K-On! Movie

Many people have found themselves wondering what truly qualifies as something exemplary. For some, this kind of quality is attributed to titles with deep themes and complex storytelling, and for others it may be something as subjective as what's "fun". What can be agreed by everybody though, is that no matter what the nature of a title is, when the inherent quality is up there it’s going to shine through in the story. It’s going to make the audience feel something of significance and it’s going to leave them awed and speechless when the credits roll.

And when the credits roll in the K-ON movie, you ... know that you just witnessed something great.

After over a year since the second season of the anime finished its airing, KyoAni has released their final work for their famed K-ON adaptation. A movie with anime-original content or "filler" is something that normally carries a very negative connotation. For a person who doesn't see themselves as a large fan of the series, this may appear to be something pointless, or, in the most severe form, a cash grab for the series. Though KyoAni has always prided themselves in selling based on the quality of their products, it's safe to say that these worries have absolutely no basis in the movie.

This is in many ways the true ending to the series. It’s something that takes the expectations from the brilliant second season and goes above and beyond with what the series is truly capable of. Cute girls, comedy, and other important traits of the series remain prominent here, but it's also something that shows itself to be much more than that.

K-ON is a series that needs no introduction. It’s always had a simple premise – young girls playing in a music club and growing up and having fun along the way. Yui is as ditzy as ever and Azusa is still her strict and mature self, though not without the character growth that came towards the end of the TV series. Taking place a few weeks before their graduation, the girls of the series make one last trip together as a full group in London to end things off with a smile. And just as you would expect, seeing the characters in a completely foreign environment and in a variety of strange and unique situations is a very delightful and amusing thing.

Surprisingly, there's a large amount of exposition and build-up in the beginning as well as a lengthy goodbye at the end when they come back home. This isn't a movie that starts and ends with their trip in London – it begins with a full 30-minutes of introduction and deliberation leading towards the trip. After finally boarding the plane and dealing with Yui’s silly shenanigans along the way, we see them in London making their way around the city sightseeing, having fun, and unfortunately for them, stumbling around and getting into several misunderstandings from their lack of knowledge with the English language.

They travel to many locations within the city that are based on and modeled after the actual locations, which is something that KyoAni has shown themselves to put a lot of work into. For somebody that lives in London or has been there frequently, there’s a lot of familiar sights in the movie which reminds the audience that this isn't a story that takes place in a fictional setting, but our own living and breathing world. Even for people that aren't familiar with the city, it gives a great glimpse at what the life and culture there is like and what the city has to offer. This is the real London, the hotel they stay at and all the locations they visit are very much real and lifelike places. And for a large part of the movie, you will feel like you’re traveling alongside the girls and witnessing all the silly and interesting things that they experience.

A lot of complaints towards K-ON can be directed towards a perceived lack of music which was established as the theme at the very beginning of the series. And while that does carry a small sense of validity in the TV anime, the movie is definitely something that will alleviate those complaints immensely with the amount of music the girls play and the amount of new tracks implemented here. A large portion of the screentime is spent by the girls performing music, both in London and back at home at their school. There aren’t just one or two new songs added in for the movie, but five in total, all performed and sang by the girls and their seiyuu. Two of these songs include a unique opening and ending while two of them are performed by the girls on-stage, and another exists as an insert song while they’re exploring the sights of London.

Background music is also much more varied and includes classical music reminiscent of the England from centuries past while others are more contemporary and involve catchy guitar riffs. While the background music in the TV anime wasn’t something that stood out most of the time, it is quite impossible to deny its presence here in the movie. Each track adds heavily to the emotional value and they also had me close to tearing up just from the music alone during a couple of the more serious scenes. This is a soundtrack that will be found incredibly hard to forget, especially with repeated and future seeings of the movie.

Another thing in particular that KyoAni should be commended for here is the quality of animation and the detail of the scenery. It's honestly breathtaking at times and the characters and environments move so fluidly that it puts even the TV series to shame, which is saying a hell of a lot. Thankfully, many unique outfits are given to each and every character in the movie, rather than falling to the trope of a single outfit for the entire trip like many anime do. It's very evident here that KyoAni put all their efforts into making sure the production quality is high up there, and it's a very pretty anime as a result of that.

A large part of the emotion stems from the audience’s attachment to the characters, but with the direction of the movie itself and especially in the last thirty minutes, it finds a perfect way to end the series and tie it together with the ending of the second season. The story behind the song performed for Azusa during their graduation is easily the largest theme next to the seniors themselves moving on, and the movie goes into full detail with the creative process and emotion put behind that song. It’s what makes their final performance in the clubroom so meaningful and even more emotional than it was in the second season. With all the build-up and cues set before that point, it’s quite difficult to resist shedding a few tears or feeling impacted as the story of the five girls finally reaches its conclusion.

Many people praise previous KyoAni works like "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" and "Clannad After Story" as being some of the best of anime, but now it’s quite safe to say that KyoAni has opened this spot for a third title.

This is our final goodbye to the series, and what a beautiful goodbye it is.

Foreword:

“But, O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes!”
– Shakespeare, As You Like It

Dear Reader,

By the end of this humble review, the case may be that I will find myself skewered by countless pitchforks and torched at the stake by those who bear disdain towards K-ON! for forging what is igniting the burning passion in my heart for all to see. In spite of this inevitable dreary destiny, I shall boldly write on and write on I shall ‘till kingdom come for friend or foe to witness. So without further ado, before I enrage the angry mob ... which desires my public evisceration and execution to the point where they can no longer withhold their murderous intent, I shall grace your eyes with the weaving of this golden yarn of mine.

Infamous for its intricate, innovative and inspiring PLOT, or rather a lack thereof, K-ON! has garnered a reputation for being an inane and unproductive moefest after two seasons of moe madness featuring the endless antics of the musical moeblob members of the Houkago Tea Time Club.

But that is what it is.

And it will stay true to itself regardless of how irrational it may be. Because the story of the hectic daily lives of these high school girls aiming for the Budokan, and their various shenanigans along the way, is the quintessence of why we love them, or hate them, depending on which side of the spectrum that you may be.

This iconic image remains unaltered in its motion picture premiere. Indeed, there is never a dull moment in the world of K-ON! as it flawlessly maintains its ditsy eccentricity from Japan to England and back. That’s right. In this chapter of their high school adventures, the K-ON! girls travel to London, the birthplace of many talented musical prodigies, for their much awaited graduation trip. As with each episode of K-ON!, one cannot help but imagine in anticipation and in expectation of what lies in each installment, however it is usually the case that we are often wrong in our predictions of the coalescence of the events.

The same concept is applicable to the movie, which welcomes its audience with an explosive heavy metal opening that stands in stark contrast to the light and fluffy music that we are accustomed to. However, after a period of violent and erratic headbanging, I came to revisit the overwhelmingly nostalgic innocent and happy-go-lucky atmosphere which characteristically defines K-ON! We are immediately reminded that this chapter in the K-ON! girls’ lives takes place in the period before their graduation, after the senior girls receive confirmation of their acceptance into university. As such, they are presented with the dilemmas of how to celebrate their graduating year and final high school days as well as what will pose as the more uncertain and difficult challenge of expressing their gratitude to Azusa.

With these elements of PLOT presented, KyoAni does a splendid job of executing this duality by not only making the graduation trip an exciting and memorable experience for both the K-ON! girls and their spectators, but also succeeds in weaving the narrative fabric to incorporate the latter aspect throughout the film. And thus, we are once again thrust into the wild wacky absurdity of K-ON! From silliness on the airport conveyor belts which are undoubtedly amusing to tread on, to getting lost in a foreign land resulting in an unintended musical performance via a case of mistaken identity and Engrish gibberish, K-ON! and their fans embark on a misadventure with more destinations than what was planned on the trip itinerary. All of which was expertly animated by the talent at the KyoAni Studio, which never fails to dish out perfection with a side dish of K-ON! The addition of CGI that complimented the meticulously drawn conventional animation was a great welcome and generated eyegasms aplenty.

