That I did always love
I bring thee Proof
That till I loved
I never lived - - Enough - -

~Emily Dickinson

“There was one thing that I was always confident about…”

“That I was the man who loved Kanata more than anyone else in the entire world.”

I cried manly tears, and felt absolutely no shame about it. Episode 22 brings us a more serious moment, and in typical KyoAni fashion, it’s executed so flawlessly that you can’t help but be drawn into the emotion of the characters.

Epic Win. There are just no other words to describe it.

OK, OK, enough of the maudlin stuff; let’s talk about the funny parts!

At long last the reason behind Yui-neesan’s maniacal Initial D-like driving is revealed! It was, in fact, Initial D!

Oh, thank all that is fluffy and delicious for this comment. The U.S. has won the World Series every time it has been held. If not for the misnomer that’d be quite the impressive record.

Now, I have no pretensions of having knowledge about sports, but damn it, don’t call something “The World Series” when only Canadian and American teams are in the competition. Sheesh…

The source of the mysterious stench is one of the great unsolved mysteries of anime, right up there with the contents of Soujirou’s D:/ drive and Akiko’s jam.

A reference to Quiz Magic Academy, a popular Japanese arcade game by Konami. It’s kind of like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, except instead of competing for money, you’re competing against all the other players in Japan for rankings.

My Japanese reading ability is embarrassingly slow, so the few times I was brave enough to give the game a try, I failed pretty quickly.

Yukata singing to herself made me feel a bit less sheepish about doing this myself…unfortunately it doesn’t make others feel less apt to mock me.

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It’s always fun to watch people listening to music on their mp3 player. It’s partly because they tend to do entertaining things in response to the music, which of course nobody else can hear, but also just because they tend to be oblivious to the world around them.

Some people really can’t converse without some kind of hand gestures (0rion: Jewish!). I myself have a bad habit of not making eye contact or doing something else while talking to people, whether I’m on the phone or not. And yeah, sometimes I do kind of look for something to busy myself while on the phone, otherwise you just feel…awkward.

Gesturing while on the phone is something almost everyone does unconsciously, since it’s just a natural part of human communication.

Almost every foreigner who’s lived in Japan for a while, however, distinctly recalls the first time they caught themselves bowing on the phone. You do it so much throughout daily life in Japan that it eventually just becomes automatic.

It’s actually really funny to watch people do this, especially if they’re talking to their boss or client, as they repeatedly bob up and down like one of those drinking bird toys.

After a while, you might also catch yourself bowing back to the TV when the newscasters bow at the beginning and end of the broadcast. Even now that I’m back in the U.S., I still find myself bowing on occasion, usually either when apologizing or to store clerks after buying something.

Also, I found Kagami’s phone conversation highly interesting. It sounded quite business-like, like she was talking to one of her father’s business associates or something. Perhaps she’s secretly the brains behind the family business? I certainly wouldn’t be surprised.

This happens to me all the freaking time! I constantly call people with requests about things that are quite pertinent but have forgetten about it once I finally reach them. Though nothing quite compares to forgetting who you dialed in mid-call. Sadly, I’ve done this quite often; the quintessence of humility is asking the person you just called who they are.

Haha, it totally does look like a Pocky stick. Good or bad thing that I went and tried this after watching the episode?

A crane kung-fu Konata is fine too.

I was secretly hoping that the bag would suddenly explode, showering them both with potato chips.

Or shrimp chips, or whatever they are.

Pickle jars have betrayed me in this fashion for years…I still look upon them with considerable resentment. It is virtually impossible to straighten the lid once you open them, and they sit inside the jar, jeering at your ineptitude.

Wha-? They? Wait, are you talking about the pickles??

…are you sure you’ve been getting enough sleep?

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Yeah, I pretty much fail at life.

But it’s ok, because evidently, so does Konata’s dad! I chuckled quite merrily at this point in the episode. I love how honest her Dad is; he’s easily my favorite side character.

Guerrand’s choice of translation is somewhat questionable, but given the target audience of this show, I imagine it’s also somewhat fitting. :3

OK, I really have to wonder…after seeing Soujirou with this kind of gear earlier in the show, I find it hard to believe he would use a cheap little point-n-shoot camera for taking family photos.

I fully expected him to have his beefy SLR up on a tripod with a nice portrait lens and a remote shutter release hidden in his hand to take the pictures. And at the very least choose a better background to frame the photos, good gracious!

The scene between Konata and her father was really touching. At first I was almost shocked to see the show take such a sincere turn, but in all honesty I thought it was great. It really makes you feel for Soujirou and the fact that his wife is gone. And although it’s a common thematic element, I must concur that it’s true - your quirks and oddities really are inconsequential compared to how much you care for someone.

Loved this whole flashback sequence. Absolutely brilliant.

By the way, the backdrop in this shot is from another one of the most photographed spots in Japan. It’s the famous Kotoji-tōrō stone lantern at Kenroku-en, the largest and best traditional garden in all of Japan.

Here’s the real thing.

It’s an amazing place, and I highly recommend visiting it if you ever get the chance.

I really like Konata’s expression in this picture. Despite their earlier squabbling, and Konata’s reluctace to pose in the photo, in this shot you can really see that she actually loves her dad very much.

And not to keep things too sorrowful - Lucky Star ends, fittingly, on a light note. Personally, I’d keep the picture; it would make for an interesting portrait.

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Yet another winner of an episode, one that gives you a few laughs, but also makes you stop and think. It’s a rare show that can do both of those at the same time so convincingly, and a testament to KyoAni’s versatility.

Hopefully the remaining two episodes of Lucky Star will continue this trend and bring the series to a strong close.

Kanata Izumi, In Loving Memory