Lucky Star (Generic Discussion thread)

[Raniie]

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[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Of course, thats all the original Peanuts animated features were (animation of 4 panel strips in a sequence) and they were somewhat popular

No, there's nothing wrong with not being bitten by this bug but substitute "ero-game" for "4-koma" in your reasoning and you might think it a bit odd.

Eh, that's kind of an odd comparison to make.
Particularly when you have ero-games, and then you have ero-games; you have those that make for great stories like Kanon and AIR, and then you have those that's basically just fodder for a fapfest and not much else....wait. I just described Bible Black. >_<

Nevertheless, after thinking about it for a day, I think I finally realized just what it was that was bugging me about KyoAni's Lucky Star, or more specifically Episode 1. You see, it's not that I didn't like the gags, after all, Lucky Star is all about the gags, and I can actually understand a good deal of the content.....

However, it's the execution of the whole thing itself that I'm not so hot about. And it's really all down to two things;

1) The food talk. I mean, it's fine as a continuous sequence if we're talking about several day's worth of 4-koma in the papers (or the magazines, I don't know where Lucky Star publishes), but to turn it into six minutes of continuous talk about nothing but food, it just wearies me out, to put it mildly. Would it kill KyoAni's storyboarder, whoever she is, to cut the whole damned thing into more managable pieces, and sprinkle them throughout the episode instead of concentrating an entire chunk of it in the beginning? >_<

2) The fact that they don't have.....I'm not sure what they're called, but I call them "cut-to-the-next-scene" graphics.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about: Bow Wow Episode 1, 01:52-01:53, 04:36-04:37, and 05:08-05:09.

Now, maybe it's just because I'm not the most quick-witted bastard around to put it nicely, but from what I see, KyoAni tried to mesh together the seperate gags into one continuous slice-of-life sequence.....except that sometimes, it's just too jarring when I realize that the next gag had already commenced even before I had time to digest the previous one. Too many times I am left thinking, "...wait, it's the next one already?"

With the "cut-to-the-next-scene" sequences that Bow Wow employed, at least I get a second to prepare myself for the next gag, something I wished Lucky Star did. As it stood though, the pacing of Episode 1 shifted so quickly from one gag to another, that I'm left trailing behind a lot of the time, and it just detracts from my enjoyment of the content in the first place. >_<

Originally Posted by Ayu-ayu

Say, could you tell a little more about this? She had a column that was canned? What happened? Just wondering more about who she is. XD

I thought the show's overall pacing was marvelous myself. Most yonkoma adaptations have a sort of beat, pause, beat, pause kind of pacing, but not this one. I really dug how the conversations just would flow naturally and keep going sort of stream-of-consciousness style, as you might expect a group of chatty high schoolers to talk, almost, rather than be divided up as much into discreet "acts". Not that there weren't those, too, of course. But it was nicely mixed and moved quickly for something that was such a slice-of-life sort of comedy.

I'm also a sucker for conversations about and perspectives of food, heh, especially Japanese food.

LOL, it's strange that we have almost completely opposite views of the pacing of Lucky Star.

[Vexx]

Since I thought the extended food discussion sequence was just about perfect (some parallels to the Monty Python Cheese Shop sketch), it seems Ayu-Ayu is not alone. Of course, thats the thing --- what triggers the humor bone in people can be almost impossible to predict.
Just to destroy the humor... the punch line is Kona doing a discussion loop about choco-cones at the end. Other parallels that come to mind are those rambling jokes George Burns would tell - minutes of mild disorientation while the listener wondered where the hell he was going and then a mild gag that would startle the listener and they'd laugh.
Humor is sometimes thought of as the "execution of the unexpected" that triggers the social bonding experience of shared discomfort release called laughter.

There, now I've killed the specimen and dissected it.

edit: and in an extremely rare move, I'm downloading SF's next version of the ep. The translation of the show is going to be *very* important to me since this is definitely going to be a "share with people" series.... I may end up tweaking the fansubs myself for my own use once I get a handle on aegisub and other tools.

