Kagami Yoshimizu

Having always been a fan of the anime series, I thought I'd give a try to the manga that started it all. Like K-On! and Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star 1 is drawn in the four panel style ('yon koma') that is similar in nature to the daily comic strips that one would find in any newspaper State-side, except vertical.

However, while it was entertaining in parts, I found overall the volume to be somewhat lacking. Granted there's not much that a writer can cram daily that's deep into four boxes, but overall a comic strip usually stands or falls based on either the character interaction or by the humor. Maybe it's because this is only the first volume, but I found the characters to be a bit underdeveloped to the point that some of the humor was falling flat to me.

Hopefully, the next volume will fill in that missing spark. Even the anime started a bit slow.… (meer)

Lucky Star is about four high school girls going about their everyday lives. I have to say that this is not my favorite manga, but I think that someone who is familiar with the otaku culture will surely enjoy it. It can be funny at times, and it has a few of those moments where you're like "I know, right?!". Azumanga Daioh, another manga that is similar to this one, in my opinion, has better jokes and the characters are more entertaining. It can get boring at times, especially when they are just sitting there talking for three pages about a really dull subject. I don't recommend it to manga newbies, but if you're really into anime or manga, than it will probably be pretty funny to you.… (meer)

A cute 4koma style comic following a group of friends in high school and their day to day interactions. The cast expands from the first volume to bring in more of the peripheral friends. It's easy to see bits of and pieces of myself and people I know in the characters, which makes it that much more enjoyable. In particular I can relate to the strips focusing around Konata and her cellphone. My one big complaint would have to be the translation. There were minor errors littered throughout, and a few translations that I found to be very jarring.… (meer)