A Certain Magical Grimoire

The cast

Everyone has heard of it. Everyone has eagerly anticipated it. And everyone has probably now seen it. It sure lives up to its reputation though and it’ll definitely be one of the series I’ll be following this Spring season for sure. After all, who wouldn’t want to see what happens when a clumsy girl tries to bluff her way into her school’s Light Music Club by pretending she can play the guitar?

Her drawing was the most sensible.

The animation quality isn’t particularly amazing, but it has a warm feel to it, and they’ve done a wonderful job on animating the smaller things that might not be so noticeable normally, especially the fingers, facial expressions and the movements (when they count of course). Yui’s twitchings and little dances are quite amusing to watch - she’s quite expressive compared to the rest of the cast with Ritsu coming in close second (she certainly reminds me of a certain someone from Lucky Star).

Lying is useless

It might simply be because it’s a High School anime or because I rather like these sort of ‘club’ centered stories (Minabi Straight and Genshiken come to mind), but I’m rather quite taken by it. The story’s still starting out, and while I have a reasonable idea of where it might be heading simply based on past conventions, I’m, strangely enough , quite looking forward to it because it sort of makes me reminisce about my own teenage years and music playing, much to my chagrin. The little bits of amusement we get out of Yui’s randomness, Ritsu’s over enthusiasm, Tsumugi’s accepting demeanor and Mio’s political correctness can’t go wrong, and while the combination has been done before many times, it still works well in K-On to good effect.

Ritsu and Mio pinching each other. It’s a good sign.

I’m also quite taken by both the opening and ending, and find the former fun and upbeat to listen to, while the latter took sometime to enjoy even though it was a lot more memorable (gothic lolita - definitely memorable!). They’ve put quite some effort into creating the animation schemes for both and I can say that I’m quite impressed. It’s a pity that the soundtrack for the other parts of the episode were a bit lackluster and not really that noticeable.

Um…a DMC gag?

Overall, it’s an impressive first episode for a the beginning of the new season. While K-On looks to be a repeat of some conglomeration of past anime (Beck, Minabi Straight, Haruhi to name the first few that come to mind), it has a fresh look to it that has certainly attracted my attention in a good way. The situation of ‘the awkwardness of a new student looking to belong’ has always been a favourite of plot of mine, and K-On, with its flowing and not so jarring story alongside it’s four main characters, has certainly made quite the impression on me. For this reason, I’m eagerly anticipating the rest of the season.

Gallery link here.

Opening~

Ending~

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