Lucky Star - Episode 07 Discussion / Poll

[Risaa]

Here's a bit of randomness... I'm wondering what month Comptiq magazine Kona was last reading... Reason being, I want her to read May 2007's issue.

(I want to see her reading an issue with herself on the cover!! That would just delight me to no end.)

[Vexx]

(offtopic)
Sales of fast food in Japan are plummeting (i.e. any downtrend scares the hell out of corporate) because the populace is figuring out they're getting fat... before they really have gotten fat. So old-fashioned bentos and traditional food are on the upswing again.

But seriously... if everyone around you is fat, its easier to miss the problem. When I visit "thinner" areas of the world, its just profound to me when I return home how overweight the population is.
(/offtopic)

As for Lucky*Star, I'd be among those who doesn't think the material *need* excessive "references" to succeed. The manga itself has a number of them but its in context with what the girls actually do. I didn't mind the Sgt. Frog insert... because people *actually* do like those things and have them (one of my son's has a Totoro on his cellphone, his girlfriend has a HelloKittyGothette on hers). People *do* come to school imitating their favorite characters or quoting lines... so the Marimite thing fits.

I guess the episode also succeeds for me because all the core characters got substantitive airtime (no one excessively dominated). Attention to detail in facial expressions was also a win (particularly Tsukasa and Kagami). Heh.... Kona-drool directly from the comic

@Konata-chan: Miyuki (at least in the 4 volumes of the manga so far) never *really* catches up to the others in terms of getting past superficial archetype. She does have a few "subverted paradigms" but not nearly as many as the other three girls. She also gets sidelined a bit when the other characters appear -- so I suspect the author got a bit of writer's block about what to do with her.

[Tatsumiko]

Well this one made me hungry....too bad 7 wasn't as great as 6 and 5.
But this one was a-ok....XDDD really like how Tsukasa lost her mobilephone...awww kawaii baka X3.

I think they actually tried to make Miyuki more interresting this time 0.0"

But the guy didnt have to worry that people might switch the channel...This one was very different !

Did anyone got the part why Akira was so mad?

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Tatsumiko

Did anyone got the part why Akira was so mad?

Akira was angry because she was the one supposed to be wearing pigtails as per the letter recieved in either episode one or two. Instead, Shiraishi stole the show by doing it himself. Nothing gets her seeing red like horning in on her screen time.

Speaking of Lucky Channel, I was glad to see something a bit different this week. Just when I knew I'd be sick of it if they pulled out the same shtick, they switched it up a little. Granted, it's not the complete overhaul it's going to need very, very soon, but it kept me from getting bored.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Nothing particularly witty to say this time, I guess he animation is back to normal from the improved animation we saw last time:

Spoiler:

At School: That is the single most terrifiying thing I've ever seen (Konata in Ojou-Sama that is). Kagami seems disgusted to. Love the weird slurry noises from Konata. I'm not sure if that's an evil laugh or not. Well at least after the title card Konata is back to normal (she still sounds kind of weird though). Sorry to burst your bubble girls, but Konata is not high class, and I guess it's hard to picture it. Oh here we go, it's a Miyuki/Tsukasa conversation, I doubt this goes anywhere. You know, Miyuki and Konata do sound kind of the same here and it's creeping me out. WHAT THE FRIG IS HE DOING HERE?! Either way I'm not sure I like creepy Ojou-Sama Konata.

In Class: Some Yuri tension (I can't tell if Kagami is resisiting or not, but I know what I'd do in that situation, stand perfectly still).

At Home: Konata seems to have come down with Asthma or something (and is wearing a tank top and shorts ). I think Konata is asking the wrong person for help on her homework (to date Yui has done nothing useful). Sleep Drool! I've noticed that Konata's tanktop is too large for her and thus dangerously revealing. Konata's poses at the TV, Oh My God!

