Lucky Star - Episode 22 Discussion / Poll

[Rion Steiner]

Just a silly idea but does anyone else thinks that:
Kagami + Tsukasa + Miyuki + Yutaka = Kanata
Konata's victi-I mean friends who she spends more time with in the series.

She's got:
Miyuki's Moeness and maturity
Tsukasa's innocence (ex. from the inner otaku world)
Yutaka's Loli-ness, health and body condition
and Kagami's, well Kanata fell in love and married and Kagami is already in that process.

Somehow Kanata was already with Konata from the beggining through her friends.

[Zero Shinohara]

Just a though but does anyone else thinks that:
Kagami + Tsukasa + Miyuki + Yutaka = Kanata
Konata's victi-I mean friends who she spends more time with in the series.

She's got:
Miyuki's Moeness and maturity
Tsukasa's innocence (ex. from the inner otaku world)
Yutaka's Loli-ness, health and body condition
and Kagami's, well Kanata fell in love and married and Kagami is already in that process.

Somehow Kanata was already with Konata from the beggining through her friends.

Well, that's a really good comparison, and I see your point. However, I don't think Kagami is in the process of getting married or loving somoene as of yet, at least there weren't any hints that I remember would make it seem that way.

However, Kagami does share a trait with Kanata, and that is the endurance to "stand" the otaku way of Konata and Soujirou, respectively. Even with Kanata's seemingly passive and understanding personality ( the anthintesis of Kagami's ), I bet he also had her takes at Soujirou's otakuness in the past. Maybe not in the same way as Kagami does, but I'm pretty sure she sometimes had to be hard on him and his out-of-this-world perception of things.

Don't forget that Minami shares the quietness with Kanata as well.

And wow, it does make quite a lot of sense, now that you mention it, right? Although I don't see a lot of connections with Misao and most of the other characters.

[Alesiopdv]

Its not the fourth installment if you count the Tessa OVA.

[Zero Shinohara]

As far as I remember it, the ova starring Tessa still falls under "Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid". Check ANN. And to me, it's 100% certain that they're talking about FMP in there. After all, it's the only known anime that Kagami likes.

[Claies]

Originally Posted by Zero Shinohara

As far as I remember it, the ova starring Tessa still falls under "Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid". Check ANN. And to me, it's 100% certain that they're talking about FMP in there. After all, it's the only known anime that Kagami likes.

It has to be FMP because:
- It's a KyoAni production
- Kagami most likely knows more about it than any other series
- It actually has 3 seasons
- Shouji Gatou, the author of FMP, last posted on his blog about the latest volume to be released. He also hinted something about what could be the final volume being pushed back.

[Sheba]

On the yuri topic, I'll leave that to the fans and fanartists. I'm just happy enough with Kagami being Chandler and Konata being Joey, and whatever undertones comes from that character dynamic.

[Alesiopdv]

I'm just happy enough with Kagami being Chandler and Konata being Joey

But even Joey sister think they are a gay couple, remember first episode of Joey?

the ova starring Tessa still falls under "Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid".

Doesnt feel like more part of Fumoffo?. Anyway, Fumoffo doesnt feel like part of the continuity of the other two seasons because of the self-parody nature of the series.


Somebody notices that Kanata wasnt that short? When they were running she reaches Soujiro shoulder.

[Ascaloth]

Personally, I didn't actually cry at the Kanata scene. I was all "awwwwww..." instead.

Somehow I don't really feel that sad for Kanata. And why should I? She died happy, and she stayed happy even in death; if you've got to go, that's as good a way as any. You might say I was touched more than the romance than the tragedy.

[2H-Dragon]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

Personally, I didn't actually cry at the Kanata scene. I was all "awwwwww..." instead.

Somehow I don't really feel that sad for Kanata. And why should I? She died happy, and she stayed happy even in death; if you've got to go, that's as good a way as any. You might say I was touched more than the romance than the tragedy.

