Lucky Star (Generic Discussion thread)

[rg4619]

So now that his debut project has been taken away from him, what has he been assigned to now? Episode Director?

Given the way KyoAni worded and posted that message (assuming that it's genuine), I'd assume that he's no longer with the studio, although you never know.

[Samatarou]

If it's true he's left the company this opens up another possible interpretation:
"I'm leaving for a better job next week."
"In that case we're sacking you this week! And your work sucked anyhow!"

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Samatarou

If it's true he's left the company this opens up another possible interpretation:
"I'm leaving for a better job next week."
"In that case we're sacking you this week! And your work sucked anyhow!"

I almost hope that's the case - otherwise, such a brutal public dismissal seems a good way to kill the man's career. Regardless of the facts behind it, presumably the rest of the industry are taking note and coming to the same conclusion as us: that whatever he did to anger the KyoAni Gods, it must have been pretty extreme.

Hmm, maybe his version of ep5 joked about the original Haruhi manga being better than the anime.

[justsomeguy]

I find it hard to believe this bit of news. Since when have the Japanese been so blunt in dismissing an employee, instead of trying to save face for everybody? Nevermind that there has been absolutely nothing wrong with Lucky Star. The first ep was a bit rough, but the later ones were much better.

[Samatarou]

As to the question of whether there has been any weakness in episode direction, the only criticisms I can think of about how Lucky Star is put together are firstly, the abrupt scene changes which make it hard to tell that a new conversation is starting: I would prefer a fadeout, even a 1 second transition—fade to black then fade back in again—would suffice to punctuate the scenes, but instead we get these sudden jumps and you're not quite sure for a few seconds whether this is still the same conversation or a new one.

Secondly, compared to, say, Haruhi, there are fewer interesting camera angles and compositions. It is very rare that we see anything other than (1) head and shoulders shots or (2) top half of the figures. More visual variety would be good, full length shots, distance shots, odd angles etc. I think the variety may be increasing but a quick review of episode 3 reveals that those two compositions account for at least 90% of all shots.

[Vexx]

I'm mixed on the camera angle issue... after all, the "talking heads" syndrome is about 80% of the comic as well. OTOH, an anime adaptation means the director *CAN* let the camera swing out and in and around -- giving us an expanded interpretation of the characters rather than just "doing a 4-koma with motion"

Haruhi was sourced from a light novel series so all they had to work with was the written descriptions and the very rare piece of illustration.

The more I think about it... it *would* be nice to let the animated medium do more with the same material....

[Telliamed]

Originally Posted by Vexx

it is still pretty odd and makes me wonder what high bar was set for this series. Like Skane says.... it is a pretty pure presentation of the manga material for the most part.... the Lucky Channel segment (original material) seems to be very well received (even though personally I'd rather see more Lucky*Star source material)... they must have expected some knock'em'dead level of buzz that I find an unrealistic expectation.

Well that's like when a sports team fires a head coach just because he doesn't win a championship. Even if the team is performing well, all else considered.

If that's the attitude they have, then this will only be the first of many staff departures.

Originally Posted by Samatarou

Secondly, compared to, say, Haruhi, there are fewer interesting camera angles and compositions. It is very rare that we see anything other than (1) head and shoulders shots or (2) top half of the figures. More visual variety would be good, full length shots, distance shots, odd angles etc. I think the variety may be increasing but a quick review of episode 3 reveals that those two compositions account for at least 90% of all shots.

So what? If you want SHnY, you know where to find it. Lucky Star isn't Haruhi and it's not fair to compare the two. This is the curse of success, like the many dramas that Gainax has gone through. You do something popular and everyone says, "That was great! Now do it again." But you say, "No, I want to try something different." And the response is "No! Different is bad! You have to do everything just how you did it before. You suck!"

Fancy lighting effects, wierd camera angles, 3d renderings, and all that worked for SHnY. But it won't work for LS. IMO, it'd ruin LS because the beauty of the 4koma is in its minimalism.

edit: This could also turn out to be a lose-lose decision. If the nature of the show changes significantly, they risk upsetting the people who already like the show. Whereas the critics, it seems to me, would not be satisfied with anything less than significant changes.

