Episode 11 continues the Sighs arc and we see the filming of the commercial and battle scene with Mikuru… in a Waitress costume…
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Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season – Episode 11 – Sighs Part II
moe
Moe (萌え) is a Japanese slang that refers to strong affection towards characters that are usually female.
Air – Episode 8 – Summer Arc Part 1
This episode is very enjoyable and who knew that that Kanna (or Kannabi no Mikoto) would have a personality of a Tsundere…. Although it’s abridged, Air in Summer two episode special covers more content over the abridged, two episode Summer Arc in the main series. It’s recommended to watching this episode before watching the Air in Summer special.
In this episode, Ryuya promises Kanna to go on a journey to find her mother and the three of them, Kanna, Ryuya, Uraha goes on a long journey to find her mother.
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Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season – Episode 10 – Sighs Part I
The airing of the first part of Sighs was a breath of relief since Endless Eight finally ended and a new story arc is now starting… this time, Sighs pretty much covers how the SOS-dan makes the amateur movie, “The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru.” This first episode was alright, but there are several things that bothered me about it. More after the jump.
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Mai’s and Sayuri’s Arc: VN and Anime Differences
Instead of wasting my time watching Endless Eight and ending up with unnecessary rage, I decided to play more of the Kanon visual novel and now this time… Mai’s and Sayuri’s arcs. Although there are a few differences from the Anime and the VN concerning Mai’s and Sayuri’s arc, they managed to adapt the whole arc with some changes… ones that will be mentioned below (contains VN spoilers)
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Shiori’s Arc: VN and Anime Differences
As I have mentioned several months ago about Shiori being my most favorite character and it still is… but I started on playing Shiori’s arc in the Visual Novel… but noticed some differences… but the anime seems to be very accurate and also left out some parts since Ayu is the principal character that Yuuichi ends up in the Anime.
This is what I noticed: (VN spoilers ahead)
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Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season – Episode 4… When will it stop?!
There is not much I can say for this… but this is what I can say:
Auuu~ Have watched the 4th episode, and I have the feeling that this is the worst episode so far… it’s almost a complete rehash of Episode 3. I know that summer supposed to repeat in Endless Eight and they want to make it so it repeat until they solve the mystery, but is it really necessary to have 3 episodes of the same story. I rather have them complete it in two episodes.
Because of the repeating of the same thing, I didn’t enjoy it that much… and I cannot give it a high rating, so I give it a 6.5/10 . I would give it a lower rating on the forums, but people would start complaining if I done that, but actually… It should really be rated 5/10
Hopefully the rest of the season don’t come out like this episode. This episode is a complete letdown for me.
Verdict
5/10 (lowest score ever for a Haruhi Episode… and I retracted my last rating, so it’s now 5/10)
Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season – Episode 3 Impressions
I thought Episode 3 would be exactly the same thing as Episode 2, but I was proven wrong… Apparently, Haruhi made the two weeks in summer in a ever repeating spiral time space which make the future not exist because of it. This Episode atleast have a good twist to it so it was more interesting, but at the same time, contained unnecessary fanservice that I protested earlier, but atleast it was not overdone. Regardless, the episode was more interesting than the latter part and hopefully Kyon solves the mystery of the repeating summer… and yes, 15,000+ repeats of the two weeks is alot.
Verdict
8.7/10
K-ON! (First Season) – Final Series Review
Notice: This is a review of the first season of K-ON I have written two years ago, not on the second season. A full review of the second season will be written in the near future.
After watching all 13 episodes of K-ON!, it is probably the most enjoyable slice of life/comedy/music anime so far in the spring season. Despite some drawbacks in a few episodes, the content of the series is pretty good and paired up with better animation than Lucky Star, K-ON! Is probably the 2nd best Kyoani comedy/slice of life series behind the Haruhi series.
