Lucky Star, Moe for What?

Having finished Lucky Star recently, I get that it relies a bit on moe to carry it, but moe for what? Lucky Star offers a lot of things to go moe on, cute girls for one, that’s pretty standard, otakuisms for another (are those not cute and inept too?). For me in particular, Lucky Star left me “moe” for school life and hanging out. Miss that sometimes. These days, hanging out needs to be planned; it isn’t organic anymore. I miss that and that’s something which is lost once those days are over — if it’s not work, it’s kids. Lucky Star captures a slice of that life, leading me to enjoy the whole thing, even if that’s not what it’s about.

I’ve gone and read some posts on Lucky Star on other blogs and was a little surprised at the level of dislike. I guess they’re not as in need of surrogate friends as I am. Cute, fun, and I could relate to it somehow. I’ve watched each dvd more than once.

I love this OP.

Bang Zoom! Entertainment’s Best Dub

Of the most used studios, Bang Zoom! tends to be a bit more preservation conscious in trying to carry over as much of the Japanese way into the English version. Among some dubbies, this leads to the criticism that Bang Zoom! often makes overly conservative and sterile dubs, but in the case of Lucky Star, that conscientiousness really pays off in some of the gags and in knowing when to bend. It’s arguably the best dub Bang Zoom! has made, helped no doubt by having fan favorites Wendee Lee (Konata), Kari Wahlgren (Kagami), Michelle Ruff (Tsukasa), and Karen Strassman (Miyuki) all together, sharing the screen where they’re not saving the earth or in a melodramatic high school romance. The personalities can breathe.

After a while most voice over actors develop a repertoire of voice archetypes that they modify from character to character. Veteran actress Wendee Lee created a new voice for Konata that sounds like nothing she’s has voiced before and it suits Konata very well. It’s a fun characterization throughout the series. There’s a particular drawl to it that appeals to me. I love it when someone throws a good curve ball like that. From the interview on volume 5, Lee says she feels like she still hasn’t reached her pinnacle as an actress in spite of all her work. Two years ago, I probably would have disagreed. Now, I think, she’s interesting again. Konata let her expand what she can do.

The dub is full of a lot of the usual suspects bringing their game. Stephanie Sheh was a surprise as Akari Kogami. She’s usually tapped for high register cute-girl stuff, so high pitched cute Akari seemed pretty typical, but low pitch bitchy Akari prompted a check the credits to see if two people voiced her — too bad she doesn’t get much low register work. My favorite thing she’s done was a character in Mushi-Shi that was also down low. Anyway, it sounded like someone finally happy to play a mean person for a change. And there’s Kari Wahlgren as Kagami. She’s what I think of as an unconfined voice actress, able to give each character their own personality in addition to their own voice, as if there’s one fewer layer between the character and the portrayal than what most give. It’s a bit of a departure from the Japanese portrayal, but it works in English, which in my ignorant opinion has a different baseline for level-headed and exasperated, I think.

About the only area that doesn’t sound good is the Patricia Martin character. It just sounds odd. It can get away with it since Patricia is supposed to be a foreigner, but it’s more grating than effective.