Konata is a surprisingly good character. There’s something very endearing about her and for a long time (since I finished watching Lucky Star), I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but now I know.
I’ve heard from numerous people that they think Konata’s popularity is because she has the same tastes as and acts like a male otaku. That’s not necessarily off the mark, but it’s a little too simplistic. The actual appeal of Konata is not simply that she’s an otaku, but that she’s an otaku who’s not afraid to show that side of herself in public.
I think there’s a fear within everyone (but particularly relevant to dorks) that if they reveal too much of themselves that people will think less of them. They will either believe they cannot make any friends, or that their friends will stop being so friendly. Konata stands in the face of all that. Where most of dvd-and-figure-buying comrades falter, Konata is able to confidently declare to her “commoner” friends that yes, she loves Haruhi, yes, she goes to Comic Market, and yes, she is indeed an otaku.
Combined with some of Konata’s more poignant scenes, such as the Hirano Aya concert or some of her conversations with her dad, Konata shows that she’s not just an impossible ideal for otaku, but that it’s possible to both feel weak and strong at the same time.
Konata, one might say, is the opposite of Ogiue. However, unlike, say, Kohsaka from Genshiken, Konata doesn’t appear to be too perfect. Sure, she’s athletic, sure she’s friendly and outspoken, but in the end she is still genuine to her own interests, still has her own doubts and insecurities, and really isn’t that much different from the otaku from which she is derived.
OGIUE MANIAX 
And then we get to Kagamin Bocchi and then the Kagami x Konata yuri starts up again. That artist exploited the weaknesses of Konata and Kagami’s characters to great and moving (and delicious) effect.
But, yeah, Konata has a great deal of self-confidence, and I think it’s that what attracts people to other people, and, vice versa–the lack of self-confidence is what drives people away from others. I gained quite a bit of self-confidence over the past year or so, and it’s been much easier to make casual friends/acquaintances, even and especially accidentally.
This makes me think somewhat more thoughtfully of Konata not as mere otaku-fodder, but rather an open invitation to otaku to be more confident in themselves. As in, “Look, here’s an otaku girl, she’s very self-assured. She may have problems, like everyone, but you can’t say she’s not happy with her life.”
Whether or not this interpretation was intended on the part of Yoshimizu Kagami or not is doubtful, but I never let that stop me. I might expand that theory out in a post, should it prove an interesting line of thought.
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Lucky Star sucks. I thought you were above this garbage, but I guess not.
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Trollin Trollin Trollin’
Very good article as always.
I agree with you.
What’s more to say?
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Koji Oe: Hohohoho. This is why I like Konata, but this is not why I like Lucky Star.
And trust me, I was also taken by surprise that Lucky Star turned out to be better than what I (and you) initially thought it would be: a shallow slice of boring life with endless reference after reference.
Oh, it makes references alright, but why I liked Lucky Star is that it actively engages the audience in its shenanigans. It’s so self-aware of the influence it has on otaku subculture that it generates a sort of reverberating metahumor.
Lucky Star has the characters work at and visit a shrine that actually exists in real life.
People in real life go to visit the shrine BECAUSE it’s the “Lucky Star shrine.” They leave notes like “Konata is my wife.”
Konata and Co. go to a shrine on a school trip where they encounter notes saying things like “Konata is my wife.”
Not many anime have humor that skirt reality to that extent, let alone invite it and play with it.
Lucky Star: Actively engaging in the otaku discourse by arguing about the changing definition of moe.
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No man. Lucky Star is shit. So are the characters. They’re very unmemorable and flat. Horrible show which is okay when you watch it but totally forgettable.
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lol
Chill dude
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I can’t stand Lucky Star, but I won’t continually and actively troll SDS on it. That’s just plain silly.
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Being an otaku-ish individual who isn’t afraid of showing his fanboy side, I don’t really like Konata because part envy but part “I’m a different sort of otaku.”
For me it’s a means to an end, for her it’s who she is.
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Koji Oe, why the hell do you even post if this is a LUCKY STAR page? stop being a newfag and get back to your yaoi homepage.
I kind of envy the fact that most of what she dos she can get away with, leading me to not like her as much as some. she buys endless manga and games and never seems to suffer, she has late night gaming binges, she has expert skill in the field in which she obsesses.
Not saying I don’t like her, shes just not my favorite.
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Lucky Star is for virgins and wapanese fatsoes.
It’s a fact folks
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‘Jesus’, you suck, now go kill yourself for our sins.
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I think too many people’s heads are filled with stereotypes about the whole geek/otaku thing. ^^;
Look at this article. Worrying about nerd unpopularity, check; “all otaku are male”, check…
You really do not have to be hardcore to be able to relate to most LS scenes. Basically it’s situations you can relate to, plus one girl with the same interests as you, the anime watcher. There isn’t really huge mystery in this, in fact it’s difficult to think of simpler formula.
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