There's a proverb about not rocking a boat in mid-stream, or something.

(yes,i know the real proverb,i just like mixing metaphors for fun)

[Kyuusai]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I'm mixed on the camera angle issue... after all, the "talking heads" syndrome is about 80% of the comic as well. OTOH, an anime adaptation means the director *CAN* let the camera swing out and in and around -- giving us an expanded interpretation of the characters rather than just "doing a 4-koma with motion"

Haruhi was sourced from a light novel series so all they had to work with was the written descriptions and the very rare piece of illustration.

The more I think about it... it *would* be nice to let the animated medium do more with the same material....

While the show still hasn't moved far beyond "talking heads", so far we've seen a bit more creativity on that end. A bit more animation, and what's there is smoother. Konata moving around during the conversation at the train station struck me as one example of that improvement.

I think that it's just going to take a bit to spread its wings, so to speak. I don't expect it to depart greatly from what we've seen, but Azumanga Daioh went through the same "growth spurts" to reach its full potential.

[Vexx]

Items like the festival or the roadtrip to the beach, (trying to think of other outdoor events) .... I can think of a few sequences where they could run a bit wilder than close shots -- we'll see what they decide to do with those.

The meat of the material is in the verbal wordplay and "daily chatting and small talk" they engage in though... and there's something perfect about the camera angle that leaves tiny little heads chatting amidst a Large Backdrop .... something nicely metaphorical about it.

[ZODDGUTS]

Good to hear the Director got the axe. So far watching this series I only had a few chuckles but no laugh out loud moments. This show to me seems nothing more then a slice at life anime with hardly any comedy well they try at comedy but mostly fail.

The first several minutes of the first episode was extremly bad they just went on and on and on with dialogue about food but NOTHING was funny about it what the hell where they thinking? With the new director being the same guy who did Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu this show can still be saved now that anime had some laugh out moments.

[Klashikari]

OTZ... people... get over the fact that L*S doesn't summarise itself with only episode 1... (not targeted at the above poster particularly, but it appears that ep 1 haunt much fellows beyond healthy reasoning...)

the fact the new director has done FMP?F doesn't guarantee the following episodes will have "100% hit" humor anyway (especially if they still follow closely the original material)

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by ZODDGUTS

Good to hear the Director got the axe. So far watching this series I only had a few chuckles but no laugh out loud moments. This show to me seems nothing more then a slice at life anime with hardly any comedy well they try at comedy but mostly fail.

The first several minutes of the first episode was extremly bad they just went on and on and on with dialogue about food but NOTHING was funny about it what the hell where they thinking? With the new director being the same guy who did Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu this show can still be saved now that anime had some laugh out moments.

Doesn't look like he's familiar with Lucky*Star's 4-koma/manga or the type of humor it uses (so blaming the director for the material is a misfire) .... this may not be the series for him????

[Sheba]

They'd better keep the karaoke D:

[ZODDGUTS]

I haven't really gotten into the show I find the characters to be very likeable but the comedy feels flat. I enjoyed Azumanga, Pani Poni Dash, Hidamari Sketch and Strawberry Marshmallow but this show hasn't really click with me.

Yes I do blame the director for his preformance on the the series really the food dialouge in the first episode should have been cut shorter he should have notice it felt dragged out with nothing really funny about it. There were also other bits that had me yawning a bit. Eps 2 and onwards were better then the 1st episode was still a lot of room for improvement.

Doesn't look like he's familiar with Lucky*Star's 4-koma/manga or the type of humor it uses (so blaming the director for the material is a misfire) .... this may not be the series for him????

I tend from time to time read comic strips from Newspapers really like Garfield, Peanuts and several others so I doubt that I wouldn't like 4-koma stuff. And wasn't Azumanga 4-koma? I loved that show so I don't see me not getting into 4-koma comc strips. Also I liked them in manga when they have them as omakes section.

I don't know maybe I had to high expectations for this series it's not BAD but it's not great either.

I'm not expecting the new director to changed the overtone of the series or to there to be big changes but to give a "umph" that was missing in this series or something like that lol. Like the comedy bits ending up better executed and places that could end up feeling dragged out(i.e.food dialogue bit) not end up happening because he'll take a notice.

