Tuesday, August 30, 2011

K-On! Vol. 1 DVD UK release

Yep. As of yesterday, the first DVD volume of K-On! has been released in the UK. I’m not going to review this particular edition – at this point I feel I’ve reviewed volume 1 of K-On! enough to last me for quite a while.
I will, however, point to some reviews that are already out. I don’t necessarily agree with everything they say, but that’s beside the point. Anime Picks writes:
“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?”
“In terms of Manga Entertainment's DVD treatment of these episodes, the overall quality of the release is pretty good, even if the show's animation quality will undoubtedly benefit from its eventual planned Blu-Ray release.  The rabid hardcore fans may complain about a small piece of music replacement in one episode (Tsubasa wo Kudasai is switched out for Love Me Tender for whatever reason) but the gloriously catchy opening and ending themes are left intact, even if we only get a stereo Dolby Digital track against uncompressed LPCM audio, which again isn't going to faze the majority of would-be buyers.”
In other words, it seems Manga’s UK release is pretty much the same as Bandai’s US release. No surprise there. Anime Focus writes:
“The only downside to the UK release is that the series is being released in volumes rather than larger collections we have grown accustomed to in recent years, also there is a lack of a Blu-ray release, of course it’s possible these will be released at a later date.”
(And yes, a UK Blu-Ray release is planned for April 2012.) Chris Spratt, reviewing the DVD for Otaku News, is less than thrilled with the anime itself:
“In reality K-ON! doesn't seem to offer much to your average Joe shmoe anime viewer. K-ON! isn't a philosophical masterwork which challenges you to think as you watch it, it isn't an action packed extravaganza which keeps you on the edge of your seat, what K-ON is can simply be described as fluff, albeit very well made fluff as is to be expected from the veritable hit factory which Kyoto Animation has become.
This is a show which feels like it was designed by committee, which it most likely was, where every creative decision was made with the idea of how to sell more copies to fans.”
“Designed by committee”, eh? Of course it was. Just like every TV series in the world. Let's not kid ourselves. That eye-roll inducing comment aside, I can’t really hold against this guy the fact that he doesn’t like K-On!. Especially after just the first four episodes – I myself wasn’t entirely convinced by that point, either.
In any case, it seems the UK release is – as expected – just a copy of the American release, warts and all. It’d be interesting to know what the packaging and disc art is like, though. The Australian Blu-Ray, despite being identical to the US version in terms of disc content, actually had the original Yui disc art on it (like the Japanese and German discs). I’m a little curious to know if the UK disc got it as well, and the US version is truly the odd man out.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

CD review: “Don’t Say “Lazy”” single

I don’t think anyone needs me to review the song Don’t Say “Lazy”. It’s the end credits song for K-On!, everyone knows it, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the popularity of this song is what made some people K-On! fans to begin with. Needless to say, it was very well received and is probably one of the most, if not the most iconic of K-On! songs.
Limited Edition cover

No, the song itself needs no recommendation from me. And I suppose the CD single doesn’t either, to be honest, but hey – this is the kind of stuff this blog exists for. And I suppose maybe, just maybe, there still are some K-On! fans out there that wonder if this CD is worth spending their hard-earned cash on.
Regular edition cover

So let’s get right down to it: What do you get on this CD? Well obviously, you get the song Don’t Say “Lazy” in its full 4 minute 23 seconds version. It’s like the 90 second TV version, but… longer. The B-side is a song called Sweet Bitter Beauty Song (the title refers not to the song itself, but to life. It’s, like, deep and stuff) and then there are instrumental versions of both songs.
As with the Cagayake!GIRLS single, there are two editions – the regular-ass edition that comes in a slim case, and a Limited Edition that comes in a regular jewel case. I have the latter version, so that’s what we’ll be looking at.
LE cover backside

The LE version of the CD has the same content as the regular edition, but the packaging and disc art differs. The LE CD has a picture of the four girls in their Don’t Say “Lazy” attire, the same as on the cover, on the actual disc.
And again like the Cagayake!GIRLS single, instead of a booklet inside the CD case, there is a series of alternate covers (with the lyrics and credits printed on the backside), each featuring one of the characters. So if you want to buy four copies and have each one display a different character on the cover… you’re crazy.
…but yeah, it’s possible to do that. Provided you can actually get a hold of multiple copies, that is. It just so happens the LE is out of print, but should be fairly easy to find second-hand. I was able to find a new and unopened copy for myself, although that was a while back. I don’t think it’d be too hard for a collector to find an unused LE CD, but for the sake of your wallet (and possibly your sanity)… just get one.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Fan stuff! Happy birthday Ritsu!

