We're all waiting eagerly for the K-ON! Figmas to finally see the light of day and be released for fans and figure collectors, and while the K-ON! nendoroids will arrive sometime this year, we can now preview what it's like if the girls are showcased as figures with articulated joints. Check out this really good video rework of the K-ON! OP with Lucky Star figmas:
The maker put in a lot of work into this, even making a KORG keyboard for Mugi with LEDs. The stop-motion animation is pretty cool too (is that what you call it?) and this takes a lot of work from what I understand of the whole process - any dedicated K-ON! anime fan should appreciate this. The movements have to be coordinated in time with the K-ON! songs and singles in order for them to look in-sync, and that takes hours just to pose them in different ways and then sifting through the whole set just to put everything together.
Meanwhile, we will have to continue waiting patiently for K-ON! figmas to debut and get into our hands. Will be expecting all the definitive accessories like guitars, drum sets, keyboards, bass guitars, cakes, Mio maid dress and more. C'mon Good Smile Company, get started on making some of the best K-ON! figmas for us! They'll sell like hot cakes!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
K-ON! Insert Single - Fuwa Fuwa Time
Well, it had to come and it's here as the song from episode 6 of K-ON! has finally been released officially as an insert single and available for download - the K-ON! insert single is "Fuwa Fuwa Time", featuring another song "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" and also 6 other tracks which are instrumentals of the two main songs. 4 of the 6 instrumentals are individual instrumental parts of "Fuwa Fuwa Time" with guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, probably to give fans and budding aspiring K-ON! musicians backing tracks to play along and practise with. "Fuwa Fuwa Time" has Mio on lead vocals with the rest on backup, while "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" has them singing together on the most part, with a rousing chorus. But the first song is bound to be the more popular as it was featured as the four girls' song during their first public performance in the K-ON! anime.
This K-ON! insert single "Fuwa Fuwa Time" is also catchy as hell, and Mio is quite a singer, although I still like Yui as a character on the whole. The former will undeniably be the star of the anime since she epitomises the tsundere mode perfectly, but Yui has more character even though exhibiting such airheadedness. What a contradiction but oh so true! Unfortunately, she has to give way to Mio on "Fuwa Fuwa Time" too since she had a sore throat and it was a good substitute on the single too, with Mio pulling off a little rap too. As expected, this K-ON! insert single has debuted top of the charts in Japan (Oricon), replicating the success of the other K-ON! singles that have been released so far - "Don't Say Lazy" and "Cagayake! GIRLS". The K-ON! single download for "Fuwa Fuwa Time" has also been said to be phenomenal, and at least it's provided a way for fans to check it out before deciding whether to buy it.
There's bound to be more K-ON! singles to be released soon as more songs get featured on the anime. Don't hold your breath. The creators have done well in making sure the songs are simple and catchy, which is why I'll be spending money on them.
This K-ON! insert single "Fuwa Fuwa Time" is also catchy as hell, and Mio is quite a singer, although I still like Yui as a character on the whole. The former will undeniably be the star of the anime since she epitomises the tsundere mode perfectly, but Yui has more character even though exhibiting such airheadedness. What a contradiction but oh so true! Unfortunately, she has to give way to Mio on "Fuwa Fuwa Time" too since she had a sore throat and it was a good substitute on the single too, with Mio pulling off a little rap too. As expected, this K-ON! insert single has debuted top of the charts in Japan (Oricon), replicating the success of the other K-ON! singles that have been released so far - "Don't Say Lazy" and "Cagayake! GIRLS". The K-ON! single download for "Fuwa Fuwa Time" has also been said to be phenomenal, and at least it's provided a way for fans to check it out before deciding whether to buy it.
There's bound to be more K-ON! singles to be released soon as more songs get featured on the anime. Don't hold your breath. The creators have done well in making sure the songs are simple and catchy, which is why I'll be spending money on them.
Friday, April 24, 2009
K-ON! Anime
K-ON! is now into its fourth episode since its anime debut a few weeks ago. K-ON! is also now the latest anime sensation currently rocking both Japan and the rest of the world. Based on four Japanese high school girls, the story is about their experiences together in the school's Light Music Club (otherwise known as けいおん or the full phrase it was derived from - "Keiongaku" (軽音楽) that translates literally to light music), and how they form a band together and not only save the club from being canceled and becoming extinct, but also bonding together as friends. The concept of the music club is based on the traditional after-school activities in Japan's schools which are known as Bukatsu (部活) that can be many different types of activities such as art clubs, music clubs, sports clubs, amongst others.
