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Manga/Anime:

  • Adaptation Displacement: The anime is far more well-known than the manga it's based off of, partially because of Kyoto Animation's big name, but mostly because the factor it's famous for (the stockpile of anime-related Shout-Outs) is almost entirely anime-original. As far as the U.S. and other western countries is concerned, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who even knows the manga at all.
  • Adorkable: Tsukasa tends to oversleep, easily forgets things, sometimes says odd things or is unsure of how to do certain things (like using a cell phone or playing an MMO), and is adorable in trying to correct these faults.
  • Awesome Music:
    • "Motteke! Sailor Fuku" is a highly catchy opening theme, with an equally fun dance to go with it.
    • MI-MI-MIRAKURU MINORUN-RUN~
    • "Gravity", a Eurobeat-style song that plays during the Initial D parody scene in Episode 6. Hilarity in hindsight ensued two years afterward when m.o.v.e. — the group the song was parodying — released an album full of covers of anime tracks, with one of these being their own cover of said track.
  • Base-Breaking Character:
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
    • The pet shop scene in the OVA, overlapping with Mind Screw and Nightmare Fuel.
    • Also in the OVA, when Konata's MMORPG party strikes a team pose, a random male character comes and joins in on the far right, then just walks away without anyone noticing.
  • Character Perception Evolution: When the anime first became popular during the late 2000s, Soujirou was something of an Ensemble Dark Horse, to the point of being nicknamed "Awesome-kun" for essentially living an adult otaku's ideal life. However, he's become much more of a Base-Breaking Character in the decades since, due to his Comedic Lolicon tendencies making him more divisive among anime fans over time.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
    • Misao managed to be popular enough to snag a solo Image Song CD after already sharing one with Ayano.
    • Soujirou, for older male readers— Rule of Empathy works in here.
    • Kanata Izumi, as despite only appearing in one episode and some minor cameos on photos, she's well remembered for appearing in one of the most touching and praised scenes in the anime.
    • Meito Anizawa, the Domon Kasshu lookalike and the manager of the Animate store that Konata frequents. He and his staff treat Konata as their most valued customer, codenaming her "Legendary Girl A" and always going to extravagant lengths to make her buy something, even resorting to militaristic approaches, all while constantly shouting enthusiastic in typical anime fashion when trying to promote something. Even detractors of the anime like him, since his Hot-Blooded personality and over-the-top animation are so wildly different from the rest of the show's tone.
    • Kanata Izumi, Miki Hiiragi and Yukari Takara, amongst the older readers, for being the darned cutest and most huggable mommies in anime (well, except maybe Akiko Minase).
    • Minoru Shiraishi.
    • An unnamed (gasp!) boy appeared in one scene of manga Vol. 6. Apparently he was VP of Miyuki's class and wanted to confess to her but never did. Unsurprisingly, some fanart of him and Miyuki has sprung up. He's been given the name Toshiaki, which is basically the 2Chan version of "Anon".
    • Yamato Nagamori was first introduced in a visual novel game before making her appearance in the manga. Being a clear Expy of Haruhi Suzumiya, she gets quite popular among the fans.
  • Ethnic Scrappy: A number of American anime fans aren't all that fond of Patricia Martin (the show's resident "nod" to western anime fans).
  • Fandom Rivalry: With Azumanga Daioh fans, who often see Lucky Star as a total rip-off of Azumanga.
  • Fan Nickname:
    • For Miyuki, "Miwiki"note  or "Miyukipedia".
    • For Patty, "Queen of the Weeaboos" — Makes sense...
    • For Misao, "Fang-tan", a nickname shared with Tsuruya.
    • For Soujirou, "Awesome-kun", for having what is considered to be the epitome of an otaku's dream life (well, leaving aside his dead wife,) as well as having a daughter who appreciates and emulates his hobbies.
  • Fountain of Memes: Konata works well as one, as indicated by many YouTube comment sections. People love to repeat what she says, whether it's in the Japanese version or the English dub.
  • Genius Bonus: Lampshaded heavily with all the anime, manga, and otaku references Konata makes. Her friends often have no clue what she's talking about.
