Lucky Star (Generic Discussion thread)

[FireChick]

Kaioshin-Sama? Don't you think you're going a teeeeensy bit overboard with this? I'm not being mean but I think that even though you think Kyoto Animation abuses popularity, they're just doing what's best for anime. Heck, they did a good job with Suzumiya Haruhi (even though I've never watched that). Don't you think you should give KyoAni a chance? I mean, I'm already liking Lucky Star not because Kyoto Animation is doing it (kinda but still) but I just think the characters look really cute and I'm hoping it will be a children's show like Azumanga Daioh (never watched that but my friend did until she lost The Anime Network).

[Sai the Dreamer]

Kaioshin: Please make a justified basis for your opinions. Many of the seiyuu from TMoHS were made popular because of TMoHS, and as such it isn't unreasonable to say: a) they're very good, and b) the characters they portrayed sound quite similar to those they'll be voicing for Lucky Star. On top of that, going along with Wiki, there's over 20 characters in Lucky Star, and only two of them are voiced by Aya and Minori.

Um... oops, off-topic. I'm looking forward to this because I want to see how Kyoani goes with a plotless comic. They've pretty much covered everything else by now.

[WanderingKnight]

Kaioshin, you'll find idiots everywhere. Accept that. Even in the most top-notch series with an extremely niche fandom target, you'll find idiots in it. Of course, the more the popularity of the show, the more idiots you're bound to find. That doesn't make KyoAni bad. In fact, you should consider it a bit strange that you can't enjoy a show without any kind of contact with its fandom. Not liking something because of the people who like it seems kind of strange to me.

Besides, who needs a reason to justify his/her likings? There are so many shows I love I have no idea why (the closest example is ARIA, a show where absolutely nothing at all happens, and even so I can't stop myself from enjoying it). Trying to justify objectively what one likes doesn't make one a good fan, it makes one an extremist bastard. The idiots that liked Kanon 2006 only because KyoAni had a hand in it don't need a reason to like it. KyoAni is their reason enough, and it'd be stupid for me to refrain myself from liking Kanon (a show I haven't seen yet) just because I'm bothered by those idiots. And I'd have a harder time if I didn't like Kanon, and tried to force it through their heads. And it would also be stupid, without mentioning the waste of time. If they enjoy it, let them enjoy it, tastes aren't universal anyways.

Well, back on topic, I find Hirano Aya to be one hell of a seiyuu, and most of times for me a seiyuu can determine whether I like or not a particular character (it's the reason behind my complete WORSHIP of Miu Matsuoka from Ichigo Mashimaro, to name an example). I'm puzzled about how KyoAni will develop this, and if they're going for an AzuDai-type of approach. If they're doing the latter, I'll support them all the way.

PS: Oh, and I've been handed the responsibility of translating the manga in my scanlation group, so one more reason for me to watch it.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Sai the Dreamer

Kaioshin: Please make a justified basis for your opinions. Many of the seiyuu from TMoHS were made popular because of TMoHS, and as such it isn't unreasonable to say: a) they're very good, and b) the characters they portrayed sound quite similar to those they'll be voicing for Lucky Star. On top of that, going along with Wiki, there's over 20 characters in Lucky Star, and only two of them are voiced by Aya and Minori.

Um... oops, off-topic. I'm looking forward to this because I want to see how Kyoani goes with a plotless comic. They've pretty much covered everything else by now.

Yes I've probably said enough in this thread for a month. I give Kyoto Animation my blessing with this, but they'll still carry the baggage of Haruhi everywhere they go with the voice cast change and I can guarantee a LOT of people who were previously interested in Lucky Stat itself, will now be focused on how much the show can remind them of Haruhi instead of how funny it is.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Regarding the voice actors, it doesn't seem to me that they're trying to get viewers by replacing the old cast with "idols." Hirano Aya, and maybe Chihara Minori, are the only names I see there that seem much of a draw. The original cast pretty well all were big draws. And as far as I know, all of the new cast are simply young or little-known seiyuu. Checking them in Japanese Wikipedia, I see none that could be called "idols," in the sense of being known mainly for singing or appearances.

It seems most likely to me that they changed the cast because the Drama CD cast would have been both prohibitively expensive and probably unavailable. As I understand the business, even Hirano Aya, with her newfound fame, would be cheaper to hire than most of them, since she is still a young seiyuu. I just hope the young cast can do a good job.

And Vexx, you're close. After the show starts, I may well say something about Aaya from time to time, but the main voice attraction of this show for me is the chance to hear Sasaki Nozomi in another role.

In any case, I will certainly keep talking about seiyuu, since I'm interested in them myself and I think they get too little credit from us for what they do. The Japanese audience for whom these shows are made certainly knows them, so I think it's good that we should have a chance to know them, too.

