Lucky Star - Episode 24 (FINAL) Discussion / Poll

[Bondius]

I can't believe it's over ... one of my favorite animes. The perfect ending, I couldn't ask for anything more (than a second season in university heh). Well, all good things come to an end. I admit, I'm a bit sad because I'm really gonna miss all of the unique characters I've grown to love. Thank you, Lucky Star, for all the good laughs and moments you've given me

[takumi2k4]

I disagree about not having a second season. Sure, it's ending left a really wide-open ending that leaves the viewers wondering how it really ends. I don't know about you, but I believe that when you start a story, you MUST finish it no matter how convoluted the story gets.

For example, Metal Gear Solid, the whole story is such a complicated mess you would have to actually do a second reading or analyze what the hell is actually going on. But, as you know MGS4 is the final MGS game, but they still plan to end it. Also, how many of you here wondered what the hell actually happened at the end of The Sopranos? But that's a bit off-topic so we'll not get into that.

And that's how I feel L*S should do too. I don't mean that it has to end with their deaths or some retarded crap like that, but a simple conclusion would do. Such as a small paragraph at the end detailing what the girls are doing after high school. Sure, it kinda still is an open ending, but it's not wide enough for the fans to garner speculation.

TBH, I feel that L*S has surpassed Haruhi so much. Yeah, Haruhi had a ton of great moments, but Haruhi felt that you were just watching the lives of the SOS-Dan, compared to L*S where you actually hitched a ride with the characters and spent all those 24 minutes every week to good use. Rarely does an anime do that, heck, I actually have never seen an anime do that yet.

But needless to say, L*S might be the top contender as the best anime of 2007. But for me, unless Code Geass Season 2 pulls out one hell of a season, then it'll be a tough choice.

[Pakxenon]

Lucky Star needs a second season. There simply isn't enough character spotlight on the lately-introduced secondary characters.

Sad to know that I won't be having my weekly does of Lucky Star from now on. What a great way to end the series!


Full thoughts of the series here: http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...meatt&aid=4777 (pakxenon, of course!)

[Chiisa]

Aaahhhah, I feel so satisfiedafter watching that episode but at the same time I want more!

I hope someone comes up with a routine for the full version of motteke sailor fuku, I'd love to be able to have that and Hare hare Yukai under my proverbial belt

This episode was so rewarding with everything that people have mentioned before being my hi-lights, it had feelings at one point that were similar to Azumanga Daioh, the only difference being is that we get to see the AD girls graduate :]

Hmmm... that just gave me an idea... *goes off to draw*

[Omfgbbqwtf]

Sniffle... very sad. for whatever reason, saddness just built up in me at the part where they stay at school late for preparation. The dance is nice, I would expect some street performance in Japan sooner or later. The episode is really nicely done, although I think it would be better if they save the dance and show it at the actual festival, that would probably have end the show at a high note and leave me with a strong impression.

Of coz, it would be a 10/10 from me. Very character pretty much get to show their faces except......anime tenchou. Sigh.....it's always sad to watch the last episode, I couldn't wait to see it but after finishing it, the saddness is just unbearable, especailly for a wonderful series like Lucky Star.

[XxKawaiiAngelxX]

OMG ITS OVER !!
Im so sad... but Happy cuz i loved the ending and i cant wait to learn the sailor fuku dance like hare hare yukai lol!!

[grey_moon]

Wow great series and a great way to end the show just as we were about to enter the peak of the festival, talk about ending on the high note .

Only thing I felt was missing was seeing Kon's dad go on the rampage.

For some weird reason I have the urge to really see Haruhi again....

I really fear going to any anime expo's as my powers of foresight tells me we will see lots of hairy legged men cosplaying the cheer leading dance

[iamthebest22]

I'm assuming that pretty much everyone here watched the final episode, so I'm gonna ask this, just before the end, when the curtain goes up, and they get ready for the show, there is the Japanese Letter that states something about Lucky Star on Oct.7th . Anyone what that one is about?

[TigerII]

How else could this end? I mean they go on and live their lives...not much else could happen. Some go into the working world, many go to college. I am sure the main four stay friends.

[Kyuusai]

(Warning: The following is written in illness-induced RamblingSpeak.)

With the closing of several gags and the "everyday" feel we saw the previous episode, I knew ahead of time that I should expect something different from this episode. Still, while I love Lucky Star, I knew better than to pin all my expectations on a amazing final episode. I'm not sure how I really feel about this, though.

As best I can explain: It felt more like good Lucky Star doujinshi project than the Lucky Star we've come to know over the series. Or, if it makes more sense, a non-canon OVA episode that, while enjoyable, doesn't quite hit the mark and somehow just doesn't quite feel like the original.