As I said, I really *liked* the a.f.k. translation work except for what I'll call "overtranslation" of the food, little of which is alien to anyone who has ever looked at a teriyaki bar menu (sukiyaki, yakitori, etc) (I notice they used "natto" rather than "fermented bean curd" though they used the term "parent child bowl" instead of the japanese term, it got kind of inconsistent). This is PURELY a personal preferential difference though.

[WanderingKnight]

2) The fact that they don't have.....I'm not sure what they're called, but I call them "cut-to-the-next-scene" graphics.

Yeah, I figured while I watched the episode that this was going to rise criticism. But, the fact is that it seems pretty original to me and gives the pacing a little twist, differentiating it a bit from other 4-koma adaptations. Of course, many people might want to stay in the comedy canons forever, but... As of now, I like that small display of originality.

I just watched a.f.k.'s version, and, once again, their translator shows a great sense of how a professional translator should do his work. Not that I'm denigrating other groups, but a.f.k.'s TL really understands what a translation means.

[kenjiharima]

Ohhhh waaaa~~~!!! The images!!! NO MOE!!! MOE!!! IAM GONNA DIE!!! Ahhhh~~~!!!

Seems to me that pigtailed girls are always popular, but imho when her hair is down she looks better, but her MOE lessen. LOL

But ya gotta love Akira...she seems to have that expression of a pyscho MOE then suddenlt no MOE.

[Saber Cherry]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

Yeah, I figured while I watched the episode that this was going to rise criticism. But, the fact is that it seems pretty original to me and gives the pacing a little twist, differentiating it a bit from other 4-koma adaptations. Of course, many people might want to stay in the comedy canons forever, but... As of now, I like that small display of originality.

Doki Doki School Hours had those breaks between scenes (about every 30 seconds), and it utterly killed the series for me. I was unable to go past episode 1. I'm shocked that anyone would want them.

This still feels a little "scattered", but that's probably unavoidable given the 4-panel source.

@celcius: Thanks, those pics are very cute

[WanderingKnight]

I'm shocked that anyone would want them.

You know what they say, when it comes to tastes...

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Saber Cherry

Doki Doki School Hours had those breaks between scenes (about every 30 seconds), and it utterly killed the series for me. I was unable to go past episode 1. I'm shocked that anyone would want them.

This still feels a little "scattered", but that's probably unavoidable given the 4-panel source.

@celcius: Thanks, those pics are very cute

I agree... they're mostly annoying. I prefer the lack of them because it accentuates the absurdist cuts (like I.M. Miu face down and the street noises). In Lucky Star... what we're going to get are random static scene cuts when someone mentally processes a glitch. (e.g. time 13:33).
I love those... (we seem to be appealing to the gods over Kona).

[Ascaloth]

So, once again, it's all down to the fact that I'm someone who's just not cut out for Lucky Star.

Ah, well. I'll still be hanging around here though, 'cause this is where the Kanon regulars are. I'm telling you, that place has been getting a bit lonely after Kanon ended.....sigh.

[LCeh]

I am kinda late, but I gotta say ep 1 was full of fun and craziness. I really liked the humor in this series, it's not your typical slapstick, and the pacing is also quite different from most other series, so it's certainly refreshing to see someone doing something dramatically different than 90% of the stuff out there.

[Bloody Nightingale]

Originally Posted by Skane

Given that Konata is supposed to be an otaku, and parodies are a staple of such, I am willing to bet that yes, it is intentional. Especially since F/SN is highlighted below the parody.

Regardless, they really want to milk the choco-cone for all its' worth, eh?

Cheers.

Cant say im not looking forward to Lucky Star cosplaying other popular animes

[Daniel E.]

Hmmm, after seeing those Fate/stay Night parodies, I am really starting to believe that at one point in the show, Konata and the rest of the gang, will attend an anime/videogame con.

Mind you, I have only seen a few bits of the manga, so this is just wishful thinking on my behalf.

Oh and kenjiharima, I am glad you liked that gif.

[Kinny Riddle]

I'm still trying to find the right words to describe my impression on the series.

The OP dance was cool, but unlike some here, KyoAni set the standard with Hare Hare Yukai and for me, and Motte Ike! Sailor Fuku doesn't compare to it. Maybe it's due to the dance sequences not being too prominent, I guess I got distracted by the background instead, lol.

