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This show has a ton of potential (present tense in case they get a second season), but it made me very conflicted as I did not feel they totally delivered on it.

The good: The characters overall are very likable. I like the chemistry between the main and side characters. The core group along with Hachimitsu, Nekozaki, and Inuzuka work really well. Hachimitsu is particularly excellent. The Kamiya arc was decent. I think Izumi's parents are a nice addition to the show, and Shikimori's brother has some good moments, as well.

The confusing: I didn't read the manga (yet), but I really thought the show was ... going to go in a different direction. You have Shikimori acting like a total wild card bad ass in a very stylized way in the intro and the first episode, and I kept expecting it to have more to her story than meets the eye. It ended up with a very straightforward romance direction, which was nice and sweet, but not expected to me, at least.

The bad: For some reason that I can't really explain, I feel the execution just really fell flat, particularly with the finale. The show lost some momentum leading up to it. Some of the animation choices were a bit odd with the main duo's facial expressions in what should have been powerful moments, and it kind of took me out of it. But in general, just the writing, the action, everything about it should have been very moving, but it just didn't work for some reason. I wanted a grand payoff, but it really felt like a miss, in my opinion.

I do hope they get a second season, maybe I'll go into with more muted expectations. But this show was hyped quite a bit, and I expected it to go in a different direction. Then I enjoyed it, and then the finale was pretty weak. So, I'm very conflicted on it. Stays at a 7 because I do like the characters overall, but it was wavering to 6 territory for sure, and it could've easily gotten to an 8 had they stuck the landing.

Cue! in my opinion suffers from too many ingredients in the soup.

I really don't think they needed to cram 16 voice actors into the story. As a result, it necessarily has the more interesting plot lines rising to the top in season one/part one, that being the Bloom Ball anime group arc, and the singing idol group arc. The show could've easily just focused on those eight characters, maybe having some other girls just in passing, much like we see in some episodes with other voice actors for the anime, for example.

It seems they wanted to get as many types of girls as they ... could on screen, and the storyline took a hit because of it. Maybe they focus on the other groups in part two and those arcs become more satisfying, but even so, it's just a lot going on. I'd have rather they really developed a handful of characters versus splitting the time between 16 of them (plus the managers and side characters). I basically only feel anything for like three or four of them.

All that said, it's a pretty enjoyable show overall, with the main premise being an interesting one. The interactions between the groups is wholesome and has enough intrigue to not completely fall flat. I think the show is at its best when we see the characters "become" their roles; when it cuts to a character transforming into their anime counterpart, or the singing group becoming their idols. That's about as powerful as this show gets.

I also like Rio, and I'm glad they include her working alongside the girls throughout. She gives a consistency and continuity to scenes where it can sometimes feel like we're bouncing between storylines. She's the glue that holds AiRBLUE together.

I lean rating this a 6.5 in reality. Worth watching, don't feel like I'm wasting my time. But I'm just not engaged in all the storylines and characters, and it could've been tighter and punchier.

I felt compelled to have K-On be my first review as I can identify with the excitement that comes with starting a band in high school.

To me, this is where the show is clearly at its best. It does a perfect job encapsulating the childlike wonderment and euphoria of playing music together in a band for the first time. I think they really nailed the simple nature of early teen songwriting in the lyrics. Everything with the band scenarios works really well and is engaging. I wish they'd have gone to those scenarios more often.

Unfortunately, I think they too often got away from the meat ... of the show and crammed way too much fan service into the first season. I can accept it's a cultural difference, though knowing these are 14 year old girls, some of it is a bit cringe at times.

The banter between the main four characters is quite enjoyable, and their bond is another high point of the show. I'd argue there's too much dead time where they're being lazy, sick, or just not really doing a whole lot that kind of makes the season drag. But there's enough to keep watching (mostly due to the banter between the main four, and Ui is also a good addition to the fold) and the payoff at the end is satisfying.

Azusa joining the gang isn't a totally seamless fit chemistry wise, her inclusion is overly awkward and forced at times. Sawako their mentor is just annoying and not a good character. I'm sure she has some fans, but I found her to be over-the-top and not in a good way.

And again, the way Sawako interacts with these 14 year old girls is questionable at best, and pretty gross at times at its worst. It doesn't stop me from enjoying the show as a whole, but it's pandering to the lowest common denominator and detracts from what the show could've been. I know that's how it goes with a lot of shows, but for some reason it just seemed particularly egregious and weird in this case. Maybe it gets more focused in season two.

The art style is simple and makes sense with the direction of the show.

Overall, it's a nice, sweet show with some enjoyable interactions between characters, and some really fun music scenes. It could've benefitted from being a bit punchier and focusing more on the actual rehearsals and interactions in a band setting versus throwing in more fan service and having the characters laze about too often. But a solid 7 overall, worth a watch and I'll check out the other offerings from the series.