I'd been waiting to see a Lucky Star episode that didn't jump around constantly, but instead integrated the original 4koma material over a longer, more coherent narrative. It had done this successfully before for short periods, but never an entire episode. I finally was fully pleased, though, as the previous episode successfully jumped around as much as any other, but managed to feel "smooth" while doing it, from start to finish. Wouldn't you know, once I found satisfaction as they perfected their style in the previous episode, an episode-long narrative comes along for the finale and I finally get my wish... Well, sort of.

Somehow, the punchy comic styling that Lucky Star has had until now, with or without awkward timing, was lost, (I really began to dread what was to come when I noted the odd pause in Kona's reaction to Yutaka during their conversation at the table), and at best it felt like it was trying to be imitated. Don't get me wrong--I think there were certainly some good jokes: Disappointed Miyuki (so moe!) and Patty feigning linguistic ignorance ("Mutsukashii nippongo wakaranai"? Oh, Patty, you card.) were both absolute win. ...yet they didn't really feel like the characters as we know them. Without the manga material to drive it, I felt like the episode floundered. Everything felt very drawn out, and every scene focused on building up to the final payoff of the dance (which was neat, but not anything so special to deserve an entire episode's anticipation).

And it came to an emotional close. Have you ever walked in on the end of a movie and notice how awkward or melodramatic the scene is, but been aware that if you had seen the whole work, you might be a bit more emotionally affected? That is exactly how much of this episode felt, and the ending most of all. The difference is that I have seen the whole work, and it never built up to this. I relate to these characters and am emotionally invested in them, but the series hasn't built itself in a fashion that lets me relate to these characters in that way. It's tried this before a few times, in scenes I probably don't need to mention, and my impression has been the same. The series COULD have had a presentation that builds up to this, but it didn't, and without that preparation, the emotion falls flat. Anything I felt was because I knew I was seeing the last of the series and its characters, not because I was drawn into the scene.

Oh, and after all of that trying to build to a firecracker finish, we get the least energetic Shiraishi ED to date, blowing away any of the mood that had managed to rub off.

So while I did enjoy the episode, and give it credit for showing us in some ways what Lucky Star could have been all this time, I was overall disappointed. I would have been very pleased with an ordinary episode, honestly. In my mind, episode 23 is the real last episode, and this is just an entertaining imitator. I don't think it being what it was ended up being all bad in my case, though. I was looking forward to this episode as I did because I love the show and the characters, and didn't want to see them go. I still don't, but seeing this cooled my jets enough for me to stop and reflect. I think I can be OK with stopping here. Not that I want to--and not that I don't think the series could have done a few things differently over its life to make me more satisfied with it as a whole instead of feeling that it's ending just when it's hitting its stride. Now, though, I have a bit of a shakeup that's resulted in giving me the perspective which allows me to let go of the show and pick up the torch as I follow the manga.

*sigh* It's over now, just after it had begun to truly shine with its full potential. Lucky Star, I'm going to miss you...

Other episode notes:
- The references were at a minimum here. Granted, we had a "Hare Hare Yukai" reference, Haruhi in Nagato's costume, and Shiraishi's ringtone, but those feel more like a Kyoani inside joke than the usual series reference. I'm OK with this. Even though it's an abrupt change for the series, Lucky Star works without it. More importantly, though, much like the "kusai" gag, this meme closed in the previous episode.
- Hirano-san does a pretty good Nagato voice.
- INAPPROPRIATE THROW-AWAY-CHARACTER VOICES AGAIN. This has always infuriated me.
- Misao was underutilized in this episode. She had one real scene to herself, but it sort of fell flat. She did better than Ayano, though, who managed to go the entire series without having a chance to do anything more than act as a vehicle for presenting Misao.
- Although I felt that the entire episode wasn't quite "right" or in the same style as the typical Lucky Star, the scene with Soujirou and Yui felt especially off.
- HOLY CRAP, WE CAN SEE SHIRAISHI'S EYES!

[Mirrinus]

It seems Kyoto Animation has picked up a habit of inviting the original author to pen the final episode of their shows. Granted, SHnY's was technically shown in the middle, but it seems to be the same idea. At the very least, it's easier to argue in favor of it being canon.

I'm going to be missing this show, heh. I'm still amazed by how many of my friends who don't even watch much anime (much less know what SHnY is) that really liked this show for some odd reason.

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by Kyuusai

- INAPPROPRIATE THROW-AWAY-CHARACTER VOICES AGAIN. This has always infuriated me.

