First Impressions / K-ON!

「卒業アルバム！」 (Sotsugyou Arubamu!)
“Graduation Yearbook!”

Guys or girls, bangs are a part of your hair you never want to mess up, especially the day before high school graduation photos. In Yui’s case, she should probably be grateful she didn’t have a prom and much more upscale photographs as per western schools, or take out an eye when she sneezed with those scissors in her hand. While the others may have been on the edge of their seats watching her cut her own bangs the first time around, I was just as surprised as they were from the fine job she did. I really didn’t want to see Yui have messed up bangs because I’ve been there myself (and not of my own doing), but I really couldn’t stop laughing at Azusa and Mio fainting at the sight of Yui’s childish cut when she gave it another go to disastrous results. I’m just glad I wasn’t in their shoes because I really wouldn’t know what to tell Yui. I seriously wouldn’t have the heart to lie straight to her face like they tried to do, only to fail miserably. It just had to turn out that she has a complex with her forehead too, so Ritsu’s suggestion to tie her hair back didn’t go over so well either.

In all honesty, it didn’t look that bad once Mugi parted it to one side, but it still had a childish look to it since there wasn’t an even lining across like Mio’s and the cut was fairly high too. It definitely didn’t give off the same feel as the styles she was experimenting with in the morning, any of which would’ve made for a much sexier picture. In fact, I was surprised at how much more attractive Yui looked like just small changes to her hair. Azusa wasn’t too bad with her hair down either, while Ui was the ultimate dark horse since her hair’s always tied up. The scare she gave Azusa by changing to her sister’s hairstyle was absolutely priceless, and seriously left me wondering why Yui didn’t just get Ui to stand in for her for the graduation photo. Aside from Yui and Ui, no one would have to know either. I’d be willing to be that no one would be able to tell either, including Mio, Ritsu, Mugi, and Azusa, unless they were specifically told. Ui did fool everyone once before, so a picture should be an absolute piece of cake to her. They’re basically twins anyway. The real loss of course would be the sentimental value of Yui actually being in her graduation photo, but if she really wanted to return to the day before, Ui was her easy out.

I’m not sure how much time supposedly passed between this episode and the next, but Yui’s bangs look like they’ve grown back to their usual length already. However, this graduation photo episode did serve as a means for Kyoto Animation to showcase their subtle yet impeccable ability at animating hair, which can be easily overlooked if someone isn’t making a conscious effort to take notice of it. The live performances at the school festival last time were good examples of it, whereas this haircut incident went on to reaffirm that notion. Story-wise, if there’s one promising thing to take away from all of this, it’s that all the girls are planning on getting into the same all-girls university upon graduation (…probably the one Mugi’s planning to attend by the sound of it). Mio even passed up an opportunity to get into almost any school she wants just to be with the others, which definitely helps in terms of seeing some sort of university/college years sequel involving HTT. Whether or not Kakifly has one in store at the moment is anyone’s guess, but I’d say it’s a worthwhile venture if he, TBS, Kyoto Animation, and Pony Canyon want to make another twenty some million USD off of K-ON merchandise alone.

 

Preview

54 Comments

  1. I really gotta catch up in this show. One of my friends said he was really disappointed/upset with it now. Hopefully it’s just a bias comment. I’m on episode 8 and loving it. It’s slow but good.

    Shirt
    Reply

  2. Yui looks at least 5 years younger with her short bangs. She should’ve just stuck with the hairstyle Mugi did to her inside the class room, though. Damn forehead complex. She even turned down Ritsu’s hairband.

    Lurker
    Reply

    1. Already happened in season 1. In fact only Sawa-chan can tell them apart. The same way Sawako can determine Mio and Azunyan without glasses. Comparing their breast sizes. For a little sister Ui has the bigger bust of the two.

      ReddyRedWolf
      Reply

  8. lol, looking at some of the screenshots makes me feel sorry for Yui. But at the same time I couldn’t stop laughing because I actually cut my fringe a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, you can guess the result… haha!

    lightning
    Reply

  9. wow that was a great episode, quite short and lack of content though…

    and recently chased till the latest chapters of its manga, and yeah, they lack something in this episode: the school they would go to. maybe it’s just good not to reveal anything, and make sure they pass their exams first, that is, if they ALL can…

    exams for them, exams for me. wow how time flies…

    kaineng
    Reply

  10. Yui~~~ Your bangs!!! ToT

    I feel like fainting just like Mio and Azu-nyan at the sight of her bangs just gone like that. Luckily for her, good combing skills by Mugi means the situation is salvaged somewhat so that Yui would not have a life-traumatizing moment of being remembered for a fugly grad photo. (Then again she probably has one last chance with her university grad photo 4 years later, let’s hope she’ll look have neater hair and be gorgeous like in the second ED. 🙂 )

    The moral of this story is: In the eve of attending any important occasion, never EVER cut your hair by yourself. Yui was lucky it’s just her bangs, she may lose an eye or end up with a scar.

    LOL at Ui “transforming” into her sister in an instance and hugging Azu-nyan. Now that her sis’s finally made up her mind on which uni to go, Ui now knows where to stalk her for the next few years. 🙂

    While seeing a K-ON university edition may be fun, I would not complain if kakifly decides to end this here. Better end things on a high than see it get dragged into a quagmire. Perhaps Kyo-Ani can cover their uni episodes via an OVA like they did with Lucky Star.

