Lucky☆Star: Original na Visual to Animation

The “Lucky Star” OVA is made up of several short stories or chapters. A coherent plot or over spanning arc is hence not present, but this is not uncommon for “Lucky Star” and the different short stories ensure the OVA will have something enjoyable for everyone. From a slice of life story, to a full blown comedy or parody story to a heart warming tale, the OVA touches upon all of the types that were featured in the series.

Being all about Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki, it's a bit of a shame the other characters were featured less. Yutaka, Minami, Patricia and Tamura only ... appear in the first story, Misao, Ayano and Nanako sensei appear briefly in the other tales. But this is normal given the time restraints.

Typical for “Lucky Star” are the many references and parodies on current or older anime, as well as otaku and game culture. Some hilarious examples are Patricia's ぜつぼうした(zetsubou shita), Nanako sensei's rare item Pizza shield, Kagami's cosplay as Vocaloid's Hatsune Miku,...

The first story was centred around Minami's dog Jerry and how he encounters everyone throughout his day. A nice slice of life tale to start the OVA with it also held some great laughs.
It was followed by a story showing Konata and Nanako-sensei playing an mmorpg together with Kagami and Tsukasa, told in game which lent itself to some 3D CG visuals and funny mmorpg humour.
A dream sequence story brought us Konata dressed in “The Melancholy Of Suzumiya Haruhi” Yuki's sorceress outfit taking Kagami who was transformed into Volcaloid's Hatsune Miku's outfit -complete with leek- out on an evening filled with magic.
Next was a volleyball match with the Hiiragi sisters on opposing teams which turned out to be a more heart warming story, one couldn't help but root for Tsukasa.
Then followed a school camp tale told by Miyuki to her mother about how she and her friends erred from the correct path while heading to their camp and ended up wandering around the forest until late at night.
The closing scenes were a more psychedelic dreamlike scene which did not appeal to me that much alas as I understood little of the humour in it.

The ending credits feature a live action clip of Akira Kogami's seiyuu Ai Nonaka and Minoru Shiraishi, which I found enjoyable a lot funnier than the live action closing scenes featured in the series. It was uncanny how at times Ai Nonaka's performance and facial expressions were so spot on, one would almost think the Akira persona is based on her. Minoru Shiraishi as always is a hoot, that guy is so silly!


Like all of Kyoto Animation's productions, the animation was good, but not especially better than the series itself as the typical and somewhat more simple visual style of “Lucky Star” does not lend itself to the same visual feats as other series Kyoto Animation has animated are treated to. The subdued color palette and character appearances reinforce this impression.
However they did use the OVA to experiment more with different animation types and scene effects for “Lucky Star”, as is apparent in the psychedelic dream scene or the mmorpg in game scenes.

The soundtrack was good and featured tunes from the television series, however the series' opening track “Motteke! Sailor fuku” was omitted entirely.


The “Lucky Star” OVA was terrific, full of laughs and a must for “Lucky Star” fans, it has the exact same atmosphere as the series so it doesn't feel particularly special but you will feel as if watching the next episode, which is fine with me as the “Lucky Star” series was awesome.

The Lucky Star OVA was very well done. It brings fans back to the series of lucky star and includes all the characters that you have gotten to know and love... excluding a few characters... Lucky Star generally never has a real story to it but the small episodes in it seemed to flow very nicely. Since there really is no true story, I had to rate the story as a 7/10. To people who are unfamiliar with Lucky Star, watching the OVA might make you confused because you don't know what is going on. However, if you watched the series then the OVA should ... make perfect sense to you. All the stories were fairly good but near the end, with the pet store, it was funny but it could have been better. Personally it was not my cup of tea but it still had its moments.

The art is very well done as usual. The characters seem to look the same and the art style had not changed since the series. It is pleasent to look at and it doesn't have extremely and unnecessary shiny characters. The 2nd story in the OVA is very well done as that is what many MMOs look like.

Sound: The sound was the same, nothing really special changed from the series to the OVA. One can expect the same quality as they did in the series.

