My obligatory “My feelings about Lucky Star” post.

snapshot20070922130116.jpgsnapshot20070922130148.jpgsnapshot20070922130205.jpg

Mike made his comparison of Azumanga Daioh VS Lucky Star all the way back in our 100th post, and I think most of his comments still holds true even now.

My feelings for Lucky Star is a mixed bag. To be on the fair side, it’s not the funniest show I’ve ever seen in my life. It would’ve been unfunny to me if I weren’t an Otaku. I like shows with good physical humor. Azumanga offers that, Potemayo offers that as well. Both shows make me laugh out aloud.

snapshot20070922131536.jpgsnapshot20070922131548.jpgsnapshot20070922131612.jpg

To me, Lucky Star is very much a fanfare generated specifically for the legions of Otaku who can’t get enough of Otaku references and humor and Hirano Aya. I’ll freely admit that both my feet are planted firmly inside both territoreis.

To speak in my Otaku mode, this show gives me huge grins and makes me nod whenever I realize that I understand something that Konata talks about, whether it’s a rant about Otaku being ruder and ruder these days or how some people can tell what’s inside a card pack just by shaking it! o_____O

snapshot20070922132003.jpgsnapshot20070922132120.jpgsnapshot20070922132309.jpg

I also love Kagame. She’s so cute in her tsundere mode and she often comes to the comedic rescue using her non-Otakuness. Konata’s the team leader who begins a segment, with Tsukasa playing the nice person who’s trying very hard to understand, Miyuki with her “natural way” of speaking her mind sweetly and give us doses of moe with Tsukasa’s slight awkwardness, and Kagame always come to deliver her jabs at Konata’s comments. Without her, a segment is just a never ending set of dialogs of self-congratulatory and not-so-obvious affirmation about Otaku with commentaries as the initiating ceremony of warm feelings for hardcore Otaku.

snapshot200709221323091.jpgsnapshot20070922132710.jpgsnapshot20070922132810.jpg

I’ve discovered that for Otaku-humor driven shows or shows specifically talking about Otaku, there’s always a very necessary non-Otaku character. This character, let’s say she, is often “naked” inside the enemy Otaku territory and completely exposed to the ways of the warrior Otaku. She often begins her journey with a critical eye toward the Otaku friends that surrounds her, but through it all she grows to care for these nice and mild mannered and surprisingly accepting folks who share their passion freely with her. In the end she often becomes accepting and in some cases, even begin to perform some of the rituals that the Otaku frequently does, albeit she may not perform them completely willingly most of the time.

snapshot20070922132904.jpgsnapshot20070922132928.jpgsnapshot20070922133205.jpg

Now before I make my review all nice and warm and fuzzy, let me just become my critical self again (yay). The reality is that a lot of Otaku are not the most accepting-kind of people in the world – they just simply don’t care too much about things outside their own world or they simply don’t do a thing to change anything that’s outside of it. Accepting? It’s more like they really don’t care or don’t want to or too chicken shit to kick the outsider out of the club. Mile mannered? you mean lacking of their own opinions. Nice? You mean they being gutless. I should know because I often do these things. I’m too lazy to change the world and I really don’t care if a non-Otaku ever steps inside my world, because if the non-Otaku does step inside then fine, it will just happen, and if the non-Otaku doesn’t then fine, it won’t happen.

snapshot20070922133436.jpgsnapshot20070922133713.jpgsnapshot20070922133834.jpg

(WARNING: Psychotic ranting ahead! XD) I despise what we Otaku call “Normals” – people who don’t understand us and judgmental and unaccepting – when I last went to Akiba. Even being a tourist myself I hated these asses making fun of everything and being pushy and rude and staring back even though they were out of line. I did so very seriously hate their presence inside the holy land of Otaku. Get the fuck out of Akiba and go gawking inside other “hip places” that you people are so very much proud of. Go ahead and laugh about how superior and how really stylish and normal you are. I know and can act just like you people but I despise you people from the core of my being when you were tourists inside Akiba. I can kind of understand how some Parisians feel about some tourists but hey, I’m never going to Paris so I’ll never be a bother to Parisians.

Of course, outside the holy land I simply don’t care very much what the “Normals” think. (Note: END psychotic ranting! XD)

snapshot20070922134112.jpgsnapshot20070922134225.jpg“real” Indians

But seriously, back to talking about the show.

Over all, the characters are colorful and mostly interesting. Konata and Kagame are the characters that I found most engaging, the rest are more or less anime stereotypes but the show manages to make fun of these archetypes well. The music, except the Konata Karaoke segments, and for character highlights, is forgettable. I hated Hiraishi and I wanted him to shut up. But I did like pairing up him and Akira (Hiromi Konno) in Lucky Channel.

Despite the mix bag feeling that I have, I enjoyed the ride. It ends nicely and the ending corresponded with the beginning, which means closure. That’s always helpful in ending a show well.

snapshot20070922134538.jpgsnapshot20070922134642.jpgsnapshot20070922134837.jpg

85% recommended for your daily anime diet (my fair assessment)

95% recommended for your daily anime diet (my Otaku assessment)

Author: Ray

I'm a hardcore Anime Fan and I'm proud of it. I know so many things and I've acquired so much knowledge you wouldn't believe. But my love is anime. I've been drifting in this world for so long that I don't even know what an anchor means. I've seen so many shows that I've lost count. The only thing I'm sure of myself is that I care for the lowly and disenfranchised. I hate the rich and powerful and I love what I do, or what I can do. I like anime and I don't mind watching different types of shows. I have experience in different types of Japanese animation. I would be called an "expert" in a bizzaro world. One day, I'd like to start a revolution. I love the US, pizza, beer, sashimi, Chinese food, and steak. But I love freshly baked bread more than a well-aged steak. In reality, if I were born Japanese I'd be a real, hardcore Otaku. I love to love and I can hate strongly. I'm passionate in nature and I don't mind shedding tears. I can be reached at rayyhum777 at animediet. My Twitter is rayyhum777 at twitter.