The one thing I can really say about Lucky Star is that it’s not Azumanga Daioh.

Not a good thing.
Not a bad thing.
Just a fact.

Maybe an overstated fact, but one that needs to be said. Both series are arguably very successful slice-of-school-life anime adapted from 4-panel comic strips, yet both take very different approaches to the same formula, and so both work in very different ways.

Even though they have in common a core group of female characters and a large amount of humor, the styles are much different. While Azumanga is a very blunt, straight-forward, physical kind of comedy, Lucky Star relies a lot more on the verbal and sometimes quite subtle kind of jokes that not everyone might understand.

And so that “getting it” factor is one of the decisive factors of Lucky Star, which certainly is more laid-back than it’s insane counterpart. If Azumanga is a bunch of crazy girls in a normal situation, Lucky Star is a bunch of relatively normal girls in a crazy situation.

Lucky Star, amusingly, is like talking with a bunch of friends at school. A lot of it involves sharing a common opinion, whether it be a hobby you like, a teacher you hate, or just some aspect of life that stands out. And if you can manage to sympathize with a bunch of moe characters and their mostly ordinary lifestyles, Lucky Star won’t be too bad.

But if you don’t like wasting time, if you don’t like very thin presentation, if you don’t like a bit of repetition, if you don’t like open endings (as opposed to even Azumanga’s sense of conclusion)… you might want to keep moving. Lucky Star will definitely satiate the hungry anime fan, but for casual viewers or even some of the regulars, it might be better to give this a pass.

Lucky Star, like most slice-of-life shows, is a slow show where nothing really happens. However, what kind of hurts it compared to other ones of its ilk is that there is no true sense of progress. As opposed to Azumanga, where characters did sort of develop over the three years, or even just compared to other “life” shows like Code-E or Aria, there is no gut feeling that these characters are really changing all that much.

Amusingly, to that regard the Lucky Channel 2-odd-minute segment at the end of every show has more continuity than the rest of the series. Lucky Star feels like more of an American sitcom, where characters may be added, minor tweaks may be made, but all in all the show remains fairly stagnant throughout the however long run; and the introduction of a lot of characters late in the game only makes me wish they had been around earlier.

Which is a shame because this show has solid characters, that I only wish would get fleshed out a bit. Tsukasa’s mind-meltingly adorable with her naivety and randomness, but she never really brightens up or gets some common sense. Miyuki’s bright and clumsy-moe as all hell, but she never really overcomes that fear of the dentist or anything. Minami’s concerned about her flat chest and…well, that’s all there is to her. I think the running gag that sums it up most is that one comment about a full cast of standout characters and not one hint of many male suitors. We barely even get any fake-romance gags and half of it is yuri.

I suppose that it would be kind of unnatural to see half the things mentioned above, like a smart Tsukasa, Kagami with a Actual Boyfriend (or, alternatively, in a yuri coupling with Konata), or Non-Flat Minami, but I’m a sucker for minor development, or at least, little jabs at the development that’s not happening; that is, acknowledging that some things don’t change. Y’know, that whole sitcom thing where the situation changes drastically for half an episode and then all the characters realize that This Isn’t What They Wanted?

But, that might be asking Lucky Star to be what it’s not.

On the plus side of things Lucky Star does run the gamut of characters; while they might not be the most realistic group they are still very entertaining and connectable especially for die-hard otaku, of which there are four in LS: Konata, Soujiro, Patty, and Hiyori, each with a different taste. There’s also more down-to-earth relatability found in the densely cute Tsukasa and the clumsy yet smart Miyuki (Trust me, walking into things isn’t half as moe in real life, yet usually always as funny.). Kagami represents a mix of the two, and plays the normal person to the rest of the mildly insane cast. There’s the adults, Yui and Nanako, who are naturally still children at heart.

All the different personalities mesh with each other in entertaining ways, and the interactions between the characters are a great part of Lucky Star. It’s not just one character that’s strong and runs away with the show. Everyone pretty much has an amusing part at one point, in one way or another. Whether it’s the geek squad twisting a normal person conversation, Konata messing with Kagami, or the adults acting far unlike what one expects from someone their age, there’s a wide variety of content per se, even with a bunch of fairly constant characters.

And then there’s the extras, at which Lucky Star excels at. The minor yet ridiculously over the top characters like the Anime Tenchou group and their firey, epic retail battles with Konata or the wayyyyyyy bipolar Akira and her L*C partner Shiraishi, or a bunch of random characters voiced by the Haruhi cast.

Speaking of, one of the more controversial aspects of Lucky Star is a sense of product placement; being a hardcore otaku, Konata has collected lots of memorabilia from random series, and often discusses/references them in public as well. Haruhi gets the most love from her, naturally with Konata being Haruhi’s VA and Haruhi being Kyoto Animation’s darling; however sometimes the raw advertising-ness of it all can grate on many a fan’s nerves.

Most of the time though the references do what they should, though, and add another layer of inside references to the show, so that fans can point and feel smart.

The details really do make Lucky Star, not just the references but the amusing (ly sung) live-action EDs, the rapid shifts in animation (random CG, random kicks up and down in animation change, random Initial D parodies, oh yes!), and even the non-details, like the same guy voicing every non-important female character.

All these little things make one feel, for lack of a better word, part of the Lucky Star family. Being a show that a lot of people can relate to in some way and that a lot of anime viewers can especially relate to, Lucky Star is one of those series that one can really get attached to. It’s not an epic show. Not one for the ages. But it’s one where you learn to enjoy its style, its quirks, its weekly dose of “I know what you mean.”

And so while Lucky Star won’t keep you glued to the screen or leave you in stitches, it’s still one to leave you with a nice grin on your face and no doubt that it was a show worth watching.

After all, if you can handle the choco-coronet fiasco in the first episode, I’m sure you can find a lot of to like in the rest of the show as well.

In the end the Lucky Star review feels a bit short, especially in comparison to other epic word-fests that the Series Review posts tend to be. Lucky Star is really not one of those shows that inspires conversation or raw emotion like more dramatic shows do.

Lucky Star is a ‘fun’ kind of show that, like its sibling (only in animation studio, I must add) Haruhi, sort of defies explanation. More relaxed shows tend to be this way, as on the surface there isn’t really a lot to say about a show that’s very relatable to real life, except a little exaggerated and wildly-colored. But that’s exactly the strength in Lucky Star; more so than a lot of slice-of-life shows, it forges a strong connection with the audience it knows it has, mixing a bit of otaku life with a bit of ordinary life and showing it understands both.

-CCY

Short story shorter, the Lucky Star bandwagon marches on as the manga and quite popular anime marches on to conquest it’s next media form…books. The Lucky Star light novel, “Lucky☆Star Satsujin Jiken” (Lucky Star Murder Case) is due to be released on September 1st.

Certainly it seems like odd material for the lighthearted slice-of-life show but this probably means we’ll either get a parody or another Remote Island Syndrome setup. It’s certainly an interesting and altogether different premise and I look forward to seeing how the Lucky Star characters fare in a more…drawn-out storyline.

And in case you haven’t put together the pieces from the title and the text, take a closer look at the snapshots in the cover art. Yeah. Might be Yutaka on the right too. Man, they kill off all the innocent naive characters? Those are the funniest.

Still, I look forward to seeing just how the false murder mystery plot is going to get pulled off – not to mention who’s behind it (Miyuki. You know it.). I say false perhaps out of knowledge of the tone for the series – and for the fact that if it’s not, I’ll be the first with a pitchfork.

