- king3vbo
- Mar 1, 2013
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Weeaboo scumlord
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I don't know, at this point in the manga I'm not sure I want another season of anime. I kind of like where it ended with the film.
That's not to say I'm not enjoying the manga reboot, I am... it's just that I don't think it would be the same.
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Mar 6, 2013 04:43
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- Too Lazy to Stop
- Dec 27, 2012
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ParTEA Hard!
Hahaha! Get it? It's a pun!
...oh I'm wasting my life.
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I found this on reddit's anime subreddit and I thought you guys might find it interesting. It's a rough translation of the critical analysis section of the Japanese Wikipedia article for K-ON! and I think it does a pretty good job of explaining exactly what K-ON! is about.
quote:My quick and dirty translation:
K-ON is frequently assessed by the fact that despite being a depiction of a high school Keiongaku-club, typical band-genre tropes of "Obstacles and growth along the way of achieving mainstream success", "Conflicts between musical tastes of individual members", "Serious romantic relations", and other such dramatic elements are completely eliminated. While initially it invited reactions within the anime community by certain members "being clueless as to how to enjoy this at all", the late 2000's has already seen a similar boom in works having a specifically Otaku appeal(Translator's note: K-on had a 30% female viewership, which is fairly significant for an anime, especially a late-night one like K-on), known colloquially on the internet as "atmospheric"* works. If the 2007 anime series Lucky Star is the front runner of the Atmospheric style, the present work could be considered its pinnacle. When comparing the two works, Lucky Star has the setting of an otaku main character to bring forth jokes and twists based in otaku culture, Keion differs to this in that it is completely lacking in Otaku humor-elements, and has focused entirely on the pure depiction of "the daily lives of several bishoujo".
The present work's success has often been attributed to the previously mentioned features being in line with modern society. Critic Uno Tsunehiro has claimed works like Keion(series endlessly repeating conversations about nothing in particular) depicting an idealized form of communication will increase in amount in a modern society affected with what Sociologist Kitada Akihiro calls "Tsunagari no Shakaisei"(Social condition of connectedness)**, and that this Atmospheric mentality can be seen in the anime's soundtrack and lyrics. Anime critic Hyoukawa Ryusuke considers that aside from the anime's popularity being attributable to it being adapted by a famous anime production studio, but also to the stylistic characteristic of the work's portrayl of a Joshikousei main character and their world, citing the lack of any real effort on the characters' part to improve musically nor there being any major male characters -claiming that the act of observing the main casts' daily lives within this setting was concurrent with society at the time of its popularity. Itou Yuu, a researcher at the Kyoto International Museum pointed out in the 10/21/2010 edition of the Asahi Newspaper that the anime lacks in "the basic structure of a 4-panel strips Kishoutenketsu(Japanese term for Occurence-Rising action-Twist-End pattern, think of it as the wheel of plot)" and that "due to there being no story, the characters do not experience any growth", while explaining its success as "the depiction of a twist-less and growth-less utopia-esque day-to-day as a perfect match to the strong desire present in the modern individual who wishes simply to connect with other's lives, for example through media like blogs and twitter". Ito's comments have been interpreted by the internet forum 2chan as criticizing the present work, eliciting reactions such as "For the sake of debate I'll agree there's little to no story, but saying it's empty of growth is itself an empty statement" "This is horrible, there's clearly both growth and change". Keion's producer Nakayama Yoshihisa has admitted it may be lacking in what would typically be considered a plot, but that the observant viewers who pick up on subtle cues of internal feelings and concerns of the characters from bits and pieces of their silly conversations can be authentically moved, and claims that "criticzing the piece as lacking in any eventfulness" is an overly simplistic argument.
Though Keion is a slice of life, unlike series such as "Sazae-san"(a long-running Japanese slice of life series) that basically stop the progress of time in any form, Keion instead provides a proper ending in the form of the characters' graduation. Art critic Kuresawa Takemi has praised the anime's ending with the original work at basically the same time as a satisfying form of conclusiveness, similar to the approach of Azumanga Daioh, and Uno Tsunehiro has said the heroine's paradise-like community forcefully brought to an end by graduation brings up the question of how or if they are capable of maintaing it into their future.
Keion's Daily life-oriented direction(story) has been predicted to be difficult to continue. Critic Kurose Youhei has said that simply continuing to depict the daily lives of the bishoujo would be tapering, and expects a huge shift in direction, while sociologist Miyadai Shinji has predicted slice of life series such as keion would have difficulty finding a place in a Japan under the influence of the the 3/11/2011 Touhoku Earthquake.