Content
K-ON! Anime adaptation is adapted from the 4 panel manga which two are published so far up to this date and still continuing. The story involves with a new freshman named Yui and don’t know what club to join. Meanwhile Ritsu and Mio wants to join the light music club, but since there is a lack of members, the club was almost about to be cut. Soon, Tsumugi, a high-class girl who owns a music shop joins after changing her mind about joining the chorus club. Then, After Yui saw a poster on the light music club, she decides to join, but not able to play the guitar. After she obtained the guitar, over time she got better at playing. Club activities usually involve having tea and cake after school and cosplaying by Sawako towards the middle of the season. Next year, Azusa joined the club and soon they perform at the 2nd festival and named the band “Afterschool Tea Time” (or something like that)
Although there were a few instances of the beach episode being complete rehashes, the most of the series were different and also enjoyable with good comedy. In some report, the anime series cover 90% of the manga, although some of the content is made up to fill in the missing parts like in Lucky Star, it’s still good.
Animation
The animation style of K-ON! Is a mix between Haruhi and Lucky Star, but K-ON’s animation was a lot more detailed compared to Lucky Star. However, the animation is lacking a bit and not up to the beautifulness of Kyoto Animation’s Air, Clannad, and Kanon remake and the awesomeness of Haruhi and FMP.
Characters
In K-ON! We have the four main girls, including two others who play a part later of the series and also the irresponsible teacher, Sawako-sensei who rather drink tea and also cosplay with other members.
Many will find who watched Lucky Star that the character designs are very similar with some exceptions. Ui, Yui’s younger sister who is a lot more mature than Yui and takes care of her and Azusa-chan, a Tsundere, but not that much… and have a very timid personality.
Lucky Star to K-ON! Character Comparisons (for comparison
sake):
Tsukasa -> Yui
Kagami -> Mio
Miyuki -> Tsumugi
Konata -> Ritsu
Music
Although some will find the background music somewhat bland, the performances are the selling point of K-ON! The performance music and the single albums of K-ON! sound outstanding although there are a few instances. Another thing is that the OP and ED sold over 100,000+ copies within a few weeks which means that it’s proved as a success.
Conclusion
K-ON! is a great, lighthearted slice of life/comedy series that most people who are a fan of slice of life/comedy series should watch. However, some naysayers continuously said that the series is horrible… which isn’t the point. K-ON! may disappoint some because it’s not like Beck which have music performances frequently also with some fights, but if you look for what it is and have a open mind, you may end up enjoying it. Although some may be bothered by the moe factor in K-ON, the moe don’t bother me nor I have praised it because it have moe. However, if you enjoyed Lucky Star, you will definitely have no problem enjoying K-ON! Like Lucky Star, some people might want another season… but with the fate of FMP so far, not for awhile.
Overall Rating:
8.8/10, B+
K-ON! – Extra Episode Impressions
K-ON! Extra episode pretty much gave the same results as the Haruhi S2 Episode 2, Endless Eight with various people in the light music club doing their things which caused Yui to wanted to make a hotpot all alone with her younger sister, Yui during winter vacation. This involves with Azusa-chan taking care her friends cat, Mugi getting a part time job, Mio going to the beach and try to make up lyrics for the next song and Ritsu babysitting her younger brother. IIn the second part, they started to have trouble and eventually Yui texted all of them on hotpot ingredients and her getting a reply. In the end, all of them meet up at the fast food restaurant.
The episode was enjoyable and also somewhat mediocre like the Endless Eight, but it was still not a bad episode as some naysayers make it out to be. However, this episode is a lot better than some of the Lucky Star episodes.
Verdict
8.5/10
Final review on the whole K-ON! Season will be posted in the next post.
Interesting Findings
The computer Mio is using is the White Macbook which is made by Apple. It seems that K-ON! have alot of product placement throughout the series. A comparison
Another finding is that Ritsu looks wierd with the bangs down.
Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season – Episode 2 Impressions
After waiting for decent fansubs, It took me awhile, but I finally got on hold of good-enough fansubs. In this Episode, Haruhi decides to do a epic list of summer activities ranging from swimming, buying yukatas and going to the summer festival, goldfish scoping, fireworks, insect catching, bonfire dancing, and etc and able to do it in few weeks… but Kyon never finishes his homework after that..
