(Updated on 11/2: Added a lot more information and did some editing.)

The speculation can end. It’s official. Lucky Star has been licensed.

I’ve always said that Lucky Star’s biggest strength was it’s biggest weakness. While many people will find the show funny, many won’t find it funny for the right reasons. Considering the ridiculous number of parodies, seiyuu jokes, and terminology, I’m certain many people out there didn’t “get” Lucky Star. That’s what I think was a bit unfortunate. Lucky Star was an incredibly SMART series. It hit all the right buttons for many viewers. Many could easily relate to a number of actions. Many saw the hilariousness of many of the jokes. Many cheered and cried. But what about those who didn’t get it?

An example: We can laugh at Konata buying that Galaxy Angel single because “the second she saw [the] cover [she] felt a connection” to it. Not only that, but also because she often buys things for the cover art because it is “a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.” However, that wasn’t the whole joke. If we stop there, it’s still a good laugh. Har har har! Konata buys stuff that she doesn’t really know! We can all relate to that. It’s inherently funny because we’ve all experienced it. But was that it?. . .

Knowing that Hirano Aya voiced Kahlua in Galaxy Angel added another dimension to the joke. Konata (voiced by Hirano Aya) bought a Kahlua single (sung by Hirano Aya). She even sang the song, Wasuremashou ne YAYAYAYAYAN, as she walked to the register to pay. Kagami took a jab at her by calling out her spending habits. But when she looked down after Konata was gone, she saw a Powerpuff Girls Z DVD with Momoko/Blossom prominently on the cover. Here, the joke is taken yet another step forward. Kagami admitted she has similar buying habits when it comes to light novels, but she too has a “once-in-a-life-time encounter.” Katou Erimi voiced both Momoko/Blossom and Kagami.

There are other examples, but that joke in particular always stuck out because most people I talked to about it didn’t get it. They thought the whole joke was about buying stuff because of attractive cover art. When you think about it, many Lucky Star jokes were multileveled. Most people will laugh at the first level (attractive cover art), while fewer will notice the ones beneath (seiyuu joke).

I’ve always had this ambivalence towards Lucky Star potentially getting licensed. Sometimes one has to wonder if Lucky Star could stand on it’s own two feet if all the Haruhi parodies and references were removed. It’s hard to deny that a lot of Lucky Star’s popularity stems from the popularity of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu and the popularity of Kyoto Animation, so it’s a legitimate question. I do think Lucky Star stands on it’s own merit, but when it eventually makes it’s way to the United States, I think many will be looking out for the next Haruhi fix. If that’s the case, many will be disappointed. Konata cosplaying Haruhi doesn’t mean Lucky Star will be similar to it. Motteke! Sailor Fuku isn’t Hare Hare Yukai. They’re two discrete entities.

Other than the Kyoto Animation, Takemoto Yasuhiro (early on), and seiyuu connections, there aren’t that many other links between Lucky Star and Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu. The “If you like watching Haruhi, then you have to see this…” clip from the upcoming final Haruhi R1 DVD (out next week, btw) is what gets me. It very well could just be, “Hey look, someone cosplaying Haruhi!” so check it out. If that’s the case, no harm. However, I hope it’s not, “If you liked Haruhi, then there is another similar series!” See how it could be misleading? No aliens, time travelers, or ESPers in Lucky Star. The misunderstanding that many could experience isn’t there fault–it’s semantics really. However, there will be many who have not been exposed to Lucky Star who will see that clip on the DVD and misinterpret it. Hopefully those that do will see Lucky Star for what it is, and not cast it aside because it’s not “more Haruhi.” We’ll just have to wait for season 2 to get that fix taken care of.