The movie also serves as a fast-track tourist trip to London city as we travel with the K-ON! girls to famous landmarks such as the London Underground, the Borough Market and the banks of the River Thames where the Tower Bridge, the London Eye and the Elizabeth Tower containing Big Ben all lie in their gloriously animated state. For those who have been to the massive metropolitan city, it is a refreshing sight to view its beautiful landscape in animated form. By the same token, it stirs a desire to retrace the steps of the K-ON! girls in those who have yet to travel to the hallmark destination.

Moving on, the audience is once again graced with the excitement that a typical K-ON! musical gig provides. KyoAni doesn’t disappoint its fans with the animation of the gigs, which leave me jumping and pumping my fist in the air in tandem with the song. I’m just kidding, I don’t do that. As we approach the film’s conclusion, we re-experience the nostalgic bliss of the end of the senior girls’ high school days and their final gift of gratitude to Azusa that they worked so hard throughout the movie to have come to fruition, which takes form in the performance that is depicted in Episode 24 of the second season. Witnessing the penultimate events which led to the pinnacle of that emotional scene was the most masterfully executed moment of heartfelt nostalgia that I had the privilege of experiencing and I felt the full brunt of the bittersweet joy that I basked in once before.

One would like to believe that after three years have passed since the debut of their high school years, the K-ON! girls would experience some sort of progressive change as they nurtured each other’s growth. However, that is far from the case as the only thing that has probably altered is the fact that they have become complacent to each other’s idiocy, and therefore have become increasingly idiotic. Hirasawa Yui returns as your friendly neighborhood airhead guitarist and stars in all of the crazy acts of hilarity which we all know and love. Tainaka Ritsu’s erratic hard-headed large-forheaded rash irrationality compliments Yui and completes their comedic duo in their plethora of stunts. Akiyama Mio. Ahem. Wait a moment please, I must compose myself. So Mio flawlessly and triumphantly makes her stunning comeback as our adorable and lovable cute and pure maiden. Bubbly Kotobuki Tsumugi and her eyebrows of awesome return to be Mugi and bubbly. Nakano Azusa, also affectionately known as Azunyan, becomes translated into Engrish as Azu-Cat and remains the most sane and levelheaded member of K-ON! Even side-characters make their respective cameos to remind the viewers of all of the individuals with which the K-ON! girls have met in their high school journey. Oh and Sawa-chan looks damn delectably delicious in black. In essence, KyoAni manages to preserve the iconic identities of all of their characters and work their magic by making the vast array of personalities interact and mingle in new ways.

Now how could I possibly forget about the musical score of a series centered around a group of girls who are characterized by their identity as band members? The soundtrack recycles some of the K-ON! series background music pieces to retain its iconic happy-go-lucky feel, but we are introduced to new music as we enter the realm of the English homeland K-ON! style. This is welcomed with open arms as it adds to consolidate the foreign setting of the film. In addition, the OP songs “Unmei wa Endless!” and “Ichiban Ippai” are sure to satisfy the listeners who are yearning for more K-ON! fluff. On the other hand, ED song “Singing” which bears the angelic –singing- voice of Hikasa Youko emanates the same feel as her previous K-ON!! ED piece, “NO, Thank You!” However, the film returns to showcase hallmark tracks which have defined its musical prowess such as “Fuwa Fuwa Time,” “U&I,” “Gohan wa Okazu,” and “Tenshi ni Fureta Yo.” All in all, the film’s soundtrack features some new spectacular tracks and reintroduces their predecessors to keep K-ON! music and nostalgia fresh.

Watching the K-ON! Movie has been the most exhilarating anime entertainment experience that I have witnessed and I am eternally grateful for seeing this legendary series meet its conclusion with such sparkling splendor. Bravo KyoAni for creating a beautiful masterpiece.

And in the end, Yui still got to go to Europe.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am being carried against my will by this legion of pissed off K-ON! haters to be burned at the stake. I guess I have to visit the hospital after to treat this multitude of pitchfork punctures too. Well don’t worry, it’s just a flesh wound.

K-ON may be a controversial series, and some may think anything to do with K-ON is nothing but overrated. Subjectively, I love the series. The daily school lives of the light music club and the live gigs, are never tiring to watch. Throughout season one and two, the series had shown us a simple, fun, relaxing and heart-warming ambiance through and through. As soon as the movie’s subs was out, it doesn’t take long for me to pop up my video player, and enjoy another near two hours of cuteness and fluffiness.

The school year is drawing to a close at Sakuragaoka Girls' High School, and ... with it will come the graduation of four of the five girls in the school's light music club. The girls have already spent plenty of time together during and after school having fun, making music, and drinking tea, but what better way to cap it all off than with a graduation trip? After some serious deliberation and a little outside help, the five girls decide to go to London, guitars and bass in tow. Between visiting Abbey Road, seeing palace guards, drinking afternoon tea, and more, they've got plenty to do on their schedules, but how much of the trip will go as planned? While these sorts of questions have a tendency to sort themselves out, one more question is weighing heavily on the minds of the four seniors, Yui's in particular: what kind of song will the four write as their goodbye to Azusa, the one junior they'll be leaving behind?

Fans may insist that it is impossible to grasp all the qualities of K-ON! without being intimately familiar with the franchise, and to a degree, they would not be wrong in saying this. However, the film still succeeds in its attempt to please fans across the spectrum, drawing even the most unfamiliar viewers into its world through its minutely detailed characters and fun, thoughtful story while also providing more than enough to keep hardcore fans happy.

Our heroines do arrive in the promised land, but much of the stereotypical sightseeing the girls do is summarized fairly quickly in a montage of short moments at famous locations. The speed at which this all goes by may be a let down to some, but on the converse, this approach does an excellent job of capturing how a highly-planned overseas vacation in an unfamiliar land might feel, as rather than actively engaging in their sightseeing, the girls' experience seems to passively happen to them as they whisk themselves off from one spot to the next.

While the film's first two acts are well-paced and easy to follow, the third and final act may prove to be the most divisive between hardcore fans of the K-ON! franchise and those who aren't. Not only have the girls returned from a lengthy and conclusive trip by this point, but viewers will also have grown accustomed to the film's technical aspects, meaning that the significantly lengthy end segment hinges around the emotional drama between the girls as all but one of them spends their final days in high school.

The production quality for the movie is insanely high. I love KyoAni’s realistic rendition of the city of London, which looks exotically breathtaking. The detailed and vibrant background is noteworthy, and it exactly highlights London’s busy streets and beautiful scenery. The animations and some of the carefully chosen angles make them as comparable as most of K-ON’s high-quality ending sequences. Also, the several number of food scenes expressed and reinforced the cultural opposites of the girls’ usual obsessions; teas and cakes, which was pretty refreshing.

As for the music in the film, all of the girls' catchy, fluffy power-pop songs heard in the various performance scenes will be familiar to those who have seen the television series, as the three new songs by the K-ON! girls are used are all heard outside of the context of the story.

While this probably goes without saying, you're looking for a theatrical anime experience that will blow you out of your seat, K-ON! is probably not the movie for you. What it is, however, is a very well-crafted and whimsical look into the lives of the movie's five heroines, with each of its constituent parts supporting and creating a polished final product. Its story might just be about a group of girls who go on a school trip, but they're are quickly made into characters who you develop emotional connections with and naturally want to watch as they go about their lives. While it may seem like a light message delivered in a sugar-coated package, K-ON! does a brilliant job of reminding us that sometimes who you choose to spend your time with is more important than what you do with that time.

All in all, the movie shows us the five good friends doing what they do best; messing and playing around, relaxing, trying to come up with new songs and procrastinating; all the way in London.

Among Kyoto Animation's many shows, K-On seems to be one of the most divisive. The first Season was a fun but ultimately very empty and unrewarding experience which led to the attracting a lot of hate. Those who stuck by it, however, where treated with a wonderful coming of age story and a bittersweet conclusion in the Second Season. Although Season 2 was a huge improvement it was not without its flaws. For a slice of life show, some thought thought that 26 episodes was too much. But for the fans, its long length was able to satisfy their craving for more K-On. But ... this movie is where they finally perfect the formula.