In Hare Hare Yukai, the dance takes centre stage, with minimal background (just the club room blackboard and some of Haruhi's "decorations" near the end).

Perhaps they'll release a DVD-only full dance sequence like they did with Hare Hare Yukai.)

After reading Vexx's comparison of the show's "slow-paced humour" with that of Monty Python, I think I'm beginning to appreciate it a little better. Though I'll still need time to get used to more of these type of humour like the long lunch scene in the first half.

The second half picked up a bit, with the highlight coming from the Street Fighter parody, and of course the Lucky Channel.

It's impossible to rate this sort of show in one single episode, due to its koma-based nature, it's gonna take some time for me to get used with all the cast and their traits.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Having now watched this show five times -- most recently a.f.k.'s fine English sub -- something has struck me. It was just as enjoyable the fifth time as the first. The jokes didn't get stale at all. They were never gut-splittingly hilarious, but they haven't lost their weird charm. In fact, they gain resonance as I hear them again and again (and again).

I can now understand what people are saying about the pacing, however. Maybe the actors and director will find a slightly better rhythm as they go on. But I basically agree with Ayu-Ayu and Vexx that the unemphatic flow of things is part of what makes this show work. Too much emphasis on the punchlines, or too much division into separate chunks might make it pall after a while. Of course, for some people, the lack of emphasis made it pall from the very start, lol.

>>Anime-Online: According to Shoboi Calendar, the show is on in different parts of Japan at midnight Sundays, 2 am Sunday night; 1:15, 1:30 and 2:16 Monday nights; midnight Tuesday; 1:30 and 2:28 Wednesday night; and 2 am Saturday night.

>>Asai: Just to put in a word on the other side, I like the simplest possible typefaces and translation, and the fastest possible softsubs. I can see why mkv makes sense, so as to supply the right raw, but I watch the raw first and find it far more convenient to just download a little sub file when that shows up. My best sub experience ever was with Simoun, where one fan produced quite rough softsubs very quickly. She got them out within 12-24 hours of the broadcast. Anyway, if dorama fans have the technical ability to deal with softsubs, surely anime fans can.

Although I'm happy with both subs, and probably slightly happier with a.f.k., I agree that I prefer a little less translation into English terms than either sub group has decided on. But I know from experience that it's a fine judgment to make, and doing it either way presents problems. At least a.f.k. got the basic nature of the "sauce" right, though (it's probably "Bulldog", right?).

And I have to just join my voice to Vexx's and celebrate the life and accomplishments of Kurt Vonnegut (who died yesterday). Thanks, Kurt. For Cat's Cradle, especially. Is AnimeSuki a karass or a granfalloon?

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

3873 x 2654, 1.6 MB

[kenjiharima]

WAAIIII!!!! More images!!! Thank you thank you!!!

Seems like it's not the school uniforms they aim at...it's the cheer leaders outfits!!! That SEXY pigtailed MOE!!! Seems Kirasaki(the green haired girl) is being called a Rie Anayami clone...but imho she seems more of a hybird of Sasaki (Azumanga) and Rie. Love her eyes though...but Kona-chan's mole under her left eye is FTW!!!

Yea love every bit of Kona-chan thanks Daniel E.

[Nemo_N]

Originally Posted by Maids! Maids! Maids!

1.- I'm still amazed about how that pose is now instantly recognizable...
2.- "Pick me up, please" ... ... ... OK
3.- Doesn't Konata look like she is saying "Dame da yo!" to Kagami?

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by kenjiharima

...Kona-chan's mole under her left eye is FTW!!!...

Separated at birth: Konata's seiyuu, Hirano Aya, has one there, too (see my avatar). Now we know why she just had to play this role.

[Daniel E.]

Just watched a.f.k.'s version and all I have to say is THANK YOU !!

-Thank you for not using side notes.
-Thank you for actually taking the trouble of translating everything, instead of making a hardcore translation (read: a half done translation)
-And thank you for putting the fun in a couple of scenes I just couldn't get in the other versions.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Now we know why she just had to play this role.

Bah, i still say they could have gone with someone different to play Kona-chan. Aya doesn't have that relaxing feeling voice that i get in my head when reading the manga. Ah well.