As I’ve mention, Lucky Star relies on a number of “inside jokes” that fans in Japan and fans that pay attention to what’s going on in Japan will get. Someone who doesn’t pay that much attention to the world of anime outside of what’s new at Best Buy, who is watching Lucky Star for the first time won’t pick up on many jokes. Take for example Minoru telling our favorite store clerk that he just MC’d a major live event. We know that the event was probably the Haruhi no Gekisou event that Konata and gang actually went to (or it probably was a Lucky Star event, but go with me on this…). Never mind Minoru talking about an actual event, I don’t think most casual watchers will get the humor in Konata being awed by a live performance by Hirano Aya. I showed that scene to a friend of mine. He laughed, but he laughed because it was God Knows…, not because it’s a Hirano Aya-voiced character watching Hirano Aya. Again, multileveled.

Furthermore, Lucky Star made references to a number of series that are not too popular (or even licensed) in the US. The Da Capo scene immediately came to mind. Not only did we get shots of Konata dressed as Nemu Kotori and crew, we get Sakura Saku Mirai Koi Yume from yozuca* as well. My Da Capo-ism burns like Tsukasa’s love for Keroro Gunsou!! But what about the many casual watchers who will buy Lucky Star here in the US? I’m certain they’ve never seen Da Capo because it’s not licensed in the US… and I’m even more certain they don’t get what was so awesome about Konata’s rant about a school love blooming in the spring.

What about all the seiyuu jokes? How is that going to be pulled off for a Western audience? Shimamoto Sumi voicing Kanata? Forget it… Putting the nitty-gritty stuff aside, like Minami being nicknamed “Minarin” or Sora and Potato during an episode preview, the seiyuu jokes won’t work unless the English voices also voice their Lucky Star counterparts. Unless Wendee Lee voices Konata, it’s just not going to work. From talk I’ve had with a number of more casual fans, seiyuu performances are not that important. Interestly enough, Akira lists it first when Meito asks her what is most important in an anime’s success during one segment of Lucky Channel. Following seiyuus just isn’t that popular among many Western fans probably because the lack of exposure to them outside of anime series. While seiyuu cast performance is important to many people, it’s one aspect that I think gets lost in translation. Although the seiyuu jokes in Lucky Star aren’t that’s complicated, they do require you have seen a variety of different shows. Moreover, many of the seiyuus in Lucky Star are somewhat new–definitely not as recognizable to the casual fan as say Hayashibara Megumi or Mitsuishi Kotono. Hirano Aya and Chihara Minori are popular right now. I’m pretty sure many casual fans who will experience Lucky Star for the first time via R1 DVDs will miss the good chuckle from the fact that Minami got nicknamed “Minarin.” It makes sense when you know that she was voiced by Chihara Minori, who’s nickname is “Minorin.” And even though the Air DVDs are being released right now in the US, I’m sure many won’t think about Sora and Potato doing an episode preview. Sora was voiced by Ono Daisuke, who was a guest on Lucky Channel with Akira (who was voiced by Konno Hiromi, who also voiced Potato in Air).

Lucky Star also brought in a lot of terminology, such as moe, tsundere, lolicon, and ahoge (Wiki to the rescue!). The term “moe” is already hotly debated among fans. Moe characteristics are even more hotly debated. Miyuki revolved around being moe (and we thank her for it), so how is that going to be explained to people not familiar with the term? Next, “[Tsundere] girls hafta have twin pigtails.” It makes complete sense to me. It made so much sense that I had to pick apart semantics. But what about those who don’t know the term? A lot of Kagami’s humor revolves around tsundere characteristics (and again, we thank her for it!). And what about lolicons? The term “loli” itself is often times misread in the US to equate to pedo. I have no doubt that Pedobear is on Soujiro’s buddy list, but he isn’t a pedophile in the criminal sense. Often times a lolicon is someone who just likes loli characters. In no way does that make someone perverted or disturbed. Fans toss around these terms all the time and there is a whole spectrum to their usage, but to those not as knowledge about the wacky world of anime, they get lost in translation.

