K-On!
K-On! (Japanese: けいおん!, Hepburn: Keion!)[a] is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Kakifly. It was serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara magazine between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues, and also serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Carat magazine. The manga relaunched from April 2011 to June 2012 with two separate storylines published in Manga Time Kirara and Manga Time Kirara Carat. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press. A spin-off manga about a different band of high school girls, K-On! Shuffle, began serialization in July 2018. The main series focuses on four young 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 four members of the club, one of which has little experience with guitar playing.
けいおん!
(Keion!)
April 9, 2007 – June 28, 2012
6
Kakifly
Houbunsha
- NA: Yen Press
Manga Time Kirara
Seinen
July 9, 2018 – present
2
Sega
- September 30, 2010 (PSP)
- June 21, 2012 (PS3)
- Index
- Sega
Rhythm, trading card game
April 26, 2013
Sega
Sega Interactive
Rhythm, trading card game
Arcade
November 13, 2014
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between April and June 2009. An additional original video animation (OVA) episode was released in January 2010. A 26-episode second season, titled K-On!! (with two exclamation marks), aired in Japan between April and September 2010, with an OVA episode released in March 2011. An anime film adaptation was released in Japan in December 2011. Bandai Entertainment had licensed the first season until their closure in 2012. Sentai Filmworks has since re-licensed the first season, in addition to acquiring the rights to the second season and film. K-On! has achieved strong sales in Japan, and by 2011 gross revenues had reached over ¥15 billion ($192 million) in merchandise sales.[3]
Plot[edit]
In an unspecified part of Japan, four high school girls join the light music club of the all-girls private Sakuragaoka High School to try to save it from being disbanded. However, they are the only members of the club. At first, Yui Hirasawa has no experience playing musical instruments or reading sheet music, but she eventually becomes an excellent guitar player. From then on, Yui, along with bassist Mio Akiyama, drummer Ritsu Tainaka, and keyboardist Tsumugi Kotobuki spend their school days practicing, performing, and hanging out together. The club is overseen by music teacher Sawako Yamanaka who eventually becomes their homeroom teacher as well during their final year of high school. In their second year, the club welcomes another guitarist, underclassman Azusa Nakano. After Azusa joins they gain more structure and begin to practice more.
After their third year, Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi graduate and enroll into a university. There they join its light music club alongside three other students: Akira Wada, Ayame Yoshida, and Sachi Hayashi. Meanwhile, Azusa continues to run the high school light music club alongside Yui's sister Ui, their classmate Jun Suzuki, and new members Sumire Saitō and Nao Okuda.
The spin-off manga K-On! Shuffle focuses on a new set of characters at a different school. After being inspired by the Sakuragaoka High School light music club, Yukari Sakuma and friend Kaede Shimizu seek to form their own club. Along with classmate Maho Sawabe, they discover the Light Music Appreciation Society, a club run by Riko Satou.
Media[edit]
Manga[edit]
K-On! began as a four-panel comic-strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga was originally serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara manga magazine between the May 2007[70] and October 2010 issues, ending on September 9, 2010.[71] The manga also appeared as a guest bimonthly serialization in Manga Time Kirara's sister magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat starting with the October 2008 issue.[72] The manga relaunched from April 2011 to June 2012 in two separate magazines. Chapters published in Manga Times Kirara, from the May 2011 issue released on April 8, 2011, to the July 2012 issue released on June 9, 2012, focus on the main cast as they attend college.[73][74][75] Chapters published in Manga Time Kirara Carat, from the June 2011 issue released on April 28, 2011, to the August 2012 issue released on June 28, 2012, focus on Azusa, Ui, and Jun as they continue the light music club.[73][74][76]
Four tankōbon volumes were released between April 26, 2008 and September 27, 2010. The manga was licensed by Yen Press for English release, with the first volume released in North America on November 30, 2010.[77][78] The college arc of the second manga run, titled K-On! College (けいおん! college), was released on September 27, 2012, and the high school arc, titled K-On! Highschool (けいおん! highschool), was released on October 27, 2012. Yen Press have also licensed these volumes in North America.[79][80] In Indonesia, the series is licensed by Elex Media Komputindo. An anthology entitled Minna de Untan! (みんなでうん☆たん, Everybody's Untan!), which features several guest strips from various artists, was released in September 2009. An official anthology series, K-On! Anthology Comic (けいおん!アンソロジーコミック, Keion! Ansorojī Komikku), began sale from November 27, 2009, with five volumes released as of October 12, 2011, and two "Story Anthology Comics" were released on November 26, 2011. An illustration book with official art and fan art from well known dōjin artists was released on January 27, 2010.
A spin-off manga by Kakifly, titled K-On! Shuffle, began serialization in Manga Time Kirara on July 9, 2018.[81] At Anime Expo 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed K-On! Shuffle for English publication.[82]