I’m not really the type to celebrate a fictional character’s fictional birthday. But with the nature of this blog being what it is, I can’t really ignore it either, can I? It’s Ritsu’s birthday! Even the K-On! movie countdown app featured Ritsu today.

"Happyness". Wait, isn't Yui the one who's supposed to be wearing the strangely relevant shirts?

So, here’s a video with random Ritsu moments. It features a lot of clips from the second season, but nothing too spoilerish, I think.
Talented young drummer Senri Kawaguchi doing a drum cover of Ritsu’s first character song, “Girly Storm Shissou Stick”. Nice.
Finally, there’s this. Whatever this is.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

K-On! manga US vs. JP review and comparison (vol. 3)

The third volume of Kakifly’s original K-On! manga is here, and as a random person on the internet, it is of course my sacred duty to review it. The first two volumes were adapted into the first season of the TV anime by Kyoto Animation, and this third volume consists of the chapters that would eventually be turned into the first half of the second season (so, yeah; spoilers!).
As with every volume of K-On!, this one opens with a special chapter that wasn’t serialized in Manga Time Kirara (and in this case, wasn’t adapted for the anime either). It’s a short chapter, in which the five Keionbu members celebrate the new year.
Other chapters has them working at a maid cafĂ©, encountering a stalker, celebrating Valentine’s, cleaning the club room, failing at recruiting new members, struggling to make a career choice, going on a class trip to Kyoto, having trouble with the rainy season, having trouble with the heat during summer, facing a weird request from Mugi, and going to a music festival. Lastly, there’s a chapter focusing on the younger three characters – Azusa, Ui and Jun – and a special chapter featuring a flashback to the beginnings of Mio and Ritsu’s friendship.
The older four begin their final High School year in this volume, and we get the first signs of an impending ending to the series as Azusa briefly comes to the realization that she’s going to be alone in the club soon, before dismissing the thought as depressing – leaving the potentially tearful goodbyes for another day and another volume.
The English version from Yen Press compares to the Japanese original much the same way the first and second volumes did. The two editions are of equal size and look pretty much the same. As before, the “bonus comics” inside the cover on the Japanese edition are moved to the back of the book, which works out just fine. Curiously, one of these pages has a note saying “© Kyoto Animation”. As far as I know, KyoAni has nothing to do with the original manga… If it’s a joke, I’m not getting it.
Once again, the English edition has color pages that were reduced to grey tones for the Japanese tankoubon, and there are actually even more color pages this time. Nicely done.
What has irked some fans this time around, though, is the translation. The continued use of “Pop Music Club” and “Azu-meow” is to be expected, but the adaption of the Kyoto dialect into profanity-laden urban speech in the English version has not fared well with some readers. Frankly, I think it is justified criticism. Mugi’s speech about the Kinkakuji is translated thusly:
“Yo, dis Kinkakuji hea… Dis bitch was all burned out an’ shit back in 1950. Da one dey gots hea is some new shit dey rebuilt afta. An’ the trut’ is, dey be callin’ it Rokuonji, yo.”
I think that speaks for itself. To be fair, the translator does account for his choice in the translation notes, and this rather unfortunate incident is pretty much contained within one page… In my opinion, hardly enough reason to howl for the blood of anyone involved or to pass on buying this book. Not when Yen Press got so much right.
And now, to wait for the “final” volume, coming in December…

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fan stuff! Funny AMV’s that don’t suck!

You know, it’s hard to find AMV’s on YouTube. Wait, let me rephrase that – it’s hard to find AMV’s that don’t suck on YouTube. Not because there aren’t any, but because they are vastly outnumbered by crappy videos consisting of really bad selection of clips (Hello? Showing a long section of a random dialogue scene isn’t going to make for a very exciting music video!), often with text from a fansub plastered all over the picture and taken from a source of the most horrible quality, with no regard to how it (doesn’t) fit the chosen song – which, of course, is a random stupid pop song that has nothing to do with what’s going on in the anime those clips are from (or alternatively, the song “Numb” by Linkin Park, which apparently is good for any occasion). Bonus points if the AMV is intended to tell a story (most likely some ship crap), but the story is told entirely in the video description because the video itself is an incoherent mess. Extra bonus points if it’s an attempt to make a “deep” and “angsty” video out of a light comedy anime.
Sometimes, it’s just a great relief to come across some silly little thing like this.
Or this.
Or this… the epic, unholy K-On!/DMC/Tenacious D crossover. (Warning: Do not watch this unless you’re an adult. NSFW, I mean it!)

