k-on!! episode twenty-two

Huh. I guess I never really thought about how Valentine’s Day would work in an all-girls school. Way to take a commercial holiday for granted, eh? I suppose it makes sense that juniors would make chocolates for the seniors they admired, as well as their regular group of friends. The funny thing is, girls can give other girls chocolates without it necessarily implying romantic attraction, but can boys? Would an all-boys school also celebrate Valentine’s Day (and White Day) the same way?

Ah: You’ve got to love the “guidelines” of social norms set by mainstream society.

But on to other fun things…

What a great way to use Valentine’s Day in the show, because what we got this week was a good episode; a really good episode. This episode managed to tie together some of the bigger issues since the start of the season, like where our girls were headed after High School, whether or not they would stay together, and what would become of Azusa. The full cast was also utilized in this episode (including those two from Mio’s fan club; minus Nodoka and sadly: who missed her?) and for once, I have no complaints about any individual character or the interaction between each of them. Shocking.

Truth be told, Jun’s really growing on me as she really livens things up between the straight-laced Azusa and the sunny but rather demure Ui. I’m still convinced she’ll join the Light Music Club the following year, but there won’t be another season so I guess that really isn’t important. I loved how she pretended to know how to bake chocolates (or in this case, chocolate cake) despite clearly not being well versed in baking. Now I’m not the best baker out there, but I have yet to come across a cake recipe that calls for brown sugar. And yes it does matter what kind of chocolate you use. Thankfully Ui was there to help out (and we all know Ui’s a domestic goddess) and the cake turned out really yummy looking.

While there’ve been times the animation quality might’ve slipped, I’ve never seen a poorly animated dessert (or cup of tea) in the entirety of K-On. I think it’s an indication of how important desserts (and food in general) are in building solid relationships.

One of the best scenes has to be when Yui and the others actually graduating really hit Azusa. It isn’t easy to move on but it’s even harder being the one left behind. It was a really touching moment when she admitted that she was finally realizing that her beloved seniors were leaving, and that she would be alone. And it was even more touching that Jun and Ui were the ones there for her, validating her feelings (because she is the last one of the Light Music Club left after the others graduate), but at the same time, showing Azusa that she isn’t entirely all alone.

The other best scene would probably be when all our Light Music Clubbers are gathered around the window, laughing together. It was such a relatable moment in its simplicity and display of genuine friendship – sort of like when the girls cried after their last School Festival. It was also another instance where we really see Ritsu’s maturity and affection though shrouded, as always, in a lighter, more joking fashion.

The episode ended really well too with the four seniors all together – because when it comes down to it, they really are what makes K-On in the sense that while we’ve got other characters who are cute, funny, and strong personalities, the show really couldn’t survive without these four at its core – preparing to meet their fate, and our three juniors, in class (as they should be) but also a part of the moment thanks to modern technology. It’s been up and down with K-On this season, but with the series winding down, the episodes are getting better (we even got some background music this time around!). If there really are only four episodes left, I’m definitely looking forward to them, and if there are only two… well then someone lied to me and told me there would be 26 episodes this season. Boo for lying.