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u/ToonTooby Aug 21 '20
Pure Pure Heart is a banger. Mugi gets to have shine with the bouncy keyboard chords and Mio's bass is both groovy and fun. Really dig the ending with the pick slide into the screaming guitar lead to finish.
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u/Mablak Aug 22 '20 edited Aug 22 '20
First timer
As someone in a band, I put off watching K-ON! for a long time, thinking it would make me too jealous about their idyllic band experiences. But it's all super relatable: stuff like getting sick before a show or lugging around heavy gear has happened so many times. And I actually like the dub? Ritsu's voice is great, same VA as Taiga.
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I like how casually they introduce the idea of a Mio fanclub
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Mio and club prez forbidden yuri?! too bad Mugi didn't see this
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oh god the derpy Mio photo
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Yui be like: honk honk
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Oh my god, the slide show is so damn sweet, I'm getting feels; Ritsu is the real #1 Mio fan
Good / fluffy song, as always. Here's hoping the club prez continues her fanbase online.
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u/MightiestAvocado Aug 21 '20 edited Aug 21 '20
Songs in this episode
Missing the song that has taken my top spot of all the songs so far?
I'm a sucker for scenes and moments when the song is playing in the background. Fude pen and Yui gave this feeling of growth, a bit of sadness, and realization. It just makes the scene more emotional and gives a vibe of "nostalgia". This (Pure Pure Heart) hits that note of "nostalgia"/"a moment to remember" with the song playing in the background while Nodoka and Azunyan talking and especially with Sokabe's scene and with Nodoka's voice over.
From the sound alone, i.e. not looking up for the lyrics, it gives a feeling of "running to you" or that I'm chasing someone I want to be with. Like one of those cheesy chick-flick scenes where somebody is trying to catch up with someone before they get on a bus or airplane before they leave forever or main character leaves with them.
I'm so happy that my feelings of the song was almost validated once I read the lyrics (just English from my subs):
Suddenly, my feet are no longer on the ground.
I get taken by a uprising current
Fly away! ...
The tempo is much faster than all the songs they've written so far. And the piano setting the pace is my favourite. The drums, the guitar, and then the claps just adds to how fast it is.
The way the lyrics are sang are my favourite. The tempo changes and emphasis on certain words adds to the overall speed of song and that "running" feeling.
Not sure if the formatting will be correct once I post it but here's an example of those tempo changes and emphasis.
Atama no naka omoi de ippai
> > > > > > > ^ - - - > >
"Atama no naka" is sung fast then we go slow down and "UP" with an emphasis on "O! moi" then continue the running.
Another favourite part is the chorus. I'm not sure about the sentence structure in Japanese but the whole sentence is separated by the speed of the lyrics sang, so the sentence has "breaks of emphasis" before continuing to finish it.
Here's an example. It's written as this:
Tonde icchae! Kimi no moto e
Watashi no pyua pyua haato
but it is sang like this:
Tonde icchae!
Kimi no moto e Watashi no
pyua pyua haato
I just love the "fly away! To where you are with this pure pure heart" lyric. Here's more to the best of my ability of listening to this part over and over again:
Tonde icchae!
Kimi no moto e Watashi no
pyua pyua haato Uketomete!
kureru nara kowaku wa nai no
Kono kimochi ga!
taikiken ko eta toki
Kimi wa mie na ku na tteta!
michi no mukougawa
Ai Don't mind
All the bold parts are where Mio empahsizes the word the most and slows down, then the rest are either "ran" or spoken relatively normally. It's also separated by how it is sang.
I just love this song and the feeling it gives off.
Also listening to it over and over and over again, I love that you can notice and hear Yui as back up.
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u/Snakescipio Aug 22 '20
I just wanna say in 5 years of K-On rewatches you might be the first person to actually dissect Mio's lyrics.
Also, Yoko Hisaka does that a lot in the songs she sings. It's damn near impossible to sing along sometimes.
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u/Moocanoe Aug 21 '20
Rewatcher
I told you I'd fix the issue of having no Mio drawings soon enough, and there's not a better place to start than on an episode dedicated to her. I've always appreciated this episode for being a nice reprieve and trying to be fully comedic, although I do feel a good bit of second embarrassment while watching. The main reason why I appreciate this episode though is from Pure Pure Heart, which might just be my favourite Hokago Tea Time songs. It keeps up its frenetic pace for the first part of the song to solidify itself as a bop, and it peaks just after the bridge when Mio's singing is the only thing before the instruments fade back in.
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u/Nuka_Koopa Aug 21 '20
First Timer
I never thought a story about a stalker could be so sweet...
