History Manga / KOn

* KansaiRegionalAccent: During a school trip to Kyoto, Ritsu suggests that they should all talk like this while they're there. Both she and Yui struggle to keep it up and quickly get sick of trying, only for Mugi to deliver a ''history lesson'' to them in flawless Kansaiben immediately afterwards. It helps that Creator/MinakoKotobuki is from Hyougo, and grew up speaking this dialect.
** The English dub of the episode replaces it with YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe.
** The German dub goes for Swiss German.
** Gohan wa Okazu includes a bit Kansai when Yui sings about okonomiyaki.

** Also out-of-universe, Creator/SatomiSato had main roles before and after Ritsu whose character type she plays more often, as in subdued characters like [[Anime/HellGirl Yuzuki Mikage]] or [[LightNovel/{{Oreimo}} Manami Tamura]]. Likewise with her role as Shichijou Aria in ''Manga/SeitokaiYakuindomo'', who is now a perverted {{Ojou}}.

%%* RedO

* RedO

* RedO

* RedOniBlueOni: Energetic Ritsu and shy Mio.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Mio ''really'' doesn't want to be Romeo for the school play, except, she [[{{ButThouMust}} doesn't have a choice.]] Used in conjunction with the FiveStagesOfGrief for [[{{PlayedForLaughs}} the lulz.]]
** Also [[{{Tomboy}} Ritsu]], who must play Juliet. Of course, things could have been easier if Mio and Ritsu just switched roles. {{Lampshaded}} by Yui, who suggests they [[PersonalitySwap switch personalities]].
* ReReleaseSoundtrack: ''K-On!''[='=]s founding band performs an instrumental version of "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" in the Japanese version of the release in order to convince a prospect to join. On the US distribution, on both the US and the JP tracks, this is replaced with an instrumental version of "Aura Lea" (or "Love Me Tender," the Music/ElvisPresley version of the song), which causes a minor continuity glitch as ''both'' language tracks refer to the "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" performance in later episodes.
* RiddleForTheAges: The manga ends without revealing what subject Ritsu is majoring in at the university, saying only that Ayame is in the same department. The only major to be confirmed is Yui's, in education; it's safe to assume Mio is studying literature and we can guess Mugi is in business and/or music. Because of Ritsu's cooking skills, some fanfic authors assume she's studying to be a chef.
* RightBehindMe: In season 1 episode 10, when Azusa is telling Ui what she thinks of her new friends in the light music club, she proceeds to call Ritsu irresponsible and sketchy... at which point Ritsu replies from the seat immediately behind Azusa.
** It's actually Ritsu who asks what Azusa thinks about Ritsu, as she had been listening in on the conversation. Ritsu's ability to imitate other people and intrude into their inner monologues is a running gag in both the manga and anime.
* RubberFace: Sawa-chan does this to Ritsu during episode 4 of Season 2 after the latter mentions that the former is much scarier without make up on.
* RuderAndCruder: The US release of the manga from Yen Press includes more frequent swearing (most notably in the localization of the Kyoto dialect scene).
--> '''Mugi:''' Yo, dis Kinkakuji hea... Dis bitch was all burned out an' shit way back in 1950. Da one dey gots hea is some new shit dey rebuilt afta.
* RunningGag: In the manga, Yui's wish to be able to snap her fingers turn up at various times.
** The statue of the school founder keeps getting new accessories.
** ''(Azusa shows up with a tan)'' "Who are you?"
** Mugi carrying heavy objects without any strain. Not exactly a gag, as it isn't commented on much. She did beat that arm-wrestling machine in S2-[=EP14=] literally single-handedly.
** Mio hitting Ritsu on the head, leaving a cartoonish lump. It's liable to be joined by a second, smaller lump on top of the first lump.
** Barnacles.
** Ui's resemblance to her sister is quickly becoming this.
** Ui being the more mature sister, to the point where she's practically a surrogate parent for Yui. The rest of the Light Music Club frequently asks Yui to share her sister.
** Nodoka saying "The Light Music Club seems like a perfect fit for you" to Yui.
** Someone is hiding behind the club room's door, secretly watching what happens on the other side, and falls down (or is hit by the door) when the door is opened. (Examples: S2 07 04:29; S2 16 08:08; S2 22 16:39)
*** Carried over into one chapter of the restarted manga; at the start of said chapter, Yui opens her door, slamming it into the face of Akira, who was left with the rather unsavory task of waking her up. At the end of the chapter, Yui opens her door the next day and [[BookEnds slams it into Akira and Ritsu's faces.]] "Some doors are more dangerous to stand in front of than others'" indeed.
** When the band is hanging out in either the club room or Yui's house, Sawako-sensei has a tendency to appear without anyone else noticing, usually with Ritsu shouting, "Wait, when did you get here!?"
** Sawako's fascination with making costumes for the band and trying to force Mio into said costumes, especially the more embarrassing ones.
* SailorFuku: While Sakuragaoka Girls' High School use western-style blazer uniforms, some characters are shown to have worn sailor fuku when they were in middle school; Yui and Nodoka wore green ones with red scarves in middle school (and Ui wears the same one during Yui's first year of high school, since she's still in middle school at that point), while Azusa is wearing a navy blue sailor fuku in her first appearance.
* SatelliteCharacter: Nodoka pretty much only exists to be Yui's friend out of the club, and she only ends up becoming friends with the other girls because she knows Yui. While it's stated that she has more to do not relating to the main five girls (like her student council duties and such), it's never actually shown.
** And Jun has even less to call her own, being solely defined around Azusa and Ui (who in the first season was somewhat of a SatelliteCharacter herself).
* SaveOurClub: At the start of the series, the club has no members whatsoever and needs to basically be rebuilt from the ground up.
* SayMyName:
** Ritsu's reaction to Azusa laughing at her being cast as Juliet in the SchoolPlay: "NA-KA-NOOOO!"
** A cute, roundabout version occurs in "Cagayake! Girls":
--->''Mugi: "Uuuuuu~Yui!"''
--->''Yui: "Azusa~!"''
--->''Azusa: "Mi-o!"''
--->''Mio: "Riiiiitsu!"''
--->''Ritsu: "'''MU! GI!!!'''"''
* SceneryPorn: What you get when you hire [[Creator/KyotoAnimation KyoAni]] to do a [[strike:school trip episode taking place in Kyoto]] high school show taking place ''anywhere''.
** Ohoho. Wait 'til you see the movie.
* SchoolFestival: Three of them, all of them including concerts.
* SchoolgirlSeries: One of the defining examples of this genre that helped to establish the "cute girls doing cute things" setup, second only to the TropeCodifier ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh''.
* SchoolPlay: With Mio and Ritsu as Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet.
