Pretty standard storyline, you've got 4 high school girls just living life and being themselves. As with most SoL comedies, especially ones that are based on a short comedy bit manga, you're going to focus on short scenes as opposed to a huge overarching story. There's about the same structure as you can expect from a show like Azumanga Daioh. It's hard to comment on it, but the little story bits are funny. One thing that DID get old was how many skits were basically like this:
Kagami: Konata, you are so lazy. Why don't you study??
Konata: I try, but...but...anime and manga!!
Kagami: You are never going anywhere in life! You have to study!
Konata: *Insert reference to anime/manga and witty retort*
Miyuki: *Says something moe*
Konata: *Acknowledge moe and say it out loud*
That was a trope that happened too often and got super annoying. However, for every one of those, there were three or four ones that were super funny and very memorable (Timotei!!!). It was definitely enough to keep my attention and make me want to watch more. the one thing that I found astronomically annoying, pointless, and utterly forgettable was Lucky Channel. I'm pretty sure I "get" the parody, but I just found it more annoying than entertaining. I could literally skip every single one of them and wouldn't miss out on anything. If you sit through the first 2 or 3 and find it annoying, just do yourself a favor and skip them. That was why this only got an 8 rank on story. If it weren't for the hilarious bits of the show, I probably would have stopped watching it altogether. Glad I didn't though! Hang in there, it gets better!!
Maybe I'm being mean on the art, but it is a really cartoonish style and is a little weird to process at first. You get used to it afterwards, but in general it's just harder to sit and watch than something with more realistic proportions. Probably seems like a nitpicky point, but that's what my impression was. Take it with a grain of salt.
Dub was good and the music was catchy too. That theme song is definitely going to get stuck in your head. Since a lot of the music in the show just didn't grab me, it fell short of a perfect on that. To be honest though, the dub is definitely one of the better ones and all across the board as well. While Kuragehime had a great dub for certain characters, this one was good no matter what character was talking.
Just like with any SoL, the characters have to be the strong point of the series to give it real life. Yeah there were some stereotypes, but this show had NO inhibitions about calling them out to make a joke regarding it. Konata is the absolute mascot of all anime fans, bar none. She has so many memorable lines and references that it's hard not to love her. If the show had a main character, it would likely be her. Kagami is your tsundere, and a pretty standard fare one at that. She is what she is, so you can't really hate on her for that. She has some funny lines, though she gets a bit repetitive being the grouchy one all the time. Tsukasa is the cute and helpless one, she flakes out but tries her best to do improve. She's lovable because she is such an adorable little mess. Miyuki is the seemingly perfect one, even her imperfections just make her more moe. She is good fuel for some of Konata's commentary and jokes, so she doesn't really get in the way. Out of side characters, you have some extras later on in the show, but my favorite had to be Konata's dad. He's funny and creepy, but you like him because Konata is who she is because of him.
It's a very entertaining anime, but if they gave Lucky Channel the axe, this would have gotten a perfect score. I just plain hated L.C....sorry. Liked the rest of the show though, plus the ending songs that were done live action are hilarious as well. For the parts of the actual show, I loved it and wish there were more episodes to watch! It was a little easier to step away though since the show didn't exactly have cliffhangers.
All in all, this doesn't beat out Azumanga Daioh on quality and watchability, but that doesn't mean it's not a classic in and of itself. It's popular for a reason, it's a great show. I feel some things could have been done better, I also think a 2nd season wouldn't be a bad idea if they kept up with how well they did the 1st one. I definitely found myself quoting the show and laughing at memes I googled for the show. If you consider yourself an anime fan in the LEAST, please watch this show!!