At School: The look on Miyuki's glassless face is priceless. Poor Miyuki needs to borrow notes, but both Konata's and Tsukasa's are useless (and apparently she has no problem reading them without glasses). However, Kagami is there to save the day (THE SWEAT DROP NOISE! YES! It sounds like the first part of the noise the Ideon Sword makes). Konata tries to rationalize Miyuki's situation through the use of video game logic. Shin Getter 2 Dentist makes it's triumphant return here. A reused joke of the Cornet with a minor variation involving a fatass Kagami. A discussion ensues about weight gain with some funky music. More Konata and Kagami themed sexual harrassment involving Kagami's chest (and yes the cloud is indeed a cornet in the scene transition).

In class: You've gotta wonder if Konata is some sort of Eric Cartman type character who enjoy's seeing Miyuki struggling to read. She really picks on Miyuki a lot for our pleasure. Did Kyoto Animation just make fun of their own blinding light technique by having the characters break the fourth wall and react to it.

Shopping: Looks like Konata's a poor planner.

Restaurant: Tsukasa chowing down on a hamburger while sitting down (This time we see her from a different angle when she's sitting). Despite the fact that Konata is athletic, all she seems to care about is sitting around watching anime and playing games (sounds like me).

Walking: Somehow I think the idea of Konata cooking can only lead to disaster. Holy lazy animation with Konata on the cell phone (Show us her face!).

At School: Konata thinks Kagami will causes the pot to explode when cooking, harem character style. Konata muses about dinner at Miyuki's place (We really need to see her house at some point).

Walking: The Cell Phone. Tsukasa needs to practice on her sweat drop noises as she spazes out to find her cell phone number. Dude I think she's stuck in a loop. Keroro from nowhere now.

At School: Ah the War of The Roses eh. Tsukasa's cell phone goes of in class playing something that sounds like it would be used in Legend of The Galactic Heroes. Teach promptly breaks her hear. Joke here is a little drawn out with the twins obsessive father. Konata's father however is badass.

Field Trip: Weird choice of e-mail addresses for Konata (Apparently Kagami won't allow her to speak in public anymore).

Walking: Tsukasa seems to have lost her cell phone, but Keroro is safe-de arimasu.

At Kagami's: Moved to tears by manga eh (Say, that's a nice outfit).

School: Okay I'm garnering like twenty different ideas about Manga readers right now. Pushing Keroro Gunsou a Kadokawa published manga (GAME PENALTY!, even though I like it). Whoa, crazy picture.

Walking: Pushing another one (GAME PENALTY AGAIN!)

Lucky Channel: Enthralling! NOT HARDLY!

Ending: Weird Voice for Miyuki there.

I've noticed a bit of a pattern in my enjoyment where the first half of each episode seems to be drawn out and the second half is very funny. I liked the Cell Phone Scene, The Burger Joint Discussion, and The Blinding Light Joke. What I didn't like was the somewhat reused jokes that, while done much better and with variations this time, are still the same. Some Lazy Animation and Lucky Channel were a bummer as well and the ending was kind of awkard. Also two Game Penalties for product placement again brings things down by a point.

Normally we are looking at an 8.5 or so, but these problems brings down to about a 7 level for me. Seven Out of Ten.

Also about the alleged cheapshot at Kyoto Animation, while I do feel they tend to do the Moe thing a bit to much instead of characters, I should add I didn't get that at all from Tsukasa this episode. I think she is just a little manic and the fact that she got a lot of focus again made it look like they were going overkill with moe when in fact she just had a weird couple of days that made her hyper expressive.

[Vexx]

If one watches carefully, one will notice that Tsukasa is not as dumb as she seems in some ways... note how she carefully executes safety valve derails of the conversation anytime Kona and Kagami start overloading the nuclear reactor tubes. She has good "Team Management" attributes (but scores negative on Tech Magic ).