Characters: It is very nice to see most of the characters again. It is even better to still see them with their original personalities. Kagami is still her usual self and Konata is still a crazy otaku.

Enjoyment: You can expect that this OVA is done just as well as the series. If you didn't like the series, you will not enjoy the OVA. If you did like the series, you might think the OVA is a bit of a disapointment. However, it is still worth the 45 minutes to watch.

For an OVA that is suppose to be for Lucky Star... it wasn't very good.

The ova consists of a couple of mini-episodes that were suppose to be for the amusement of fans. Where was that amusement, might I ask.

The first story that began had more to do with the dog than with the characters themselves. Basically, it was more of the dog sleeping, with a few glimpses and actions from the characters. Not the best to start out with. Shortly after, we have an RPG game.. and though it is nice to see some 3-D type action.. it was rather annoying that all they ... did was talk, and repeat in battle sequences. 'sighs' Really I was starting to loose my interest.

Finally, we get something entertaining in the 3rd mini-episode. The Cinderella type story, with Konata as the fairy god mother, or should I say god witch. Here is where I can see why some fans would want to watch the OVA for. It was very amusing to see Konata up to her silly but cool and layed back type antics. The wrestling (though I am not a fan) was rather interesting, especially seeing as it took the form of the ball in the story. The ending was also hilarious too. Then we have the Vollyball game.. not as good as the Cinderella type story, but almost... Sisters against each other, along with two other friends (yes.. Konata included). I must say it was fun to watch them go at one another in attempt to be each other, and with an interesting outcome.. 'chuckles' So amusing.

Then there was some strange man trying to sell Konata's RPG character some items... and then it skipped to the camping story. And when my enjoyment rouse... it fell. The group is lost within the woods, thanks to Konata, and trying to find their way to the camp grounds. All they really did was walk around and talk.. which was pretty boring half the time. I think the only enjoyment I got was watching Konata proclaim they were going to die... Finally we have the sensei's house which was very short and... very confusing. I think that is the only word I have for that.. that it was very confusing, and yet ridiculous to the point it forced a laugh out of you.

And then the ending.. well.. the ending I just ended up hitting my skip button.. that was just.. They were... Okay there are no words to phrase how utterly stupid then ending was. 'chuckles'

My rating for the story a five.

The animation in Lucky Star, like always it was very good, but it is different this time comparing it with the RPG 3-D effects. Something about seeing the characters in 3-D sort of rubbed me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to see them come to life in 3-D instead of remaining in 2-D, but I just.. I don't know. I think it had something to do with the gaming effects... Something about them could of used a bit more something. So the art work is seven.

The sound.. I didn't like the ending song.. Nope.. did not. I did love the voices, seeing as they nailed the characters personality dead on. But it was brought down a peg by the gaming effects... Seriously, something is missing...

Okay, boredom sort of brings your view of the characters down a couple of notches so do not be mad at me. The characters were good.. they brought a nice ingrediants to the min-shows, even if the show was boring...'twitch' They were kept well in character in my opinion. I don't have much to say other than that.. and Konata was most certainly amusing in her witch costume.

My enjoyment is a four. Simple as that.. I didn't really find my enjoyment rising in this. It fell a great deal with the first two mini-shows, but rouse by the 3rd and 4rth shows, but dropped again shortly after. Really, it wasn't very good as I had hoped. 'sighs' It did give me a good laugh now and again, so it deserves a four for descent. In other words it wasn't all bad.

Overall, I think it was a pretty fair OVA, considering that it gave us fans something more from the series, and showed what they would look like in a more 3-D type nature. It also provided a nice sense of humor, and show a good deal of care for ones pet.. Yeah, it may have been boring, but it wasn't all that bad. I think a six is a fair overall rating for it.

Well the thing about this review is it's directly compared to the other series, favorably or unfavorably. And after just writing a Lucky Star review, I thought it was only right that I write a Lucky Star OVA review. In fact, I only got up the energy to write a Lucky Star review to the community.

So, now that I've filled out the preface, it's time to get to the individual qualities of the short movie. Or actually, just medium as an OVA.