-CCY

One of the most famous and/or infamous aspects of Lucky Star is the references. The constant allusions to past and present anime series either thrill or annoy fans. Somehow it almost seems like that like/hate ratio is similar to the percentage of people that can correctly identify the reference.

Part of the appeal is probably the game show factor, the “Aha! I know this” feeling when one can figure out some more of the obscure/hidden references, such as the Mayumi poster or any of the other massive piles of otaku mechandise in Konata’s room.

But, is there a point where, like in-game advertising, it goes beyond being neat and adding to the realism, and just becomes tacky? Perhaps. After the jump, etc etc.

First off, let’s look at what I consider a ‘good’ type of reference. This is the type of the reference, that, if you don’t look closely, may not appear to be one, but then if you take your prior viewings into account, you just might end up with something:

Rich girl? Check. Dog? Check. Huge white dog? Mmhmm. (Sakaki? Yay!)

Nothing wrong with these references of course, since they’re usually short (a line or two) and don’t detract much. They’re the type of reference particularly geeky people like I would make when conversing with friends – even those who have different passions like Star Trek, or particular sports, are probably familiar with adding references into daily conversation.

Type two is the ‘amusing’ reference, the ones that are so over the top they are highly awesome. Think of the Initial D parody in episode 6, and you’ll have a good idea of the Da Capo parody in 15. (P.S. still only on episode 4 of DC) You’ll like it either because 1) you get it or 2) it’s so ridiculous. Maybe all of the above.

The ‘gratuitous’ references are the ones that come under the most among of fire. Predictably these are also known as the ‘Haruhi’ references. To be short Haruhi is everywhere in Lucky Star. Konata’s ringtone is Hare Hare Yukai, they go to conventions and buy Haruhi doujinshi (and Nagato cards), random Haruhi posters/figurines are everywhere, and yes, Aya Hirano sings God Knows at a Haruhi concert. Overexposure? Of course. But sometimes I wonder if all the scorn is from the fact that it’s either Haruhi (a popular target for anti-factions) or the same production studio – and as such, it appears a lot like advertising.

A similar vein is the Haruhi look-alikes. Some things are better left unknown, such as the fact that Haruhi’s English VA is 50 or that this green haired quiet girl who happens to like books is voiced by the same woman who did Yuki Nagato. As such, it’s incredibly hard to ignore the fact that this girl that looks, speaks, and kind of acts the same as Yuki…is not Yuki. KyoAni, you know that we love Yuki to death and back, but…come on, you’re just mocking us now. No imposters allowed.

At least there’s some inflection to her voice in Episode 15, as opposed to 14 which was straight Yuki.

To be honest, I’m not a fan of these references, even though I do enjoy all the other ones which should be just as blatant as these – maybe it’s because the Haruhi references are the ones played the most straight, and as such, aren’t as funny as Konata’s dad randomly shouting “Henshin” or Konata going all shiny and galge.

What’s your opinion on all the references? Like? Dislike? Kill with fire? Just remember – we’re talking about an aspect of Lucky Star here. It’s not whether you like the series or not as a whole. If you don’t like Lucky Star then it’s pretty obvious you won’t like this part of it either.

And if you don’t like Tsukasa, go burn. :P
-CCY

The famous Lucky Star coronet eating scene (“What end do you eat it from?”) in episode 1…has a twin brother. *dramatic revelation music*

Set the stage: Azumanga Daioh episode 16, the 2nd Culture Festival. Osaka and Chiyo, on their break, are eating taiyaki.

Osaka: “Y’know how some people eat taiyaki starting from the end and others eat it starting from the tail? Which do you start eating it from?”

Surely these kind of conversations aren’t incredibly common. But, the question is; coincidence, or something far more sinister?

To be honest though, a parody in this style is too subtle for Lucky Star of the Haruhi Vans/Doujins/Figurines/Ringtones/Books/DVDs/Message Boards/Conversations. C’mon, at least get some diversity in there.

Well, they have a Rimu RX-7, if anything else.
-CCY

I’m not half as ADHD-enabled as I’d need to be to go on random tangents like slice-of-life shows do. I can barely keep pace with the slow-witted Osaka. (or alternatively, Tsukasa) XD

And so the very short blog intro solders on as once again I rant about my lack of things to rant about. Oh well. There are plenty of screenshots after the jump – featuring the famous Tsukasa Stop Motion(tm) – so there’s your content for you. Go forth!

The first skit is actually pretty short, to be honest, a short little joke where Konata talks about reading for ‘educational purposes’, and of course Kagami takes the sane choice and decides that she’s talking about books. Of course, Konata is never sane, and she’s talking about reading manga, which can’t be found in the library. But – at least in my situation in the US of A my local library seems to have a good collection of manga. Naturally it’s a lot of mainstream stuff, like the CLAMP works, Initial D, and whatnot, but recently they’ve been picking up other titles, like Azumanga (the manga. say that five times fast), and Yotsubanned (er, Yotsuba&!).

Also, I shudder at Konata’s “educational purposes” of manga, given her love of eroge. At least it’s not doujinshi…

Next up is a second Konata scene in which she, like 95% of us students, spends about 5 seconds studying before getting tired and deciding to play games. Heck, I even did that during this post.

Of course, as has been shown before Nanako, the teacher, plays the same games Konata does and thus she has no escape from schoolwork. Although, that is a great line she has there; although she should really be scared of real authorities apprehending her. No, Yui doesn’t count. XD Nanako is also noted as hypocritical when she mentions how she was exactly like Konata in her school years. And yet, she tries to change Konata’s ways.

All of a sudden I’m imagining Konata as a schoolteacher. What class would that be?

Over to Determined Tsukasa, who is also trying valiantly to do her homework, with about the same amount of (no) success. Why? Kagami explains:

I laughed. I guess this is part of Kagami’s charm as well, given that her and Konata are frequently the most witty characters on the show, as opposed to Tsukasa’s (and occasionally Miyuki’s) raw cute appeal. As demonstrated:

Never gets old, does it?

Konata finally calls Miyuki for help, and Miyuki offers some vaguely reassuring advice in suggesting to do what she always does. Although, I think both Miyuki’s and Konata’s studying habits are a bit questionable. We’ve seen Konata’s, but I fear Miyuki’s, as being the smart rich girl I imagine her usual habits are 25 hours of study a day.

The tests come and go, and the group debriefs in the library afterward. Kagami, still supposedly the smart one (as given by the left screenshot) seems a bit worried, while Konata complains of her lack of motivation. Ah, bribery.

Somehow we flip on over to the topic of blood types, which must be the Japanese equivalent (or alternative) to horoscopes or something. As such, much humor ensues as the characters either fit or destroy completely the stereotypes.

As evidenced by Miyuki: correct…

Less so correct. Although, I would like to see the other side of Miyuki, if she has one. I always seem to find the people who go boxcutter, so to speak, quite interesting. One reason I’ve got my eye on School Days this summer. Should have plenty of that.

Konata offers up a fair and quite candid explanation of Kagami’s Type B characteristics, of which she does have a lot of. Although, of course Konata doesn’t list any of the good traits. Kagami also mentions, however, that Tsukasa’s the same type as her. That’s interesting to note, as decidedly less of those characteristics fit her. Or do they? *dun dun dunnnnnnnn*

The girls move on to the sushi horoscope, in which Miyuki finds herself a rich food – how typical, the Hiiragis are…something forgettable, and Konata’s ginger. Uh, which isn’t a sushi at all. Miyuki tries to explain it as something that’s essential to go with sushi, but it’s still…not sushi.