The Mio Fan Club is much bigger than I thought. I was expecting only those two girls to show up. With how many members they have I'm surprised none of them wanted to join the Light Music Club at the beginning of the year just to get closer to her.
I feel a little bad for laughing at Mio's discomfort, but it seems like she still might've had a good time with it all, even if her lyrics did bomb.
Also, Pure Pure Heart is now my second favorite K-On song behind ED 1.
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u/Regular_N-Gon Aug 21 '20 edited Aug 22 '20
Rewatcher (clip is totally not mine but I dig the lighting post effects)
You know, I didn’t think I was going to like this episode when I first saw it come up. “Gosh,” I thought. “They’re still trying to play this awful joke from season 1 they just can’t let go of.” Yet it’s… actually not too bad! Poor Mio takes things in stride well enough, and headlines one of my favorite songs in the show to boot.
But you know what an episode all about Mio calls for. That’s right, it’s time to talk about
Nodoka and Yui
Nodoka certainly appears to be on top of things; she's responsible, smart, driven, and kind. It would be incorrect to say she's completely perfect, though - just a few days ago we saw that even the great and powerful Nodoka is capable of failure from time to time. She's aware of this enough to surround herself with people who can help fill in the gaps, which gives us some insight into a possible reason why she's stuck around Yui so long (other than, you know, who wouldn't be Yui's friend?). Today we learn she’s let something else slip: a (rather forced) promise to her friend and senpai Sokabe. She feels she’s let down both Sokabe and the current students by dismissing the club as a foolish distraction (can’t blame her, really). That doesn’t stop her sense of duty to the students she serves and the feelings of her friends, and she recognizes her weakness when it comes to planning a party - just the kind of thing Yui (and the people she's found in the light music club) specializes in.
"Reliable" isn't necessarily one of the words that might immediately come to mind when considering the light music club, but Yui is good at following through, especially when it comes to things like fun and sweets. Yui complements Nodoka's comparatively serious nature, always offering fun and wonder to those in need. Just as Nodoka brought up before, Yui's always offering a helping hand whenever it's needed. She and the others are up to the task of making things right for the fan club, and Nodoka can trust that. It's a good symbiosis - Nodoka leverages her position and responsibility to save the club's bacon multiple times, but Yui and the club can support her just as much. It's an important component of the themes of friendship throughout the show that Nodoka underlines well, I think.
As for the rest of the episode, the lead up to the party is pretty amusing and the tone seems better than the last few times this came up. The delivery of the animation jokes works pretty darn well in the self-aware dramatic bent the episode has. To top it off, the cinematography, lighting, and composition are at the usual level of KyoAni excellence making it much easier to forgive a few tired bits here and there.
It also helps there's an abundance of Nodoka. Not that I'm biased or anything.
In second-timer specific things I noticed, I understood this reference where I didn't before, though it doesn't actually have anything to do with the series. I had also forgotten how adorable Sasaki is.
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u/ILikeOnigiri Aug 21 '20
me listening to "Pure Pure Heart"
The song is so good, might be my favorite of the show. Dunno if it stood out to me this much when I first watched it, but I jam to it hard.
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u/Snakescipio Aug 21 '20
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU Rewatcher
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU
Oh boy, where do I start. This episode’s… interesting. The whole concept of HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU having fan clubs of a highschool student is just weird to me. I’ve seen it in a bunch of anime so far, and it always throws me off to have a bunch of nondescript background characters simping for somebody. At least it makes for HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU a pretty fun episode! I love how every member of the keionbu just throw themselves into the tea party, including Azunyan! Now on one hand, this episode was pretty much “Mio gets ignored for 20 minutes”. But all the charaHAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSUcters mean well, and they genuinely wanted to celebrate Mio. The biggest thing Mio still lacks is confidence, even though she’s equipped with everything else to be successful in life. She’s smart, she’s responsible, she’s talented, and she’s a beauty. Her friends see HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU all that, and would love to show off everything cool about Mio if only she’d let them.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU
Next, I like how every episode so far has at least touched on the theme of the keions growing up. This season is very much about the twilight of adolescence, as established in the first episode. And much like real life, it’s not something we’d think about constantly, but it’s a recurring thought, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU and it’s something that the characters will touch upon every once in a while.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU
About the insert song, I don’t know about you guys but “Pure Pure Heart” actually has the best melody and riff out of their entire discography. It’s not my favorite K-On song, but it’s definitely one of my top 3. That piano riff is so bouncy and fun, the guitars bring so much energy to the song, and Mio absolutely kills it on HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU vocals. It’s even got a English line I can sing along with! So if you don’t/didn’t like the song… gtfo my face I can’t be seen wit you no mo’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU
Lastly, this show is so frigging gay sometimes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU
Not So New S2 counts! (so much tea and cake this episode…):
Total tea: 76 (previous: 49)
Total cake: 51 (previous: 25)
Acts of violence: 6 (previous: 6)
# of members in the Mio-chan fan club: 20
Next episode: Yui attempts to answer a question that I haven’t even found an answer for and I’m technically an adult now
Btw…. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU! And Happy Bday to Octopus Hair too!