Putting the moe jokes, the tsundere jokes, the seiyuu jokes, the To Heart references, and the otaku jokes aside, Lucky Star does have a number of generally understood hilarious moments. But were there enough to appeal to the general fan in the US? I really wanted to hear Tsukasa let out a nice “Hiroyuki-chan~” for all of us, but who else did? To Heart itself doesn’t seem all that popular here in the US (which I think is unfortunate). ANN just recently reviewed the fourth To Heart DVD and basically called it boring. Slice-of-life series just aren’t all that appealing to the casual anime fan in the US because they lack big breasts, big guns, big fights, and big booms. But that’s what Lucky Star is. Slice-of-life comedy. Slice-of-life is supposed to slow and story-less. It’s supposed to be (somewhat) direction-less too. It’s a story about the life of a group of characters. It’s not supposed to be some epic storyline. I’m am glad Bandai Entertainment and Kadokawa decided to bring Lucky Star across the Pacific, but trying to get a show that was already niche among a niche form of entertainment to sell will be as daunting as trying to convince a Madden-tard that Guilty Gear is an awesome game. As much as I want Lucky Star to succeed, and as much as I want new viewer to appreciate it as much as I do, it’s a going to be a difficult task.

Lucky Star isn’t Hayate no Gotoku or Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei. Like Lucky Star, both use a lot of references to other anime series and otaku culture; however, those two series have more mass appeal. First, they’re not slice-of-life series, so they’ve got stories to tell and characters to develop (for the most part). But more importantly, second, the humor of those two shows isn’t focused on the specific jokes. They’re just added bonuses I think. Strip Hayate no Gotoku and Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei of the parody and they will still funny and will still be watchable. I don’t know if that’s the same for Lucky Star. The number of references in Hayate no Gotoku is staggering and outnumbers Lucky Star dramatically, but with Lucky Star, it’s the placement of references.

I want Lucky Star (and pretty much any series that I liked) to be successful in the US; however, I don’t know if tagging it to the popularity of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu is the best way to do it. I guess it’s unavoidable because of the link to Kyoto Animation, but they’re two different animals. Someone who knows nothing about Lucky Star will be disappointed thinking that they’re getting more Haruhi-like material. It will still probably sell though because this is Kyoto Animation we’re talking about and Lucky Star is a genuinely good show. But being someone who “gets it,” I can’t help be feel a bit saddened by the fact that Lucky Star might not stand on it’s own merit in the US. Judging from the handful of fans I’ve interacted with about Lucky Star (many who don’t pay attention to fansubs), many are not seeing Lucky Star’s inner beauty. Lucky Star was a brilliant series. It’s a series that does little wrong, but I’m afraid many will miss out on that.

How I experienced Lucky Star and how many fans experienced Lucky Star just won’t be the same for those who simply aren’t as savvy. There is enough general humor to appeal to the masses, but will they appreciate it? Time will tell. Even getting top notch people to translate, “Westernize,” and explain things probably won’t be enough. To “get” Lucky Star you need a pretty high anime IQ (especially recent series and the workings of the otaku mindset). You won’t get that with translation notes. Jokes are funny the moment they happen, not after someone explains it to you. I may be underestimating the casual anime fan in the US because I’m basing a lot of my opinions on a small sample that I’ve interacted with. However, the fact remains that fans who do not follow fansubs, fans who do not follow what’s going on in Japan, or fans who have limited anime exposure (i.e., watching only what is popular in the US) are at a disadvantage. Lucky Star had a target audience. I know there are a number of fans out there who do not touch fansubs and are less tuned into the online anime community that will love Lucky Star, but I think they’re outnumbered. A self-proclaimed Full Metal Panic! fan missed Konata karaoke’ing Sore ga Ai Deshou early on in the series. Either I pay too much attention or he doesn’t pay enough attention.

Lucky Star’s biggest strength is it’s biggest weakness. It’s funny for all, but only certain people will appreciate why it’s funny.