Konata gets amusingly defensive as such. It’s also funny about how she talks about ‘looking down on’ her, and given her height, I have a feeling a lot of that happens. Even if she is just sitting in a chair in this shot.

Halfway blog post eyecatch: ONOES WE HAS NO EYES. D:

More posters. The Mayumi one was in a screenshot above, can’t get an ID on these two here.

Test grades come back and OMFG IT’S A GUY. In my Lucky Star? It’s more likely than you think. Oh, and Kagami still scores higher than Tsukasa, despite her efforts and improvements. Some people just aren’t cut out for it. Wonder how close Kagami came to Miyuki though, if they’re even anywhere close, grade-wise.

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Tsukasa, mmm, less so. Personally, I would be scared, too, although if you’re with these people one would probably end up in that state quite often enough to get used to it. Oh well, it’s not like you’re being costume raped or anything, Tsukasa. (reference GET!)

Konata’s strange standing-out hair is brought to attention in the next scene, as the Hiiragis completely miss Konata without it. Of course, it could be her height, too, hehehe. The benefits of Konata’s short stature are also mentioned, in that she can get child tickets.

The movie comes and goes, unfortunately without being depicted. I guess KyoAni’s already animated one horror film, and they didn’t feel like doing another. It’s too bad. If Tsukasa had an ‘uguu’-fest as well, that’s just be mind-melting.

Maybe that’s why.

It’s still referenced, anyway, as the girls decide to go get lunch after the movie, as they’re all probably hungry, as Konata puts it, in another great wisecrack.

So they go to eat at a love hotel cake buffet. Yay for cake!

This must be something we’re missing in the US. A 1 hour, all-you-can-eat, cake-for-all, complete with male waitresses (yes, not waiters. well, the voice actor is obviously male, anyway).

Eh, Kagami, what happened to your diet? You were the obligatory “obsessed-about-my-weight” girl just a few episodes ago. I guess there’s always an excuse for cake. But man, that’s a lot of cake…or is it?

Shiny cake bliss heaven! Funny how cake makes everyone blush with adoration. Even Kagami looks good in this scene. (sounds like a Konata line)

What’s that line? Too much of a good thing? It appears so, as the girls’ frenzy for cake leaves them over-satiated near the end of the hour, and yet they endeavor on to avoid a leftover fee.

It’s another epic endeavor, much like the homework scene a few episodes ago. But it just can’t be done.

Or can it? Kagami takes the lead as Konata narrates. Yes, narrates. Not eats.

Well, it was worth a shot, but this is a team effort, after all.

Tsukasa takes a moment to reflect with tears eyes again about how torturous her life is. Whiner. (this comment has been redacted by the Tsukasa Fanboy Committee)

Another short Konata gag as the girls ponder just how Konata buys all her eroge, which are rated 18+ and whatnot. Even if Konata was 18, nobody would believe her. Her answer: her father, of course. A strange sharing of interests. Can you imagine them playing an eroge together?

Father: “What? An H-scene? Now? He was just confronting the bad guy!”
Konata: “Ah, the problem is, you’re complaining about ero scenes in an ero game. There is no bad time for them.”
Father: “Hmm, you’re right, this scene’s actually pretty hot.”
Konata: “See, told you. Now shut up and fap.”

o_O

They also talk gaming with Miyuki, who doesn’t own a game console per se but “games” using the programs on Windows like Minesweeper and Solitare.

Konata is horrified at Miyuki’s definition of “game” but Tsukasa is very much on the mark here in that, even if they are lousy games, they are quite addictive, and when you have nothing else to do at school…ehehehe.

But wow, Miyuki’s hardcore. 10K on solitare, and 100 seconds on Minesweeper Expert. Is that even possible? I’ve never had the skills to even beat expert. Hmm, rich girls have a lot of free time. Or maybe she doesn’t like to study either? A scary (yet adorable, if she acts the same way as Konata) thought.

They talk about shopping too. Sigh. Women. What would the girls’ shopping lists look like?

Miyuki wouldn’t shop. Kagami’s an unknown. I have no idea what balsamic vinegar is but Tsukasa would clean out an entire aisle of it. Konata’d go shopping for groceries at Gamers or something.

And to close out this segment of the episode we finally get a pretty nice Miyuki scene, as she faces the problems of trying to give yourself eyedrops – which, if you’ve never tried it, is utter hell to do. So she goes to Konata for help, which may not have been the best choice.

But it’s a funny one! Yeah, try to relax with a face like that. Maybe Konata is enjoying this ‘CG event’ too much.

Melt, melt, melt, wai! Open your mouth and close your eyes…

Lucky Channel is here at the end of the episode as always, and both hosts are pretty enthusiastic at the start this time around, and it actually lasts for longer than 5 seconds as well.

Maybe six. Tsukasa’s introduction is today but Shiraishi quickly stumbles off topic into Guy Matters (don’t cringe too hard), which is -

- followed by a reference combat, as Akira mentions how she’s the “To Hea-” girl while Shiraishi cuts her off with a scintillating (if not random) Miracle Mikurururururun Minorurururururn rendition.

Shiraishi says good stuff about Tsukasa, which results in Akira summoning an ashtray out of nowhere and giving it to Shiraishi. Y’know. In the face. With force.

Akira then proceeds to refuse Tsukasa’s idol status and insult her looks. I like to think she’s simply jealous of Tsukasa’s popularity (although that is questionable too), as that’s the only thing keeping me from killing her with the power of my mind. Aside from the fact that, she’s, y’know, an anime character.

Don’t look at me like that!

Akira also gives her own lesson on idolness, whether it be how to pose for “candid” pictures around town (Shiraishi may be dangerously too honest in that picture there), or what things to carry around town. Sunflowers and tennis rackets. I don’t get it at all but it seems that sunflowers are a popular theme in Japanese anime for some reason. The Shuffle! series has it as a big motif, they’re prominent in a lot of character endings (i.e. sunflowers equal happy, like Kohaku), I think they might have shown up in AIR or maybe Kanon as well.

Oh, and Akira tries to discuss some things we probably shouldn’t discuss. Wink wink, nudge nudge, etc etc.

The next episode preview features another great, if not disconnected reference (not to mention Tsukasa-ness), as Konata talks on and on about the 1up trick of Super Mario Brothers (NES). My geek-dom is affirmed now, yay! Although I don’t remember having to repeatedly hit the A button, I thought you just have to set it up right…?

-CCY

Maybe that’s the issue with slice-of-life/school days stories, in that since there’s not a lot of plot or exposition, it’s mostly a lot of the same gags used before, in subtly different ways. You can Konata being a video game geek or an anime geek, at school or at home, but it’s still the same thing.

Maybe I’m just spoiled though, from all the series I’ve been watching/blogging that feature extensive character/plot development, such as Kanon, Shuffle!, pretty much every eroge anime in existence, and, uh, Haruhi.

Still, it seems that, despite all my complaining, if the next episode of Lucky Star featured a solid 24 minutes of nothing but Tsukasa knocking over hurdles, I’d probably watch it and love it anyway. Tsukasa seems to be my halo character for Lucky Star; much like Yuki from Haruhi or Mai from Kanon, the second they pop up on screen I get this big smile and fanboy like there’s no tommorow.

lol, fanboys, gtfo noob.

