When Ritsu’s friends from Junior High invite the Keion-bu girls to perform with them at a concert house, it’s time for After School Teatime to get rehearsing. With only ten days to go until the gig on New Year’s Eve and nothing prepared, the band must decide on their playlist, costumes and even their lighting. While everyone is excited about their first public concert, will the five girls be able to overcome their nerves and insecurities to make their big debut as incredible as they all hope?
For a show that consists mostly of girls hanging out and drinking tea at a table, Kyoto Animation really puts a fair bit of effort into it. Watching the show on Blu Ray really helped exemplify this even more. The scenes in which the characters practice with their instruments or play Live on Stage really comes to life.
K-on! has some of the most catchy tunes in recent anime, the studio really went all out with the Opening and Ending themes and all of the insert songs that the band plays.
The real charm of K-on! is in its characters and how they interact with each other. Each character has certain defining features and reactions that make them unique and stand out. They also play off of each other very well almost always resulting in silly and comical situations. The characters have very cute and innocent character designs and the lack of any sort of fanservice in the entirety of the show helps a lot.
This episode is sometimes referred to as an OVA, because it didn't air along with the rest of the series during its original broadcast and was first seen on the DVD/Blu-Ray release. It is however a normal episode for all intents and purposes, and aired as part of the series in some markets.
A thoroughly enjoyable episode from start to finish, with the girls performing outside of school – an exciting first for the series. While episode 12 was the official season finale, and a great one at that, ending the first season with the five HTT girls starting a new year together feels fitting, knowing there’s more to come.
Having an extra episode was nice, more K-On! is always welcomed.
