K-On Volume 1 by Kakifly

This is a manga I’ve heard buzz about online, and the large posters at the local anime shop got me thinking that I should see what the fuss is all about. K-On turned out to be a nice surprise. It’s isn’t hard-hitting or dramatic, it’s just a whole lot of fun.  

The first few pages are in colour which is immediately refreshing, just like with Chi’s Sweet Home. I admit that at first I was a little confused by the 4 panel layout, and it took me a little time to realize that the panels are to be read in a top down, left to right direction.

Synopsis: Two girls convince another two girls to join the Pop Music club in school in order to prevent it from being disbanded. Three of the girls are already familiar with instruments. Ritsu plays drums; Mio plays bass and Tsumugi’s on keyboard. The fourth member, Yui, agrees to play guitar although she has no experience. In the end they all decide to form a band. The pop club meets in the music room and they end up spending large amounts of time drinking tea and eating desserts thanks to Tsumugi who appears to be from an affluent family, and I have a feeling we will find out about who they are. Yui buys her first guitar and is so enamored with its beauty she is reluctant to play it. Eventually Yui does start learning to play, and in the process neglects her school work. The band needs to work together in order to to help get her grades up. Although the club now has enough members to remain valid, they discover that they are in need of a teacher-advisor before they can be official. The girls try to recruit the music teacher, Sawako Yamanaka, who turns them down.  Ritsu finds a photo album in the music room with a picture of the pop club members from years past and recognizes the music teacher who, despite her current “ladylike” teacher demeanour, was a hardcore rocker back in the day. They do some arm twisting and she agrees to become the advisor. The girls are now ready to prepare for their debut at the school festival leading them to deal with such issues as song writing, singing and costumes.  

Thoughts: The things I enjoyed about this manga, apart from the characters, was the little bits of detail Kakify put in, like how your fingers tips get really sore when you first start playing, and how callouses eventually form to help. I also enjoyed the part where Yui would just stare at her new instrument, polishing it and admiring it’s beauty. She even went so far as to sleep with it. As a one-time bass guitar player and band member, this was sort of a trip down memory lane (apart from all the tea and cakes). I feel a bit like the music teacher: I am now the serious mom who had a rockin’ past. I still have my guitar to prove it!

K-On by Kakify is published by Yen Press. Volume 3 is set to be released later this month.