Behind The Nihon Review

Since my fellow reviewer gave his perspective on Lucky Star, and why he doesn’t find it hilarious, I thought it’d only be fitting for me to retort to his allegations. Lucky Star, while not perfect, has been one of the most enjoyable anime I’ve watched in years. In my opinion, it’s extremely funny and relaxing to watch. As I understand the large majority (almost ninety percent) of all jokes within the series, there was never a single point where I believed the show was “hit-or-miss”, as my compatriot describes below. For me, the show was a non-stop roller-coaster of fun, and even invokes fondness and nostalgia. Therefore, during this post, I will give the other perspective on Lucky Star, the perspective of one who is smack-dab in the middle of the target audience: 2ch lurker, Japanese speaker, and Eroge player.

First of all, a concession: Lucky Star is not meant for any Western anime fan. Any such person who attempts to watch the series will find it absolutely dull. The jokes, which appear at the rate of five per minute, fly over people’s heads at extremely fast speeds, undetected. Numerous nods to Japanese society, culture and the anime scene can be found in every conversation, yet these really can’t be appreciated by everyone.

Which brings me to talk about Lucky Star’s strongest point: the ironic and subtle humor. I appreciate Lucky Star because most, if not all, the jokes within it are hidden. The show assumes the viewer is intelligent; I don’t have a large finger pointing to every single reference and in-joke. I have to find them for myself. This is half of the show’s appeal, in my mind. Most comedy nowdays relies on slapstick or fanservice to appeal to viewers. Lucky Star is missing both. The humor is more sophisticated and rather ironic at times; this makes watching Lucky Star feel more like a brain-stretching excersize, in which the viewer contemplates and comprehends the words of the characters, instead of just another simple, mindless anime.

That being said, make no mistake: Lucky Star is intended for a very narrow fanbase. From the infamous “Timotei” scene to the frequent references to obscure eroge, even the average Japanese citizen would be unable to comprehend the jokes in Lucky Star. It’s just rather fortunate for me that I fall right in the middle of the intended viewer demographic. For those not as fortunate, it comes to me as no suprise that they find Lucky Star not hilarious. The comparison between Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star is fundimentally flawed; these two series have almost nothing in common. They’re both Yonkoma comics and feature high school girls, but that’s where the similarities end. While Azumanga relied on a more direct approach to humor, the humor in Lucky Star is based more on irony and understanding of the situation. In a way, Lucky Star is a much more mature series than Azumanga Daioh.

In fact, one shouldn’t even view Lucky Star as a straightforward comedy; personally I would place it under the slice-of-life genre. Western anime fans tend to believe that Lucky Star was a show created for comedic value; this assumption of framer’s intent is inherently flawed. To me, the show is much more of a nod to the perks and quirks of Japanese culture than something that’s meant for people to laugh at. Sometimes, one doesn’t laugh at the jokes of Lucky Star, not because the series has bad humor, but simply because, at that moment in time, there was no joke. What the Western brain percieved as humor is interpreted by Japanese viewers in a completely different light. The entire series can be viewed as a casual conversation between the characters on screen and the viewer in front of his TV. A conversation, naturally, does not only contain jokes. The characters go on long rants about seemingly banal subjects, such as sleeping on the train and missing your station, not to make the viewer laugh; instead, it’s supposed to make the viewer say, “Hey, I remember that one time when I did that too.” And that’s exactly the effect it has on me: one of nostalgia and understanding. I understand the frustrations of the characters; I understand and follow their conversations. I can watch, and say, “Aa, sou desu ne…” and nod my head, assuring them that I understand their plight. This is the ultimate goal of the series, and not to make one laugh.

Ultimately, Lucky Star is the simple story of four friends, with their own personality quirks, living in urban Tokyo in the modern day. Many conversations staged within the series are written with current events in consideration; for example, Konata’s complaint about “that one really long baseball game” was an actual 12-inning epic baseball game played in mid-August last year. I distinctly remember feeling pissed that I couldn’t watch my anime due to the game, which was running way-over schedule. It’s things like these that the Western viewer will never appreciate; not out of stupidity or elitism, but out of the inherent difference in culture. It’s truly unfortunate that this series has such a narrow viewer demographic; however, as a member of that demographic, I truly enjoy and appreciate the director’s efforts to connect and invoke sympathy and understanding within viewers.