Anyway, so, episode 8! The athletic meet is the big star of the episode, making up the main block before the first eyecatch. We’ve also got some more Hiiragi sister dynamics, Konata going Lucky Channel on Kagami, and, uh, Lucky Channel itself. Hit the jump for a boatload of screenshots (79 of them!) and, y’know, text.

WTF a guy!? Konata’s father shows up on camera, for the first time (facing the camera, anyway), and talks about getting great shots of his ‘daughter’. Which, incidentally, for a lolipedofin, is pretty much all the daughters out there. Meanwhile, Konata stays at home and is amused.

The athletic meet apparently takes place over many days as the next scene as the girls – minus Miyuki, who gets no love (isn’t it sad?) – walk around school and discuss things, which as always leads to Konata connecting everything to Kagami’s ‘lovesickness’. This has to be the ren’ai games at work here.

Speaking of. Bipolar – a.k.a tsundere (I think Konata actually uses that phrase) equals twin pigtails? I can’t think of many examples of it, aside from Kagami. Just thinking of the Type-Moon characters, I’ve never played Fate/Stay Night, but I’ve heard Rin was one of that type, and the hair fits. But Akiha from Tsukihime keeps her hair down, so…point negated?

For some reason this scene also screams of Azumanga Daioh, because of 1) the bread eating contest (also depicted later), and 2) the scavenger hunt where Konata never knew what she was being picked for. I don’t think she’d be an idiot, as per the original scene. Find a loli? Also, for the bread thing, how common is that? Somehow it’s missing from American track meets, I wonder how popular it is on that side of the ocean.

Naive Tsukasa, take 1. I hope to get up to take 50 by the end of this episode. Also, Konata points out that Miyuki has breasts and a butt, one thing that we haven’t quite noticed; plus, first time Miyuki really looks shocked? It’s the art style, depriving those poor fanservice-depraved people. And that’s why you convert to moe, kids.

Do Miyuki’s looks really befit her personality, anyway? Usually the rich girls aren’t very developed (see: Akiha), and the shy, reserved girls usually don’t have it; or don’t flaunt it, anyway (see, but also perhaps exception: Nerine). Not that I’m checking. I like cute Miyuki better.

Here, have some proof. This is capped from the scene where Konata actually goes and asks Miyuki about why she would get picked for a scavenger race. As Konata puts it quite nicely in prodding the fourth wall, when in doubt, ask Miyuki.

Who comes up with a semi-plausible but not really solution which dodges the situation, and creates a nice out-of-context screenshot. Fighting game Miyuki? Sounds like a plan. Hey, if they can get Akiko and the Kanon cast into a fighter, Lucky Star just could work too.

Continuing the off-topic and the posing of a million questions, were there ever Haruhi or Shuffle! doujin fighters? I’d like to try that.

It’s never a good season to study for tests, Miyuki. It’s just like the smart girl to steer the subject towards testing in a mostly irrelevant conversation.

Once again the topic of reality in fiction is touched upon, which I find pretty amusing. For example, if we started talking about reality in Kanon, it’d be a lot different than reality in real life or in many other anime for that matter. A girl with an ordinary life and no troubles at all? Come on, what does this look like to you, Earth?

Token Yui scene? I rank Yui up there with Miyuki in the ‘meganekkos who need more screen time’ category. She seems to be almost like a Tsukasa Lite, at least in this screenshot.

Meanwhile, we have the crazy overcompetitive Nanako-sensei in another scene, urging the class to beat the crap out of the other team in the upcoming festival. Also, this spurs Konata to make remarks about the true gender of the cast. (but not really.)

And now for the sports festival, round two! Complete with Konata’s father’s extremely high-res (and by high-res, I mean huge and well-drawn) camera. Mayumi and Tomoyo would be proud.

First up is Kagami in the bread eating contest. Konata as always messes with her mind, cueing up the Marimite reference from an episode ago. As for the event itself, Kagami is overenthusiastic as always and topples over the entire bread-hanging-equipment-thingy. The Shocked Tsukasa Face(tm) ensues.

Konata’s 100-meter dash is next, and she talks about visualizing something while running. As such, we get a brilliant Track & Field reference. To be honest, I’m not old enough to be supposed to get it, but luckily the video game heritage comes to the rescue. We also get to see 3 techniques to “mash the button as hard as possible”. I’ve never seen the ruler one before, and the penny one I’ve only tried with a pen. I found, for at least the Gamecube controller (since Mario Party is the king of annoying button mashing), using two thumbs on the A button works suprisingly well.

Konata wins. I think. Now what I really wish is that every time I hear “Goal” in anime that I don’t immediately think of AIR. *starts weeping*

Intermission, with Random Girl (from the intro, supposedly). Kagami gets two events, with the long jump as well, which, in typical Hiiragi fashion, goes very clumsily.

Why do I say Hiiragi fashion? Let’s flip over to Tsukasa’s hurdle race:

Yup.

Speaking of the hurdle race, it’s time for your weekly Faces of Tsukasa Hiiragi Stop Action 56K-Killer!

All the 1-2-3-ing is part of Miyuki’s simple tactic for staying on pace and rhythm. Step one, step two, jump! Step one, step two, jump!

Of course, while she’s concentrating so hard the starting gun goes off and the strategy goes out the window.

Much hurdle abuse follows. How hard is it to count to three, you ask? Very hard. I take Calculus, I should know. (true story: the further you get, the more you forget. “OMG WTF I’ve been doing this problem for half an hour and I can’t get the answer to match up!!one!1!” “…three times two isn’t five, it’s six.” “…oshi~”)

In conclusion, no Lucky Star dominance of the track meet today.

Miyuki’s the final event in the sports event (note how many different ways I can name it), with the team relay. And you see this? This is awesome.

(THIS IS LUCKY STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR) It’s badass competitive Miyuki, complete with the eurobeat energetic music from Episode 6’s Initial D parody.

Some funny cheering faces and poses from the rest of the crowd. Note that there are actual people in the background this time.

And get this: we’ve got a right Nayuki Minase on our hands. Miyuki takes the team from last (or at least 4th) to the win, sprinting the whole way – and in true Nayuki fashion, by a cup size as well. Miyuki awesome++.

Konata sticks in another fourth wall quote, since I’m too prude to stick in a screencap of Miyuki winning by a chest.

Eyecatch; and we now turn to the Hiiragi sisters at home.

Tsukasa fails at music (which, speaking as the only not-musical person I know, is awesome++), which really annoys – and strangely enough, worries – Kagami, who is forced to intervene.

See, look, it’s worried Kagami. Isn’t it scary? It must be, as Yukito puts it, the sister complex.

Most people look at this scene and see Ayu. I look at this scene and see Tsukasa devolving in years as we speak. Seriously, she could be 10 in this shot and I wouldn’t doubt it. Why is it that anime girls are always so short? They’re all about the height of armrests, speaking as a tall white guy. We’re not scared of tall people. Really.

Tsukasa Stop-Motion, take 2. Her playing improves, but she seems to be lacking a bit of oxygen, as she looks a bit more frazzled every time she comes up for air. (note that even her hairband gets all wrinkly) Another great Tsukasa scene.

