Chiyo Mihama begins her high school career as one of the strangest students in her freshman class—a tiny, 10-year-old academic prodigy with a fondness for plush dolls and homemade cooking. But her homeroom teacher, Yukari Tanizaki, is the kind of person who would hijack a student's bike to avoid being late, so "strange" is a relative word.
There certainly isn't a shortage of peculiar girls in Yukari-sensei's homeroom class. Accompanying Chiyo are students like Tomo Takino, an energetic tomboy with more enthusiasm than brains; Koyomi Mizuhara, Tomo's best friend whose temper has a fuse shorter than Chiyo; and Sakaki, a tall, athletic beauty whose intimidating looks hide a gentle personality and a painful obsession with cats. In addition, transfer student Ayumu Kasuga, a girl with her head stuck in the clouds, fits right in with the rest of the girls—and she has a few interesting theories about Chiyo's pigtails!
Together, this lovable group of girls experience the ups and downs of school life, their many adventures filled with constant laughter, surreal absurdity, and occasionally even touching commentary on the bittersweet, temporal nature of high school.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
jet2r0cks
It seems to me that people who have seen Azumanga Daioh are divided into two groups. The first group consists of people who enjoyed it, and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. The other consists of those that thought it was boring and nonsensical. I find myself right in the middle. It wasn’t so bad story wise – usually I’m all for “anything goes” anime. The problem I had with it was that it wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be. I had a few laughs now and then, mostly thanks to Osaka, but there were times when I thought thejokes were too corny for my taste. Even thought I’m not a fluent Japanese speaker, I got the jokes, but I didn’t think they were that funny (I definitely saw funnier before). I guess it’s a matter of taste, and it must be a huge hit in Japan.
Every time I would watch it I kept waiting for it to get better, since for the first few episodes I didn’t think it was funny. I kept wondering why people like this anime so much, and why they speak so highly of it. I seriously think it’s not that funny, like I said there were a lot of corny jokes, and sometimes the jokes lasted too long. There were scenes wherein there was nothing but silence. Some people may think that’s funny, but if it lasts for about a minute I tend to get bored.
I like the characters though. My favorites are Kagura, Osaka and Chiyo. Kagura’s just one cool chick. Osaka is weird but funny, and Chiyo’s adorable. Seeing her in that penguin (?) suit made me squeal like Sakaki armed with 100 furry and friendly cats and Speed. Tomo was a bit irritating, and I can’t help but think in a few years she’ll end up like Yukari-sensei. I didn’t like Kaorin either. She’s like some annoying extra and I felt her character wasn’t that important. Kimura-sensei is one of the weirdest characters I’ve ever seen. His mouth is open all the time, and he has a dirty, school girl lovin’, mind.
The character is simplistic, and for this anime, simplicity was the way to go. It wasn’t as detailed compared to other JC Staff series I watched in the past (although it did have at least one buxom character, like all JC Staff series I’ve watched). I like the fact that the characters all had different body types, which is in a way, realistic. I like the colors too. They were really nicely done and contrasted nicely. There were no clashes in color whatsoever.
The voice acting was done well, because the characters’ personalities were brought out through their dialogues effectively. I like Kagura’s (Houko Kuwashima) tomboyish tone, Osaka’s (Yuki Matsuoka) soft Kansai-ben accent, Tomo’s (Chieko Higuchi) loud and upbeat speech and Chiyo’s (Tomoko Kaneda) tiny voice. I was also surprised to find many well known names among the cast, such as Rie Tanaka.
Despite the fact that the opening song made barely made sense, it was still catchy. It really fit the anime’s mood, which was carefree and random. I liked the ending song better, I thought it had the charm of a folk song, I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s because of the instruments used and the singer’s soft voice that was sort of telling me a story. Generally, the BGM was nicely made and beautifully crafted. A lot of the tracks were upbeat and fit the mood of the series.
My one sentence review would be “I yawned, I laughed, and I’m glad to have watched it.” While it may not be the best for me, anything that ends in a heartwarming beat is good enough for me.
AuNaturel
Azumanga Daioh took me by complete surprise. I discovered it from a YouTube clip where she meets "Chiyo's father" and I thought it was the funniest thinger I have seen in a long time. I asked around and was wondering if it would interest me. After researching it for a bit I decided that yes, I would watch it. I sure am glad I looked at the related videos that day, that clip eventually led me to watch the awkwardly hilarious slice of life anime known as Azumanga Daioh. Story : This is a slice of life anime, and what thatmeans is, there generally isn't any story. But I'll tell you what there is. Skits. Alot of skits. Hilariously over the top skits. Such as their teachers terrible driving, the way the other students see the beautiful, athletic and mysterious Sakaki, without knowing of her love of cute animals, Tomo's innuendo and curiosity about the "love life" and Kimura sensei's love for minors. But there are realistic events as well. The new years, studying for exams, trying not to fail school, athletics, snowball fights. This show can be completely realistic or mind bogglingly over the top.
Art : Originally, I wasn't too fond of Azumanga Daioh's artwork. But as I watched the show it grew on me, and then I began to recognize how brilliant it is! The artwork in this show is clean while remaining detailed. But most of all, it's hilarious! Seeing the expressions of the characters as they react to the situations they are in is incredibly funny! The way the artists portray the situations in their clever style is always fun to watch.