I found the episode entertaining… and yes, it’s slightly better than the 2nd beach trip in K-ON!, but still not as exciting as I want it… and Endless Eight is probably the most mediocre chapter in the Haruhi light novel series. Regardless, it was a entertaining episode, so I will give the benefit of the doubt and give this episode a 8.5/10…
Also, Episode 2 revealed the new OP, which sounded okay, but I still perfer Bouken Desho Desho? still…
Verdict
8.5/10
K-ON Episode 12 – END
This is the final episode of K-ON (story wise, there are two more episodes, one airing next week and one on a DVD/Bluray) and the finale was done pretty decent dispite not pleasing some people who watch K-ON! for the wrong reasons which I will explain in a different post… but most will enjoy this light hearted series… never the less.
The Good
Ui impersonating as Yui: This is probably the funniest part in the first half of the episode… Yui’s younger sister, Ui look very similar to each other despite having very different personalities and Ui… surprisingly plays perfectly compared to her older sister.
However, her cover was blown after saying Azusa’s, Ritsu’s and Tsumugi’s name.
Yui’s obsession of fishing lobster: Nodaka tells them a story about Yui acting strangely and fishing for baby lobster. After Nodaka goes into the bathroom, she finds the bath tub filled with them… It’s pretty eccentric behavior to me… and also, hilarious.
Yui’s singing of Fawa Fawa Time: If you thought Mio sang that song well… I seem to like Yui’s version alot better… It kind of reminds me of Kyon’s Imouto singing in her Character Song Image album…. Not to mention, the performance was done pretty well…
And lastly…. Tsumugi’s picked radish eyebrows:
Now… The Bad
Slow Start: Although the second part was more exciting, the first part was a bit slow… until Ui impersonates Yui which is funny…
Unnecessary Cosplay scenes: Yes, I would count these cosplay scenes as fanservice, but wasn’t necessary for the final episode.
Ending Thoughts
Dispite a few things that bother me, the finale was outstanding… and it’s almost on the level of awesomeness of Haruhi’s performance…. However, some people might miss K-ON! like people missed Lucky Star soon after the season end and people who like this show will probably want more… just like the Haruhi fans want a second season which came true and hopelessly, the FMP fans who want a second season but haven’t got one… However, the manga of K-ON! is not ending yet… and more is coming so it’s highly recommended to read the manga to ease the pain of K-ON! ending… K-ON!, to me was a good experience with it’s flaws, but it’s a great lighthearted show after watching something tragic like Ef or any of the Key anime adaptations.
Verdict
9.4/10
K-ON! – Episode 11
With the festival approaching, crisis started to occur within the light music club.
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K-ON! Episode 10 Impressions
Azusa-chan ironicly having fun instead of practicing.
Since I’m two days late on the post, I won’t be doing a typical summary post and reaction… I’m just going to post my thoughts about this episode. The episode was alright and we learned more about Azusa’s “dere side” of Azusa’s personality, Episode 10 is a rehash of Episode 4 all over again with 20% more new content and differences from Episode 4. Yes, Mugi made the sandcastle again and Mio scared of barnacles… but what disappoints me the most is the lack of originality to Episode 4. What they should of done is make it a bit different and more interesting…. like have them actually practice more..
I pretty much agree with this author who pointed out the same thing to a certain degree…. Although I sorta enjoyed the episode, I was a bit disappointed to the above reason… they can do better than that… Yet”s hope the last three episodes don’t disappoint me towards the end of the season.
Verdict
8.3/10
Poll 5 Results: Azusa vs Mio
Last week, I conducted a new poll since Azusa have gained popularity due to the last few episodes and I want to see if the popularity of Mio would be effected. However, the results came out very close with Mio since she have a 5 point lead over Azusa. I expect that to change at the end of the season, but whatever…
K-ON! Episode 9
After Azusa-chan join the club, she finds that most of the members and the advisor of the light music club are laid back and don’t practice at all.
