K-On! (manga)
K-On! (Japanese: けいおん!, Hepburn: Keion!) is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Kakifly serialized in Houbunsha‘s Manga Time Kirara magazine between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues, and also serialized in Houbunsha’s Manga Time Kirara Carat magazine. The manga relaunched from April 2011 to June 2012 with two separate storylines published in Manga Time Kirara and Manga Time Kirara Carat. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press. A spin-off manga about a different band of high school girls, K-On! Shuffle, began serialization in July 2018.
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between April and June 2009. An additional original video animation (OVA) episode was released in January 2010. A 26-episode second season, titled K-On!! (with two exclamation marks), aired in Japan between April and September 2010, with an OVA episode released in March 2011. An anime film adaptation was released in Japan in December 2011. Bandai Entertainment had licensed the first season until their closure in 2012. Sentai Filmworks has since re-licensed the first season, in addition to acquiring the rights to the second season and film. K-On! has achieved strong sales in Japan, and by 2011 gross revenues had reached over ¥15 billion ($192 million) in merchandise sales.
Plot
In an unspecified part of Japan, four high school girls join the light music club of the all-girls private Sakuragaoka High School to try to save it from being disbanded. However, they are the only members of the club. At first, Yui Hirasawa has no experience playing musical instruments or reading sheet music, but she eventually becomes an excellent guitar player. From then on, Yui, along with bassist Mio Akiyama, drummer Ritsu Tainaka, and keyboardist Tsumugi Kotobuki spend their school days practicing, performing, and hanging out together. The club is overseen by music teacher Sawako Yamanaka who eventually becomes their homeroom teacher as well during their final year of high school. In their second year, the club welcomes another guitarist, underclassman Azusa Nakano. After Azusa joins they gain more structure and begin to practice more.
After their third year, Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi graduate and enroll into a university. There they join its light music club alongside three other students: Akira Wada, Ayame Yoshida, and Sachi Hayashi. Meanwhile, Azusa continues to run the high school light music club alongside Yui’s sister Ui, their classmate Jun Suzuki, and new members Sumire Saitō and Nao Okuda.
The spin-off manga K-On! Shuffle focuses on a new set of characters at a different school. After being inspired by the Sakuragaoka High School light music club, Yukari Sakuma and friend Kaede Shimizu seek to form their own club. Along with classmate Maho Sawabe, they discover the Light Music Appreciation Society, a club run by Riko Satou.
Media
Manga
K-On! began as a four-panel comic-strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga was originally serialized in Houbunsha‘s Manga Time Kirara manga magazine between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues, ending on September 9, 2010. The manga also appeared as a guest bimonthly serialization in Manga Time Kirara‘s sister magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat starting with the October 2008 issue. The manga relaunched from April 2011 to June 2012 in two separate magazines. Chapters published in Manga Times Kirara, from the May 2011 issue released on April 8, 2011, to the July 2012 issue released on June 9, 2012, focus on the main cast as they attend college. Chapters published in Manga Time Kirara Carat, from the June 2011 issue released on April 28, 2011, to the August 2012 issue released on June 28, 2012, focus on Azusa, Ui, and Jun as they continue the light music club.
Four tankōbon volumes were released between April 26, 2008 and September 27, 2010. The manga was licensed by Yen Press for English release, with the first volume released in North America on November 30, 2010. The college arc of the second manga run, titled K-On! College (けいおん! college), was released on September 27, 2012, and the high school arc, titled K-On! Highschool (けいおん! highschool), was released on October 27, 2012. Yen Press have also licensed these volumes in North America. In Indonesia, the series is licensed by Elex Media Komputindo. An anthology entitled Minna de Untan! (みんなでうん☆たん, Everybody’s Untan!), which features several guest strips from various artists, was released in September 2009. An official anthology series, K-On! Anthology Comic (けいおん!アンソロジーコミック, Keion! Ansorojī Komikku), began sale from November 27, 2009, with five volumes released as of October 12, 2011, and two “Story Anthology Comics” were released on November 26, 2011. An illustration book with official art and fan art from well known dōjin artists was released on January 27, 2010.
A spin-off manga by Kakifly, titled K-On! Shuffle, began serialization in Manga Time Kirara on July 9, 2018. At Anime Expo 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed K-On! Shuffle for English publication.
