K-On!! (Season 2) Notes

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#1

SB/ED: 山田尚子 (Naoko Yamada)
AD: 堀口悠紀子 (Yukiko Horiguchi)

Absolutely beautiful episode, as to be expected to the premiere of the greatest anime season of all time. The whole dilemma of the episode, cluing the viewer into what the crux of the series' climax will be with Azusa being left alone, while still keeping it lighthearted; because to the girls, they still have a whole year together. It's only when we look back that the time they had feels so short...

From the introductory scene, with Yui running to school early, excited to start her life as a third-year, with her earnest solo playing over snapshots of the others' own entrance to the school. We see the cherry blossoms all throughout this episode, signalling a new beginning for the series, but it's with the knowledge that this is the seniors' final years...making this episode simultaneously feel like a beginning and an ending.

This is the last time these girls will have a first day of (high) school. This is their last freshman-welcoming concert. This is their last year together as the five of them. That fact hasn't settled in yet, and it won't until the very, very end. The girls will merely enjoy each present moment for what it is, and the series expects us to do the same.

Even as Yamada and Yoshida still plant the idea in the viewers' heads, this first episode and its conclusion make the season's mission statement clear. There are not going to be any new members. Doing so would diminish the meaning of this being these five's, in particular, last year together. Yes, Azusa will be left alone next year. But worrying about that and trying to lessen the pain of that somehow just feels...wrong. Going into the episode, Yui was already at the same conclusion she came to at the end it: "I don't mind staying as we are now."

The scene where they decided as a club to stay as the five of them was absolute perfection in the most poetic way. Azusa is told moments before that it's hard for anyone else to join since the band looked so close. Bringing someone to the club just to fill the space that the seniors will leave behind doesn't feel right. Besides Azu-nyan's adorable reaction (🥺😭❤️) to this, it's the clubroom scene, where she hears this from Yui herself where she truly accepts it.

The conflicting feelings here are just incredible. Yui and Azusa never directly talked about this to each other about this, yet by the end they both came to the same conclusion. And what's most impactful about this, is that the moment where Azusa realizes that Yui was thinking the same thing was in itself framed in a moment of separation.

Azusa's bag, which is usually seen sitting next to the others, is framed in its own dedicated shot, before cutting to the other four bags, sitting next to each other in the foreground. Azusa is standing outside the room, separated by the door. And yet, in this separation, both she and Yui are together in thinking the very same thing as each other. The year is too short to worry about the inevitable end, so Azusa decides to spend it cherishing each moment she has with them.

In this moment, Azusa is separated from her seniors, and yet, they continue to be tied together by their shared thoughts, and their unbreakable bonds that have formed over the past year. It's with this, that Azusa can rest assured, that even when they're physically apart, they'll always be together, no matter what.

Once again, there are so many details in this episode that could easily go over one's head. It's a perfectly enjoyable episode with incredible comedic timing & framing, along with a plethora of horihori blobs ofc; and it establishes the light, fluffy tone the majority of the season will have. And yet, if you take the effort to peek under the surface, you'll find so much intricate detail in its techniques, so much it says about these characters in such a small amount of time. As if viewers at the time needed any more proof after the first season that Yamada and Yoshida are masters of their craft, this episode should have immediately reaffirmed that for them.

#2

SB/ED: Tatsuya Ishihara (石原立也)
AD: Miku Kadowaki (門脇未来)

We're back to the pure fluffy fun with this episode, and Ishihara is one of the funniest SB/EDs at the studio. His sense of rhythm is very snappy, and a great fit for an ep like this. But of course if you know where to look--and if you know KyoAni--there is always something that's being said about the characters with every episode, even the seemingly trivial ones. Here, even though they decided not to bring any new members in, they ended up recruiting one in the end--just not the kind we expected! Enter, Ton-chan!!!

Now, if you've been paying attention, we've seen the symbol of the tortoise peppered all throughout the first season, perched on the handrest of the stairway to the clubroom. So when this long-standing symbol is no longer a mere environmental detail, but instead a conscious decision made by our characters, I believe it's important to dive in to the circumstances of that decision.

Continuing from last episode, even though Azusa told them herself that she was fine not having any junior members, we see moments in this episode of the senpais worrying about her regardless. Seeing as she's made the decision of her own accord, I don't think it's something she's truly worried about, but it's very sweet to see the senpais worry about Azu-nyan all the same. 🥺🥺🥺

So Ton-chan's role in this episode is multi-purpose—one, 1) to use Yui's complete misreading of Azusa's interest in Ton-chan as a parallel to the senpais worrying on her behalf, when she herself is very likely not worried about it herself; and 2), to bring that tortoise symbol we've seen before more into the forefront, something that's more important than ever now that the senpais are in their third year. In truth, for as much as they try not to think about it, they are worried about Azu-nyan, but at the same time, the conclusion they made last ep still holds true. Trying to shove in a new member just so Azusa wouldn't be lonely next year would only serve to dilute the connection that they have now. That wouldn't be fair to Azusa, nor to the new person they're bringing in. So for Yui to buy Ton-chan for her, it's showing that worry & care they have for her, while also keeping their current togetherness intact. It's okay to worry about the future, but to let that get in the way of enjoying every current moment they still have together would be a waste. Just take things slow, piece by piece, and don't even focus on the path in front of you, but instead on the people walking by your side.