I've always thought that and the clone service women were part of the LS charm

[Kyuusai]

Originally Posted by Mirrinus

It seems Kyoto Animation has picked up a habit of inviting the original author to pen the final episode of their shows. Granted, SHnY's was technically shown in the middle, but it seems to be the same idea. At the very least, it's easier to argue in favor of it being canon.

I really wasn't aware that Yoshimizu Kagami had written this.

Just to prevent misunderstanding, then, I should state more clearly that, though I felt the focus from start to end on the final dance was likely a mistake that created unnecessary melodrama, I felt that where this episode failed was in its presentation, not its writing.

In short, I'm blaming Kyoani for any dissatisfaction, not Yoshimizu-sensei.

[phototem]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Z9_b1zYWU
The Cheer Dance!!!

[Ahasuerus]

I have a feeling that there might have been a festival-dance endpiece planned in front of the student body, but that it might have been TOO similar to Haruhi's "concert". They've probably caught a lot of flack from whiners about the Haruhu refs so reconsidered (all only spec, of course). I liked how they used their practice to give us a full view of the performance without audience cutaways and such.

Then when the curtain went up, we can let our imaginations take the story forward as we will...

And yeah, an ED with all the voice actresses karaoke-ing live would have been great, and brought full circle from the earlier EDs! Maybe on the R1s *HINT HINT* LOL

[WanderingKnight]

I disagree about not having a second season. Sure, it's ending left a really wide-open ending that leaves the viewers wondering how it really ends. I don't know about you, but I believe that when you start a story, you MUST finish it no matter how convoluted the story gets.

But... you do know what sort of genre we're talking about here, don't you? This is slice of life: there's no storyline here to finish. Azumanga Daioh (which, in my opinion, is a series that has everything LS has striven to achieve but has never quite done it) ended similarly: the girls finished their high school cycle, and voila, end of the series and of the manga. Of course, you could keep on going forever with gags and so, but keep in mind there's no actual storyline here to finish.

Well, as I said, the ending was appropriate, but I feel that, as a whole, the series hasn't given me as much as AzuDai has. Everyone who loved Lucky Star should seriously consider watching that series, which is like Lucky Star but with a better slice of life feel, better organized (scenes are less random, they follow a certain pattern all along an episode), where the 4-koma style is less evident (IMO a sign of better overall direction), a much more sound finale, and no Haruhi references.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying the comparison with Azumanga Daioh is inevitable. I refrained from making such judgment during the running of the show, since I tend to focus more on series as a whole and not in individual episodes, but looking back now, it has given me entertainment, it has made me laugh, but unlike Azumanga Daioh, it's not giving me enough reason to watch it again. And again. And again.

[Nate-Rivers]

What a grand episode. Wrapped up several emotions at parts. Hard to believe it's over, may I just don't want to believe it's over. Maybe it isn't College still lies ahead, and hey konata has to use that ticket doesn't she :wink: I am hoping for a second season. This was of those episodes that leave you begging for more!

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Personally I would have been happier seeing the voice actresses appear in person in a karaoke studio at the end than another Shirashi ending.

Add another to the list who think it would have been much better if they had all of the voice actors, including shirashi's and akira's, there doing something in live action. Karaoke or the Op dance live or whatever. Hopefully Kyoani has an extra planned for the DVD. Not that I didn't like Shirashi's song, but it felt completely abrupt to transition into that now.

Originally Posted by Mirrinus

It seems Kyoto Animation has picked up a habit of inviting the original author to pen the final episode of their shows. Granted, SHnY's was technically shown in the middle, but it seems to be the same idea. At the very least, it's easier to argue in favor of it being canon.

As far as I know, this is only the second time this has happened and in Haruhi, the author specifically requested to do it.

Originally Posted by iamthebest22

I'm assuming that pretty much everyone here watched the final episode, so I'm gonna ask this, just before the end, when the curtain goes up, and they get ready for the show, there is the Japanese Letter that states something about Lucky Star on Oct.7th . Anyone what that one is about?

It says nothing about LS on the 7th. It is about the next show in LS's timeslot, Rental Magica.

[Cloudkiller1]

A show that left me with a lingering feeling of sadness but yet I'm glad that it's over. Not that its a bad thing nor good. But a yearn..

This feeling is the same as if I were there myself.. XD

This is definately an anime that will be up there with AzuDai, Hantsuki, and FLCL. Never forgotten with the past of time, this is a treasure that will truely be a gem in its own rank.

[Zero Shinohara]

Phew... I'll be writing this without reading any of the other posts, just so I don't fall bias to any comments/references or anything of that sort.