  • Growing the Beard: Many see Episode 5, after the show’s first director, Yutaka Yamamoto, was fired and replaced by the more experienced Yasuhiro Takemoto, as the turning point in which the series really started to get funny.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • One of the official illustrations depicts the main characters having just survived a fire in the city, a Lucky Channel studio wrecked, and Konata leaping from above note . This image is rather uncomfortable to look at after an arsonist set fire to Kyoto Animation's Studio 1 building in 2019, resulting in 36 deaths and 33 injuries.
    • Kanata didn't want her daughter to have Soujirou's personality. When she died, Konata didn't have a strong female role model to keep her grounded.
    • Soujirou's interest in underage girls being played for humor may come off to some as rather uncomfortable in the wake of MeToo, Jeffrey Epstein, and QAnon (all because of the Pedo Hunt's sympathetic and political ramifications). For that matter, even in 2007 this may have been pushing the limit for some.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • As of 2008, any scene where Anime Tenchou's sales tactics fail and Konata goes to Gamers instead.
    • Konata's... cover of CHA-LA-HEAD-CHA-LA at the end of one episode is pretty amusing with the foresight that Aya Hirano later wound up having a role in a Dragon Ball anime.
    • Tony Oliver and Rebecca Forstadt voice Soichiro and Kanata Izumi, respectively. Robotech fans will also know them as the voices of Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmay.
  • Hollywood Pudgy: Konata deems Kagami's weight-watching to be excessive.
  • Memetic Mutation: To a lesser extent than most, but for most of the fans all you have to do is mention chocolate cornets... The series has its own page as well.
  • Moe:
    • Every main character that isn't Soujiro can be seen as moe by someone, probably as a result of Puni Plush. It's also brought up a lot In-Universe, with Konata outright designating Miyuki and Yutaka as walking embodiments of moe. In real life, Kagami even won the 2008 Saimoe Tournament.
    • On the other hand, Konata also frequently deconstructs moe, reminding Kagami that moe is not about reality: Big Brother Instinct does not occur in Real Life big brothers, there's nothing cute about being Delicate and Sickly, and the Cute Clumsy Girl is one annoying sort.
  • Never Live It Down: Konata being prideful to her flat chest, which ultimately ignites the "Flat is Justice" pledge.
  • No Problem with Licensed Games: Most Lucky Star games, particularly the two PlayStation titles are notably popular among diehard fans of the series.
  • Once Original, Now Common: The anime, in particular, suffers from this:
    • It was among the earliest manga and anime to deliberately make its characters and plot about anime Otaku who would actually discuss anime and its fandom, and the anime in particular includes a lot of Shout Outs to other anime, manga and video games. This made the anime quite popular, since it was both relatable Slice of Life and it had its finger on the pulse of the then-current anime otaku's interests. However, as the years went by, the anime's numerous references became increasingly dated (there are a lot of references to Haruhi Suzumiya, which was at the height of its popularity at the time) and the premise of "otaku characters talk about anime and fandom tropes" has become much more common since the anime first aired, which doesn't make the series stand out as much as it once did.
    • While it was one of the earliest and most successful Schoolgirl Series, most of its Slice of Life elements don't hold up as well compared to other schoolgirl series that followed; the series is very dialogue-driven, and about 80% of its scenes consist of the characters just sitting or standing around and having rambling conversations about mundane things. Compared to later schoolgirl series, which tend to incorporate more visual gags and situational humor, this can make Lucky Star seem rather dull to modern viewers.
  • One-Scene Wonder: Kanata, when she visits her family as a Cute Ghost Girl in episode 22.
  • One True Pairing: Konata/Kagami, it has even got its own Portmanteau Couple Name, not to mention tons of yuri artwork traversing the web...
  • Pandering to the Base:
    • This series is commonly accused to be this. This may be the result of narrow focus; Comptiq after all is a video game/manga magazine and comic strips on that kind of magazine are supposed to be like that...
    • The anime is accused of this more with all the Les Yay and Shout Outs (even compared to the manga)
  • Portmanteau Couple Name:
    • Apparently "Konami" if you ship Konata and Kagami together. Probably the logical conclusion of otakus shipping otakus.
    • For fans who prefers to ship Konata with Miyuki, there exist "Konayuki" (Konata x Miyuki).
    • Less commonly used, but arguably even more appropriate, is "Mintaka" for Minami and Yutaka.
