K-On! The Movie (2011) (2011)

Alright, those of you looking for a self-contained anime film will be disappointed this was a project that was obviously made for fans of the series. It's pretty much an episode of the series expanded to an hour and forty-five mins. It contains in-jokes from the series and while there is a plot there's no major conflict. In fact, the opening few minutes makes a joke about the lack of real conflict in the film.

Now, if you are a fan of the series, this is a dream come true. The characters are all there, most side characters get enough screen time that you get to revisit just about everyone. The plot is partially about the London trip which was discussed in the season 2 OVA, but it's also about writing the song that they will sing to their underclassman as they graduate. It's sentimental, sweet and everything you've come to expect from the series. As a bonus, just about every song in the series is in it at some point.

The animation is beautiful, and expands upon the already wonderful look of the series. The London trip is well done, and for those who have been there, you'll be sure to recognize some lovingly recreated sights. There are a few moments of CGI that feel a bit off, but that may just be my personal bias against CGI.

The quality of the Blu is wonderful. The animation looks simply breathtaking at times and there are a quite a few special features. As someone who has gotten used to anime discs only containing the opening and closing as special features, this was a treat.

In closing, if you're already a fan of K-On season 1 and 2, this is totally worth a purchase. It's a wonderful closing to one of the most fun anime series to come out in years.

One of my favorite movies based off an anime, You can tell the animators took their time on it. It is cute and the music is great. If you are a hardcore K-ON you'll love this movie ^_^

Buy K-On! The Movie (2011) (2011) Now

[*First off, my apologies for the novel I seem to have written. I tried to strike a balance between short and informative. Anyhoo...*]

The overview below is based off the 2-disc DVD edition (so the content would be the same as the blu-ray but you'll have access to it all on a single disc). I outlined a summary but if you want a super short summary, it's basically: getting this movie gives you almost 2 hours of film and 2 and a half hours of special features.

The movie continues where the end of season 2 was leading into: the 5 members of the Light Music Club are going to London for their graduation trip and Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Tsumugi plan what to get Azusa before they graduate. If you've watched the series then watch the movie; if you haven't [see my note at the bottom], start here (K-ON!, Vol. 1) or here (K-ON! DVD [Anime Legends).

--DISC 1--

-main feature [approx. 1 hour 50 minutes] *16:9 anamorphic

-audio selection [Japanese w/ English subs or English dub] *English 5.1 / Japanese 5.1

-scene selection

-"Also Available from Sentai Filmworks" [some previews to other anime produced by Sentai Filmworks; they're essentially textless openings]

-DVD credits

--DISC 2--

*note: unless otherwise noted, by "the cast", I mean the Japanese voice actresses for Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Tsumugi, and Azusa*

*the extra features are original content from the Japanese programs so they're in Japanese with English subs*

-Minami Tanaka's Dubbing Investigative Report TBS announcer Minami Tanaka visits the cast at the recording studio and interviews them (they do a little tongue twister activity, they're asked what they're favorite scene from the show is, a message to the fans, etc.) [approx. 23 minutes]

-London bus & Press Conference at TBS a pre-opening press conference with the cast (this was a week before the movie hit theaters in Japan) about their feelings about the movie, the live performances they've done, etc. [approx. 19 minutes]

-Navi Show 1-2-3 is K-On! 2 TBS announcers talk about the show and its characters (I guess this can be thought of as a crash course / refresher of the show) [approx. 24 minutes]

-Movie Premiere Event the cast and director talk to the audience at the movie premiere about their feelings about the show up to that point [approx. 22 minutes]

-Director Naoko Yamada in London the director does some "scenario hunting" in London over 4 days for the movie [approx. 29 minutes]

-Good Luck Music Hall K-On! Music Hall ...umm...I'm honestly not sure how to describe this extras clip...2 TBS announcers talk about K-On's music a bit and there are 3 short message clips about the movie from the Japanese voice actresses for Ui, Nodoka, and Jun [approx. 15 minutes]

-Japanese Trailer not much to explain here [approx. 2 minutes]

-Japanese Teaser a teaser...just a shorter version of the trailer [39 seconds long]

-Japanese Spots short, entertaining tidbits advertising the movie; it's continuous [approx. 3 minutes] but it looks like it's 3 spot shorts...just a guess though...

