(Fashionably) Late to the Party
April 11, 2007 | Television | Lucky Star
I intentionally waited for a (quality) fansub release before watching the first episode of Lucky Star, as experience has taught me that my Japanese comprehension skills simply aren’t developed enough to get much out of dialogue intensive comedies without the assistance of subtitles. I can confidently say that I made the right choice, because, even with subtitles, I had difficulty keeping up with the dialogue at times. Had I tried watching the first episode raw, my brain probably would have overheated about two minutes in… which seems to have happened to a lot of people, given initial reaction to the show.
Anyway, I found the first episode to be a bit of a mixed bag. It’s a mixed bag of goodies, though… I’m just not entirely sure they compliment each other all that well. I did laugh, however. Quite often, in fact. Even in places where I probably wasn’t supposed to laugh.
Take the food discussion, for example. The longer it dragged on and the more pointless the dialogue got, the more I laughed. In a lot of ways, it made me think of “The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina”, in that it was just as absurd an introduction to a show as that episode was for The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Except, in the case of Lucky Star, I assume we’ll be getting twenty-three more episodes of that sort of absurdity. I don’t know yet if that’s a good thing, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a bad thing.
So, yeah, I’m interested in seeing more. I’ll admit that Kyoto Animation’s involvement with the show is the primary reason I was interested in Lucky Star in the first place. That’s not because I’m some sort of neurotic KyoAni fanboy, however. Rather, I recognized this was new territory for them, and seeing as they’re a competent studio whose work I respect, I was genuinely curious to see what they could do with this sort of material. And I’m still curious.
So, I guess I don’t have much choice but to keep watching, now do I?
1. I guess the mangaka for Lucky Star is famished even for a mangaka ( It is well known that many mangaka struggles to make a decent living )
2. I liked the ending song. That song copy of a song that is probably older than even I.
Yeah I waited for the a.f.k. sub as well.
After watching it I can see what some people were complaining about, and I’m kind of glad my expectations were a little tempered, but I think it has some potential. I definitely laughed at the Lucky Channel segment at the end, though I have no idea how it is related to the rest of the show.
The food thing made me wonder if Juzo Itami had risen from the dead to direct an episode of anime or something.
After School Rumble, I am trying to be more patient with comedy anime. I thought School Rumble was unfunny at first, but I laughed progressively harder with each episode continuing on through the second season, so I’m willing to give comedies some time to fall into their groove now.
My thoughts on Ep01.
Click Here
Cheers.
love the starting! seems like dancing is Aya Hirano’s new trademark (see Haruhi Suzumiya)
As Spiderman says, “With great expectation comes great disappointment”. It’s not a bad show per se, and in fact, I thought it was good. As a comedy, it falls above Hayate but far below Gintama and even School Rumble.
loved the part where Konata went ‘didn’t grow @@’ xD
Seriously, which end of the chocolate roll is the head? The thin end or the fat end?
I say the fat end. It makes more sense since it is the opening of the pastry.
Natch.
Oops! So the ed song wasn’t that old.
I found that watching the raw first, and then the subbed next helped improve the experience of watching the latter. At the end of the raw, I was left thinking about what actually made those jokes funny since since I didn’t get a good number of them; when I watched it subbed, I thought to myself “So that’s how it went!” and it makes the show a lot funnier.
I’m still just baffled at all the people who decided to judge the entire show based on one episode. Most comedy shows take a little while to get going, such as School Rumble and even Azumanga while others (Ouran, Hayate, Guu) are funny from the get go. I give a general three episode rule before I determine wether or not a show is worth watching.
I’ve never been a fan of the “watch for 3-episode” (and for some it’s 4) rule just because my experience has shown that a person’s general attitude for the first episode will continue for the remainder of the show. Also, it’s like saying, “We need to watch all anime out for at least 3 eps to decide if we’re going to continue.” That’s a lot of time devoted to anime I could care less about just based of genre. And wasn’t it Jeff who wrote an article about why people shouldn’t need to watch a show just because it will get good later?
