Ah, a nice scene to end the anime. Minus the special bonus.
Garrick: It’s me, with the final episode of K-ON! After all this time being absent from it, I’m here to finish it off. Not very deserving, huh? Well, that’s how things work out, and, well, I get to end this wonderful musical series.
I so want to come home to that after work. Bubbly shoujo background and all.
Katt: I go into this episode thinking that it will be the dramatic return of Eugene and even of Kajika’s friend from Japan, and though it was the return of both of them, it sure as hell wasn’t dramatic. It was…hilarious. This episode just came out of nowhere to me but I loved it. I don’t think I’ve laughed so consistently through an anime episode for a long time, if ever. How to blog it, though, is the question…? Ah, I’ve got it! Eugene and Li-Ren continue their rivalry in this episode, so let’s see who wins in different categories! It’s Eugene vs. Li-Ren in the Yamate household~
Whose persistence is better?
The first category–whose persistence is better? Please note that this does not equal ‘who is more persistent?’. Not at all! Because persistence can be annoying or intimidating, which evidently will not lead to getting the girl. Eugene’s persistence is pretty typical when he tries to call Kajika many times, although she is never actually home to receive the calls so he is not even aware of his trying to contact her. Were he leaving messages every time he called, that could be awkward, but he does not and I would say that that is a good choice on his part. He chooses the right time to leave a message and it gets Kajika’s attention (because with Lumati gone, she obviously has nothing better to do, wink wink). The other part of Eugene’s persistence–the part where he boldly calls Kajika his ‘fiancé’–doesn’t come off as particularly pushy, oddly enough. It’s more comical than anything else, even to Kajika, because it shows off the lighthearted side of Eugene’s personality that is finally being exposed.
And then there is Li-Ren’s style of persistence. He is the typical ol’ Li-Ren who always has to be at Kajika’s side, especially if Eugene is involved. The instant that Kajika announces that she will be going to Japan to meet up with Eugene, Li-Ren insists that he will go with her. This would obviously get on the nerves of a girl who is trying to get to know another guy better, but at the same time there is a sense of familiarity in it. Li-Ren’s jealous rivalry with Eugene isn’t the same as the ‘frightening look’ that Kajika notices in him sometimes. I don’t think that she particularly minds Li-Ren’s presence, though I am sure that sometimes she would like a little break.
Winner of this round = Eugene! Somehow his calling her ‘fiancé’ is less demanding than Li-Ren’s constant presence. I don’t know how you do it, Eugene, but good job not pressuring Kajika too much.
Who is the better foreigner?
In category number two, Eugene really has the foreign act down. He doesn’t look like he belongs anywhere in East Asia and he certainly doesn’t sound like it either. I had never even considered language much before, but I guess that the characters are supposedly talking in English a lot, eh? Especially around Eugene. I wonder what language they were speaking while in Hong Kong? Whoops, got a little side-tracked there. My point is that Eugene only speaks in English while he is in Japan, which makes the Japanese girls blush and speak their broken English to him. (And his English comes with a fabulous Japanese accent, too, which totally contributed to my laughing through this episode because of its irony.) Even if his hosts don’t seem to mind, he really is making things difficult by suddenly showing up and only talking in English!
Contrarily, Li-Ren plays the gentleman and changes his language according to where he is and who he is talking to. By speaking in Japanese while in Japan he can easily communicate with the Yamate family, and he can also hide anything he doesn’t want Eugene to hear by just saying it in Japanese! I am impressed with Li-Ren’s language skills. I know that if I ever get to go to Japan, I will totally be a Eugene…except less pretty. It is definitely a better call for a foreigner to play the role of Li-Ren who makes things as easy as possible for the kind people welcoming him into their home.
Winner of this round = Li-Ren! A good guest adapts to their host’s home, and Li-Ren does this fabulously.
Who impresses the friend’s parents more?
Part of getting a good is getting on the best friend’s good side, which in turn also means getting on the friend’s parents’ good sides! Eugene doesn’t really make any efforts to impress Yui’s family; it just comes naturally with his charm and good looks. The reactions that Yui’s mother, father, and brother have to the boys absolutely make my life. Eugene makes the mother blush and possibly changes the brother’s sexual orientation with his appearance alone. That’s pretty impressive, no?
Li-Ren works to impress Yui and her family, though. He is a pretty good-looking fellow, too, but Li-Ren always has been much more of a hardworker while Eugene is a slacker (and “gigolo”, as described by Li-Ren). The old saying is that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; Li-Ren’s cooking shows that ‘a man’ can be replaced with ‘anyone’. Or at least Yui’s family, who are awed by Li-Ren’s delicious food and–perhaps even more so–the skill with which he cooks it. It’s like a martial art! How could Yui’s parents not be impressed by these techniques that put the chefs on the Food Network to shame?
