K-ON!! - Episode 3

We're only three episodes into K-ON!!, but already there's potential for a full-on band crisis, as Ritsu makes the shocking revelation that she doesn't want to be the drummer any more.

So, what is the reason for this sudden change of heart? Put simply, some DVDs of previous performances have brought to her attention the fact that she's hidden away in the shadows behind her drum kit all the time, meaning that she doesn't get any of the exposure or attention afforded the other girls. So, Ritsu takes it upon herself to try out some of the band's other instruments, with a short but quickly abortive attempt at playing guitar (which reminded me rather too vividly on my own attempts to be taught to play a few chords by friends in the past) and a rather more "successful" (or at least entertaining) stint with Mugi's keyboard. As for Mio's bass, she won't let anyone touch her position in the band, so that's off-limits from the outset.


Of course, it's no spoiler to say that all's well that ends well and come the end of the episode normal service has been resumed after a second change of heart from Ritsu, but the intervening period is by far the funniest and best episode of K-ON!! thus far for me, and possibly one of the better episodes of the franchise overall in terms of comedy. Almost from beginning to end, this instalment was packed with funny moments and great little one-liners, the likes of which the series occasionally forgets to employ but used almost perfectly here without losing the usual light and fluffy touch that we've all come to expect from the series. If you're really looking to be critical then you could argue that we could have delved into the deeper reasoning behind Ritsu's crisis behind the drum kit than we did here, but at the end of the day this is K-ON!!, and I'm pretty confident in saying that nobody is sitting down to watch this every week for deep character introspection - Nor should they be, this was the franchise at its funniest and most fun.

Oh, and this episode references both Keith Moon and the The Who, which makes me a very happy man indeed.