Ranked #117

Lucky ☆ Star

Lucky star is one of those unique Comedy anime that comes very rarely. It manages to put a comedic twist to normal everyday occurances, and many pop culutre references. The entire show is not your typical slice of life high school comedy anime, rather its show structure follows more of a western style of comedy, a sitcom to be exact. Instead of having a direct storyline, like most anime viewers are used to, it focuses more of everyday observations and Jpop culture as their source of comedy.

---Theres always a storyline no matter how broad it is. Many ppl say theres no story line but, there has to be a "story" of sorts or else this stuff cant be funny. If you had to put a plot to this show it would "A group of high school children trying to make it all the way through high school." With such a broad plot, the creators can do as they please. By the way, that is how most western sitcoms can list 5-10 seasons without it getting old (i.e. Simpsons, Family Guy, Cheers, etc.) Mind you thats the only connection this show has with a western sitcom.
---I have noticed many people bash the begging episodes of the show but i found them equally entertaining as the rest of them. It really depends on what the viewer does in their own daily lives is what truly makes this show funny. Somone who doesnt eat curry/rice or grilled meat sticks for dinner with their family wont understand a joke about it. But with all the jokes and references in this show you're bound to laugh out loud at all they throw at you! They've thoguht of everything for this show.

---Art and animation of the show is your typical comedy anime fair. Simple characters simple backgrounds simple static objects. But they manage to take "simple" to a whole different level. For example, the characters are only shown from the waist up for about 80% of the entire show. But the characters are drawn very simplistic and the coloring for each looks like it doesnt exeed 12 different colors for each person for the most part. But they are definitely drawn in a cute manner, if thats your thing. The simple-ness is what gives the show its charm too. The art style is so popular and easy to draw im sure you'll find spoofs for dozens of other non related characters around the internet.

---The Sound is your standard comedy sound efects from light hearted piano songs, to bing bangs and bongs, they're all there and accounted for. Music is mostly absent from the show aside from helping out certain jokes.
---You will definitely notice the lack of background music in the show but with such a powerful seiyu cast, one could understand that they didnt want to distract from the well executed voice acting. Of course most people will notice Aya Hirano and maybe even Minori Chihara. Its hard to believe that most of the main characters are voiced by relatively newcomers. Which also helps seperate Lucky Star from sounding the same as all the other school anime out there. You'll enjoy Kagami's singing voice by the way.

With the uniqe sound comes the "unique" (or not so unique) character types associated with each seiyu. Theres also ALOT more characters but you'll have to watch it to see them all ^_^ Speaking of characters you'll actually end up seeing all of them fairly regurlarly. Either supporting cast or main cast. By the end of the show, you'll get the feeling that not one person recieved more time than another. Even the extra characters get more than enough airtime to fully acknowledge them as essential parts of the anime.

---The enjoyment factor is through the roof in my opinion. The comedy aspect of this show covers so many angles and hits so many things perfectly its hard not to give a perfect score. I find it very hard for somone to hate this anime. That is, if you dont like japanese pop cultre, anime references and funny common occurences. If youre that type then why are you watching anime? ^_^
---Also, if you dont like western style sitcoms where the end of every episode will always leave the same way they started, this is definitely not for you. If youre looking for a romantic comedy or bloody action school go somewhere else. If you're willing to give up about 20 minutes of your time for pure entertainment, WATCH THIS SHOW!

If you find anything funnier pm me i'll give it a shot but for now this the funniest anime i've watched to date ^_^ read more

What happens when you combine my favorite genre (Slice of Life) with my favorite studio (Kyoto Animation)? You get Lucky Star.

Story: Normally when I score story in a Slice of Life show, I do it based on all the episodic stories combined. But what happens when a show does not have that and is just pure life and is random with no coherent order/story. That is why I left the score a blank.

But I would still like to talk about the content. Lucky Star plays off its humor through normal everyday conversations. Talking about the most random things and finding humor out of it is tricky. Personally, I found most conversations hilarious because I enjoy the idea of everyday situations being made fun at. This type of humor is not for everybody and thus why this show can be a hit or miss.

Another aspect of this show is its use of references. A good amount of conversations play off such references. And they can go anywhere from other anime to current events. It went as far as to use an old commercial. One of the keys to be able to enjoy this anime is to be able to know the references. Watching as much anime as I do, I got most of them easily.

Art/Animation: Technically speaking, this is not KyoAni's best work. But the style and design works really well for this type of story. There are times where I felt that they were being very lazy and yet there were times I was marveled at the level of detail. Of course it is nowhere near the level of their other works such as Haruhi.

Sound: Voice - Everyone plays there roles really well. I was particularly impressed with Hirano Aya (voice of Konata). KyoAni really utilized her vocal range and made great situations out of it.

Music - To me, this is probably the weakest aspect of the show. The OP is indeed catchy but it can only be appealing for so long. And the "different" ED each week was a hit or miss. The only great part about it was the appearance of Minoru Shiraishi. Having him sing for the last part of the series was brilliant. Listening to him was a blast.

Character: Perhaps the strongest aspect of the show. The cast of Lucky Star are great. The variety it has and the way they fit so well together really bring out the show. Whether you come to like this show or not, I believe there will be at least one character that you can't help but like. Rather than me telling you, I hope you go check out this show after reading this review and see for yourself.

Enjoyment = My score on MAL (it is subjectively rated)

Overall, this is a very enjoyable show. But it is for those who are into those kinds of humor. It is not something I would recommend to everybody. I believe this show is one of those shows where it is a hit or miss. read more