Part 2 of our Kyoto Vacation chronicles ‘When Christmas Came to Otaku Town,’ and following the wild success of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kyoto Animation moved on to one of the defining slice-of-life anime comedies, 2007’s Lucky Star! Simultaneously a very dry, down-to-earth ‘atmospheric’ show and an absolutely absurd slice of post-modern anime surrealism, Lucky Star is a singularly entertaining show. Based on the 4-panel manga by Kagami Yoshimizu, Lucky Star in anime form quickly takes on a life of its own as the artists at Kyoto Animation find themselves reacting to the Haruhi Suzumiya phenomenon and the changing shape of anime fandom within the text of the show, and also saw some behind-the-scenes turmoil as original director Yamamoto Yutaka was fired after just 4 episodes. We dive into all of that history, discuss our favorite jokes and characters, and celebrate the delirious insanity that is Lucky Channel on this jam-packed episode! 

Enjoy, and come back next week as we review the infamous ‘Endless Eight’ episodes from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30 

Intro and History: 0:01:30 – 0:38:59

Get F’d Yamamoto Yutaka: 0:38:59 – 1:08:20

Eyecatch Break: 1:08:20 – 1:08:55

Lucky Star Review: 1:08:55 – 3:16:12

End Theme: 3:16:12 – 3:17:14 

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“re:CAPTURE” and “Happily Ever After” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com