* SecretlyWealthy: Invoked with Mugi; none of the other girls realize just ''how'' rich she is until she casually buys Yui a brand-new Gibson Les Paul Standard (which as of December 2014, lists for Y313,000(about $3,000.00 US).
** During the first two training camps, Mugi borrows a mansion for the girls to stay at from her father. The first time, it's the smallest mansion, which is still bigger than Yui's Mio's and Ritsu's houses combined, and says she wanted to borrow another one, but this was the only one available. The next year, they stay at an even bigger mansion, and the others automatically assume that's the one Mugi couldn't get the first time, only to find out there's an even bigger mansion.
** When they go through the special training prior to the school festival in Season 2, Mugi casually states that she has been getting the tea they drink in the club room from the restaurant. In the Manga, the prices are listed as between 600 and 1100 Yen a cup, causing Ritsu to nearly choke on her tea. "You're saying we've been drinking this kind of expensive stuff all along?"
*** And then, of course, there is the tea sets themselves, imported from Europe, from the Finnish Royal Family, and stated to be worth around 100,000 Yen.
* SeniorYearStruggles: In the second season, four of five members of the light music club are now in their senior year and preparing for university entrance exams. The one junior, Azusa, worries about being left alone with the club after they all graduate. The girls decide to give it their all for their last performances.
* SenseiChan: Sawa-chan.
* SeriesContinuityError: In the second season, Azusa is told about Megumi Sokabe, the former StudentCouncilPresident. According to the flashback, she's two years older than the main four girls, and therefore graduated when they finished their first year. However, she made a quick cameo appearance in episode 11, where she talked to the Light Music Club, which at that point in time also included Azusa...
** {{Retcon}}: When we first see Megumi in the first season, she's wearing a green ribbon, indicating that she's one year ahead of Nodoka. However, in the flashbacks from the second season, she has a red ribbon, which means she was two years ahead. (After her class graduated, the incoming first-year class, which included Azusa, was next to use red ribbons.)
** In season 2 episode 13 (15:05), Azusa complains that Yui still hasn't learned to read music, which is consistent with the manga, but in a scene created for the anime in season 1 episode 10, Yui was reading a score while practicing guitar in the middle of the night. Though she might have been reading guitar tab.
*** Actually, most guitar players who aren't trained in Classical or Jazz (that is, most guitarists who don't have extensive knowledge of music theory) don't know how to read sheet music even after years of playing. Reading Tab is generally considered to be a much simpler way to learn songs, since it shows what strings to play at what frets, and normally just uses classical notation to indicate the rhythm.
** Episode 14 of season 1 is supposed to take place before episode 12, but the backstage passes from episode 14 don't show up on the girls' gigbags until Season 2. Justified in that episode 14 was made only as a special episode after season 1 officially ended, and it would have raised more questions if the backstage passes just showed up out of nowhere.
* SeriesFauxnale: At the end of the first season, Yui reflects on how much she's grown from the person she was at the beginning of the show, and the band performs at the school festival, exclaiming "This is our Budokan!". A change from the manga, where Yui's cold results in the performance being quite bad, so as to make the last episode more satisfying. Then the second season gets announced, and the episode is pretty much {{handwave}}d.
* SeriousBusiness:
** The strawberry on top of a slice of strawberry shortcake. Yui views taking the strawberry as taking the cake's crown or even its very soul, and when Tsumugi steals the strawberry from Mio's piece of cake it causes her to break down in tears.
** Rice cakes as well.
** In the case of Light Music itself, despite this being a series about playing in a band, this trope is subverted in that most of the time, the club doesn't really take its band practice all that seriously.
* SexyDiscretionShot: Done when Mio stumbles and bares her panties. Only in the anime, though.
* SexySantaDress: Sawako puts Yui in one during the Christmas episode. In the anime, the design is changed from a two-piece that Yui is embarrassed about to a shoulder-revealing but [[AdaptationalModesty still more modest]] one-piece dress that Yui isn't ashamed to wear at all. Since Sawako is disappointed that Yui isn't embarrassed by it, she makes Mio wear it afterwards.
* ShapedLikeItself: Yui says things like this several times.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz32WHGPXMI "Fun things are fun."]]
** "Look at these screws! They're all screws!" In fact, she meant "The whole shelf is nothing but screws".
** "Well, I think Azunyan is Azunyan. Ricchan is Ricchan. Mio-chan is Mio-chan. Mugi-chan is Mugi-chan."
** "Afterschool Tea Time will always, always be... ''after school!''"
** "Will I be an adult when I grow up?"
* ShipTease: See the [[HoYay/KOn Ho Yay page]].
* ShoutOut
** Johannes Krauser II. from ''Manga/DetroitMetalCity'' makes an appearance in one of Yui's delusions in Episode 1.
** "Music/JimiHendrix?" "Jimmy Page?" "Jeff Beck?!"
** When Azusa plays guitar the first time images of [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page, Robert Plant]] and [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] (all wearing Azusa's pigtails) can be seen.
** When the music store clerk tells the history of Sawako's guitar, images of Music/EricClapton, [[Music/{{ACDC}} Angus Young]], [[Music/BlackSabbath Tony Iommi]] and [[Music/TheWho Pete Townshend]] are shown, along with a suspiciously similar versions of respective guitar riffs.
** The MusicVideo that plays during the school festival concert suggests an outlaw concert like Music/TheBeatles' rooftop concert, with a little ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' thrown in as well.
** Speaking of the Fab Four, did anyone notice that Mio is a left-handed bass player? [[Music/PaulMcCartney That sounds strangely familiar...]]
** Yui hugging Azusa to calm her down has a high resemblance to Kyou's [[TheGlomp glomp]] on Kotomi in ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'' (another show by the same studio), especially with the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kyou_-_get_to_know_Kotomi_better.jpg the "good girl" part]]. It also occurs in the manga, which might be mere coincidence, but Creator/KyotoAnimation sure picked up on it.
** Ritsu's attempt to make herself more noticeable onstage is called Operation [[Music/WishYouWereHere1975 Shine On You Crazy Ritchan]].
** [[http://fabien.li/tvtropes/K-ON!%20-%2014%2020.23.jpg Azusa and her tora-mimi]] are reminiscent of Kisa from ''Manga/FruitsBasket''.
