[Ascaloth] K-ON!, Extra Episode at Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

[Ascaloth] K-ON!, Extra Episode

(5 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)

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Popularity: 8% [?] Published by Ascaloth June 26th, 2009 in Ascaloth, Anime

As winter sets in upon the year once again, marking the impending end of another cycle of seasons, the cold chill of the air settles upon the everyday happenings of the girls of After School Teatime. As the low temperatures slows the pace of life to a glacial rate, it is a time to sit back and relax, disengage from life’s usual activities, and contemplate the year that has gone by. To catch a breath from the events of the past, such that one can psych up for what’s to come next. And, it is a time to bid goodbye, along with a wish of ’see you again soon’.

K-ON!, Extra Episode.

It’s interesting to note that, for all we’ve known, this is the first time we’ve seen the girls just sit together and daydream like that; is this an effect common with cold weather, or is this just a particularly unusual day for the normally boisterous Light Music Club? Only Yui seems immune to the daydreaming syndrome, and true to form she almost brings the mood back to normal singlehandedly; but then again, she practically sleepwalks through life, so perhaps she doesn’t really count.

Eh? This is the first time I’ve heard that Ritsu is an oneechan. She hardly seems the type.

On first glance, Ritsu with her hair down can be VERY easily mistaken for Yui. My reaction when I first saw her thus could be summarized as "Ah that’s Yui….wait, it’s not, something’s not right here……Ritsu?!"

And, with no school and no club activities on this particular lethargic winter day, the girls proceed with their separate plans for the day. Firstly, Azusa starts off on a panicky note with her namesake.

While Mugi, being the rich little oujo-sama that she is, decides it would be cool to give another go at a part-time job, this time going ahead with the fast-food gig that was vetoed by the club way back then.

And Mio goes on a road trip in search of inspiration, indulging in the ‘cool, mature aura’ she has not had much of a chance to express ever since being inducted into the Club. For some reason, I wonder what she would manifest should a certain Lieutenant Gunther give her an ‘Awaken Potential’ Order. I’ll guess that there would be ‘Moe Moe Kyun’, ‘Afraid of Barnacles’, and ‘Rice Bowl’ amongst the possibilities.

As for Yui….I really don’t have to describe this, do I?

And in a twist, Ritsu starts moping over what apparently is a love letter to her. I can’t quite decide if any guy who would fall for her type is crazy, or actually quite normal. I mean, it’s not like the girl has the ability to end the world if she gets bored or anything.

As the day wears on, the girls gradually settle down into their day’s routine. Contrary to her worries, Azusa bonds pretty quickly with her new feline companion, in the meantime dropping a sign that she’s gotten used to her new feline identity.

"Would you like a coke and fries to go with me, sir?"

Now, I’m all for Mio’s moe antics and all, but there are times when even I wonder whether she could be put to even better use in a storyline of some other genre. For one, a girl of her archetype could certainly have quite a bit of potential in a romance drama, yuri or otherwise. Something tells me that if we focus on her life outside of the Club with an ARIA-esque bent, it could work too. And if neither of these are your bent, well…..we can always hand the girl a katana along with a black seifuku, and sit back to see what she does with it.

And last but not least, it’s family time for the Hirasawa sisters as they go grocery shopping for their annual winter oden. Somehow, though Mugi-chan might be the undisputed oujo-sama of the quintet, I get the feeling that the rest of the girls aren’t all that badly off either. For one, the financial situation of the Hirasawas are obviously good enough that the parents can go on honeymoons all the freakin’ time, and Mio’s penchance for last-generation cameras is clearly not due to lack of funds, if her brand-name headphones and MacBook are any indication. On the other hand, we don’t have many clues in regards to Ritsu and Azusa, though maybe I’m just missing something. How much do jazz musicians in Japan make anyway?

You know, I never could have imagined that Ritsu could actually look respectable. I guess it’s all a matter of relative perspective; it’s probably not that hard if you compared oneself to a young teenage boy.

But life doesn’t always go that smoothly all the time, as they would soon realise. Inspiration doesn’t come readily, slip-ups are inevitable in a job, a crisis with no solution in sight can strike at any time, and emotions can creep up slowly but steadily on one’s thoughts. These are the kind of things that can happen when one is not in the company of anyone familiar.

And herein lies Yui’s greatest contribution to the club; the timely reminder that life need not always be SRSBSNS all the time. Though the burdens of life can weigh heavily on one, it is the lightest moments which is all is needed to brighten the day all over again. It is also these moments which put the SRSBSNS aspects of life in perspective, reminding one that everything may not always be as SRS as it may seem as the time. Don’t worry, be happy.