The movie is still plotless but it still tells a story. The coming of age themes from season 2 are in and are more prevalent than ever. It's done in such a way that a younger person can understand while an older person would be able to get deeper meaning out of it. Kind of like a Disney movie. The movie hypes that it's set in London but that's actually only the middle third of the movie. The first third is the preparations for the trip and plays out like an extended episode of the show. This is probably the funniest part of the movie but people who don't like the style of humour present in K-On may not enjoy this part. Stick with it though as the next third is the actual trip. This is the most creative part of the trip as well as the best looking part. The movie does a really good job of showing you what London is like from their perspective. The final third is a retelling of the final few episodes of Season 2. This may sound like just a rehash but it's anything but that. Everything in this part is new material. I think that this was the most emotionally powerful part of the movie and concludes the series just as well if not better than season 2. So the first third is the funniest, the second third is the most creative and the final third is the most powerful

The art is a step up from the TV show but not as big a step up in visual quality as The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya was to The Melancholy. The first part of the movie doesn't really take advantage of the high budget but once they're in London everything looks a lot better. The backdrop of London is superbly drawn and very faithful to the actual city. The concert performances make really good use of camera techniques that really adds to the experience. I really like how they designed the people of London. People sometimes complain that anime characters look to white but this movie does a really good job of differentiating them. As it turns out, British people aren't allowed to be moe. Everyone's eyes are small and their features are realistic. They also happen to all be way taller than the girls. I also like how they don't resort to stereotypes when they go to London. If anything they discriminating against Japanese people. The girls display a lot of stereotypical Japanese school girl traits but the English people don't display any stereotypical behaviours.

The sound is really well done. While the girls are in London, the OST becomes very Beatles esque. The opening theme 'Ichiban Ippai' sounds almost exactly like Penny Lane. You can definitely see their influence in the movie's soundtrack. But it's very subtle so only Beatlemaniacs such as myself will probably spot some of them. The songs the band perform are re recorded in order to achieve a very realistic 'live performance' sound. They sound a lot more like a live performance than anything in the show. Hardcore K-On! fans will be happy to see them perform a few album exclusive songs such as 'Curry Nochi Rice' and 'Samidare 20 Love'. The movie is packed with live performances and often finds excuses just so the girls can rock their hearts out. Which is a bit odd considering that in the show they constantly tried to find excuses so they don't perform. I was just so wrapped up in how great the concerts were that I couldn't care less that the circumstances that led to it are completely unrealistic.

One of the greatest things about K-On! is it's character interactions and this movie certainly does not disappoint. Seeing how each of the characters deal with all of the cultural differences is very amusing to watch but the movie doesn't rely on that alone. After watching this movie I actually liked Yui a lot more than I did before. Sure I liked her before because her stupidity was amusing to watch but I actually realised after watching this movie that there's more to her than meets the eye. She's not an idiot, it's just that her way of thinking is different to most people. She's actually a kind and sweet girl who cares for her friends. In fact after watching this movie I'm thinking that Yui might actually be a genius. She always knows what the right thing to do in any given situation. It's not that she's stupid, it's just that her innocence gets in the way of what's rational. If you're a Yui fan than this movie is definitely for you. The final third is told from the perspective of Yui rather than Azusa. And it's good because you learn more about Yui in the process.Other than that all the characters are the same characters than you know and love (or loathe). It's not that they don't get enough exposure, it's just that the focus is on Yui for the majority of the movie.

But the one thing that this movie relies on more than anything else is the enjoyment factor. The movie wants you to sit back and enjoy and is constantly trying to please you. And you know what? It works. Even the harshest of critics can't fault that this movie is an enjoyable, fun filled rollercoaster ride of enjoyment. It was so good that I was smiling for the entire movie. There was always something happening that made me smile. The comic timing is absolutely perfect, the music is unbelievably catchy, the camera work was really well done and it just felt happy. It's hard to describe but if you watch the movie you'll see what I mean. I have not enjoyed anything more than this movie. It's the quintessence of enjoy-ability. It's enjoyable to the point that it actually becomes genuinely better than a lot of things.

Overall, this movie is magnificent. Everything is just so well executed that you probably won't even care about that lack of plot. It doesn't have plot but it has substance in the form of likeability. I've never seen anything like this before and I probably never will. It's not as good as The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya but they probably shouldn't even be compared in the first place. Both movies are wonderful but they're good for completely different reasons. If this is goodbye to the girls of K-On, then this was a more than fitting way of saying it. I know that it continues in the manga but that's mostly just to exploit the popularity of the show. I love this movie but Season 3 will just not work at all. If they keep going they'll just write themselves into a corner and screw it all up. Whatever the case I consider this movie to be the conclusion of K-On. I couldn't think up of a better way to end it if I tried. So goodbye Ritsu, Mugi, Mio, Yui and Azusa. Goodbye Nodoka, Ui and Jun. Goodbye Miss Yamanaka. You gave us some of the best moments in anime history and you will not be forgotten.

K-On! was my first anime since pandemics ecloded and also marks my return to anime world after some years on hiatus. And... omg, there's so much I want to say about this masterpiece!! I don't even know where to begin. But I'll try...

First of all... we must go back to April 2012.
I was a only-action shounen fan. In my class, a girl said to me: "you need to watch K-On!, is so cute!" and I said no. Because I liked action, I liked blood. Years passed by and I lost contact before high school begins. And now I... I want to apologize so bad. ... I want to hug her and say I'm sorry, say we had to talk more... I don't know where she is right now... but I hope my feelings touches her -- and whenever I cry listening to Tenshi ni Fureta Yo as well, hope she hears it with me.

Ok. Anyways...
This show is about true frendship. The moments we share with our friends, the brief moments of joy that lasts forever in our rememberings, in our songs, in our smiles. It's notable when we see the relationship between the girls, specially them with Azusa. Every song, even with the cute and sometimes nonsense lyrics, has meanings. Meanings of love, meanings of friendship, meanings of happy moments. It's impossible to hear Tenshi ni Fureta Yo or U&I without crying reading the lyrics.

I became a huge fan of slice of life anime.
And this is what I like the most on: cute stories full of meaning, even though some SoL are just for fun. There's a little drama in K-On plot, so strange for SoL and moe but very well used in this case. Because the truly meaning behind K-On!, as I said, is friendship. To share happy moments. Cute laughters, peaceful joy... and some cup of teas as well!


There's only a few shows you can say "I can't believe it has ended", and K-On with this movie is one of them. I don't feel myself empty, but... completed, somehow. Anime always were my friends during a lifetime of loneliness and anxiety. So many years has passed since I stopped watching anime for lack of interest (~2016 till 2019, I think), and when I finished this... I realized I should come back to this world. Moreover, never left this world. Somehow I'm in debt with myself.

K-On! is one of my favorite anime of all time.
10/10.

I bought a 4k TV just to watch this movie
Even though I will only watch it once.
I just threw away 3000 dollars
and the pain of losing that money
stabbed me right through my heart.
My relative broke my 4k TV, I broke his ass apart.
My brother called the police
And I got arrested and sentenced to life.

And that's how a great movie like K-On! changed my life.
...



Story: (10/10)
The story is focused on the Light Music Club Members as they plan a trip to London for their graduation trip. The movie is set 1 week before the events of K-On!! Episode 24.
If you watched the TV series before then you should already be familiar with how the story will be like and how it will go. It's a very simple story. If you were confused at the Season Finale of K-On!! then you should definitely watch this movie. The part of the movie shows them planning a trip to London, going to London, having fun, playing music and go back home. Another part of the movie shows how they came up with the music for Azusa that was played in the Season Finale and when they made it. The last part of the movie was almost the same as the last scene showed in Season Finale but this scene is way more dramatic because the movie greatly explains it. To be honest, I shed a few tears even though I already saw the scene. How embarrassing.




Art/Animation: (10/10)
The Animation of K-On!! was already beautiful and the movie made it even more beautiful, earning a score of 10 from me. For the most part, it's the lighting that makes cartoons, animated movies and anime beautiful these days. Character designs are still the same and they still use those cliche facial expressions.



