K-On! follows the exploits of Yui Hiragawa and her life-long friend Nodoka Manabe who have just started studying at Sakuragaoka Girl’s High School. When Nodoka discovers that Yui hasn’t joined a school club (and implies that Yui may become a NEET), Yui ends up joining the Light Music Club simply because she can remember being complimented on her enthusiastic castanet playing by her Nursery teacher. Unfortunately for Yui, she gets a little more than she bargained for. The three existing members of the Light Music Club, Ristu Tainaka, Mio Akiyama and Tsumugi Kotobuki are desperate for a fourth member to join otherwise the club will be disbanded (along with Ritsu’s dream of playing the Budokan). Therefore, the three girls beg Yui to stay and even help her buy her first guitar.

It’s safe to say that K-On! is a series about music. However, this is simply an underlying theme that lets the series explore topics like dealing with high school and friendship. This is all wrapped in what may appear to be a rather cutesy and very girly exterior. For older anime viewers this might be a bit of a turn-off, but it should be stressed that this series is definitely worth checking out regardless.

Why? Simply because the characters are so well written. Each is wonderfully unique with their own eccentricities that make them fantastically charming to watch. For example, Yui’s indecisiveness makes her clumsy and frequently puts her into difficult situations. Fortunately, she’s so endearing and sweet that these qualities transform her into a real underdog. Ritsu is similar; she’s bold, brash and reveals that she only chose to learn drums because the thought of trying to achieve all the complex finger manoeuvres a guitarist or pianist must achieve is too much for her. Well, that and she thinks drums are ‘cool’. However, like Yui, her sheer determination and belief in her band-mates makes her a fantastic character to watch. These girls are so headstrong and adorable that you cannot but help cheer them on. K-On! really makes you care about its characters.

Animation is solid throughout; everything moves so fluid and natural that you sometimes wonder whether the characters are rotoscoped. This is then spliced with various amounts of exaggerated and more eccentric animation when the characters are being more expressive. This shows more prominently when the characters are scared or upset, but keeps the tone generally light-hearted and humorous. For example, it is revealed that Mio has an irrational fear of anything creepy. Oh, and barnacles. The more exaggerated animation helps in playing these moments for laughs and adds to the overall charm.

Bizarrely, the soundtrack is particularly less pronounced than you would expect for a series based on music. It generally extends to simple, poppy background pieces that merely keep spirits high. It’s a shame it’s so inoffensive and unmemorable because it spoils what is a beautifully presented package. Luckily, the J-pop themes that are used for the opening and ending are tunes you’ll have in your head for weeks. These sequences are also gorgeously presented with some stunning animation that makes them look like music videos, showing the girls dressed in more typical popstar attire.

The English dub is nothing to be scoffed at either. Each of the character’s voices is brilliantly portrayed and gives them all a distinctive sound as well as look. The weakest of the few is strangely Yui which is played a little too cute. Her voice can grate at times when she’s excited, but luckily the strong writing doesn’t ruin the character for those who can overlook it.

The DVD’s only bonus feature is an interview with Stephanie Sheh; the English voice actor of Yui. These are very common on Western Anime releases and it unfortunately doesn’t reveal anything you don’t already know. Expect Stephanie to explain what she likes about the character and what drew her to the series and so on and so on. Yeah, we’ve heard it all before.

This first volume of K-On! is 4 episodes strong and is great value for money. You don’t come away feeling short-changed and you get a solid chunk of the series. However, by the time you’ve finished it you’ll definitely want to see more, and surely that’s the sign of a great series… right?

Label: Manga Entertainment
Release date: 29th August 2011
Release type: DVD
Certificate: PG
Price: £17.99