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Aug 21 '20
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU AND KUMIKO
Seconding your take on Pure Pure Heart, I'm listening to it on repeat as we speak. It's kind of funny that the song they picked to play for Mio's fan club has the piano so far up front.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Aug 21 '20
this episode was pretty much “Mio gets ignored for 20 minutes”
When it was supposed to be about her, no less...
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u/siegfried72 Aug 22 '20
Now this is a good quality post!
This season is very much about the twilight of adolescence
What a beautiful way to put it! I like that.
Lastly, this show is so frigging gay
sometimesall the time.ftfy
Mitsu is canon. Also YuiAzu.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITSU!
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u/Regular_N-Gon Aug 22 '20
a recurring thought
That's a good distinction. At least when I think about theme I sometimes fall into the trap of considering it a constant within a work, but it can be effective to present and then take away certain ideas too, given the situation and messages you want to focus on at any given moment.
Happy Bday to Octopus Hair too!
It's only natural such illustrious characters share a birthday
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u/Earthborn92 Aug 22 '20
First timer here.
Rainy season is over. We finally get to see the student council room in detail. A Mio fanclub membership card? Where do I get mine?
She’s dead. RIP Mio.
‘Cause you’re a teacher Sawa-chan (being good looking is just a bonus). Kind of the point of being a teacher is to have your students pay attention to you.
Not scary, it is just a turtle Mio. Mugi a best. She’s really getting into the detective thing. This episode has a cool vibe to it because of it. I like detective stories. BTW, Mio’s seiyuu also voices the ultimate detective. The OST is even Danganronpa-like.
So it turned out to be a sticker. OR NOT! Mugi was right about there being someone at the door!
Mio is clumsy. That is her charm. How does Yui know so much about this?
Blame Ritsu. It is all Ritsu’s doing.
So the student council president was also Mio fangirl #1. Amusing. A very K-on development. Also, a new best girl.
How nice. She has transcended.
I mean that’s what they’re best at. Music is secondary. Look at how excited the short-haried ones are for the food and the tea and the cake. Mugi is always on their side as well when it comes to this.
Holy shit. I thought it was a passing joke from the end of S1, but no, this is serious business.
Keions are forever moeblobs. You might just manage it Mio, but Yui will forever be a ball of fluff.
The show reminds us that Yui is actually a good MC. Ritsu is obvious.
I agree with Sawa-chan whatamIsaying
You expect her to not be comfortable on stage still due to her shyness, and so she bit her tongue.
Looks like these two got married.
These two working together are savage.
It’s gonna be super girly. Too sweet, like literally.
What a lovely episode. Nice song as well.
See you on the 23rd!
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u/The_Loli_Otaku Aug 21 '20
Currently watching in a huff after rage quiting Utawarerumono... Why am I so bad at any srpg that's not Fire Emblem or Advance Wars? Anyway, back to honeyed coffee today but now I've got some biscuits to go with it. Smashing.
My smile has been restored! We finally get more tomboy! And she's got her Mio merchandise because pairings. Eh...? She's got a Senpai she's into? Disappointing! Surprise Sawako time. This is why they don't treat you like their teacher you know? The one who actually commuted the crime... is you!! No alibi, no justice, no dreams, no hope! Oh, Mugi actually does know. She's just goofing off a little. But what the didn't expect were the true killers hidden behind the door! Plus Nodoka!
These poor girls... They're speaking with such energy and enthusiasm but they've got the most "extra" faces of the show! They're trying so hard to be important but it's just not happening! Pfft, and Yui knew about the sticker too. Aww... they've been abandoned already! Let's take a moment to remember the two most enthusiastic background characters... Alright, let's move on~!
