Lucky Star - Episode 14 Discussion / Poll

[Shiroth]

"I win at life." - Genius~

I like how Yutaka has a different pair/color of ribbons on each day, reminds me of Yumi from Marimite.

Yui's last scene was gold!

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by Kinny Riddle

No offense, but as most of the posters here can testify, you're obviously in the minority.

I know it's probably not your fault, just like how a non-soccer fan can never figure out why the FIFA World Cup can be so god-damn popular around the world bar America, but the fact is, this show IS god-damn popular and still picking up steam, no matter what you believe.

I wish you good luck in finding enjoyment in other shows.

Popularity means nothing in relation to quality, and how much a given individual will enjoy the show. I don't really believe or disbelieve anything. The number of people that like a show is independent of my opinion of it... all I'm doing is calling things as I see them.

I've never said this show is outright crap, but I do think it tends to be very hit-and-miss. Unquestionably, it is made for a given niche audience, and its general style doesn't always put comedy at the forefront, which means that jokes aren't always the priority. This is why I'd argue the comedy doesn't have much bite... but a lot of people appear to forgive this because of its slice-of-life component. I can't buy the slice-of-life component purely because I think the characters aren't dynamic or weighty enough to carry such a component as they are in other slice-of-life comedy like ARIA or hell, even Ichigo Mashimaro. To me, these are gag characters, and little more, so I'm only really engaged when this show is trying comedy, which, as I've said before, just doesn't have enough bite for me to consider it "great" comedy. Comedy, however, is very possibly the most subjective genre in anime.

It doesn't matter if I'm in the minority... my opinion still has a place here. It's not like I'm trolling; I am making an attempt to back up my opinion with fair, properly-grounded reasons and observations.

[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

Popularity means nothing in relation to quality, and how much a given individual will enjoy the show. I don't really believe or disbelieve anything. The number of people that like a show is independent of my opinion of it... all I'm doing is calling things as I see them.

I've never said this show is outright crap, but I do think it tends to be very hit-and-miss. Unquestionably, it is made for a given niche audience, and its general style doesn't always put comedy at the forefront, which means that jokes aren't always the priority. This is why I'd argue the comedy doesn't have much bite... but a lot of people appear to forgive this because of its slice-of-life component. I can't buy the slice-of-life component purely because I think the characters aren't dynamic or weighty enough to carry such a component as they are in other slice-of-life comedy like ARIA or hell, even Ichigo Mashimaro. To me, these are gag characters, and little more, so I'm only really engaged when this show is trying comedy, which, as I've said before, just doesn't have enough bite for me to consider it "great" comedy. Comedy, however, is very possibly the most subjective genre in anime.

It doesn't matter if I'm in the minority... my opinion still has a place here. It's not like I'm trolling; I am making an attempt to back up my opinion with fair, properly-grounded reasons and observations.

I never said you were trolling, I apologize if you think I did. You are entitled to your opinion in thinking that it's hit-and-miss and I respect that, but I too am entitled to defend it otherwise and strongly disagree with you.

Perhaps our "tolerance" level for this sort of show is different. You strive for character-dynamism, which is why Lucky Star isn't your cup of tea. While I guess I'm a very tolerant person when it comes to comedy, if it makes me laugh hard, then it's not a bad show, I really could care less if they're gag characters are not. Like you said, it's very subjective.

[Tatsumiko]

I like Yu-chan so far...and im very curious about the character development between her and the green-haired girl.

Konata's dad is as freaky as always XD...too funny

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

I've never said this show is outright crap, but I do think it tends to be very hit-and-miss.

which is also where i stand with this series...to me the magic has gone sour since ep 7 and that things just arent as funny as it seemed when the series first started...for the past few eps ive been giving 7's for enjoyable but nothing really major (unlike SnH where the humor is much more to my liking) ~ though i think that this ep was the better compared to the last few...

[krln99]

This ep was a lot better than ep 13. Like I suggested, it was a lot more L*S and less KyoAni in-jokes. Yutaka may have bumped off Tsukasa as the cutest character in the series.

The relationship between Minami and Yutaka seems one-sided right now. (Yutaka is in awe of Minami, while Minami seems to regard her as kind of a little person just buzzing around her). But from what I've seen in the manga, Minami starts to be very protective of Yutaka.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Sorrow-K is clearly right that just because other people like something doesn't mean it's great or that I have to like it. In fact, I usually find that I don't like the most popular shows. But Lucky Star seems to me to be getting better, if anything. At least it is definitely maintaining a super-high entertainment value, for me. I find the characters complex and interesting, especially in their internal contradictions. For instance Konata starts out as a "female otaku" type, but you can see her domesticity and her dependence on Kagami, which one would not expect as part of the type -- which is a newish type anyway, so pretty interesting in itself.