Sound: (10/10)
The sound got a masterpiece from me because none of the music I heard in the movie were bad. They were all great and catchy at the same time. Only 2 new songs were used in the movie for the Opening and Ending. Songs like Rice is a side dish, FwaFwa time, Tenshi Ni Fureta Yo, and other songs that I have somehow forgotten were all re-used in the movie. The OP song was great and has a catchy tune that had a "happy and fun" theme. The ED song was also great. It's more on a sad note, probably telling the viewers "goodbye, this is our final series".



Character: (10/10)
All 5 main characters from K-On!! such as Yui, Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi and Azusa are still here and they're still the main characters. All of the supporting characters such as Ui, Sawaka, Nodaka, and Jun also made an appearance in the movie but only for a few minutes. No new characters were introduced. The character's personality are exactly the same so nothing about them changed. They're still pretty cute and interesting and that's what I liked about them.



Enjoyment: (10/10)
I definitely enjoyed this movie because of the simple story and the funny moments. It was worth 1h and 50mins of my life. I'll probably re-watch the movie in Eng. Sub just to hear how they sound like when they speak Engrish.



Overall: (10/10)
Overall, the movie is fun to watch. Just like K-On, it's a relaxing movie to watch and you should watch this movie and the K-On series if you need a break from all the dark story/blood splatter anime you mainly see these days. Say your farewells after you watch this movie because this is the last series you'll ever see from them. *sigh* I feel sad right now.




Pros:
-Simple story
-Last scene was perfectly executed
-Outstanding Animation
-Outstanding Soundtrack
-Great and funny Characters
-Funny Moments


Cons:
-

It's been a while since I looked at the first series of Kyoto animation's K-on. The final verdict for the series was that it was really good. Having a great sense of humour and being fun to watch. Someday, I'll undoubtedly get around to reviewing the second series but, for the time being, let's look at the film that came out in December of 2011.

Story:

The film is set near the end of the second series. Graduation is rapidly approaching for Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi. The four of them decide to take a graduation trip to London, taking Azusa with them even though ... her graduation isn't for another year simply because they enjoy her company and a trip without her wouldn't feel right after all the time they've spent together. The film covers their trip to London complete with various misadventures as well as their graduation.

I only have one criticism of the film's narrative, the graduation scenes do repeat information you already got in the series proper, except they don't do it as well. I will give it credit for actually doing new animation for it instead of recycling the stuff from the series verbatim, but presumably the people watching the film are largely going to be fans of the series. As such it would have made more sense to keep the focus on the trip and dispense with the part we've already seen. That complaint aside, the film has all the charm and good humour that makes the series such a joy to watch. The narrative flows well with events progressing very naturally. The details of the creative process are woven very well into the story and it does lead to some good scenes even if the payoff is something we've already seen.

Characters:

The cast possesses all the charm and light-hearted fun that they had within the series. The interactions among them are great and a lot of fun to watch. Just don't expect the film to alter the way you see them as characters. They still aren't the most complex group of characters, but they are a lot of fun and more than adequate for a comedic slice of life story.

Art:

The art is really nicely done with well detailed backgrounds and a great attention to details. Really, my only minor complaint here is the lack of noses. Which, to be fair, is a valid stylistic choice for the medium, but it's also kind of an inexplicable one. Are noses really that difficult to draw? I should also briefly talk about the concert scenes which are really spectacular in this with great energy imbued into the animation for them.

Sound:

The acting I well done with Sato Satomi, Hikasa Yoko, Toyosaki Aki, Kotobuki Minako and Taketatsu Ayana all giving strong performances. I also have to compliment the music, which is excellent.

Ho-yay Factor:

There are some homo-erotic scenes among the girls, although not as many as the main series. The two who get the most in this are Azusa and Yui. The ho-yay factor is going o be a 5/10 for a fair amount of les-yay.

Final Thoughts:

This movie is a great deal of fun and it has a lot of charm. There are some minor issues, but nothing that should affect your enjoyment too much. Unless you just don't like slice of life stories in which case it's certainly not a film for you. My final rating, however, is going to be a 9/10. Next week, it's finally time, Dragonball.

For anyone who wants to know K-On! is my favorite animated series of all time, and having recently just rewatched the movie I feel it is appropriate to try and explain just why I love it (K-On! Movie) so much.

Story: 10
Okay, so I get that it's a slice of life movie and there isn't much to the story, but I think that, while it doesn't start where the series ended, it was known by viewers of the series that HTT would be going to abroad and I feel as if all the misadventures the gang gets into with the sushi place, impromptu concert, and follow ... the leader in no way take away the emotional resonance that most of the movie tries to deliver when elaborating upon the intentions of HTT in writing Tenshi ni Fureta Yo for Azusa. What I found particularly engaging was Yui's struggle over what kind of song HTT should write Azusa, wanting to write something of absolutely epic scale, only to realize, later than the rest of the group, that what they usually did was just fine. The song they wrote paid heavy homage to almost all of the recognizable songs they had made like, Fuwa Fuwa Time, Rice is a Side Dish, and the most primary inspiration: U & I. (Don't believe me? Listen to U&I and Fureta Yo in quick succession.) A quick comment I'd like to make on the end of the movie when HTT is singing Fureta Yo, instead of having the very emotional and intimate experience of watching HTT perform in real time, like we were in the series, we are instead treated to a flashback-slideshow of both HTT's experience of having Azusa in their lives and writing the song for Azusa and practicing it. This is fine and even furthers the thematic goal of going into the intentions behind Fureta since instead of experiencing for the first time, like we were with Azusa in the series, we are instead watching it after being informed on the struggles of the group to get it just right and are shown how THEY experience it for the first time, which I think is absolutely GENIUS on the part of KyoAni. There is more to talk about on the story of this film I just feel as if these are the underappreciated nuggets of gold that are overlooked by passive or first time viewers.

Anyway...Art, Sound, and Characters: 10

They are pretty much the same as the series besides the rendezvous in the London setting, which I'm told was done accurately.

Enjoyment: 10

I'd say that if you have seen the series and would like to watch the movie it might be helpful to do so with the things, no matter how little actually it has to do with the movie, I have laid out in mind. (And yes, I am aware of how arrogant that sounds!) If you want to rewatch it, you really should, it stands up.

Overall: 10

Look I'm not going to pretend to be an Otaku Gonzo Journalist or anything, or even an otaku, (At least until I've watched Eva) but I know quality when I see it. If that doesn't convince you, then I wasn't very helpful...

And so, my re-watch comes to a close. I don’t know where to begin... My heart aches, but it feels so full. I just HAVE to say something about this, even if ultimately I don’t have much to say, but it’ll be difficult keeping everything coherent as my brain desperately scrambles to put all the words in place - even finding the right words to use is hard. I’ll try my best.

K-ON! The Movie is the last hurrah for the series, and it is every bit as spectacular as the TV series that preceded it. Nearing graduation, the girls decide to go on a trip ... abroad, and thanks to divine intervention from Ton-chan, it’s decided they’ll go to London. The trip to London is fun and all, but that’s secondary to the true intent of the senior club members – to make the best gift they possibly can for their junior, Azusa. Over the course of the film, Yui, Ritsu, Mio, and Mugi all work hard and put all the love they can into their farewell song, the same song that was performed at the end of K-ON!! episode 24.

I’m certainly not the first to notice this, but the songs become increasingly more personal and intimate over the course of the film, each performance holding greater emotional weight than the last. Houkago Tea Time’s first performance in the film is Curry Nochi Rice, a fast paced song which they spontaneously decided to play when mistaken for Love Crisis. Their second performance is Gohan wa Okazu at the fair, which may be their most fun song, but this time they had more time for planning and preparation; Yui improvises an encore. Then there’s U&I, which they play in their classroom. This song is full of Yui’s gratitude towards her reliable younger sister, Ui. Finally, there’s the seniors performance of Tenshi ni Fureta yo! for Azusa; this is their most intimate song, full of all their love, gratitude, and appreciation of her (and by extension, of us, the audience). This is it. This is the moment the film, and series as a whole, has been building up to. I don’t even need to say this, because it’s obvious, but I cried. A lot.