1. Story
Well how does one comment on one story, that's slice of life episodic comedy?
Well, you rate it on being an episodic, slice of ... life comedy.
This one doesn't quite pace as the other one did. And has quite a bit of cool down and then short spurts of comedy. It's not so chatty and eventful as the main series.

In this way it does make it feel a bit more like a movie. But at the same time, it doesn't do what it does quite well as it did with the main series. You expect more out of it than you get. It moves slow and uneventful, and ends before you know it.
Well at least in it's favor, it ends long before you want it to end.

2. Art
It's the same great artwork as before. And there's no change at all.
So there's really nothing to say about this. It's the iconic moe art style we know and love Lucky Star for.

Ten out of ten.

3. Sound
Well you know...I didn't even notice the sound too much this time around. It doesn't have that memorable opening song that I remember. And it all seemed sort of quiet. Too quiet at times. It didn't really have to have all the music though.

And the character voices were as cute as ever.

4. Character
I think I have to commend them for spending the time they did on characters like Patricia Martin. But overall, it felt like when it was supposed to be a party, that it was an empty party. I think this part...this...OVA..was lacking in some of the character charm and development that Lucky Star often had. In the case with everything with this OVA, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good.

5. Enjoyment
Even if an OVA isn't as good, it's a Lucky Star OVA. Meaning we'll love it.
Seriously, how long were we starved for this? Too long. I went through every second of this thinking how I couldn't believe I was getting to watch more Lucky Star and fearful of every minute I drew closer to the end. It might have not been jam packed with the same about of fun as the main series, but it was still a lot of fun and well worth the watch.

6. Overall
Overall, it was what the number 8 says. It was very good. And well worth the watch and very much needed, beyond needed. It was almost cruel how long we had to wait. But it wasn't every thing Lucky Star was. I think a person is better off watching Lucky Star the series first, and then watching this because they're still absolutely starved like I was for more. It may not be one hundred percent as good as the original, but it's still got the magic. I don't want anyone to think and to get the impression that because it doesn't shine just as hard as Lucky Star the TV series that it's not every bit a good and enjoyable anime. It's a quality watch and I recommend it to anyone.

As a fan of the Lucky Star series, the oav was a dissapointment.
i was hoping for a progression after the graduation, either the summer before university/ great konata- adventure of somesort or even the advent of a boyfriend for Kagamin :p [ooooooh]
All the oav seemed like xtra less-funny-crap-scenes they couldnt fit into
the series anywhere...so lets make an oav to waste the fans time X__x
There are a few funny moments and classic lucky star humor; im sure everyone is curious as to why Kagamin is "cosplaying"as Hatsune Miku. Its sad, but the oav was pretty short
and lacked the charm of the series. ... You bored on a Sat afternoon? Nothing
on? No worth while anime to watch or stuff to do? Go to a streaming site see it and be one iota less bored than u were 45min ago.
In the end, makers of Lucky star oav couldve actually tried and not have given us stale leftovers that left me with the feeling of..meh.


*Feel free to message me if u love or hate what i had to say about
the beloved lucky star*

This is overkill. This one episode is probably one of the most hilarious anime episodes I've watched so far. It's like a one really big point to whole Lucky Star series. There are jokes about: Azumanga Daioh, Bakemonogatari, of course Haruhi, Hatsune Miku, and many more. I was laughing my ass off for quite a while watching it. This is why I gave it 10/10, better score than Lucky Star itself.

Lucky Star was a very good series, and this OVA just continues the madness. It's not very funny to start with, with only one or two jokes, but as it moves on to the random story lines, it gets funnier. I think that this is a must watch for any enthusiasts of the Lucky Star anime. It continued the 'Legendary Girl A' gag and helped develop things between Kagami and her sister. The only thing I found disappointing was the lack of Haruhi references, but that is trivial compared to Konata's 'Heaven has abandoned us' scene. All in all, Lucky Star OVA is a anime ... I highly recommend!

Unfortunately, This extended OVA didn't really bring about anything new, the whole production felt a bit chaotic, i feel.

