First Impressions / K-ON!

「修学旅行」 (Shuugaku Ryokou)
“Field Trip”

Much like I’ve always suspected, the quiet ones are usually the wildest in bed. This of course is in reference to Mugi, who doesn’t hesitate when she’s alone in a room with three other girls during an overnight school trip to Kyoto. I bet you were thinking lesbianism, but unfortunately this isn’t that kind of show. If you have the mindset of a sex-driven individual in a certain other series however, Mugi’s playful pillow fight could have been seen as the beginnings of some yuri action. Granted, a little stretch of the imagination was needed, since it was probably hard for anyone to get into the mood when Mugi was doing some decent damage with her pillow headshots. The matching sweatsuits they were all wearing was another letdown and didn’t help to the desired end either, making me wonder why they had to end up staying at such an inn. I mean it’s fine to be on the rather conservative side of things, but COME ON, give me some yukatas at the very least!

Compared to prior weeks, I found the comedy a bit tamer this time around, but I did enjoy Ritsu trying to bust out the Kansai dialect just because she was in Kyoto. It was kind of prejudice for her to assume that people there wouldn’t understand normal Tokyo Japanese when asking for directions later on, even though I still found it amusing simply because her dialect sounded so forced. In comparison, I also got a good chuckle out of Mugi showing her how it’s done earlier on, particularly because Kotobuki Minako is from the Kansai region and I’ve heard her speak odd dialects in other roles before. For this reason and the one above, Mugi was definitely the one to watch this week — at least for me anyway.

Sadly, Azusa was noticeably absent since she’s in a lower grade, but a lot of quirky comedy actually came from Sawa-chan in her place. More specifically, how she’ll start off yelling at Yui and the others for messing around yet quickly get caught up in their flow of things without too much effort. With her frantically worrying about marriage, Ritsu making a comment on how she didn’t recognize her without any makeup on, and her students getting too familiar with her by calling her “Sawa-chan-sensei”, it was pretty funny hearing Sawa-chan vent about all those things like she was drunk when she was only snacking on Pocky. Aside from that, I thought it was pretty cute how Mio couldn’t stop laughing at the random things Yui and Ritsu were saying to lighten the mood when she didn’t find it funny at all the night before. The sight of Mio laughing helplessly was simply cuteness overload. God damn she’s so adorable.

On a separate note, I realize that Ui posed as Yui back in season one and fooled everyone, but I still get the feeling the animation artists are told to just draw Yui when they want to fake us out with Ui’s hair down. Now it could just be Yonezawa Madoka completely fooling my ears, but the first twenty seconds of the opening scene with Ui preparing Yui’s luggage sounded impeccably like Toyosaki Aki as well. I almost got the feeling Kyoto Animation was pulling my leg there and actually had Aki voicing that part.

Judging from the preview, it looks like Ui will finally get some decent screen time next week, which should be a welcomed change for anyone who’s been waiting to see more of her. Azusa needs to make up some lost time after being completely sidelined this episode, so it’s nice to see her there as well.

* P.S. Mugi has the best writing out of the four girls, as seen on the far left of their Ema.

 

Preview

55 Comments

  1. Wow, there’s been some pretty insane grappling moves this week, including the one’s Hinata’s been dishing out to Yui in Angel Beats!, and more recently, the one Sawa-sensei’s giving to Ritsu =P

    Click
    Reply

  5. I have to say this series is one of the few that really put detail and effort into fleshing out the background characters. All the other girls in their cast, I believe could just be taken and given their own season.

    Horus
    Reply

  12. Someone needs to make a gif of that pillow fight. Yui got owned by Ritsu. And also laughing and snorting all of a sudden is a big LOL. Even more when it’s most unexpected when the person does it unexpectedly.

    All in all good job with covering this part of the manga.

    megalith
    Reply

  13. Ah…sleeping with friends at a hotel is always a classic. you get the stupid giggles right when you’re supposed to be sleeping. This whole episode had a somewhat subtle focus on Mugi which was really enjoyable. Now it could be me, but it seems Ritsu has been acting more…childish and hyperactive, she seemed to keep her cool more often back in Season 1.
    That preview leaves me in suspense, and my crazy mind wants a serious plot drive with some sort of accident happening.

    adventchaos
    Reply

  16. Mugi’s voice actress Kotobuki Minako did voice a character who speaks odd dialect in a series named Umi Monogatari, yeah she sounded quite odd there, but I think her Kansai dialect is truely perfect here, and it should be. She is from Kansai area, and actually moved to Tokyo area only a few years ago, apparently for persuing her acting career.

    Speaking of dialects, Ritsu said “beko” several times when she touched the cow in the shrine.
    The word beko means cow, but it’s only used in Touhoku dialect. And guess what? Ritsu’s voice Satou Satomi is from Touhoku area. She apparently made sure Ritsu looked very awkward when the character tried Kansai dialect but it’s not like she can speak the dialect fluently either, I guess.