-Clean Opening Animation title: Ichiban Ippai [around 1:46 long]

-Clean Closing Animation title: Singing! [around 1:34 long]

My personal opinion about the special features: the extras are great! It's nice to see the original voice actresses because nothing like this is available as special features from the series. However, there are interviews from the English voice actresses that were included in the season 1 DVDs and blu-rays but there are none whatsoever here. A bit of a letdown because K-On! is one of very few animes that I can comfortably switch between Japanese dub and English dub so it'd be cool to see how both teams feel about the characters they've grown with and their journey up to it becoming a movie. But hey, you can't have your tea and drink it too...

**Just some extra information for those late to the K-On! [tea] party**

Here is where the anime and manga stand as of near-end May 2013 so you know what you need to catch up on (the following dates are relative and approximate):

K-On! volume 1 (manga): released November 2010

K-On! volume 2 (manga): released March 2011

K-On! volume 3 (manga): released August 2011

K-On! volume 4 (manga): released December 2011

K-On! College (manga): planned release date of July 23, 2013 (K-ON! College)

K-On! High School (manga): planned release date of October 29, 2013 (K-ON! High School)

*manga published by Yen Press*

K-On! Season 1 (anime): available in DVD and blu-ray (the DVDs can be purchased as 4 separate volumes or a 4-disc complete collection and the blu-ray as 4 separate volumes--there's no blu-ray complete collection) in Japanese w/ English sub or English dub; released April 2011, July 2011, September 2011, November 2011 (as the 4 volumes) and February 2012 (as the 4-disc complete collection)

K-On!! Season 2 (anime): broken up into 2 parts (released June 2012 and August 2012, respectively) and available in DVD and blu-ray in Japanese w/ English sub or English dub

K-On! the Movie: available in DVD (2 discs) and blu-ray (1 disc) in Japanese w/ English sub or English dub; released May 2013

*season 1 is produced by Bandai and season 2 and the movie are produced by Sentai Filmworks; the English dubbing is in association with Bang Zoom Entertainment so the voice cast stays the same in both seasons and the movie*

Read Best Reviews of K-On! The Movie (2011) (2011) Here

Has a quick recap of the show in the beginning so if you haven't seen the show you're not completely in the dark. For those of you who have seen it get to have a cute narration by Yui which is why you watch this in the first place. K-On! girls are back, and heading to London, and their typical shenanigans, and fun ensues. Overall it was another good show to see them all again after graduation.

Want K-On! The Movie (2011) (2011) Discount?

As a major fan of all things K-On!, I have been waiting nearly 18 months for the English version of this movie; it finally arrived yesterday, and I watched it last night. Suffice it to say, it was well worth the wait!

The movie covers the girls of High-school Tea Time's last few weeks before graduation (except for Azusa, who is one year behind the other four, of course). They decide to go on a graduation celebration trip, and eventually settle on London as the destination (although Yui says she would have preferred to go to England, until the others point out that London is in England!). So, in the week following their finals, and before graduation day, they pile on a plane and head for the UK. I won't elaborate on the details, except to say that the story lived up to K-On! expectations, with Azu-nyan being the most together and organised of the girls, in spite of being the youngest. They visit many famous locations in London, all beautifully filmed and then digitally imported into the proceedings. The only complaint I have is that all the Londoners they speak to (in the English dub) sound like Dick Van Dyke did in Mary Poppins; surely they could have got some real Brits in to speak the parts? They really were awful! But that aside, and it is only a minor point, I loved every minute of it; Yui is suitably nutty as usual, and Azusa gets suspicious and paranoid when the others all stop speaking whenever she walks in the room, but actually they are planning a nice surprise for her!

The movie offers a somewhat different view of the run up to the girl's graduation than the second series did; it is more light-hearted, and not nearly as emotional as the latter, but great fun, nonetheless. If you are a fan of K-On!, just get it; it's wonderful!

One last point; I had puzzled for ages over the actual meaning of the term 'K-On!', but it turns out that it is a contraction of the Japanese word for light music, 'keiongaku' (軽音楽). So now you know!

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