Everyone has different interests, and this board should be a place where we can all discuss whatever interests us in a spirit of friendly discussion rather than personal attack.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

PS: Oh, and I've been handed the responsibility of translating the manga in my scanlation group, so one more reason for me to watch it.

I have a question then: this seems sort of like the manga equivalent of Megatokyo (or, if you've never read Megatokyo, like the 4koma equivalent of Genshiken). Is that a good analogy? I've always liked 4 Koma (like Azumanga Daioh) and independent chapter comedy mangas (things like Kyou no Go no Ni - not as short as 4 koma, but not really a continuing manga either), so I have somewhat high expectations for this.

[WanderingKnight]

Originally Posted by rooboy

I have a question then: this seems sort of like the manga equivalent of Megatokyo (or, if you've never read Megatokyo, like the 4koma equivalent of Genshiken). Is that a good analogy? I've always liked 4 Koma (like Azumanga Daioh) and independent chapter comedy mangas (things like Kyou no Go no Ni - not as short as 4 koma, but not really a continuing manga either), so I have somewhat high expectations for this.

What do you mean "4koma equivalent" of Genshiken? Are you referring to the otaku-related jokes regarding games and such?

Then again, (and though this might sound heretic) I still haven't watched Genshiken, so I wouldn't really know how to compare them. There are plenty of jokes about otakus here and there,

Spoiler:

like Kona-chan not wanting to join the athletics club, even when she's good at sports, just because she wouldn't be able to watch goldentime anime

but the manga has the general feel and joke punch style of Azumanga and other 4koma. It doesn't get to where AzuDai got, but it's still pretty enjoyable stuff if you like light-hearted comedy.

[Mirrinus]

Ok, I'm seriously not understanding the severity of the objection about how KyoAni is using their own popular seiyuu to draw hype for Lucky Star. First off, I just wikipedia'd all the seiyuu listed out of sheer curiosity, and most of them don't even have their own page. Only 6 were apparently well known enough to have their own page, and of the 6 only 3 even had any notable lead roles (plus one is for anime original characters anyway). In a cast of 20ish characters, having 2 or 3 popular voice actors seems hardly a diabolical ploy for attention. The vast majority of the new voice actors seem very little-known, and you probably could have attacked SHnY with the same objection even more forcibly than you could for Lucky Star.

I find it hard to believe one can actually watch this show objectively if you're already going in with the mindset that the production studio has screwed up the voice cast. Quite frankly, my judge of how good the seiyuu choices are depends on how well I thought they performed, regardless of who they are. I didn't know the names of any of the seiyuus for SHnY until I think December of last year, well after I finished watching SHnY, mostly due to my tendency to overlook the credits. But I still enjoyed them immensely regardless.

[Zappster]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Regarding the voice actors, it doesn't seem to me that they're trying to get viewers by replacing the old cast with "idols." Hirano Aya, and maybe Chihara Minori, are the only names I see there that seem much of a draw. The original cast pretty well all were big draws. And as far as I know, all of the new cast are simply young or little-known seiyuu. Checking them in Japanese Wikipedia, I see none that could be called "idols," in the sense of being known mainly for singing or appearances.

It seems most likely to me that they changed the cast because the Drama CD cast would have been both prohibitively expensive and probably unavailable. As I understand the business, even Hirano Aya, with her newfound fame, would be cheaper to hire than most of them, since she is still a young seiyuu. I just hope the young cast can do a good job.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. It seems to me that the old cast would pander to more fans than the new cast. So if they really were pandering to the fans as was suggested, then they would have stuck with the old ones. Now whilst I'm sure Hirano Aya is popular I doubt she has the popularity of some of those seiyuu in the original cast list (Tamura Yukari, Noto Mamiko spring to mind). Or perhaps I'm wrong and she is more popular.

Again a certain somebody has gotten something into their head and gone off on one and unsurprisingly it's about Hirano Aya and Kyoto Animation. I get the feeling I have read similar posts before... hmm... I wonder.

[celcius]

Awww, why did Tamura Yukari get replaced. The original seiyuu cast was already perfect. -.-

WanderingKnight:
OMG, scanlation of the manga finally coming out? Miracles do happen!!
After almost 1 year of waiting, it's finally come~

[WanderingKnight]

Originally Posted by celcius

Awww, why did Tamura Yukari get replaced. The original seiyuu cast was already perfect. -.-

WanderingKnight:
OMG, scanlation of the manga finally coming out? Miracles do happen!!
After almost 1 year of waiting, it's finally come~

You'll have to wait, though, my schedule's completely full of exams till the 2nd week of March, so I won't be having too much free time to balance between anime viewing and translation.