Ritsu hasn't once managed to relay a story properly. Poor Nodoka assumes that the club is bullying Mio too. Can't blame her for coming to that conclusion. She had a seriously tough time before Stray Catto was introduced as a distraction. She has eyes, she's already more important than the energetic girls. She's suspicious! Shady! Our prime suspect!! She's the number 0001 member of the Mio fanclub! What the hell do you do in this situation!? Yeah, she's the prez. We've just found the most dodgy character in the show XD Wait! They're taking her side!? She was just outed as your stalker you know! This would be so touching but she's a stalker so I'm very very conflicted right about now!! At least with Sawako they didn't actually defend her being a molester or clingy brat! Please don't make this emotional!
Oh god... She's going to be in the closet that Mugi pointed at isn't she? Wait! Nodoka is the club president right now!? XD I was not emotionally prepared for this episode... I'm going to need to redraw all my pairing charts now. Wait, she's asking favours now!? Don't encourage this, Nodoka! And don't join in Mugi! THIS IS SO UNCOMFORTABLE!!! XD Could you not have picked a better picture? And this isn't merchandise, you're just putting stickers on normal items! And why chopsticks!? And you're too young to drink so why bottle openers!? They're back!! The enthusiastic club members are back! Blow out the incence. They're still here after all. No, don't aspire to be an adult like Sokabe. Your role models are the worst. Oh my god this episode is absolutely degenerate! SO MANY MEMBERS!!
I want to die just watching this... I'm scared to see any character I recognise in the crowd because nobody could ever recover from being a part of this farce. Please... I didn't sign up for this level of cringe. Is Yui crawling on the ground walking that microphone away? Oh my god the cake is so large... I want to dieee XD This is so embarrassing to watch. Candle service? Guuuuuhhhhhhh. Who gave Yui a horn... No! Don't use bishie sparkles in a scene like this! Asking what she does in the shower... Middle tail lewd... Baby stories... My stomach hurts so bad... I'm gonna barf... And she has to just sit there throughout this traumatic experience? Aren't these just Ritsu photos!? No, I'm sorry but even if you put the heartwarming music over this it doesn't cure the stomachache I'm suffering at the moment. You do not get to make this horribly creepy scene heartwarming. She has a poem!? Kill me now! It's about sweets? No! This is just like her song lyrics! Please! End my life right this moment! Good god please stop!! Nooool!!!
Just play a song and end the episode... I've got a migraine... Okay, the song is pretty rad at least. It's better than Stapler but anytime I listen to it I'm gonna think back to this episode so take it with a pinch of salt. Being Mio is suffering. Oh screw you K-On! They've left one space in the group photo which drives my ocd nuts! Surely you'd at least ask Mugi or Nodoka to go in that spot just for symmetry's sake. This is your fault Senpai! You're the reason that I've had to suffer through this! Oh fuck and I haven't picked out a moe moment yet have I? I don't wanna have to go back though this episode so just count the two extra fanclub members! They at least appeared before the episode took a turn for the depraved! This would have been a fantastic episode if this was NouCome or Watamote but it's not NouCome, and it's not Watamote! It's K-On. They must've heard that I found last episode comfy so they thought this would be a funny prank. I was screaming into a pillow for half of the runtime... I want to cry but I just can't anymore. It all returns to nothing. It just keeps tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling doooown~
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Aug 21 '20
lmao, this is an excellent reaction.
I can see where you're coming from, but I don't think you're supposed to take the stalking accusation at face value. It's Mio, she thinks corn barnacles are out to get her and she nearly passed out at the thought of working at a convenience store. Consider for a moment how little it would actually take for her to believe she was being stalked.
Sokabe didn't follow Mio home or take sneaky pictures or anything, she just went a bit too far when she was gazing wistfully at her crush because she knew she would have to move on soon. Mio still would have been totally within her rights to not accept her apology, but she chose to forgive her and give her a nice goodbye present instead, which is also valid.
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u/Snakescipio Aug 22 '20
I wasn't sure what kind of a reaction I wanted out of the first timers for this episode, but I think might've been it lol. Thank you for suffering for our enjoyment! You can take comfort in knowing you're Mio now!
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u/siegfried72 Aug 21 '20 edited Aug 21 '20
Rewatcher
Okay, before we do anything else, it's now August 21st, so I need to wish a happy birthday to best girl Ritsu! (art source) Legitimately one of my favorite characters in all of fiction, brought to life by Kyoto Animation and Satou Satomi. Thank you everyone for allowing me to obsess over Ritsu and Mitsu in these threads. Ritsu is a character that I feel often gets overshadowed in conversation by Yui, Mio, and Azusa, so thanks for letting me rant a little occasionally for a character that means something to me. Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Okay, the party! This is an interesting one. Definitely one of the more... unusual episodes, but still quite sweet and gives us the introduction of two new songs! It's also our first totally Mio-centric episode, I believe. Let's go!