    PS Is it me or is that Toyosaki Aki herself in one of the photos in Yui’s hairstyle book?
    http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6341/sosgkon21gbrv10aac848x4.jpg

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  14. Another sub-plot was Ritsu and Mio’s understanding for each other is nearly subconscious.

    Mio knowing the exact spot where Ritsu’s headband should be placed, while Ritsu correctly guesses Mio declining to take up the offer of entering a top uni.

    Another LOL moment, Yui says she wants to be like Sawa-chan, where she can “relax, drink tea and be happy”, unintentionally implying Sawa-chan slacks off at work all the time, to which Sawa-chan quickly gets defensive and goes “I DO work, dammit!” XD

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  15. It’s said that statistically when a high school couple decides to go to the same college, they have a high probability of getting married. So when the HTT seniors all decided they wanted to go to the same college, it made me wonder whether they were considering at all their current relationships with any boyfriends they might have.

    Granted, we don’t see such relationships in the show, but that’s understandable. We almost never see them interact with their parents either, but obviously, they have them. Perhaps HTT are all just carefree personalities who are content with casual single-night relationships that don’t have much weight in their choice of schools?

    Teikyou
    Reply

      2. I’m imagining a scenario where Mugi’s parents want to arrange a marriage between her and some rich guy from Finland. However she turns out to be in a love with a lowly clerk at one of their music stores, a star-crossed relationship that her parents disapprove of.

        Teikyou
        Reply

    1. Absolutely would love to get more K-On “College years”, they would have to get Azunyan in somehow. I can’t see the five of them being separated anymore (I got this shattering mental image of Azunyan doing her “ny-nyaaaan” but with a sad face).
      Like D mentioned it, it would make sense. More money for them, more k-on goodness for us. Win-win situation.

      Shinjiro
      Reply

  18. It’s invisible, but I can see “DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME” sign when Yui handles her hair with a pair of scissors. I think a more appropriate title for this episode would be “Hair”.

    This comment is brought to you by the word “hair”.

    Razgriz
    Reply

  19. All the hair antics were fine and fun. I still get shivers whenever Ui does the Yui look a like impression. Nevertheless my focus is in the ending. Was all this a grand scheme from Sawa-chan ?!!! I recall how she kept rejecting Ritsu and Yui forms until today when she got all three of them and was ok all of a sudden! That’s our metal girl for ya! When Ritsu “read” Mio’s mind about declining and joined them and Mio’s words “minna I want to stay with you” I was a nervous wreck. I just saw 26 more episode of HTT !!!! Last episode ending and this one are so strong that had me totally uneasy.

    Island Esper
    Reply

    1. if you remember, back @ the wedding episode, Sawako got similarly rejected multiple times. Might be until she write down a university as well (by one of the older teachers there).

      anyone notice the hairclips Ui had on in the Ui/Azusa scene before Ui reveals her “hugging hairstyle”?

      info600
      Reply

  20. KyoAni has proven yet again that they are GODS at animating hair. The commitment needed to draw frame by frame is amazing. And I can’t get enough of Azusa’s hair down along with Yui’s clipless look.

    T.K.
    Reply

  23. It’s funny because I keep spoiling myself by reading your posts before I actually go and watch episodes lately, so this was the first K-ON! episode since season 1 that I haven’t at least seen the screenshots for before I watched it. That said, I was totally not expecting the hair cut and I felt totally dumbfounded when it happened. I couldn’t speak for about a minute after it happened lol. Good ep, here’s to a sequel for a sequel!!

    innerchihiro
    Reply

    2. i pretty much second to that.. their gestures to each other lately told me that something must have been goin’ on..sweet & comfy, i must say..i mean–GAHHH! i can’t explain it, but they seemed to be much closer this time. and i never saw mio give any signs of irritation on ritsu here..

      I JUST LOVE MITSU! ! =DD

      keiOnDaisuki
      Reply

    1. 0MG! 0MG! *hyperventilates*

      g0ds! that was unexpected..i thought the grad w0uld be the 26th! but man, *spoiler?* THE BF MANGA CHAPTER MUST BE ANIMATED! ! !
      PLEASE KYOANI! !

      *abruptly kneels then prays*

      keiOnDaisuki
      Reply

  27. awww poor yui! xD i didnt like her hair, well at the end a little, so its nice to see her in the preview with her usual hair xD

    and god, Ritsu looks so good with her bangs down! and yui was looking so pretty with the others styles

    my english is so bad xD

    lol
    Reply

  28. “I can see the K-ON next gen with Ui and Azusa recruiting for new band… or K-ON College years for the main team…”
    yeah…no this kind of spin-offs just kills the serie and almost never do well.
    I’d be more interested in a rush through the next year in few chapters then They all reunite again in that college. after all, HTT is HTT and members can never be added or replaced x) But nodoka and Sawako would probably have an end to their roles.
    UI is so friggin awesome, I wish they would make a 1/10-1/7 scale pvc figure of her, I’d pay big bucks x)
    It really really looks like kakifly does have something stored for us.
    because this kind of ending does not make any sense.

    superanu
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *