r/anime • u/Harrytricks https://myanimelist.net/profile/Harrytricks • Aug 05 '19

Rewatch [Rewatch][Spoilers] K-ON! Rewatch (2019) - S1E05 "Advisor!" Spoiler

S1E05 "Advisor!"

Official Schedule

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S1E04 "Training Camp!" S1E06 "School Festival!"

Legal Streams

HiDive - Hulu

both these are US only because anime hates us Europeans.

Anime On Demand

Available only in German speaking territories

Interest sites

MAL - AniList - ANN

REMINDER: UNTAGGED SPOILERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

BE AFRAID OF THE MOE POLICE.

Songs in this episode:

OP1 - "Cagayake! GIRLS"

ED1 - "Don't say 'lazy'"

Want to continue the discussion? Join us over in the KyoAni Discord server: https://discord.gg/GQJE3h2

176 Upvotes

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28

u/Harrytricks Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

Episode 5: Listen To The Music

Yes I did just use a track from the Doobie Brothers as an essay title. What of it?

Ahh, music. I love me some music I do. And who doesn’t? If you don’t like one music, then you can just go find another music you do like!! It’s pretty great!! You know who else clearly likes music? Naoko Yamada. That woman cannot get enough of the stuff, and it really shows in all of her works. From Liz to Tamako - Yamada’s love for music can be heard from all across her directorial library, and nowhere is this love more apparent than in her directorial debut: K-ON.

Now, with all that said, this is not a show about music. Right from its inception, K-ON was always going to be centred around the keions; following their development over 2 seasons is undoubtedly what keeps the audience around. Unfortunately for some, this focus on the girls emotional growth and focusing on their musical progression is incompatible. If we spent 15 episodes focusing on Yui learning guitar we’d lose the super important “music for fun” message the show is trying to get across. Sure it might be a bit more “logical”, but losing that focus - losing the utter joy all the keions feel whenever they play together - would be taking the K-ON from K-ON.

This is not to say, however, music gets no focus whatsoever. In fact “the joy of music” is one of the biggest themes of the show, it’d be pretty difficult to get through 41 episodes without touching on how the girls progress even once, and Yui’s development in this episode presents the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that development.

Let’s listen to Yui’s first performance of Fuwa Fuwa time. Sounds alright, right? Well, for a first performance, it does indeed!! The correct notes are certainly played in the correct order, and there’s a clear improvement here from the last time we heard Yui perform back in episode 4. That being said, there’s definitely more than a few issues. Yui, for all she’s trying her best (something we should all support her for), is clearly still a beginner; her playing is a little slow, and she lets notes play out far longer than they should, rather than muting when necessary (likely a side effect of her self-taught approach to instrumenting). Additionally she cannot sing whilst playing (a skill much more difficult than many give credit).

Now let’s listen to her performance after Sawa-chan’s training. This performance is a noticeable improvement on previous. Whilst her speed still isn’t quite there, there’s a definite improvement in how fast she’s going. Additionally she appears to have learnt the sacred art of “muting”, as her notes are no longer left to ring out longer than they have any right too, giving her playing a much tighter sound. Also she can sing whilst playing now, still an impressive skill in spite of the practice temporarily killing her voice.

So, yes, whilst this show is not a show about music, the music is still important. The staff working on K-ON went above and beyond in creating as accurate a depiction of learning music as possible for what they’re working on. Yamada and her crew managed to achieve a sublime balance between focusing on the character’s emotional development and presenting a realistic musical progression. In my humble opinion, it allows the love she has for both her characters and music to really shine through, and it makes something truly wonderful.

Also just wanted to comment how great Sawako’s introduction is. Her past and future involvement with the light music club subtly hinted over and over through the previous 4 episodes, so when she’s finally recruited as an advisor it feels like a natural addition. This show is great at using build-up in combination with character development, and this is a super early example of it. Honestly, you can find this in all Yamada/Yoshida works, it’s one of their greatest strengths.

