“We really wish we could play more for you, but we’re out of time.”

Yui’s apology to the audience in episode 20 is really a perfect summary for K-ON!’s final run, now conveniently compiled in Sentai’s second Season 2 release. The looming specter of graduation has finally caught up with the Light Music Club, and our normally carefree girls have some big decisions to make. With some actual potential for drama, is it possible K-ON! could shift over to some serious introspection, or do they burn through their final block of episodes with business as usual? The answer may not be as obvious as you think.

K-ON!! Season 2 Blu-ray Collection 2
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Publisher: Sentai Filmworks
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
MSRP: $69.98

Main Feature: Collection 2 covers episodes 14 through 24 and the three OVAs that were included with the Japanese Blu-ray release. By the time you’ve reached these episodes you have already survived nearly 30 episodes of K-ON!, you know what this is. There is still plenty of eating snacks, avoiding band practice, and general nonsense. Storylines like the school marathon and an all female production of Romeo and Juliet that has zero implications whatsoever make sure we meet our fuwa fuwa filler quota.

What is considerably different in this final stretch of episodes though is some genuine emotion, and at times even a sense of urgency. I’ve jokingly called this block of episodes “The Melancholy of Azusa Nakano”. As the group’s underclassmen and most normal member, the show leans more and more on her outside perspective to tell the story. The switch works well as her sadness and eventual acceptance of losing her senpais pretty much mirror the feelings of the audience.

I know it’s hard to talk about K-ON! seriously without sounding like your just drinking Kyoto Animation’s Kool-Aid, but it’s also hard to deny the emotional punch some of these episodes are packing. The series is so lighthearted overall that any serious elements are amplified considerably. All the big moments you expect to happen like the final school festival performance and graduation carry a surprisingly bittersweet poignancy to them. And if crying Mugi doesn’t make you feel anything, clearly you are just a lifeless search engine bot scanning this page and not a human being.

While maybe not as fun as the first season and still packing its fair share of filler, the final stretch of K-ON! is my favorite part of the series. The fact that it doesn’t shy away from the inevitability of time and actually comes to a heartfelt, satisfying conclusion elevates it above many shows in the genre.

Technical Quality: K-ON!! continues to look as good, if not better, than previous episodes. They even play some music at some point! Needless to say, production values are never an issue.

Of particular note in this section is the use of background imagery to fit the needs of the story. As an example, for the first time we see the harshness of winter with grey skies and dead trees, a reflection of Azusa’s state of mind for several episodes. These give way to the pink cherry blossoms and budding flower images of graduation, much like we see in the beginning of the series. Kyoto Animation always does a fantastic job with little details like that and they really deliver here.

The dub really starts to shine too as you can sense the actresses finally settling into their characters. The dialogue sounds much more natural, the voices more distinct, and they all do an admirable job handling the more serious, emotional moments. I would still recommend the original Japanese if you’re not sure which to choose, but they are definitely at their best by the end of the series.

Bonus Features: Much like Collection 1, Collection 2 features no bonuses other than the clean opening and ending songs. Even the menu screen is just a flat pink wallpaper with no image, music, or sound effects. It’s almost unsettling how bare bones the release is, although at this point not surprising.

Technically you could count the three OVA episodes as bonuses, as they are tacked on after the true final episode. Each one fills in a little blank from the series, including the last one that ties into the movie. It’s a little weird watching them after episode 24 as chronologically they occur before graduation, but they are at least full episodes and not the usual fan service fare that most OVAs turn out to be.

Overall Value: If you’ve stuck with K-ON! this far I’m pretty sure you’ll be satisfied with how it ends. It’s probably the best conclusion we could have realistically hoped for, short of making the fantastic ending songs come true. So if you’ve collected the series up to this point, go ahead and pick this up.

For those who may be undecided though, is it really worth shelling out the cash? That is a trickier question. With no extras to speak of and Season 2 available on The Anime Network, your mileage may vary. Cost aside, I will say K-ON! is definitely worth checking out if you like some slice of life, cute anime girls, and a dash of musical flavor. Give it a try and it just may win you over.