The scene in this film that stands out most to me is the rooftop scene, right when the seniors prepare for what’s about to come. The moment when they all run and yell out at the top of their lungs is, in my opinion, one of the greatest moments in the history of cinema. It’s just… beautiful. It’s on par with the hallway running at the end of K-ON!! episode 26.

K-ON! is easily the most life-affirming thing I’ve seen. That’s really all I can say. I’m not articulate enough to put into words everything I’m feeling, and there are much more talented writers who’ve already praised the series better than I ever could. I just wanted to put something here because K-ON! is my all-time favourite thing ever, and I’ve yet to see anything come close to it. Nothing can make me as happy nor as sad as K-ON! can. It’s the go-to series for when I feel I need to brighten my day, and it’s the go-to series for when I feel I need to cry.

My ratings are:
K-ON! - 10/10
K-ON!: Live House! - 10/10
K-ON!! - 10/10
K-ON!!: Keikaku! - 8/10
K-ON! The Movie - 10/10

To close this “review” – if it could be called that – I’ll add that the song U&I basically puts into words how I feel about the series as a whole.

I would like to give you every ounce of my gratitude
And send it to you through this song
This is a feeling I will never, ever forget
–U&I

I just finished watching this movie and can finally said that i completed watching the K-On franchise. First off i wanna say that this review might contain some minor spoilers, which i assure you that it won't affect your experience upon watching the movie. With that said this review will be using the standard myanimelist review which consist of 6 parts such as Story, Art, Sound, Character, Enjoyment, and Overall.

Story: The timeline of the movie takes place between Season 2 of K-On! episode 23-24) and Episode 27(which is considered as special episode 3 for season 2 of K-On! or K-On!! series). While watching ... the movie it makes me remember the song they performed for Azusa(Assuming that you finished watching season 2 before watching this movie, then you probably know what i'm talking about) which i can pretty say that it gives me a lot of feels(by the way the major plot of the movie aside from they're vacation is how they composed the song they performed as a parting gift for Azusa in episode 24). It just reminds me that graduation doesn't mean goodbye but it just means that from now on the path that we will be taking won't be easy as before, that's why it's okay to cry for now but don't forget to move on and always remember that were friends regardless what path we will be taking from now on(such a cliche way of putting it but yeah this is how i feel while watching the movie).

Art: The Art is so beautiful, i really have no words how to describe it. I'm pretty sure KyoAni put every effort they can put in while making this movie to give us viewers the best experience we can have while watching the movie and I can pretty much say that this Anime Movie definitely deserved the "Best Anime Film" award given to it back in 2012.

Sound: There are 3 to 4 new songs i heard while watching the movie(some of the new songs are soundtracks and not necessarily mean that they performed it, but the voice behind those songs were definitely HTT"Houkago Tea Time").

Characters: There are no new Characters introduced in the Movie(Assuming that you watch all the OVA and Special episodes of K-On! and K-On!! or K-On Franchise).

Enjoyment: I enjoy this movie a lot. While watching the movie it makes me grin,laugh, and almost cry like a kid and it's been a long time since i felt this type of feelings while watching a Anime or regular movies. It just makes me realize how much K-On Franchise become part of my life(I know it's really dramatic but hey i really felt this while watching the movie). It also makes me realize that this movie is the last installment of K-On franchise and after this i must move on while cherishing the lessons i learned from K-On Franchise.

Overall: Do i recommend this to you and other weebs out there? OFCOURSE it's a big "YES"(Given that you watched all K-On!,K-On!!,OVA, and Special Episodes). Also i just wanna say that there's a short sequel manga(technically) where it shows how's the life of our main characters now after they graduated from high school and now a college student(except for Azusa as it only tells the story of Mio,Yui,Ritsu, and Mugi) titled K-On! College. Lastly i want to thank you for reading my long and emotional review( at least for me, please don't remind me how embarrassing it is hahahaha) and hope you also enjoy watching this Anime movie as much as i enjoyed it.
( I LOVE K-On FRANCHISE <3).

I've seen it. Finally.

I got a postcard of Mio's lyric version of the good bye song, Tenshi ni Furetayo (We've Touched an Angel) at the entrance of the theatre. 3-time repeaters in Japan gets a random raw K-on film strip as a present, by the way.

K-on! the movie has become a phenomenal hit for an animated film here in Japan. In my honest opinion, it was not "fantastic" that went over my expectations but it was predictably "very good".
It was fairly entertaining and rewarding for K-on! fans. It should be enjoyable to first viewers of the series as well. K-on! is not meant ... to be hilarious or exciting, though. It does not have shocking "fan services" like in other moe animes as the director and the chief designer are young women.

The movie evolves around the graduation trip of the five HTT members to London, and a plan to give Azusa kitty something nice for farewell present. The girls are the same as usual, kinda cute and do small silly things right from the beginning. Tonchan the turtle is there (and I found it very cute that Azusa feeds it from the pink metal box in a caring way), as well as Ui the perfect little sister and Jun her free and easy friend. We get to see that the Hirasawa sisters actually have nice parents. Sawachan plays an important role while the girls are in London, a multi-ethnic city. The mob girls in the class all have their distinct personalities and some gets lines of phrases.

A bit of humor throughout. A bit of sobbing at the end also, as we all know everything good must end.
A good ending PV with Mio as lead vocal, arguably the best in K-on! series.
Bravos to Kyoani and Ms Naoko Yamada the director of the series.

There are some good live moments as well.
Songs played live (if my memory is correct):
Hikari (Light) featuring Death Devil.
Curry nochi Rice (Rice afterwards Curry).
Gohanwa Okazu (Rice is Side Dish as well).
U&I (Ui, you and I).
Tenshini Furetayo (We've Touched an Angel).

Unfortunately, there isn't an announcement of Season 3 at the moment. The highschool days ended beautifully for the four and Azu-cat's succession as the President of the club was already implied in the series. Diector Ms.Yamada has said that she's a fan of k-on as high school girls, whereas Kakifly's original manga has restarted earlier in 2011 with 1) Azusa's new highschool band, the Wakaba (Young Leaf) Girls, and 2) HTT four playing at university.

However, I suspect that Kyoani and TBS will announce the start of Season 3 later on in 2012 or 2013 after the bluray release. It should have the 3 additional rival musicians at university and 2 old friends of Azusa and 2 newcomers at highschool.

Hint: the chief designer Ms. Horiguchi commented on a magazine that for the new year 2012, she'd like to see Azusa acting like an upper grader (which she does in Kakifly's manga: we are stunned by Jun's suspect boyfriend, Azusa's singing ability, Austrian freshman drummer girl named Saito, popularity of Fuwa Fuwa Time at university, transgender looking guitarist, Mugi's ability of becoming an average citizen, etc...).

K-on is over! Long live K-on !!!

Buy the bluray and send messages to TBS if you really want Season 3.

This review will be controversial. The reason I say this is because although it seems paradoxical, in this review I will be shredding apart the “moe” phenomenon, while praising this movie at the same time. If that sounds incomprehensible to you then keep reading and maybe you’ll see where I’m coming from. By the way, I’m not going to say that much about the movie but talk more about my personal experience with “K-ON!” as a whole as well as other related anime.

Let’s start at the beginning. To me, “K-ON!” was at first glance a pure and sweet little slice of life show about a ... group of high school girls whom decided to form a band. Prior to watching it, I had no knowledge about it other than that it had gained a large amount of popularity and that it had something to do with music. As I watched it, I really enjoyed the catchy music, the character interactions, the humor, as well as the slice of life aspects. I enjoyed it enough to carry on to the second season. This time around, there was less emphasis on the music and more on the slice of life. Both seasons are very enjoyable in different ways and it kept me hooked. When finishing the entire thing, I was surprised by how much the show had grown on me. It even got me nostalgic about my own piano playing days at elementary school. I loved it.

Then… I turned to the internet. Suddenly, everything took a turn for the worse.

