Recently Finished the Main Series - My Thoughts

[Lone Lancer]

After seeing so much buzz about this anime around I decided to check it out for myself. It was very...different. I guess the thing that made the plot unusual is that there was nothing really unusual about it at all, which probably wouldn't cater to the tastes of everyone for that reason. More than being a 'slice-of-life' series, it's almost more like a 'day-in-the-life-of' type of show chronicling the everyday lives of a handful of high school students. One of the most unusual aspects of the otherwise very down-to-earth show is that Konata's teacher also happens to be a member of her online adventure party in a popular MMORPG; I can't say that I have ever heard of a real life anecdote where that this actually happened. From looking at some of the reviews on MAL, "Lucky Star" has received mixed reactions. I think it would be unfair to compare this to shows like "School Rumble" or "Arakawa Under the Bridge". Lucky Star was clearly not intended to be hysterically funny in the same sense that those other anime were intended to be. This isn't to say that it doesn't have funny moments...Konata ( short girl with blue hair ) is perceived to be lazy but is very manipulative and cunning while Kagami ( girl with pig tails ) is peevish and irritable - these two characters are the ones which largely drive the events. I noticed that there are frequent nods ( or homages ) to other manga and anime in the episodes, usually "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" ( haven't seen that one yet ). I was even surprised that one of the characters from the anime "Amagi Brilliant Park" makes a recurring cameo appearance in the background as a plushy toy. The names of some of the supporting characters in Lucky Star also seem to be intentional references to the anime/manga of "Taiho Shichauzo". My overall rating of the show is positive although I would have no idea how to rate this on a 1-10 scale. The only really negative things I have to say about the anime is that I feel that the opening theme song could have been better composed, there are other shows with worse opening themes though ( not even counting modern shows from North America ). I am a very savage critic when it comes to anything related to music...still, I think they could have put just 1% more effort into the opening song. The other thing that bothers me, is that these are all supposed to be high school students and Miyuki is about the only main character who can even pass for someone of middle school age. The other girls look so short and immature that they could all pass for grade schoolers. I like all of the characters, it's just something I cannot help noticing. In my honest opinion, I think the "Lucky Channel" segments at the very end of each episode before the credit roll are easily the funniest part of the show. Akira Kogami is always so cheery one moment and then she turns all bitter and angry the next. I didn't even realize that she was one of the main characters of another series until I read about it. A lot of the things stated about Akira's habits are oddly reminiscent of Krusty the Clown from the "Simpsons" - she doesn't look like him but she does sort of act like him.

 

( I have not seen any of the OVAs )