Obviously, as a fan of the original series, i was looking forward to seeing our beloved characters in a feature length title. To an extent, this OVA delivered as well... The art, sound, and character interactions were on par with the main show. Particularly at the start, i was able to enjoy once again the comedic, casual, SoL genius that i remember a while back.

My favorite part has got to be the game visualizations, it really was an awesome idea to factor these in. The overall ... inclusion of gaming culture really blended in well with the characters, and in my mind exposed a common, yet often untold plight in real life about gamers.

So for the most part, i did enjoy the show, mostly this was limited to the immediate term though. As, unfortunately, there was no prominent main story here, and this is where the review starts to go downhill... Upon watching this, i couldn't shake the feeling that it all seemed quite chaotically put together, it seemed to be more of a montage of episode ideas that for some reason were never included, than a feature length production. On top of this, it was also quite disappointing that there were no additions, or alternate insights into the world of Lucky Star. Thus meaning that already, I've forgotten a lot of what happens.

Ultimately, i wouldn't recommend this as a film, because it lacks plot, and isn't particularly memorable. If however you go in, in preparation just to experience more of Lucky Star's charm, i'm sure you'll enjoy being reunited with the characters.

Ahh the Lucky Star OVA. While it didn't fully capture the spirit of the anime series, it's still great that we are fortunate to even see the clan again after the anime was finish, so I can't really complain too much. The only saving grace *for me at lease* was that Konata was funnier and otaku as ever and I liked Tsukasa more in the movie then in the anime series because she was "cuter" I didn't like that the Lucky Channal was live action it was not funny almost unwatchable and it was much shorter then I expected to be only around 43 ... minutes long

Story: It was basically just abunch of short Lucky Star stories. Not great, not bad.

Art: I like the art style.

Sound: I guess it was okay.

Characters: The same characters from the main Lucky Star series. Good, but not amazingly amazing.

Enjoyment and overall: I guess it was okay. Watch it if your a Lucky Star fan or if your bored, but it's not like an amazing OVA.

Thanks for reading this short review.

Lucky Star OVA
The Story was a 5. There was no main story really. Again on my lucky star TV review the story had no specialty. But I kinda enjoyed it but to be honest I had seen better.
The Art was a 7. I quite enjoyed the character design. To be honest the background art was poor. There was nothing great about it. It just let me down really.
The Sound was a 3. The same OST plays over and over and over again. It gets really annoying. The Voice Acting was fair but not the best.
The Character's was a 6. I liked Konata's personality. She ... reminded me of myself always doing homework reading manga and watching anime!
Enjoyment was a 4. I do not regret watching this OVA but on some levels I was hoping it would be better than the TV series. But They were about the same.
Overall it was a 4. I don't like giving anime a super low score like 1. But if I kind of enjoyed this anime I think it should deserve a 4.
Check out this anime if you like being random. Boys I don't recommend boys to watch this its more of a girls anime. SO go check this out if your interested.

This will probably be the shortest review I will ever write.

As I said in my review for the Lucky Star series, KyoAni constantly references and criticizes the anime genre as a whole. Significantly, it also references and criticizes consumers of anime, including those watching the series. This OVA goes exactly one step further, exploring what would happen if the viewers’ volition filters back into the anime. What would happen if the fandom – and its associated theories, frustrations, and obsessions – become part of the show itself? Well, you get this OVA, which in Lucky Star fashion follows the same plotless, trope-filled, single-sided characterization that ... the main series is known for.

For better or worse, you absolutely do need to have seen the main series before seeing this, as this OVA interacts differently with those who are familiar with its characters and style. Watched the series? Yes, you need to watch this too.

The OVA set is a 45-minute segment of short stories that attribute themselves to the characters. They follow the same premise of fun that the main series follows. I will not ruin this segment by explaining the short stories.

Art is the same as before which is perfect.

Sound is also the same as before but at the end uses live-action which has been seen already but the Lucky Channel live-action in this format has not.

Characters don't develop anymore as this is not what the segment is about.

Enjoyment is as before which is perfect to which it is a hilarious set. Make sure ... to google the meaning of the censored phrase that Kagami says.