I felt sad for Kanata that she can't get more <3 from Shoujirou. I feel sad for Shoujirou for not having Kanata around. The romance touched me more too. Yeah there wasn't much to be crying about since it was pretty light hearted, but it was really good coming from this series.

Now we have some ammo to defend LS with it got drama!

[Zero Shinohara]

Personally, I didn't actually cry at the Kanata scene. I was all "awwwwww..." instead.

Somehow I don't really feel that sad for Kanata. And why should I? She died happy, and she stayed happy even in death; if you've got to go, that's as good a way as any. You might say I was touched more than the romance than the tragedy.

Well, you do have a point. She did die happy and I'm sure she had plenty of pleasant memories with Soujirou before that, and she even got to know her daughter, even if for just a little while. But it is still pretty sad that such a nice person would die so early and leave such a loving and dedicated husband behind along with their just-born child. I'm pretty sure they would have stayed a happy family if she had survived, so that makes it even harder to accept.

I guess it's not much a matter of feeling sad because she died - it's more a matter of Kanata not being there with her family. There's a philosophical difference between the two. At least that's how I see it. If you isolate her from the rest, sure she passed away shortly after - probably - the happiest day of her life, and knowing Soujirou would take good care of Kona, the died happy and without regrets. But if you add the rest of the family to the equation, of course there's a heavier weight to be beared.

@2H-Dragon:

Well, I guess L*S always had some drama in it, although it's not normally explicit like in this scene. It thought it was a little dramatic when Kagami had a quarrel with her sisters and when we were first told Konata never had the chance to meet her mother. In Episode 21, when Kagami received that "meet me at XYZ" letter, it also made me a little sad for her, despite the comic turnout. But again, maybe I'm just seeing things.

[Vexx]

That's why its a "slice of life" story... people who label L*S (or AzuDa or I.M., etc) as only a "comedy" are ignoring the aspects of these shows that make their brand of comedy stand out. Really good comedy threads a neat path through tragic human conditions and much of the laughter comes from the recognition of one's own experience in life.

[Zero Shinohara]

Originally Posted by Vexx

That's why its a "slice of life" story... people who label L*S (or AzuDa or I.M., etc) as only a "comedy" are ignoring the aspects of these shows that make their brand of comedy stand out. Really good comedy threads a neat path through tragic human conditions and much of the laughter comes from the recognition of one's own experience in life.

It's funny that you'd point that out. Two days ago, my grandma came over and saw me posting that yellow-ish picture of Soujirou and Kanata while he mourned over Kanata's death, and she pointed out what a work of art it was. It surprised me since she's definitely not into anime, but her background in art and painting made her see right through the mixture of depressing and dramatic colors, forms and gestures in the picture and realize it was a pretty sad moment. I then explained that the series was actually a slice-of-life/comedy piece and that this particular scene was an exception to the norm in that it was really sad and dramatic. "The real, true comedy is supposed to make you cry just as it's supposed to make you laugh." is what she said.

And that gave me a new perspective on L*S, because I actually didn't think of it as being a piece on itself up until that point. Of course, the slice of life, otaku idiosyncrasies and just random everyday moments we've all experienced at some point really makes the show speak to me. But apart from that, I didn't carry much of a critical eye along with me whenever I was watching it. Guess it was the wrong way to go, after all.

[2H-Dragon]

Yeah it's true it always had it's moments of drama, but never this heavy. Yeah I had something similar, ok it wasn't that similar. With my brother coming in(he tried watching LS, but lack of point drove him away)looks at the screen and then at me and says. "You're not going to go all emo on me are you?" LS even with happy go lucky color pallet was pretty good at setting a tone everyone could get even if they don't know what it is about.

[Kyuusai]

Zero Shinohara, your grandmother is a very insightful woman.