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Air – Episode 3
Yukito and Misuzu finds themselves in a field of wheat caused by Kano’s procession by a unknown curse at the shrine.
Mostly a Kano focused episode.
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Shiori Misaka – Why she is my most favorite Kanon Character.
Shiori Misaka is probably the most unappreciated character in Kanon considering how many people like the other girls: Ayu, Nayuki, Makoto, Mai. Shiori that I felt after watching her arc made me appreciate her more because she is the most “down to earth” girl compared to the others in Yuuichi’s harem (although technically Kanon is not really a stereotypical harem anime.) The main reason why I also like Misuzu and Nagisa is they are vastly similar to Shiori because of their tragic endings and also they don’t have friends until the male lead comes.
There is many things I like about her… her rather cute appearance, her love for ice cream and hate for spicy foods, and her rememberable catchphrase “I don’t like people who say such things!” when Yuuichi says rude things about her. Beside from the point, her story is a rather tragic one and after watching it made me appreciate her more because what would happen if you were sick and your sister/brother forgot about you because they are afraid of you dying when they get too close to you. Yeah, that would stink a lot, but people need stay strong and have a purpose to live and helping others will… That what Yuuichi, as a jerk he his sometimes, helps to make Shiori happy and remend the relationship with her older sister.
If you like Misuzu and Nagisa, I see less of a reason not to like Shiori after watching her arc… unless you into more moe types, Shiori remains to be my most favorite Kanon character.
Attribution infomation
Fanart used in this post is made by moonknives. original source
K-ON! – Episode 8
The Light Music Club gains another member… a Freshman…
Yes, I guess this week is busy with the new Episode of Haruhi aired yesterday, but it doesn’t mean that K-ON! isn’t a enjoyable show because Haruhi just aired…
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Suzumiya Haruhi Season 2 – Episode 1
Haruhi is back…. but a bit too overhyped… but doesn’t mean it’s not good….
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Cute Catchphrases…. So many of them.
Well, if moe anime is good, how about putting a bunch of cute catchphrases in it? I don’t watch a certain series because it have tons of moe in it, but what I did noticed when I was watching Kanon is that it’s filled with these catchphrases, the most famous being “Uguu~” which is imitated in one of the Lucky Star episodes.
Not just that, it seems every one of these series made by Kyoto Animation haves them.
Here is a rough list of all these presumed catchphrases for all the anime I have watched so far:
- Uguu~ – Ayu (Kanon)
- Nyuu~ Nayuki (Kanon)
- Fight-o dayo! Nayuki (Kanon)
- Auu~ Makoto (Kanon)
- “Liar” Nayuki (Kanon)
- Ahaha~ Sayuri (Kanon)
- Hae~ Sayuri (Kanon)
- Ehehe~ Various
- “I don’t like people who say such things!” – Shiori (Kanon)
- Gao~ Misuzu (Air)
- nyoro~n Churuya-san
- Anpan~ Nagisa (Clannad)
- “Are you a bully?” Kotomi (Clannad)
- “What the heck.” Kotomi (Clannad)
- Moe Moe Kyun! – K-ON!
So what is your favorite “cute” catchphrases?
Notice that I was bored, so I made this post…
K-ON! – Episode 7
Airheads and Santa Costumes don’t mix… in that case.
It’s finally Christmas Time, the best time of the year…
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I have seen the light: Misuzu is the most moe/cutest Key Female Lead
If you thought Nagisa from Clannad and Ayu from Kanon is the cutest/most moe… you are sadly mistaken… After seeing Air Episode 1, I have seen the light… Misuzu is probably the most cutest/moe female Key lead I have seen. Some may ask, I thought you don’t care about moe? Well, yes… I don’t… but this is an exception..
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Midseason Report: K-ON!
Missing Artist Infomation: help us out!
Since K-ON have 7 more episodes left and we are in the middle of the report, I should give my overall reaction to all 6 episodes I have watched so far.
(click read more to read the full report)
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K-ON! – Episode 6 – Nice Bowl Kyoani!
I just had to do it…
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