HomeAnimeK-ON! Volume 3 - Review

K-ON! Volume 3 – Review

-

K-ON! Volume 3 - Review 1

Title: K-ON! Volume 3
Published by: Madman Entertainment (Australia / New Zealand)
Based on: K-ON! 4koma series by Kakifly
Genre: Comedy, Music, School-life
Audio: English and Japanese Dubs
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: Review conducted on DVD version, so Anamorphic Widescreen 16:9. Blu-ray aspect ratio same as previous reviews.
Runtime: 75 minutes
Cost: $24.95 (DVD) / $29.95 (Blu-ray)
Classification: This title has been classified as PG for Mild Themes
Special Thanks: Special thanks goes to the Madman Entertainment PR Team for providing me with a review sample of this title.

I don’t believe I really need to introduce the series anymore as we are now officially past the half-way point for this season of K-ON! with the third volume of the anime recently being released. Up to now we have met the four main girls Yui Hirasawa, Ritsu Tainaka, Mio Akiyama and Tsumugi Kotobuki who decided to form a relatively chaotic but nevertheless fun light music club and have held several successful performances. With the start of a new year and a whole swarm of eager freshman to begin, they attempt to recruit new members to ensure future group sustainability once graduating… but only managed one…. Azusa Nakano. Will their laid back attitude suit her perference or will they lose her faster than they gained her? Well, read on to my review to see if it is worth pursuing this question.

K-ON! Volume 3 - Review 2

When Yui joins the light music club, she becomes the guitarist in this all-girl high school rock band with Mio Akiyama on the bass, Ritsu Tainaka on drums and Tsumugi Kotobuki on keyboard. Together, they’re going to rock the school and someday make it to the Budokan! But when new member Azusa officially joins the club, she is shocked to find everyone drinking tea and eating cake instead of practising.

With the addition of Azusa to the Light Music Club as a fifth member and second guitarist, the first two episodes focus on her in particular and her difficulty in fitting in with their less than enthusiastic attitude towards music, while the third and final episode in this volume focuses on yet another tragedy where Ritsu questions her relationship with the other band members. In other words, these episodes are perhaps more serious in nature to those of previous volumes where all four girls generally got along and were able to do their fun activities and slack off without a fifth member demanding practice instead of say…. showing off swimsuit or nekomimi fanservice to the viewer in front of the TV (Hey, I am not judging you… Azusa is adorable in cat ears!). Unlike the previous volume which treated us to several musical numbers by the group, there was unfortunately no actual performances in this volume, however there is promises of some numbers at the start of the fourth and final volume.

K-ON! Volume 3 - Review 3

As we are nearing the end of the first season, despite there being a much larger second season to come I would have liked to see more in this volume than another beach episode even if it was a good form of “character bonding and development” but I did appreciate they didn’t have Azusa blindly walk into the group without questioning their attitude towards the group and made them look at themselves from a different perspective. Despite all this, if you have enjoyed the first two volumes I do not see any reason why you would not enjoy this volume.

As I mentioned in my review of Volume 2, there was really no change in design or sound quality, so my comments in regards to them can be found in my Volume 1 review HERE. As Azusa is a brand new character to the series, I would like to also make note that her English voice actress, Christine Marie Cabanos, who while I have not heard her in any previous works, seems to have quite a bit of talent.

K-ON! Volume 3 - Review 4

In terms of extra on-disk content, there is the usual assortment of content similar to that of other volumes including an Interview with Cassandra Lee who voices Ritsu and a “My Love is a Stapler” music video which uses in-anime footage and the English voice cast to perform an English dubbed version of the song. Also included are your assortment of trailers for Whisper of the Heart (Blu-ray), Summer Wars, Haruhi-chan and the Fruits Basket Collection.

To conclude, there was not much I was actually able to comment on due to the limited number of episodes per volume and the fact that the series has a consistent level of quality which actually works out quite well. Overall, if you have enjoyed the other two then you have already passed the half-way mark and have no reason to stop now… right?

Final Score
Storyline / Character Development: B
Design: 
B-
Music/Voice Acting: B
Packaging/Extras: 
C
Personal Preference:
B
Overall Score: B-

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Advertisment

Recent Posts