Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 01: The Girl Who Dashes Off ]>

Hey, look! I’m finally blogging the Lucky Star episodes! So what gives? No, I’m not gonna bother answering that. Let’s just say that with the OVA nearing, I think it’s about time I should actually put more effort on one of my top favorites. This month I’ll be reviewing each episode each day, taking a trip down memory lane as I rewatch every fun-filled episode. Once all 24 are done, you can anticipate the OVA review shortly after. Here goes nothing…

To start off, the OP sequence is just too awesome. I thought Hare Hare Yukai was crazy, but they take it one step further with a more complex routine. The choreography, the scenes, the lyrics… amazing composition and arrangement! The OP single even reached #2 on the Oricon charts. You could tell right from the get-go that this would turn into another Internet meme with even more parodies than Hare Hare Yukai.

Now I know most people were disappointed with the premiere. I admit, it wasn’t anything special, but it didn’t start out so bad that I’d drop it. For starters, it’s based on a 4koma manga. I read the first few chapters of the 4koma before watching the series and it wasn’t anything that made me LOL but it still had funny moments where you can’t help but chuckle or agree on trivial things in everyday life. Even I’ve wondered about food and even how other people eat them. Well I don’t ask about chocolate coronets constantly, but that’s besides the point. Secondly, one shouldn’t expect too much from a starting episode, especially a show that’s slice-of-life. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing either but I really enjoyed watching it for the first time thanks to the people behind Kyoto Animation. We got great art and animation, a splendid cast (Hirano Aya, Katou Emiri, Fukuhara Kaori, Endou Aya, Konno Hiromi, and Shiraishi Minoru) and a great set of music (thanks to Kousaki Satoru, responsible for composing the music of Haruhi Suzumiya and also the Tekken game series. It’s very simplistic but it sounds soothing and fresh and defines the series’ humor and comedy.

The talk of food was indeed dragging a bit too much but I did love the scene where they discuss the difference between the flu and a cold, mostly since I read that part of the scene before and liked it so seeing it animated got me thrilled. Though I have to say the episode didn’t really pick up until just before the second half started thanks to the introduction of Tsukasa’s older twin tsundere of a sister Kagami. Emiri’s voice is so spot-on for Kagami, it’s like she was born for it almost. Her voice seems to have the most effect than the other girls since they speak so softly. The part where Konata visits Kagami just for copying her homework was well done. Kagami was so adorable. One of the greatest bits about this episode was when Konata explained how she and Tsukasa met. Apparently Tsukasa crossed paths with a “foreigner” so Konata went Ryu on his ass. Poor Guile.

The episode suddenly ended about 5 minutes early. What’s next? Oh just a little segment known as Lucky Channel starring Kogami Akira and her assistant… Shiraishi Minoru?! Now that’s something. I’m kinda not surprised KyoAni decided to do that, what with his fame kicking due to his infamous “Wa-wa-wasuremono” scene from Haruhi Suzumiya. I must say he does look awesome superdeformed. I really loved when Akira’s behavior suddenly turned 180 degrees after being asked how much she gets paid Suddenly she went from happy and cheery to stingy and apathetic. Her “WTF?!” expression just before she went off venting was pure gold.

After watching the first episode, I contemplated my first impressions on the characters. Konata is a silly one and you can tell she’s a big gamer. I really love her speech too. Got to hand it to Hirano Aya for that one. As one that hates seeing my schedule interrupted by sports, I’m with Konata. I’ve had countless weekends where my Saturday morning shows are replaced by baseball and it just annoys me. Kagami is too awesome. Her presence alone makes me feel very glad and it’s nice that she’s the only ‘normal’ character with common sense. That doesn’t mean there’s no love for her fraternal younger twin, Tsukasa. Though somewhat dimwitted, she’s still adorable and sweet, it’s almost shocking that she and Kagami are related. I can relate to her in that I usually sleep in and can’t adjust my hours. As for Miyuki, she’s a very pretty girl with a lot of knowledge, so much that she’s a walking Wikipedia. The only one with “volume” out of the four girls, and hey, a meganekko to boot. A bit like the Mikuru of the show, she has a lot of faults that Konata describes as moé, unsurprisingly. I completely agree with her on contacts. I know they work but I feel like if I wear them I’m gonna be poking my eye a lot. Her explanation about Konata troubling Kagami while she was sick was pretty funny. She completely turned every problem around by looking at it optimistically. Maybe she really is a saint. Oh, and it seems physical exams are no scare for her.

With such a great OP sequence I just didn’t know what to expect for the ED. A little different from what I’ve seen before, KyoAni decides to go with a karaoke box. Pretty clever, though I had no idea what song Konata was singing, but it’s called Uchuu Tetsujin Kyoudain. It sounds like it’s from classic tokusatsu which I believe it actually is if memory serves correct. They certainly know how to make things interesting. For the first episode wasn’t all too bad, but then again, there wasn’t much that were good either. Kinda like Azumanga Daioh, you’d find this series a hit or a miss.