K-On! (けいおん!, Keion!), stylized as K-ON!, is a Japanese four-panel comic strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga started serialization in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara since the May 2007 issue, and also started a bimonthly serialization in Houbunsha's magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat since the October 2008 issue. A thirteen-episode anime adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between April and June 2009. An additional original video animation episode was released in January 2010. The title of the series comes from the Japanese word for light music, keiongaku (軽音楽). This is not to be confused with the western meaning of light music (a subtype of classical music) — a more accurate translation might be contemporary or pop music.
Several sequel spinoff manga by Kakifly have been serialized also in Manga Time Kirara:
- K-On! College (けいおん!, Keion!) started serializing in May 2011 issue through the July 2012 issue and produced 1 tankōbon volume
- K-On! Highschool (けいおん!, Keion!) started serializing in June 2011 issue through the August 2012 issue and produced 1 tankōbon volume
- K-On! Shuffle (けいおん!, Keion!) started serializing in August 2018 issue and is theoretically ongoing and produced 3 tankōbon volumes as of March 27, 2024
Plot
K-On!'s story revolves around four Japanese high school girls who join their school's light music club to try to save it from being abolished. However, they are the only members of the club, and at first Yui Hirasawa has no experience playing musical instruments or reading sheet music. Eventually, she learns how to be an excellent guitar player. The rest of the club (Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi, & Azusa) helps her to buy a guitar, and they perform at the school festival.
K-On! College
Yui and her friends go on to university and begin attending the university while living in the same student dormitory. Together with Akira Wada, Yuki Hayashi, and Sho Yoshida, whom they met at the dormitory and entrance ceremony, they join the light music club. Although they compete as rivals as bands called "Hōkago Tea Time" and "Onna Gumi," both of which have been active since high school, they end up living a relaxed student life just like they did in high school. After living at university and in the dormitory, and going on a training camp with the light music club, a band showdown between first-year bands takes place at a live concert held at the university festival.
K-On! Highschool
In the third year, Yui and the others graduated, leaving only Azusa in the light music club, but Yui's younger sister and classmate Ui Hirasawa and classmate Jun Suzuki join the club. Since the club will be disbanded if there aren't four or more members, the new club president Azusa holds a live concert to welcome the new members, but the concert fails as she is unable to sing and play the guitar. However, the light music club continues to exist with the addition of Sumire Saito, who lives with the Kotobuki family and ends up joining the club after trying to retrieve a tea set in the club room at Tsumugi's request, and Nao Okuda, who is in the same class as Sumire and tries various club activities and ends up joining the light music club.
Azusa and Ui play guitar, Jun plays bass, Sumire plays drums, and Nao, who was discovered by the club advisor Sawako, and begins composing music and writing lyrics using her computer. The new light music club, named by Sawako, "Wakaba Girls," heads off to perform a live show at the school festival.
K-On! Shuffle
Yui and her classmates in the Sakuragaoka High School Light Music Club were just starting out in their first year of high school. Yukari Sakuma and Kaede Shimizu, who attended a different high school, were members of the club that went home after school, but after seeing the light music club's performance at the Sakuragaoka High School festival that year, they were inspired and began to think, "I want to join the light music club and start a band." So the two tried to join, but there was no light music club at their high school. When their classmate Maho Sawabe looked into it, she found out that there was a light music club. However, many of the members had already quit, and the only one in the club room was Riko Satō, a year older than them, and the club was on the verge of being disbanded.
When Sakuma sees a drum set in the club room and touches it, she immediately decides to join. Kaede and Maho, who came as her escort, also get dragged into joining the club, and together with Riko, they decide to rebuild the light music club.
External links
Official
- Official manga webpage (in Japanese)
- Official "College" spinoff manga webpage (in Japanese)
- Official "Highschool" spinoff manga webpage (in Japanese)
- Official "Shuffle" spinoff manga webpage (in Japanese)
- Yen Press "The Complete Omnibus Edition" manga webpage (in English)
- Yen Press "Shuffle" spinoff manga webpage (in English)
- Official anime webpage (in Japanese)
- Official anime film webpage (in Japanese)
Other sources
- Manga
K-ON! (manga)
K-ON!- K-ON! College (manga)
- K-ON! College
- K-ON! High School (manga)
- K-ON! Shuffle (manga)
- K-ON! Shuffle
- Anime