Lucky Star and King of the Hill

[Saiga]

Hello!

I have to say that, this being my first post, I mean no disrespect to this forum or to the show. I just want to have someone to bounce some of my ideas off of. If I come off as rude or as a troll I am sorry but I mean no offence.

My roommate and I recently watched all of the Luck Star episodes that are available to the USA. My roommate is big into anime so he bought the box set. Over the course of a week we finished the box set. My roommate loved the show however even though I enjoyed the show I did not share the same admiration he had for it.

After we had watched the first disk I looked across the room to my roommate and said, “That is a lot like King of the hill.” He was a bit taken back that I said that. He does not like King of the Hill in the least bit.

After several minutes of him coming up with every possible example of how this is not even remotely like King of the Hill, I decided to look around the internet to see if anyone else had made the same connection that I did. As it would turn out I did not get a single hit through Google, Yahoo, BING, or MSN.

So I came here. I want to know if I am just crazy or if I am drawing lines and connecting things that have no relevance, or maybe I am just the first to think this. Anyway here is my argument.

Both King of the Hill and Lucky Star have the same plot. Both shows follow people living through every normal day events. Nothing out of the ordinary happens in King of the Hill, it is just showing a group of people placed in a life like situation. Same with Lucky Star; nothing out of the ordinary happens. Even though the situations and the settings are different the story is the same.

Characters in both shows share traits. Also along with that there are four main characters in both shows. You can see the same obsessive attributes in Konata with anime as you do in Hank Hill with propane. Kagami’s tenacious attitude can be seen in Dale Gribble (though that I believe is kind of a stretch). Tsukasa’s kind mellow attitude is echoed in Bill Dauterive (her stupidity as well). And lastly Miyuki’s quietness and determination can match that of Jeff Boomhauer’s.

Outside of the obvious, I do believe that there are a few differences. In Lucky Star there was no character development. Throughout the whole show the characters remained the same and the only way that you could tell that time was passing was the fact that they told you it was (and the change in uniforms for those who know of such stuff). Same can be said for King of the Hill but they carry some things over from one episode to another.

Lucky Star seems to be a bit more sporadic and disjointed than King of the Hill. At the start of an episode they could have one mind set and direction of where they wanted to go, but by the end of the show they have forgotten all about what they started with and end on a completely different subject. This does not come about through story development either. They just switch gears.

I do like both shows but I have to say that I am drawn more to Lucky Star. Mostly because it is about a different country and culture but also because it is about girls (no, that is not a sexual comment). Looking at different cultures really interests me. Also the presentation of what girls may think about in school is also interesting. From the sounds of it, it seems like they were thinking the same kind of thought and doing the same kind of stuff that I did with my friends. Seeing four guys standing in their yard drinking beer and shooting the breeze is not that uncommon and I am fairly use to it.

So there it is. Whether you think it is the most amazing thing you have ever heard or if is downright dumb or somewhere in between, I would like to hear what you have to say. Thank you.

[Yoda]

Hello Saiga, welcome to the Lucky Star Shrine Forums.

Both King of the Hill and Lucky Star are what we call "slice of life" cartoons, so you're quite correct: both follow a very similar formula. Personally, however, I've never even once thought about how King of the Hill is similar to Lucky Star. Generally, Lucky Star is considered the Seinfeld of anime (Seinfeld, as you may or may not already know, is a show about random situations. In that respect, it's like Lucky Star, but with grown men instead of high school girls).

Quite an interesting thread. Thanks for posting. Hopefully you'll continue warming up to Lucky Star.

[Hiyori's-Boyfriend]

Hello Saiga, welcome to the Lucky Star Shrine Forums.

Both King of the Hill and Lucky Star are what we call "slice of life" cartoons, so you're quite correct: both follow a very similar formula. Personally, however, I've never even once thought about how King of the Hill is similar to Lucky Star. Generally, Lucky Star is considered the Seinfeld of anime (Seinfeld, as you may or may not already know, is a show about random situations. In that respect, it's like Lucky Star, but with grown men instead of high school girls).

Quite an interesting thread. Thanks for posting. Hopefully you'll continue warming up to Lucky Star.