** A cheeky homage to the "I'm flying!!" scene (complete with GratuitousEnglish) from ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''. (S1 10 08:03)
** In episode 4, Mio is looking through a box of old club members stuff, and finds a score book of [[Music/BlackSabbath Ozzy Osbourne]].
** In one episode, it shows a clip of Sawako playing guitar with her teeth - an obvious reference to Jimi Hendrix. Outright stated in the English dub when Ritsu exclaims "She's Hendrixing!"
** [[Music/TheWho "ZA WHO."]] More specifically, Keith Moon, one of the reasons Ritsu took up drumming. When Ritsu mentions him in the club, Azusa asks if he's the guy who blew up his house with fireworks.
** Yui is seen imitating Pete Townshend's windmill strumming move from time to time.
** Sawako-sensei's white Flying V may be a shout out to ''Anime/TheLegendOfBlackHeaven'', where the a very similar guitar (the original Gibson version) is the signature instrument of another has-been ex-rocker, Oji "Gabriel" Tanaka.
** The nautical cap that Mugi wears in the second ending theme is just like the one invariably worn by '70s keyboard player Daryl [[Music/CaptainAndTennille 'The Captain']] Dragon.
** Kamakiri, the band with the left-handed guitarist who catches Mio's attention during the outdoor music fest, might be a shout out to [[http://www.steelydan.com/lyrkama.html#track1 Donald Fagen]].
** [[Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles "Oscar!"]] (with [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/K-ON_Ep__14_-_Lady_Oscar_reference_2609.jpg screenshot]])
** Less obvious, but in the third ending theme ("No, Thank You"), there's a shot where Mio puts her thumbs and index fingers together and in the gap between her hands, there's a shot of the sky. A similar hand-portal effect was used heavily in the video to "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by The Ting Tings.
** The little frog statue in front of the club room [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kon-kamichu_9716.jpg looks an awful lot like a similar statue]] in ''Anime/{{Kamichu}}''.
** [[http://frostii.com/2010/09/20/k-on-24/ Evidently]] Nodoka is a [[Franchise/StarTrek Vulcan]], not the biggest surprise with her unflappable demeanor.
** From the dub: "[[Film/TheExorcist The power of cute compels you!]]"
** When Yui fills in for Sawako in Episode 10 of season 2, her Gitah is decorated with SpikesOfVillainy on the headstock and target-shaped lines across its body, ala [[Music/{{Slayer}} Kerry King]] and [[Music/BlackLabelSociety Zakk Wylde]].
** In the Season 2 OVA where Nodoka and Azusa are discussing places to visit overseas, Nodoka brings up Machu Pichu. In the original, Azusa simply mispronounces it. In the dub, Azsua's first attempt to pronounce it is "[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} My Pikachu?]]"
** In the movie, when the band finishes playing the heavy metal song in the beginning, Ritsu compares it to Music/IronMaiden.
** The scene transitions in "Planning Discussion" are accompanied by--of all things--the infamous ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' drumbeat.
** The name of Sawako's band, Death Devil, is a reference to the thrash metal band Music/DeathAngel.
* ShownTheirWork: The instruments played by the girls are all existing models in the real world:
** Yui plays a Heritage Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard Classic; not bad at all for a first guitar. She apparently strings it with D'Addario XL Nickel Round Wounds. And those really don't rust.
*** Judging from the packaging on the strings, both Yui and Azusa use D'Addario [=EXL120+=] strings. This set has a string-gauge of 0.0095-0.042 inches, which would suit their sound perfectly (the only other set with the same logo-color on the packaging is the [=EXL140=] set, with a string-gauge of 0.012-0.052 inches, which naturally sound heavier than the [=EXL120+=]).
** Mio provides the low frequencies on a left-handed 3-Color Sunburst Fender Jazz Bass (likely Japanese) in the anime, and a Fender Precision in the manga, both four-string. The bass she swoons over in the anime is a five-string left-handed Music Man Stingray. Good taste there!
*** Mio's reaction to seeing right-handed instruments, and likewise to seeing left-handed instruments, while exaggerated, does reflect how many left-handed guitarists and bass players feel about many manufacturers mainly producing right-handed instruments, with a limited selection of left-handed models, if any.
** Mugi's keyboard is a Korg Triton Extreme (likely the 76-key version since she mentions it in her ImageSong). Its built-in valve circuit features prominently in the opening credits. In "No thank You" the second ending of the second season, she plays a Hammond organ.
** Ritsu [[IncrediblyLamePun bangs]] around on what looks like a Yamaha Hipgig Rick Marotta drum kit with Zildjian cymbals.
** Azusa made a fine choice with her Cherry-red Fender Mustang, since its short scale is a nice fit for her small hands.
** Sawako plays an Alpine White Epiphone Flying V in the Season 1 finale, and also owns a 1964 Gibson SG Cherry, which the Club sells for for half a million Yen. The show even treats the viewers to a [[DescriptionPorn 1 minute long explanation as to '''why''' the guitar is worth half a million Yen]].
** The amplifiers used also exist in the real world. When practicing and during the first concerts (until Azusa joins), Yui uses a Marshall MG-series combo, Mio uses a Fender Super Bassman and Mugi uses a Roland combo (probably Jazz Chorus). After Azusa joins, Yui and Azusa both use Marshall JCM900 amplifiers for concerts. During HTT's final concert, Mio also changes to an Ampeg bass amp instead of the Fender Super Bassman.
*** Some of the equipment that appears but never gets used also exists in the real world. For instance, the multi-amp simulator Mio fantasizes about buying in Season 2 episode 2 looks like a BOSS multi-effect unit, and in the same episode, one can see briefly see a 1979 Mesa Engineering Mark IIA tube-amplifier for guitars, which could easily fetch the band a good price if sold to the guitar store as a collector's object. The effects pedals used by some of the other bands in episode 14 also look very much like real pedals, with at least one BOSS-lookalike.
*** Played straight and averted at the same time in the movie. When playing at the Japanese Culture Exhibition Festival, HTT doesn't have their own amps, so they have to borrow some, which is common enough for fly-in gigs like this one. The amps they get, however, are not. Usually, for fly-in gigs, guitarists can be sure to get Marshall JCM800, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Twin Reverb or VOX AC30 amps if requested, since those are the most popular guitar amps out there. So those are typically the ones a promoter or rental company will be able to provide, especially with such short notice. Instead, Yui and Azusa both get a Marshall JCM900, which is a dual-channel version of the JCM800 with a built-in reverb tank (that isn't quite as good as most stand-alone units). Mio playing through an Ampeg stack does make sense though, since Ampeg makes some of the most popular bass amplifiers for their style of music.
