And to the surprise of no-one, my return visit to K-On! ends with the girls’ trip to London. This film wasn’t as strong as the show’s second season, but it was still relatively enjoyable; there was some retreading of material and some kinda awkwardly stretched-out sequences, but also a bunch of great jokes and some legitimately moving moments as well. Some of the London gags were great, like the very silly room-switch joke with Azusa and Yui. And the last two performances, along with the girls’ run across their school’s rooftop in between them, were extremely strong. I particularly liked Yui leaping off the stage into her classmates and then turning to play right back to the band – that reprise of the first season finale felt like a pretty beautiful capstone to their journey. K-On! is good, and this movie was pretty good too.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my movie notes below!

This happy-go-lucky opening song sequence is great

Strong faces as usual

And great atmospheric shots. Good character acting for Azusa

Jeez, so much great character acting as they get up from the stoop. Everyone’s posture is different

Yui wants to get a present for Azusa

Strong soft filter shots, like in Euphonium

Shots from above and below, creating a sense of space. Lots of light banter, establishing the internal relationships again

I love Mugi’s determined face

They’re sort of just repeating the content of the bonus episode so far

Great, diverse animation for Yui. Even more consistent than the show

“I never thought Tonchan would shoulder such a big responsibility”

“It’s the country of tea.” “Then that’s perfect for us!”

London it is

Without a “strict” episode narrative to get through, this movie is able to get even looser with its little scenes between the characters. It feels incredibly natural, like the show’s only got even more comfortable hanging out with its stars

The subs for their instrument names are different here. The script has a different, slightly more slangy feeling in general

Yui comes up with the idea to make a song for Azusa

Azusa trying to figure out what the others are plotting. The classic scenario

Some great Mugi faces

Some new background songs, but they’re still mostly just inoffensive

Great physical comedy gags with strong timing between Azusa and Yui

Holy crap, a guy with an actual British accent

Ooh, this song is nice. Good guitar stuff

The English is still a little… odd… though. Stilted

Seems like one of the big points of this movie is Azusa becoming more comfortable “imposing” on her friends

More soft focus. It works well

Another strong rock track. The soundtrack’s definitely gotten an upgrade. The film almost inherently feels like a music video

These idiots get roped into a performance at a sushi bar

Mugi goes to explain the situation and just gets a keyboard put on stage. Great job, Mugi

Performance time, and Mugi gets a big solo

“Does everyone perform before eating?” these girls

Azusa’s nightmare is great. Good song, too

Another great rock song for the next morning, this time by the band

Yeah, the montage sequences make this really feel like a music video. great backgrounds, too

Great aerial shots making the most of the scenery

Hahaha, there’s the Azusa head-tilt

Yui and Azusa running in circles

The club owner in Japan asks them to perform at another event in London

This soundtrack is very diverse within rock – some 60s and 70s-sounding stuff in various subgenres, along with more punkish modern stuff

The movie’s very fluffy, though. None of the melancholy of the show’s final stretch

“I thought we were getting the shaft, but this is better” Yeah, pretty liberal subs

Sawako arrives, to the sounds of what seems like a roaring 80s glam band

Really great sequence when Yui calls for another chorus and the band struggles to transition, then picks it up

This exit in the snowy night is lovely

And now this song sounds like a ska-influenced Green Day

Another performance of “You and I”. Awesome

Yui jumps off the stage and sings to the band. So good

The movie stretches a bit. A couple too many goodbyes, and it loses momentum after London

Nice scene between Yui and Ui

Great scene on the rooftop

Yui thinks up the right lyric. Azusa gave them wings

The song is just as good a second time

Jeez, you can tell which girl is which just by their posture as they walk, from legs alone