Same opinion. Also your icon; 'BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY!' *Plays Bill Nye Hardcore remix*

[Droote]

Wow, someone actually started a discussion about Lucky Star! It's been a long time since the previous one.
I have only watched one episode of King of the Hill I think, so I can't really say if they are similar, but it is an interesting thing you bring up; how original is Lucky Star?

[VK-Skelton]

Welcome to the forums, Saiga, hope you enjoy it here.

I think that while there are similarities between Lucky Star and King of the Hill, as both are in relatively realistic settings and such, a lot of the similarities are fairly common in a lot of slice of life comedies, although the genre is relatively rare in America when compared to Japan. I think one of the key differences is the episode structure, while in King of the Hill one episode will deal with one storyline, Lucky Star will have 3 different (although often loosely-connected) 'scenes' in an episode, with only a few episodes (the school trip, the final episode etc.) having a continuous 'plot' (as much as it can be called that).

Also, obligatory;
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1513/1264631646234.jpg

[7h3101im4idw0lf]

trollbe a trollin VK xD

anyways welcome Saiga, and yes, as said before, both shows are Slice of Life, or SoL for short, so it makes sense that you sense a similarity :S

[Forsakn Wrath]

there are some similar traits. but i cant say they are the same.

King of the Hill seems to have more drama and action were Lucky Star is more laid back and gives you a better feeling of the 'Slice of Life" feel.

the one main reason i got into lucky star was how the girls talked to each other. me and my friends do the same thing. asking random question and having discussions about it and the events of high school is something we can all relate to

King of the Hill just has those " thats highly unlikely" moments (a lot like Simpsons). by which i mean things like meeting celebrities. it could happen but not likely. i think its has to many off those moments and to happen to one family and their friends

[furball]

It's just because they are both slice of life and comedy shows

[Shiraishi-kun]

Welcome Saiga. Enjoy your stay.

I also agree with a lot of what has been stated above, if not all of it. But I think the main divide between Lucky Star and King of the Hill is demographic. King of the Hill is mostly intended for male adult audiences aged roughly 21 and onward, as it deals with more mature subject matter (sex out of wedlock is brought up a few times, for instance) and the characters are crude and sinful. Lucky Star, on the other hand, is more-or-less family-friendly (with occaisional exceptions, like in the beach/bath episode), and is aimed at both male and female viewers. The material that is covered in Lucky Star is more common and relatable than that of King of the Hill, and the conversations tend to carry a more lighthearted and happy tone in Lucky Star, where as King of the Hill's conversations tend to carry more dark and melancholic tones (Hank Hill's monotone doesn't help).

Bottom Line: Yes, Lucky Star and King of the Hill have their similarities, but they are quite different shows.

[Azu-N]

Saiga, welcome to the forum.

Most of what I want to say has already been said. Both shows are set in a world meant to be as real as it is, however King of the Hill has more adult situations where Lucky Star is good fun for anyone. All in all, I'd say it's just the genres that make them similar

I have a bad habit of once one thing is compared to another, I can't help but see those two things combined the next time I see it. Next time I watch a KotH episode, I'm probably going to be seeing everyone in sailor uniforms now..

[CYBERDISC]

hmmm... now that I think about it, I think it's actually true lol. But it's VERY roundabout, and hard to realize lol, I would have never been able to tell by myself. I don't think they're THAT alike, but there's similarities b/w them.

[Supernova141]

King of the hill: Introduction > conflict > resolution.

Lucky Star: KAWAIIDESUOMGLOOKKONATAMADEANANIMEREFERENCEOMGXDDD

Propanu~
http://breedingferrets.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/hank-hill.jpg

[furball]

King of the hill: Introduction > conflict > resolution.

Lucky Star: KAWAIIDESUOMGLOOKKONATAMADEANANIMEREFERENCEOMGXDDD

Propanu~
http://breedingferrets.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/hank-hill.jpg

Win.

[Saiga]

Thank you all for the ambitious replies. And thank you for all the welcomes too. I really appreciate it.

I admit due to all the posts I have nothing really more to say. All the questions I would have had were answered is subsequent posts. In all honesty I was expecting the opposite reaction from what I received. I was expecting that people would argue with me about what I said triggering a debate. Again, thank you.

I have other questions about Lucky Star that I received “unacceptable” answers from my roommate for, but they are just to entertain my pedantical way of thinking. Anime is not something I typically watch so I am kind of in the dark about something. In return I can relay all the information that you would want to know about reloading bullets, guns, hunting and camping you might want to know.