Sound : The music in Azumanga Daioh fits every situation very nicely. The music is very unique. It is a nice combination of surprising instruments that I certainly didn't intend to hear. But they all work, and they make the situations funnier. There is also an odd use of a car horn that lasts throughout the show... The "ding ding" noise whenever someone realizes something, or Ayumu's slow, sleepy voice [They honestly couldn't have chose a better voice actor], are all used properly and to humorous effect.
Characters : The characters is where this show really shines! From the grudging Yukari, to the cute and innocent Chiyo, to the energetic instigator Tomo. The characters in this show are varied, and all very likable. Even creepy Kimura is likable! Honestly though, as anyone who has watched it will tell you, the real star here is Ayumu. Anything she says is funny, no matter what the context, where she is, or what she's doing. She often makes a mistake doing such trivial things, has incredibly weird daydreams (she once dreamed that Chiyo's ponytails controlled her and gave her the ability to fly) and has probably one of the best voice actors I have ever heard matching a character. Honestly, there couldn't have been a better voice actor. Every single character in this show is likable, no, LOVABLE, to the point that you will be thinking about them years after this show has ended.
Enjoyment : You will watch this show over and over and over again and still laugh!! The jokes are all well thought out and hilarious. Even when the characters are just standing around, not talking and staring at each other you will laugh. Why? Because the way they are set up is just so brilliant! The gang of Azumanga Daioh will forever be in your heart after this show, and that is exactly why you should watch this show. I can't recommend this enough to fans of the slice of life genre and comedy genres.
*At the time of this writing, it has been months since I have watched this show, I plan on re-watching it soon, though.
Ranivus
Azumanga daioh is one of the funniest animes i have ever seen PERIOD! Azumanga takes place during the high school years of a handful of girls. No its not a girls only school but the only main characters are ALL girls. The entire cast all run the gamut of moe-ness. Ranging from super chibi to a girl that thinks she's not cute. The story is basically a slice of life anime basically meaning it a Seinfeld-esqe sitcom surrounding high school girls. Theres no real story element, and thankfully no multiple part episodes are around here. Just short simple and hilarious situations that can be finished in30 minutes ^_^ Even the oav's are hella short! But at least they get the points across and they do it hilariously! The way they create their characters are really one of a kind. You'll actually want to know more of how these girls happen to befriend each other before/during high school.
Character progression is really good. Each character has their own role to play for every other character and you can really tell by how they react to eachother and try (or don't try) their best to make it past high school.
Animation is very simplistic as are most high school comedies are. Most of the time, they'll only draw the girls and make silhouettes of all the other students. Theres tons of emotes abound in this show as each girl gets embarrassed, frustrated, scared, etc. The emotions animations are very simple as well yet for the most of the times, they REALLY get the point across. Even so much that you'll pause the show just to stop laughing. I never realized not adding color or drawing people all squiggly would be so funny. They'll also flip back and forth between normal anime to chibi anime quite alot. Some times the chibi-ness isn't needed but for the majority when its implemented it makes the scene that much funnier.
The seyiu are great in this show. Even tho some sound like you've herd the same before but with the animation and the little sound effects here and there make the entire experience an enjoyable one. And the music is pretty simple but you'll be singing the op over and over again because of the catchyness of it. Speaking of the op you'll also realize most of the scenes in the op will make sense after about ep22 ^_^ But overall the sound is your usual high school sound effects... crowds in the cafeteria, groaning in unison in the classroom, and cheering during sporting events. All the usual sound fare :)
All in all everything about this show SCREAMS mediocre from the sound to anime to even the characters. But this is proof that just as long as you have a killer story and a staff that can illustrate the desired effect your show will be a runaway hit ^_^
Azumanga daioh is one of the funniest anime i have ever seen PERIOD! 9/10
ColdBeans
STORY 7/10 Azumanga Daioh is a show about nothing, literally. Think of it like Seinfeld, but with high school girls and as much hilarity, and you've got all the bases covered. The episodes revolve around six girls and their daily life at a high school, which always ends up being random in some way. The comic formula is hilarious. Many scenes will make you scratch your head and wonder "eh?" while simultaneously laughing, while other scenes make you laugh by repeating the same thing over and over and over and over, far past the point where you think it should have just stopped the joke. The bestcomic relief was definitely the male teacher who was always hitting on the girls, who had a trademark jaw drop constantly. He would randomly be thrown into the episodes very spasticly, making anyone with a sense of humor laugh out loud. So really, don't go into watching Azumanga thinking you'll get any sort of a plot. There are only a few episodes that are linked somehow, but the rest do follow a timeline (the girls making their way through three years of school, up to the satisfying conclusion).
Art
6/10
The animation is really simple and clean which fits the style of this anime, but I don't like this kind of look. There's nothing too impressive about it.
Sound
6/10
The music in this anime was alright sometimes bordering irritating, I wasn't too fond of the opening it just sounds irritating with the high pitched voices but I suppose it goes with the show. The background music started rubbing me the wrong way after a while.
But from what I recall it's mostly silence since they have such long silences after a "joke" which I didn't find that funny. They would have these ridiculously long pauses after a joke and I'm just sitting there still bored to death and I'm like was that supposed to be funny? Is someone supposed to be rolling on the floor laughing from that?
The seiyuus all did a good job portraying high school girls and especially Chiyo-chan.
