Lucky☆Star follows the daily lives of four cute high school girls—Konata Izumi, the lazy otaku; the Hiiragi twins, Tsukasa and Kagami; and the smart and well-mannered Miyuki Takara. As they go about their lives at school and beyond, they develop their eccentric and lively friendship and making humorous observations about the world around them. Be it Japanese tradition, otaku culture, academics, or the correct way to eat a chocolate coronet—no subject is safe from their musings. (Adapted from MAL)
Lucky☆Star is famously based in Saitama Prefecture, with Washinomiya Shrine, as featured in the OP, being the most notable location. The cast takes several trips to places like Akihabara, Tokyo Big Sight, Miura Beach, and Kyoto. The round exterior of Kasukabe Kyoei High School, also in an OP shot, is another famous pilgrimage spot.
On release, Lucky☆Star‘s Washinomiya captured the minds of devoted fans and the press, and was featured in several TV spots and magazine articles. The first publicization of the real-world Washinomiya Shrine can supposedly be traced to a Lucky Star article in July 2007’s edition of Newtype.
Lucky☆Star helped to seed the early seichijunrei and butaitanbou blogging culture. In addition, Lucky☆Star otaku entered a mutual relationship with the locals of Washinomiya through the Lucky Star Mikoshi, a festival parade float paraded by a team of volunteer Lucky☆Star otaku from across Japan. In exchange for help with constructing the mikochi every year, Lucky☆Star otaku help with Washinomiya Shrine’s festivals and hatsumode, and draw in an audience of other otaku.
