When it comes to the comedy genre for anime, it's kind of a funny thing (pun intended). There are so many different shows out there with concepts and styles that are completely unalike, and yet they invariably are compared with one another. How many times have you seen Excel Saga brought up in a conversation? Or even Azumanga Daioh for that matter? In all honesty, there are way too many comedy animes to list when comparing, so we always look for the main players as the most popular points of reference. With that in mind you've undoubtedly heard of a show called Lucky Star at some point before.

One of the biggest trends in the comedy genre of anime over the past decade or so has been the emergence of four panel manga to anime transitions. So many shows got their start in this fashion and Lucky Star is only the latest example of that practice. Created by Kagami Yoshimizu, Lucky Star got its start in 2004 and garnered an instant fan base. A few years later an animated version was released with 24 episodes and Bandai was quick to pick up the license for an American release.

In case you're wondering what it's all about, Lucky Star follows the exploits of a core group of friends who all attend the same school. For the most part each of these characters fits one stereotypical mold or another within the four-panel genre. First of all you have Konata who is essentially the leader of the group and is good at just about everything she does. She's also a full-fledged otaku, gamer, and all around lover of "geek" material. The fact that Konata is so good at everything infuriates Kagami to the point that there's something of a rivalry between them. She often plays the straight man and winds up setting the stage for the joke to come through.

Kagami's sister, Tsukasa, is the useless character who is lazy and generally blunders through life. It's her cuteness and naiveté that adds to some of the charm in these episodes. And finally you have Miyuki who is the a-typical smart girl with glasses who is excessively polite to everyone including her friends. With this cast of characters in place the rest of the show just kind of falls into place around them. Most of the series simply follows the girls through their daily lives and features their exploits with each other and around town.

While it's not exactly the breakout success for Bandai that Haruhi was, Lucky Star has carved a nice little niche following for itself. The show's humble beginnings were a thing of the past as the second volume introduced the new director, Yasuhiro Takemoto. Due to Takemoto's influence, the previous installment was a ton of fun, with nonsensical humor leading the way with some cracked-out moments peppered in between. I was still on the fence a little after watching the volume though, and approached the third with cautious optimism.

I'm pleased to report that the four episodes included here continue the trend set by the last one. This installment kicks off with Konata going through a tough time as she has a big test coming up that she simply can't study for. No matter what she tries her mind wanders, and she winds up playing video games or goofing off in some other fashion. Naturally she goes to the brainy Miyuki for help, but it's too little, too late. Once that's out of the way, it's time to eat cake! Lots of it too!

The second episode keeps the silliness going as one of the girls gets a new cell phone, and learns how to text message, much to the chagrin of another. The other part of the episode features the girls attempting to study, and naturally Konata keeps the group from being focused. The final two episodes here follow some more traditional anime paths with one featuring Christmas, and the other a Festival. Both are very cute and have a lot of laughs as the girls attempt to experience things and share their thoughts on each matter. I particularly enjoyed the discussion about the existence of Santa here.

The third volume of Lucky Star offered four more episodes of some quality comedy with a cute slant. If that's your cup of tea, then this show is definitely one you'll want to check out. The characters are anything but standard, and it's their personalities that help breath life into an otherwise stale genre. It seems as though the show has finally taken off after a rocky start, and it's easy to see now why Bandai acquired this license. Hopefully as the show progresses more and more people will discover it and it will get its time in the spotlight with the likes of Azumanga Daioh.

Lucky Star is presented on DVD with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and the video quality is definitely a feather in this disc's cap. This show absolutely shines thanks to its fantastic design and presentation values. There is no grain, compression, aliasing, or cross-coloration anywhere in these episodes and the bright art style allows for a very vivid display. This is definitely a series that stands out on a quality television and though its very minimalist there's plenty to appreciate.

Considering this isn't an action packed show with explosions, robots, and ninjas it doesn't need a boisterous audio presentation. With that fact in mind the 2.0 Dolby Digital presentation for both English and Japanese is decidedly appropriate for the material. While the lack of a sense of immersion is disappointing this show's dialogue driven content simply doesn't need it to be effective. The dubbing quality is decent all around as well though I personally felt that the Japanese track matched the content better.

Much like the other DVDs for Lucky Star, the third has some bonus features to click through once you're done watching the episodes. Included here are trailers, more Key Scene Galleries, two episodes of "The Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi", and some liner notes. None of the inclusions are particularly entertaining, but the Minoru Shiraishi bits are charming in a quirky kind of way.

I had my concerns about Lucky Star being able to live up to the hype that surrounded it when it first came out. Thankfully, my fears have been put to rest. This is a very endearing program with some memorable characters and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. It's sickeningly cute at times, and devilishly inappropriate at others. If you're in the market for a fun comedy anime then give this one a spin. Consider the series recommended.

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