CHARACTERS
9/10
The character development was basically non-existant, yet I still gave this section a 9. Why? To put it bluntly, Azumanga Daioh has some of the most hilarious characters I've seen, who all fill their incredibly exaggerated role perfectly. Chiyo is the little girl who is the epitome of cuteness. Her voice helps with this persona, as well as giant watery eyes when she gets upset, and her little girl ways of doing things. Sakaki is obsessed with cute things and is super quiet, and always blushes whenever she sees a cat or dog, yet (for the comedic effect) she always is bitten when she tries to pet things. Tomo is the most obnoxious character by far and is always yelling and pissing people off. Yumi is probably the least developed character -- her one quirk is that she is obsessed with her weight. Then there's Osaka, an extremely slow and stupid girl who tends to always make you laugh with the idiotic things that come out of her mouth. And finally, Kagura is athletic and competitive. These six characters are fairly extreme to begin with, but them morph into super extreme characters by the end of the series.
The entire series is about pushing the limits of comedy, and the characters help out with this immensely.
OVERALL
8 / 10
Azumanga is a great watch for any fans of comedy. Out of all the random series I've seen, Azumanga definitely has the highest concentration of randomness and laugh out loud moments, combined with hilarious characters and wacky moments alike. If you like comedy series, I can't see why you haven't watched this yet! And if you haven't, pick it up right now, since you'll surely like it.
Kopanda
Azumanga Daioh epitomizes innocent, playful and unexplainable comedy. The humor which mainly comprises of repetition, slapstick and awkward placings of pauses, makes this unique Slice of Life anime an instant classic. The series does not revolve around a plot, character development and exploration, nor does it discuss social trends or fantastic adventures, simply put Azumanga is about mood. The viewers of the series play as much a part of the series as the wonderful, quirky, eccentric and blissfully honest characters that star in it. The nostalgic and anti-serious mood evident throughout every episode will put every single viewer into a state of pure and innocenthappiness - regardless of any stationary issues or problems, it is this fact which has propelled the series to popularity.
While the characters may, at times, seem to be immature it is more than obvious that they were created by geniuses. The mature and ageless true-to-life humor will bring all ages together into childish ecstasy. Whether you adore Chiyo's over the top cuteness; Sakaki's satirical mysteriousness; Yomi's pragmatic level-headedness; Tomo's volatile irrationality or Osaka's notorious enigma, you're sure to fall face first into this everyday and uncanny familiarness that is school life.
The music in Azumanga Daioh is possibly the best suited track ever created for an anime. It's gentle and nostalgic flute and trombone melodies are as important as Tomoko Kaneda's contribution as Chiyo's voice. The seiyuu and music brings the series together into perfect harmony which is concluded by the aptly fluffy ending animation (song titled 'Raspberry Heaven').
If you're looking for random, if you're looking for eccentric, if you're looking for kawaii, Azumanga Daioh is your answer. If you haven't figured it out yet Azumanga is my personal number 1 favorite and I rank it as a Masterpiece on any scale. I've re-watched the series four times and laughed at different places every time. The amazing thing about Azumanga is that even though it has accumulated millions of fans in Japan and the West alike, a sequel is really not necessary or appropriate. A true Masterpiece is when there doesn't need to be more to satisfy the fans, it's when the conclusion is the end and the end is the best part. I hope that the magic honesty in Azumanga Daioh entertains everyone the same way as it entertained me.
Retro8bit
Azumanga Daioh will probably always remain one of the top comedy anime titles of all time, and with good reason too. Even if it does ends up being a different experience than most would think right off the bat. Story: 7/10 Being that this is a mix of school life, comedy and slice of life-- one shouldn’t expect too much from the actual story and plot. Basically it opens up as one of the high school teachers is in a hurry to make it to her class, which ends in her stealing one of her own student’s bikes in a aggressive manner. And at this point mostwill get the idea of where this anime is going. Each episode pertains about the lives of six high school female students. And like with any good comedy series a roller coaster of laughs ensues. However the way this particular series does it is what makes it such a great series. Many of the joke and puns have a big amount to do with Japanese culture (though not nearly as much as Lucky Star)--all the while adding a good amount of random gags to the mix. For example: some of the episodes have to do with dream sequences, which have to do with a girl being able to fly with her pigtails, to one of them being a super hero, to another having a cat as a father (however they end up being carried out and/or implied even in the real world as well). The dialog is also very funny, whether it be about jokes dealing with food, to school uniforms, to even a few Sakaki boob jokes here and there. Gags like these abound in Azumanga Daioh, most of which seem to come out of nowhere, and will leave many viewers scratching their heads afterward. Now I know most would be thinking at this point: "Oh, so it’s just about random gags with no sort of plot or story then!" Nothing could be further from the truth, because Azumanga Daioh mixes random gags with an actual story. Granted there is no real overall plot to this as mentioned before, other than the girls simply trying to make it through high school. But it does go by an "episode by episode" plot. Whether it be the girls trying to win the sports festival, doing their summer homework, to relaxing at the beach. Despite the over the top humor of the series, it also can do it in a quite relaxing way too, which should satisfy most slice of life fans out there. Now that doesn’t mean the story is all peaches and cream; some episodes seem to get a bit slow paced at times, with not too much happening going on, and some scenes tend to drag on a bit. But I think my biggest grip with the storyline, is that a number of episodes seemed to be recycled over from past ones (ie: two sports day episodes, two summer home episodes, and two dream sequence episodes). The latter are still quite funny, it’s just a shame that they couldn’t have given us a bit more of variety. Since there is no real plot in mind, I would say that the ending is appropriate, though I think that it could have ended a little better. Even so, with Azumanga Daioh it’s all about the comedy, and that is what makes this anime so enjoyable!