Besides, 4koma sometimes are a pain in the ass for the translator.

[FireChick]

For some reason, I'm getting the feeling that if this anime ends, ADV will license it like Azumanga Daioh. But it's just a feeling.

[FireChick]

Sorry for the double-post but according to Anime News Network, the main seiyuus, even Aya Hirano are doing the opening theme song performance. But they spelled Tsukasa's seiyuu's name wrong. It's Kaori Fukuhara not Saori.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by FireChick

Sorry for the double-post but according to Anime News Network, the main seiyuus, even Aya Hirano are doing the opening theme song performance. But they spelled Tsukasa's seiyuu's name wrong. It's Kaori Fukuhara not Saori.

I win the bet! *Victory Dance* Who wants to admit it now? Who's man enough?

Actually nobody took me up on the bet because they probably knew deep down the odds were terrible. Oh well...

Really I'm actually unhappy that I was right. Luckily with fansubs you have the option to skip the opening and hopefully there aren't too many (more than one) character singles I won't want to listen to in the anime cause those things are seriously annoying when its idol pop. I'm praying that they leave it like Haruhi where there's one character rock song thats actually listenable, its story relevant and then that's it, Done, no more, back to the 4Koma style jokes.

I'll make a new bet now though. Kyoto Animation will be turning this into less of a 4Koma style comedy and more of a melodrama, which is what their fanbase is used to from them.

[FireChick]

*glares at Kaioshin* Don't make any remarks you...

[Skane]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

~~ I'll make a new bet now though. Kyoto Animation will be turning this into less of a 4Koma style comedy and more of a melodrama, which is what their fanbase is used to from them.

*blink* *blink*

Fumoffu.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Skane

*blink* *blink*

Fumoffu.

No no no, FUMOFFU!

I know, it's quite irritating that people forget that Kyo Ani started with Full Metal Panic (both Fumoffu and The Second Raid - personally I consider The Second Raid to be the highlight of their body of work, but I know that's just me).

I have little doubt that they can pull off the comedy. To this day when I watch Fumoffu I laugh so much my sides ache. I'm particularly fond of the greatness of the rugby episode and the two-parter involving Tessa.

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

What do you mean "4koma equivalent" of Genshiken? Are you referring to the otaku-related jokes regarding games and such?

Yup, that's pretty much exactly what I meant. Thank you!

Originally Posted by FireChick

For some reason, I'm getting the feeling that if this anime ends, ADV will license it like Azumanga Daioh. But it's just a feeling.

That's entirely likely, ADV seems to have staked out the straight-comedy series lately. PPD, Keroro Gunso, Azumanga Daioh, etc.

[Skane]

Originally Posted by rooboy

No no no, FUMOFFU!

I know, it's quite irritating that people forget that Kyo Ani started with Full Metal Panic (both Fumoffu and The Second Raid - personally I consider The Second Raid to be the highlight of their body of work, but I know that's just me).

I have little doubt that they can pull off the comedy. To this day when I watch Fumoffu I laugh so much my sides ache. I'm particularly fond of the greatness of the rugby episode and the two-parter involving Tessa. ~~

I can't tell whether you're berating me or supporting me.

In any case, yeah. One of KyoAni's well-known traits is their ability to deliver the comic timing. This has been reflected in ALL their series, with Fumoffu being the pinnacle of their comedy.

"Britney... I'll die for you."

Cheers.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Skane

I can't tell whether you're berating me or supporting me.

LOL, I was supporting you. But it can't just be fumoffu. It has to be full and deep voiced. FUMO-FU!

[Iridium]

Originally Posted by Skane

In any case, yeah. One of KyoAni's well-known traits is their ability to deliver the comic timing. This has been reflected in ALL their series, with Fumoffu being the pinnacle of their comedy.

I'm glad someone else pointed this out. I've been watching Kyoto Animation works for years, and while, initially, the first thing that attracted me to their work is the high-quality animation (as drew me in with certain episodes of Tenshi ni Narumon and the Munto OAV), I realized pretty soon, especially after Fumoffu, that, in my opinion, the primary strength of this company is in excellent storyboarding throughout all stages of the animation process. You won't find many shows that "flow" better from scene to scene with planned out transitions and the like than you will with a Kyoto production, which I think bodes well for something like Lucky Star which will rely on good storyboarding much more than something taken from a manga or novel. Attention to detail on the storyboarding reflects in the comic timing that you mentioned earlier.

Reading this thread is reminiscent of the discussions that took place just before KareKano was released, with many unwilling (or unable) to view the series on its own merits without looking at it through the lens of the production studio or aforesaid production studio's previous big hit. Personally, I'm very much looking forward to it.