Does "Lucky Star" get better over time?

[Neco]

So I introduced my mom to lucky star as  "not the typical stuff I watch,  its supposed to be  comedy/"slice of life" (whatever that means).  I had no idea what to expect as I've never seen it but wanted to branch out beyond my military/sci-fi/fantasy shit  and maybe find something other people would enjoy watching at the same time...

Does it get any better?   Or more to the point,  if I got her to keep watching would she likely enjoy it?

We watched two episodes,  and I enjoy watching stuff with my mom or dad whenever,  cause I'm being a normal son and spending time with them - they win.  I get to watch Anime -  I win.  It's win/win.

I do seem to have better luck with my dad as long as its something that remotely interests him like fighter jets or something  Military-Esq..   i.e  He sat through the Macross portion of Robotech, and the other week I actually got him to watch  Macross Zero  (usually he'll be like "does this thing have an english track?" but I explained it was subbed).   He doesn't seem interested in Gundam though really.   Although he did sit through some of Glass Fleet  (my mom actually finished watching it with me, I think because it was more  dark/mature than most stuff I watch).   He did watch Akira to the end, but I couldn't stand the ending and left.  I'm not into that gross out body morphing stuff (not to mention it seemed totally irrelevant to the movie as a whole).

But last night, we get halfway through the  opening scene in EP1 where they are discussing how to eat different food,  and she turns to me and says, "Is this for real?"  and I kind of chuckled and said "Yeah...."    It did get kind of annoying.

Overall I think I get the humor more than she does, as I understand (naturally) more of the jokes and the whole concept of Konata's character.   She didn't say she hated it,  but admitted she just didn't get a lot of the jokes -  I did catch her laughing a few times though.   But overall she was like  "they seem like a bunch of airheads".   lol ?

Hoping it gets better as it goes on though..  I mean she used to watch stuff like  Family Guy and South Park,  this can't be -too- far off the mark, even if it is more niche.

[ant900]

I don't know if "getting better" is the right phrase...  are the first couple episodes less entertaining than some of the latter ones?  Yes (IMO), but the show stays pretty much the same throughout.  However I don't think this would be a good show for your mom since it does have a lot of inside jokes.  Maybe you should try something like Kannagi or Haruhi.

[Neco]

Yeah I think I should have said  "funnier / entertaining" maybe?   But I digress, semantics....

I considered Haruhi, but a lot of what I heard has scared me off and I wonder if even I will like it.  
Some of this may be wrong, but I've heard talk of just  sheer  nonsensical episodes,  episodes out of order, and way out there story/plots.

I'm unfamiliar with  "Kannagi", but I'll look it up.

I've also considered the newer  Negima!?  release,  and something like School Rumble.   Would those be good general comedies?
I have vastly no experience in  picking good comedic Anime or how to identify them.

I'm also interested in finding more  Anime in the vein of Glass Fleet.   Not copies per say,  but a lot of the settings in the series clearly had influence from  old Victorian type stuff.  Mainly the atmopshere,  some of the architecture, and the general class society and way people spoke.  (Vetti was hilarious when trying to woo Rachel).   But also very mature subject matter and language / sexual implications.

Obviously nothing egregiously yaoi/yuri,  but just more  "dark" with their characters and their pasts and what kind of people it turned them into.

(click to show/hide)

i.e in Glass Fleet: Vetti's stepfather sexually abused him and had him wear a wig and makeup, and eventually he slept with his stepmother and turned her against the father and then killed her after she killed the father.   Or in another case it was suggested that Vetti had raped Michel/Racine but in truth when he found out Michel was a woman he was repulsed and did nothing,  but let her go on thinking he had violated her - which later led to her telling Cleo when they were spending the night in a cabin and she clearly wanted to sleep with him, but was ashamed of what Vetti had supposedly "done to her", I'm assuming because she was no longer "pure".

And then how Rachel finally opened up to Vetti but was driven insane by his Homo/pedo relationship with Ralph that ultimately let her to murder Ralph, as well as just go batshit insane from her various failed attempts at getting Vetti to fuck her brains out.

Generally stuff that is just twisted along those lines, but not so much so that the amount of content ruins the show and becomes nothing more than worthless filler for the sake of being sensational.

[dbml]

Lucky Star is a big no-no for anyone who has seen relatively little anime. I'll wholeheartedly second Kannagi in its place.

As for the darker anime request, try Le Chevalier d'Eon. That fits what you're looking for.

[sumpweed]

When my parents see me watching anime they just say something like "what weird stuff is this", I really would like to share it with them like you do.