Art: 7/10
Being that this series tries to capture a more realistic high school in Japan (most of the character’s hair are black and/or dark colored), the characters themselves also look very cutesy! They all have bigger eyes than most anime you will find, and look quite un-proportional compared to real life Otakus. I feel this was made intentionally however, as to show the audience that this anime does not take itself seriously in the least. However, this still doesn’t change the fact that the art style over all looks pretty simplistic, and the backgrounds can range from decent looking-- to no backgrounds at all. Nothing too bad, it just leaves much to be desired at times.
Sound: 8/10
I actually had the pleasure of experiencing both the English and Japanese version, and must say that both felt quite comfortable to listen to. The opening and closing themes were quite catchy and fit the goofiness of the series. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy watching random Japanese animated women fly through the sky without a net? Or even wings for that matter? It’s pretty much saying: "this is your brain on drugs!" Which is what a lot of people will probably be thinking while watching this show. The background tracks do contain a good portion silly and sincere sounds, though I wish there could have been a little bit more of it!
Characters: 9/10
Considering that this is a comedy anime, and therefore doesn’t concentrate too much on depth, Azumanga Daioh actually has a pretty fleshed out cast of characters. Not only from the six main female leads, but also from the teachers and staff workers as well. Such as "Koyomi, " the girl who is on a never ending quest to lose weight, to "Sakaki, " who has an unhealthy addiction to cats, to "Kimura, " the perverted school teacher. I wouldn’t go as far to say that they are the most deep cast of characters you'll see in an anime, but they do interact with each other very well, and you get a good amount of time to get to know each ones likes and dislikes. They're funny, interesting, cute and definitely the back bone of the series!
Enjoyment: 10/10
The well done merger of comedy and actual storyline really made Azumanga Daioh a winner for me! It’s something that is very hard to do in an anime, but this series proves that with a little love and care; anything is possible! I just couldn’t stop laughing in so many parts while going through this!
Overall: 8/10
I feel Azumanga Daioh can be enjoyed by most comedy fans out there. Some viewers might find its humor a bit redundant and too silly at times, which can be seen as a turn off. Even so, if you are a big fan of comedy anime like myself, and have 25 minutes of free time to spare on a good laugh, then this series should fill that time quite nicely!
Moog
Ah yes, Azumanga Daioh, the anime responsible for spawning a metric fuckton of high school comedies trying to mimic the magic of this show. Some uninformed people might be tempted to call Azumanga Daioh "generic high school comedy," but in the early 00s it was far from that, and to this day it still stands as the pinnacle of the slice of life genre. Slice of life is a tricky genre to get right, because essentially it tries to capture mundane realism in an entertaining fashion, and many shows don't get the latter right at all; nobody wants to watch an anime of something lame thatthey might as well experience in real life, so what's the key to a compelling slife of life story? Good characters. This is where Azumanga Daioh excels. The show revolves around six eccentric high school girls and their two teachers, and along with skillful voice acting, beautiful audio and visuals, it radiates a charming and relaxing atmosphere that never gets old. I know, it's easy to disregard Azumanga Daioh as boring today if you read the synopsis, but you're wrong.
There is no story in Azumanga Daioh, but the character-driven writing makes up for that, and J.C.Staff captures the essence of Azuma's four-panel form manga masterfully. In short, whatever "story" you get is pretty much a large variety of situational scenes, events, and mundane chatter among the main characters, and that is more than enough. You get attached to the characters from the very beginning, and the more you get to know them the easier it becomes to immerse yourself in the anime, and that's what slice of life should be about, right? It's not an anime that tries to be edgier-than-thou or filled with slapstick cheese--it's simply a relaxing show that you can sit down and enjoy, and because of its episodic nature there's no continuity, so anyone can sit down and watch it. It's an anime that I'd recommend to most people, regardless of their experience with anime. Most people have probably already seen the famous viral clip of Osaka kicking off her shoe at anyone from Fidel Castro to Italy's Marco Materazzi anyway, so you might even get some "ah, so that's where it's from!" moments as well. Those are always fun.
I vaguely mentioned sound and art earlier, and it deserves some comments. Because slice of life is so mundane in nature, I think that it's vital that it has stunning audio and visuals. It sets the overall atmosphere and tone of the show after all. There's nothing breathtaking about Azumanga Daioh's visuals, so too bad if you expected delicious eye candy. Go watch K-On! or some other moe blob show. While the art isn't great, it really compliments the audio (great music and seiyuu!) so overall I wouldn't criticize it too much. Getting lost in details is stupid, and the overall vibe the anime radiates is still top-notch.
Azumanga Daioh has aged well, and it is still as hilarious, engaging and relaxing as it was back in the early 00s. This is a timeless anime classic, and judging by the current trend of high school comedies it'll probably stand as the epitome of the genre for many more years to come. Give this anime a shot if you haven't already. Seriously.
immortalrite
Out of all the comedy I have ever seen or care to remember, there has never been quite anything like 2002's Azumanga Daioh. Simply put, no anime to date has made me laugh longer, harder, and more frequently than this series. Undoubtedly a "guilty pleasure" if there ever was one, at least in the sense that on the surface, it smacks of everything which I would normally find immature, annoying, and mundane. However, along with its surprisingly powerful endearing qualities, I quickly discovered how perfectly Azumanga succeeds as a pure and simple comedy in virtually every way possible, and remains to this day the hands-downfunniest show I have ever seen.