@Kaioshin: I do believe Kona's Marimite impression is supposed to be as scary as hell (firmly with Kagami's opinion there ). Kona-drool and tanktop was endearing in a messy way and Kona-dad is definitely cool, anxious to see him do his skits.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Vexx

If one watches carefully, one will notice that Tsukasa is not as dumb as she seems in some ways... note how she carefully executes safety valve derails of the conversation anytime Kona and Kagami start overloading the nuclear reactor tubes. She has good "Team Management" attributes (but scores negative on Tech Magic ).

@Kaioshin: I do believe Kona's Marimite impression is supposed to be as scary as hell (firmly with Kagami's opinion there ). Kona-drool and tanktop was endearing in a messy way and Kona-dad is definitely cool, anxious to see him do his skits.

He does indeed have a voice actor, and it's Daba Myroad from Heavy Metal L-Gaim (One of my favourite Yoshiyuki Tomino Mecha Stories). I can't wait to here the Yaman Clan frontman again.

[Mirrinus]

Wow. That Marimite parody was so scary, it was hilarious! Great display of vocal variety.

I also totally identify with what Konata said about never replying to e-mails when I can simply see the person in real life. It's a habit that I've recieved many complaints about too. >_<

[a hobbit]

I loved this episode =P all the cellphone parts were hilarious, but I must agree with Mirrinus that the Marimite parody was pretty scary lol ^^

[Dop]

Ok, I've seen the episode now...

Konata's Marimite moment was almost scary in its execution, but topped when she talked like that to Miyuki who didn't notice anything wrong! That was probably the best part of the episode.

"Right now", I thought, "There are people doing fan art of Konata in a Lillian uniform and posting it on the internet. Be afraid, be very afraid..."

But still Kona-chan, going from Marimite to Strawberry Panic, I mean, that's a bit of a come-down isn't it?

[tacobueno]

Kinda enjoyed this episode overall, which was a first, and the Lucky Channel thing at the end was surprisingly funny. Definite improvement here .

oop meant to rate it a 7 not a 6 doh

[Skane]

Originally Posted by Risaa

~
If she feels like a pig at 100 pounds, then me, at my 105~110 must be a cow... j/k. (OK, I admit I felt a little bad when I figured I was "unhuggable". )

Height is a factor too. You can't just solely look at the weight. Vexx's wife is very, very petite (as in, Konata-petite). If Person A is 170cm tall and weighs 50kg, then that person is underweight. If Person B is 150cm tall and weighs 50kg, then that person is normal.

Person A's BMI = 50 / 1.7² = 17.30
Person B's BMI = 50 / 1.5² = 22.22

[Just for trivia, my current BMI is 18.94]

So unless you're a midget ("But, I'm just a Gnome..."), your weight doesn't seem particularly heavy (I'm terrible at interpreting non-metric values though ).

Originally Posted by Risaa

I hope no one takes this offensively. I was going to mention this before... perhaps many guys like heavier women because they seem to make up the bulk of women available? If you don't have much choice, take what you've got? At least in the U.S...

I recently saw a Korean news report on how overweight children are becoming a problem there due to the spread and popularity of fast food restaurants... then saw a chart that said only 3% of people there are overweight (compared to some very large percentage I've forgotten (*swt*) for the U.S.). I can't really empathize with the Korean viewpoint but I'm glad they're trying to do something about it now before it gets out of hand.

The one time I went to the USA, it was to Seattle (in 2005). Not once did it ever occur to me that the general populace there was scale-heavy (if anything, the people there seem to be very healthy, in a "we exercise everyday" kind of healthy).

Of course, being a coastal city, Seattle boasts a lot of seafood in their daily diet, which is already naturally less "fattening" than red meat, so that might be a contributing factor. Mmm... I still savour at the thought of their Salmon.