I wanted to watch this raw originally, but the sub came out by the time I wanted to watch it. Though I am glad that i watched it subbed due to the speed of the dialogue as I found it hard to keep up with the subtitles. Though I did manage though my minimal understanding of Japanese. The section where they are talking about food is probably the only time I saw disappointment as 6 minutes of ranting does get a little boring even with the minor jokes inbetween and hope that I don’t see something like this in all the 23 episodes.
I agree with Chrno (sorry FubaredByAnime) that if you didn’t care for the first episode it may take another show or two to get used to the sense of humor. I loved the show, it’s pretty much what I expected after reading the manga. Even though I also liked the shows intro it didn’t really fit the feel of the show/manga.
I didn’t wait for the good a.f.k. sub at first and even with my limited 6 months of Japanese study I was hearing some strange translating. Not that it was “wrong” just….. not as close as it could be.
I agree the food discussion went on a little longer then it needed to but it didn’t ruin the show for me. I especially liked the voice acting by “Aya Hirano” as Izumi when she’s talking about the last piece of uneaten Yakitori and she tells the waiter she’s still eating that…
The question this series has imposed upon me is this. ” If most of jokes and funny moments are heavily dialogue oriented, what difference does it make watching it animated compared to reading the manga?” Of course, only Kyoto Animation can make such OP, but significant portion of the first episode was funny even if you had your eyes closed. There are many things anime can do that manga cannot, and I haven’t seen many of those in the first episode. Things may quickly change in the next episode, though. I have Lucky Star rated as watch when having some excessive free time, currently, but this can quickly change if I read or see something promising about next episode.
Another thing that I thought was that many of the jokes are heavily cultural biased: it works because of some word sounds similar to another word, or there already is established funny meme about related subjects in Japan. Korea, being the closest country, geographically, to Japan, share many of these cultural memes, so I understood and smiled at many of the funny dialogue and monologue, but I think it may be a nightmare to successfully convey why that is funny to English-only audience. Heck, I think some those jokes will work in Japan and Korea, but not even in China. For instance, I wonder how many thought the reference ” Natural Heritage animal ( = its closest English equivalent term would be ‘endangered species’ or ’species under federal government protection’ ) ” was funny, as I know that there exist a running reference to those terms jokingly describing someone very naive and seemingly distant from ‘hormonal desires’. There also was a running joke series in Korea about what you can know about inner workings of a person’s mind by the way that person eats certain food, and I’m sure something similar exists in Japan as well, but these jokes relied heavily on word play and how unrelated words sounds similar, so it probably won’t work well in Chinese, who might have their own versions with different food and terms, and I haven’t heard something similar to that in English. This may be why, although it was much less hyped in Korea, the Lucky Star was generally viewed much more favorably compared to English bloggin community, as I have not seen any strongly negative comment from Korean anime blogs and posts. ( This is mildly surprising, since the number of anime related Korean internet sites, blogs, and discussion board is many times that of English counterparts, thus you almost always see three or four strongly negative comments or posts about almost any anime series in existance ) I do have to mention that enthusiasm isn’t that great, neither, among Koreans about Lucky Star. ( Many were only ‘mildly amused’ by OP ) It must be either cultural thing, or that Korean anime watchers are just spoiled, having almost as much access to it as Japanese.
Maybe I’m missing your point (maglor) but are you saying there’s a problem with a Japanese show, in the Japanese language, created for a Japanese audience has too many Japanese cultural references?
I’m not trying to give you a hard time, just making a point. Myself, as an American, understand that I am an “outsider” looking into their culture and that I’ll not get every joke.
I actually enjoy the cultural references as it can help me learn more about the country/people. I do admit it can make it harder to understand the dialog if it’s becomes too prominent. I had that problem with Pani Poni Dash at times.
I didn’t think there was much in the way of cultural humor in the first episode of Lucky Star, although I will agree that cultural humor in anime is sometimes lost on non-Japanese viewers.
