Lucky Star

[DB]

Seen 1-24, entire series

It's basically an Azumanga style in that the series centers on a small (4) group of high school girls and, well, everyday things in their lives done with a comic approach. However the characters and their interactions are different from the Azu girls, which gives it a different bent. Espcially when it comes to Konata, the otaku girl. So there is a definite difference between the series, which makes Lucky Star enjoyable in its own right, without being a carbon copy of Azumanga.

The cast starts to expand around the 18th episode, which helps spread things out and keeps them from being too redundent. Also adults appear in this, as do siblings and the like.

My only complaint as that for a bunch of high school girls, they are drawn like sixth graders. Oh yes, and the padding at the end of each episode with Akira bores the hell out of me.

[edit] Just saw the final episode. I have to hand it to the creators, they did a brilliant job of tying in the opening intro and song to the very end of the series. I had no idea they would do that. Also a great way to end the series.

All in all, a very enjoyable series. Definitely an 8 out of 10. Highly recommend it.

[Anastasia]

8/10, eh?

Mmm. I think it's a 7/10 for me, give or take a point depending on the episode. It's very much a show that's trying to do a lot of things and has a lot of flavors in the pot. This produces a somewhat uneven product. The good parts are good, but it's also plagued by weak parts and a few downright shitty gags. When it's good it's top tier anime, but it can never maintain it reliably. Brilliance is marred by some bad design choices(The live action EDs for the second half, overkilling the Haruhi gags, bland filler parts).

When it can maintain a good parody of fandom while being interesting(Or one or another when the singular is sharp. See the episode with Kanata.), it's great. It just can't keep this up enough.