Winner of this round = a draw! Honestly, Yui’s family fangirled both of the boys quite equally. Plus Toranosuke got in on the Li-Ren awe too.
Who sparkles the most?
This is a tough one, guys! I mean the background of Eugene’s sparkles is a pleasurable melange of warm colours…but Li-Ren’s is almost a friggin’ rainbow! Li-Ren’s quantity of sparkles seems to be superior in the above screenshots, though we totally need to keep in mind that Eugene has more opportunities to sparkle in this episode.
Winner of this round = a draw! I mean honestly, even Toranosuke sparkles in the Yamate household. Those boys shouldn’t think they are special just because they sparkle.
The final result is…a tie?! Honestly, Eugene and Li-Ren’s standings didn’t change all too much in this episode. Neither of them are actually engaged to Kajika, despite what Eugene says, and their entertaining rivalry will be continuing from here on out.
Eugene and Li-Ren's rivalry isn't going to end anytime soon!
Next episode–is that Lumati?! But his eyes aren’t blue…but he looks like Lumati… And who is the blonde chick? I am perplexed once again, which probably means that it is going to be an awesome episode. Then again, I do tend to find all episodes of this series pretty damn awesome.
Katt’s love-metre for Hanasakeru Seishounen episode 9 measures: 10/10
Katt’s love-metre expects Hanasakeru Seishounen episode 10 to be: 9/10
Wow... Mio... can you be any more like Kagami?! *reminisces*
Minnie: Since three of our bloggers are unable to help blog this episode (I won’t mention names), I will be doing a straight review for this one. And when I mean straight, I don’t mean Regios style review. I think I like that style for action-filled anime like Regios and Phantom instead. K-ON is none of that so it doesn’t make much sense does it? 
I’m not sure how to review this yet but I’ll try my best! I miss TZM and it’s only been two days! >__< It’s that sister-thing we have I guess. Speaking of being like sisters, let’s see what K-ON has in store for us in regards to Yui and Ui today! ^^
Our team is o.o over this episode too!
Minnie: Everyone loves the holidays right? I actually don’t like Christmas episodes in my anime because they can be cliche at times. But then, I suddenly remember something: ToraDora’s Christmas episodes were very overwhelming and heartwarming; Hatsukoi’s next episode is going to be a fantastic Christmas episode with Kusuda and Kei; and last but not least, Bokura Ga Ita’s Christmas episode was one of the most touching episodes in anime history. Let’s see how lovable our K-ON girls during this Christmas epiode then~
Our girls take on the stage at the festival and... a desert?
Minnie: Why do I always have to make an intro paragraph? Just because I’m the Mio of the group? *whines* Moving on, this is the festival episode that all of us have patiently waited for. Will Mio sing her face off? Will Sawako do something outrageous? Will Yui be cute and ditsy like always? Will Ritsu become an MC for the show? Will Mugi manage to sneak in snacks somehow? Most importantly, how will the band do as a whole? Well, if you want to know the answers to these, please go to another blog entry! This entry is for the characters and the characters alone! Are you a Yui fanboy? A Mio fangirl? Both? Please proceed and love the characters as much as we do~
Yui section switch off?
Minnie: Last time, our episode 4 show was a success. Everyone worked together to make it possible. Let’s see if we can pull it off this time with the same energy and organization as the last. If these four, incredible girls can work together, surely we can too. The difference is that we’re a 12-person army but who cares! Four of us are here today to give our love to our respective girls~
Don't leave! The discussion is just about to begin!
Minnie: K-ON Episode 4 reminds me of my teammates and I and our daily routine to bring everyone blog entries. While I always nag and pester my teammates about blogging and not getting side track, Mio is constantly reminding Ritsu and Yui to stay focus and not slack off. Ritsu reminds me of Ric and Yui reminds me of Garrick in this case because they are supposed to be in charge of this blog next to me but they’re always getting lost in the world of the Internet. Hopeless I say! Who is Mugi then, you ask? It’s none other than our reliable Katt! The four of us will talk about our love for the characters that represent us so well! GO K-ON DISCUSSION SHOW~
You might be laughing Yui, but I'm not.
Minnie: It’s rare that I type a short, opinionated post about an anime that is not on my blogging list at all, but there’s a first time for everything right? This issue has been brought up by Impz before in his outstanding Retarded Moe Post a few months ago before and I want to talk about it briefly from a girl’s perspective. The issue at hand here is: Does acting stupid make a female character more moe?