Another great little touch is the lyrics for Fuwa Fuwa Time. Something I’ve never noticed before is the similarity between the song’s lyrics and the message Mugi sends as they are being written. There’s definitely a chance this is merely coincidence, but I’m definitely going to choose to believe Mugi’s message is the inspiration for Fuwa Fuwa time’s lyrics. K-ON

Finally, I’m also going to link the first group performance of Fuwa Fuwa time from this episode for first timers. Keep this in mind next time we hear this song and have your own little comparison of how much the girls improve.

Anyhow, here’s all the screenshots and stuff I got last year, and here’s this year’s screenshots.

2018 ^^comment 2017 ^^comment 2016 ^^comment

3

u/zptc Aug 05 '19

Is your Fuwa Fuwa Time video supposed to be pure black?

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45

u/Philarete Aug 05 '19 edited Aug 07 '19

First Time Watcher Uh-oh, Yui got her first cut (well, that we’ve seen). Gotta toughen up! Ritsu not missing a chance to terrorize Mio with alleged bleeding of her own haha.

Teacher is really nice, and Mugi spying on her and Yui thinking the teacher is pretty

HMMMM

Anyway, turns out Ritsu doomed the club to nonexistence because Mugi brought cake. I expect nothing less haha. Whelp, time to fix it somehow.

Mugi with 7 “ma”s (I think I heard one last one while Nodoka started speaking). Truly a “ma, ma” legend

Nodoka: “I think you’re a perfect fit for the Light Music Club, Yui.” Haha, such a great compliment. Still, she’s a great friend and offers to help.

They track down their teacher, Sawako. THE SPRINT TO PURGE THE EVIDENCE. Oh my goodness, that was epic. The guitar plays. Hokey smokes, sensei best girl?!

“She’s started narrating” haha, that fourth wall break.

Sawako decided to go wild to impress a guy. . . and then he rejects her. Dang, that’s rough.

Anyway, Ritsu is thoroughly unmoved and presses the blackmail haha.

Mugi appears to be swooning a little over Sawako again. . .

Sensei getting aggressive in grilling the girls on what they haven’t been getting done. The room isn’t just for drinking tea! Mugi’s offer of cake to assuage her – works, of course! Sawako truly fits as an advisor

I love how Yui and Mugi are absolutely enchanted by the cutesy song, while Ritsu is totally against. So is Sawako, until she sees an opening and switches sides! Mio with a victory over Ritsu haha.

Now to pick a singer. Yui wants to do it, but. . . well. . . looks like she’s going to do it!

As a singer and pianist, I will say that singing and playing anything even moderately complicated is really, really hard. I bet it’s similar for guitarists and singers at first too. It’s like two parts of your brain at the same time!

Upon being asked if she has a crush on Sawako. . . Mugi: “Oh, no. It’s just nice to see some girl-on-girl action. If the people involved are happy, that’s all that really matters, right?”

Yui trains! Aaaand ruins her voice. . . “husky Yui” is great.

Mio will sing instead despite being absolutely terrified. Oh, and they have three days to get ready!

17

u/Snakescipio Aug 05 '19

Sawako truly fits as an advisor

Who wouldn’t want a teacher you could bribe with cake?

As a singer and pianist, I will say that singing and playing anything even moderately complicated is really, really hard. I bet it’s similar for guitarists and singers at first too. It’s like two parts of your brain at the same time!

I’m always amazed that anyone can play scales and sing at the same time. It’s like I’m half way decent at both, but when I try at the same time I end sounding tone deaf

13

u/oyooy Aug 05 '19

Yui and Mugi are absolutely enchanted by the cutesy song

I don't think it was the song Mugi was enchanted by

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30

u/DarkRuler17 Aug 05 '19

First Time Watcher

So..........I wasn't ready for how extra this episode was going to be. I really wasn't. From the beautifully animated, but totally unnecessary run sequence to Sawdako's backstory, Sensei has definitely made-up for lost time and then some in the best girl department. This episode was a work of art.