Now granted, to say that a "perfect comedy" exists is a lot like saying that a "perfect flavor" exists. This is because comedy is by and large the most subjective genre in terms of enjoyment and thus most difficult to review; this also means that the more "purely comedic" a title is, the more murky its value becomes and the more divisive its reception is. Nevertheless, I have noticed certain "patterns" which the most successful comedies almost always have in common. It is therefore primarily the brilliant and nearly flawless execution of these basic patterns which makes Azumanga Daioh such a comedic masterpiece.
First, and perhaps most importantly, is the balance between realism and surrealism. Often times an anime will veer off towards either extreme, and thus quickly become unfunny and boring. Too much realism and one soon feels like they are simply watching 24-hour candid camera footage, complete with all the rather mundane and unfunny activities of daily life (eating, sleeping, etc): Lucky Star is a perfect example of this. On the other hand, too excessive the absurdity and one begins to feel alienated in watching what is fundamentally no more than a bunch of ungrounded, directionless noise ("random crazy stuff"): for good examples of this, see Excel Saga or most SHAFT comedies. Azumanga Daioh, on the other hand, has both these elements in near perfect harmony, lending itself effectively to neither extreme. It is grounded in plausible, physical reality in the sense that everything which happens within the show is, technically speaking, "possible" (i.e. giant alien robots do not come out of people's foreheads, characters do not die and then suddenly come back to life, etc). At the same time, being a cartoon, it is fantastical in the sense that most of the show's events are stylistically exaggerated to some degree or another, e.g. Kamineko's huge mouth when he bites Sakaki or Osaka's hiccups which last a whole day. At the same time, Azumanga does of course have a strong sense of the downright absurdist and surreal ("Chiyo's Father" and the "detachable pigtails" gags), but these events are all placed within the realm of dreams and private fantasy, making them believable while still highly amusing. It is in this way that an endless string of "ordinary" situations become hilarious--that is, when they are mixed deftly with just the right amount of ridiculousness. In summary, one could say that Azumanga bends the rules without breaking them; it has a sense of the absurd while still essentially "playing it straight."
The second defining aspect of Azumanga Daioh is that it is a fundamentally character-driven comedy. I say "character-driven" as distinct from something like a sketch comedy in which most if not all humor is merely "situational" (hence, "sit-com"). In fact, Azumanga Daioh, like most slice of life anime, is quite the opposite of this in the sense that the "situational" aspect of the show is by itself rather bland and uninteresting. What makes this character-based delivery so effective is that it allows the producers to create diversity by putting the exact same handful of people, strange personality quirks and all, into myriad situations and having them react in completely unique ways which are at once both familiar and unexpected. It is also in this way that certain "running gags" remain fresh and funny, with no two instantiations of the same joke ever being exactly alike. In fact, the show's structure is rather ingenious in that regard, insofar as it begins by introducing the a basic joke or personality quirk and then gradually over the course of time adds greater and greater layers of complexity, combining it with other jokes and quirks as it goes on. Now to the last point: where the show's character-driven comedy really stands out, and this is key, is not necessarily individuals interacting with situations, but rather these same individuals interacting with one another in addition to their situations. Therefore while Azumanga's ensemble cast are all memorable and basically likable characters in and of themselves, what is truly fantastic is the way in which this show allows these personalities to bounce off of each other in a seemingly "random" fashion while still remaining completely believable and entirely consistent. We get to see aspects of the girls' personalities clash and overlap, talents and interests mesh or collide. For example, the six girls can be grouped into smart (Chiyo, Sakaki, Yomi), stupid (Tomo, Osaka, Kagura), athletic (Kagura, Sakaki), and competitive (Tomo, Kagura); Chiyo might share Sakaki's love of cute things, but not her athletic ability, whereas Kagura shares her athletic ability, but certainly not her love of cute things, and so on. The only place where this falters somewhat in execution is the fact that the relationship between Tomo and Yomi is almost identical to that of Ms. Yukari and Ms. Kurosawa, albeit the difference being that Yukari's vices are more specifically "adult" (e.g. alcoholism, fanatical driving, and general social irresponsibility). However all in all, this character interplay is truly the show's most prominent point, thus your love or hate of the characters will undoubtedly determine your love or hate of the series in general. The aforementioned relatable-yet-“twisted” sense of realism plays out extremely well in this respect, with the Azumanga girls often resembling either parts of ourselves or people whom we know.
Finally, Azumanga Daioh demonstrates mastery in a variety of comedic styles and devices. That is, it has verbal as well as physical humor, word-play jokes as well as slapstick, and more or less everything in between. This comprises anything from Osaka's bizarre and ever-irrelevant internal monologues and Kimura's sudden "pedophilic" outbursts, to Kamineko's assaults on Sakaki's hand and Tomo/Yukari's near-constant physical abuse of Chiyo. What this show executes particularly well in this regard is its sense of comedic timing and rhythm. In particular, I have yet to see a better use of strategically-placed, long, awkward pauses (either with very little to no movement and/or sound), demonstrating that the animators understand fully how a well-timed 10 seconds of silence can be just as hilarious as speed-lined Tomo intentionally flinging herself into chairs. In fact rarely did I laugh as hard as I did during a five second still frame of Osaka nonchalantly staring out a classroom window on a sunny day, backed only by the ambient sounds of springtime. I can think of more than a few anime comedies which could have been greatly benefited by these simple, yet effective techniques.