Really hope best for this series because I don't want it to fell.

[Samatarou]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

the fact the new director has done FMP?F doesn't guarantee the following episodes will have "100% hit" humor anyway

I want to see Kona-chan in a Bonta-kun outfit!

[Vexx]

I can't dispute on a "4-koma genre" scale with Azumanga/Ichigo-Masimaro ... Lucky*Star comes in a little short but I'll never quite know whether its because those came first or not. Azumanga specifically covered the three years of high school and so had an overall chronology of events. Ichigo Masimaro covered specific and seasonal event in one year. In L*S, although there's a rough chronology, a lot of the gags are pretty timeless or time-independent ... (more like Peanuts or Zits where its like Groundhog Day on a yearly basis).

I've decided that I like the drawing style in L*S better than I.M. and AzuDa independent of anything else (especially the way he draws their eyes). But really... I like each series for slightly different reasons and would hate to have to choose just one.

[BOZZY]

I hope this is the right place to ask, I would have made a new thread but that seems to be limited to the admins and mods, but how do the different fansubbers match up in terms of translation?

[Jazzrat]

I wish they keep the drama in the anime instead of spilling em out like some ill conceived publicity stunt.

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

I wish they keep the drama in the anime instead of spilling em out like some ill conceived publicity stunt.

Next week, on Lucky*Star:

Spoiler:

Konata: Kagami, the new Evangelion movie was horrible! I... I just don't know if I can find it in me to keep going. If this is the future, then I don't wanna be there! *Sob*

Kagami: Kona-chan, get a hold of yourself! You know... anime isn't the only thing in life worth caring about. Sometimes people are important, too

Konata: Ka... Kagami?

Kagami: Kona-chan... no, Konata.... you see, you've always been very special to me.

Konata: *Sniff* Really?

Kagami: Yes. Come here, I'll show you.

*Embrace*

Tsukasa: *Walks in* Nee-chan, how could you?! D :

Kagami: No, you see, this isn't...

Tsukasa: No more lies! I've always seen the way you look at her! I... I wish you happiness! *Runs out crying*

Miyuki: *Walks in* What happened to Tsu... Oh!!

Konata: No, Miyuki...

Miyuki: You always said I was the most moe thing you ever saw... but I guess that's all I ever was to you, right?! Just something cute to chase after!

Konata: No, that's not how it was! My heart jumped when you turned out the lights. Every time you trip, I smile seeing how perfect you are.

Kagami: Oh, fine. I see how it is. I was a fool to think you'd ever think about anything except moe. Tsukasa, wait up!!

Is that what you really want?

[Julius Firefocht]

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

Next week, on Lucky*Star:

Spoiler:

Konata: Kagami, the new Evangelion movie was horrible! I... I just don't know if I can find it in me to keep going. If this is the future, then I don't wanna be there! *Sob*

Kagami: Kona-chan, get a hold of yourself! You know... anime isn't the only thing in life worth caring about. Sometimes people are important, too

Konata: Ka... Kagami?

Kagami: Kona-chan... no, Konata.... you see, you've always been very special to me.

Konata: *Sniff* Really?

Kagami: Yes. Come here, I'll show you.

*Embrace*

Tsukasa: *Walks in* Nee-chan, how could you?! D :

Kagami: No, you see, this isn't...

Tsukasa: No more lies! I've always seen the way you look at her! I... I wish you happiness! *Runs out crying*

Miyuki: *Walks in* What happened to Tsu... Oh!!

Konata: No, Miyuki...

Miyuki: You always said I was the most moe thing you ever saw... but I guess that's all I ever was to you, right?! Just something cute to chase after!

Konata: No, that's not how it was! My heart jumped when you turned out the lights. Every time you trip, I smile seeing how perfect you are.

Kagami: Oh, fine. I see how it is. I was a fool to think you'd ever think about anything except moe. Tsukasa, wait up!!

Is that what you really want?

Not a bad idea. Call me crazy, but I like it.

So, Konata singing the opening song of FMP Fumoffu was a sort of foreshadowing, I guess?