Whether or not you think Lucky Star is overrated, no one can deny the series massive commercial success, especially not the people of Saitama prefecture. Lucky Star fans have injected obscene amounts of money into the local economy through tourism and merchandising. Washinomiya, the shrine of characters Kagami and Tsukasa in the series, saw its attendance figures increase by nearly triple from last year.

It's no surprise, then, that the prefecture has noticed, launching a multilingual website calling itself "Anime Land" earlier this year.  The "Prefectural Anime Tourism Investigative Commission" has been considering replacing local school uniform designs to match the ones worn by Konata and friends.

This step seems a little extreme to me. While one can definitely see money in selling Lucky Star-themed food and merch, the benefits of having students traipse around looking like moe blobs are more nebulous. It's not like otaku can buy the students...at least not legally. Plus, I prefer the more cosmopolitan designs shown in other anime and games. Does anyone know what real-life Japanese town inspired Persona 4? Someone needs to make those uniforms happen.

[Via ANN]