Back to topic: Basically, the whole Anime is just about unspectacular stuff like food, homework, shopping etc. But I really enjoied watching it, becourse it's nice if you sometimes watch something different to all the animes with big explosions, catastrophies in the family or all these world-moving stuff a successfull anime usually must have - there's nothing like that in Lucky Star. No serious illnesses, espers, mysterious and dangerous associations - just things happening every day in everyone's life.

But it gets better/more funnier after the first few episodes, e.g. when they were talking 10 min. only about eating food i found it a little bit weird, too. There are lots of funny things, but if youre mother don't get them, it might not be that funny for her, but not all of them are about otakus or computer freaks. I would watch a few more episodes, maybe she will like the characters (i really do) and contiues watching... in addition, the really entertaining episodes are imo the ones where something "happens", e.g. a trip to the beach or a school trip (i think i spoiled enough).



to Haruhi: One of the best animes i've ever seen, it's really worth watching it. The thing you're mentioning is that the broadcasting order is different from the chronological order, but it makes it even more interesting! And don't be scared by the first episode (broadcasting order), just watch it until the end, the whole anime is not about a timetraveller in a bunny-girl costume

[Smokeyjr2]

Have her watch Kanokon lol do it at your own risk.

Have her watch Clannad & Clannad After Story on a serious note.

[Neco]

I might keep Kanokon for myself, but I doubt she wants to watch anything subtitled.   I wouldn't force her to do that.

But keep the suggestions coming,  I will definitely check them all out...

re: D'eon,  the drawing style looks a bit like a turn off tbh..  I'm not sure I want something that historically based either.   But I will watch some random clips on youtube or something and see.. 


Also, any serious suggestions I would appreciate being available in good quality (HD is nice) and MUST have English as an option.
I am partial to dubs, although I will watch subbed stuff.  But when it comes to the parents,  the biggest hurdle to overcome first is that it must be in English, unless it is really, truly exceptional.

[We_Major]

After episode 4 the director changed and I think so did the pacing of the jokes. I think keep going for a while, or perhaps skip ahead a bit and see what she thinks.

[AceD]

I think it does, am watching it atmo (on ep9), am watching 2 eps a day as its not really an anime i can "marathon", but am starting to like it more and more each day.

edit, i don't think this is really for your mum, its the kind of anime thats for....big anime fans

[sdedalus83]

With a mother?
Azumanga Daiou
Ichigo Mashimaro
Are both better and more accessable than Lucky Star.

With your father, try PlanetES, I've heard the english dub was very good.

[XinWind]

Have her watch Clannad & Clannad After Story on a serious note.

I second this big time.

Also as for Lucky Star I agree with ant and say it has a lot of inside jokes that your mom most likely won't understand and won't be a good show to show her.
Lucky Star in my opinion is an anime you either love or you just hate. Reason I say this is there are a lot of people who just hate the random, parody, comedy, and barely no storyline, like animes. If you dislike these kind of animes avoid Minami-ke, Seitokai no Ichizon, most of Hayate no Gotoku(Season 1 after episode 24 or around there), Ramen Fighter Miki, Hyakko, and a few others. I myself enjoyed Lucky Star and all the animes I listed lol. Its funny and are good animes to lay back and relax with after serious animes.

Slice of life: "A slice of life story is a category for a story that portrays a "cut-out" sequence of events in a character's life. It may or may not contain any plot progress and little character development, and often has no exposition, conflict, or dénouement, with an open ending. It usually tries to depict the everyday life of ordinary people, sometimes but rarely, with fantasy or science fiction elements involved. The term slice of life is actually a dead metaphor: it often seems as if the author had taken a knife and "cut out" a slice of the lives of some characters, without concern for narrative form"

As far as other animes to choose to watch with family. I would recommend:
Sora no Manimani
Code Geass
Special A
Bokura ga Ita
DNAngel
Fullmetal Alchemist(Both the new season and old)
Ghost hunt
Kimi-kiss ~ pure rouge
Full Metal Panic(possibly)
and etc.

Usually the romance, slice of life, comedy, school life, or something close to these are what you wanna look for. Especially if they are people with little anime interest and knowledge.

What to avoid are any ecchi, erotic, hard to understand, heavy anime based, or heavy dark animes. A little ecchi might not hurt if its not the main focus, but to me I would just avoid it at all possible cost. Whatever you do avoid School Days. Reason why? Your parents WILL send you rehab or something because of it and will try to make you seek help. Sadly normally I would highly recommend it, but yeah don't feel like being the cause of your parents looking at you FULLY different. Unless you are planning to watch it alone.

Also you could try Fafner with your dad. Its a good storyline(IMO), good animation, and its mecha. It is also english dubbed.