P.S. If you saw any bit of innuendo in that scene, please take yourself to the nearest cliff and leap. I won’t take any of it.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to, uh, go out for a bit, and, uh, go fling myself into the, uh, Pacific Ocean. (as you can tell, I like my anime more cute than fanservicey)

The lunch lines are huge in the Lucky Star School, and actually filled with – once again – actual people.

The girls discuss the horrors of long lines, whether it’s Miyuki who accidentally lined up for the bathroom (must be single occupancy), Tsukasa who found out they were all out when she reached the front, or Konata who makes more anime con references.

Incidentally, as you may have guessed, both Miyuki’s and Tsukasa’s mistakes come to pass once again. Hehehe.

I have no idea of the context of this screenshot anymore but I like the combination of Konata’s and Kagami’s faces.

The same goes here, as Kagami mentally denies her sister complex after Tsukasa unwittingly (is there any other state of mind for her?) refutes one of Kagami’s comments.

Cute meter, through the roof, go. Now. Tsukasa imagines being the older sister, instead of the clumsy imouto. Shiny dream sequence ensues as Imouto Kagami begs her sister Tsukasa for help.

Meanwhile, Epic Konata. I say that both in terms of in-character and scene. Konata’s enthusiasm over getting her letter published (which actually happened, or so it’s said, just to be annoyingly fourth-wall-breaking) is very amusing in the dramatic poses of this scene (and the switch to Kagami’s WTF look.)

Not to mention a sort of Lucky Channel-esque Konata, who goes all gloomy when Kagami fails to react, and then turns hyper again when she does. By the way, one more thing to look forward to buying? I wish I had the kind of cash flow to justify something like that. Maybe I need a job at a maid cafe too then. XD

This sequence is a bit predictable, in that the opposite is of course true, but Konata buys a volume of the Shuffle! manga (one she already owns, as the gag turns out), so it’s all good. Who is that under Nerine on that cover anyway? It’s hard to tell. I’m betting Lico, but it could be Rimu as well. It almost looks like Tsukasa, strangely.

Here’s a scene, which as Konata says, is ripped straight from a ren’ai game. They also mention how they thought it didn’t happen in real life (or, real life in anime, again), but, clearly, it does. I like this idea. Time to fill up the backpack with keychains.

And, is that the return of girl-with-flower-in-hair from Kanon? The look isn’t really the same, but that’s the first thing I think of with that unique fashion statement. Although I’d imagine it’s probably more common than I think.

RAKI CHANNNELLLLLUUUUUUU~ Amusing, if not predictable as always. Even Shiraishi admits the material is pretty overused.

And strangely, Shiraishi has boatloads of fanmail, as opposed to Akira’s one, but not really, postcard. I wouldn’t imagine this would be the case in Real Japan – there aren’t a lot of big-name male singers as opposed to female idols, or so I’ve heard anyway. I know I’ve got like only one anime song sung by a guy on my music player anyway, as opposed to about 20 for the fairer gender.

Here’s your ice-cold stare Akira, who mentions how replaceable Shiraishi is.

And your genki Akira. Ahhhhhh it’s the >< onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://bp0.blogger.com/_wffVHYrbC7s/RmLr7BD4sII/AAAAAAAABfY/0FsugTGwSVE/s1600-h/shot0176.png”>
And your Tsukasa Akira, with Please-Don’t-Kill-Me Shiraishi bonus. And that’s the episode!

Who? Me? Running of time to post? Eheheh. Pictures are a thousand words, or whatever…

And as always, a completely ambiguous episode preview, with Miyuki narrating something random, while the other three girls walk, and uh, talk or something. Episode previews really are amusingly worthless in this genre.

-CCY

Pop quiz: find the common element between all of the following:
1) Video game addiction
2) Homework
3) Cell phones
4) Tsunderes
5) Grown men in pigtails
6) Keroro
7) Haruhi
8) Drifting hatchbacks (not pictured)

Answer: Lucky Star, of course. It’s about as random and all-encompassing as can be, and still as crack as ever, both in content and in addictiveness.

Wonder what happened to all the LS hate by now though? I suppose everyone who disliked the series has dropped it by now, and those who have continued to watch it only find it to get better.

Episode 7 contains a 99% raise in dirty sounding yuri screencaps, a large drop in references I understand (unsuprisingly a large rise in ones I don’t), and 1000% more Tsukasa awesomeness, bringing her kawaii quota up to approximately 6.0 x 10^23 fanboy squeals.

More great-out-of-context pictures, along with random references, notes, and Tsukasa stop-motion sequences after the jump.

One of the larger encompassing gags of this episode is Konata’s addiction to “Marimite”, some shojo series that I’ve never heard of that apparently is all flowery, and perhaps lacking in heterosexuality. She goes around acting very (relatively) strange whenever convenient, with her eyes changing amusingly -

along with her voice (some great voice work here for sure), making her sound like a strange upper-class rich girl. I vote ‘Konata does an __ impression’ as new gag of the week/episode.

Speaking of rich upper-class girls Miyuki actually genuinely speaks like how Konata does most of the time, except the pink-haired one is not half as scary and doubly cute. Also, Tsukasa.

Miyuki (now called Yuki most of the time) finally gets a little short scene when she converses with Tsukasa about depressing and painful trips to the dentist. Apparently she is not getting what she (er, her parents) paid for in quality. Also, Tsukasa.

Shiraishi (world’s hardest to spell name for a white person) makes a bonus cameo in the school segment, becoming the first guy, as far as I know, from school to speak. Konata continues to go Marimite on him, labeling him Sebastian the butler, since all butlers are named Sebastian. Although, Konata’s sadly mistaken in choosing butlers when she could have twin meidos. H&K FTW~ Also, Tsu- *shot*

The homework makes it’s evil return, along with some more cameos – there’s two figures on Konata’s compy (not pictured). One looks remarkably like Michiru (AIR) with a golf club – I’ve heard that it’s supposed to be Kooh (from Pangya, presumably), however, which is something recognizable and awesome as well. Also, great homework face from Konata, staring it down like an animal. Ha, thought I was going to say Tsu – *shot*

Konata pleads to awesome gamer meganekko Yui-neesan to help with her homework in another great out-of-context screenshot. Unsurprisingly, Yui figures out this time that she might not be of the best of help in this regard.

Also, disturbingly loli Konata. I can feel time warping backwards as we speak watch…

The next day we learn more about Kagami and her studies, in that she is in a secret relationship with Konata chose the same liberal arts studies as her friends to stay in the same class with them. This would explain her relative brightness to Tsukasa and Konata – although, personally I never can see tsundere and smart mixing.

More great Hiiragi twin poses.

And now for dramatic subplot as Miyuki sits on her glasses and snaps ‘em. We also learn of KyoAni’s secret tactic for improving Miyuki’s status with the fans: Nagato clone time! Well, it’s what I first think of now with “Yuki” + glasses.

Konata must not be a glasses guy girl, then. (who’s Asakura then? Kagami?)

Hint: you have to open your eyes to see. Konata makes an increasingly rare reference to the mythical moe-factor of Miyuki. It seems a lot of Haruhi’s Konata’s insanity has been toned down recently, at least in regards to some references.

Miyuki borrows Konata’s and Tsukasa’s notes for the day, which both turn out to be spectacularly useless. She runs to Kagami, the actually kind of smart girl, for loving help, showing a bit of her moe overly kind side as well. Why is is that Kagami gets so many lines to hint at her getting set up with any other Lucky Star girl? o_O

Paradox time: the girls talk about anime vs. real life. In an anime. What would anime in an anime be like? Even more unrealistic than normal anime? Food for thought…the expensive kind of food. Like Miyuki’s.