One thing I enjoy about Lucky Star is that its characters are very well fleshed out. We don't see it all the time, but behind the quirky, superficial jokes are complex characters with very human relationships. This is a quality shared by almost all the best comedies, and is what gives Lucky Star a personal touch that makes it so enjoyable. It's also what makes scenes like this so significant and touching when we see them, because it is a natural extension and progression of such complete characters.

[Sheba]

It makes me think. Would the backlash be less than it was if L*S was presented as a slice-of-life show and not comedy? If I told a casual viewer that L*S is a comedy, I think he'd expect something like Excel Saga or PPD. It would be another kind of expectation if I told him it is a slice-of-life anime.

[Vexx]

I don't think it was ever "presented" as a comedy, I think some of the audience and reviewers (particularly the "foreign" audiences) *mistake* it for a shallow comedy based on a shallow analysis. The other problem is that when one compares it to AzuDa or I.M., some fans of those classics take umbrage, claiming L*S is just derivative, rather than something "in the vein of" able to stand on its own as a picture of particular aspects of life.

L*S has comedic aspects but it is also a series of tragedy (Konata getting distracted by a game while her homework languishes, Nanako going dateless and aging, Yui being a disaster as a police officer, Kagami's loneliness because of her bristly aspects, Tsukasa's various torments, Yutaka's frailty, etc). None of those are FUNNY... but they're tragic aspects that give the comedy much more weight. L*S is one in a long line of "comedies of the human condition" where the viewer laughs when they connect to the characters and their situations. As much as I enjoyed PPD or Excel Saga, neither really has anything to do with this sort of thing.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Vexx

L*S has comedic aspects but it is also a series of tragedy (Konata getting distracted by a game while her homework languishes, Nanako going dateless and aging, Yui being a disaster as a police officer, Kagami's loneliness because of her bristly aspects, Tsukasa's various torments, Yutaka's frailty, etc). None of those are FUNNY... but they're tragic aspects that give the comedy much more weight.

I had not thought about the show under that angle. And God knows I used to be a reader of Moliere's comedies.

[Zero Shinohara]

Yeah, I agree to a large extent. Personally, I think that characters in most "mainstream" anime are rather 2-Dish, in the sense that they will act based on the emotions that are portrayed >there< and in >that< moment. Take Bleach for example. It's rather obvious that if your friends are in jeopardy, you'd want to grab a sword and go defend them, right? But it sucks if that's ALL you do. And don't take me wrong in here, they're two styles and I'm just pointing this out for argument's sake.

And well, if you ask me, I'd say L*S has a much deeper "Slice of Life" feel than Azumanga did. My memory may be failing me, but as far as "real-life situation" goes, L*S is much more down to earth than AD was, with the exception, of course, of the Anime Tenchou overly exxagerated scenes and the usual Konata overreactions. I haven't seen Ichigo Mashimaro yet, but the few scenes that I've seen ( more accurately, episode 3, I guess ) made me think it went a little far into the fictional world. It's cute, it's rather funny and the characters are adorable, but again, each series has its pros and cons.

As for PPD, I didn't manage to go past episode 10. There were some good jokes, but the whole nonsense-just-for-the-sake-of-laughs way portrayed didn't speak all that well to me.

And if you ask me, classifying L*S as comedy is accurate, but not on the spot as Vexx said above. The style of comedy isn't something a >normal< person would understand, at least for the most part. Of course, Tsukasa loosing her sleep for the smallest things is something we've all experienced, but try showing the SRW fight between Kona ( Arbalest ) and Nanako ( Venom ) to someone who's never heard of SRW and see if they find it funny. I've only seen a couple videos of the games, but I thought that scene was hilarious.

Same thing with the scene in episode 21, where there's a little "Konata is my Wife" thrown right there. If you didn't hear about the Emas and the popularity of Saitama in the japanese otaku fandom, you'd probably think it was something thrown there out of the blue.

Still, I think anyone can enjoy the series, well-versed veterans and newcomers alike. I guess the only thing that changes is how deep you feel the jokes and jabs this it throws at you.

