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My OTP: Expressing my love for one of my favorite pairings.


Buck Testa

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  1. 1. Would you like to see more posts about pairings I have?

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    • NO!!! NO!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
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(WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD)

Anyone who is even somewhat versed in the world of anime has seen or heard of the "anime about nothing" the wonderful yet pointless series called "LUCKY STAR"

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Its dry wit and extremely relaxed episodes are not for everyone, but for those who this appeals to this is pure gold. I was one of those people that took to the show with gusto and thoroughly enjoyed my time with Konata Izumi and her friends as they went through the day to day things of life with the comedic flair comparable to the vibe of Seinfeld, with our pint sized otaku as the resident Jerry.

 

I should also note that this art style has a lot of similarities with our cartoon of choice My Little Pony, with their chibi bodies, big heads and eyes, small mouths and appendages, and soft color scheme.

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Now I am a shipper, and I had been long before I had watched this show. I play a game with it, finding the little bits of evidence I can find and weaving it together to make an organic reasoning why this pairing is my favorite for a given show. Sometimes a thread of evidence runs dry really quick, while others have so much in the span of a few episodes that you have no doubt in your mind that the writers secretly want this pairing to happen but just can't for whatever reason.

 

Lucky Star was neither of these, but to this day I have never put so much effort into putting together the evidence for the pairing as I had for Lucky Star.

 

The pairing I keep referring to is of Konata Izumi and Kagami Hiiragi

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Konata is the girl with the blue hair and the kitty smirk

Kagami is the purple haired girl

 

What is so great about this pairing? Why is it my top one when I have well over a hundred ships I could name off the top of my head? Why did I put so much effort into finding this evidence? The anime didn't have them end up together and it aired years ago so why am I talking about this now?

 

The anime only covers the beginning of the real story of Lucky star, while the bulk of it remains in the manga. However even in the anime the evidence for the pairing abounds, though another

blog referenced all of that evidence far better than I had ever could. However he did not have access to the developments that have happened lately between these two, and I have to say its one of the most satisfying things I have ever experienced in my long years of shipping.

 

See the story of Lucky star is actually a REALLY REALLY drawn out romantic comedy about an Otaku who uses her vast experience with dating sims to woo the love of her life. Instead of cutting to the chase though like so many stories tend to do they develop the friendship between the two of them and the budding romance has this "Will they, wont they, is this even happening or is it all in my head?" kind of vibe to it for much of the rather expansive manga and its sequel.

 

No one who would of only of seen the anime would of really known this. They would of figured out the underlying tension between the two of them sure (I mean you don't get much more blatant than waking up from a dream saying this..)

 

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However most people just thought that was played up for laughs or obligatory fan service. It was, in part, but there was more to it than that. A lot more.

 

See Kagami is what is referred to as a Tsundere: Someone who has love for another but is to embarrassed to show it. Because of this they pretend to be mad at that person or act like they find them annoying. Whats more Konata's generally snarky and nonchalant demeanor was and is a very difficult thing for Kagami to accurately read. She has no idea when Konata is being serious or when she is kidding, which further adds to her frustration and confusion about her own feelings.

 

Konata views her interactions with other girls as a irl dating sim, including her target interest Kagami. She constantly refers to her interactions with others as "Flags", points in a sim where there is a choice and it is wise to save your progress to salvage your game if you get the "bad endings." She makes no bones about being attracted to girls and Identifies as a male in a females body, but again this could be interpreted as her sense of humor if you go by the anime alone. However as the developments that happen clearly show she is far from kidding about her orientation and gender identity.

 

Konata wanted to be in a relationship with Kagami, but she knew that in order to earn her love the right way she would have to work through the Tsun girls emotional defenses and insecurities.

 

This took the span of the entire manga and its subsequent licensed sequel to finally happen. It kind of reminds me of Family Matters with Steve Urckel going after the girl he loves and saying

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In fact that is a rather apt comparison. In both instances the girl getting wooed is thoroughly embarrassed that she even finds this person attractive and romantic and tries to cover it up with everything they have, but the nerds are just to dang genuine and sweet at the end of the day for them to really write off. That is the thing to take home about Konata, she isn't playing this "dating sim" for just any reason, she truly and deeply cares for Kagami and just has really eccentric ways of showing it. Not once did she ever try to get Kagami to move faster with her feelings than what she was ready for, considering her deep seated insecurities with every step she took closer to the girls heart. Kagami knew this all to well, and it both frustrated and touched her quite a bit.

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Years of being friends with Konata and seeing the kind of effort she was putting to win her heart ended up melting away any defenses she had. Not through force, but through playful banter and teasing that said right from the beginning "I will wait for you to say you love me, just know I am going to love you like the goof I regardless of how long it takes you to say it."

 

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She had waited so long, both in just how long the manga had been running and the timeline of the manga itself, that it was such a HUGE surprise when she actually spelled it out for the tsun girl. I would be lying if I didn't say I had a had made an actual fansqueal upon reading that chapter. So long I had been following this character in her campaign to get the girl that I thought it was just never meant to be. Lo and behold as the issues progressed something real genuinely blossomed between them. Kagami was still having bouts of being reluctant and not straight forward, but the side of her that was in love with Konata was finally starting to win. And with her turning to the proverbial dark side even the extra art began to reflect the new developments

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In the most recent chapters they have finally, FINALLY reached the stage where they are going out and are actually in a relationship. Its the longest buildup to two people becoming romantically involved I had ever witnessed in manga and media in general, and to finally see it happen after years of shipping the pairing I thought would never happen to begin with it is thoroughly satisfying to have it be official canon

 

With such a long journey and the depth that was hidden in an otherwise silly and pointless manga series is more than enough to forever earn it the status of my personal TOP One True Pairing.

 

Thanks for reading my ramblings about my favorite pairing, I hope you found it enjoyable.

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This is a great look into the story of Konami (Konata x Kagami), especially considering how 'open to interpretation' Konata's behaviour had been up to Comic a la Carte. In the anime at least (that's all I've seen so far, that and the OVA :/) it wasn't particularly obvious that the series in a whole was heading towards this point- Konata and Kagami were easy to see as a couple, right from the early episodes, but the show itself didn't really set out to be particularly about the romance.

 

Your idea about the story of Lucky Star being a really drawn out romantic comedy reminds me of this analysis I've watched someone go into about K-On!, where they suggested that, rather than individual episodes, each episode should be regarded as a chapter in a long, interwoven tale. Again, I have little to no experience with Lucky Star's manga, but having seen the start of it and with you revealing this major point in its story, I think the same could be said of Lucky Star as for K-On!- there was a plot after all in this 'anime about nothing', but it's laid out so subtly that you have to see more than a little of the series to really pick up on it.

 

Again, ramblings or not :P, I enjoyed reading this blog, and it certainly makes better sense of Konami than what I understood of the pairing so far :) I was thinking a while ago of just skipping to Comic a la Carte, but this blog's made me reconsider- the build-up to that moment's gonna make it even more worthwhile for when I reach it! ;)

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