K-On! manga US vs. JP review and comparison (vol. 2)

While the first volume of Kakifly’s original K-On! manga was covered by (more or less) the first eight episodes of the TV anime (in other words, the parts that have been released in the US so far), Volume 2 forms the basis of the rest of the first season. As I’ve mentioned before, I personally would prefer to watch the anime first – but if you’re not currently following the anime, there is no reason not to get started on the manga.
This volume concerns itself primarily with the introduction and integration of new member Azusa Nakano into the Light Music…, er, the Pop Music Club. Of course, there is also the all-important naming of the band, and of Yui’s guitar…
The English version from Yen Press compares to the original Japanese in much the same way Vol. 1 did, so if you’ve read my review of that then you probably know what to expect from this. One thing that’s introduced in this volume which is disappointing to some fans is the translation of Azusa’s Yui-given nickname “Azunyan” into “Azu-meow”. It’s not that it’s wrong, per se, it’s just… It’s not her name. “Azunyan” has become so popular among fans, and has become such a part of the character’s personality that it probably would have been better to leave it as it was, perhaps with a translation note explaining the name.
As with volume 1, the Japanese book has a dust cover that is the actual cover on the English edition. The “bonus comics” behind the dust cover are moved to the back of the book and it works just as well, if not better, than the original. And once again, color pages that were reduced to grey tones in the Japanese volume are restored to full color in the Yen Press book.
All in all, I think Yen Press continue to do a bang-up job – “Azu-meow” aside – with their English language edition of K-On!, and while I still recommend that those currently following the anime through Bandai’s American release hold off on reading volume 2 until season 1 is complete, it’s worth a buy regardless.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

News: K-On! movie premise revealed

When the K-On!! anime ended last September, the last aired episode finished with the announcement that a K-On! movie would be forthcoming. Now, close to a year later, and less than four months (sixteen weeks, to be exact, according to Azusa) from the premiere; we have finally been given official word about the films plot. SPOILERS ahead!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

