Review: K-ON!! 14

SURPRISE! :3

From the tone of my last K-ON!! review, you may have thought I despised this show. But it’s quite the contrary; I love K-ON!!. It’s chock full of laugh-out-loud humor and entertaining characters, and this week’s show was a great example of that. After my disappointment from last week’s subpar offering, this episode thoroughly rekindled my love for this series. It was filled with enjoyable humor and charm, and was a sheer delight from beginning to end.

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New K-ON!! OP and ED

The latest episode of K-ON!! has brought with it an entirely new OP and ED, replacing the much-maligned Go! Go! Maniac and Listen!! with fresh songs and animation.

Utau yo Miracle

No, Thank You!

I’m not too keen on the new OP; it strikes me as bland and forgettable. As for the new ED, I think it has promise, but I’d like to hear the full song before passing final judgement. I’ll have to wait, though, since the singles don’t come out until August 4th.

Review: K-ON!! 13

Let me say this now: the one real reason I started watching K-ON! at all was because everyone kept talking about it on Twitter. So I thought, “Hey! I wanna look cool, too! I should watch it!”  However, the second season has been a bit of a disappointment. It doesn’t feel like any major plot developments have come along in a while, and that’s reflected in this episode. K-ON!! 13 is doesn’t deviate much from the standard formula we’ve seen thus far.  There are a few different elements shown, but ultimately it’s just eye candy for the fans. I enjoyed it somewhat, but that was mainly because of Azusa in her swimsuit. But let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

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K-ON! is licensed by Bandai

Are they laughing with Bandai… or at them?

I’m still in shock.

Despite their financial woes, Bandai Entertainment has just announced at Anime Expo that they’ve acquired the rights to K-ON!‘s first season. There’s no word yet if it will be dubbed or released on Blu-ray. Bandai also announced a series of live-action K-ON! marketing videos similar to the ASOS Brigade series for Haruhi. For these, they’ve cast Christina Vee as Mio, Karri Shirou as Yui, “Kix” as Tsumugi and “Briana” as Ritsu.

Hang on a second… Christina Vee as MIO? She’s got a great singing voice, but their personalities couldn’t be more different. This is going to be most interesting…

I think it’s likely that Bandai will give K-ON! a dub, probably recycling many of the cast members from the Haruhi and Lucky Star dubs. However, in my opinion, their English version of “God Knows” was ear-splittingly painful, especially when compared to the original Japanese song. Given how music-oriented K-ON! is, I’m hoping they can track down some voice actors who can actually sing. Of course, I’d also be perfectly happy with a sub-only release.

Oh, and Bandai? If you try to pull the same “no Japanese audio track” crap that you did with Kurokami, I’m not buying it. Period.

[Via ANN]

Trailer for K-ON! PSP game revealed

The rumors are true! Sega, the makers of the wildy popular PSP rhythm game Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, are turning their musical talents towards making a K-ON! game. Check out the trailer below!

Like its Vocaloid-themed predecessor, K-ON! After School Live!! is basically a rhythm game set to the music of the hit anime. You can play as any of the five Houkago Tea Time band members, either solo or with up to four other friends. (Dibs on Ritsu!) The game is slated for a September 30th release in Japan, and priced at ¥6090 or approximately $68 USD. Sadly, there’s little chance of it being licensed in the English-speaking world, so us stateside K-ON! fans will have to import it.

This news is certainly exciting, but I’m still holding out hope for a DS K-ON! game. In my opinion, Nintendo’s handheld system is more suited to rhythm-based musical gameplay. Plus, just think of the possibilities with the touchscreen…

Ew, not like that. Perverts. >_<

New K-ON!! Single “Pure Pure Heart”

CD Japan’s listings have recently revealed new information about the upcoming K-ON!! single. You can preorder it here.

Pure Pure Heart
Release Date: June 2nd
Price: 1000 yen
Tracklist:
1. Pure Pure Heart
2. Sakuragaoka Joshi Kotogakko Koka (Sakura Girls High School Theme Song) [Rock Ver.]
3. Pure Pure Heart (instrumental)
4. Sakuragaoka Joshi Kotogakko Koka [Rock Ver.] (instrumental)
5. Pure Pure Heart (instrumental) [Guitar 1]
6. Pure Pure Heart (instrumental) [Guitar 2]
7. Pure Pure Heart (instrumental) [Keyboard]
8. Pure Pure Heart (instrumental) [Bass]
9. Pure Pure Heart (instrumental) [Drums]

[Via CD Japan]

K-ON!! OP and ED

The first episode of K-ON!! just finished airing in Japan. The speedsubs aren’t out yet, but fortunately we’ve got just the thing to take the edge off your moe cravings. Behold, the new K-ON!! opening and ending themes!

GO! GO! MANIAC

Listen!!

The singles of these songs will be released on April 28th by Pony Canyon.

I initially didn’t like the “Go! Go! Maniac” very much, but I think it’s starting to grow on me. It has a very infectious beat, like that damned Love Hina theme that always gets stuck in your head. As for “Listen!!”, I feel it’s kinda generic; definitely not as good as “Don’t Say Lazy”, but not all that bad either. Let’s hope the rest of K-ON!!‘s music is a bit more memorable.

Anyhoo, the buzz on Twitter seems to indicate the K-ON!! premier was a huge success. This will no doubt come as a relief to many otaku who have been nervous about Kyoani since last year’s Endless Eight debacle. Fortunately, it seems disaster has been averted… at least for now…

Which K-ON! girl is your favorite?

We’ve got a new poll! Let us know which K-ON! girl is your favorite by voting below or on our polls page. You can also head to our forums to discuss the series in more detail. Be warned, however… I can’t guarantee any of your safety if Ritsu doesn’t win.

Heh heh heh, I’m just kidding…. OR AM I!?

[poll id=”9″]

Another Record for K-On!

Tsumugi Kotobuki, Ritsu Tainaka and Azusa Nakano

Tsumugi Kotobuki, Ritsu Tainaka and Azusa Nakano

K-On!’s recent trifecta of character albums for Tsumugi, Ritsu and Azusa, which were released on August 26th, have made history by all appearing in the top 10 Oricon singles charts. This is the first time that three character album releases from the same anime have appeared in the top 10 together, earning K-On! another spot in the record books. Azusa Nakano proved to be the most popular, selling 28,000 copies for a #3 spot on the charts. Ritsu Tainaka followed close behind, coming in at #5 with 26,000 sales. Finally, Tsumugi Kotobuki brought up the rear, with 25,000 sales and a #6 ranking.

This is, naturally, only the latest in K-On’s long line of retail successes. It seems there’s no end to K-On!’s popularity… at least, until Kyoani figures out a way to ruin it for everyone.

–Via ANN