Avalon: K-On! Review

K-On! from what I’ve heard has been compared to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya quite a lot and I ask why? K-On is not as good as Melancholy. Okay, maybe the characters are about as entertaining in both (at least in a slice-of-life sense), but that is it. I’m not saying I dislike K-On! because I don’t, but it is just not as amazing as a lot of people seem to think it is.

Animation – 8/10
This anime is animated nicely and characters move well enough. Not too much to say here.

Art-style – 8/10
One thing I do notice while watching this anime and others from this season is that this anime does not have a super crisp picture like say Phantom or Basquash!, but a little more like Pandora Hearts where it is somewhat…washed-out? Not as bad as Pandora Hearts though and not saying its a bad thing but just something I noticed…or maybe I’m just watching shitty quality. Pretty much all the girls are cute! Even the longer haired girls who I don’t like as much are still cute. I liked the art-style.

Sound – 8/10
I personally didn’t really care all that much for any of the songs in this anime. I didn’t hate them, but they weren’t anything I had to go and download. There were a couple live performances of our girls in this anime and they only had 2 or 3 songs…I guess that isn’t too bad considering it is only 13 eps, but for a music anime one would normally expect there to be more full songs…though I guess this focused more on the slice-of-life side than the music side. As for voice-acting it was done well. None of the characters had voices that didn’t fit them and emotions were well-done.

Wow, no youtube linked music this time even from a music anime?!?

Story – 7/10
There really wasn’t too much of a story. The adventures (aka everyday life) of the Light Music Club members. Like I mentioned above, there were a couple of performances, but most of the time it focused on the antics of one or all of the clubs members as they went places together or practiced (at least attempted to practice) playing music. It isn’t boring though because the girls are fun to watch and their actions can be quite funny and entertaining.

Characters – 9/10

The characters are fun. I liked everyone and disliked no-one. Here they all seem to be wearing different costumes.

The president and drummer of the Light Music Club is Ritsu and she is a trickster. She loves to play jokes and have fun which often times makes her forget important things regarding the club.

Ritsu’s best friend, 2nd member, and bassist (I think) of the club is Mio. She is always the brunt of Ritsu’s jokes because she is terrified by pretty much anything. She will curl up into a ball and sit in a corner all day after one of Ritsu’s jokes if someone lets her. She is pretty much the one who makes the group practice (which still isn’t often).

Mugi is the 3rd member of the club and plays keyboard. She is from a rich family so she always brings tea, cakes, and other snacks to club meetings and all band camps take place at one of her family’s beach houses.

Yui is the 4th member of the club and plays guitar…eventually. When she first joins the club she can’t play crap except for castanets, but she still joins and becomes a decent guitar player. She is the ditsy one who is made out to be stupid, but able.

Asuza is the 5th and final member who joins somewhat later in the anime and she is similar to Mio where they both want more music and less screwing around. She gets quickly converted however and learns to live with it.

Other characters include Yui’s little sister Ui who is the complete opposite of Yui. Ui is mature and very responsible and trustworthy. Yui’s best friend Nodoka is a member of the student council and often helps the club out of tough situations (like forgetting to fill out and turn in forms).

Yui is always depending on Ui!

Enjoyment – 7.5/10
I did enjoy this anime, but not to the point of saying it was the best this spring season or comparable to Haruhi. I like all the characters and while there isn’t too much of a story on the music side, the slice-of-life elements are well done and make this anime enjoyable. Small comedic moments will make you smile and it doesn’t feel too overdone.

Overall – 7.5/10
Main reason this anime is so likable is because of the characters. I don’t regret watching this, but if you’re looking for a deep story or pretty much anything other than slice-of-life with a little music thrown in and maybe comedy, then you won’t enjoy this. For a light-hearted anime however it was well worth it.

This picture is awesome and I would definitely watch it if this version was real.

~ by Avalon on July 6, 2009.