** The other guitarist in Death Devil plays a BC Rich Warlock, a guitar that fits the band's look and sound perfectly.
** Episode 2 in season 1 shows right away how much research they did. When Yui asks if there are any criteria for choosing a guitar, Mio provides a lengthy list of recommended things she should be aware of, such as the weight, how the neck feels, how thick the neck is, the scale-length and so on. All of the point Mio makes are actually legitimate things to keep in mind when choosing a guitar or bass, and not just for beginners either.[[note]](A brief rundown: the weight affects both the tone of the instrument - more weight equals richer tone, less weight equals thinner - and how comfortable the instrument is to wear - a seven-pound instrument is much different than a twelve or thirteen-pound one; the finish on the neck can affect how quickly the player is able to move their hands up and down the frets; the thickness of the neck is a factor in who can play the instrument, due to people having differently sized hands; and lastly the scale length figures greatly into the instrument's overall tone and the ease of bending the strings due to their tension - for decades all Gibsons had a 24.75 inch length, while Fenders had 25.5 inches - a shorter scale length makes the guitar sound warmer and the strings easier to bend - a longer scale length makes the strings a bit harder to bend, can be offset by using lighter-gauge strings, but makes the guitar sound brighter).[[/note]]
** Season 2 Episode 3 ("Drummer!") also deserves some recognition, for being one of very few anime episodes (if not the only) ever produced to realistically deal with the topic of musical burnout. Non-musicians might think it's a bit unrealistic how quickly Ritsu gets over it, but in reality, this is '''exactly''' how quickly people usually get over it!
** The interactions between Houkago Tea Time and various other bands (such as in the "Live House!" OVA and when Yui fills in for Sawako in Death Devil) also realistically reflect how many professional and even upcoming bands are towards each other.
*** In "Live House!", it is clear to the other bands playing that Houkago Tea Time has no experience playing outside of the school, and have every opportunity to sabotage their performance. However, they decide to be supportive instead of hostile, for what can only be assumed to be due to two reasons: 1, it's a shared bill, so if one of the five bands playing puts on a bad performance, the audience might leave, resulting in everyone after that band getting less exposure, and 2, by being friendly instead of competitive, they all expand their musical network, which can come in handy at a later time (and it does for HTT in the movie).
*** Death Devil calling in a replacement guitarist (just like HTT did in Season 1 Episode 12) to replace one of their band members is a common practice among bands, particularly if there won't be time for the event booker to find another band (or in this case, if the booker doesn't want to find another band). Even Music/TheBeatles did it when they temporarily replaced Ringo with a local drummer named Jimmie Nicol when Ringo fell ill before a tour in Australasia.
** Special mention should also go to the animation. Whenever an instrument is played on-screen, the pitch heard at any given time is the exact same pitch one would hear if they played a real Les Paul, Mustang or J-Bass and fretted the same notes as the girls. This means that it's actually possible to learn at least some of the riffs just by watching how the girls play the songs!
*** It does become slightly jarring in Episode 2x3, when Azusa shows Ritsu a note sheet for "Fuwa Fuwa Time". The notation is actually perfectly spot-on. What makes it jarring is that the notation is for the ''vocal''-part, not the ''guitar''-parts.
** Several of the random items (such as the tea sets or Mio's headphones) are also recognizable (and very expensive) real world products. Mio's headphones are the [[http://www.akg.com/personal/K_701,pcatid,4,pid,1,_psmand,1.html AKG K 701]], for example.
*** It even goes so far as to include their clothes: the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mio_TUK_shoes_1604.jpg shoes Mio wears]] during the "No, Thank You" ED (second season) are [[https://www.tukshoes.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=327 T.U.K. A6803 white leather Mondo-sole creepers]].
*** In a few places, a set of [[http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/product/hardware_data.php?year=2014&area=2&id=10#.VCgua_nIJU8 Tama Iron Cobra]] double bass drum pedals show up.
* ShrinkingViolet: Mio at times, especially when spooked or embarrassed by Ritsu.
** Curiously, Ritsu's younger brother Satoshi tends to go into hiding when the other girls visit Ritsu's home.
** The club holds interviews from random students and faculty for their promotional video, and the student they talk to in the library appears to be this.
* ShyBlueHairedGirl: Azusa with her blue-black hair and her trepidation for {{Cosplay}}.
* SickEpisode: Everyone except Mio and Mugi have one. Yui has several.
** In the manga, there's a chapter where Yui is sick, which causes her to act more maturely than she ever has before, making everyone else wish she never gets better.
* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Yui has done this on at least a couple occasions, which falls right in line with her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} nature.
* SillyMeGesture: Combined with HandBehindHead by Yui and Sawako-sensei in episode 5.
** Sawako does it again after she spent the night before the summer festival partying instead of sleeping.
** And ''again'' in the penultimate episode when she is complimented on her video editing skills.
* SleepCute: ''All'' the girls of the band do this together after a concert.
** Mio and Ritsu do it on the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/k-on_sleep_cute_976.jpg title card for the second chapter of Vol. 3]], while sharing earphones.
* SliceOfLife: Music-playing aside, this show is basically about cute girls doing cute stuff. Which even gets throttled to almost ''Anime/{{Piano}}''-like levels in the second season. Episode 13 is mostly about Azusa and her friends being ''bored'', for instance.
* SmashingWatermelons: Mio does this [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/K-On_melon_3257.jpg in the manga]]. In the anime adaption, she brings the watermelon with the same intention, but realizes that they can't spend all of their practice time goofing around on the beach.
* SneezeCut: In ''Shuffle'', the first--and so far, only--appearance of Mio and Ritsu happens when one of the new main characters mentions seeing them perform and the manga cuts away to Ritsu sneezing.
* SoundOff: An attempt to use their own songs during a marathon fails when the songs turn out to be too fast.
* SpiceUpTheSubtitles: Yen Press' official English translations of the manga tend to include slightly more swearing than is true to the original Japanese dialogue, perhaps to truly earn their older teen rating.