Overall it is definitely worth a watch and lifted my spirits having just completed the main series.

(Originally written for Anilist)

Warning: this review was made for people that already watched the Lucky Star anime ill probably do a review of that too

Its safe to say that Lucky Star is now considered an anime classic of the late 2000s, along side series like Gurren Laggan, Death Note, Haruhi, Higurashi, Black Lagoon, Code Geass ect... but I don't hear that much people talking about its OVA special, realeased a year after the show concluded (on a very high note in my honest opinion).

Its now commonplace for an anime to have an OVA special episode, either as a Blu-Ray exclusive or as a bundle with ... one of the volumes of the show's manga, but this a much different beast, as this was, again, made a year after the end of the show and was realeased on its own; also, this OVA does something that the show didn't do at all: it is an experimental Lucky Star Anthology!

In order to review this proprely, we got to look at each short stories (theres six of them in total) and see their strenghts and weaknesses, ready? lets go!

Story n°1: Cherry
This story serves as our opening and our only story with the secondary main characters (Yukata, Minami, Hiyori and Patricia), but mostly on Minami and her dog, Cherry.
Most of the segment is the secondary characters interacting with the girls.

While this short is cute and all, its end is what forshadow the more bizarre shorts later on, as its heavily implied that (SPOILER)
Cherry dies, a twist that feels really dark for what we had seen earlier in the short (SPOILER)

overall quality: 7/10 cute but the ending does kinda arrives out of nowhere
Story n°2: MMORPG
This story, if canon to the tv series, should take place during episode 16, its been mentioned a lot of times that Konata and her teacher Nanako plays the same MMORPG game, but we never saw what does the game look like, this short basically answers that question and finally answer that question that, well not a lot of people asked, but the effort made to make the MMORPG look as real as possible is admirable and shows how talented the staff is.

the only bad point is that its by far the weakest short in terms of comedy, but theres still a few good jokes here and there.
8/10

Story n°3: Tsundere-lla
If theres one short that would be considered to be a fan favorite, its most definitely that one.
this is straight up Cinderella parody and basically thats all you need to know, I recommand to check that one for yourselves, its hilarious and the funniest short of the OVA.

9,5/10

Story 4: Volleyball
Tsukasa wasn't one of the deepest characters in the show, lets all be honest here, she is really most of the time the air head cutie we all know and love, but this short attemps at giving her a bit more personallity.

We discover a Tsukasa angry about being the shadow of her sister Kagami, and tries to proove to everyone that she matters just as much as her sister, on a match of volleyball against her.
I remember not enjoying this short as much as the other ones back in my first watch, but i did talk with friends online saying it was their favorites, not only its one of the more normal stories of the OVA, but the given depth of Tsukasa really makes the character even more likeable than before.
8/10 not really my cup of tea, but its just as interesting as the other shorts.

Story 5: Camping
Being lost in the woods with yours friends can be quite scary, well thats happened to Konata and Co in this short, however, this short tells the story narrated by Miyuki's point of view (even if a lot of the quote are actually Haruhi references).

I know a lot of people who thinks that Miyuki is "boring" and "uninteresting", mostly because she is the "seeminly perfect" type character of the show, but Ive always liked her, in both ways mind you, and here, Miyuki serves as a great narrator to a story that would have been boring otherwise, plus those camping uniform are just adorable
8,5//10

Story 6: ???
I think at this point, the director went crazy and just made a 3 minutes horror sequence that just so happens to have the four main girls, like Tsundere-lla, I cannot describe you what the actual hell is happening without spoiling the experience, just know that theres a Sgt Frog cameo.
9/10

Soooo... that was a hell of a ride, this OVA is overall amazing, its just the ultimate testament to how well this characters are: if they can put them in any situation and doing great work with it like they did here, then those characters are truely not just moeblob throwaway characters, don't y'all think?

I was going to give it the same rating as the show, a 9,3/10, but its experimental nature is so charming to me I'll give it an extra 0,1, a must watch for Lucky Star fans!