

In the anime characters seem to generally introduce themselves by their full
names but immediately thereafter refer to each other by their given names. I
haven't read the manga but I looked through the first few panels and Mio
refers to Mugi by her nickname the first time she's mentioned, despite them
having presumably met that same day.

As I understand it, it would be unusual for recent acquaintances to refer to
each other by given name. Is there some kind of circumstance that explains
this or is the immediate move to given names simply the author taking artistic
liberties to establish the characters friendship more immediately?


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k-on
Why do characters in K-ON refer to each other by given names?


The manga is the same on this point: the characters call each other by given
name pretty much from the start. I think there are a few reasons, in-universe
and out-of-universe, why this makes sense.

Mio and Ritsu have known each other since they were young, as we saw in an
extra story in Volume 3, so it makes sense that they would already call each
other by given name. Given Ritsu's personality, it makes sense that she would
immediately jump to calling Yui and Mugi by given name, and neither of them
are the type to object; Yui doesn't stand on formalities, and Mugi is always
looking for ways to get closer to her friends. Azusa is an underclassman, so
she would be getting the more familiar forms of address anyway.

Another thing to keep in mind is that time passes in strange ways in both the
anime and the manga (but especially in the anime). Azusa appears in Volume 2
of the manga and Episode 8 of the anime, so an entire year passes in one
volume / seven episodes. In the anime, Episode 4 covers the summer training
camp at Mugi's villa; since the Japanese school year starts in early April,
the girls have already known each other for at least two months by this point.
Episode 7 is Christmas, so by now they've known each other for around eight
months. If I were the writer in this situation, I wouldn't think it was worth
it to have them all call each other by family name for five episodes and then
suddenly have them switch to given names; it would be annoying and confuse the
audience, who may not have taken the time to memorize everyone's given and
family name right off the bat. (For instance, I've read the _Genshiken_
original manga series about fifty times, but I couldn't tell you what
Kugayama's, Tanaka's, or Kuchiki's given names are without looking them up.)
Same thing if I were writing the manga; I would not have thought it was worth
it to switch everyone's form of address halfway through Volume 1 when they've
known each other for six months.

* * *

It's pretty common in "cute girls doing cute things" series for the main girls
to all call each other by given name immediately upon meeting and forever
thereafter. Everyone in _Hidamari Sketch_ does it, even though Hiro and Sae
are upperclassmen. (The Hidamari girls do use honorifics, though, unlike the
K-On girls.) Same for _Is the Order a Rabbit?_ , _Kiniro Mosaic_ , _Lucky
Star_ , and _Yuru Yuri_. The only exception I can think of is _G.A.:
Geijutsuka Art Design Class_ , where everyone refers to Tomokane by her family
name. My theory is that it fits the atmosphere these shows are trying to
create. Part of the appeal to this type of series is the sense of being among
a tight-knit group of friends, the kind of group where everyone speaks
informally. It also makes the characters seem guileless and child-like; like
children, they're living in a little bubble where social standing and
deference aren't so important.

In more realistic anime, like _Honey and Clover_ , or workplace-oriented shows
like _Wagnaria!!_ , characters call each other by family name as they probably
would in real life. But for a show like _K-On_ , realism is less important
than creating an atmosphere, one which is harmed if the characters are too
distant with each other. And the characters' personalities and prior
relationships permit that sort of break from reality.


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