* SpitTake: Satoshi's reaction to hearing that [[{{Tomboy}} his sister]] is going to play [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Juliet]].
* SpotTheImposter: When Sawa-sensei blows the TwinSwitch Ui had been pulling on them:
--> '''Ui as Yui:''' I-I don't know what you're talking about!
--> '''Azusa:''' Yeah? Then tell me the nickname you gave me!
--> '''Ui:''' Uh... Ah... Azusa-two!
--> '''Azusa:''' Ahh! She's fake!
* {{Squee}}: Ritsu does this twice in the first episode, learning Mugi has joined her club, and first meeting "expert guitarist" Yui for the first time.
** The whole audience watching Class 3-2's production of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' squees at Ritsu and Mio performing the balcony scene.
* StandingInTheHall: Mugi insists on being punished this way, since she considers it an essential part of a regular high school experience.
** What's more, she actually genuinely enjoys it, as being told to stand in the hall was one of the many things she wanted to try before graduating.
* StealthHiBye: Sawa-chan does this occasionally, either in the club room, or Yui's house. The girls, particularly Ritsu, are usually surprised at her sudden appearance.
** Even on their second training camp, Sawako shows up out of nowhere, without any explanation as to how she knew where the girls would be.
** Not even '''when the girls travel to London''', can they avoid Sawako showing up out of nowhere.
* StealthPun: Yui wears a giant chicken suit when trying to gain new members for the club, and underclassmen flee before her in terror. While "chicken" in Japanese is ''niwatori'', the word for molester is... ''[[TheChikan chikan]]''.
** Does that also count as a BilingualBonus VisualPun?
** Another one: The last names of the band members spell THANK, as seen in the second season's second ed.
*** In the scene where they all line up in the ED, their positions spell KNAHT from their last names, which is THANK if you read right to left, like a JDM audience.
** Before Azusa joined as the fifth member, some fans hoped there would be a fifth member whose name started with an E, as their first name initials (Ritsu, Yui, Tsugumi, Mio) would then spell out "RYTME", a Scandinavian word meaning "Rhythm". This was firmly shot down when Azusa joined.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: See TwinSwitch below.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial
** Azusa, when Ui asks her what she was pondering about: "I wasn't thinking about Valentines or anything like that" (S2 22 01:17)
** Sawako is quick to point out that the reason she's no longer a homeroom teacher is certainly not that the school thought she did a bad job with the last class.
* SweatDrop
* SynchronousEpisodes: The episode Field Trip! [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin follows the third year class on their trip]] to Kyoto. The following Staying Behind! shows what the second year students were doing during the same time. A phone call between Yui and Azusa is shown from both point of views.
** The end of the TheMovie takes place at the same time as episode 24, including one movie scene which picks up practically the same moment a scene from the episode ended, and the performance for Azusa being shown from new angles.
* TagTeamTwins: While not twins, Ui takes her older sister Yui's place in band practice when Yui catches a cold, attempting to fool the other band members. The others only realize something is wrong because Ui is much better at keeping the tempo than Yui is, and she uses the wrong nicknames. See TwinSwitch below.
* TalkingInYourSleep: Most frequently Yui, though Ritsu gets in on it too during their second training camp.
* TamerAndChaster: The manga has some notable instances of {{Fanservice}}, but the anime greatly tones these elements down. This is especially noticeable with [[CosplayOtakuGirl the costumes Sawako makes]], which are subjected to AdaptationalModesty.
* TanLines: Azusa tans REALLY easily, which is embarrassing for her when she goes to the pool right after spending a day in the mountains.
** During Azusa's third year, she is hanging out with Ui and Jun, and Ui offers to apply a really powerful sunblock to Azusa. Azusa managed to go from pale to completely sunburnt ''while Ui is looking away for a few seconds'', much to Ui's surprise.
* TaremeEyes / TsurimeEyes: The art style has everyone (yes, even Yui) toggling between these two types of eyes, but it's most noticeable with Sawako, showing how wild she's currently being.
** When Yui does an impression of Mio in the manga, she uses her fingers to physically push her eyes into the Tsurime shape for one panel.
* TeamPet: Ton-chan, the pig-nosed turtle.
** Azu-nyan also is treated as such by everyone but Mio when she first joins the club.
* TeamShot: The first opening concludes with a shot of the band members all posed together with their instruments for a couple of seconds after the music stops. Azusa was even added to the shot in midseason after she joined the club. Other team shots are used for many (though not all) of the various DVD covers for both the series and the movie. The picture at the top of this page is a VFormationTeamShot.
* TechnicianVersusPerformer:
** A veeeeery mild example between Azusa (technician) and Yui (performer). Azusa knows much more about guitars and playing technique, with years of experience, but Yui has a natural talent for most instruments and perfect pitch.
** Houkago Tea Time and Death Devil is another example. HTT generally plays simple, catchy songs and deliver amazing performances, while Death Devil plays more technical music (Speed Metal, according to Metal Archives) and focus more on tightness as a group than actually putting on an interesting show.
* TeruTeruBozu: Yui makes a bunch of them and hangs them upside down in hopes of getting rain the next day. It doesn't work.
* ThemeNaming: Except for Sawako, ''every'' character has a name written with just one kanji.
* ThemeTwinNaming: Yui and Ui. While they are not twins since Ui is a year younger than Yui and have different hairstyles, they look very alike. In fact, Ui poses as Yui during band practice in Episode 12 of the first season when Yui has a cold. See TwinSwitch below.
* ThirdPartyPeacekeeper: Played with. Azusa walks into the club room to witness what looks like an argument between Ritsu and Yui about lyrics and musical styling, with Mugi seemingly trying to restore the peace. It turns out that they were all just play-acting a typical band break-up. [[NotSoAboveItAll Even Mio.]] Although it gave Azusa quite the scare.
* ThisIsReality: Inverted during a short joke in the Yen Press translation of the the college arc. While Yui is [[NotHimself acting strangely]] for a chapter, Ritsu inspects Yui's head for lumps, thinking that she [[EasyAmnesia might have had a personality switch from getting hit somewhere]].
-->'''Ritsu''': If this were a manga, you'd have hit your head, which caused you to change personalities...
-->'''Mio''': [[BreakingTheFourthWall This is a manga.]]
** In the original, Mio simply notes the absurdity of Ritsu acknowledging that she's jokingly using a manga trope (EasyAmnesia) while in the midst of seriously looking for another manga trope (CranialEruption).
* [[ThoseTwoGuys Those Two Girls]]: The occult club.
