Lucky Star (manga)

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Lucky Star (らき☆すた, Raki☆Suta^?) is a Japanese four-panel comic strip manga by Kagami Yoshimizu. The strip has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq magazine since January 2004. Cameo strips were published in other magazines such as Shōnen Ace and others. Like many four-panel comic strips, it has no ongoing plot, and typically focuses on the daily lives of the characters.

In August 2005, a drama CD based on the series was released, and in December 2005, a Nintendo DS video game entitled Lucky Star Moe Drill, was released. A sequel, also playable on the DS, called Shin Lucky Star Moe Drill was released in May 2007, and a PlayStation 2 visual novel was released in January 2008. An anime adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation was broadcast in 24 episodes on the Chiba TV Japanese television network between April 8, 2007 and September 16, 2007. A light novel was released in September 2007. The anime has been licensed in the USA by Kadokawa Pictures and distributed by Bandai Entertainment; as of March 16, 2009, all six DVDs have been released.^[1][2] An original video animation (OVA) episode was released on September 26, 2008^[3] accompanied by a drama CD. Bandai Entertainment released the OVA in an English-sub only version on August 4, 2009.

Lucky Star's story mainly portrays the lives of nine Japanese girls and one American girl attending a Japanese high school named Ryōō with a laughable sense of humor. The setting is mainly based on the city of Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture.^[4] The main character is Konata Izumi, an athletic and somewhat intelligent (even though she likes to copy), but also slightly mischievous and laid-back girl who, despite these attributes, is not in a sports club and has to resort to all-nighter cramming for tests. She would rather read manga and play video games than do her homework.

The serialization began with the four main characters in their first year of high school: Konata Izumi, Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. As the story progresses, they move on to their second and third years. However, the anime starts the story with them beginning their second year, and the other high school girls that are seen in the opening are only introduced halfway through the series. The storyline usually includes numerous references to popular past and present manga, anime and tokusatsu series.

Konata Izumi (泉 こなた, Izumi Konata^?)

Voiced by: Ryō Hirohashi (drama CD), Aya Hirano (anime), Wendee Lee (English)

The very representation of an otaku, Konata (or sometimes called 'Kona-chan') is the childish, nonchalant, but good-natured leader of the Lucky Star companions. Usually a lazy girl who is 'occupied' with video or online games, manga, anime, or all of the above, Konata is actually capable of intelligence and athleticism, but does not join any school clubs because of her otaku interests. Konata works at a cosplay café with underclassman Patricia Martin. Due to her hobbies she often deals with Kagami heckling her for not working hard enough on her studies. She lives with her widowed father (an otaku who often buys adult games for himself and Konata), as well as her younger cousin Yutaka Kobayakawa, who goes to her school. She has a comedic friendship with Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki, although at widely varying degrees.^[5]

Kagami Hiiragi (柊 かがみ, Hiiragi Kagami^?)

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (drama CD), Emiri Kato (anime), Kari Wahlgren (English)

Kagami is Tsukasa's older fraternal twin sister and is occasionally referred to as "Kagamin". In school, her grades are excellent because she studies very hard. She was even the class president in her first year. She is in a different class than Konata and Tsukasa, but she frequently comes to their class during lunch time to eat with them. Kagami was separated into a different classroom in her second and third year.^[6]

Kagami is a stereotypical tsukkomi character, however, she is prone to becoming shy and emotional at times, making her appear as a tsundere character as well. Much like Konata, Kagami likes video games, but plays a different genre than Konata; Kagami likes to play shooter games. She loves to read light novels, but she feels lonely because no one around her shares this interest.

Tsukasa Hiiragi (柊 つかさ, Hiiragi Tsukasa^?)

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (drama CD), Kaori Fukuhara (anime), Michelle Ruff (English)

Tsukasa is the younger fraternal twin sister of Kagami and lives in a six-member family household with her parents. She is in the same class as Konata. While she is not good at studying or sports, she excels in cooking. She is portrayed as the loving, friendly, good-natured but clumsy person. She is often portrayed as an airhead who is unreliable and is always compared to her twin sister, who generally does better than her in most areas. It is often implied that Tsukasa is unable to follow the gist of complex conversations. Tsukasa will often ask her older sister for help on her homework, though it usually does not make much of a difference. She is also known for having her hair in the same style as Akari Kamigishi from To Heart, something hinted at frequently in the series.^[7]

Miyuki Takara (高良 みゆき, Takara Miyuki^?)

Voiced by: Erina Nakayama (drama CD), Aya Endo (anime), Karen Strassman (English)

Miyuki is a young lady from a wealthy family who is beautiful, smart, and well-mannered. She always uses extremely polite Japanese, even when talking with her closest friends. She was the class president for her grade level in her first year, at the same time that she became good friends with Kagami. Now Miyuki is in the same class as Konata and Tsukasa, and is nicknamed "Yuki-chan" by Tsukasa. Miyuki's classmates often rely on her for help with their studies, and she is often shown giving impromptu but highly-detailed, encyclopedic definitions or explanations on diverse and obscure matters.^[8]

She is described as a stereotypically friendly meganekko, or glasses-wearing girl. She is scared of contacts, and of putting them in her eyes, thus why she wears glasses. Her vision is less than 20/200, though it had been good until elementary school, when she began reading books in the dark after her mother dozed off while reading to her in bed. She likes to read books, but does not read light novels. Miyuki loves to sleep, and she always goes to bed fairly early. She hates visits to the dentist, but frequently has to go to fix a loose crown or because of tooth decay. On the rare occasion that she plays video games, her personality changes. Due to her embodying such a large number of moe archetypes—as Konata said it—Miyuki is the frequent-victim of Konata's playful bouts of verbal sexual-harassment. She is generally seen less than the other three main characters. She is constantly teased by Konata concerning her "protruding curves".