[Yuu-neko]

Originally Posted by Zero Shinohara

Well, the anime is full of jabs and mentions to Yuri, but I don't think it'll go that far. Obviously, Kagami and Kona are close friends and there is that fell of "romance" between the two ( might be just fanboy imagination, but you make the call ), but I'd really doubt that they would throw a Kagamin~xKona moment like that. If they did, it would probably be a prank by Konata which would leave Kagami completely furious.

Yeah, I agree... If something might actually happen it would be a prank on Kagami or maybe Kagami to Konata, which would leave Konata and a lot of fans quite shocked... (yeah, like hell Kagami would do that to Konata XD)... Anyways, it would be quite fun to see hehehe *evil eyes* ...

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by Zero Shinohara

Well, you do have a point. She did die happy and I'm sure she had plenty of pleasant memories with Soujirou before that, and she even got to know her daughter, even if for just a little while. But it is still pretty sad that such a nice person would die so early and leave such a loving and dedicated husband behind along with their just-born child. I'm pretty sure they would have stayed a happy family if she had survived, so that makes it even harder to accept.

I guess it's not much a matter of feeling sad because she died - it's more a matter of Kanata not being there with her family. There's a philosophical difference between the two. At least that's how I see it. If you isolate her from the rest, sure she passed away shortly after - probably - the happiest day of her life, and knowing Soujirou would take good care of Kona, the died happy and without regrets. But if you add the rest of the family to the equation, of course there's a heavier weight to be beared.

That's true as well, but well...in my case, it's like watching a "Special" of a tragic dorama without having watched the dorama itself; sure I feel a little sad, but I'm sure I'll feel even more grieved if I were actually watching the dorama itself...

...Anyone else hoping for Yoshimizu to do a Lucky Star prequel series for KyoAni to adapt?

Originally Posted by Zero Shinohara

It's funny that you'd point that out. Two days ago, my grandma came over and saw me posting that yellow-ish picture of Soujirou and Kanata while he mourned over Kanata's death, and she pointed out what a work of art it was. It surprised me since she's definitely not into anime, but her background in art and painting made her see right through the mixture of depressing and dramatic colors, forms and gestures in the picture and realize it was a pretty sad moment. I then explained that the series was actually a slice-of-life/comedy piece and that this particular scene was an exception to the norm in that it was really sad and dramatic. "The real, true comedy is supposed to make you cry just as it's supposed to make you laugh." is what she said.

And that gave me a new perspective on L*S, because I actually didn't think of it as being a piece on itself up until that point. Of course, the slice of life, otaku idiosyncrasies and just random everyday moments we've all experienced at some point really makes the show speak to me. But apart from that, I didn't carry much of a critical eye along with me whenever I was watching it. Guess it was the wrong way to go, after all.

Originally Posted by Vexx

I don't think it was ever "presented" as a comedy, I think some of the audience and reviewers (particularly the "foreign" audiences) *mistake* it for a shallow comedy based on a shallow analysis. The other problem is that when one compares it to AzuDa or I.M., some fans of those classics take umbrage, claiming L*S is just derivative, rather than something "in the vein of" able to stand on its own as a picture of particular aspects of life.

L*S has comedic aspects but it is also a series of tragedy (Konata getting distracted by a game while her homework languishes, Nanako going dateless and aging, Yui being a disaster as a police officer, Kagami's loneliness because of her bristly aspects, Tsukasa's various torments, Yutaka's frailty, etc). None of those are FUNNY... but they're tragic aspects that give the comedy much more weight. L*S is one in a long line of "comedies of the human condition" where the viewer laughs when they connect to the characters and their situations. As much as I enjoyed PPD or Excel Saga, neither really has anything to do with this sort of thing.

Yes, listen to da old folks. They do have da wisdom.

Joking aside, I really am amazed by your grandmother though. It really takes a certain kind to see art in the simple things.