Also physics! I love physics! The people at where I work call me the Physifist because I dress like a punk and always ask the engineers questions about physics.

War. War is something else I like talking about. Out of all that humans do, war is the most amazing.

But I am getting off topic here. Thank you all again.

[Shiraishi-kun]

Thank you all for the ambitious replies. And thank you for all the welcomes too. I really appreciate it.

I admit due to all the posts I have nothing really more to say. All the questions I would have had were answered is subsequent posts. In all honesty I was expecting the opposite reaction from what I received. I was expecting that people would argue with me about what I said triggering a debate. Again, thank you.

I have other questions about Lucky Star that I received “unacceptable” answers from my roommate for, but they are just to entertain my pedantical way of thinking. Anime is not something I typically watch so I am kind of in the dark about something. In return I can relay all the information that you would want to know about reloading bullets, guns, hunting and camping you might want to know.

Also physics! I love physics! The people at where I work call me the Physifist because I dress like a punk and always ask the engineers questions about physics.

War. War is something else I like talking about. Out of all that humans do, war is the most amazing.

But I am getting off topic here. Thank you all again.

Glad to know we could help. Anf if you have anything else you feel like asking, please do so!

...now, why am I getting the feeling that you might be interested in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?

[7h3101im4idw0lf]

What's this? A weapons expert have we here?

Great news for me, I'm a rifle hobbyist :D

Not sure where you live, but if you're in the USA and know the NRA rankings for minors, I'm a 9th bar sharpshooter, just getting that out there

[Dally]

Welcome, also, I can see the similarities as well, the only "difference" I see is that Lucky Star has lots of References(either that or I didn't see enough King of the Hill).

[7h3101im4idw0lf]

Well LS IS famous for it's referencing

[Saiga]

Glad to know we could help. Anf if you have anything else you feel like asking, please do so!

...now, why am I getting the feeling that you might be interested in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?

I do have a couple of questions as a matter of fact. First being what do the suffixes to the names mean (-kun, -chan, and so on)? Also, what is Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?

What's this? A weapons expert have we here?

Great news for me, I'm a rifle hobbyist :D

Not sure where you live, but if you're in the USA and know the NRA rankings for minors, I'm a 9th bar sharpshooter, just getting that out there

Believe it or not, Cheyenne Wyoming happens to be in the USA and i also happen to be a Master Class shooter too. Mine is in center fire handgun, but i have stopped doing that. The matches were a bit too slow for me so i took up IPSIC and 3 gun matches. I like the running and gunning, but the NRA does not keep points for those matches (or at least not the ones i go to). And let me tell you, nothing beats zombie hunts... nothing.

But i love working on rifles for long range too. I am going to try the big bore long range event at Camp Perry this year (i won't win but it will be fun). I own a .300 Winchester Magnum Savage 110FCP and it is doing 1/8 inch groups at 100 yards with 200 grain Serra Match Kings.

I also owned a .50 BMG. The reason i owned instead of own a .50 BMG is because it shot really bad. Don't get me wrong, 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards is good, but for a $4,500 rifle it is downright horrid. Besides, my friends .375 Snipetac (.375Cheytac with an improved neck) was shooting circles around around my .50 BMG (and his rifle was cheaper $3,500 with a Niteforce scope). All i have left of the .50 BMG is a hand full of shells a few bullets and the armor piercing core of a shot round found in a bowling pin.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/DrThrax/bp1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/DrThrax/bp2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/DrThrax/bp3.jpg

[Azu-N]

I do have a couple of questions as a matter of fact. First being what do the suffixes to the names mean (-kun, -chan, and so on)? Also, what is Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?

There are several suffixes, the ones off the top of my head:
-kun: Shows familiarity or friendliness with a boy
-chan: Similar to kun, only directed to a girl or young child
-san: A more polite form of the above two, similar to calling someone "Mr." or "Mrs."
-sama: Extreme respect, shown to someone of a much higher rank

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, on the other hand, is a comedy/slice of life/supernatural anime about a girl obsessed with the supernatural who starts her own school club meant to find such things (Forcibly recruiting the other members). What she doesn't know is that she actually has the power to bend reality, making what she desires real. Good show, one of the things that got me into seriously watching anime