Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku

Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku is a nice little side-story for Lucky Star fans. It's not the season two that many have been hoping for—though, the OP would suggest otherwise—but there's no reason you wouldn't enjoy it if you enjoyed Lucky Star.

Despite not still being produced by KyoAni, Miyakawa-ke retains the overall feel of Lucky Star, most likely due to the number of returning staff members: Yamamoto Yutaka is the director, having previously directed the first four episodes of Lucky Star, of which he did a fine job, episode one's infamous first half notwithstanding. Rest assured, you won't be sitting through five minutes of meandering food discussions ... here. The visuals, too, are on point, featuring the light but vibrant color palette you've come to expect from the franchise, and the same kinds of adorable character designs that are consistently well drawn.

However, even with the shorter episode lengths, this show tends to follow a slower pace. While Lucky Star was more reliant on nonstop punchline set-ups, Miyakawa-ke instead uses more focused linear plot structures. That's not to say there aren't any punchlines at all, but each episode typically deals with a single scenario or idea for its whole duration, rather than being comprised of disconnected instances.

Oddly enough, the Miyakawa sisters are the only two returning characters who ended up being portrayed by new seiyuu for this series; you might have forgotten that they did actually have two brief appearances in Lucky Star, though their roles were so small that it hardly matters. Hikage's new seiyuu, in particular, is an unusual one, this being her first and only role. Her non-anime-sounding voice gives Hikage a unique charm, so it's a shame that she hasn't done any more voice work since.

Hikage is also by far the more likable of the two sisters. She's a lot more perceptive and cynical than your typical nine-year-old, no doubt a result of the harsh state of poverty that she lives in. Miyuk-...er, I mean, Hinata, on the other hand, is mainly there to create problems for her little sister—these problems being the main sources for the show's gags. Her incompetence may get frustrating, as she continues to make the same selfish decisions over and over throughout the whole show, only redeeming herself on occasion. But, to be fair, the entire premise banks on her acting in this way. Hikage wouldn't be so endearing if she didn't have to constantly struggle due to her older sister's lack of self control and bad spending habits.

You'll find that the premise of Miyakawa-ke is very simple—perhaps too simple. As it is, there's not a whole lot of variety to the series. With that in mind, the show's length really works to its advantage—any longer and the creators might have run out of new ways to tell the same jokes.

Maybe that's why the ending is so satisfying, despite the fact that not all of the source material could be covered. It stops before getting old, and ends things on a pretty good note. If Lucky Star left you wanting more, you owe it to yourself to give this small series a shot; certain cameos will probably make you smile. However, if you're not amused by the first episode, you probably shouldn't bother to continue.

"It's 9 p.m. on Monday! Everyone assemble!!!"

"Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku" details the struggles of the Miyakawa sisters as they battle one of history's most famous, most heart wrenching social problems: poverty. Cruel, heartless poverty. The sisters Hinata and Hikage live a life filled with unflattering things, like tofu substituted meat, skim milk, skim milk, and convenience store dinners. This show is a glimpse at sections of their life, filling the viewers with a sense of overwhelming pity.

For Hikage, the younger sister, she is an endearing elementary school student who puts up with her sister's wasteful spending, using precious dollars on unneeded things like light ... novels with ridiculously long titles and promotional items. Her cries of dissatisfaction are drowned out by the sounds of her growling stomach, giving her the unpleasant reminder that another day of meatless dinner awaits her. She goes to school, where she lives a relatively normal elementary school life, where her dear friends offer a respite to the battlefields of the supermarket. Her teacher, Kirito-sensei, being the sporting guy he is, attempts to help Hikage, as long as it has nothing to do with financial problems. However, the ever wise Hikage denies his advice, citing "love problems." This Kirito-sensei seems nowhere near as successful with women as his alternate world counterpart is.

Hikage's sister, Hinata, works in a book store to rake in meager allowances to sustain both herself and her sister. She is caring, but her impulsive buying habits are in direct confrontation with her family's dire financial situation. Seeing Hikage in distress upsets her however, and always tries to make it up to her, offering enticing things like sharing her limited edition goods, and sweet words to make her forget her growling stomach.

The ending song is tragically cut short for many of the episodes, given the studio's dire financial situation. The Miyakawa sisters sing their hearts out about their lone struggles, but alas, funding is little and the song cannot be complete...until near the end! The song is a cry for help to viewers, detailing their shambled lives, citing the delicious foods they want to eat and the poor substitutes they have instead. Like tofu steaks and skim milk. A given rule to people is to avoid skim milk, but in the most desperate of situations, rules are only "guidelines." Hearing the full song tugs at those heart strings alright.

"Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku" chronicles short adventures of the Miyakawa sisters, showing their heroic inner fighting spirits and absolute refusal to give up in the face of overwhelming odds. It is a tale worthy of your viewing and sympathies. Struggle along with the sisters as they battle a foe all too familiar to people: empty wallets and empty stomachs.

Let Hikage's shining, innocent face be a reminder of the important things in life. Like bacon. And steak.

Well, this was disappointing.

I tried liking this. My hopes were up with that it was a spinoff of Lucky Star, but those positive thoughts were dashed swiftly.

Being about the families struggles to maintain any money for food, with an otaku shopper, you think it would be a fun few minutes, but the overuse of similar jokes over and over again drew thin, and eventually it became a chore to finish. Also, the ED joke was funny to begin with, but wore down as all the jokes did. Though the ED was a nice tune.

Since it was a Lucky Star spinoff, you would expect a cameo, ... but alas, those were disappointing as well.

The few positives this show had was the aforementioned ED song, though they were sub-par, the *cameos* of the Lucky star gang, and the art was above average.

Final thoughts would be that it is dissapointing, but if want to waste 30 minutes, as the show varies from 3-5 minutes long, go right ahead, but there are MANY better shorts out there than this one.