Speaking of food, Kagami proves to be terrifically bad with it, perhaps even Ayu-class. Dating sim traits plus plus, but still no win for you, Kagami.

Kagami and food take 2. Konata is very subtle as usual when noting that when girls go on diets that they lose weight from the places they don’t want to first. If Konata can notice these things, I sure as hell can’t, with the art style in Lucky Star. Probably glad I can’t, too.

Also guest starring in the lunch scene: the chocolate roll thing from Episode 1 infamy! And the above picture is so asking to be an internet meme. Or at least a witty comeback image post.

Tsukasa also launches into a discussion of how ‘thin eyes make you look more mature’; which would mark off Konata, Kagami, and the entire Asian population as uber-mature. Scary. The entire group tries the ‘thin eyes’ idea complete with white border (implying brightness that would make you squint?). At best, they look like they’re daydreaming. At worse, on drugs.

The three girls, excluding poor Yuki (who needs to go and read books for bonus Nagato factor) go out on a day trip. Konata arrives late and misses a vital Kanon reference, with Kagami sitting on a bench and all waiting for her to arrive. The two of them do have a very interesting conversation which smacks of mother-and-daughter dynamics.

They talk about something forgettable, mainly because the background is very active here, and I spent a lot of time screencapping the different types of cars going by. There’s a BMW pictured, a Toyota Hiace (from Maximum Tune 2 fame) earlier, and something ugly that looks like a Pontiac Aztek but probably isn’t.

Next up, Tsukasa gets a cell phone, for not being completely like her dense stereotype in testing for once. However, that cutely clueless part of her fires up again as Konata asks for her number (insert out-of-context here). Here’s your “Also, Tsukasa.” if you’ve been missing that crappy gag: (mildly out of order)

A futile, but damn adorable effort, as you may surmise. We get more of the same the next day, when Tsukasa’s cell phone goes off in class (to the tune of Pachelbel’s Canon in D), much to the delight of her (who’s been waiting for any call), and the dismay of the rest of the class. Poses ensue.

She’s sad now, but the story comes to a worse end when, true to clumsy character, she leaves it in her clothes. It doesn’t survive the washing machine.

Tear. In between, however, we get amusing art-imitates-life moments of parents being obsessively protective over their children; the Hiiragi father calls first Kagami, who gives the OK signal, then Tsukasa (pictured above with huuuuuuge happy eyes)…who of course is right with Kagami. Konata’s phone also rings, to the tune of Hare Hare Yukai, but it’s mired on her desk at home. Probably on purpose.

Konata goes back on a bit of a gaming rant when she discusses her email, ‘iluvgirlswithglasses’ or it’s Japenese equivalent, (which, strangely enough, is only the first half before the @, if only so that some poor guy doesn’t get spammed by fanboys) and why she didn’t pick maids or mikos – you can fill in the final half of her sentence. Note Konata’s calm while Kagami flips and shuts her up. She just sits there!

Do we need more Tsukasa?

We need more Tsukasa.

There’s an amusing scene where Kagami comes in on Tsukasa drunk crying tears over a sad manga Konata lent her.

Konata’s opinion of it herself was quite the opposite, funnily enough, leading to more cute reactions. Wonder what the manga was – did the ‘love strikes when you least expect it’ manga from Kanon ever get a name? It would fit well (if not oddly) in this role.

To wrap up the school scenes, we get a picture of Konata’s great artistic talent (well, it could be worse…) and creative depiction of Tsukasa (huge googly eyes), Miyuki (frilly hair and glasses), and Kagami (fire breathing dinosaur). What’s better is the return of Marimite Konata and the animation of Kagami as said dinosaur in her fiery reaction.

The regular segment of the episode ends with an advertisement for FMP (“So another volume of FMP came out.”) and another hint of yuri pairing conversation about manga – and Konata using Kagami for her shopping points. Why are you still shocked by now, Kagami?

RAKI CHANNNNNELLLLLUUUUU is extremely ace and hilarious today. The LC card drops without a sound this time, and we are left to see…

Shiraishi in pigtails and an extremely sullen and quiet Akira. Awkward silence ensues for a few seconds before Shiraishi launches into a hilarious Akira impersonation to ’start’ the episode. Gutsy, he is, as that’s a very dangerous move given his strangling last episode…

Akira snaps at Shiraishi a few times during the segment (>< onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://bp3.blogger.com/_wffVHYrbC7s/RlS9DRD4odI/AAAAAAAABCA/Zlh4sWpJ9Uk/s1600-h/shot0151.png”>
Also, WTF’s with Lucky Star and drills? Like Shiraishi with drills (and scary eyes in the real life version) and the girls talking about drills at lunch. Akira mentions that ‘drills are a man’s romance’ but I’m hoping it’s something more than just a simple double entendre. Or something.

This episode must have run overtime or something, as there’s no real preview for the next episode. It’s a shame, given Tsukasa’s narrating. It’s literally “I’m Tsukasa! What? I’m out of time? [next episode title]“. If Lucky Star had a coherent plot this would point to plot in the next episode, but Shuffle! this isn’t. Unfortunately?

-CCY

What is there to say? I’m hooked.

The anime parodies seem to have reached a stable amount – as opposed to earlier where they threw in Kanon, Shuffle, Haruhi, and god knows what else that flew over my head, now there’s one or two big ones and a bunch of side references.

As has probably been said millions of times over, the Initial D parody was absolute gold. It’d be interesting to see Lucky Star in a bunch of different animation angles – the serious and highly CG style here fits I.D. well and doesn’t look too bad for Yui either.

All we’re really missing is Tsukasa and Kagami getting tossed around in the back like ragdolls, preferably in normal animation fashion (to depict the wild difference between the two worlds at this moment).

The little things are what make the parody great – the references to the 5 hairpin curves of Akina, the yellow FD, the cup of water in the cupholder, and yes, Yui using the gutter technique during a turn. Someone’s been practicing.

And yes, the speedometer. 40 miles an hour at most, 40 kilometers per hour at least. The blinding speed of it all! 500 bonus points for Yui the awesome meganekko/gamer/doriftoer.

Oh, and in random Initial D related news, there’s word of a Wangan Midnight anime coming up later this year. It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out – WM doesn’t have particularly interesting nor good looking character designs (except for maybe the hilarious ricer Gatchan) but I enjoyed the arcade game much and still look forward to the racing scenes – which hopefully will look as good as this one.

More Lucky Star and less racing after the jump.

Did I mention it’s a beach episode? Lucky Star’s getting theirs out of the way rather early. Not sure what’s with the dumbfounded looks by all the girls when they finally get to the beach after much hairpin action, but they’re all great poses.

Anyway, blah blah blah swimsuits. Unsurprisingly Lucky Star’s, em, flat art style doesn’t make for as much guilt during the Obligatory Swimsuit episode, and it’s nice to see some modest characters at the beach for once.

Although Konata’s attempts to taunt her lolicon-ness with a 6th (!!) grade swimsuit and an inner tube is kind of scary. Also, Miyuki’s the only one with a two-piece – strange given her sort of reserved and shy nature, but I guess use what you’ve got. Wink wink.

Also, Nanako the teacher and Yui the psycho driver are in the usual adults-separate-from-children-at-the-beach scene, where they discuss yuri romantic matters – of which Yui is already very much tied up, to, uh, viewer amusement or something.