Apparently, what I saw as an innocent little slice of life was in fact, generating hatred among large parts of the anime community. Of course, I know that the internet isn’t always the nicest environment for civil discussions, and that you shouldn’t take what you read on the internet too seriously, but somehow this seemed different. A lot of people apparently hated and probably still hate “K-ON!” and I just didn’t get it. When talking about it, it sounded like they were talking about a completely different show than what I had watched. I learned of the word “moe” and all of the negative connotations that it carried as well.

Finally ignoring it, I went on to watch other anime. Eventually I winded up watching “Clannad”. This was another show made by Kyoto Animation and it certainly had the production value and animation to prove it. Furthermore, it also had the “moe” stamp on it. To all of you fans out there, this will probably piss you off, but I thought “Clannad” was complete garbage (I can already hear the sound of people clicking the “not helpful” button). Every single point that I had heard people complaining about “K-ON!” for was at least ten times as present in “Clannad”. The characters were made of plastic, nothing interesting happened, it was extremely saccharine, and watching it made me feel filthy. Now I knew why it felt like the people who were criticizing “K-ON!” were talking about a different show. They must have been talking about “Clannad” (or possibly “Kanon” which I haven’t watched but am hearing is an even bigger offender)!

So here is my theory: The reason “K-ON!” generated so much hatred was not and had never been because people hated the show itself. Due to its popularity, people who never cared for “moe” projected the negative weight of other shows onto “K-ON!” and dismissed it from the get go. They hated it because they wanted to hate it, and soon even people like me who had enjoyed the show were starting to come around. Of course, I can’t prove this is the case but it is the best explanation I can come up with for the inexplicable negative backlash that this show was burdened with.

I decided to revisit “K-ON!” a second time to confirm that it was as good as I was remembering it, and different from “Clannad”. This time around, even if I still recognized all of the good qualities from before, I did see, more than before, the lesser qualities of the show. Even if it was to a much lesser extent, the things I hated about “Clannad” were present in “K-ON!” as well. Needless to say, I enjoyed the show far less the second time than the first.

After that, time passed and this movie came along. Forgetting all about everything I thought about “K-ON!” from my prior viewings and from internet communities, I decided to watch it objectively and see it for what it really is. Not as a fan of the show, but as a regular moviegoer. From the score I am giving it, it would be redundant to say it, but I loved it. This movie reminded me why I had fallen in love with the show in the first place. Nothing about it is depraved and nothing about it ever was. It is exactly the opposite. It is a lovely little slice of life about genuinely endearing characters that captures the humors and subtle wonders of everyday life. This movie takes that, defines it, and elevates it. It’s been a long time since I have seen such an uplifting movie.

There definitely are reasons for not liking “K-ON!” and I myself am not saying that it is perfect. However, what I am saying is that it is wrong to dismiss it for no other reason than the fact that you have lumped it together with other shows you don’t like and given it that same negative baggage simply because it is “moe”, and more importantly, don’t dismiss it because others are telling you to. Anyone who goes into this show, wanting to enjoy it, will do so. This movie then, reminds you exactly what there was to enjoy about it, and how much of it there was.

There is a reason why I rated this higher than the seasons shown on television. One immediate reason is that it truly sticks to the whole theme of the entire series.

Story:
The story was simple yet great. Basically it is the final trip for the club as the senior's graduation is drawing near. They go to a trip to London to just have fun. Then the story continues on how not knowing enough English isn't so easy. The best part of the story was when the Light Music Club made a performance to Azusa which gave quite the touching scene, and showing how the ... senior understand that it wouldn't be easy for Azusa their cute junior to maintain the club, and as the club is close to being disbanded, a grand finale song is presented to Azusa, a song that will stay forever in Azusa's heart.

Art:
The art is the same, there may be slight improvements. The art does change for a bit with new buildings that has a European feel to it, which was refreshing since it isn't so common to see them in the anime world.

Sound:
The music and song are great, from songs about rice, curry, London to a sad yet encouraging song to their wonderful angel. The singing was diverse from upbeat energetic songs, to a song that seems like a lullaby that everyone would enjoy.

Character:
The same wonderful, cheerful, cute, energetic girls that everyone likes. It was quite touching seeing them working hard to make the best song for Azusa. The best personality and some of the best friendship I have seen in anime. The characters are funny, and sometimes they make you smile while they were warming your heart.

Enjoyment:
I greatly enjoyed and appreciated this additional to a already wonderful series. I laughed, I smiled, I had teary eyes and I know after this I was miss the K-on series even more.

Overall:
I just have to say that you have to watch both seasons before watching this. I have a friend that found K-on boring..... and my friend only watched season 1 and went to watch the movie, but he couldn't appreciate it enough, because after I watched both seasons, I grew to love the characters, I grew to love the story, I grew to love K-on and all these love made the movie just so much more powerful.

-Side Note-
Sorry it's my first review and its been a month that I have seen this movie, anyways I hope you enjoyed this review.

This is my first review, so bear with me. I'm not going to do the Story/Art/Sound etc. format.

This movie was... well, great. I heavily believe that anyone could watch this and enjoy it for what it is. And while the movie is much better if you've seen the whole series, I also think that someone could watch and enjoy it without even knowing what K-ON! is.

The movie was very well paced, and the girls fit right into the story. Within minutes the movie had rekindled by absolute love for every single character. We got to see them react to a new and exciting environment ... with classic silly situations that you would expect from KyoAni.

I won't spoil much (though there's not much to spoil anyways haha), but the last half hour or so of the movie, I was crying on and off. KyoAni somehow pulls you in and makes you feel like all the girls are your best friends, too, and they're now graduating. They've grown older and now they're already off to college. The ending is heartbreaking a little, especially if you've experienced similar events. While it's nowhere near as sad as something as Clannad, the series and movie can still be moving to some.

Overall, this turned out to be a great movie. I can only hope that this might lead to a 3rd season, but if not, it was a great closing to the series.

so heres my honest opinion on k-on and this isnt just a review on the movie this is a review on the whole show entirelly ...k-on is really good in my opinion i love how the characters are very loving and relatable. my favourite character is not only yui its all the characters love the bond the 6 of the girls build and the relation ship they all have together and build through out the anime another thing i love about k-on is the art style its so beautiful and how they work with the scenery and make stuff that are fucking terrible in real ... life look absolutely beautiful and gorgeous.for exsample in the k-on movie i love how london looked so beautiful in multiple scenes and how london looked so alive and amazing in my opinion it's my favourite art style in all of anime. i really love k-on's story it made me cry alot of times and the show is a really good slice of life and made me realize that the world really aint so bad and this show really diserves to come back. k-on is now not my second favourite anime its now top1 right next to soul eater for ever more i will cherish this amazing show forever.i had fun wacthing k-on through the op's to the ed's and every thing the music was really good not gonna lie k-on had the best music.if you also dont know the voice actors learned how to play the guitar drums keyboard and bass whicth shows how mucth dedication the team had to this show and i love that cause you dont see the west doing that with there shows which makes k-on unique in its on way. as im saying this in 2020 moveing in to 2021 i will say this and not regret it K-ON!! is the best slice of life and best anime of this decade and i will never go back on my word!!forgot to mention K-ON!! is a 100/10 its a master piece

Just saw this tonight in theaters in Japan. It was super cute, had all the favorite characters and shenanigans (some of them just happen to be London, so there was some cute novelty, especially enjoyable for one who knows how awkward it is to be in a country where you're not fluent in the language, haha). Definitely laughed out loud a couple times. The art was the same if not nicer than the anime, new songs were great and old classics were included as well. I'd say it's about the same as the TV show in that there wasn't much of a plot, ... just a cute slice of life bit about good friends. Classic K-ON. Moe moe kyun, etc.

I Love K-On.
It has been about a year since i first watched the first season of K-On. At first i was like "Wow for a show with practically not plot this is not bad". I have always wondered and questioned people who watched K-On since i never really understood what was so great about it until i re-watched it a second time. Like most people in America i grew up watching cartoons and some occasional Anime that they might show on cartoon channels such as Cartoon Network. The only sort of anime i watched was things like Dragonball Z or Yu Yu Hakusho. Those types ... of animes are what is classified as Shounen, things mainly made towards the young male audience so it would have tons of action packed battles and what not and the story is usually someone is in trouble so the hero must go save them. I was really used to that sort of template for almost all the anime's i have watched. Around a year ago or maybe even a year and a half, that was when i really started to get into watching anime of all sorts. The anime that got me into heavily watching anime was Steins;Gate. If you have no watched it yet i highly recommend you go watch it after reading this review.