* ToastOfTardiness: Parodied when Yui is introduced rushing to school with toast in her mouth, only to realize she set her alarm wrong and she's an hour ''early'' to class.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Ritsu and Mio. Especially in the flashback to elementary school, with brash, {{Shorttank}} Ritsu and shy, dress-wearing Mio.
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The next episode previews intentionally feature snippets of dialogue that never convey what the episode is actually about. For instance, Season 2 Episode 18's preview made it look like Mio was serious about moving to Irkutsk, when it was just one of her increasingly lame excuses to get out of starring in the class play.
** To be fair, most of the time the titles are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, and most other episodes play it straight.
* TrueCompanions: They're very close friends and very caring of each other.
* {{Tsundere}}: Azusa is a bit of this in the anime, but more in the manga. She usually tries to shrug off Yui's acts of affection, but she always lets up in the end.
** Mio is a bit of a type B towards Ritsu. She's shy, and a very nice person, but Ritsu's deeds often rile her up.
* TwelveEpisodeAnime: The first season's main StoryArc spans twelve episodes. Episode 12 was labeled as the "finale," causing some people to think it would actually be the last one (It was, until the announcement of Season 2, which is why it was very finale-esque). There is an Episode 13 and 14, but they lie outside the story arc.
* TwinSwitch: When Yui gets sick before the concert, Ui lets her hair down and goes in her place. [[spoiler:She fools everyone for a while, but Sawako-sensei eventually sees through her disguise as she is better "endowed" than her OLDER sister. Curiously, nobody wonders why Yui would suddenly don the red UsefulNotes/{{inside shoes}} worn by first years.]]
** A similar event occurs again: Yui is shown packing things for her Kyoto trip and declaring that everything is all set... and then ties up her hair. Ui was packing for her sister, and then proceeds to wake up Yui, who is sacked in her bed. And in S2 E23, we see Ui ironing... but it's actually Yui.
** Yui uses Ui's picture for her summer school ID card.
** Milked for all it's worth in episode 21, where Yui is trying to decide which hairstyle to use for her yearbook picture. That includes having Ui model for her, and this being Yui, she forgets to take her hairpin back, and Ui ends up wearing it for the morning. Everyone comments how identical the sisters are once Ui lets her hair down. Bonus points when Azusa sees it, and Ui hugs her from behind saying ''Azu-nyan!'' in the '''cutest voice ever heard'''.
** Used once again in the second chapter of the new manga, [[spoiler:when Ui tries to convince Azusa that she was really Yui come back to check up on the club. Azusa and Jun actually start to buy it until Ui is "outed" again by Sawako-sensei in the same way as the first time (i.e. Sawa-chan noting the difference in chest sizes).]]
** Also in the reboot manga, when the new Light Music Club goes to look at instruments, Ui poses as Yui, and asks the clerk if they can get a discount on a drum kit for the music room. The clerk, thinking it's really Yui, doesn't even bother trying to decline.
--> '''Ui (as Yui)''': "Excuse me. Could we maybe get a discount on that drum kit?"
--> '''Clerk''': *looks at Ui* "You again? Sure... Any amount you'd like. I just don't care anymore..."
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The structure of the restarted manga, serialized across two magazines. Chapters covering Yui, Mugi, Mio and Ritsu's first year at university alternate with those about Azusa, Ui and Jun's last year at high school, and it is expected that they will be published in this order in the tankoubon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:U to Z]]
* UnlimitedWardrobe: When not in school uniforms, the girls pretty much never wear the same clothes twice.
** With only a single exception at the end of the second BeachEpisode, where Azusa is wearing the same outfit when she met Ui at the beginning of the episode, only with a tan.
* UnmovingPlaid: In the manga, both Mio's and Yui's pajamas are drawn like this.
* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: In episode 3 of the first season, Ritsu does one of these for her dramatic entrance into Yui's room, only to get a CranialEruption from Mio for distracting Yui's studying
* TheUnreveal: In episode 3 of the second season, Sawako's attempts to look younger "goes too far", which results in her wearing a face mask and sunglasses to school. She shows her face to Yui and Ritsu, but viewer only sees the back of her head.
* VacationEpisode: TheMovie involves Hokago Tea Time taking a trip to London.
* WeightWoe: Mio and Mugi always have issues about their weight gain at the end of the year. Ritsu shows shades of this in the first training camp episode.
** K-On! College hints that literally all the extra weight Mio puts on goes to her breasts. Even so, she still wants to lose weight. One of the other members of the College Light Music Club also complains that she's gained weight lately, though that's due to suddenly growing taller fast. She thinks that if she burns some calories, she will get shorter, only for Mio to inform her that that's not how it works.
* WhatWereTheySellingAgain: Mentioned; when the band wants to make a recruitment video for the Light Music Club, Mio is concerned that the video will have ''nothing'' to do with the club if they go with the "narrated by Ton-chan" angle.
* WhipPan: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl1safFRrfE This funny scene.]]
* WingdingEyes: Many of the light music club members have done this, often with golden stars in their eyes.
* WithFriendsLikeThese[=/=]VitriolicBestBuds - One wonders why Mio still considers Ritsu her friend, with the teasing, humiliations and blackmailing and all...
** She gets back at Ritsu through violence. See CranialEruption above.
** During her brief stint as a waitress, Mio tries pretending all the customers are her friends to overcome her shyness. Problem is, even the ''imaginary'' Yui and Ritsu irritate her.
* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: The main cast and most of their classmates have normal shades of black, brown or blonde hair. However, among the many unnamed first and second year students, green and blue hair colors show up more often. Nodoka's hair is also a dark bordeaux hue.
* XtremeKoolLetterz: Love Crysis. A (possible misspelled) poster in TheMovie even spells is "Love Crycis".
* {{Yonkoma}}
* YourDoorWasOpen: Played for laughs. Occasionally, Sawako-sensei suddenly drops in unnoticed when it should be logically impossible for someone not to realize she came in, usually when she was neither invited or ''informed'' of the get-together beforehand. Ritsu is usually the one to make a note of this, saying "Wait, when did you get here?" or "You were sitting here the entire time?!"
[[/folder]]

