K-On!!

It is the new year, which means that the senior members of the Light Music Club are now third-years, with Azusa Nakano being the only second-year. The seniors soon realize that Azusa will be the only member left once they graduate and decide to recruit new members. Despite trying many methods of attracting underclassmen—handing out fliers, bringing people into the clubroom, and performing at the welcoming ceremony—there are no signs of anyone that plans to join.

While heading to the clubroom, Azusa overhears Yui Hirasawa say that the club is fine with only five people and that they can do many fun things together. Changing her mind, she decides that they do not need to recruit any members for the time being.

K-On!! revolves around the members of the Light Music Club as they experience their daily high school life. From rehearsing for concerts to just messing around, they are ready to make their last year together an exciting one!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hirasawa, Yui Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Akiyama, Mio Main

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Nakano, Azusa Main

Taketatsu, Ayana Japanese

Kotobuki, Tsumugi Main

Kotobuki, Minako Japanese

Tainaka, Ritsu Main

Satou, Satomi Japanese

Hirasawa, Ui Supporting

Yonezawa, Madoka Japanese

Yamanaka, Sawako Supporting

Sanada, Asami Japanese

Manabe, Nodoka Supporting

Fujitou, Chika Japanese

Suzuki, Jun Supporting

Nagata, Yoriko Japanese

Tainaka, Satoshi Supporting

Itou, Mika Japanese

Hatta, Youko Producer

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Tafu, Naohiro Producer

Nakayama, Yoshihisa Producer

Reviews

Jul 31, 2025

cuepid

Recommended

despite not being listed as such, this anime serves as the embodiment of the slice-of-life genre. it is perfectly simple, cloyingly cute, and, though not action-packed or very story heavy, manages to keep you watching.

for an anime that follows four, eventually five, girls in a music club, i do wish the musical aspect was more prominent. that isn't to say it's disappointing! just don't go into this expected something deeply focused on music. it is more just a sweet slice-of-life showcasing friendships with the backdrop of music, songwriting, and performance.

i remember when i was young, i scoured youtube endlessly for songs from this show, ... incessantly singing them in japanese, much to the dismay of my parents (sorry about that!). there are many hidden treasures that disappointingly were not included in the actual show (hello little girl, sweet bitter beauty song). all of the main characters, including two side characters (ui and nodoka), have their own 'character songs' that all are themed to fit their personalities. very unfortunate that there were so many songs that were not shown in the show! even now i find myself humming 'fuwa fuwa time' or 'cagayake!GIRLS', proving just how catchy ho-kage tea time's music is, continuing to live in my head years later.

both the artstyle and characters are simple yet memorable, which seems to be a common theme here. i don't have much to comment on regarding these two aspects. the girls are MOE!

if you just want cute girls doing cute things and making cute music without anything inappropriate, ecchi, or annoying, i think you can't help but enjoy this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 29, 2025

alejandefd

Recommended

This series is the perfect example of slice-of-life. The protagonists and their relationship grow much stronger this season. The girls' everyday situations are very entertaining, along with a setting and animation worthy of the great kyoani. The setting and relationships feel very real. I highlight the development of Azusa's relationship with the other girls in the group, as well as the graduation plot and how Azunyan carries it out.
This series will make you fall in love with the characters; all of them have their own unique way of being or acting, and they all have personalities.
It's very enjoyable even for those who aren't fans of ... the genre; the ultimate slice of life.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 11, 2025

patkarunungan

Mixed Feelings

I gave K-On! a chance, and after watching two seasons totaling 39 episodes, I've concluded it's not for me.

Let's start out with the good. The girls are really cute — not in a sexually attractive way, but each with her own unique quirks. Yui is a scattered brain. Ritsu has ideas but she can get clumsy. Mio used to be shy, but she is quite popular now. Azusa has a Type A personality and is often the voice of reason, but she has learned to relax around the other four girls.

Their character designs are well made so that, even if you watch other shows, ... especially other moe/CGDCT, you will still remember their faces if somebody mentioned K-On!

The animation and art direction look normal. There are no cheap shortcuts such as blanking their faces and rarely do you see the faces of people in a wide shot get no details. This used to be normal, but it's getting rarer nowadays.

KyoAni has a reputation for producing beautiful animation, but as far as I see it, it's not really that beautiful in K-On! It's just normal, and I don't remember meaningful framings that make you think that more is being communicated at the subtextual level.

Now for what I find unpleasant. It's not bad because it has no plot. It's not pleasant to watch, as far as I'm concerned, because we have brainless characters. Perhaps that's the point, and some may like it and others like me may not. It's wholesome but brain-dead.

(It is for this reason that I dislike mono as of the first four episodes because it reminds me painfully of K-On!, an anime where the girls act so random and all over the place, whilst something like Food for the Soul is better. The latter at least has some logickal coherence and the characters have some brain.)

Despite my dislike for K-On!, it may still be worth seeing if it's for you. It's quite foundational when it comes to CGDCT/moe. I like it when later CGDCT display some brain or thought in their actions, but I dislike them when they are clearly aiming to be a cheap imitation of K-On!


NOTA BENE: A grade of 3 out of 10 means that I did not enjoy watching this anime despite being either well-regarded or at least popular, or perhaps I happened to rank them below my 4's.

My enjoyment spectrum lies from 4 to 10. If I have scored an anime below 4, I actively dislike it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: K-ON!! Episode 26 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) zimno - Sep 28, 2010	246 replies	by whitebeartigtig »» Aug 30, 10:59 AM
	Poll: K-ON!! Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) tsubasalover - Sep 21, 2010	138 replies	by whitebeartigtig »» Aug 30, 10:33 AM
	Poll: K-ON!! Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) phalange - Sep 14, 2010	357 replies	by whitebeartigtig »» Aug 30, 10:05 AM
	Poll: K-ON!! Episode 23 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) zimno - Sep 7, 2010	152 replies	by whitebeartigtig »» Aug 29, 9:51 AM
	Poll: K-ON!! Episode 22 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) zimno - Aug 31, 2010	159 replies	by whitebeartigtig »» Aug 29, 9:21 AM

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