K-On! Vol. 1 [Blu-ray] by Bandai

Editorial Review

K-On! (2009) is a popular shojo (girls') musical-comedy series, based on a manga by “Kakifly.” When scatter-brained Yui Hirasawa enters high school, she can't decide what club to join, and keeps postponing the decision until she stumbles across the Light Music Club. With only three members, the club is in danger of being disbanded, so they woo Yui with tea and pastries. Although her musical experience is limited to clacking a pair of castanets in elementary school, Yui declares she'll learn to play the guitar and join a band with her new friends, the outspoken Ritsu Tanaka (drums), adorable rich girl Tsumugi Kotobuki (keyboards), and shy, sensible Mio Akiyama (bass). Yui may remind some viewers of Serena/Usagi in Sailor Moon: she's enthusiastic, klutzy, disorganized, not overly bright, and always hungry. K-On! follows a familiar pattern of shojo anime. The girls eat sweets, go to the beach, shop, tutor Yui so she can pass her midterms–and, occasionally, practice. They inhabit an innocent world with no parents or boys to distract them. K-On! will appeal to adolescent American girls, as it has to their Japanese counterparts. There's already been one sequel, K-On!!, and a feature film. (Rated 13 and older, but suitable for viewers three years younger) –Charles Solomon

(1. Disband the Club! 2. Instruments! 3. Cram Session! 4. Training Camp!)