It may be a misunderstanding, but seriously, Mio. Those lyrics are just a little too coincidental to believe that there wasn’t any hidden meaning behind them. Fufufu.

And whatever happens, there’s always the same group of friends to fall back on, the usual gang to meet up with, at the end of the day. To gossip, snack, make music, and above all, have the time of one’s life with. For there is only one point in life when one can enjoy such a Fuwa Fuwa Time, and though there would be new experiences in the future long after this has passed, there will never be anything else quite like it. Even if it’s not special. Even if it’s ordinary in every way.

And at the end of all things, at the end of the road, it’s finally time to say goodbye to these girls, once and for all. It has been a fun journey, and while this is the last we’ll see of them for a long time to come, the last time that they’ll sing for us After School, we can always take away from this journey the memory of how to enjoy the Light and Fluffy Time of life to its fullest, shedding what worries we may have at the end of the day. And someday, we’ll meet these girls we loved once again.

Ascaloth of RIUVA, signing out of the coverage for K-ON!

Popularity: 8% [?]

12 Responses to “[Ascaloth] K-ON!, Extra Episode”

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1 Hypernova 22 comments Jun 26th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

Good and refresh reading for me. Nice job Ascaloth.

Some people think this episode is a waste of time. I think this episode is a good one to send off the audience. I’ll surely miss these girls.
2 Wyxor 2 comments Jun 26th, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Wtf not to be rude but theres some hentai advert down there
3 Azu 1 comment Jun 26th, 2009 at 8:59 pm

Lovely last review, Ascy. That was exactly how I felt about the ep in particular; a good send-off, and teaches you life isn’t worth going through alone.

A show that reinvigorated my love for playing the guitar, I’ll definitely be missing those girls starting next week.
4 SnooSnoo 175 comments Jun 26th, 2009 at 9:00 pm

@Wyxor, blame tjhan for that.

This episode feels like Haruhi S1’s Someday in the Rain. Slow paced, but realistic portrayal. *crosses finger for a season two*
5 risingstar3110 6 comments Jun 27th, 2009 at 12:11 am

Nice works…..

… i loves how you describe Mio’s screens, a series devoted completely to Mio would be nice =D
6 midori_with_envy 1 comment Jun 27th, 2009 at 1:48 am

ritsu looks cute when she’s troubled ^_^
yeah I also thought those lyrics had a hidden meaning xD
7 Tremere 28 comments Jun 27th, 2009 at 12:40 pm

That’s right, give Mio a katana and black seifuku.
8 tragic comedy 47 comments Jun 27th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

This ep feels like a makoto shinkai show for some reason. but overall, Nice ending!
9 TheBigN 75 comments Jun 27th, 2009 at 4:36 pm

“And whatever happens, there’s always the same group of friends to fall back on, the usual gang to meet up with, at the end of the day. To gossip, snack, make music, and above all, have the time of one’s life with. For there is only one point in life when one can enjoy such a Fuwa Fuwa Time, and though there would be new experiences in the future long after this has passed, there will never be anything else quite like it. Even if it’s not special. Even if it’s ordinary in every way.”

True that. :3

Life goes on, and it’s okay and it’s good.
10 AK 31 comments Jun 30th, 2009 at 2:16 am

I don’t understand man. Mugi-chan plays waitress in the clubroom almost all the time, and she even knows ho to take orders from her ‘customers’ (Sawa-chan’s milk tea). Throughout the series she seemed to have very comfortably eased into her hostess-of-the-clubroom role (from observing her own servants and butlers at work I conjure), so when I saw her working at a fast-food restaurant I thought to myself, “this would be very easy for her”. The coffee/soda mix-up followed by the drink-spilling sequence puzzled me to no end.
11 AK 31 comments Jun 30th, 2009 at 2:21 am

Also, you’d be surprised. I for one absolutely adore Ricchan, appearance, traits, personality, skills and all. She comes in a close second after Mugi-chan in my favourites list. I wouldn’t mind, in fact I would greatly enjoy, having her as a close friend. You don’t see a lot of effervescent personalities in that in real life. Then again, it’s just anime, so what the hell am I saying, eh?

Still, fringe-down Ricchan is just so love. :3

1 anitations - collected discourse on K-ON Pingback on Jun 30th, 2009 at 10:08 am

Do not use any < and > for your own sake. It will end the comment there and then. Also, there is an automatic IQ filter which weeds out comments made by those who accidentally got transported from the stone age.

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