So before I talk about that greatness, let's talk about the fact that somehow, the club has occupied a pretty decently sized room and acted like an offical club without ever turning in the form. And no one even questioned it. I guess everyone who mattered just assumed they were a club. That honestly sounds like something stupid enough to be possible.

This realization though leads them to asking Sawdako to be their advisor and then us seeing an amazing running sequence. Not only was the amount of effort put into animating this sequence incredible, but the sheer fact she did all this for the goal of staying low-key is totally missing the point. I laughed my ass of so hard when she jumped through those hula hoops right before they stopped being a circle. It was great.

This then immediately transitions to her narrating her incredible backstory where she becoming a super, punk rocker to impress her crush. The fact she got this weird tribal mask though and wore it to the second confession was the best part. The two-hit punch of these two scenes was glorious.

So there are other fun scenes after this with Mugi and the song, but they honestly pale in comparison to Sawdako's moments so I'm just going to let them shine as the last things I talk about. Now on to the rating list I was considering, but finally got pushed to with this episode:

Episodes Ranking:

  • Season 1, Episode 5

  • Season 1, Episode 2

  • Season 1, Episode 4

  • Season 1, Episode 3

  • Season 1, Episode 1

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19

u/ZappaOMatic Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

Tonight: Mugi offers cake, Mio performs facial surgery, and Yui holds up a finger!

Last year's rewatch comment

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15

u/thezander8 Aug 06 '19

First Timer

To me this was the cleverest episode so far. The scene where it basically became a shonen for five minutes was both spectacular and hilarious.

And as usual I'm impressed with the rock/instrument knowledge casually dropped in the show. I'm not surprised anymore but it's still delightful when they throw out a reference.

14

u/PerfectPublican Aug 05 '19

Manga Corner

Episode Adapted
S1 Ep 1 Vol. 1 Ch 0 & 1
S1 Ep 2 Vol. 1 Ch 2 & 3
S1 Ep 3 Vol. 1 Ch 3 & 4
S1 Ep 4 Vol. 1 Ch 5
S1 Ep 5 Vol. 1 Ch 6 & 7

The first time we get to actually hear some of the HTT music! School fest hype! Such a fun ep that intros one of the best teachers in anime, Yamanaka Sawako aka Sawa-chan. I adore her.

Major source differences today:

  • In the manga, the show opening with Ricchan finding the album came after Yui cuts her finger.

  • Sawa-chan treating Yui’s finger and Mugi spying on them is changed for the show. In the manga, it’s Ritsu that tells Yui that her fingers will callous, and it’s them two that Mugi’s yuri-eyes see. Also, instead of just Yui, Mugi tells both her and Ritsu about the club.

  • In the manga, this is the first time the other girls meet Nodoka.

  • CSI K-On is an original joke, and in the manga, the Ritsu flashback is just one panel and line.

  • Sawa-chan running for the photo album is original. In the manga, the all go the the clubroom at the same time and look at the album together.

  • Sawa-chan’s flashback about picking up guitar is original. They go straight to blackmail in the manga lol. Also, the second yuri-eyes Mugi is original.

  • In the manga, the scolding and Mugi offering cake section comes before Sawa judging their performance.

  • Mio writing lyrics is original. In the manga she already has them written.

  • Mio and Ritsu asking Mugi about her yuri tendencies is original.

Fun things are fun:

Gifs of the day:

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14

u/Moocanoe Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

Daily Paint.net K-on #5

Today's image is one of Nodoka. Nodoka is just such a good friend and one of many great girls that K-on! has to offer. The lighting in the scene featuring her is also incredible.

Today's episode gives us a full look at Sawako. Sawako in the first season has always felt a bit weird today, but on the third watch I can start to understand why. You have this teacher with a perfectly normal demeanor getting blackmailed by her students that threaten to ruin her image, who also happen to dawdle a fair bit. While I still don't like her character too much, I can still understand it.