On the aesthetic side, Azumanga Daioh is lovingly animated by J.C. Staff and remains probably one of the best and most surprisingly effective adaptations of a manga I have ever seen (especially for one which was originally a four-panel strip), perhaps even surpassing the original in some regards--with all due respect to comedic genius Kiyohiko Azuma. As is typically the case with J.C. Staff's productions, the animation is consistent but nothing outstanding, resulting in a pleasant, mid-budget median between choppy and liquid smooth. The backgrounds are relatively simple yet still well-detailed and colored, with the only hint of "laziness" being the all-white stick-figure-esque "crowds" of students, although I found this actually works to the show's advantage. As per the original character designs, the girls are attractive but never overly sexualized, being drawn in a realistically proportional way. Nearly everyone in the series has more or less naturally "Japanese" hair and eye color, with the exception of a few cases of a very subdued shade of blue, as in Sakaki's eyes or Ms. Kurosawa's hair. For a slice of life series, the soundtrack has been surprisingly memorable, catchy, and all around fun to listen to, with the music actually being played with real instruments (including drums and woodwinds), rather than a few forgettable, synthesized notes, as is often the case with the genre. Unfortunately, the English dub does not fare quite as well. While all the characters are played competently, with the best arguably being Chiyo, Tomo, and Osaka (I actually think Kira Vincent-Davis' controversial "Texan" Osaka is one of the dub's high points), I found that in particular Sakaki's reserved, "cuteness is serious business" attitude and Yomi's snarky sarcasm and irritability tend to come through much more convincingly in the Japanese. What's more, it should be no surprise that none of the show's "Engrish" dialogue carries over whatsoever in the dub, thus forcing the English script to incorporate these lines typically using some sort of American "foreign-language-equivalent" (usually French or Spanish), which is simply never as funny for native English speakers. This setback in fact destroyed one of my favorite scenes: Chiyo's Father speaking with Osaka in a "study" dream. The dub is nevertheless entirely watchable, and certainly not one of the worst, but I believe the fullest appreciation of this series does require the Japanese language track.
Ultimately, in spite of these more objective patterns which I have mentioned, there is still something about Azumanga Daioh which fundamentally appeals to my particular sense of humor; it is something, or perhaps a smattering of little things, which pushes it above and beyond the norm, even the best, and which is at the same time impossible to generalize. This show contains so many instances of little humorous sight gags (for example, the way Kamineko looks falling off Sakaki’s hand when he is finally karate-chopped by Kagura) which will probably go unnoticed by most people and which I find much more hilarious than the animators probably ever intended, and I feel as though I ought to mention them at least in defense what undeniably remains this show’s strong subjective appeal.
Finally while Azumanga Daioh is, to be sure, a comedy series purely and simply, that is not to say that it is without a certain kind of emotional sincerity which is not often found in this type of show. Granted, this is not really “seriousness” in the ordinary sense, and certainly not melancholy, but rather a conviction of genuine, unbridled joy, the likes of which I have rarely seen in anime (with the exception perhaps of Cardcaptor Sakura and Aria). There are “downtimes” in the show’s otherwise relentless stream of humor when it is not setting you up for some epic gag, instead showing the girls simply having fun, say, playing jump-rope or throwing snowballs at each other set to a jovial tune. In addition, despite the manga being considered a shounen title and having a character cast consisting almost entirely of women (the only recurring male characters being Mr. Kimura and Chiyo's Father), Azumanga Daioh is a series for which I see no reason why it cannot appeal to all genders, as well as virtually all age groups. With only the occasional foray into lewdness, like a good Disney/Pixar film it is at once appropriate enough for older children while at the same time never feeling stupid or pandering from the adult point of view. Indeed, I have a hard time seeing why anyone, unless they are totally joyless and have a heart of coal, will not enjoy themselves to some degree with this series, although to be sure, few will consider it a masterpiece. Then again, we all have our ultimate "guilty pleasure" for which there is no equal. Azumanga Daioh just happens to be mine.
LeaderTGW
Biggest mistake younger me made was dropping Azumanga Daioh half way through episode one way back in 2005. It wasn't until late 2009 that I watched it through and enjoyed it and as of this year I had time to re-watch and and LOVED IT! Going back on it, I didn't think too much about how I took this show for granted. I initially and still do see it as a "generic slice of life comedy that follows the lives of certain individuals." However! there's so much more to it than that. With Azumanga Daioh, although it has that "I've seen shows like this thousands oftimes" vibe, the shows story and characters do a amazing job of retaining it's own unique individuality.
Moving along from that, the story and plot are actually quite simple. What you see in the description, is exactly what you're going to get. There is astonishingly, not too much I can add on how I feel about the story because it felt almost non-existent, plot too at times.
Artwork and animation is on par for the shows time. There isn't anything that stands out too much, nor should there be.