A nice moment of calm in the water for Konata and the twins, who are just floating, almost sleeping on Konata’s inner tube. See, it came in handy! As a Miyuki fanboy second, I must say though, there’s not much of her in Lucky Star anymore. Aside from the whole talking-about-blowing-watermelons-up-bit (which was amusing in it’s own regard, and apparently a reference) she doesn’t really show up in this swim scenes at all.

She’s there, but she’s not there. Hopefully things will change next episode with the addition of what passes for foreshadowing with Miyuki and her mom talking about the dentist. Drama ensues!

Anyway, the animation quality of Lucky Star is typical top-notch KyoAni, when it feels like it such as this scene of a bird at the beach. For some reason I was really reminded of Sora from AIR (except the wrong type of bird)…if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Go watch AIR, I’ll see you in 6 hours.

Anyway, the girls eat and wash up and we move on to better things, like Konata getting one pulled on her for once – it’s not like her to disregard such truths as ‘the water is cold.’ Not even arguably the one most aware of these gags can avoid falling for them every one in a while.

We come back the eyecatch and we get more of what passes for fanservice. We also discover the real reason why everyone has so much long hair, and that is to cover up their backs and butts.

Actually, we turn out to get another Miyuki scene, as we get a very long explanation on why your hair gets squeaky after you go to the beach. *ahem* It sounds plausible enough, although sometimes I wonder how she knows all this stuff. Is it the typical ojou-type education kicking into play (see: that one girl from To Heart 2 that Taka played air hockey with), where they must be highly educated to take over the family business of whatever?

During this point the very visual-novel minded Konata gets an idea (referred to as ’setting a flag’ XD) and provides some off-screen physical hijinks by setting a bar of soap by Miyuki for her to slip on. Note Konata’s very hilarious warrior-ish pose.

Also, am I the only one who thinks slipping on a bar of soap and falling onto a wet floor would hurt? Seriously. Although, hospital Miyuki might have some bonus moe charm, for all we know, eh Konata?

Also from the same scene, we get a Public Service Message from Konata. The More You Know~

Meanwhile we get another scene of the adults separated from the rest of the group in Mysteriously Murky Water. Lucky Star’s talked about eating food, talked about periods (simultaneous alienating 99.5% of their fanbase), and now they’re talking about not having anything to talk about.

And it works, especially as a “hey, that’s happened to me” slice of life thingy.

Konata’s ridiculously funny :3 expression kicks in again when Kagami talks about guys hitting on them. Between this and the preview for next week it seems the highly-skirted topic of romance is becoming a subplot very slowly but surely. Can’t wait! We need some more pathetic guys in here for more awkward interaction (imagine a non-gamer with Konata), call Shiraishi down from Lucky Channel or something after Akira’s given him a good talking to or something.

And now for the Tsukasa Checku~ Seriously, Tsukasa has a lot of great shots in this episode, whether you’re a Hiiragi fanboy or not.

It’s odd to see a blank look like this from both the girls, which is what gives it awesome point. Also, note the difference in the eyes. If the mindset of everyone in real life could be determined by the slant of their eyes…

And also the embodiment of all that is awesome in Lucky Star (aside from the parodies, and Konata’s gamer talks, and…ok, fine, the embodiment of all that is cute), during one of Konata’s horror stories that’s a reference to…something. Again.

And the following ’scared to death, can’t sleep’ scene that for some reason is screaming Cardcaptor Sakura to me (see: Sakura after any Naoko story, episode circa 64 and more?). Note the difference in sleeping positions for all the characters XD Great detail.

Tsukasa walks around for a bit and talks with Yui about nothing interesting at all – as typical, of course! – and then gets scared around a bit more by Konata who has forsaken such normal needs such as sleep for more CG scenes. Seriously cute pose there.

And the ‘holy shit where’d the really awesome graphics come from’ scene with Tsukasa listening to the ocean. It sounds like it could be another reference but it’s very adorable good on its own.

And of course it ends on a humorous note when a bug comes scurrying out of the shell, kicking us back into normal art and sending Tsukasa running to onee-chan for some yuri action comfort. (Konata so should’ve brought that up)

Anyway, Lucky Channel as always and Akira is a little bit more abusive than usual, scaring ShirishirisomethinghowthehelldoIspellhisnameguy witless, giving him the finger, and then following by a tirade on otakus. Good stuff as always, especially with the rapid fire genki/…notgenki? mood changing.

Finally….AKIRA BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMU!

-CCY

The characters in Lucky Star are finally becoming appealing at a deeper level than “Look, I said Miyuki’s moe, so she is. Plus, glasses!”.

OK, that’s a bit of a lie. Deeper level != Lucky Star.

But I can finally see where the Tsukasa fanpeoples are coming from.

Hit the jump for Tsukasa, Tsukasa with fan, random MMO talk, Tsukasa and Hawaii Blue, blushing Miyuki, depleted uranium Tsukasa, dirty Konata, Tsukasa, and RAKI CHANNELU~

Anyway, the episode begins with a scene that’s not this one. The beginning is actually a mostly forgettable school scene with the teacher begging the students to be studious over break so they don’t have to bug her, or something.

Anyway, it’s a yutaka festival event, also known as ‘cuteness plus plus’. Even Konata notices this with her usual parallel to dating sims from this. Complete CG material here.

But first we go to the second scene, where Tsukasa ponders the paradoxes of fanning herself. It’s cute in that ‘love the Shift+6 Underscore Shift+6 face’ way.

Also, Kagami continues to be what can loosely be describes as a jerk tsundere, not wanting to see Konata any more she has to (which, incidentally, is a lot). Right. Tell that to the horny fanboys, Kagami. Also, for some reason I felt like Tsukasa got some collateral damage in this scene, as I though Kagami was talking to her at first.

The first of N+1 naive clueless Tsukasa looks in this episode, where N is a large number greater than zero that represents the amount of times Konata talks about MMOs. Or when Konata talks about anything really.

Anyway, where were we? Festival scene. Also, OH SHI~ Miyuki doesn’t know things! This goes against all her moe points so far; despite the cuteness from her panicking over the answer, I’d prefer the database-like Nagato-type any day.

Also, I sound like a complete loser now.

We meet Konata’s cousin Yui, better known as ‘meganekko++’. We need more green-haired glasses girls in anime. Oh, and she’s a policeperson also. Pretend you care.

In the sharpshooting game Yui makes an amusing act out of finding the right Action Pose ™ to shoot from. Eventually she gets dragged off by her colleagues to go ‘work’ (which, as we will find out, does not happen either).

Konata starts going all mischievous when she asks if anything behind the counter is fair game, such as the attendant. I’m not sure what she wants to do if she ‘won’ him. You can make up your own dirty reasons but I have a feeling he’d end up in the basement as a level-grinding slave.

I spy with my two eyes two cute girls with blank stares and Kagami. Context: never use Konata as the baseline for guessing people’s age.

Or for that matter relative cup size physical maturity. Note more Yui subtlety. Expecting her to go all Haruhi in a few seconds (c’mon, we need more references, right?).

Konata almost looks wistful in this scene, which is very scary. Afraid to ask what her definition of romance is. (wasn’t she married in a MMO already anyway?)

o_O dot dot dot *shot*

It actually is vaguely close to what you’re thinking, coming after the cotton candy scene where Kagami picks some cotton candy off of Tsukasa’s face. There’s your deredere side. I can see Konata picturing your generic dating sim right now. That would be a total CG moment. The Kagami x Tsukasa moment, that is. Otherwise you’re going to get thrown into a recursive loop.