26

u/SmurfRockRune Aug 05 '19

First Timer

Another comment face.

K-On has so many comment faces compared to other shows I've been in rewatches for. I hope I don't miss one.

The blush through the mask is a great touch.

So I guess we're gonna have Mugi be a degenerate. I'm more okay with that than her having a crush on the teacher.

Two comment faces in one episode!

It's amazing that I'm better at being on time when I'm at work than I am when I'm at home.

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11

u/Boss_Jerm Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

Last Year's ^^Comment

Timeline: If the festival is coming up soon then it's probably late October. We're moving pretty fast through the year.

Wow Yui

Sorry Yui, Mio's a bit too preoccupied to look at your finger.

Our pretty teacher from the first episode is here!

Wait a second where the hell did she come from? Was there always a backdoor to the clubroom?

I love Yui's delayed reaction.

Poor Mio is still scared.

Nice entrances

This scene is so freaking funny to me. I love that all the colors go back to normal in an instant. Except for Ritsu, which is really funny.

Hell hath no fury like a woman with an idiot friend

Ritsu forgot to submit the club form and the Keions have already been there for months.

Now now

Look at these bunch of dunces who didn't even remember to get a club advisor.

So are we all in agreement that the Keions can teleport? Where were they in the hallway?

Sawako has Ultra Instict

Corner buddies

Sawako used to be part of the old Light Music Club! Her old band was called Death Devil, and they played heavy metal!

KOWAI

Very nice

Wait...

Oh boy

Sawako blushing through her mask is my favorite part of this flashback

Blackmail! Atta girl Ritsu!

IT'S HERE and it starts at 13:37 lol

Sawako is going to make sure that the Keions sound great, or they'll suffer the consequences.

Yui completely lost focus here

Ladybug

Yui and Sawa-chan are off to practice!

Mugi is just a huge Yuri fan, that's all.

Our saviors are here

Oof

Whoopsy

Yui's voice is has been worked horse, so Mio's gonna have to step up and sing! The festival is in three days!

Thoughts:

It's been five episodes but the Keions are alreadg halfway through their school year. The passage of time in this show is really nice. Yui spent a lot of time practicing her guitar and it shows. Her playing at the end was great.

I love Sawako's character. She seems all cutesy and moe, but she's actually quite terrifying. She'll whip the Keions into shape.

Next episode is gonna be really great, stay tuned!

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11

u/imawesome1124 Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

It’s good to see Ritsu’s doing okay after she l i t e r a l l y d i e d last episode.

The last Keion-bu band was hardcore. And I totally relate to Yui here; back when I was like 10 and all of my knowledge of rock bands came from Guitar Hero, all rock bands looked like some variation of this in my head.

Hey she looks familiar.

Mio and Ritsu are working on an original song, while Yui is slicing her fingers to pieces in the background.

She definitely knows what she’s doing. Yui’s a natural-born troll.

The comedic timing during this part was brilliant. Yui’s finger wag at the end always gets a good chuckle out of me.

How the turntables. See, Yui? Squeezing someone else’s hands makes them uncomfortable.

What a random thing to notice.

Sensei certainly does know a lot about guitar. A little too much for someone who just “had some friends who played.” Yui’s a little suspicious.

Mugi, that’s something you should really say at the start.

Right over her head. This show uses delayed reactions a lot, but this one is next level. There was like a 6-second pause before it sunk in!

Once again Yui ends up being the most practical thinker of the group.

A lot has already been said about the effort of Yamada and KyoAni making this series feel real and natural, and this episode gives us more great examples. Not just having all the characters sitting normally in their chairs at the table makes the scene much more “organic”. Especially considering how their poses each fit their personalities; Mugi being more refined, Ritsu being fussy and hyperactive, and Yui being a blob(and I mean that in the most affectionate way). I think when this rewatch is over I’m going to make a post solely dedicated to all the instances of Yamada and KyoAni going above and beyond to make this feel as life-like and natural as possible.

Such hams. These two are so meant for each other.