And I have to start by saying that Lucky*Star will be missed. Very very missed. For reasons that whoever has watched it already knows, Monday nights will never be the same without out favorite High-School Slice-of-Life, otaku randomness group of outstanding characters, voice actors and scriptwriters. If there was one thing that, for the past few weeks, made Mondays be worth waiting for, that was Lucky*Star. Unfortunately, like all good series, it has met its end. ( Not to pick on Naruto, but I think you guys know what I mean. )

I tried watching this episode alone and isolated, because I didn't want to lose a single bit of it through any disturbances anyone could cause. I managed to do that and I'm glad I did, because I'm sure it'll leave an imprint on my mind for years to come. Despite the sadness of seeing one of my favorite series reaching its final episode, I have to say that, overall, the episode was very good. However, as I can see from Kyuusai's post right above mine, it seems like the last scenes weren't to everyone's satisfaction. And I agree to that, but I'll dwell on it a little bit later.

For those of us who wanted a little more Patty action, this episode came at a very good time. Her character really sparkled, and her personality was easily seen when Kagamin~ started yelling at her, and she simply "I can't understand these hard japanese words~!"ed it. It says a lot about her, and with Kona and Patty around, Kagami sure will have a hard time. Misao also had her slice of the cake, showing that she seems a little bit more responsible on the inside than she has shown throughout the series. It's good that's she's not a complete goof as we were told, but again her voice matches her personality so well that, quoting someone at the Favorite Character Poll, "She could be reading the phonebook and I would be in stiches." Very true. And of course, Kagami and her tsundere cuteness reached its peak during this episode. Her seiyuu did a great job in interpreting her cute and sweet side, so kudos to her. Kagamin~ saying "I didn't want to be the only one who didn't have a memory of you guys..." is what every Kagamifan could ask from the heavens.

Yu-chan and Minami also had their moments, and you can see that both have grown quite a lot ever since being introduced to the series. Minami disputing some of her friends' opinions and being rebelious is something I really couldn't have forseen before, even though if her rebelions are the Minami-chan way. Yutaka trying to give her best to let everyone have a good time is also remarkable, although I think she's the type of person who would do that from the start. Hiyorin and her costumes and, of course, the mention of her older brother, which opens up an interesting discussion under the fact that it could be, perhaps, a little spoiler on what's to come? Ayano spoke a bit, which is good. Soujirou and Cousin Yui also had memorable final appearances that suited them quite well.

I was never a huge fan of Shiraishi or Akira, but I think that Shiraishi came out quite nicely after spending a few weeks in the mountains. Did anyone realize we finally got to see his eyes - of course, without the Episode 21 psyco expression in them? Him picking on Akira was awesome as well. "Okay that's enough for today--".

Now for the last scenes. Look, I also didn't like the fact that the series ended this way, without any more memorable scenes for us to take along the long life we have ahead of us. Lucky*Star deserved it, it deserved to have a bombastic, epic, the best ending any anime series has ever had. Unfortunately, it didn't. I will be frank, and I'm sure most of you will agree: Animation studios always screw up at the last episode. There have been rare instances where the final episode of a series ends the way it should have, the way it deserved to have been. But what can we do, that's how things work. Perhaps the "Maybe we'll make another series to milk on the blind fans in the future, so let's leave things open and unfinished so we have a place to start at the next time" mentality takes over. But really, and epic ending doesn't have to patch everything and close the curtains on a series that has so much room for extension like L*S. It's unfortunate, but I think we have to accept it and hope for a continuation, an OVA, or whatever satisfies us completely somewhere in the near future.

But, looking through another perspective, the ending fit the series quite nicely. Why? Well, aside from episode 22, there have been rare moments in L*S in which you would actually ponder about the dramatic context of a scene. In my opinion, a stronger blow would have been dealt to us, fans, if they had actually performed the complete dance at the beginning of the festival. If that had been the last scene in the series, wouldn't you feel a bit empty? I'm sure I would. Now that the cheerleading would be over, they would be separated and each would leave for their own class to deal with their specific activities. All of our beloved characters wouldn't "end together", and I think that would be a little sad. I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I am eternally grateful that Lucky*Star didn't end like Azumanga Daioh, where all I felt at the end was that I was left behind and everyone else kept on with their lives. At least we have a "few more months", in the Anime's timeline, in which they can all enjoy High School together.

With all of that having been said, I'm sure that this series will stay with us for a long time. I, personally, want to have a few tokens of its existence with me for a long time to come, and so I'm planning on getting a few of my favorite character's CDs and importing the DVDs. I already have Motteke! Sailor Fukku coming in on the mail this week, so I can, at least, have it shining brightly in my shelf.