Watching K-On! Episode 13 (Bonus Episode) – “Winter Days!”

Each member of the Light Music Club faces their own everyday struggle on this cold winter day.

Notes/Observations/Trivia:

• This was the last episode that aired as part of the original airing, and thus did not originally end with the usual preview for the next episode. A preview was however added for the home video release.
• First appearance of Ritsu’s younger brother, Satoshi.
• Azusa’s shopping bag is from “Petshop Girls”. I don’t think I need to explain the music reference (though apparently it is also the name of several real stores).
• Mio listens to “Fuwa Fuwa Time” on the train, presumably a recording of the recent performance at the school festival.
• Despite Ritsu’s protests in this episode, the lyrics Mio wrote (that Ritsu mistook for a love letter) do get turned into a song, though it’s never referred to again within the anime itself. The song does appear on the second season’s insert song album, however.

Manga comparison:

The “Brrr, it’s so cold” scenes in the club room at the beginning and end of the episode are based on volume 2 chapter 12. The rest of the episode is original material.

OST tracks used:

• Ii Yume Mite ne – 0:04-2:00
• Cotton candy – 5:11-6:47
• My hometown where it snows – 8:59-9:28
• Ginsekai no Asa – 12:09-13:46
• Kendama-kun – 13:48-13:52
• The other side of evening sun – 15:14-16:39
• Nihiki no Koneko – 17:28-18:58
• Karui Joudan – 19:29-20:07
• Obaa-chan no Tansu – 21:15-22:09

My take:

This episode is not particularly interesting story wise, or very funny. But I do enjoy the atmosphere of it. The use of music – or rather, lack thereof, is interesting. Many if not most scenes throughout play out without any background music at all, which is quite unusual for K-On!.