K-On! DVD (German) vol. 1 review

Wait, what?! I’m reviewing German releases now? Well, yes… but just this once. The thing is, with the criticism Bandai have received for their North American release of K-On!, I thought it would be interesting to see how a European edition fares in comparison. Unfortunately, there is no European Blu-Ray version to examine (Hey! Score one for Bandai, for releasing it in HD!) so I’ll be looking at the first German DVD volume.
You need to be at least 0 years old to watch K-On! in Germany.
First off, the cover art is the same as both the Japanese and the American equivalents, but the design differs. With the red and yellow bands going across the top and bottom of the picture for some reason, the logo being placed in such a way that it partially covers the characters, and the ever-important age rating, the German cover looks kind of messy by comparison.
The cover itself is a clear plastic DVD keep case. The cover inlay is reversible, with the reverse side being exactly the same as the default design but without the intrusive age rating.
Inside the case is, naturally, the DVD itself as well as the only bonus feature of the release: A four page booklet with Yui’s bio. This is the same bio that came with the Japanese Blu-Ray, but in German and with a red background. It seems KazĂ©, distributor of the German DVD, are almost as enthralled with the color red as the Japanese Blu-Ray’s are with pink.
It’s puzzling that the German edition could get this extra included when the American version could not, but it doesn’t stop there. The DVD itself features the original disc art from the Japanese release, whereas the US discs have had original designs lacking any character artwork.
The DVD menu is animated, showing stills from the episodes (this volume, like the US equivalent, contains the first four) with musical notes flying by in the background to the sound of “Cagayake!GIRLS”. Language options (German dub / Japanese audio with German subtitles) and episode selection is available from the main menu screen.
Watching the episodes with the original Japanese soundtrack (which you should, even if you know German – the dub is awful. As much as I don’t love the American dub, at least they tried… The German voices not only sound nothing like the originals, they also do not match the characters. I can’t really comment on the quality of the dub script, but when it starts out with Ui addressing her Big Sis as “Yui-chan”, you know it can’t be that great), there are a couple of things that stand out.
First of all, the subtitles are yellow. Why yellow? European DVD subtitles are supposed to be white. Please, European anime distributors, don’t follow the habits of American DVD authors when it goes against your own standards, okay?
Secondly, the songs are subtitled, but only in romanized Japanese and not translated. Why even subtitle them, then? Speaking of translated text – the opening and ending credits are left in their original Japanese. I don’t particularly mind the English credits on the US release, personally, but some purists might give another point to the German edition for this.
The big score here, though, is the complete lack of any music replacement. As I’ve discussed before, the US release replaced Mio, Ritsu and Mugi’s performance of “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” with “Aura Lee”, a.k.a. “Love Me Tender”. No such misfortune here – this DVD retains the untouched original song.
As far as video quality goes – well, it’s a DVD. It can’t compare to the quality you get from the HD video of a Blu-Ray. It’s possible it’s a step up from the US DVD if for no other reason than the fact that the PAL system (the European standard for SD video) allows for a higher resolution than the American NTSC system, though without having the US DVD on hand to compare with I can’t really provide an informed opinion. The audio, like the US release, is encoded in Dolby Digital at 192 kbps. Unfortunately, it suffers from PAL speedup – since film (and K-On!) runs at a frame rate of 24 frames per second and PAL runs at 25, the video is sped up by 1 fps resulting in slightly faster audio as well. It appears to have been pitch-corrected to avoid any hint of Chipmunk-voice syndrome, faint as it would have been – unfortunately this has resulted in audible artifacts, particularly noticeable in the music. Point definitely goes to the Bandai release for audio.
Translated credits can be accessed from the main menu, presented as a simple text scroll against a red background, no audio. Oddly, the credits are in English rather than German – and for some bizarre reason, the credited insert song is “Love Me Tender” even though this DVD has the correct “Tsubasa wo Kudasai”!
Finally, the disc contains trailers for four other anime releases; “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”, “Ouran High School Host Club”, “Vampire Knight” and “Black Butler”. The trailers suck, by the way – they all follow the same formula of setting short clips, selected seemingly completely at random, to a piece of music from the shows they advertise (The Haruhi trailer, for instance, is set to the “Adventures of Mikuru Asahina” theme song, which doesn’t exactly provide for a very accurate representation of that anime) with the exception of the “Ouran High School Host Club” trailer which seems to be made up of little else but that shows opening sequence in its entirety.
Overall, while carrying its own flaws, this German DVD edition of K-On! manages to rectify at least a few of the mistakes made with the US release – with the original credits intact and no music replacement, the episodes are in their original unmolested state, save for the unfortunate effects of the PAL speedup inherent in the European DVD format. When it also includes the original disc art and one of the original physical extras, one can wonder just how much effort Bandai put into their release which contained neither of those things – but on the other hand, it might be a bit unfair to assert that they didn’t “try hard enough” without knowing what limitations were imposed on them by the Japanese licensors, or what else might have gone on behind the scenes. One thing we do know, is that Bandai originally announced Limited Editions of each K-On! volume, which were to come with a CD each. Why that ultimately didn’t come to pass I don’t know, but it does seem to suggest that they had every intention of giving K-On! the right treatment. That makes me want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

“K-On!! Live Event – Come with Me!!” Blu-Ray review

It’s been a week now since the second live event featuring the cast of K-On!(!) was released on DVD and Blu-Ray, and it has already found its place in the number one spot on the Japanese Blu-Ray sales chart. And rightfully so – if “Let’s Go!” was a grand celebration of all things K-On!, “Come with Me!!” is nothing short of epic. Having taken place this February in Saitama Super Arena which has a spectator capacity of 37,000 people, it is bigger, it is better, and it is long enough to warrant a 2-disc release; a first for the K-On! franchise.
Note that this review, as well as the content being reviewed, makes references to specific story points in K-On!!, so new fans who have yet to watch season 2 should probably skip this for now.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