The concept of the K-ON! anime itself was derived from the associated manga of the same name, which was at first initially serialised in magazines, created by Kakifly. The manga was found in both Manga Time Kirara and also Manga Time Kirara Carat by in different timelines. In fact the anime is quite faithful to the manga in rendition. The four girls - Yui Hirasawa (the lead character and guitarist of the band), Mio Akiyama (the bassist and perhaps the most popular character of K-ON!), Ritsu Tainaka (drummer and the girl who initiated the rebirth of the light music club) and Tsumugi Kotobuki (keyboardist and the dream princess type girl) are all quite adorable and molded in perfect otaku style. The huge reception received since the debut of the anime has provided evidence to that, especially with the surge in popularity of the long haired Mio.
To illustrate the growing phenomenon of K-ON!, just witness the K-ON! single CDs that have been released of the OP and ED. These are limited edition CDs that are only available from Japan and the tracks include:
K-ON! OP Single - Cagayake! GIRLS
1. Cagayake! GIRLS
2. Happy! Sorry!!!
(includes instrumentals of the two songs)
K-ON! ED Single - Don't say 'lazy'
1. Don't say 'lazy'
2. Sweet Bitter Beauty Song
(includes instrumentals of the two songs as well)
These are being snapped by like hot cakes and the K-ON! mp3s free downloads of all these songs, especially Cagayake! GIRLS and Don't say 'lazy' have been making the rounds and getting rave reviews from fans. Having heard them on the anime, they are very catchy and a firm favourite of mine since getting the CDs. Fans who downloaded the K-ON! mp3s for free have gone on to pick up the CD singles too, with the additional fact that they are in limited supply.
What has probably not been mentioned as much has been the K-ON! manga. These are actually not so easy to find unless you live in Japan, even the compiled version in the two volumes that have been released so far. Having seen the K-ON! anime, it makes me want the manga even more, at least with the two compiled issues. They have a few colour pages too to make them even better.
The concept of the K-ON! anime itself was derived from the associated manga of the same name, which was at first initially serialised in magazines, created by Kakifly. The manga was found in both Manga Time Kirara and also Manga Time Kirara Carat by in different timelines. In fact the anime is quite faithful to the manga in rendition. The four girls - Yui Hirasawa (the lead character and guitarist of the band), Mio Akiyama (the bassist and perhaps the most popular character of K-ON!), Ritsu Tainaka (drummer and the girl who initiated the rebirth of the light music club) and Tsumugi Kotobuki (keyboardist and the dream princess type girl) are all quite adorable and molded in perfect otaku style. The huge reception received since the debut of the anime has provided evidence to that, especially with the surge in popularity of the long haired Mio.
To illustrate the growing phenomenon of K-ON!, just witness the K-ON! single CDs that have been released of the OP and ED. These are limited edition CDs that are only available from Japan and the tracks include:
K-ON! OP Single - Cagayake! GIRLS
1. Cagayake! GIRLS
2. Happy! Sorry!!!
(includes instrumentals of the two songs)
K-ON! ED Single - Don't say 'lazy'
1. Don't say 'lazy'
2. Sweet Bitter Beauty Song
(includes instrumentals of the two songs as well)
These are being snapped by like hot cakes and the K-ON! mp3s free downloads of all these songs, especially Cagayake! GIRLS and Don't say 'lazy' have been making the rounds and getting rave reviews from fans. Having heard them on the anime, they are very catchy and a firm favourite of mine since getting the CDs. Fans who downloaded the K-ON! mp3s for free have gone on to pick up the CD singles too, with the additional fact that they are in limited supply.
What has probably not been mentioned as much has been the K-ON! manga. These are actually not so easy to find unless you live in Japan, even the compiled version in the two volumes that have been released so far. Having seen the K-ON! anime, it makes me want the manga even more, at least with the two compiled issues. They have a few colour pages too to make them even better.
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