----

* ExcitedShowTitle: And the second season is even more excited: K-On!!

* FaceFault: The whole audience does this in Episode 6's music-video-sort-of-thing.

* GenerationXerox: Houkago Tea Time mimics the closely-knit nature of its predecessor, Death Devil, which Sawako was a member of.

* GirlishPigtails: Azusa. Also Jun from her class.
* TheGlomp: Azusa is a regular recipient of this from Yui. And [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azusa_glomp_5539.jpg this]] is what happened seconds after she said that she wanted to join the club.

* AGoodNameForARockBand: The band-naming session goes nowhere fast, but it does include Yui suggesting "[[EgocentricTeamNaming Yui Hirasawa and Her Happy Friends]]" (Ritsu immediately comments on this: "Hey, are we supposed to be part of the background?"). Sawa-sensei is annoyed that the debate is delaying her tea-time and forces the band to adopt the name "Afterschool Tea Time".

** The girls' classmates are depicted as [[GenericCuteness rather pretty]], though. Is this a school for fashion models?

* GratuitousFrench: Ui's first two {{Image Song}}s contain some of these in either the lyrics or the title (Oui! Aikotoba)

* GratuitousJapanese: The German dub leaves all the Japanese honorifics ("-chan", "-san", "sensei" and so on) untranslated and doesn't even bother to change the order of family name and first name to what is normal in German.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: The anime shows HTT delivering very good performances even though they constantly slack off when they're supposed to be practicing.
** Probably closer to being subverted since while they slack off a lot, they also work hard. Mio is a LeadBassist because Yui lost her voice in trying to learn to sing and play simultaneously. In that same episode, Mio had spent most of the morning practicing alone (and it stands to reason they had a good few practices in the couple days previous). Before that, Yui learned to play a good amount of chords by practicing instead of studying for her midterm exams. We also get Ui's perspective that Yui's constant and consistent "messing around with" her guitar has replaced her normal laziness by giving her something to focus on. Mugi had been playing piano since she was four, so it stands to reason that she practices on her own time. When Ritsu puts down her drumsticks for a while to try learning other instruments in S2 E3, she mentions during a moment of self-reflection that she normally practices her drums every day, and this was the first time she'd taken a break from it since she decided to be a drummer. And Azusa is probably the hardest worker of all; if anyone is pushing them to spend even more time practicing and less time drinking tea, it's usually her.