“K-On! Live Event – Let’s Go!” Blu-Ray review

With the release of the second live event “Come With Me!!” today, I figure this is as good as time as any to go back and take a look at the first K-On! live event. The “Let’s Go!” concert took place in Yokohama Arena on December 30th, 2009 and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray Limited Edition on June 30th, 2010. I’ll be looking at the Blu-Ray version, which topped the Japanese music Blu-Ray charts in its week of release. Note that for new fans who haven’t seen all of K-On! yet, some of the things discussed in this review could be seen as light spoilers.
The “Let’s Go!” Blu-Ray, like all “K-On!” Blu-Ray discs, comes in a pink case. The disc label features the same artwork as the cover, as does the front page of the included 24 page booklet. The inside of the cover displays the same artwork used as the background for the disc’s top menu.
At first start-up, the Blu-Ray gives you the usual non-skippable company logos before heading straight into the main feature. Unlike other K-On! Blu-Ray discs, this is a dual-layer BD and it’s not hard to understand why. The main feature lasts for a whopping two and a half hours (2 hours and 33 minutes, to be exact), and contains two uncompressed PCM audio tracks – one 2.0 stereo mix, and a 5.1 surround mix. The video is presented in 1080i, and looks very good – the production is very slick and professional, this is no cheaply shot half-assed release.
The show begins with a big screen introduction of the cast (and the characters they voice in the anime) set to the tones of “One More Tea?” (from the season 2 OST, curiously – perhaps a subtle hint of the announcement to come?). The tension builds as an extended voice over of the cast “preparing” plays while the cast is… preparing. A countdown begins, with the stage still pitch black – and then…
The stage, the performers and the audience are all lit up by an onslaught of lights and fireworks as the cast explode into their opening song; “Cagayake!GIRLS”. The five cast members – Aki Toyosaki (Yui), Yoko Hikasa (Mio), Satomi Sato (Ritsu), Minako Kotobuki (Tsumugi) and Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa) – perform in the same band formation as their characters do in the anime, with each member “playing” the instrument of their respective character. I say “playing” with quotation marks because they obviously aren’t playing the instruments for real – it’s just for show, and the music is pre-recorded and identical with the CD version (with the obvious exception of the vocals, which are performed live).
Now, some music purists might take issue with this, and frankly I can understand that to a certain degree. But consider this: This is an event featuring voice actors from a TV anime, not a rock’n’roll show. Those voice actors aren’t musicians. Would it really have been better to have them all just standing around while Toyosaki does the vocals, only chiming in with the occasional “Wasshoi!” and “Here we go!”? In my opinion; no – it’s by far preferable to have them put on a bit of a show, cheesy as it might be (although as far as cheesiness goes, I’d argue that this comes out rather favorably when compared to some other anime live events – the fact that K-On! is a music themed anime to begin with probably helps in that regard).
After the opening song, the cast introduce themselves, chit-chat and flirt with the audience for about five minutes. They then leave the stage, and it’s time for the character songs. First up is Toyosaki with “Guitar ni Kubiddake” and a sight to behold it is. Toyosaki has great stage presence, and delivers an energetic, cute and overall very impressive performance.
Not very far behind is Hikasa with “Heart Goes Boom!!”, complete with a “moe moe kyun!” in the middle of the song.
Satomi Sato is next, with “Girly Storm Shissou Stick”. She’s clearly not the best singer in the bunch, but her spirited and very Ritsu-like performance more than makes up for it. Minako Kotobuki, for her turn, does a fine job with “Dear My Keys ~Kenban no Mahou~” but seems to forget to sing in proper Mugi voice.
The final character song in this round is “Jajauma Way To Go”, with Ayana Taketatsu doing the honors. The character songs are all performed completely live, with a full backing band on stage. Each of the band members get to do a solo performance as a kind of introduction to the song performed by the character playing their respective instrument in the anime.
Once the character songs are done with, ominous background music begins to play as a familiar-looking figure emerges from the shadows. Observant viewers will recognize it – it’s the costume Sawako wore in her younger days, during her time as a member of Death Devil. The mask falls, and we see the person behind it is indeed none other than “Sawako” herself – Asami Sanada.
She straps on Sawako’s V-shaped guitar, and does the opening speech from “Hell The World”, then launches into “Maddy Candy”, which rocks about as hard as one would expect from a band named “Death Devil”. Although Sanada doesn’t actually play the guitar, the song is performed live by the backing band and guest guitarist She-ja.
