k-on!:
K-On! (けいおん!
Keion!) is a Japanese four-panel comic strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga started serialization in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara since the May 2007 issue, and also started a bimonthly serialization in Houbunsha's magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat since the October 2008 issue. A thirteen-episode anime adaptation produced by
Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between April and June 2009. An additional original video animation episode was released in January 2010. A second season will begin airing in Japan in April 2010. The title of the series comes from the Japanese word for light music, keiongaku (軽音楽?), but in the Japanese context is similar to pop music.
K-On!'s story revolves around 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 members of the club, and at first Yui Hirasawa, the main character, has no experience playing musical instruments or reading sheet music. Eventually, she learns how to be an excellent guitar player. The rest of the club helps her to buy a guitar, and they perform successfully at the school festival.
kyoto animation:
http://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/
akiyama mio:
Mio Akiyama (秋山 澪
Akiyama Mio)
Mio is a shy girl who is in the light music club and plays a left-handed, 3-Color Sunburst Fender Jazz Bass, with a tortoiseshell pickguard. She originally intended to join the literary club, but is forced into the light music club by her childhood friend and the club's president/drummer, Ritsu. She gets excellent grades in school, but is bad with listening to stories involving macabre experiences, and cowers whenever something gross is brought up. While she can be mature and strict sometimes, she gets embarrassed easily, and is often subject to teasing from Ritsu and Sawako, their club adviser. She cites that she chose bass since it is not the center of attention in the band, unlike the guitarist. Mio is more technical when it comes to music, and Yui often comes to her when she is in need of more guitar tutorials. She is the band's backing vocalist and takes over lead vocals whenever Yui is incapable of singing or forgets the lyrics. She writes most of the songs, although they usually feature some odd and overly girlish lyrics like "Light and Fluffy Time". As she is left-handed, she becomes entranced whenever she sees left-handed instruments. Due to an unexpected accident in one of their live performances (and partly due to her attractive appearances), she acquired a huge amount of popularity, and even a fan club for her is formed (much to her dismay considering the circumstances surrounding it), whose founding member is the former student council president, who also stalks Mio. Due to this, most of her classmates voted her to play as Romeo in their class play. Mio is seemingly a fan of Lomography, as she is often seen with a camera strongly resembling the Lomo LC-A during her summer training.
long hair:
Length is shorter than shoulder length, but no longer than the knee.
seifuku:
Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the Japanese public and private school systems. They are also used in some women's colleges. The Japanese word for uniform is seifuku (制服?).
Usage
In the majority of elementary schools, students are not required to wear a uniform to school. Where uniforms are required, many boys wear white shirts, short pants, and caps. Young boys often dress more formally in their class pictures than they do other days of the school year. Girls' uniforms might include a gray pleated skirt and white blouse. Occasionally the sailor outfit is used for girls. The uniform codes may vary by season to work with the environment and occasion. It is common for both boys and girls to wear brightly colored caps to prevent traffic accidents. Also, it is normal for uniforms to be worn outside of school areas. This is going out of fashion and many students are wearing casual dress.
The Japanese junior- and senior-high-school uniform traditionally consists of a military style uniform for boys and a sailor outfit for girls. These uniforms are based on Meiji era formal military dress, themselves modeled on European-style naval uniforms. The sailor outfit replace the undivided hakama (andon bakama 行灯袴) designed by Utako Shimoda between 1920–30. While this style of uniform is still in use, many schools have moved to more Western-pattern parochial school uniform styles. These uniforms consist of a white shirt, tie, blazer with school crest, and tailored trousers (often not of the same color as the blazer) for boys and a white blouse, tie, blazer with school crest, and tartan culottes or skirt for girls.
Regardless of what type of uniform any particular school assigns its students, all schools have a summer version of the uniform (usually consisting of just a white dress shirt and the uniform slacks for boys and a reduced-weight traditional uniform or blouse and tartan skirt with tie for girls) and a sports-activity uniform (a polyester track suit for year-round use and a t-shirt and short pants for summer activities). Depending on the discipline level of any particular school, students may often wear different seasonal and activity uniforms within the same classroom during the day. Individual students may attempt to subvert the system of uniforms by wearing their uniforms incorrectly or by adding prohibited elements such as large loose socks or badges. Girls may shorten their skirts; boys may wear trousers about the hips, omit ties, or keep their shirts unbuttoned.
Since some schools do not have sex-segregated changing- or locker-rooms, students may change for sporting activities in their classrooms. As a result, such students may wear their sports uniforms under their classroom uniforms. Certain schools also regulate student hairstyles, footwear, and book bags; but these particular rules are usually adhered to only on special occasions, such as trimester opening and closing ceremonies and school photo days.