So I am guessing it also varies from city to city.
~~~~ ~~~~

From this point on, the tone of my post will be rather blunt, and if the person reading this is particularly sensitive about weight-issues, then please cease immediately and go on to the next post. Politically-correct be damned.

Spoiler for thoughts' length:

I don't like "bony" women, but neither do I like overweight women. It is not about shallow thinking, but personal preference. Of course, if I were to say this in person to a lady, I would come off as- Well, I'll let the following comic illustrate my point.



That said, this only applies to ROMANTIC endeavours. Again, this might come off as particularly insulting, but I don't concern myself with a person's weight when it comes to friendship. A girl could be a candidate for Jabba the Hutt's wife, and I will have no problems being good friends with her.

Not that I will point it out in front of them. Since that would lead to them sitting on me. No really, that's not a joke. They have sat on me before. In public. In front of people.

Whether my viewpoint will change after I get married, I honestly don't know. I will let the future do the talking on that one.

Cheers.

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

@archanfels
7) You remind of the dad of the hero in Natsuiro no Sunadokei, who'll gladly eat what his wife cooks everyday. And yes, they're not very tasty to say the least. 'Must be the power of love' LOL

Maybe. Or maybe after 7 years in Kagami's case, whoever's her husband would gladly eat her frugally made bento...because the alternative is to see her breath fire.

As for me, I can't speak for my future self....but me as I am now would happily eat Kagami's bento anyway.

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

Nobody ever said they had the best writing staff. I find this is how they usually score points when either they don't want to develop a character or can't for whatever reason. This is the premier complaint about the studio and something I think they need to work on.

Gee, where have I heard that before?

Moving on to more useful discussion.

Originally Posted by Risaa

The one I think would never get a b/f is Kona... sure guys would want her, but it seems like she'd be too preoccupied with gaming and anime to care. XD

I just hope she doesn't turn out to be one of those "e-skanks" that was on everybody's mouths a while back...

Originally Posted by Risaa

If she feels like a pig at 100 pounds, then me, at my 105~110 must be a cow... j/k. (OK, I admit I felt a little bad when I figured I was "unhuggable". )

Unhuggable? Hardly. One needs at least some flesh to be "huggable" in my reckoning....so don't feel bad, I'll hug you.

Originally Posted by Konata-chan

I'm glad that's the consensus around here. It makes my already low self-esteem improve (I'm a bit plump myself if you ever see me IRL)

Oh shut up, I'll hug you too.

Originally Posted by Skane

Spoiler for thoughts' length:

Not that I will point it out in front of them. Since that would lead to them sitting on me. No really, that's not a joke. They have sat on me before. In public. In front of people.

Must feel nice.

[Risaa]

Ah, I'm well aware of BMI. I was just joking - I know I'm not heavy at all. This site is good for calculating your BMI... and for the record, we have the same BMI.. I'm also 18.9. XD When I lose weight over the summer I'll probably be back at 18 again... same every year.

As for Kona being an "e-skank"... never! She's too busy obtaining swords and loincloths for junk like that. XD

[Dracil]

Woot! I've actually sung the ending song at karaoke!

I first heard it on NHK's annual year-end Kouhaku Uta Gassen

[Skane]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

~
Must feel nice.

All in the name of fun and laughter.
~~~~ ~~~~

The following is based on [a.f.k.]'s fansub-

Random Thoughts on Ep07:
---- ----

• After mimicking the artstyle of Initial D and MariMite, I wonder what other artstyles will KyoAni attempt to parody? The sadist in me ponders the idea of them doing a "Cabbage Love" quality episode. Ep06 was probably the closest they ever got to ramping the animation quality to Air(TV)-levels (in other words, GROSS OVERKILL).
  
  Meanwhile, I am just bidding my time to see them insert a lambda-driver special effect in an episode. Then the circle will be complete.
  .
• Kagami did the feline smile too!
  
  
  .
• The "ojou-sama" style of speech is apparently normal to Miyuki. How... fitting.
  .
• Kagami choosing her major so that she would be with the others. The banter between her and Konata just cracks me up. Especially when she went hysterical at Tsukasa's loose lips.
  .
• There were two morbid sequences in this episode. The first one was the cicada. A set-up, the middle, and the bad end. Same for Keroro. A set-up, the middle, and the bad end. I wonder if the animators were trying to convey some message here?
  .
• Strawberry Panic! Suzumi Tamao!
  