I doubt that’s the issue here, however. Rather, I find the humor in Lucky Star to be pathologically subtle - lots of non-sequiturs, inside jokes, timing gags, and the like - and that’s not something that appeals to everyone. The fact that people are responding to the show by asking, “where’s the punchline?” is revealing, I think… after all, as a 4-Koma adaptation, there should be punchlines galore. And there are. But, for whatever reason, some viewers aren’t picking up on them, and that’s obviously going to have a serious impact on how much they enjoy the show.
But, you know, I don’t think Lucky Star is designed to appeal to everyone. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the show elicits a wide range of opinions.
you might as well just watch it… i mean, what else are you gonna do, watch idolmaster?
oh, wait..
>>I doubt that’s the issue here, however. Rather, I find the humor in Lucky Star to be pathologically subtle - lots of non-sequiturs, inside jokes, timing gags, and the like - and that’s not something that appeals to everyone.
This statement and really that whole paragraph my main issue with the episode. I was completely underwhelmed by the focus and execution of the humor. I may have completely missed the punchlines, or I just didn’t see the humor in the punchlines. I had to take a couple of breaks from the episode because I found it to be incredibly monotonous.
If there was a punchline I was supposed to pick up on, it sure wasn’t grand enough to make up for the length of the joke. It seemed like a lot of the humor was based on the stereotypes the characters were expected to perceive, and I just didn’t get it.
I’ll probably cycle through one more episode to see if it clicks, but I’m not feeling too optimistic about the show right now.
Meh. Give it a few eps before making snap decisions. Comedy anime particularly. Usually it takes a studio doing a new comedy show several episodes to find their groove. This was true for Azudai and Galaxy Angel and Magical Pokan, and probably true here.
Seems like a reasonable outlook on things. A lot of the moments seem to poke fun at Moe elements by present them at their most basic and core elements (Miyuki bumping into the wall and making cute noises, while Konata points out that she’s a regular “Pillar of Evolution” and destined for greatness). Another joke I liked was Miyuki babbling with the Kagami’s sister until Kagami pointed out that the conversation was just getting dumber and dumber. As of now I think the funniest characters are in order Konata (Crazy Otaku Nutcase with no idea as to how the real world works), Miyuki (Personification of Moe at its most basic elements), Kagami (The voice of reason and arguably the real main character, also a much better Kyon than Kyon ever was).
Really the characters are like humbler versions of the Haruhi cast that I’m pretty sure was chosen deliberately by Kyoto Animation now that they’ve reached the same pillar as Sunrise did with SD Gundam and Gainax will with Evangelion@School. The point where they can turn around and poke fun at themselves for some of their shortcomings (For Sunrise it was convoluted plots, for Gainax it was overly serious character analyisis that came across as goofy at times and for Kyoto Animation, I guess it would be their reliance on Moe and Dating Sims, which are nicely represented and poked fun at by Miyuki and Konata respectively)
Good point…
When I first heard about the program I was wondering how could they expand on the original material. It’s not easy to take short subject material and turn it into 30 or 60 minute. Also I can’t help but think Lucky Star is suffering from a so and so didn’t like it, so I should trash it too mentality.
Actually, I think the first episode of Lucky Star sets you up to expect Excel Saga levels of mania with that kinetic OP. When it then delivers a series of subtle, smile-inducing moments, it catches people off-balance. Give it Sora mimi cake for an OP, and people would be better primed for what to expect.
I’m pretty excited about this, because this is the first time I’ve been around (as in, on anime sites and blogs) to enjoy the beginning of an anime. I have not yet watched the first episode though- which sub do you think I should go for?
I suggest you watch all three versions of the opening song, the 1 minute 30 seconds, the 3 minute, and te 6 minute versions, because they’re all cute and hilarious. XD
Everyone seems to be talking about Lucky Star. I assume that, even if it’s NOT great, it’ll be popular.
Now that I think of it, the song I’m thinking of may be the closing theme- either way, it was something like Motteke! Seifuku.
Very cute.
Anii, I only watched the AFK sub. Given the amount of cultural references and wordplay present in a show like Lucky Star, I think it’s best to stick with an experienced group… for now, AFK is the only experienced group subbing the show (that I’m aware of, at least).