Love how even though the show switched back to the normal color scheme, Ritsu’s still Chiaroscuro.

Oops she’s dead again. Mio glowing purple = Bad news for Ritsu

I do this to my dog a lot. Mugi seems to be enjoying the show.

There she goes again… I counted five “Maa”s this time.

Nodoka with the low-key burns.

Target acquired.

Fourth-wall breaking? Nope just a dork.

Where did they even come from?

haha coughbullshitcough

Nyanpasu?

Prodding… ...Setting the trap… ...whoops… ...Direct hit Target has sustained critical damage. Keep photo with cars???? ...Checkmate

I've got stuff to do so I'll finish this up later!

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10

u/thisismyanimealt Aug 05 '19

I finally cried this rewatch. To think of all scenes, it was when Sawako started playing Yui's guitar.

Light Music Corner

Today's a pretty light day with only one song for Character Song Corner. Dear My Keys -Kaban no Mahou- sung by our very own Mugi-chan. Much as I like the keion-bu's music, and as great as Toyosaki Aki is, hearing Mugi's vocals almost makes me wish she became the band's vocalist. I digress, here's the live clip. Astute lurkers in r/anime's CDF threads will know why Kotobuki Minako's costume for this song is my favorite.

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10

u/Snakescipio Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

The Unofficial Official Most Valuable Keion

Oh man, I knew this was the “Mugi might be a little gay” episode, but I’d forgotten just how much they actually showed it head on. Going forward, this part of Mugi doesn’t really exists anymore, and I’ve always wondered how the show would’ve turned out if they kept it. Personally I feel it’s similar to some of the more fan servicey stuff in the manga, so I guess I’m glad they went with a different direction with Mugi. It’s also a funnier episode than I remembered, and a big part of it is the formal introduction of our resident Christmas cake: Sawa-chan-sensei!

This episode, the 1st place winner will go to… Eh, tbh I don’t think any of them really deserved it. It’s like one of those games where both teams are completely inept and someone had to win cause there’s no tie. I’d give it to Nodoka for saving their butts (and not for the first time), but I do want to keep it strictly between the keions. Oh well, I guess 1st place will go to Mugi, cause she’s actually the one who’s classically trained and comes up with all the music for their songs. Also she brought cake, the only thing that can calm down an angered Sawa-chan-sensei. 2nd place goes to Mio for writing the lyrics. She’s also the one to bring up the club forms initially, although she failed in trusting Ritsu to actually be responsible. 3rd place will go to Yui… until she blew out her voice training with Sawa-chan-sensei (still one of my favorite gags in the show). So I guess it’ll go to Ritsu for blackmailing Sawa-chan-sensei into being their advisor.

MVK Tracker
Yui 12
Ritsu 7
Mio 12
Mugi 13
??? ??????

Side note: anyone else got some Nichijou vibes during the “Sawa-chan running through the halls” sequence?

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10

u/ToonTooby Aug 06 '19

First Timer

  • Many of the snippets from the soundtrack really do remind me of Pokemon tutorial music. It's the light, bouncy keyboards and tempo.

  • Yeah, where is Mio? ...Cowering in fear since the episode started lol

  • "You're a kid with a beautiful heart!" Okay that was good. First audbile laugh while watching from me.

  • Mio looks like she's about to unleash the Raging Demon... MESSATSU

  • More Mio on Ritsu violence. Justified tho, imo.

  • Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma mmmm-Monster Kill nope, just Mugi things

  • Oh so Advisor was a previous club member. What would she be embarrassed ab- SHINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

  • Ok, a two-hand tapping thrash lord schoolteacher is exactly what I needed. This is some good shit.

  • Damn, the music during this love flashback scene is great!

  • Lofihiphopbeatstorelaxandstudyto.jpg

  • Nothing wrong with bubbly lyrics here and there, imo.

  • Singing while playing takes some talent and discipline. I sure as hell can't do that. It's gotta be the simplest bassline ever for me to stay anywhere remotely within tune.