    DC/AC
    Reply

    1. I’m not entirely sure what Kanon’s dialect in Umi Monogatari was, but I don’t think it was Kansai. That would probably explain why it sounded odd. Like you already mentioned, Minako is from the Kansai region (Hyogo Prefecture) so we know she can speak the dialect properly if need be, much like she did here as Mugi.

      divine
      Reply

  20. Mugi’s going yandere?
    https://randomc.net/image/K-ON/K-ON!!%20-%2004%20-%2028.jpg

    I wonder how many times Mio said ‘mattaku’ in this episode, it was like half of her script 😀 That was some pretty character development… I mean deterioration she had in this episode, starting out as the mature one who takes care of everyone and finishing it repeating what Yui did 😀

    “The sight of Mio laughing helplessly was simply cuteness overload. God damn she’s so adorable.”
    I totally agree with this ^^ Mio <3

    Jurkasz
    Reply

  22. This was really close to what a camp is in RL. The first night everyone is so pump no one sleeps. The classic pillow fight was awesome, and Mugi start it! Roaming around lost and not acknowledging it. The only thing missing for me was in the return trip usually everyone is wasted and just sleep it off (at least Sawa-chan did) but our girls were still going at it. Stamina FTW

    Island Esper
    Reply

  23. we gotta remind ourselves that Mugi is really an ojou-sama. maybe this is the first time she’s out with the girls on a field trip, not counting their beach trip. remember how excited she was when they went to the hardware store?

    i thought it was very cute how she checked the pillows as to whether they were springy. HA!

    naixil
    Reply

    1. Ritsu (top) wished to play live at Budokan.
      Mugi (left) and Mio (middle) both wished to pass their entrance exams and get into their first choice school.
      Yui (right) wished to be able to fill her stomach all her life.

      divine
      Reply

  26. Mugi was win this week with the pillow fight. Mio (as always) is way too much and I feel sorry for Sawa-chan, but I wanted to strangle Ritsu and Yui the entire ep. I’ve never seen both of them being so obnoxious before.

    By the way KyoAni… WHERE IS OUR MIO-CENTRIC EP?!

    SeedStriker
    Reply

  27. Wow the job they did on the sleepover was amazing because that’s exactly how I remember them being. Everyone’s restlessly trying to sleep until someone cracks a joke, and you spend the next 30 minutes in sporadic fits of laughter.

    I really loved the way Mio cracked from trying to be responsible for the first half of the episode (pushed seemingly the lack of Nodoka) and pretty much lost it towards the end. Her realizing she’s definitely another member of the K-Onbu as Nodoka suggested was summed up really nicely with her echoing Yui on the train at the end.

    EnderTheXenocide
    Reply

  28. Divine, I don’t think Ritsu impersonating a Kansai-dialect has anything to do with prejudice or anything, more like showing off, since it does sound cool to sport a “sexy or funny comedian Kansai accent”.

    Though she does an awfully pathetic job at that and Mugi, always the ojou-sama, shows us how it’s done. XD

    Good to see Azu-nyan’s absence this week will be offset with her, Ui and Jun taking centre stage next week. Presumably taking place simultaneously while our main 4 girls are off in Kyoto.

    I was totally fooled by Ui with her hair down once again. At first I was even wondering why Yui sounded so different from usual. Did Toyosaki Aki get a sore throat or something? Then I knew why. lol

    Mio not being able to stay cool and LOL like crazy was just so cute. This is why I have a good giggle from time to time to keep my sanity levels from falling further, or I might end up losing it like Mio in the most inappropriate of situations. XDD

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. That was in reference to when she was asking the old lady for directions and was overjoyed about being understood. Ritsu was probably trying to show off her bad dialect, but her reaction made it seem like she felt she had to speak it or the locals wouldn’t understand.

      divine
      Reply

  30. Such a great episode. Especially as a Mugi fan :3 Her starting the pillow fight (you knew that shit was going down the moment she found the pillows XD), her feeding the monkey, not to mention the bath scene of course 😀

    Personally, I figured out Ui being Yui right away at the beginning. Her voice is slightly different, and let’s face it, we’d be shocked if Yui was actually getting that prepared. It’s hilarious how they have the same hair though, I guess she wasn’t wearing a wig before 😀

    yanipheonu
    Reply

  31. Mugi is the glue that holds the group together. Yui and Ritsu are the comic relief, and Azu-nyan and Mio are the cuteness factor. But Mugi is right there with tea and pastry, helped Yui get Gitah, donated time at her various family summer homes, and comes thru when needed (like the pillow fight this week). If not for Mugi the 5 of them prolly never would have come together as close as they have.

    Karmafan
    Reply

      1. Close, but not quite. 🙂

        Back in season 1, Mugi would go gaga eyes at any intimate activity between any females, whether it’s Sawa-chan and Mio, Yui and Azu-nyan, or Ritsu and Mio, hence the source of her closet lesbianism.

        Kinny Riddle
        Reply

  40. nice ep, i laughed so hard with Mio, so adorablee!! aww really :3
    haha love Mugi, Mio, Ritsu and obviously my favorite, Yui :3
    haha Mugi snorted xD haha xD

    and Ui at the beggining, i was so O.O when I saw Yui sleeping, Ui’s voice, it was Ui’s seiyuu voice right? it really sounded like Aki, seriously xD

    Azu Nyan and Ui next ep :3

    lol
    Reply

  45. Jurkasz: ” I wonder how many times Mio said ‘mattaku’ in this episode, it was like half of her script 😀 ”

    Mio said it 4 times while Sawa-chan said it 3 times. Ha-ha, I have nothing else to do. Too much free time 😛

    Name
    Reply

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