Anime series
A 13-episode anime adaptation directed by Naoko Yamada, written by Reiko Yoshida, and produced by Kyoto Animation aired between April 3 and June 26, 2009 on TBS in Japan. The episodes began airing on subsequent networks at later dates which include BS-TBS, MBS, and CBC. The TBS airings are in 4:3 ratio, and the series began airing in widescreen on BS-TBS on April 25, 2009. Seven BD/DVD compilation volumes were released by Pony Canyon between July 29, 2009, and January 20, 2010. An additional original video animation (OVA) episode was released with the final BD/DVD volumes on January 20, 2010. The BD/DVD volumes contained extra short anime titled Ura-On!.
The series later began airing on Japan’s Disney Channel from April 2011. Animax has aired the anime in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan. Both an English-subtitled and English-dubbed version by Red Angel Media began airing on March 16, 2010, on Animax Asia. At their industry panel at Anime Expo 2010, anime distributor Bandai Entertainment announced that they have acquired K-On! for a DVD and Blu-ray Disc release, with Bang Zoom! Entertainment producing an English dub for the show. The series was released over four volumes in standard and limited editions for each format starting on April 26, 2011. Bandai released the full first season on DVD under their “Anime Legends” line on February 7, 2012. Manga Entertainment released the series in the UK in individual DVD volumes during 2011, and in a complete DVD of the first season on April 30, 2012. A planned BD box set release in 2012 was cancelled. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the first season and re-released the series on DVD on September 23, 2014. Sentai also re-released the series on Blu-ray on September 1, 2015.
It was displayed on screen at the Let’s Go live concert in Yokohama, Japan on December 30, 2009, that a second season would be produced. The second season, titled K-On!! (with two exclamation marks), aired with 26 episodes on TBS in Japan between April 7 and September 28, 2010. An additional OVA episode was released with the final BD/DVD volumes on March 16, 2011. As with the first season, the BD/DVD volumes contained extra short anime titled Ura-On!!. This season has also aired on Animax Asia starting October 20, 2010. Sentai Filmworks licensed the second season and released the series on DVD and Blu-ray in two boxsets released on June 19, 2012, and August 28, 2012 respectively. The original English dub cast reprised their roles for this season.
The anime was broadcast on ABC Me in Australia, with episodes being hosted on ABC iview.
Netflix licensed the series and movie in the United States and Canada between November 2019 and November 2021.
Film
A film adaptation of K-On! was released in Japan on December 3, 2011. It follows the girls as they travel to London to celebrate their graduation. Developed as an original story, it was produced by Kyoto Animation with Naoko Yamada as the director. The film features the two songs “Ichiban Ippai” and “Unmei wa Endless” by Aki Toyosaki. The ending theme is “Singing” by Yōko Hikasa. The film opened at #2 with a gross of ¥317,287,427 (US$4,070,919) from 137 theaters, and has earned a total of ¥1,639,685,078 (US$21,419,792) by the end of its run.
The film features a London cafe inspired by the Troubadour Cafe in Earl’s Court, and K-On! fans often visit the cafe. The film was released on BD and DVD on July 18, 2012. Sentai Filmworks released the film on BD/DVD in North America on May 21, 2013. Madman Entertainment released the film in Australia on BD/DVD.
Music
The first season anime’s opening theme is “Cagayake! Girls” by Aki Toyosaki with Yōko Hikasa, Satomi Satō and Minako Kotobuki. The ending theme is “Don’t Say ‘Lazy'” by Hikasa with Toyosaki, Satō and Kotobuki. The opening and ending theme singles were released on April 22, 2009. A single containing the insert song “Fuwa Fuwa Time” (ふわふわ時間, Light and Fluffy Time) used in episode six was released on May 20, 2009. A series of character song singles have been released containing songs sung by the voice actresses of the five main characters. The singles for Yui (by Toyosaki) and Mio (by Hikasa) were released on June 17, 2009. The singles for Ritsu (by Satō) and Tsumugi (by Kotobuki) were delayed, but later released together with the single for Azusa (by Ayana Taketatsu) on August 26, 2009. The singles for Ui Hirasawa (by Madoka Yonezawa) and Nodoka Manabe (by Chika Fujitō) were released on October 21, 2009. The anime’s original soundtrack, largely composed by Hajime Hyakkoku, was released on June 3, 2009. The four songs highlighted in episode eight of the anime were released on the mini album Ho-kago Tea Time (放課後ティータイム, After School Tea Time) on July 22, 2009. The single “Maddy Candy” by Sawako’s band Death Devil (sung by Asami Sanada) was released on August 12, 2009.