Kagami, post Konata MMO spiel again. Clearly she has never looked behind the fourth wall. *waves*

I’m sure this scene was more useful in the context of something, but, c’mon, Tsukasa with >.<
And also, Tsukasa who knows something! That she probably shouldn’t, eh? That would explain her blushing expression. By the way, this is an extension of the Miyuki-not-knowing-the-answer gag from way up there. Sign #1 of the Apocalypse: Tsukasa knowing something that Miyuki doesn’t.

OK, I’m going to go take my dirty mind out behind the yard and rape it shoot it. Dot dot dot.

Anyway, we get to a nice Kagami scene (today is clearly Hiiragi Advancement Day), where she fishes for, uh, fish, that are really scared of her (which Konata, as always, takes note of), replete with Pokemon reference.

She finally gets one. What’s really unfortunate is that we don’t get to see it dying 5 minutes later. It would’ve so fit Kagami’s character.

And now for some fanservice. See, fanservice? Heh! Heh? Heh. *shot, again*

Out of context statement #11: Tsukasa does it better.

We flash forward to Konata during break, which she spends glued to her chair, talking to her computer (seriously, how many people read their chat text out loud?). Also, note Konata’s enthusiasm to get away from the real world. In a serious dating sim, this is where we’d get some plot or something showing why Konata is so detached from reality. Taking her character into account, she just might invent a past to fit it XD

Tsukasa cute meter plus plus. I don’t get all the ‘depleted uranium’ and ‘balsamic vinegar’ stuff, but it’s random, and Lucky Star = random, thus ‘balsamic vinegar’ = Lucky Star.

For some reason the first thing I thought of was the Shiori scheming pose (link blatantly stolen from AoMM, a great site for funny blogs), probably since I’ve been rewatching Kanon recently. It could be argued that the two have some similarities, such as the ‘look at me, I’m happy’ face all the time, and the naiveness (Shiori hasn’t experienced a lot, although she is a lot more poetic than Tsukasa).

Eventually Konata ends up with the Hiiragi twins to do homework, and she chooses Kagami as the source of knowledge, bugging her pretty much every 5 (real time) seconds. I wouldn’t trust Kagami, personally, but that’s just a stereotype that given her personality her grades wouldn’t be top notch.

Also, that pause in the screenshot pictured lasts for a TV eternity. I thought my computer had frozen XD

Anyway, back to the Konata household where Yui comes over to score some points with the gamer crowd, sticking with the fashionable DS rather than Konata’s hardcore PC MMO’s. It can be assumed she’s a casual gamer, but that’s a good type too.

Also, I need to learn how to vent steam out my head like Konata when doing homework. Although it would get rather cloudy in the certain classes from all the stress from everyone XD

Finally, Konata plays with her eyes closed while singing the Haruhi OP. How does that work? Level-grinding must be easier than I thought.

RAKI CHANNELLLUUUUUUU~ OHAYLUCKY!! Super genki genki Akira section time!

Oh dear, I appear to be infected. C’mon, it’s so fun to scream!

Akira seems more extreme in this LC segment than usual, both in her hyper form in the beginning and the pissed form in the end.

Also, in more ‘please shoot me’ segments:
Akira: “when I first started, I didn’t know what to do…but I got lots of help from really experienced guys!”

She mentions that only half her audience is going to understand her MMO talk. I think she is severely underestimating her audience – I’d put the odds at 99.8%, and take the over.

Finally, full version of the Something Something Seifuku Super Hyper Crazy Dancing Opening Cherry Pie Full (Super 1000% sparking Engrish Incoherence) Version is here. Go forth, for great insanity! (personally, listening to it, the first part from the OP is still the best)

-CCY

Speaking of cospresents, Konata also gets Tsukasa a To Heart uniform with a price tag that would rival that of Miyuki’s jewelry gifts. At 118 yen to 1 dollar that’s $268. Cha-ching! Tsukasa is said around the net to resemble a character from the original To Heart, which I can’t confirm, but that uniform definitely is that from To Heart 2 (costume recycling? XD)

And for one final reference, we get Flat Chested Alliance member Konata FTW! ^^ Having become a Mayumi fanboy out of the blue I wholehearted approve of these Shuffle! references (I wonder why though, KyoAni didn’t do that series…is it that big in Japan?).

Surprised however, that when Konata brought up her qualifications for the meido cafe that she centered on the bust size rather than her height. I mean, the loli factors got to count for something in that line of business. Not that I would know. Of course.

This episode, and maybe this series as a whole, is rather hit and miss, still. A lot of the jokes in this series are rather pedestrian, which is what makes them 1) awesome and 2) crap. The ‘Konata cries wolf’ on being late sequence which opens the episode is dull, but the ‘Konata is a procrastinator’ later on was gold.

Maybe it’s just how much a given sequence can relate to you, as I spend a lot of time saying “Hey, that’s happened to me…” when watching Lucky Star.

Speaking of, how the hell do you read in bed sitting like that? I find that incredibly uncomfortable, although I suppose that’s a plus if you need to stay awake all night (and morning) reading a great book. XD

I also wonder how Konata and Kagami became friends at time as Konata is very unsubtle when pointing out the decidedly “not-moe” characteristics of Kagami. Sometimes I wonder if she does this on purpose to play off Kagami’s tsundere qualities, which I imagine Konata knows quite well.

As shown by her rampant comparisons of Miyuki to the ojou type who can’t do anything (probably because they have two cute twin maids with red/pink hair, one of which is plotting to kill their entire family). I’ve got to try labeling everyone according to dating sims in real life someday. It’d be amusing.

Speaking of Miyuki, have some shiny/blushy squeeeeeeee~ screenshots of her. Yay, Miyuki! Mm, too bad Lucky Star characters that don’t have blue hair don’t have a lot of character to fanboy off of yet.

Also, I should probably mention that after posting the above screenshots above that I went back to the episode to make sure Miyuki actually has eyes. She does.

Here’s one of the two scenes in Lucky Star that has serious-style animation as opposed to 4-koma style. My main curiosity in this scene is the poster in the background – there have been plenty of references in posters so far, wondering if anyone could figure out this one.

And here’s a picture for all the American parents out there, with a warning to never ever hand Konata Grand Theft Auto. What if she grew up on FPSs instead of eroges? That’s a thought for you. (also, a great blank stare by Konata there)

Tsukasa continues to spend 99% of the episodes in overly-naive mode, in both the conversation about breathing through nose and mouth and the one about Comiket, and Comiket yogurt, apparently. XD

The episode ends with a final scene foreshadowing the revealing of Konata as a trap. To be continued~

And now for RAKI CHANNELLLLLLUUUUUUU!

When I first started watching Lucky Star I really didn’t have a damn clue what the hell Lucky Channel was in relation to everything else, but I think that was my main problem with the series in general. Trying to understand it, that is. When you just take LC as a short 2-minute skit apart from all the (already disjointed) real Lucky Star segments, it becomes 500% more awesome. Yay bipolar Akira!

The news that Lucky Star’s got a new director for 5 onwards has shot it back up the ‘watch [and subsequent flame, again]‘ list of many people, if the Anime Blogger Antenna is anything to go by. We’ll see how things change (or don’t) for this series.

-CCY