* ICallItVera: Yui nicknames her guitar "Gitah".

* ImageSong

* MischiefFace: When Ritsu Tainaka hears that the Light Music Club is to be disbanded, she grabs Mio's shoulder from behind and has a scheming look on her face while suggesting that if there are no holdover club members, she can easily take the role of Club President for herself.

* CringeComedy: When Sawako crashes the first Christmas party and gets really drunk and depressed over being a ChristmasCake, all the other girls just awkwardly play along even though she's really souring the atmosphere.

** The costumes [[CosplayOtakuGirl Sawako]] makes aren't quite as revealing as they are in the manga. One example is in the Christmas episode where Sawako makes Yui wear a SexySantaDress; in the manga it's a [[BareYourMidriff midriff-baring]] two-piece that Yui is embarrassed about, but in the anime it's a more modest one-piece dress that Yui isn't ashamed to wear at all.

* SexySantaDress: Sawako puts Yui in one during the Christmas episode. In the anime, the design is changed from a [[BareYourMidriff two-piece]] that Yui is embarrassed about to a shoulder-revealing but [[AdaptationalModesty still more modest]] one-piece dress that Yui isn't ashamed to wear at all. Since Sawako is disappointed that Yui isn't embarrassed by it, she makes Mio wear it afterwards.

* SiblingIncest: One of Ui's {{Image Song}}s is titled "Lovely Sister Love" and contains the line "Onee-san daisuki" ("I love my big sister").
** Ui's infatuation with her ''Onee-chan'' is rather clearly shown in the {{anime}}. It's just that it hasn't reached critical romantic intentions.
*** See LesYay above.

* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The Yen Press published tankobon tend to include slightly more swearing than is true to the translation, perhaps to truly earn their older teen rating.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://k-on.wikia.com/wiki/K-ON!_Wiki Would you believe it?]]

** The costumes Sawako makes aren't quite as fetishistic as they are in the manga. One example is in the Christmas episode where Sawako makes Yui wear a SexySantaDress; in the manga it's a [[BareYourMidriff midriff-baring]] two-piece that Yui is embarrassed about, but in the anime it's a more modest one-piece dress that Yui isn't ashamed to wear at all.

''Yui: "Azusa~!"''///
''Azusa: "Mi-o!"''///
''Mio: "Riiiiitsu!"''///
''Ritsu: "'''MU! GI!!!'''"''

* LoudLastName: Ritsu's reaction to Azusa laughing at her being cast as Juliet in the SchoolPlay: "NA-KA-NOOOO!"

* SayMyName: A cute, roundabout version occurs in "Cagayake! Girls":
-->''Mugi: "Uuuuuu~Yui!"''
-->''Yui: "Azusa~!"''
-->''Azusa: "Mi-o!"''
-->''Mio: "Riiiiitsu!"''
-->''Ritsu: "'''MU! GI!!!'''"''

** Ritsu's attempt to make herself more noticeable onstage is called Operation [[Music/WishYouWereHere Shine On You Crazy Ritchan]].

** Mostly because Ritsu's not always a jerk... there are many examples in season 2 when Ritsu encourages Mio gently, as though she's known her weaknesses for a long time. Mio reigns in and makes Ritsu fess up to her blunders and provides grounding. They're pretty well-matched as friends, actually.
** Their relationship is nowhere as [[BullyAndWimpPairing extreme]] as, say [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya]]. Ritsu can be a jerk but Mio [[TheDogBitesBack often punishes her]] for her behaviour by hitting her resulting in [[CranialEruption Cranial Eruptions]].

** Their relationship is nowhere as [[BullyAndWimpPairing extreme]] as, say [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya]]. Ritsu can be a jerk but Mio [[TheDogBitesBack often punishes her]] for her behaviour by hitting her resulting in [[CranialEruption Cranial Eruptions.

* RedOniBlueOni: Ritsu and Mio.

** Also [[{{Tomboy}} Ritsu]], who must play Juliet. Of course, things could have been easier if Mio and Ritsu just switched roles. {{Lampshaded}} by Yui, who suggests they [[{{PersonalitySwap}} switch personalities.

* RiddleForTheAges: The manga ended without revealing what subject Ritsu is majoring in at the university, saying only that Ayame is in the same department. The only major to be confirmed is Yui's, in education; it's safe to assume Mio is studying literature and we can guess Mugi is in business and/or music. Because of Ritsu's cooking skills, some fanfic authors assume she's studying to be a chef.

* RecycledINSPACE: It's ''Anime/LuckyStar'' [[AC:with musical instruments!]] [[note]]:Yui=Tsukasa, Ritsu=Konata, Mio=Kagami, Mugi=Miyuki, Azusa=Yutaka, Sawako=Nanako[[/note]]
** Or Series/{{Glee}}: The Anime.
** Or Music/{{Restart}} [[AC:WITH GIRLS!]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Not darker, but the US release of the manga from Yen Press was definitely edgier, with its more frequent swearing (most notably in the localization of the Kyoto dialect scene).
--> '''Mugi:''' Yo, dis Kinkakuji hea... Dis bitch was all burned out an' shit way back in 1950. Da one dey gots hea is some new shit dey rebuilt afta.

* BigNo: After the PantyShot below, Mio has a BigNo that can be heard outside the auditorium.

* PantyShot: There's a rather gratuitous [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/k-on_panties_3095.jpg panty-shot of Mio]] after their performance at the school cultural festival. [[https://imgur.com/cuDAj8v Except the anime audience doesn't get to see it, as KyoAni replaced that with a bowl of rice]]. Everybody in the auditorium, on the other hand....
** Contrarily to most pantyshots in anime, it's actually not gratuitous, since it's heavily commented upon (even in the second season), and was one more obstacle for Mio to overcome her shyness.