I’d swear a few of these animation houses read this blog. The stuff they produce almost seems tailor made for Jason.
No way.
Obviously, if “they” read this blog, they wouldn’t have ditched the Bible Black faces for Minami-ke, they would have shown us Mio’s fanservice scene in episode 6, they wouldn’t have introduced Throne Gundams, they would have subcontracted to Shaft to draw any pinup shot of Mio in a bikini, they wouldn’t have played Jameer Nelson 25 minutes in game 4, they wouldn’t have skimped on hiring better instrument performers for Nodame, they would have given us more meido Mariya, they would have given us less Jigoku Shoujo, Higurashi, and Zero no Tsukaima and significantly more Kamen no Maid Guy, Detroit Metal City, and Hanaukyo Meido, they wouldn’t have waited three years between Haruhi Suzumiya series, they would give us a Lucky Channel Special Edition featuring Akira and Hosaka, they would have given us the Nayuki Ending, they would have animated a Touka and Karura hot springs special, they would have remade Kenshin, GTO, and Nadesico by now, they wouldn’t have cut Winry down by two cup sizes, they would have gone with the “Jack says you’ve got a great big cock, may I see it?” line in Eden of the East when the police officer wanted to see Taki’s Johnny in the first episode… and that’s just my preliminary list.
Skribulous: “Betrayed by Mugi†sounds like a kickass blog name.
Don’t tempt me. Though I prefer “Recharge Time.”
Andy Janes: I didn’t get at first why Mio is so scared of barnacles, until I remembered today what my biology teacher told me about them having the longest penis to body size ratio in the animal kingdom. From this we can deduce Mio is scared of penises, therefore Mio is a lesbian. Works for me!
Yep… these are my readers.
17 Responses to “k-on! 11”
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Isn’t there enough room on the Internet(s) for both Mio and Azusa to strattle a guitar together? Can’t they just kiss, make up, and continue on with their animated lives without a massive fanart battle that somehow involves people drawing the aformentioned with Juiz?
*Hint Hint*
I know, it sucks to be a Red Wing, Magic or Yankee fan right now (can’t stand them loosing against the Meets right now). Lucky for me to be a Cub’s fan… oh wait; we haven’t won a World Series in 101 years… damn.
I couldn’t stand Ritsu’s bitching in this episode. Come one, she was jealous about Mio and Nodoka’s new friendship, bullshit. Not only KyoAni betrayed us with Mio’s fanservice in episode 6 (missed a lot of opportunities in Clannad too), but gave us this crappy episode about Yui’s guitar and Ritsu’s jealousy towards Mio. To make matters worse, the next episode will be the last, what happened to episode 13? I don’t want another recap, just like Clannad, so please KyoAni, make me believe in you once again, like the old times.
If you would excuse me, I’ve some fanservice to watch (Queen’s Blade), so my Jonny can be happy for a while.
Ja ne!
Yep, I was disappointed by all the omissions here and there this episode. They cut Mugi’s laser glare! I hope they leave Ui’s bits in. The wet blanket jealousy thing was a real drag, definitely a momentum killer. I’m not sure what was gained by bringing the drama, I haven’t finished Kannagi yet because of similar issues.
Oh hey, the Detroit Metal City manga is out now, I’m about to order it.
Well, as K-On! comes to a close, there’s some questions to be pondered. At the moment it seems as though we have almost a Hare Hare Yukai vs. Don’t Say Lazy. Who wins? (I say Don’t Say Lazy for the Mioliciousness.) But yet, at the same time…
Who wins moe: Mio or Mikuru?
Who wins imouto? Ui or Imouto?
Who wins at tsukkomi? Azusa or Kyon?
Who just wins at life? Itsuki being a lesbian with Kyon or Mugi with Mugi-visionâ„¢?
Who beats EVERYONE by doing what you *know* we all wish we could do? Haruhi or Sawako?
These questions desperately demand answers.
