K-On! The Movie
It’s
the final outing for the girls of the wildly popular K-On! animated
series, and thankfully Madman have seen fit to give the cutesy quintet a
suitably momentous send-off with this first rate Blu-ray release.
Featuring a sparkling 1.78 transfer and 5.1 HD Surround Soundtracks in
both English and Japanese, this final instalment finds the five high
schoolers on the cusp of graduating. Deciding to celebrate the occasion
in style the group heads to London, packing their instruments and hoping
they’ll find the inspiration they need to take their band Ha-Kago Tea
Time to the next level.
Upon
arriving in Old Blighty, however, the group are hit with a serious dose
of culture shock, and watching the girls navigate numerous cultural,
culinary and linguistic pitfalls provides much of the comedic impetus of
the film. There are weightier concerns too, such as what the girls will
be doing after high school and how they’re going to maintain contact,
but in keeping with tradition these moribund themes are quickly
displaced by some good old-fashioned rock n’ roll, and several
celebratory live performances ensue during this final chapter.
The
animation is superb throughout and both audio tracks display the
resonance and clarity of previous BD instalments. Best of all the
Blu-ray release is laden with a full two hours of hugely worthwhile
bonus features, including a lengthy and refreshingly madcap interview
with the five lead voice actresses, extensive behind the scenes and
promotional footage, live concert clips, numerous featurettes and plenty
more - no filler here, folks. It’s a worthwhile tribute to one of the
liveliest and most endearing anime series of the past decade.
Special Features
-
Minami Tanaka’s Dubbing Investigative Report (23 mins)
-
London Bus and Press Conference at TBS (19 mins)
-
Navi Show at 1-2-3 is K-On! (24 mins)
-
Movie Premiere Event (22 mins)
-
Director Naoko Yamada in London (29 mins)
-
K-On! Music Hall (15 mins)
-
Japanese Trailers and TV Spots
-
Textless Opening and Closing Songs