I'm not a fan of the term "slice of life," which just seems to me to be a catch-all for shows that don't emphasize plot and don't fall into other categories. I think this show has character and relationships and jokes and shines a weird spotlight on the incidents of life. It's not Ichigo Mashimaro for humor or depth, but I like it better than ARIA, which never did much for me, although I can recognize its strength.

EDIT: And I like the Animate Tencho part, too, and most of the things that are added that weren't in the manga -- as far as I can tell which they are. Even when I don't get the references, they are somehow funny, to me. I'm not a big fan of Lucky Channel, but I don't hate it, and the other parts of the show more than make up for it.

[Vexx]

When they're actually *DOING* Lucky*Star, I think they're spot on. So if one liked the manga, in those segments they're doing a good job. When they're inserting all the "not L*S" is when the "funny" vanishes and it becomes "o right, **** reference, yeah.... whatever".

There's a certain level of referencing that works (like in a meeting in RL when someone quotes a movie line at an appropriate moment or their cube has anime decorations). For example, Konata saying "uguu" fit the moment (though the wings were overkill and kind of ruined the joke). The items she purchases or has in her room "fit the moment".

The whole Animate Tenchou nonsense may be funny... but it isn't Lucky*Star... really.... you won't find them in any comic. More sadly, they pretty much run it into the ground. The L*C segment... you won't find that in any L*S comic to speak of, and it is running a bit ragged now too .... but what you *will* find is that we're running out of time budget and a good deal of the manga won't see animation at this point.

Now, when they write anime-only skits for the L*S portion (like most of the convention sequence, parts of the temple sequence, etc) ... a lot of that has been really good (or when they expand a single 4-koma into a longer skit). I'd like to see more of that and more of the comic.

I don't want to have to say at the end, "This isn't the Lucky*Star you were looking for"

This may end up being the first series I go and video edit out segments...O.o

[Anh_Minh]

I don't know. Probably because I didn't read much of the manga, and watched the anime first anyway, I never had a beef with the non-Lucky Star bits. In fact, Akira is my second favorite character after Konata.

I never found the reference particularly obtrusive or unfunny, either. Sure, there were some I didn't get. So what? I can stand 30 seconds of non funny once in a while.

[Claies]

Finally watched episode 14. You guys can ignore me while I throw in my late comments.

Yutaka x Minami is instant win. They might even beat out Konami after a while. Hope they breathe more new life into the series...it's getting a little bit bland lately.

Konata's otaku act fell flat on me. I actually felt uncomfortable in her little outburst. You know you're in trouble when the highlight in that scene was Kagami's rather boyish formal suit outfit. (I'm serious...she looked like a total white-collar.)

The uh...gaming at the Hiiragi's scene sucked. I think our problem here is that the usual quirks about the girls (Konata's gaming, Kagami's lack of real world experience despite maturity, Tsukasa's airheadedness, etc.) have been thoroughly played through and there is a need for more things to exploit. Yui needs to stop appearing outright. Her law-breaking policewoman role has long expired.

So uh...this episode wasn't really good in terms of comedy. I really appreciated the range of costumes the girls had on, though. That's great eye-candy for me.

Uh...I'm quite sure few of us will allow loli-bitch Akira to appear in the show. Really...her little LC segment is running dry and stupid. I actually appreciate Shirashi's appearance far more than Akira ever since he upped the ante on his own performance.

Last but not least, Shirashi's singing was good for only one episode.

[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by Vexx

When they're actually *DOING* Lucky*Star, I think they're spot on. So if one liked the manga, in those segments they're doing a good job. When they're inserting all the "not L*S" is when the "funny" vanishes and it becomes "o right, **** reference, yeah.... whatever".

There's a certain level of referencing that works (like in a meeting in RL when someone quotes a movie line at an appropriate moment or their cube has anime decorations). For example, Konata saying "uguu" fit the moment (though the wings were overkill and kind of ruined the joke). The items she purchases or has in her room "fit the moment".

The whole Animate Tenchou nonsense may be funny... but it isn't Lucky*Star... really.... you won't find them in any comic. More sadly, they pretty much run it into the ground. The L*C segment... you won't find that in any L*S comic to speak of, and it is running a bit ragged now too .... but what you *will* find is that we're running out of time budget and a good deal of the manga won't see animation at this point.