It has been suggested that like Clannad, episode 13 will be considered an “extra” so that it doesn’t have to fit the plot-timeline exactly. (Episode 23 of both seasons of Clannad were like with). Some say there will be an episode 14 OVA on the last Blu-Ray disc of K-On.
.
End on a concert episode officiall, end for real on a standard slice of life episode….tease with a chance for fanservice in an OVA.
.
That actually might be the difference. The real Tessa fanservice was in an OVA rather than a normally aired episode. However the Fumoffu and TSR fanservice was still there (damn rubber ducky), as was the various acts of Mikuru cosrape in Haruhi….except of course for the full course where they used Yuki’s books as a censor’s tool. Never know just what KyoAni is up too. Maybe they had a change in ownership/director/policy. I’d have guess on the TV station regulations, but there are so many other anime out there that use fanservice that that can’t be the answer.
It might just be TBS. Clannad killed all fanservice in the source material too.
It might be worth noting that Haruhi isn’t airing on TBS…
The speed of their decision-making is still a lot to be desired, though.
Never fear, all of your concerns are most likely being deliberated on even as we post. Expect your suggested changes to be applied in 2-3 years.
Alex:
Mikuru. Mio might be the Queen of Moe, but Mikuru is the Great Arch-Goddess of Moe. Because Oharuhi-sama says so.
Ui wins for being useful, whilst both tie for the Moe.
KYON. He embodies tsukkomi.
I’d have to say Mugi-vision (TM).
And Haruhi wins, for she’s the one who turned Costume Raping into an art form; to quote: “This is so fun~, taking all your clothes off!”
Don’t say lazy wins for 1. MIOMIOMIOMIOMIO 2. Not being Oyashiro-damned annoying.
“Eh, Afterschool Tea Time fits them”
Was hoping it was something like “Black Vomit From Azazel’s Thirteen Satanic Cunts” since it was Sawako deciding. I’m disappointed.
You know, I didn’t think of “recharge” time until you mention Fate/Stay night. And then I thought of a new idea for the Ipod. If this was the world of that series I would love to have the “Ibunny”. Everybody would dying to get this device just so you can recharge it.
Of course the one who will be promoting the product will Mio and Azu-nyan. It will sell by the truckload when you see how you can power it up. And the best thing about it is you don’t need an outlet for it.
The episode started off good, but once they left the music store things went downhill faster than [insert NBA reference]. (Sorry, don’t watch sports.)
For the band name, meh. Would have preferred “Mio and Mugi Gone Wild”, “Sawako’s Playthings” or something in that vein.
Of course Mugi’s a F/SN fan. She was cosplaying Ilya back in episode 7.
KyoAni abandoned Mio ever since Azunyan came in, which really sucks. Mio had always been the best source of entertainment in K-ON but shes been neglected with the last few episodes focusing more on Azunyan.
I like Azunyan, but if shes cutting into Mio’s screen time then I don’t like her anymore :(
Why dio I ahve the horrible feeling that next week will end with the curtain raising like in Lucky Star with no concert footage? If that haapens here’s hoping that there a OVA/DVD special that is a full length concert episode. Overall I was unimpressed with the second half of this episode, Kyoani really shouldn’t devaiet from source material should they!
Its odd…the people who normally don’t like KyoAni actually like the second half of this episode, while those that like this show tend to not like the second half’s drama turn. Weird.
Yeah, I agree with Nekonron, too much focus in Asuza too little in Mio. Dissapointing… almost as dissapointing as the lack of epic Mio pantsu shot.
What’s with the bitching over not enough fanservice?
If you ask me the whole plot felt like yuri subtext fanservice. And we don’t need loads of fanservice for a show, I for one enjoy watching it for the interraction between Mio and Ritsu.
And really, if you’re only in it for the ‘fanservice’ how bout quit watching it if you want to see some animated panty flashes and stick to god damn porn.