The soundtrack was pretty good, a bit childish but it helps the show retain its' "cutesy" feel. I think my favorite thing in the sound department though, overall is the OP song. LU LA LU! it's that old fashioned catchy intro song that you would expect to hear in an older series like this. The ending song was pretty okay too.
The thing that makes Azumanga stand out the most, and this is totally my opinion, but Number 1 thing has to be the characters. While it is possible I think its' very difficult to hate the girls of Azumanga. Each of them are just freaking adorable! I mean they could not have found a better voice actress for Chiyo, and Osaka (Best girl.) My least favorite of all is Kimura-sensei who started the annoying "Waifu" phrase. I mean, the guy has his moments but he's too much of an oddball for me. Now for favorite character whose made her way into my heart is Osaka. She is literally the best original dizzy dimwit character I have seen in quite some time. In this order Osaka, Chiyo, Sakaki, then Tomo make the show worth watching in my opinion me... I can't forget the crazy Yukari-Sensei either.
Azumanga Daioh is a show that I would have to recommend at least every fan watch at some point in time. I think its' one of the last shows of the early 2000's to retain some sort of originality.
Overall I would, and will most likely in future watch Azumanga daioh again. I enjoyed, loved, and truly found myself engaged in this show. I gave this show a 9/10 because its' a timeless masterpiece. Lastly, I believe Azumanga is an essential show that every other anime collector or down loader whatever he/she may be should have in their perspective collection.
5camp
This was always going to be an interesting one to review. Azumanga Daioh is frequently held up by people such as myself as a cutesy 4-koma adaptation that is actually good and therefore proof that I don’t unconditionally hate moe comedies. But Azumanga was made long before those series became a commonplace and diluted the market with their terribleness. I was genuinely unsure what returning to it would reveal. Was there some secret trick Azumanga pulled that all subsequent series failed at, or will I regard Azumanga with the same disdain at disgust I usually reserve for stuff like A-Channel? People often say that Azumanga doesn’thave a plot, which isn’t true. Or perhaps ‘plot’ isn’t the right word, but there is a very strong narrative running through the show. You know the way Japan has this idea that high school is the greatest time of your life. There’s a whole load of societal reasons why this time period is fetishised to this degree, from the oppressive lifestyle that is working salaryman life to the widespread culture of idolising youth in general, but it’s a big part of why 99% of anime are set in high school. Anime fans take issue with this, but that’s because anime fans are nerds and therefore high school sucked for them. Western culture likes to idolise college life because it’s seen as when you finally get freedom to get away from your parents, drink alcohol legally and have lots of sex, which again comes down to a whole load of cultural reasons.
But anyway, Azumanga is selling this idea of this idolised highschool life, and does this by presenting it through the eyes of a 10 year old girl. It’s similar to the author Kiyohiko Azuma’s other work, Yotsuba-ampersand, which takes the view that you can enjoy even the simplest things in life if you view it through the eyes of a 6-year-old. The other thing that Azumanga does is, while events are certainly suger-coated in that nobody in the show suffers severe repercussions from their crippling social anxieties, child-molesting teachers, or closet lesbianism, it’s also not like everyone is wonderful to each other all the time. A nice subtitle for the show would be “Teenagers bully a 10 year old girl: The Animation”.
The first half is more about setting up the various characters and giving them their single defining trait that will make up every single bloody joke they’re involved in for the entire rest of the goddamn show, but the second half leans way more heavily on the high school life portion. This is largely because the characters are leaving school and everyone becomes introspective about how their friendships formed and what they’re going to do with their lives from now on. It’s about the importance of the relationships you form and how each person’s eccentricities make up the entertaining concoction that is your school life. But equally it’s about this being the last portion of your life where you don’t have to make any serious choices that effect your career direction. It’s about the characters coming to terms with what they like and making those decisions by themselves, but also about hoping for the best for your friends and giving them support, even if it’s as dumb as giving them charms to take into exam.
The inclusion of the teachers as major characters is fascinating, because in many ways their constantly reliving their high school life. Apart from still physically being in the school, they spend most of their time together reminiscing about high school. They also are made face the decisions they made at the end of highs chool to become teachers in the first place. That episode in particular was weirdly poignant. It came before the rest of Azumanga got more reflective and was mostly a dumb comedy, so the teacher’s hard thinking about where they were in their life and whether they made the right choices was a perfect mirror to hold up to the same questions the girls had once the final batch of episodes kicked in.
The comedy in Azumanga isn’t particularly clever or anything. Its connection to the overarching narrative of girls growing up and forming relationships gives it a bit of weight at least, but as singular jokes they’re hardly the height of social satire. There are a few occasions where it slips into the surreal, in particular an episode focused around each character having bizarre dreams involving Chiyo and her cat-dad. Those episodes are brilliant, both from a surreal humour perspective, and the way they tie how the other character’s views of Chiyo. Chiyo is kinda surreal in her own way, being this ball of cuteness so concentrated that it forces you into a fever dream that distorts reality around her, so seeing that presented in the form of dream sequences was fantastic.
But those surreal sequences are few and far between. Most of the rest of the humour is the same gag for each character repeated to breaking point. Sakaki is the worst in this regard. At least when Osaka is dopey, she’s dopey about a different thing every time. Sakaki is so single minded about cats that she basically has nothing else inside that head of hers. Yomi is even worse, to the point that they struggle to come up with any personality trait whatsoever and in the end make a half-hearted attempt to have her weight issues become something more character defining. The comedy gets by mostly on its timing, for which it has the best comedic timing for anything anywhere anytime. There was a scene where Osaka runs after her friends with her hands above her head yelling “CAKEEII~”.
