Music as Moe
or Re: K-On! Sucks (rant rant rant). Mimi’s post was both somewhat surprising and expected. Moe-blob shows typically embellish and exaggerate the cuteness of the characters, and for the most part, it works. On male viewers, at least. Shows like Hidamari Sketch, Manabi Straight and Lucky Star have huge loyal fanbases of guys who are taken in at the clumsy, embarrased, overly-innocent, even otaku-esque behavior of the leading women. However, it’s not a huge shock that those very same traits that us moe-loving guys find incredibly irresistable would be major points of contention for the female crowd.
It’s probably like how guys can’t understand the fascination with all the girly bishounen emo guys that the girls drool over. And how would you feel if a show contained four or more of those types of characters and zero female characters? Probably the same.
Aside from the gender debate, K-ON! has many merits. First, it’s not plot-driven (which Mimi considers as a flaw). There is no inter-dimensional epic battle between the Fender and Gibson races. There is no love-hexagon between second cousins and their class presidents. Basically, it’s different and unique than what’s been airing every season the past decade (although I whole-heartedly concede that this argument is somewhat moot with the emergence of moe-seinen as sub-genre that’s been present pretty regularly the past few years). Second, Mio, ’nuff said. Third, the comedy is very first-rate and executed with superb timing. I still chuckle at the thought of Yui’s “saa…” and the harmonica bit.
I do admit there are flaws with the show. For example, take the picture above. Almost 90% of the picture is moe. The remaining 10% is of a guitar sitting in the corner, still inside the case. My only greivance with the show is the lack of music. The BGM feels very generic at times. I’m not expecting Beck’s musical numbers (and would prefer not seeing anything like it), but the music has been a bit too “light” so far. Hopefully that will change as the season progresses. And the somewhat stereotypical character roles does get a little old at times, but the seiyuus do a pretty decent job of keeping the characters fresh.
Lastly, as I commented, it’s KyoAni show, so the polarization isn’t so much of a surprise. The gender difference is, however (with admittance of a fairly non-existant female pool). In any case, all this SERIOUS business boils down to is people will love the show or hate the show, and usually for the same reason.
P.S. One other thing that K-ON! is doing pretty well is getting me to pick up the guitar again. And I’m looking to purchase my own Gibson Les Paul Standard, Heritage Cherry-Burst (although I think in the manga, it’s a Honey-Burst). I swear, Gibson is gonna show up in one of those sponsor eye-catches, and sales of the Standard are gonna go through the roof.