Now, when they write anime-only skits for the L*S portion (like most of the convention sequence, parts of the temple sequence, etc) ... a lot of that has been really good (or when they expand a single 4-koma into a longer skit). I'd like to see more of that and more of the comic.

I don't want to have to say at the end, "This isn't the Lucky*Star you were looking for"

This may end up being the first series I go and video edit out segments...O.o

To the guys above Vexx's post: I'll admit I was a bit edgy when it comes to shows that strike a chord with me in terms of enjoyment.

If you guys were criticizing about Kyo-Ani stuffing too much outside references, I won't argue with you on that because you're absolutely right, but when it comes to the adaptation of the manga komas, it has, as Vexx puts it, "spot on". Sometimes I even thought the "punchline" was handled better in the anime than in the manga.

As a reader of the manga myself, IMHO I think they do include a segment not unlike the "irrelevance" of Lucky Channel at the end of each volume: just a bunch of komas involving Akira and two other sisters not shown in the main section, as well as an epilogue by the cat, Yoshimizu Kagami himself.

Of course, those komas are definitely far more interesting than L-C itself. The only purpose I can give to L-C is to fill as much time as possible so as not to run out of manga material too quickly. Kyo-Ani probably reckoned 1 curr (12-13 episodes) was too short to fit all the manga, while 2 curr may be slightly too long, hence the L-C segments as "filler" whenever they're not using external references.

[AVPlaya]

Oh... Guys relax...even KyoAni's not talking L*S that seriously... hohoho...

Whether you like it or not, you've watched it...and that means, You Win at LIFE! But either way, please write to KyoAni and let them know how you really feel...

[Ashlotte]

Hmmm real debate...Havent seen that around here for awhile it seems.

Ah but most of what vexx said summed up what I think of the show...When they stick to actual comedy and not reference after reference it gets a genuinely good laugh out of me like this past episode did. On that same note L*C is wearing its welcome abit thin...Akira's shtick was cute at first but now id much rather see more story from the main cast then this nonsense they tack on at the end.

So yea...basically...More character driven comedy, less self parody, and get rid of or improve L*C and where in business.

[Kaioshin Sama]

To me Lucky Star is like a drink that I want to be as sweet as possible, but the mixture varies with each episode and doesn't always turn out right.

Lucky Star Jokes Featuring The Characters=Sweet (Konata/Kagami Jokes, School Related Jokes, Culture, Anything related to what the characters are experiencing is usually really good material and is the reason I chose to watch this show)

KyoAni Jokes=Neutralizer (Basically I really could care less if Konata says Uguu~ because you can't really expect everyone to laugh just because of something some other character said. Anyway that joke wasn't tied to anything and was just kind of a random point scorer for the type of viewer who probably doesn't need to be hooked anymore than they already are with the show. I prefer the set-up punch line style that was present in the 4-Koma Manga)

Product Placement= Bitter (Just plain hate this kind of thing in my anime, I even gave a Code Geass episode that was otherwise solid a 5 because of the Pizza Hut stuff)

The show seems to like mixing these ingredients in varying ratios, sometimes adding too much product placement and not enough Lucky Star 4Koma style punchlines, creating a bitter drink. That was episode 13. From here on out imagine I'll be giving a lot of 7's as the endings are basically predictable at this point, whereas the Karaoke was taken from a variety of sources. Maybe they blew their licensing budget, or maybe the Haruhi referencing garners the show more rave reviews, it wouldn't surprise me, but it's just.....boring. If I wanted to listen to every Haruhi song I'd just buy the singles.

Anyway, so yeah before anyone accuses Sorrow-K of being unreasonable or a spoilsport, consider that he may be on to something and that others, such as myself and Vexx have similar concerns, but want to see the show turn out for the best and hope we get that sweet drink with each coming episode. If not then that's just how it is and I won't hesitate to rationalize my highs and lows for each episode and hope for the best next time should there be more lows than highs. After all Lucky Star is by no means a perfect show and there are bound to be ups and downs.

[PieWhatWhere]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

To me Lucky Star is like a drink that I want to be as sweet as possible, but the mixture varies with each episode and doesn't always turn out right.