The second season anime’s first opening theme is “Go! Go! Maniac” and the first ending theme is “Listen!!”; both songs are sung by Toyosaki, Hikasa, Satō, Kotobuki, and Taketatsu. The singles containing the songs were released on April 28, 2010. From episode 14 onwards, the respective opening and ending themes are “Utauyo!! Miracle” and “No, Thank You!”, both by Toyosaki, Hikasa, Satō, Kotobuki, and Taketatsu. The singles containing these songs were released on August 4, 2010. The single “Pure Pure Heart” also sung by Toyosaki, Hikasa, Satō, Kotobuki, and Taketatsu was released on June 2, 2010. Another single, “Love”, by Sawako’s band Death Devil (sung by Sanada) was released on June 23, 2010. A single sung by Toyosaki, “Gohan wa Okazu/U&I”, was released on September 8, 2010. The composer Bice who wrote the song “Gohan wa Okazu” died on July 26, 2010, of a heart attack; the song was their final work. A second set of character song singles were released, starting with the singles for Yui (by Toyosaki) and Mio (by Hikasa) on September 21, 2010. The show’s second album, Ho-kago Tea Time II, was released on both normal double CD and limited edition that came with a cassette tape on October 27, 2010. The second set of singles for Ritsu (by Satō), Tsumugi (by Kotobuki), and Azusa (by Taketatsu) were released on November 17, 2010. The set of singles for Jun (by Yoriko Nagata), Ui (by Yonezawa), and Nodoka (by Fujitō) were released on January 19, 2011. The singles and albums were released by Pony Canyon. A limited edition music box, K-ON! 7inch Vinyl “Donuts” BOX, was released at the Canime Summer Festival on August 11, 2012.
Video games
A rhythm video game titled K-On! Hōkago Live!! (けいおん! 放課後ライブ!!, Keion! Hōkago Raibu!!), developed by Sega for the PlayStation Portable, was released on September 30, 2010. The gameplay involves the player matching button presses in time with music featured in the anime. The game supports local multiplayer for up to five PSPs. The game features 19 songs from the first anime season and first set of character song CDs. The player can customize the clothing, hair style and accessories of the characters, plus customization of the light music room and Yui’s bedroom. There is also a custom track maker. A remastered HD port of the game was released for the PlayStation 3 on June 21, 2012.
An arcade game developed by Atlus, K-On! Hōkago Rhythm Time (けいおん!放課後リズムタイム, Keion! Hōkago Rizumu Taimu), was released in Japanese arcades in spring 2013. The game features rhythm gameplay and also awards trading cards that can be used to read songs into the game. A second arcade game by Sega titled K-On! Hōkago Rhythm Selection (けいおん！放課後リズムセレクション, Keion! Hōkago Rizumu Serekushon) was released on November 13, 2014.
Characters from the series also appear alongside the other Manga Time Kirara characters in the mobile RPG, Kirara Fantasia in 2018.
Reception
The first manga volume of K-On! was the 30th highest-selling manga volume in Japan for the week of April 27 and May 3, 2009, having sold over 26,500 volumes that week. The following week, the first and second manga volumes were the 19th and 20th highest-selling manga volumes in Japan, having sold 23,200 and 22,500 volumes each the week of May 4 and May 10, 2009. As of May 2009, the first two manga volumes each sold about 136,000 copies each. The third volume sold over 120,000 copies the week of December 14–20, 2009, and became the 46th top-selling manga in the first half of 2010 in Japan (ending May 23), selling over 328,000 copies.
The single for the first anime’s opening theme, “Cagayake! Girls”, debuted at fourth in the ranking on the Oricon weekly singles chart, selling approximately 62,000 copies. The ending theme “Don’t Say ‘Lazy'” debuted at second in the ranking, selling 67,000 copies. It was also awarded Best Theme Song at the 2009 (14th) Animation Kobe Awards. Additionally, “Cagayake! Girls” and “Don’t Say ‘Lazy'” were certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for 250,000 full-track ringtone digital music downloads (Chaku Uta Full), respectively. The mini album Ho-kago Tea Time debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly CD albums charts selling 67,000 copies, making it the first image song album credited to fictional anime characters that reached the highest position. The second anime’s opening theme “Go! Go! Maniac” and ending theme “Listen!!” debuted at No. 1 and No. 2 in their first week of release on the Oricon singles chart, selling over 83,000 and 76,000 copies, respectively. “Go! Go! Maniac” became the first anime image song to ever top the singles chart and the band also became the first female vocalists to occupy the top two spots on the singles chart in 26 years since Seiko Matsuda in 1983. The season’s second ending and opening themes, “No, Thank You!” and “Utauyo! Miracle” respectively, sold 87,000 and 85,000 in their first week and ranked at No. 2 and No. 3 in the Oricon charts respectively, only being beaten by SMAP‘s single, “This is Love”. “No, Thank You!” and “Utauyo! Miracle” were certified Gold by the RIAJ in August 2010 for 100,000 copies shipped. The single “Gohan wa Okazu”/”U&I” debuted at No. 3 on the Oricon singles chart, selling 53,000 in its first week. The album Ho-kago Tea Time II debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly CD albums charts selling 127,000 copies.