Anyhow continuing on, the anime i watched right after Steins;Gate was K-On the first season, like i previously said i was pretty amazed that it was a pretty entertaining show for something with no fighting or plot. Then i proceeded to watch the second season to find it better than the first season. At that point i was thinking that shows like K-On are pretty interesting but i wasn't quite all that amazed at it just yet. Around maybe a year after that, I heard news of K-On the Movie being released and that somehow sparked a big interest in me to re-watch K-On, both season. And so i did and i was glad that i did. Since I re-watched K-On after watching like probably 100+ other anime's i then had a better understanding of how anime's are like and i have to admit i loved K-On.

But now lets get to the main point of this review. THE ACTUAL MOVIE ITSELF!!

Story: 10
i Loved the story of this movie. It is basically just the members of HTT going to London and having a good time and what not, it is their graduation trip since they are about to graduate. The best part of story of the movie is that they all want to do something for Azusa since they will be graduating and they came up with the idea to write a song for Azusa. Just a random note, when i was in high school i loved Heavy Metal and Death metal and i somewhat still do but i have to admit, the song that they came up with and played in front of Azusa, Tenshi ni fureta yo ( Touched by an Angel ), has to be, if not top, one of my favorite songs ever. The meanings behind it is just too touching that it brings tears to my eyes every single time if i were to re-watch that scene.

Art: 10
KYO-ANIMATION , I VOTE THEM TO BE GODS OF ANIME ANIMATING.
No joke, KyoAni is known for their great works in animation, examples of such are Clannad and Kanon. (Another random note, Clannad is my favorite anime of all time and i treat both Clannad and After Story as one). But the art in this movie was WAYYYYYYY better than i had expected, the level of difference between the art in this movie and the art in K-On the series is like the difference between a rock and a Boulder. All the little things were just so shiny.

Sound:10
IT'S K-ON!! K-ON is known as the Moe anime with girls who make music. So thus the music in this movie was amazing. The soundtrack itself, as in the background music and what not was splendid as well. All the correct soundtracks played at the correct times.

Character: 10
I love the characters of K-On.

Hirasawa Yui - This chick is seriously the funniest character in this anime. She's the clumsy but funny likable character that most anime would have but i find her to be one of the best.

Tainaka Ritsu - The energetic and loudmouth of the group who i swear is like the perfect friend for Yui. Ritsu and Yui are always seen doing funny stuff together in the anime and in the movie. She is childhood friends with Mio and loves teasing and messing around with her. Ritsu is the most manly of them all. HAHAHAH

Akiyama Mio- She is the most quiet but most mature out of the bunch. She has a great singing voice ( I'm complimenting her voice actress, Hikasa Youko). She cannot handle scary things that well and always goes into this state of panic where she squats own and repeats "kowakunai" over and over again. (it means Not scared in japanese)

Kotobuki Tsumugi - She is one of the more interesting members of HTT. She is basically a rich girl who is hinted at having a crush of a FEMALE teacher and at one point wanted her friends to physically hit her. She is the most random i would say, the things she wants or does is just hilarious. She is really strong too, it's so random.

Nakano Azusa - This is probably the character that got me to watch K-On in the first place. When my friends were telling me to go watch K-On after i saw Steins;Gate, saying that i need something more relaxed after watching something like Steins;Gate. So i looked up K-On and i saw a random clip of Yui giving a slice of cake to Azusa and then taking it back and then giving it and back again. Somehow i thought that was the most hilarious thing when i saw it and that got me interested. Azusa is easily the most Moe character out of all 5 of the members of HTT. She acts mature like Mio but ends up having fun like Yui and Ritsu, i really like that about Azusa, and she is the main focus of this Movie.

I love all 5 of em, they all have their unique traits and what not.

Enjoyment - 10
I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Probably best Slice of Life Movie i have ever seen in my life.

Overall - 10
I am not sure if i did a good job reviewing this and i may have ended up just talking about random stuff about K-On. But anyhow thank you for reading it and hope you enjoyed it.


MOE MOE KYUN!!!!!!!!!

"I think that K-On! truly came together because of the power of you guys {the fans}." -- Aki Toyosaki, "Come With Me" live concert encore

It was a night like any other night. I finished up watching what I thought was the last of the K-On! anime, getting ready to head to sleep.

Then Yui slowly walked to the middle of the screen, she stopped right there, the scene zoomed into her head, and my headphones blasted Cagayake! Girls as scenes from the series played in rapid succession. "OK, OK, good nostalgia, what's going on?"

After Yui walked off the screen, the scene went to a frame with ... the text (in Japanese): K-On! Motion Picture confirmed!!

I don't think I got any sleep that night, as I spent it binge-watching both seasons.

I did watch the trailers, but as I'm not in Japan, I didn't get to watch it in a theater. So I had to wait until the discs were released. Eh. I'm a patient guy.

The opening sketch is quintessential Hokago Tea Time that pulls in pieces of episode 1 of the first series, ending with the punch line, "How about we have some tea?" followed by the opening theme song accompanied with a montage of the girls doing everything but practice. Even in the movie, it isn't all about the music.

How do you top a dramatically epic TV series about a bunch of high school girls? If they were in the States, I suspect one of them would be shouting, "ROAD TRIP!!" ("Ritsu, you have a driver's license?" "No, but I wanted to yell road trip.") I'd like to imagine them deciding on an overseas trip since none of them can drive because that's funny, but that would be inaccurate.

Going to England is certainly an adventure for anyone from Japan, and the good folks at Kyoto decided to pull out all the stops and make double-dog sure they were prepared. Each scene is lovingly detailed, very likely based on photos or sketches taken at real locations in London. From the taxi ride to how you get a table at high-end tea houses, the production staff took the experiences they had in London and replayed them out as if five high school girls were in their shoes. The result is a heartwarming, funny adventure on the plane flight and in the romp through London.

The songwriting subplot seems like nothing spectacular at first, and yet, it's just the sort of sweet, awkward thing the senior girls would do. Watching them desperately try to keep it a surprise is deliciously funny. Those who have watched series 2 might appreciate how each emotional high in the series finale got started, and the callback to the second opening animation in the classroom live concert is a cool touch.

It's rare for Japanese productions to hire native English speakers for "foreigner" roles (it's a cost and time thing), but Kyoto Animation cast actual native English speakers for the "extras", which is nice.

The new songs (1 opener, 1 montage, 1 ending) are incredibly good; the dancing in the opening animation is another callback to series 2, and the ending animation evoking British school girls and the white cliffs of Dover is a work of art.

Other than the big adventure, this is partly an extended episode of, and a supplement to, K-On's second series, taking place after the seniors are accepted to university and before graduation. As a result the story feels just a little fragmented, connected by the songwriting thread or the gang doing a live performance. The ending is a bit of a "Plot? What plot?" sort of ending, as there's already the dramatic ending in the series finale, and the final ending in the second epilogue, wrapping up the series. More importantly, this is a final tribute and send-off to fans of the show and manga; while the manga moves on with some content for the new university students and the new light music club members, sadly there are no plans to bring these to animation. So the ending says to fans, "the girls will always be here", always being the quintet that fans have grown to love.

K-On!'s success lies in connecting with the audience, whether it's through a stirring song, hilarious gags, or the bonds of friendship. What began as a silly little comic strip and a gag over Mio's lyrics became 3 cours plus one film of great animation and stacks of albums and singles worth of music. This was a labor of love for Kyoto Animation, and an accomplishment they should hold up with pride.

For the sake of perspective, let me first say that I am not a big fan of season one of K-ON. I thought it was overrated and dull. However, I am a moderate fan of season two, which was a lot more enjoyable. Maybe it's just because I already expected season two to be episodes and episodes of fluffy nothingness as opposed to season one where I was expecting a rockin' show about music. But whatever, the point is my opinion on K-ON before watching this movie was more or less "meh."