  
  .
• Lots of note-worthy quotes in this episode.
  
  

  Originally Posted by Kagami

  Well... It's not happening again.

  Originally Posted by Konata

  They say that when you diet, you lose weight in the places you don't want to first.

  Originally Posted by Kagami

  You suck. You're worse than a child.

• I have to give props to Kagami's VA again for her brilliant delivery in voicing out Kagami. A lot of the humour in her dialogue comes from the way she says it. Reading her lines alone, the words don't seem particularly funny, but when you HEAR it, it becomes gut-bustingly funny.
  .
• I will have to admit that Miyuki's squinting at the blackboard was adorable.
  .
• Tsukasa wins this episode's Cute Award though, with her frantic expressions over her handphone.
  .
• I wonder if the girls will ever visit Miyuki's home?
  .
• Lucky Channel was funny this time, in mortifying sort of way.

Cheers.

[Claies]

My random thoughts:

- Tsukasa stole the show with her phone (and its death). Must have converted a whole lot of people with that one.

- Kona x Kagamin moments aren't as awesome as I thought they would be.

- Not news: When Kagamin comments that Kona's communication habits would lose her a lot of friends, Kona simply replied that she doesn't care. News: Kagamin gets distressed by that.

- Kagamin picked classes just to be with Kona et al. Conclusion: She doesn't have friends either.

- On Kona's dad, to quote ZOMGFTA Fullmetal Alchemist scanlation team: "HOBOLICIOUS!"

- Lucky Channel gets my vote back. Go Shirashi.

- Miyuki's singing is hysterical.

I think Kona's being shown in a bad light this episode.

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Kagami note: yes, I'd eat her bento, she needs a hug, her aggravation just makes me want to hug her more (even when she breathes fire). Oye.. and she's lousy at cooking and housework: tradition dictates that she's great at something else (the preceding is purely mythical).

I must be getting sicker and sicker in the head every day; this is like, the third time I'm rereading this, and for some reason, when I came across that line, I was thinking of a very specific "something else".

Originally Posted by Skane

• There were two morbid sequences in this episode. The first one was the cicada. A set-up, the middle, and the bad end. Same for Keroro. A set-up, the middle, and the bad end. I wonder if the animators were trying to convey some message here?

AIR (TV), perhaps?

[Wandering_Youth]

Spoiler:

Hehe. I found Konata's little act of being a lady to be funny but at the same time it rubs me the wrong way. I would say it wasn't the 360 personality shift but her dang eyes just...freak me out.

On scene at 5:00 was Konata whispering, "High School?"

I just loved the scene where Konata finds out that Kagami is chosing courses with majority her class just because she doesn't want to be left alone. It was awsome and funny seeing how Konata was just teasing Kagami.

Lmao! Poor little cellphone got wasted in the most lame way. I had times when I almost forgot to take my phone out of my pants when I throw them out in the washing machine.

[Skane]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

~
AIR (TV), perhaps?

Nah. The seagull in Ep06 was Air(TV), but not this cicada. It just felt so... random. I mean, I doubt it was in the 4Koma, so what possessed them to animate in detail, the life and death of a cicada?

"Okay folks, for this week, we're going to animate several ants tearing a cicada apart."

Sometimes I wonder whether these segments are their weekly practice in animation techniques or something. Otherwise it would be a huge waste of their budget (unless they're rolling in the dough and couldn't care less about expenses (especially since their Kanon(2006) DVDs are consistently making the Top10 List for Anime DVD sales)).

Originally Posted by Wandering_Youth

Hehe. I found Konata's little act of being a lady to be funny but at the same time it rubs me the wrong way. I would say it wasn't the 360 personality shift but her dang eyes just...freak me out.
~

It's a satire of MariMite's artstyle. See if you can survive this short (but "badass") AMV of MariMite.

Worlds Apart (Catholic Schoolgirls in Trouble)

Cheers.