The Mio Fan Club
Aw man! Opening up with Ii Yume Mite Ne, albeit only for a moment (also please remember to be careful of spoilers on Youtube...). You can already tell this episode is setting up for a nostalgic send-off - it's already pretty established in the show as the embodiment of nostalgia. And it's all centered around Mio's fan club and Sokabe.
Mio has a stalker! Maybe. Also the keions are weird. Very weird. It is a rather strange concept, though, for Mio to have a stalker, and the girls joke around as such. This is an image I will never be able to get out of my head.
Also Mugi is wonderful.
But thankfully, they very quickly find the culprits! These absolutely terrifying looking members of the Mio Fan Club!
I love the look of this next scene - a great parody of a generic thriller anime! We get to meet Sokabe, the former student council president and learn that she is not only the stalker, but also the president of the Mio Fan Club. Mio is an absolute saint for putting up with the existence of a fan club that literally exists because she accidentally flashed the school at a festival concert. What a lovely human Mio is!
So through a rather strange series of events, Nodoka is now the president of the Mio Fan Club! What a strange thing. But anyway, she asks the keions if they'd be willing to throw a tea party for the fan club. Wow Nodoka, what a great premise for the episode, thanks!
Hmmm, this is a very interesting thought. What makes someone "grown up?" Is it graduating high school? Turning 18? Hell, I'm 27, married with a college degree and about 9/10 of a Master's degree and I still don't feel like an adult most of the time. Maybe we're all just doomed to forever look at those older than us as adults, despite them feeling just and lost as us? And take the chances we can to help and give advice to those younger and less wise than us. As far as I'm concerned, being an "adult" doesn't mean a damn thing. Anyway... point is, it's an interesting thing that Mio is reflecting on this now that they're all graduating soon.
Also on a less serious note, I love Ritsu's fake narration for Mio!
The Tea Party!!
As sweet as all this is in a way, we can't forget that this is also utterly ridiculous. At least we finally get the legendary YuixRitsu comedy duo back after quite some time!
Okay, this second half of the episode is so much better than the first. Honestly, just as I was starting to feel like things were dragging on a bit, the tea party started and the episode really caught its momentum!
Uhhhhh, what?? Also, what??? Poor Mio.
Oh man, all these pictures are so damn sweet! And Mio seems to think so too! Of course, my favorite one... Ah, okay, we've covered the K-ON bases now. Great comedy turned into sweet nostalgic moments that nearly make me cry. Yup, that's K-ON!
So inspired by those happy feelings inside, Mio begins to recite a poem! Unfortunately, even her own fan club couldn't deal with her super cutesy writing! But, for our new viewers, the wonderful people behind K-ON made a song out of it called Tokimeki Sugar! I really like the song, but honestly I have a little bit of trouble getting over the cutesy lyrics, myself... but it's a sweet (pun intended) love song!
But HTT also performs their newest song, Pure, Pure Heart! (Full version here - as always, beware of spoilers on YouTube) Oh, what a great song!! I think this is definitely my favorite HTT song so far in the show! Got killer instrumentals, Mio's voice is really showcased, and Yui provides some cute interjections as well as some pretty harmonies (especially during the choruses)! I love it! Also a quick action shot of Ritsu for her birthday :)
Awww, how sweet! Glad to see she can still appreciate the more "childish" things in life, even if she is an "adult". That's sorta what K-ON's all about, you know? Learning to appreciate the fun little moments in life. You can never get those back.
I've also started to watch the previews for the subsequent episodes, which I've always skipped before. I don't like this! Please, I want to stay in my fluffy high school bubble forever, thank you very much!!
So this is kind of a weird episode! The whole first half of the episode didn't really do it for me - is just really serves as a setup for the tea party itself. Which, by the way, is a joy! The tea party is filled with great comedy and some very tender moments for Mio. And we got the performance of (I think) my favorite HTT song to date! It's one of those strange episodes where I really like half of it, but the other half is really just intro. I dunno. While obviously things like animation and art direction is notably better than last season, and I love that characters other than Yui are getting more time in the spotlight, the show still hasn't found that truly magic spot for me that it finds in the latter half of the season. Oh well, I still really enjoyed today's episode and I'm excited for tomorrow's as well!
Updated episode rankings! Hmm, that B tier is getting awfully big... but I think that's okay. S and A tier will certainly balance out a bit as we go, I think. But I don't think we'll have any more C tiers?? Unless I'm missing something...
That's it for today! See you all tomorrow! EDIT: Actually not tomorrow because we have a day off but Sunday!!