K-ON! Blu-ray fansubs are starting to show up in the wild

K-ON! seems to be the current series du jour among the cool kids these days. And indeed it’s actually quite enjoyable – fun and lighthearted with your traditional cast of quirky characters and even some good music to boot. (And yes, an actual review will be coming in a soon-to-be-recorded episode of Otaku no Podcast) It may not have the depth of other music-related anime or manga out there, but it’s still a very well done series. Unfortunately it hasn’t yet been licensed for a Stateside release, but I have a feeling that it’s only a matter of time. (In fact I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already, at least on Crunchyroll or a similar streaming site.) (Update 2010-07-07: : Bandai has finally seen the light of reason and announced at Anime Expo 2010 that they have licensed K-ON!. No hint of a release date yet tho. )

Anyway, if you want to catch it right now, you can do so via the fansubs. Several fansub groups have released episodes in lower-resolution (480p and 720p) versions, and indeed the entire series (including specials) are available for viewing this way. But two fansub groups in particular – Chihiro and CoalGuys – have upped the ante, and have started releasing fansubs based on the recently-released K-ON! Blu-ray disks. These releases, available in both 720p and 1080p, including full uncompressed sound, look and sound truly awesome. If you have the computing muscle to watch ‘em – any computer made in the last two years or so ought to work – then they are definitely worth a look.

The Japanese Blu-Ray releases are coming every few months, with 2 episodes per disk, so these will take a while to trickle in. So if you’re the impatient sort, go watch the SD version. But if you can possibly curb your enthusiasm, definitely hold out for the Blu-ray releases. They are worth the wait.

Anyway, if you want to catch it right now, you’ll have to wait for Bandai’s forthcoming DVD or Blu-ray release. (Again, no hint of a release date. And no clue as to whether they’ll be doing DVD, Blu-ray, or both. Here’s hoping that they do indeed go with a Blu-ray release, and that it matches the quality of the Japanese Blu-rays.) Bandai only licensed Season 1, so Season 2 (confusingly enough titled “K-ON!!” — note the extra exclamation point) is still out there for the viewing. (Since it’s slice of life, you aren’t really missing much story-wise.)