2NE1 "I Am The Best" MV Review

First off, I have to say, I'm in love with this song. I was literally bouncing up and down when I saw the video on my dashboard. So, after watching it twice, I thought a review was in order.

This will probably be kinda short, seeing that it is already almost ten o'clock. Plus, we're comparing a three minute music video to a whole anime series. This will hopefully be shorter than that.

I like how they stick with one color scheme-- silver and black --throughout the whole thing.  The costumes are also really elaborate, something you can expect with 2NE1. The only costumes I'm kinda iffy on are Dara's "neck brace"(?) and CL's straight jacket.  The rest of the costumes are fine, though. They really fit the whole "feel" of the song. I also like how they made sure to match their Inkigayo costumes with the costumes for the music video. Out of the whole video, though, my favorite costume would have to be Park Bom's neon-colored costume. I am seriously in love with that thing.

The scene where they crashed the awards(?) was a little awkward.

I found it cool how the last dance scene matched the last part of 2NE1's Inkigayo performance of the song. I know that was probably purposely done, but I still like it.

Again, the gun scene at the end was awkward. At least to me. That's probably just because I'm completely not the violent type at all.

All in all, love the song! The music video is great, too. I have to say that I love every single group dance in this music video. I swear that I'll have it memorized by the end of the week. My end rating would have to be....(again)

4 stars!

Watch 2NE1's music video for "I Am The Best" here.

K-ON!! Anime Season 1 Review

Plot: The K-On! animated television series is based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Kakifly. The episodes, produced by the animation studio Kyoto Animation, are directed by Naoko Yamada, written by Reiko Yoshida, and features character design by Yukiko Horiguchi who based the designs on Kakifly's original concept. The story follows four Japanese high school girls who join their school's light music club to try to save it from being abolished. However, they are the only four members of the club, one of which has little experience with guitar playing. [from wikipedia.org]


Overall, I loved the K-ON series. The way the girls act with each other reminds me of my friends when we're at school. Like when we're supposed to be working on a project, most of the time we goof off about half of the time and cram it all in last minute. The Light Music Club girls are like a little family; they all care for each other.


One thing that kept going through my head throughout the whole anime was that there were really no guys involved in the episodes at all. I thought of this as a plus; not all great anime and manga series have to involve guys. Also, none of the girls' parents were in this, either. I've watched other anime and read other manga, and at least one characters parents are involved somewhere along the line. Yui's parents are mentioned several times, but not at all shown. I have not yet watched season two, and I hope that we at least get a glance at someones parents (don't spoil anything for me! and I know this sounded very fangirl). It would just make it a little more "real." 

The adviser of the Light Music Club, Sawako Yamanaka (referred to as "Sawa-chan" by the girls), loves to dress the girls up in crazy and/or cute costumes that she's always creating. As a result, the shy-mannered Mio hates this. Sawa-chan also was part of the Light Music Club years before the girls were, and the club went in the opposite direction the girls are taking it in. The current Light Music Club is singing songs like "Light and Fluffy Time," while the former club that Sawa-chan was a part of played death metal songs that scared Mio to bits. This is Sawa-chans deepest secret, and because the girls have this over her when they're looking for an adviser, Sawa-chan forcefully takes the job, even though she is already the adviser of the Wind Instrument Club. She is also the one to name the band "After School Teatime" after Azusa joins.


Sawa-chan is always stirring up trouble dressing up the girls. I personally find this hilarious, especially when she starts chasing Mio around to get her to wear one of her crazy costumes. Also, when she makes the girls dress up as animals to recruit new club members is hilarious as well. :3


Around episode nine, when the girls dress up as animals, they actually recruit a new member. Azusa is a year younger than the rest of the girls. She had been playing guitar since she was in the forth grade, and is much better than Yui, who has only been playing for a year. She is much like Mio and would rather practice than goof off. The only difference is that Mio is only like this sometimes, while Azusa is like this most of the time. The girls end up calling her "Azunyan" because of the cute cat ears Sawa-chan made for her.


I love Azusa, but the band was also okay without her. The four original girls were really great friends, but Azusa just seams a little timid around them. I'm not saying I hate her, in fact, she's one of my favorite characters in the whole anime! I just hope that in the next season, Azusa becomes more friendly with the rest of the club.


Also, if I had to pick a character I mostly resembled in K-ON, I would pick Azusa. I'm somewhat short-ish, in my group of friends outside of school, I'm one of the youngest, and I play guitar. In fact, my guitar is red and white; 100% identical to hers.

My second favorite character in the anime would have to be Mio. I'm pretty shy like her. I would never sing, though.  Onto Ritsu-- the band's drummer. Ritsu reminds me a lot of my sister; they both play drums, have a bit of a temper, and can get really weird at times. But you gotta love her. Yui is much like Ritsu. Easily distracted. One moment where you can really tell this is when the girls are at one of Mugi's family villas; they pretend they are stranded on a deserted island. They do this twice, two years in a row. I have to say that it is one of the anime's funniest moments.


Mugi is the band's keyboard player. She is very calm and comes from a rich family. She has been playing the piano since she way four. Her family also owns the music store that Yui gets her guitar from, and the two villas they stay in during their "band camp." She also brings fancy sweets to the club everyday for their "after school teatime." Mugi loves to work because she had never done so. She comes from a rich family, so she has always had things done for her. Because of this, she gets a part-time job at a local fast food restaurant.


Lastly, I have to say something about the music. Normally, I skip over the opening and ending theme of anime's, but I just couldn't with K-ON. I loved both of them-- the opening theme "Cagayake! Girls" and the ending theme "Don't Say Lazy." The animation for both of them is great, too. Of the two, I would have to say that the ending theme is better. I personally love it. :)


So, overall, I would have to give this anime four stars. Believe me, I loved it sooo much, but there were a few parts that could have been better. I'm not saying that there were many, but there were about one or two. Other than those few parts, I loved it!


Watch K-ON!! Season 1 for yourself here (subbed) and here (dubbed).