Youtube is removing all the AFK subs due to terms of use violations! ;_; I’ll keep looking, though.
Probably KyoAni got touchy after the 4000 or so Haruhi clips last summer and that’s why they are being removed.
What is intriguing is that the Kanon episodes are all still up and the Lucky Star ones are being targeted. I’m willing to bet that the poster went down on another TOS violation and they are removing all of his videos. There are still some videos of AFK’s sub up. I wouldn’t worry, the only companies I know of that actively request their content to be removed are Gonzo, Funimation and Sunrise.
The studios have nothing to do with it. KyoAni doesn’t own the distribution rights to any of these shows. The rights to Kanon and The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi are owned by Kadokawa Shoten. Lucky Star, I don’t know (not off the top of my head, at least… probably Kadokawa Shoten as well).
Also, owing to YouTube’s immense popularity in Japan, broadcasters tend to be proactive about sending takedown notices for material that airs on their network. Lucky Star is airing on several terrestrial networks, whereas Kanon aired on a single satellite network. Chances are, one of the many networks airing Lucky Star is keeping a close eye on YouTube.
Moral of the story: YouTube probably isn’t the best place to go looking for fansubs.
Ha ha ha! That “Street Fighter” clip just had me laughing. Oh man. The funny thing is that Guile was one of my better characters in “SF II”, but my skills with charge characters severely dropped around the time the first “Justice Gakuen” game was released because you don’t have any there.
Anyway, I’m going to be following this just because it’s Kyoani. That and Hirano Aya’s here. It’s funny, but it has its hits and misses just like “Azumanga” and the like. By the way, I saw A.F.K’s version as well.
So the issue has more to do with clout I’m guessing. I would imagine studios such as Sunrise and Gonzo would be flexing their muscle more than a smaller company such as Kyoto Animation. I actually have seen instances on Youtube of “This video has been removed at the request of its copyright holder Sunrise Inc” and “G.D.H”, which is Gonzo Digimation, so the studios do occasionally get involved directly (Though Bandai which owns Sunrise owns Bandai Channel and Gonzo is a huge studio with eyes looking everywhere). I think they are probably trying to make a point. Exposure would also be an issue, how many clips are being posted and how many parties are likely to air there grievances (Broadcasters) as you said. I will say though the chances of finding any anime on Youtube that isn’t related to Funimation, Gonzo and Sunrise are exponentially better overall.
The closing song is actual from a really really old 70’s Metal Hero series called Uchuu Tetusjin Kyodain, which you can view here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxywjURzHYg
Actually, Gonzo Digimation is a part of GDH. The parent company owns the distribution/licensing rights. The studio just handles the production.
Kyoto Animation, however, is an independent studio. They’re a vendor. Kadokawa is a client. In other words, they provide services to Kadokawa, but it’s Kadokawa that owns the distribution rights to the final product. And, of course, the rights to the content, characters, and designs are often owned by someone else (for example, in Kanon’s case, it would be VisualArt’s/Key). In the end, I’m not entirely sure Kyoto Animation would own much of anything. Thus, they wouldn’t have legal standing to send takedown notices to YouTube.
Of course, it’s a similar situation for a lot of studios. Gonzo and Sunrise are the exception, not the rule.
>>What is intriguing is that the Kanon episodes are all still up and the Lucky Star ones are being targeted.
That is not exactly true. I’ve been keeping an eye on youtube and many parts of the older Kanon 2006 episodes are being removed, so over half of the series is incomplete/no longer availible on youtube. Tho it doesn’t say who requested it to be removed, it still suspicious that so many videos are being removed at the same time. KA is probably at work, but i think a higher possiblity is that google is starting to hunt down any clips of these sorts.
“Actually, I think the first episode of Lucky Star sets you up to expect Excel Saga levels of mania with that kinetic OP. When it then delivers a series of subtle, smile-inducing moments, it catches people off-balance.”
I think that’s what sent many people off on the deep end. That and the hype that this show had before it aired. :/