The Scenery Changed by “K-On!” — The Revolution of Kyoto Animation Behind the “Laid-back” Vibe and the Unfading Melody of Youth

About the Work Broadcast in 2009, “K-On!” is based on the 4-panel manga by Kakifly, with animation production by Kyoto Animation. The staff includes Naoko Yamada as director, who displayed a genius sensibility despite her youth at the time, and Reiko Yoshida on series composition—marking the collaboration of a future “golden duo.”

Affection for the “Unending Daily Life”: No major incidents occur. However, the story covers successes at school festivals, anxiety about the future, and the inevitable graduation… Time flows with certainty, and the visuals eloquently tell us that every single second is a moment that will never return. The paradoxical composition of depicting this “ephemeral youth” through the laid-back rhythm of drinking tea and chatting is truly magnificent.

In the spring of her first year of high school, instrument beginner Yui Hirasawa joins the Light Music Club. Together with the club president Ritsu Tainaka, the shy Mio Akiyama, and the gentle Tsumugi Kotobuki, she spends fun days centered around tea time in the club room, along with training camps, school festivals, and Christmas.

In their second year, they welcome the serious new member Azusa Nakano and achieve massive success at the club’s second school festival as the five-member band “Ho-kago Tea Time” (After School Tea Time). And then, Yui and her friends welcome the spring of their third year…

An “incident” occurred in the anime industry, or rather, in Japanese pop culture. High school girls form a band. However, there is no blood-soaked special training, nor is there a battle to save the world. There is only tea, snacks, and idle chatter.

More than a decade has passed since the broadcast of the anime K-On!. Some of you who watched it in real-time back then might have felt, “The impression was weak at first,” or “The animation is good, but I didn’t understand what they wanted to do.” However, when re-watching it after some time, that evaluation changes completely. “Wait? Was it this funny?” “Why can’t I stop crying?”

This work is a monumental achievement of “Slice of Life” anime created by Kyoto Animation and “Manga Time Kirara,” and it is a pioneer that determined the state of anime that followed. Why does the daily life of these girls, who rarely seem to hold their instruments properly, capture our hearts so deeply and refuse to let go? Why did the songs in the play sweep the music charts and become a social phenomenon?

From the perspective of a veteran columnist, I would like to dig deep again into the tremendous technology, calculation, and love of the production team hidden in this “fluffy” world.

What cannot be avoided when talking about K-On! is the overwhelming technical ability of the production company, Kyoto Animation. The original work is a 4-panel manga. Originally, KyoAni successfully reconstructed what tends to be a pile of short skits into a 30-minute animation.

What is noteworthy is the obsession with “casual movements.” The shifting of the center of gravity when the protagonist Yui Hirasawa holds the guitar, the gesture of Mio Akiyama playing with her hair when shy, Ritsu Tainaka’s dynamic drumming, and Tsumugi Kotobuki’s hand movements when brewing tea. And the change in the atmosphere after the junior, Azusa Nakano, joins. Each of these is drawn with sophisticated design and movement.

“Instead of constructing a story with techniques, focus on how to create a pleasant time with cute characters.” In this respect, this work is thorough. Even the fact that performance scenes are cut in some episodes is part of the calculation. Affirming their priority of “tea over practice,” the show shares the comfort of that space with the viewer. By lowering the threshold to the limit, it attracted even those who were not used to watching anime.

Also, the original sense drifting from the entire screen cannot be overlooked. The stylish design of the opening video, the cuteness of the eyecatch, and the fashion of the characters. Even though it is a work from 2009, the reason why it does not feel old-fashioned at all even now is proof that KyoAni staff’s color sense and photography technology were one or two steps ahead of the times. Remove the colored glasses of “because it’s an old anime,” and there is quality that should be re-evaluated right now.

Another reason this work is called a “legend” is its achievements in music. Many of you probably remember the shock when the opening theme “Cagayake! GIRLS” and the ending theme “Don’t say ‘lazy'” dominated the top of the music program rankings. It was also the moment when the public realized the potential of the anime song market, asking, “Can anime songs sell this much?”

The insert songs are also masterpieces. Titles like “Fuwa Fuwa Time” and “Watashi no Koi wa Hotchkiss” (My Love is a Stapler) are unique, but the completeness as songs puts professionals to shame. Especially the coolness of “Don’t say ‘lazy'” is extraordinary. Yoko Hikasa’s (as Mio) powerful and expansive vocals, and the groovy bass line. Many viewers must have had their “hearts shot” by the gap with the fluffy daily life of the main story. The acting and singing ability of the voice actors are also wonderful, and Aki Toyosaki’s (as Yui) “singing style of a genius where you don’t know if she is good or bad” and Ayana Taketatsu’s (as Azusa) synchronization rate with the character were truly miraculous casting.

Experienced band members sometimes retort, “The score is weird,” or “Beginners can’t play like that suddenly,” but even that has a persuasive power in the visuals and sound that makes such comments seem boorish. In fact, how many young people ran to musical instrument stores saying “I want to start a band!” after watching this anime? K-On! was also a powerful influencer that changed music from “something to listen to” to “something to do (or enjoy).”

And the core of this work is the “worldview that thoroughly excludes noise.” In the world of K-On!, men hardly appear other than the main characters. There are no romance elements, muddy human relationship troubles, or discrimination due to school castes. There is only a world of kindness where people care for and acknowledge each other.

This might be a fantasy for escapism in a sense. However, that is why we are saved by their daily lives. There is no jealousy towards the rich girl Mugi-chan, only surprise and admiration. Even the dissatisfaction that the stoic Azunyan holds towards her seniors eventually melts into the emotion of “I love you all.” Even the advisor Sawako-sensei, who looks unconventional, is a good sympathizer who cares about her students.

A “world without malice.” How comfortable and precious that is. Especially towards the end of the story, as the “time of the end” called graduation approaches, that preciousness turns into sadness. In the second season, the figures of them wishing it wouldn’t end, and the feelings of the seniors trying to leave a song for their juniors. Because there was an accumulation of daily life, the emotion of the final episode is immeasurable. It is not “calculating emotion,” but the accumulation of small daily happiness returns as a big emotion. This can be said to be the highest point reached by Slice of Life anime.

K-On! is not just a cute girl anime. It is the embodiment of the “ideal youth” that we have lost, or perhaps never existed from the beginning, realized through the magic of animation.

The tragedy that struck Kyoto Animation in 2019 left an unforgettable scar on us anime fans. However, the works they created continue to warm our hearts without fading even now. The “love” put in by the staff continues to live forever in the corners of the film, in the smiles of the characters, and in the music.

If there is anyone who hasn’t seen K-On! yet, or if there is anyone whose memory is fading after watching it a long time ago. Please watch it at this timing. There, the unchanging members of “Houkago Tea Time” are waiting with tea and snacks ready.

When you are tired of daily life and feel that your heart lacks nutrition. Why don’t you listen to the loose, but certain “melody of youth” they play? Surely, after watching, the world should look a little kinder.

• Yui Hirasawa: Voiced by Aki Toyosaki
• Mio Akiyama: Voiced by Yoko Hikasa
• Ritsu Tainaka: Voiced by Satomi Sato
• Tsumugi Kotobuki: Voiced by Minako Kotobuki
• Azusa Nakano: Voiced by Ayana Taketatsu
• Sawako Yamanaka: Voiced by Asami Sanada

• Original Creator: Kakifly
• Director: Naoko Yamada
• Series Composition: Reiko Yoshida
• Character Design: Yukiko Horiguchi
• Music: Hajime Hyakkoku
• Animation Production: Kyoto Animation