Raki suta: Lucky Star

Lucky Star is a really fun series although if you aren't familiar with certain other series and anime terminology you might be left rather confused at many points during the show. Konata is obsessed with anime and manga and often talks about it; the most frequently mentioned series is 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'; she even dresses up as characters from that series more than once so if you can I'd recommend watched at least a few episodes so you'll get the references! The series follows the lives of Konata and her friends Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki; four high school girls doing the sort of things people that age might be expected to do; school work, playing computer games and going to the shops; this might sound rather boring but the way it is done is hilarious. There is little in the way of ongoing story; we see them talking about a subject for a few minutes then we see them doing something else; this isn't surprising given that it is based on a four panel manga. At the end of each episode there is an amusing segment called 'Lucky Channel' where two presenters start talking about the show but soon end up bickering.

The animation style might lead the viewer to think that the characters are much younger than they are meant to be; they are all much shorter than one would expect the characters to be... it doesn't take any time to get used to the style though; I thought it was rather cute. The four central characters were a lot of fun as were the secondary characters whose roles increased in later episodes. While the series has a '15' certificate here in the UK there is little to offend in the vast majority of episodes although it is suggested that Konata's father has a Lolita complex and the girls briefly discuss breast size once or twice; these things are done in an amusing rather than sleazy way though. I'm not sure that I'd recommend this as an introduction to the world of anime but if you've seen a few series and like shows such as 'Haruhi Suzumiya' and 'Azumanga Daioh' then this is a must see.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

I love Lucky Star, even to this day.

However, I wished I wouldn't have chose to watch it as my first.

Let's just say it has a LOT of anime references. Everywhere you look "Oh look it's Haruhi Suzumiya", "Hey that guy in the background is cosplaying as Alphonse Elric," "KEREO GUNSO!!!"

So by all means, if you're thinking of watching your first anime outside Pokémon and others like it, do not watch Lucky Star.

Despite the references I still enjoyed it though and I watched it a couple of years back and it was 10x more enjoyable.

But it has absolutely no plot what so ever. It's like all of the filler ever, the characters have no goals it's just pretty much being themselves.

I would give this show a higher ranting but it isn't worth a higher rating. A 6 is average and that's what Lucky Star is.

It's cute but I kind of recommend skipping the first episode, they talk about food for the first 20 minutes and it's funny, well until 5 minutes turn into 10 then 15 then you've already stopped watching.

So start with episode two, please it will do you so much good. It's a light hearted comedy and vey nice. If you have otaku friends (female would be better) it's a good anime to watch at a sleepover. I'm even thinking of doing that myself, but I don't have a lot of otaku friends so, I probably can't.

But hey, it's a great watch anyway, Also, if you're super sensitive to English dubs don't think about listening to it. I don't care about dub vs. sub really and I will admit, the English dub is really bad.

With a staggering amount of hype and fanbase circulating Kyoto Animation's next project, stress must have been huge for them. Especially when the voice actress for Suzumiya Haruhi is taking a role for Lucky Star. So it has come down to a simple question; Lucky Star - good or bad? Without a shadow of a doubt, Lucky Star is one of the anime that stood out in 2007. Heck, it's the Azumanga Daioh for 2007. What we have here, is a story focusing a group of 4 high-school students and their daily lives. Meeeh, sounds boring isn't it? Well, it's not.

Story - Just like i've said earlier, there isn't any, to be honest. The plot lean heavily towards japan otaku culture as there are many reference/parody with Kyoto Animation's earlier productions. It could also be viewed negatively since some with limited amount of understanding towards otaku culture wouldn't find it funny, to say the least.

Character - The series' main highlight, is the prime otaku Konata Izumi, which is also voiced by Aya Hirano who did Suzumiya Haruhi. With a considerable amount of nonsensical knowledge about anime, doujinshi and video games. It has certainly made up quite the irony for her to have an athletic body. Along with her satirical jokes towards her friends, the character has generated quite some commotion among anime fans.

Moe is definitely sky-high with the presence of Miyuki Takara, a polite, friendly glasses-wearing girl with almost complete knowledge just about anything. That's about it on her good side. I find the majority of scenes consisting her to be absurdly boring, since she's always explaining tedious facts to the dumbfounded aka Konata.

The other 2 characters consists of Kagami Hiiragi and Tsukasa Hiiragi; a fraternal twin. The elder one which is Kagami is your stereotype tsundere, while the younger Tsukasa is often described as an airhead who always can't keep up with the conversation and frequently hinted in the series as a naive person.

Music - I believe everyone's first impression towards the opening theme is Suzumiya Haruhi's ending theme. A catchy j-pop with some eurodance elements combined with a dance scene with the main characters. Both themes has been parodied more than a thousand times by media or fans. The BGM is fairly decent, one that stood-out for me is the one being played at Episode 22. I don't wanna give away too much for those who is still behind this series.

Animation - Can't give too many compliments for this area, as the animation is as simple as it gets. The main characters are drawn quite nicely and with detail, but the backgrounds are mainly consists of black/blue figures. Though i might say that this fits the anime perfectly.

Overall - It is definitely a great comeback by Kyoto Animation after their big hit. Although it has some really tedious, dragged out conversations; Lucky Star has its moments, and some which is undeniably funny. This is one anime that doesn't rely on exaggerated sword fights and epic mecha/robot battles for a big audience. However, if you're interested in the latter, look elsewhere.

A solid 7/10.

You may need lots of knowledge about animes and games to enjoy this series, or it seems boring and unknowable to you. Maybe it doesn't have much art techniques or intention so I rate it 8, if I were yet 18, I would rate it 10.

I suppose a 10-star rating is excessive, but I really like this anime. It's very funny, very self-aware, and I love the references to other anime and anime cliches (the one they reference the most? Haruhi Suzimiya obviously....XD). The characters are quite likable too, at least to me.

In the midst of all the funny, there is one episode (Ep. 22) that is more heartfelt and brought tears to my eyes. And I always give bonus points to shows that can make me laugh and cry at the same time, so I really appreciate that about this anime!

All things considered, this anime is approaching 13 years old now which is unbelievable. The sad moments in all of Kyoto Animations work are all the more sad since July 18 2019, when the arson attack happened. The final death toll was 36, and I'm still very upset by it even after 7 months. If there's any silver lining, it's caused me to appreciate this anime studio's work more and more lately, so hence why I began watching more of KyoAni's works. I will continue to support them until the day I die!!!

Definitely give Lucky Star a watch if you like the moe/slice-of-life genre!