This is the thing with anime usually, you either have comedy be the main focus and lack storyline in the end or you get storylines with little comedy, but great storylines. I mean there are a lot of animes with good comedy and good storyline, but when you boil everything down one is a whole lot more focused on. So I would recommend to keep that in mind a lot of times.

Anyways I hope what I said helped in some way. Good luck with trying to share anime with your parents and hope you find the right animes to pick.

[Nikkoru]

Lucky Star has the same problem as PaniPoni Dash and some other modern comedy animes - some major referential knowledge is required - of course if you get the references it can be a deeply fulfilling experience.

If I were to share an anime with my parents, which I probably wouldn't do given certain prejudices - but in theory - I would choose something along the lines of Kino's Travels, Death Note, Ghost in the Shell, Minami-Ke, Azumanga, and NGE or Haruhi if you're really up to it. Nothing with much fan-service or overt stupidity and with a more universal appeal - I know most of those have dubbed versions, I haven't tried all of them in English. Death Note, GitS, Azumanga, NGE, are all fairly good.

Oh, I suggest Cromartie Highschool as well - as a straight comedy it's among the best, live-action or anime versions.

[relic2279]

If I were to share an anime with my parents, which I probably wouldn't do given certain prejudices - but in theory - I would choose  Haruhi

That's actually a pretty good recommendation for parents to watch. Even though it's a bit sci-fi, it's almost feels like a modern day twist on Snow White. Albeit, a severe twist. But they can probably relate better to it then most others. Especially at the 'climax' point.

[i_am_otep]

My little sister greatly enjoyed Lucky Star despite not knowing what half the jokes meant. In fact, the only parody that she understood was the Inital D one

Anyways, she liked it very much because of the randomness. So if you think your mom is up for random silly things, then it just might work for her. If you're not so sure about this one, try first with Azumanga Daiou and Ichigo Mashimaro. Both are filled with random silly jokes minus the heavy reference on other anime

[Nikkoru]

If I were to share an anime with my parents, which I probably wouldn't do given certain prejudices - but in theory - I would choose  Haruhi

That's actually a pretty good recommendation for parents to watch. Even though it's a bit sci-fi, it's almost feels like a modern day twist on Snow White. Albeit, a severe twist. But they can probably relate better to it then most others. Especially at the 'climax' point.

It's a cleverly written and unique modern comedy, while it has some fanservice and ecchi elements in it - it never relies on it - and most importantly it tends to avoid Japanese conventions for the comedic genre. In other words, it's humour that's not hard to translate.  

I've heard bad things about the dub though.

[AceD]

Motivated me to try Lucky Star, see if it works for her 

[i_am_otep]

I just remembered, what motivated me to watch Lucky Star was some random remixes. That kind of stuff clearly represents what really Lucky Star is. Too bad I can't find the good ones...

Anyway, to motivate your mom, here's a hypnostar 

[vuzedome]

She's screwed, sorry.

[lStealtherl]

She's screwed, sorry.

Agreed.

[Neco]

We watched 3 more episodes last night, and she definitely seemed to like them more.  I know I was starting to enjoy it more too.

She seemed to have a better time, so I think maybe she will hang in there with it.  I think what helped is it had a lot more locations/situations than the previous episodes, and the scenes were not nearly as long in most cases..    

I don't quite understand the Lucky Channel bit,  it seems very hit and miss with its jokes to me,  but its at the end of the episodes anyway so its not like you can't skip it.

re: PlanetES  I have gone back and forth over it in the store before.  I think my dad would probably watch it.

I have no intention of ever watching School Days,  just based on the talk I've seen about it.  Much less showing it to my parents, but I doubt it'd make them think any different of me.  I'm already really screwed up as it is

I've watched some Code Geass on and off (waiting for OZC to finish R2) and my mom will kinda pay attention to it, but usually just sits there eating dinner or reading a book, and will ocassionally watch.   She seemed more into Glass Fleet though (first time she ever asked me if I was gonna finish watching something) so throwing some dark stuff at her would be OK.

In that vein, I have considered Death Note.  It liked it when I watched it on TV and I know I missed some important stuff here and there.  I was also thinking she would really like  Blood+,  because it is a good mix of action, story, and romance.  And does have a sort of "old world" look to it in a lot of the flash backs and later locations.   I've been waiting forever for a Dual Audio high quality release to be put up. 

Thanks for the other new suggestions too,  I have quite a bit to look up..

I've also been thinking about something like  RomeoXJuliet,  I know the basic premise from  Anime Insider's cover story (R.I.P) but not sure what its supposed to be like overall or if there are dubs available yet/planned.

But maybe that's something she might like..   I know she likes action stuff,  we watched  nearly every episodes of  Battlestar Galactica when it ran on Sci-Fi  (the new one of course)