Random Curiosity

Lucky Star 13 – “Delicious Day” (Savory Day, for you a.f.k. sticklers)

It’s another one of those talking episodes, and another good example of overtalking something to the point of exhaustion, but having it be interesting nonetheless. How do they keep doing it?

This week’s topics:

- Traditional Japanese New Year’s activities, like Japanese badminton, card drawing (the one with the proverbs on them), and kite flying
- Konata’s take on Kagami’s activities: miko food miko snack snack snack snack miko snack
- Konata’s take on the card drawing game. There she goes, living up to our expectations one otaku reference at a time.
- You knew this was coming back: more food talk – this time, on special foods served during New Year’s
- Some talk about a coming-of-age celebration and wearing a long-sleeved kimono (translation: Konata cosplay)
- Yui-neesan comes by for another punchline visit
- Kotatsu, heated bus seats

- The Valentine Chocolate talk – in Japan, the girls give the guys the chocolates on Valentine’s. So who were the lucky recipients?
Konata: e-chocolates to his/her husband/wife on his/her online game. Oh the confusion.
Tsukasa: huge handmade chocolate heart for… Konata!
Kagami: bag of chocolate stars for… a guy! Textbook tsuntsun deredere in full display! Oh, wait… that’s just Konata pulling her chain again.

- Konata’s future occupation? Sitting in front of her computer…

- Legendary Girl A visits again: this time, Sousuke storeowner has backup – his staff consisting of… Tamama! Giroro! Keroro! De arimasu! Sorry, Kururu, Dororo fans, maybe next time. Konata gets bait-and-switched into buying some manga…no! she’s here to buy a DVD! Dispatch roadblock at sector C junctions alpha and gamma!
Tama> Ah, so sorry, desu! Tamatamatamatama
Kero> AH, PARDON ME, de arimasu! Gerogerogerogerogero
Giro> yes…she’s reaching for the new Haruhi DVD… YES
Kona> hmm…naw
Giro> NO! IT WAS A FEINT
Sousuke> AGHHHHH

- Normally, it’d end there, but not this time. Konata heads for the bargain bin and picks up a The Third DVD
Sousuke> You’re not putting that down! *Turns on Geass * PEW…SCHWING!!!
Kona> Oohh…must head to cashier
Sousuke> That’ll be 1785 yen!
Kona> Whoops, short 3 yen. Sorry, can you put that back
Sousuke> D:

- Lucky Channel 13: Akira is back from her pneumonia/hangover/mono, and now sporting… twin drills? I thought drills referred to hair that was twisted up like a drill… not an actual set of drill bits on her head. No matter, she seems happy enough.
Results of the character poll?
1. Shiraishi Minoru
2. Kogami Akira
3. Hiiragi Kagami
4. Izumi Konata
5. Hiiragi Tsukasa
6. Minami Iwasaki
7. Kusakabe Misao
8. Takara Miyuki
9. Izumi Kanata
10. Kobayakawa Yutaka

Special ED

ED: 「俺の忘れ物」 (Ore no Wasuremono) by 白石稔 (Shiraishi Minoru)
Watch the ED!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2

- “The Ending”: Uhm…unexpected? You know how in some live action shows there might be times where they use an animated sequence…typically with stuff like an acid trip, or a really psychedelic dream? Well, what if the show is already animated? I guess the acid trip would be in live action, right? I guess it kinda makes sense, considering Shiraishi won the character poll – why not make him do a karaoke too, right? Right… Wa wa wa wa wasuremono…

Preview

Thoughts

Well, that was a pretty standard talking episode – plenty of personality from each girl injected into the conversations, which was nice. Kagami had an extraordinary amount of facial expressions this episode, including the epic tsuntsun-turned-megadere theres-no-special-meaning-behind-this-chocolate-face. This is why tsundere girls are the best – they put you through all the pain and suffering and rejection, but in the end, that just makes the payoff so much sweeter. Oh Kagamin.

Don’t know if anybody else thought this way, but it felt that the facial expressions and extra bits really added another dimension to this episode, something that might have been lacking from the previous talking eps. I like!

Then, the episode dropped the whole “cute and amusing” act in an instant and kicked it into turbo with Sousuke (I need a better nickname for him, anyone got any ideas?) and his rather familiar-sounding store attendants. Seeing Tama as a chick with the same -desu voice and Keroro as a tall blonde with a more girly voice, but still using -de arimasu at the end of every sentence… that just made my day. THEN, Sousuke busts out his self-voiced Geass. Insanity.

One thing I’ve noticed about Lucky Star is its ability to integrate different types of humor and have it feel completely natural. Kagami’s textbook tsundere chocolate delivery played on a character stereotype, Tsukasa had plenty of happy-moe while Miyuki provided her unique brand of classy yet helpless-cuteness, and Konata rounded it out with plenty of referential humor (Yugioh as the proverb card game, that just works on so many levels). Not to mention the Keroro girls – I thought it was pretty cool last week when Sousuke and Kyon duked it out, but now we got invading amphibian aliens in the mix too.

And that ending. What kind of humor would that be? Kinda like how you laugh a lot when you’re tripping on shrooms?

-jaalin