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| We can see here the show's plot described in exorbitant detail. |
Dear Internet,
Here is
to a new hundred posts, provided I do not self destruct before then.
I am
finished with "K-On!!", AKA "Double Dessert Edition." And I have to say that I am pleasantly
surprised with the last group of thirteen episodes. That does not mean that the final batch makes
me reverse my judgments of the last two days worth of episodes. No, those episodes range from sucking to only
being slightly amusing. The final
episodes are a group that has finally learned how to make a slice of life show. At the same time, they display the show's
inability to make the episodes more focused.
I will
start on the bad note so that I can end on the good ones. The show does not devote itself to one
specific theme in each episode. It
usually has two or three things it is trying to balance at one time. When it tries to do too much, the show falls
flat with all the jokes falling to the floor.
For example, in episode 14 the keyboard player and the drummer find each
other while out shopping. A portion of
the episode devotes itself to the drummer taking the keyboardist out to the
arcade. They have fun in the various things
there and enjoy spending time together.
This is one of the few times that the two characters are alone and are
able to interact without the presence or interference of the others. The part of the episode that only had the two
characters includes a refreshing dynamic that the rest of the show is lacking
of. Usually, the whole band is together
and there is a single and solitary group dynamic occurring. Sadly, this part of the episode ends quickly
and is replaced with a pathetic excuse afterwards. Basically, the keyboardist wants a more
physical relationship with her peers.
One hugs another frequently.
Another scolds a forth and reprimands using a light blow to the
head. The keyboardist wants to be hit on
the head because she feels left out of the kind of relationship that her peers
are experiencing. While it is understandable
that she feels this way, the fact that she does not identify being slapped as a
negative reaction rather than a positive one makes what comes afterward so much
more annoying. She then decides that to fulfill
her dream of "being slapped" she will do scatterbrained things to warrant
a natural slap rather than asking her friend, the drummer, to do it. The rest of the episode feels forced because
the humor is stemming from this. It
would have been better if the episode just had her get hit and then move on
with itself.
Take
episode 16 as another example. The whole
episode, the secondary guitarist is trying to get the group to practice for a
change. If this were not the umpteenth
time that this joke was made, it might actually be funny. The episode does do one thing right. It makes the character pair off with each of
the other four band members, one at a time, and has the pairs interact. This, like episode 14, explores a number of one
on one relationships that the show usually never gets the chance to touch
on. At times, the episode is
heartwarming since the characters can talk about things on a more intimate
level or do things that feel like exceptions to the show's norm. However, the episode is constantly falling
back to the old joke, and reality, that the band does not practice often.
In the last
batch, there are next to no performances of the group. There are about three strong ones where they
play full songs and a few other times where they only get as far as the intro. I think it is the least amount of
performances per batch I have watched.
All it does is point out the fact that this show is not about a group of
girls in a school band. It is just not about
the music, Internet. It is not about the
music at all. Which is a real shame.
The few
times that the group performs, the show really takes off and does what it is
supposed to do. Take the final concert
that the group gives at the spring festival.
The band plays three songs, two of which are actually displayed. In between, the main guitarist talks briefly
about the various characters who surround her.
When she does this, the various relationships are highlighted to the
point where the audience gains in insight to the character's specific feelings
regarding to her friends. They are
touching moments because they reveal something that the show normally skips
over or downplays for humor. The
graduation episode does this as well. By
not trying to be a humorous episode and instead focus on the emotional aspects
of the show, it makes for better viewing since it does a much better job. There were a few times that the show made me
laugh, but those were here and there to the point of being at the same frequency
of comedic relief found in dramatic stories.
I still do not think of this show as being a comedy because it fails in
that regards, but there are a few moments here are there that marks it as a
slice of life.
Those
moments are far apart, too far to make me recommend the show to someone. However, in the last stretch, the show does
an OK to good job of making heartwarming moments. This
might be because the show took a long enough chunk of time out of me to get
used to the characters. They are sort of
like that weird uncle that the family tries to ignore at reunions. No one really interacts with him, and he does
not interact with him. The kids like him
well enough but only after gathering enough courage to talk to him. You would miss him if he did not make it to
the gathering, but you might not realize it until he actually does not
come. That is when you realize he had
been taking care of all the kids the entire time and allowed you to talk to
everyone else without the kids pulling at your skirt/pant leg. Yeah, the characters in "K-On!!"
are like that. They grow on you after a
while because they are there to grow.
At the
end of the day, "K-On!!" is an average anime that has its good points
too late and too far apart. It is like
getting a chocolate candy that is wrapped in ten layers of wax paper. The wax paper is taped over at each layer,
too. Not to mention that you do not have
a knife and you just cut your nails down.
Eventually you will get to the center and find something enjoyable, but
it will not be filling after all the work it took to get there. If the show had more musical segments and
played up the slice of life moments than try to inject humor where it failed to
do so, it would have been much better.
But all the "if"s of the world cannot play a stanza of music.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
P.S. Next is "Brick" (2005).
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