The first Japanese DVD volume of the anime series sold around 8,000 copies to debut seventh in the ranking on the Oricon charts for the week of July 29, 2009. The Blu-ray Disc release of the first volume sold about 33,000 copies in the same week, to top the Oricon BD charts. In August 2009, the first volume of K-On! was the top-selling anime television Blu-ray Disc in Japan, having surpassed the previous record holder Macross Frontier, which sold approximately 22,000 copies of its first volume. It was the second best-selling Blu-ray Disc in Japan, trailing only Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, with around 49,000 copies. However, in October 2009, the first volume of Bakemonogatari surpassed K-On!’s previous record, having sold 37,000 copies at that time. Later, with the release of K-On!! volume 3, total BD sales for the series have outsold Bakemonogatari. Both series have sold a combined total of over 520,000 BD copies as of February 20, 2011.
K-On! received a Best TV Animation Award at the 2010 Tokyo Anime Awards, with K-On!! receiving the same award in 2011. K-On!! also won the Best Television award at the 2010 (15th) Animation Kobe Awards. In 2012, the film was nominated for the 35th Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year award, and won the Best Film award in the 2nd Newtype Anime Awards. The film also won the Theatrical Film Award at the 17th Animation Kobe Awards.
At the beginning of September 2010, the Kyoto prefectural government began using K-On!! to promote the census and encourage people to be counted.[157] In 2011, Sharp and Bandai announced plans to jointly launch a calculator with designs of the characters from K-On!. K-On! has influenced a string of tourism for the rural town of Toyosato, related to the phenomenon of the anime pilgrimage, home to the elementary school that was used as a model for the high school in the anime. The school has opened portions of itself to the public as an exhibit for the series. Matthew Li of Anime Tourist described the exhibit as, “A place that genuinely understands its fanbase and carries all the sentimental props one can remember from the show and more; housing items seen in the school, like a museum.” The anime has also inspired real-life musicians. Hiroto, the bassist of The Sixth Lie, joined a band that was influenced by K-On! when he was in junior high school.
Notes
- The Japanese title is short for “light music” (軽音楽, Keiongaku); that is, more casual music (e.g. jazz or popular) in contrast to classical.
| K-On! | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Yui Hirasawa
|
|
| けいおん! (Keion!) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kakifly |
| Published by | Houbunsha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | |
| English magazine | |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | April 9, 2007 – June 28, 2012 |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Anime television series | |
|
|
| Directed by | Naoko Yamada |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Reiko Yoshida |
| Music by | Hajime Hyakkoku |
| Studio | Kyoto Animation |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | TBS, BS-TBS |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 3, 2009 – September 28, 2010 |
| Episodes | 39 + 2 OVA |
| Game | |
| K-On! Hōkago Live!! | |
| Developer | Sega |
| Publisher | Sega |
| Genre | Rhythm |
| Platform | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 |
| Released |
|
| Anime film | |
| K-On! The Movie | |
| Directed by | Naoko Yamada |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Reiko Yoshida |
| Music by | Hajime Hyakkoku |
| Studio | Kyoto Animation |
| Licensed by |
Madman Entertainment
Sentai Filmworks
Manga Entertainment
|
| Released | December 3, 2011 |
| Runtime | 110 minutes |
| Game | |
| K-On! Hōkago Rhythm Time | |
| Developer | Atlus |
| Publisher |
|
| Genre | Rhythm, trading card game |
| Platform | Arcade |
| Released | April 26, 2013 |
| Game | |
| K-On! Hōkago Rhythm Selection | |
| Developer | Sega |
| Publisher | Sega Interactive |
| Genre | Rhythm, trading card game |
| Platform | Arcade |
| Released | November 13, 2014 |
| Manga | |
| K-On! Shuffle | |
| Written by | Kakifly |
| Published by | Houbunsha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Manga Time Kirara |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | July 9, 2018 – present |
| Volumes | 1 |
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