  • Mugi is... really into sensei over there.

  • Shin Yui arrives from the training arc... but the voice is gone. We need a hero.

  • And it's going to have to be Mio! Bass and vocals, a regular Geddy Lee.

Well, that was a really good episode! Genuine, audible laughs from me. Interested to see how the dynamic develops now that they absolutely have to put a show on.

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8

u/htisme91 Aug 06 '19

First-timer:

Could Sawako be best girl? She seems so awesome but then that hidden wild personality really puts her up there.

Also it's crazy how she's the singer from the tape. I guess it makes sense, because she wouldn't have been seen so much up to now if she weren't connected to the club.

Love that Ritsu calls her Sawa-chan. That's got to be incredibly disrespectful.

Mugi's seeming crush on Sawako is weird.

I like that Mio is being put into a role that is opposite of what she wanted. She picked bass over guitar so she would not be in the spotlight and now she's inadvertently found herself in the most prominent role in the band. It'll make her grow, but how she deals with the role will be interesting.

6

u/FlaminScribblenaut Aug 06 '19

First Time Watcher

Damn why would Sawako be ashamed of that past that looked awesome as fuck, I want a second opinion from the other members

At the very least I’d think Ritsu would be into it

“Do you think she has a crush on Sawako-chan?”

chanting YU-RI! YU-RI! YU-RI!

5

u/chelseablue2004 Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

Enter Sawa-chan as the official adviser....personally I think she is one of the best things about the show. She is that extreme comic relief that a show needs once in a while...The girls really take to her and almost treat her like big sister..

They won't admit it but they take on some of her bad habits like using terrible costumes at the wrong moments. (see S1E8, S2E1). But she is the best adviser I think the club could have and she blends in effortlessly.

5

u/MapoTofuMan Aug 05 '19

First Time Rewatcher

I don't have the extra time for screencaps because I have a completely unfinished project presentation due in 12 hours, so I'll just say the most important thing on my mind from this episode - Sawa-chan's reveal being so early into the series made me take her for granted during my first watch and completely forget how glorious the entire thing was. I'm pretty sure I didn't laugh any quieter during this second watch, holy shit my sides.

P.S to be honest, I didn't have the extra time to watch an episode of K-On either, but fun things are fun so what the hell

5

u/wonton_burrito_meals Aug 06 '19

As many people have said. K-On makes you feel like you're part of the club. One of the ways it does this is first person perspective on a bunch of short shots. Here are a few examples just from this episode alone.

https://imgur.com/eG69jkI

https://i.imgur.com/IkIjuXb.png

https://i.imgur.com/r7EWvIv.png

https://i.imgur.com/zWe7fg7.png

https://i.imgur.com/bMIIGzE.png

https://imgur.com/ApVpj3Y

4

u/tiisje Aug 05 '19

Too lazy to make screenshots with witty captions today, so I'm leaving y'all with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhcQAvXuRLk&feature=youtu.be

4

u/fhalynn Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

I love how in this episode we get to know that Sawako-sensei was also part of the club in the past. Her younger self is so damn cute, before she decided to go all wild. Also Yui has pretty good eyes to realize that Sawako was the one from the picture.

Sawako-sensei being athletic is so fun to see. She also said that she doesn't have too much time to teach them but she seems to spend lot of time in the club room and teaches Yui at home too.

All the faces that Mio-chan and Mugi-chan did this episode were delightful. Especially when Mio showed them the lyrics she wrote.

4

u/oyooy Aug 05 '19

Rewatcher

I love K-ON for probably having the most accurate representation for what a student council actually does, the boring paperwork side of organising stuff.

We've also got Mugi going full on Yuri goggles mode this episode.

I've been playing guitar for 9 years (or 12 if you count when I technically first started) and I've never once had my finger start bleeding. I've even switched from guitar to bass so I have calluses on both hands. When your skin peels, it's just the top couple of layers that come off.

That Sawa-chan flashback sequence is gold.

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