Lucky ☆ Star - Initial Review

Note: I usually screencap using raws, but in this instance I figured that without dialogue there was rather little to screencap. Credits to a.f.k., LC and WiND for subs.

Episodes watched: 5 out of ?

Many fans of Haruhi and Aya pounced on this new series to fill the gap left by the end of the first season* of Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutzu but were left somewhat disappointed .

But that's not to say it's a bad anime.

Infact, far from in the opinions of many (mine included), but it's definitely served on a different platter.
Not that filling the shoes of Haruhi would be an easy task anyway, but while the two series' share the same studio and same lead voice actor they're arguably not even in the same genre, although comedy is the predominant theme in both.

Speaking of the animation, Kyoto Animation might have done both series' but if you hadn't noticed from the screencaps above, the artwork isn't even remotely similar.

The cutesy animation put me off at first, but I ended up actually quite enjoying the episodes I've seen so far.
As for Aya, one has to wonder when she'll eventually run out of unique voices.

I've come to like the rather odd wtf-are-they-seriously-just-gonna-talk-all-episode-omg-they-did sorta humour - you could just see a thought bubble surrounding an ellipsis hovering over my head during the entirety of each episode.

There's little to talk about when it comes to the story, as the plot follows the awesomely weird Konata Izumi (Aya's character) the quirky otaku game obssessed girl, and her assorted friends in their day to day school life.

The addictive opening is wonderfully warping, whoever came up with the obscure random list of words and phrases which make up lyrics must be an interesting person indeed.

Ending sequence consists of a new anime based karaoke song performed by one of the chracters each episode.

More or less completely dialogue based, it'll really depend on you in whether you'll find it funny or just plain boring.
If you're looking for an anime that's bit more direct in it's humour, you may be better off checking out Gurren Lagann.
Likeable characters and unusual humour are enough to make me follow this one for at least a little while though.

Verdict: Subjective. Recommended, but not a series for everyone.

Initial rating: 7/10

Edit: zomg an Initial D parody in episode 6 *stops himself from upping the rating*

A heads up for people who are bent on canonically accuarate subtitles.

Credits for the questionable yet quality entertaining fansubs go to a.f.k.

* 2nd season of Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutzu has been confirmed and is currently slated for fall '07