Lucky Star Jokes Featuring The Characters=Sweet (Konata/Kagami Jokes, School Related Jokes, Culture, Anything related to what the characters are experiencing is usually really good material and is the reason I chose to watch this show)

KyoAni Jokes=Neutralizer (Basically I really could care less if Konata says Uguu~ because you can't really expect everyone to laugh just because of something some other character said. Anyway that joke wasn't tied to anything and was just kind of a random point scorer for the type of viewer who probably doesn't need to be hooked anymore than they already are with the show. I prefer the set-up punch line style that was present in the 4-Koma Manga)

Product Placement= Bitter (Just plain hate this kind of thing in my anime, I even gave a Code Geass episode that was otherwise solid a 5 because of the Pizza Hut stuff)

The show seems to like mixing these ingredients in varying ratios, sometimes adding too much product placement and not enough Lucky Star 4Koma style punchlines, creating a bitter drink. That was episode 13. From here on out imagine I'll be giving a lot of 7's as the endings are basically predictable at this point, whereas the Karaoke was taken from a variety of sources. Maybe they blew their licensing budget, or maybe the Haruhi referencing garners the show more rave reviews, it wouldn't surprise me, but it's just.....boring. If I wanted to listen to every Haruhi song I'd just buy the singles.

Anyway, so yeah before anyone accuses Sorrow-K of being unreasonable or a spoilsport, consider that he may be on to something and that others, such as myself and Vexx have similar concerns, but want to see the show turn out for the best and hope we get that sweet drink with each coming episode. If not then that's just how it is and I won't hesitate to rationalize my highs and lows for each episode and hope for the best next time should there be more lows than highs. After all Lucky Star is by no means a perfect show and there are bound to be ups and downs.

uwahh
that is a nice metaphor....anyways i try to view lucky star as a kind of pick me up anime. For me personally nothing gets me out of a slump better than random satirical japanese humour. still honestly i think that the drink thing was..wow

[nanafan]

i like lucky star because of how random it is. has been entertaining me since it started. akira is getting on my nerves though. she does the same thing every lucky channel before it was funny but now she's gone crazy. konata's dad is funny i want to see more of him, and how wierd he is. he really has an attraction to lolis...

[PieWhatWhere]

Originally Posted by nanafan

i like lucky star because of how random it is. has been entertaining me since it started. akira is getting on my nerves though. she does the same thing every lucky channel before it was funny but now she's gone crazy. konata's dad is funny i want to see more of him, and how wierd he is. he really has an attraction to lolis...

lol not to mention his habit of not closing the door when he takes a dookie

[Ascaloth]

The way I see it, the real star of Lucky Channel is not Akira, but Shiraishi. Serious. For some time now, whenever the L*C segment comes along, I've been focusing more on Shiraishi than the psycho-loli, and you know what, it still works for me that way. Maybe it's just me and my borderline-sadistic tastes, but I think you're supposed to watch L*C to laugh at Akira's increasing misfortunes.
But yeah, I don't think L*C should be scrapped....but I do think it's about time Akira got booted out of L*C and Shiraishi takes over. Hopefully that's what the KyoAni folks are gunning for.

Product placement, to me, is basically....meh. I like it when they play it for funny, and I almost fail to notice it anyway when it's just pure product placement. I don't have any particular hate towards it. On the other hand, I can't understand complaints about Kadokawa hawking their own stuff and neglecting others...the way I see it, why the hell not? If KyoAni wanted to reference other stuff, they would have to ask Kadokawa to purchase the image rights to them from the other companies, and clearly that's more expensive than using what Kadokawa already owns, in any case. Even KyoAni has to watch the bottom line after all, right? In fact, I'm more surprised that Nico Robin made it in in the first place.

But I do agree that while the KyoAni originals enhance the L*S experience when done correctly, they've been a little heavy-handed on it recently; Anime Tenchou was starting to get on my nerves, no doubt about that. Let's stick to "Uguu~" level, please, no more than that.

And Vexx-jiji points out that at this rate, the anime is not going to cover all of the manga material....my thoughts on that is, maybe that's the point. I mean, KyoAni has possession of three lucrative franchises (FMP!, SHnY, KEY), so why not add a fourth? In other words, why not leave an option for a sequel open?

[Vexx]

I find it amazing that so many of "the usual gladiators" have at least some overlapping agreement on this issue

Yay for transitory synchronized head-nodding.

[Mirrinus]

Well, it would be pretty silly to argue about what constitutes good comedy. This isn't really a show that we can pick apart for plot inconsistancies and the like, so we're not going to get many crazy arguments here. I love arguing in favor of an absolute truth, but to do so for a show like Lucky☆Star would be quite ridiculous.

Basically, every single part of every episode will have people both praising and decrying it, and I think we've more or less gotten used to it (we better have, seeing as it's already episode 14). Some like Lucky Channel, others hate it. Some are amused by the product placement, others are bothered by it. Some like Shiraishi's singing, others are annoyed by it. But the lack of any concrete argument for either side has kept any disputes among sensible people to a restrained level. I guess in that sense, it's not a very controversial show.