I’ve never been fond of K-ON! Not because it’s insanely popular, because it really is, but rather because I found it incredibly mindless. I hesitate to label it a “slice of life” series since it seems to have an actual plot as opposed to something like Azumanga Daioh. However, I would constantly find myself questioning the point of each episode. I found some of the characters, Ritsu in particular, to be far too annoying for my tastes. That said, I know there are a lot of you who loved series to death, so if you haven’t already, I’m sure you’ll be excited to see the trailer for upcoming animated film. It was announced early last year but this is the first real trailer to be released. The film will hit Japanese theaters later this year.
This is one of the more interesting examples of K-On! merchandising that I’ve seen: They’ve created authentic scarfs based upon the ones that Yui Hirasawa wears in the series. Sadly it seems that one set is already sold out but the fish design still seems to be in stock:
These are screenshots from the upcoming K-ON! videogame Tea Time After School and Live which will be released at the end of September in japan for the PSP by Sega. The game will feature the K-ON! characters as 3D models playing popular songs after school — and there will also be a special bonus sticker book as well. Read more…
At long last there’s an answer to the classic problem is that you’re an aspiring j-pop guitar player but you don’t want to disturb your neighbors. VOX is introducing a line of K-on! themed headphone guitar amplifiers so you can practice your chords in private. These goodies will be hitting music stores in japan in late April and come in three editions — one for Yui Hirasawa, another for Azuka Nakano and a bass guitar one for Mio Akiyama. Read more…
I’m really impressed with the level of detail on the drum kit that accompanies this K-ON! figurine which is due out in May. The figurine also does a nice job of capturing the personality of Ritsu Tainaka who plays the drums because she doesn’t quite have the dexterity to handle more complex musical instruments: Read more…
K-On! (けいおん!) candy is hitting the store shelves in Japan for sweet toothed otaku. The candy inside of the cool guitar packaging are chocolate and strawberry marshmallow treats (which are not in the shape of a guitar). Although some of the boxes include a Yui Hirasawa t-shirt treat at random. Read more…
Summer is just about over but for a hardcore fanboy it’s never too late for anime themed flip-flops! These new flip-flops feature the characters from K-On! (けいおん!) and man are they too cute: Read more…
This ultra-moe fan video from Japan combines footage from the anime series K-ON! with a soundtrack from an old Kirby video game. I hate to admit it, but once I started watching this loop I couldn’t stop (there’s something so addictive about videogame soundtracks). By the way for comparison here’s the original beats from Kirby’s Dreamland 3 for the SNES from 1997: Read more…