    • And another example is "Tsuyuki" (Tsukasa and Miyuki).
  • Polished Port: The PSP version of Lucky Star: Ryouou Gakuen Outousai which is a direct port from the original PS2 game added some improvements including the ability to save screenshots onto memory stick.
  • Quirky Work: It's a very slow-paced Schoolgirl Series where the characters tend to sit around and have a lot of Seinfeldian Conversations, which premiered at a time when anime and manga of that kind were still relatively uncommon. The anime also makes a lot of references to Otaku culture and Japanese media, quite a few of which aren't very well-known overseas; non-Japanese viewers would likely find many of the references rather confusing.
  • The Scrappy: Hinata Miyakawa is loathed in the Lucky Star fanbase due to her being a neglectful parental guardian to her young sister Hikage and her excessive otaku spendings being one of the main reasons why they are in poverty.
  • Ships That Pass in the Night: Patty and Hiyori are frequently paired together despite barely having a single interaction in the anime. It's a textbook example of Pair the Spares when you look at the other pairings (Konata/Kagami, Yutaka/Minami, and Tsukasa/Miyuki).
  • Ship-to-Ship Combat: To a small extent, the Konata/Kagami fan army vs the Konata/Miyuki fan camps, which are smaller but equally hardcore.
  • Signature Scene:
    • The Chocolate Cornet discussion is the one scene everyone knows (that, and the Haruhi Suzumiya cosplay scene).
    • Kanata's ghost coming to check on her family and recalling her memories with Sojiro is often cited as the best scene in the anime.
  • This Is Your Premise on Drugs: Azumanga Daioh with even more crack and Seinfeld on even more sedatives at the same time.
  • Unintentional Period Piece:
    • The anime first aired in 2007, and it's very reliant on mid-to-late 2000s anime, manga and gaming references (most often to Haruhi Suzumiya, which was at the height of its popularity during that period). As a result, it's become a perfect snapshot of what anime fandom was like at the time.
    • Any jokes about phones firmly date the series to the late 2000s. While texting is in use, the characters' cellphones are all flip phones and all of their households still have landline telephones which they use more often when at home. At one point Kagami and Miyuki talk about the uses of caller ID, with the punchline being that the Hiiragi family's main phone doesn't have it.
  • Values Dissonance: As Yutaka and Minami become closer as friends, Yutaka tries to call Minami by her given name instead of formally addressing her as "Iwasaki-san", but keeps backtracking on it out of nervousness. It isn't until Minami offers to help Yutaka out if she gets sick at the fireworks show that Yutaka is moved enough to call her "Minami-chan". While calling someone by their first name isn't considered a big deal in most western countries, in Japan people are much more formal about addressing others and will only call each other by given name if they're especially close.
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not for Little Girls?: The series' bright colors and cute, childish-looking characters make it seem like it's aimed at young girls. Most of the characters are actually teenagers (the art style just makes them look younger) and the anime has a lot of references to Otaku culture that would go right over a younger audience's head, plus there are several jokes about Konata's father having a particular interest in underage girls. While the manga is technically shonen, the anime aired late at night.
  • The Woobie:
    • Poor Tsukasa, whom the directors of the show REALLY get a kick out of portraying as a helpless little girl who is LITERALLY pushed around in a big man's world. Even though this does make her even more adorable.
    • Kagami also counts to a lesser extent. She who has to put up with constant abuse from Konata and never gets into the class she wants.
      • Also when dere-dere Kagami expresses her insecurities or wants that she can't bring herself to show. Yet again for Kagami during the episode where she has to put up with her (also Tsundere) big sister. She seemed at the verge of tears at one point. *runs to hug*
    • Also Minami in the manga; she's often mistaken to be the one behind many no-nos, such as not cleaning up after her dog, or a prank involving pressing all the buttons in an elevator.
    • Kuroi-sensei, not least during the Christmas Episode.
    • Kanata Izumi, as despite accepting the fact that she has passed away, she still laments that she couldn't be with her family anymore and only able to visit them without any way to interact with them outside of spooky photos.
    • Hikage Miyakawa, who at age of 9, is in Perpetual Poverty due to her big sister's being careless about spending almost all her money on anime merchandising, instead of saving it or spending it to properly feed her.

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