When that’s over, the five main cast members come back on stage. They introduce the next two performers, Madoka Yonezawa (Ui) and Chika Fujito (Nodoka). After a bit of chit-chat, they are joined by Sanada, this time in full “teacher mode” Sawako outfit. With the full cast present, they engage in a game of “Call and Response” with the audience – that is, each cast member gets to introduce their character’s most popular phrase from the anime, and have the audience shout it back at them.
Yonezawa and Fujito then do their character songs (“Lovely Sister LOVE” and “Coolly Hotty Tension Hi!!”, respectively), and quite well I might add. The full cast then re-appear and sit down at a table where they proceed to perform a K-On! scene in-character. That is; they read from a script, and the big screen shows relevant artwork of their characters while the scene is being read. The scene is one written especially for the event, and not one featured in the actual anime. For a fan, it’s quite interesting to watch the cast at work and the script is fairly entertaining.
Then, at long last, it’s time for the Ho-kago Tea Time performance. The five main cast members re-form their “band” and we are treated to the songs “Curry nochi Rice” and “Fudepen ~Ballpen~”. As with “Cagayake!GIRLS”, the performance consists of them “fake-playing” their instruments while Toyosaki and Hikasa do the vocals. Toyosaki then surprises the audience by announcing that from this point on, they will play their own instruments for real!
And for the next song, they do just that. As “Watashi no Koi wa Hotchkiss” is played, it is clear that this is not a fake performance at all – these ladies have, although they’re clearly not professional musicians, obviously practiced hard to be able to actually play at least a couple of songs live. And when taking into account their lack of musical experience, their effort here is more than passable. While not anywhere near perfect, they get through the song okay and manage to make it an enjoyable experience, which is quite admirable.
For their second “true” live song, they play what must surely be the signature tune of their animated counterparts – that, of course, being “Fuwa Fuwa Time”. It’s a rather simplified version of the song, without the more complicated bridge, that they pull of rather well for the most part. Towards the end, Hikasa's voice breaks and tears start falling – she’s overwhelmed, it appears, by the ecstatic response of the crowd. The feeling seems contagious, as moments later, several cast members can be spotted wiping tears from their faces. And then, just like with Ho-kago Tea Time’s triumphant performance in the season 1 finale, Kotobuki kicks off an extra chorus of “Fuwa Fuwa Time” to bring things to a climax. Then, they leave the stage.
But it’s not the end! For the encore, the cast return to their “fake-playing” ways from before, but if there is one song that will make everyone forget about that and just have fun it’s the one that was the biggest K-On! hit at this time – “Don’t Say “Lazy””.
The crowd goes nuts for this one – but the greatest roar is still to come. Between songs, Toyosaki lets the audience know the cast has an announcement to make, and a video begins to play on the big screen. A series of still images from the first season set to the tones of “Ano Hi no Yume” is suddenly interrupted by a clip of that season 1 finale performance of “Fuwa Fuwa Time”, and then words appear on the screen: A second season of K-On! is coming!
The crowd goes absolutely batcrap insane. The level of pure unadulterated geek joy is so overwhelming it is almost touching. And before the emotional high has any chance of fading away, the cast launches into one more encore performance of “Cagayake!GIRLS” before leaving the stage one more time.
But it’s still not the end! The cast, the entire cast, re-appear, all wearing identical staff shirts. Things wind down now. Each cast member gets a moment to say a few words. Tears are shed, people thanked, band members credited. And then, at the very end, everyone comes together for one last grand performance of “Let’s Go!”.
Finally everyone leaves the stage for the final time while “Ii Yume Mite ne” from Hajime Hyakkoku’s OST plays over the speakers. And then, it ends.
With a lengthy main feature, great audio and video quality and even a 16 minute long backstage featurette, “K-On! Live Event – Let’s Go!” is a lot of fun for a K-On! fan – at least, for the type of fan that would enjoy geeking out to the voice cast singing, dancing and goofing around for a couple of hours. With a list price of 8,190 yen it admittedly doesn’t come cheap, but I can’t imagine it not being worth it for a collector.
And now – to have a look at that second show…

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Upcoming releases

So, I figured a list of upcoming releases of K-On! media could be useful. Listing only Japanese and English language releases.
August 3rd“K-On!! Live Event – Come With Me!!” DVD/Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray LE (JP)
August 16th“K-On! Vol. 3” manga (US)
August 29th“K-On! Vol. 1” anime DVD (UK)
September 13th“K-On! Vol 3” anime DVD/Blu-Ray (US)
September 14th“K-On! Vol 2” anime DVD/Blu-Ray (AUS)
December 3rd“K-On!” movie theatrical release (JP)
December 13th“K-On! Vol. 4” manga (US)