K-ON!: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

K-ON!: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A great girl-power anime series with plenty of heart.

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard November 12, 2021

K-ON! is a must-see anime gem: an instant-classic which explores the world of music. The series is based on the manga created by kakifly (K-ON! High School, K-ON! College). Produced by Naohiro Tafu (Clannad, Strawberry Panic!), Shinichi Nakamura (Violet Evergarden, Beyond the Boundary), Yoko Hatta (Clannad After Story, Kanon), and Yoshihisa Nakayama (Amagi Brilliant Park, Yumeria), K-ON! is that rare anime gem that delivers in spades – providing audiences with great storytelling, characters, animation, music, and heart.

K-ON! follows the adventures of four high-school girls who join a light music group and form their own band. Attending Sakuragaoka High School, an all-girls school, the girls become close friends and learn to develop their music skills. Yui Hirasawa (Aki Toyosaki) becomes the lead guitar player, Mio Akiyama (Yoko Hikasa) handles bass, Ritsu Tainaka (Satomi Satou) plays the drums, and Tsumugi Kotobuki (Minako Kotobuki) performs with a keyboard. Sawako Yamanaka (Asami Sanada) helps usher in the girls developing music skills as their kind-spirited music instructor. During the girls' second year, Azusa Nakano (Ayana Taketatsu) also joins the music club as an additional guitarist – and the dream-team is formed. Magic is created as music is played by the five girls (and their dreams come to life).

The characters are at the heart of the anime production. The five lead girls are all exuberant and full-of-spirit. Each of the lead characters has a distinct personality. The storytelling is all the more entertaining as a result. Yui Hirasawa is the perfect leading character – shy and timid but full of curiosity and a strong desire to learn how to play music. At the start of the series, Yui doesn't know anything about music production – or even reading music – but she begins to learn the tricks-of-the-trade and loves being a guitarist. The supporting characters are equally charming and each plays a vital role in K-ON!

The series animation is produced by Kyoto Animation (Violet Evergarden, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu). The animation is one of the best elements of K-ON! The team of animators did exceptional work with the series: providing Sakuragaoka High School with an outstanding classroom background for the big music scenes. There is a sense of vibrant creativity throughout the series animation. Featuring great art direction by Seiki Tamura (Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya), K-ON! became an instant animated classic.

Time to ROCK!

The character designs by Yukiko Horiguchi (Tamako Market, Lucky Star) manage to make a solid impression, too. Each of the central characters has a unique look. Some anime series have regular character designs which overlap too much – making the characters bland and non-distinct. K-ON! doesn't fail to that pitfall and each of the leads has a unique look and costume.

The cinematography by Rin Yamamoto (Clannad After Story, Tamako Love Story) imbues the series with a lighthearted style that carries throughout. The visual flair is exceptional. There is a vibrancy providing the series with a sunny backdrop that one can't help but smile to: instantly raising one's mood. This is a beautiful looking anime with cinematography that helps the storytelling to shine.

The music by Hajime Hyakkoku (Boogiepop and Others, Fastest Finger First) is brimming with energy. The score and songs help make K-ON! a must-see. There is nothing worse than an anime production centered around music with weak songs or score accompaniments – this is not the case with K-ON! The series excels with a great musical backdrop – and that's precisely one of the key reasons the series resonated so well with fans worldwide.

The series features screenplays by Jukki Hanada (Love Live! Sunshine!!, Natsume's Book of Friends), Katsuhiko Muramoto (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Nichijou – My Ordinary Life), Masahiro Yokotani (Sakura Quest, Toradora! ) and Reiko Yoshida (Tamako Market, A Silent Voice). Yoshida is credited for the story composition on K-ON! The scripts are well-written and provide each character with compelling storylines and character development. The series explores the friendships of these characters – with the screenwriting making the relationships believable and compelling.

Directed by Naoko Yamada (Clannad, Clannad After Story), K-ON! is one of the best anime series ever made about music and friendship. While there are so many music-centered anime series that one can argue it is a “dime-a-dozen” genre, this is one of the greatest series in the genre and it never fails to entertain. Fans of slice-of-life anime series with a musical backdrop won't want to miss it. A gem.

K-ON!: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, K-ON! is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series has a great encode. The presentation is crisp, clear, and dynamic. Colors "pop" and present the animation at its absolute best. The background animation is well-presented and there are no egregious issues with compression. There are some scenes with slight banding but these moments are few and far between. Otherwise, an exceptional video presentation.

K-ON!: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes two lossless audio options for the anime series: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). K-ON! The Movie is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. The presentation is crisp and engaging. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The music is well reproduced. A quality audio encoding effort by Sentai Filmworks.

K-ON!: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Season 1, Disc 1:

The disc includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: No Game, No Life Zero (HD, 1:47), Is It Wrong to Expect a Hot Spring in a Dungeon?! (HD, 1:32), Clannad (HD, 1:32), and Little Busters (HD, 1:37).

Season 1, Disc 2:

Bonus Episode: Winter Days! (HD, 26: 12)

Bonus Episode: Live House! (HD, 25:42)

Season 2, Disc 3:

Bonus Episode: Planning Discussion! (HD, 25:44)

Bonus Episode: Visiting! (HD, 25:44)

Bonus Episode: Plan! (HD, 25:14)

The Movie – Bonus Disc:

Minami Tanaka's Dubbing Investigative Report (HD, 22:38)

London Bus & Press Conference at TBS (HD, 19:00)

Navi Show 1-2-3 is K-ON! (HD, 23:59)

Movie Premiere Event (HD, 21:40)

Director Naoko Yamada in London (HD, 28:59)

Good Luck Music Hall - K-ON! Music Hall (HD, 14:43)

Japanese Trailer (HD, 1:38)

Japanese Teaser (HD, 00:41)

Japanese Spots (HD, 2:44)

K-ON! Season 1 Shorts:

Yui's Curiosity Series (HD, 2:49)

Ritchan's "Say Cheese" Series (HD, 2:50)

Mio's Panties (HD, 2:11)

Little Yui-chan (HD, 2:43)

The Light Music Club Desert Island Series (HD, 3:12)

Animal Series (HD, 2:37)

"Winter..." Episode (HD, 2:42)

K-ON! Season 2 Shorts:

Everyone's Fortunes (HD, 3:57)

Souvenir Stories (HD, 2:57)

I Want a Sibling (HD, 2:46)

Childhood Dreams (HD, 3:26)

MC Grand Prix (HD, 4:13)

Uraon! 3-Minute Cooking (HD, 2:41)

The Sakuragaoka Revue (HD, 2:13)

Folk Tales (HD, 4:03)

Help Us! Wonder Yui-chan (HD, 3:10)

Clean Opening and Closing Animations:

Season 1 Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Season 1 Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Season 2 Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Season 2 Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:10)

K-ON! The Movie Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:48)

K-ON! The Movie Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:36)

K-ON!: Ultimate Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

K-ON! belongs on any list of the best anime series. The anime has great characters, storytelling, music, and animation. The saga of a light music school club, K-ON! is an undeniably charming series with plenty to offer audiences. The standard edition of the series doesn't come with any extra bells and whistles: just the discs in a standard case. Yet that's the most essential part if one isn't interested in everything under-the-sun. The release includes a superb video-audio presentation of this must-see classic. Highly recommended.