*Atmospheric, "kuukikei" is a term describing series that have no particular end goal that sort of meander on with conversations. They have a more ambient quality to them and don't stress plot or character development, and sometimes aren't even that humorous. The American equivalent would be those cool conversations characters have for no real reason about random inanities in Tarantino films, though instead of the end-result(not necessarily goal) being "cool" for kuukikei it's more likely than not to be "cute".
**Societal Condition of Connectedness is a legitimate sociological term describing(as far as I understand it) a society dominated by social networks like facebook and twitter, addicted to being connected 24/7 and engaging in communication not just for the practical exchange of content, emotion, and information, but for the sake of communication itself. Think of it as a room of people yawning, sneezing, and glancing at each other without actually saying anything -all acts that aren't intended to communicate anything, but if any given "receiver" interprets them as communication, then it is established as communication. Kitada developed it within the framework of the social theory of Niklas Luhman
Other sections of the article note that the rare combination of a female director, female series planner, and female character designer along with other key female staff members as contributing to the authenticity of the anime(and in my opinion another factor in what I and many consider to be a superior adaptation to the manga, which is written by a single male mangaka)
What do you guys make of it?
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Mar 12, 2013 17:56
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- coreycoryecorey
- Oct 10, 2012
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too many words about an anime
I like this show because it is colorful, cute, and makes me laugh.
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Mar 12, 2013 19:38
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- roboblart
- Sep 10, 2012
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I didn't know people took K-ON that seriously.
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Mar 12, 2013 20:08
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- Gutcruncher
- Apr 16, 2005
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Go home and be a family man!
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I like this show because it is colorful, cute, and makes me laugh.
Sorry your little peabrain couldnt possibly comprehend the intricacies of this incredible journey through the human psyche.
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Mar 12, 2013 21:28
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- Jet Ready Go
- Nov 3, 2005
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I thought I didn't qualify. I was considered, what was it... volatile, self-centered, and I don't play well with others.
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I found this on reddit's anime subreddit and I thought you guys might find it interesting. It's a rough translation of the critical analysis section of the Japanese Wikipedia article for K-ON! and I think it does a pretty good job of explaining exactly what K-ON! is about.
What do you guys make of it?
I've actually always identified K-On to friends as a Moe Seinfield.
I agree with the assessment that the show was almost like idealized social interaction. It wasn't purposeful, it didn't have any airs about being more than it was, but it existed and made you feel satisfied. It's a show about what you remember about High School ten years later. You remember the great times with friends, the little useless conversations, and the carefree nature. You don't remember the turmoil, you dont really recall overcoming anything in particular, you dont remember the classes.
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Mar 12, 2013 22:36
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- The Monkey Man
- Jun 10, 2012
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I enjoyed K-ON!, but I don't think that anything in the slice-of-life genre deserves to have that much ink spilled over it.
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Mar 12, 2013 22:48
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- Too Lazy to Stop
- Dec 27, 2012
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ParTEA Hard!
Hahaha! Get it? It's a pun!
...oh I'm wasting my life.
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I don't understand why the Japanese wikipedia article would have so much written about the meaning of K-On!
You seem to forget about the horrifying cult following the show has.
Behold, the K-On hoodie! $227 of pure... I don't even know what to call it.
Bottom line is, there are people who care too much about everything. This is good, as these people make us feel better about ourselves.
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Mar 12, 2013 23:18
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- Gutcruncher
- Apr 16, 2005
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Go home and be a family man!
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"Sir-san, we have this crazy glowing hoodie thing and have decided to make it K-on themed. Please have a look at our binder of K-on artwork we can choose from. Pick one and we can design something for the hoodie based on that."
"I choose......ALL OF THEM"
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Mar 12, 2013 23:53
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- Paracelsus
- Apr 5, 2009
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You seem to forget about the horrifying cult following the show has.
Behold, the K-On hoodie! $227 of pure... I don't even know what to call it.
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Mar 13, 2013 00:13
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- Too Lazy to Stop
- Dec 27, 2012
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ParTEA Hard!
Hahaha! Get it? It's a pun!
...oh I'm wasting my life.
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I think the word you're looking for is moe. It could stand to be a bit more moe, if you catch my drift.
Oh, I know what you mean
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Mar 13, 2013 01:17
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