So how was the movie? Well, if you were hoping to see more of ... the exact same stuff that was in season two, then wish granted! The movie is pretty much episode 23.5 of season two, and it just happens to also be two hours long. Judging from all the 9's and 10's people are giving this movie, my guess is that plenty of people DID want more of the same, so good for those guys. But I was not. I was expecting a different take on the series, a different style, a different tone, a different approach.
A movie is a very different thing than a 24 episode series, so it should be approached a lot differently. Maybe I should give some examples to help my point. Let's consider the Scooby Doo series and movie. Now I know that this movie is ancient by now (it came out in 2002!) but it's the perfect example for my point. Simply put, the movie is nothing like the series. It was dark, it had a lot of adult themes, it had a story never approached before in Scooby Doo. Needless to say, I loved that movie. Other examples are the One Piece Strong World movie, the Haruhi Suzumiya movie, and the Batman Dark Knight movies. Even the Lucky Star OVA (kinda like a movie) was a lot more different than the series, and that anime is extremely similar to K-ON.
So, going back to K-ON, what exactly was I hoping to see? Well I'm not too sure, but I know I at least wanted the movie to have a larger dilemma. The problem the characters face in the movie is that they want to give Azusa a gratuity gift, and they can't think of one. Yes, that really is it. Just off the top of my head, the movie could have been a direct progression of the plot, and the dilemma could have surrounded the girls going to college and struggling to find their true identities. You know, college is a tough phase of one's life. If you haven't chosen what path you want to take in your future (career-wise in particular), you have to decide there, and it can be very difficult trying to find one's own identity. I would have loved to have seen a movie with a scene where Yui genuinely pondered about this. This movie could have also been a character movie, focusing on Azusa after the girls' graduation. Her dilemma would have been trying to find new members for the club. Maybe she would end up being unsuccessful in her attempts, and the Light Music Club would have to be disbanded to Azusa's dismay. Dang, with dilemmas like those, the tone and flow of the entire thing would have been completely different. Maybe even.... exciting?

The movie is not like that though. KyoAni took no risks and the movie wound up being a super long episode of the same old. Now, let me say right now that while I was watching this movie I took a lot of breaks, and even then I was finding myself dozing off a few times. The reality is that K-ON's slice of life plot just doesn't work well in a movie lasting two hours long. I was trying to imagine watching this movie in a theater, and I would have fallen asleep guaranteed. Not only is the overall feel of the movie dull, but it doesn't give any new concert pieces, and even bits of the plot from season two are just reused. Considering how KyoAni likes to take risks (Endless Eight), I'm surprised they played this movie so safe. Yes, the movie is good; it's pretty, it sounds nice, whatever. But I can't help but feel a little disappointed that it tried nothing revolutionary.

The same lovable light-hearted K-On! show but with a bigger budget and the girls get to leave the country...So the already prettily animated series gets prettier in the movie, they add a few more songs, and they find a way to tie into the show's finale while adding a super fun side-story in the process? Was any of this necessary? Absolutely not! Should all fans of K-On! watch and love this movie? Absolutely!

Much like many episodes in the show, this movie really did not have to be made. Yet, I am so glad that it was!

Sadly, the girls did not accomplish their goal of performing ... at Budakon like they said they would in episode 1, however, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t put on some great performances along the way including in this film. Plus, it’d probably be a bit far-fetched to see the Light Music Club rocking out to a full crowd in one of the most iconic stadiums in all of Japan. So instead of having a grand professional performance, what would be the most K-On! thing to happen?... why have the girls accidentally perform someone else’s’ gig of course! Ahhh Mugi thank you for being the oddball that you are and allowing the sushi-go-round live performance to happen.

Chronologically, the movie takes place after season 2 episode 22 when the girls took their college entrance exams and it runs through to season 2 episode 24 where our four seniors graduate giving an alternate viewing of the events that took place in that episode. On its own, episode 24 was already one of my favorites in the series and it had my eyes trickling some man tears, but this movie took those same emotions and then added an extra layer of excitement to them. It does this by taking the gang and having them go on a graduation trip to London. This of course leads to some awkwardness from Azusa who as always feels like she’s part of the club but not on the same terms as the other girls due to her being the only underclassmen among the five. And that plays into the main challenge of that is presented to Mio, Ritsu, Yui, and Mugi who want to find a way of making Azusa feel at home and letting her know how much she means to all of them.

As always, what makes K-On! So lovable isn’t that it’s a show about music, it’s that K-On! is about a group of friends living out their day-to-day lives together in an authentic way as television/movies can be. That’s not to say that the music isn’t good because I absolutely loved the intro, closer, and the other new songs. What I actually mean by this is that I find K-On! really relatable. This is the first time any of the five girls (besides Mugi because she comes from a super-rich family) has left the country before. So they all had to get passports in an earlier OVA episode, pack their stuff up, plan the trip, and fly on a plane for the first time. The way that the girls interacted doing all of these things is essentially the same way I felt when I left the United States to go to Japan for the first time. There was some difficulties in getting my passport situated with all of the paperwork (my picture turned out fine though I was no Mio about taking my picture) but my packing went pretty well (thankfully, much like Yui, I had someone to help me with that. It wasn’t my younger sister though haha) as did my planning for the things I wanted to see and where I wanted to go (I did end up going to the wrong hotel at first too haha) and finally, my first airplane ride out of the country was an exciting one too as I had never been on a plane that big before that served food. It gave me the option of American or Japanese food and I of course tried Japanese food to feel cultural.

The excitement that the girls felt about the trip was contagious and reminded me so much of myself. As for their time in London, unlike a lot of other movies and shows, you could tell that a lot of time was put into making the London of K-On! as authentic and as close to the real London as an animated movie possibly could. I’ve never been to London before myself, but because of this movie, I feel like I got to see a glimpse of it due to how detailed their experience was. There really didn’t need to be a nearly 2 hour K-On! movie, but honestly I was having such a good time, I wish there were more scenes of the girls just having fun and exploring London. I want more of Ritsu teasing Mio and dragging her along so she could get over her fear of revolving things lol! I want more scenes where Mio geeks out as they visit the homes and places of her rock idols. Why did they have to get my hopes up by mentioning David Bowie’s home? But even so, the show had to go on and then it gets back into the heart of the story as to how Light Music Club was going to make Azusa feel like she belongs. And Yui out of all of the seniors, took this task the most seriously. The girl who is the most ditzy and easily distracted was the most motivated in ensuring that the girls kept their main priority in check for their sweet Azu-nyan. It was really sweet and I’m so glad that Yui got that focus especially since Azusa has such an odd relationship with Yui. Meaning, Azusa looks up to her because she is older, but doesn’t like how unorganized Yui is and how she can be such a slacker when it comes to tasks of great importance. For it to be Yui after graduating to put the most effort in and making the song for Azu-nyan, it makes the episode 24 version even more special since Yui accidentally steals some of the thunder from the other girls and even steals poor Mugi’s line when they were presenting it to her during that beautiful tear-jerker of a scene.

I still think I prefer the presentation of episode 24 more especially because it touches on Miss Yamanaka and the love her students had for her which was a super touching scene. But the pure happiness concealed within this movie is contagious and it made me feel like Ritsu: all giddy and obnoxious with excitement and wanting to tell the world how awesome the K-On! movie was. I love this movie and this series will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially since I watched it during a rough time in my life and it brought me nothing but joy.

p.s. Who else got fooled by the fight in the intro? They had us in the first half not gonna lie. As much as I loved every second of Death Devil's "Hikari", dat intro Ichiban Ippai is too pure for this world and is honestly one of my favorite songs from K-ON! (That Aaaaaahhhh part of Yui's is perfect!) And it earned it's place on my Music From Movies: Scenes from Cinema That I Love Because of the Music list. (https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Volgan/music-from-movies-scenes-from-cinema-that-i-love-because-of-the-music/)

See My Anime Viewing Diary for my thoughts on the series too.
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Volgan/my-anime-viewing-diary/

But overall, this movie is pure joy and I loved every second of it.