By itself not particularly funny, but the pause they did before where Osaka’s brain clunks into gear before she realises that there’s cake to be had is so perfectly timed. Osaka is usually the recipient of these pauses, which work brilliantly because you can practically hear the rusted gears inside her brain whirring as she comes to some nonsense conclusion. Generally though, the humour’s quality wanes alarmingly quickly because there’s so little to it and it repeats itself so bloody much. The show’s depth doesn’t truly appear towards the end, so the occasional surreal episode and cuteness of Chiyo are left trying to hold up the rest of the show by themselves. They do a surprisingly good job of it though. Only towards the 3rd quarter did some of the episodes really start to bore me.
As I was watching this show and formulating these thoughts about Azumanga’s depiction of high school life, I realised that I had seen these exact same arguments made about another anime: K-ON! This idea that you’re watching the characters form relationships and live their high school life, coupled with that same depressing feeling when you reach the end and watch them leave school together. That is exactly what I got from Azumanga through exactly the same format with exactly the same genre construction. Which got me thinking as to what the hell it was K-ON did wrong that caused such an internet backdraft against it? Perhaps I could blame the fact it came once the moe boom was in full swing, or that it came after Lucky Star ruined that genre forever by being literally Hitler. But Azumanga’s jokes are fairly repetitive with stupid characters and leans heavily on cuteness too. I didn’t enjoy Azumanga as much this time around, but I still certainly enjoyed it. Maybe I should try watch K-ON aga-
NO SCAMP BAD SCAMP DON’T DO THIS QUICK GET OUT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!
literaturenerd
A short review for a little series that punches above its weight: Azumanga Daioh was based not on a traditional manga or a light novel, but on a 4 panel newspaper comic. If you remember how hard the Dilbert cartoon failed in the 1990s, you know that pulling this kind of adaptation off is NOT an easy task. For an anime, it is almost unheard of. No, Boondocks doesn't count as an anime! Azumanga, unlike some other newspaper adaptations like Kill Me Baby, actually manages to translate the silly humor and excellent character chemistry that made the newspaper comic work on to the screen. Azumanga ischarming, funny, and all around amusing.
If you look through my ratings, you will find that I am not really a big fan of "slice of life" moe. I HATE Lucky Star, Kon, Rail Wars, and most of the shows like that. Why is Azumanga any different? Firstly, it is actually funny! Secondly, the characters are all excellent and likeable instead of horribly annoying. I will warn you that Azumanga is a really, really random show, but its humor works if you like that kind of thing. I personally find Engrish speaking cat monsters coming out of nowhere to be funny. The random humor level of this show is so high it often seems far closer to Aqua Teen Hunger Force than to Lucky Star.
Don't be scared off by the little moe girls on the cover! This show is a very decent comedy that deserves a chance! However, you will know within a few episodes if it is your cup of tea or not. If you watch 4-5 episodes and absolutely hate it, you don't need to force yourself to finish the whole series.
ZeDesu
Azumanga - the first genre of anime everyday life (for me) that wants to stand up and applauded for the high level of humor, Kawai, children's spontaneity, character, ease of viewing and good mood ... Story: 7 (Stories there is no per se, there are separate inserts, pictures which becomes interesting to watch this creation) Art: 10 (I'm not fussy to affectation, and to the left in general, only a good impression) Sound: 8 (to the music I'm fond of, if I did not like I can reduce the anime to score, but rarely are funny OP and that is all I can say is good = () Character:10 (This anime was done for the sake of humor, character and good humor, which is Cio-chan, Osaka, Bravo!)
Enjoyment: 10 (I would not say that this anime is closely linked to the side of "interesting", but if we judge only of humor, then 10 points)
Overall: 10 (Although the overall assessment must be exactly 9 points, I put 10, because, for me this anime will be in terms of humor masterpiece)
vytah
I don't quite understand why everyone advertises Azumanga as a comedy anime. Yes, it is a comedy, but that's not the show's primary value. I enjoyed it very much, mostly due to fact that I had graduated from high school one year before watching. Azumanga lets you to forget about your problems and go back to the happy school days. So, if you are a highschooler, you've got some kind of Azumanga in your real life and you might find it boring. But it's simply NOSTALGIC. Funny and cute, too. Ideal for relaxing. Who should watch it? Anyone who wants to relax with slowly paced story andsilly jokes. Anyone who'd like to get back to high school, just to do crazy stuff with his friends. Anyone who has enough of magic, sci-fi, violence and romance in other anime.
Who shouldn't watch it?
Those who love action - there's very little. Those who are impatient - the show goes really slowly. Those who watched first episode and didn't like it at all - all eps are like that, so stop now, watch something else.
Now I'll deal with detailed review:
Story: (5/10)
Meh. Nearly none. But, because of randomness of the show, it's no issue. It's all about classmates, as they spend their time during high school education. The story covers 3 years, during which there's many things happening, but it cannot be considered enough for anything higher than 5/10.
Art: (7/10)
Not bad, although the creators love to use super-deformed forms, and the art isn't detailed. Nothing unusual, nothing original, but also nothing lame.
Sound: (8/10)
The opening and ending song are representing two main properties of this show - funniness and nostalgia, respectively. The voice actors do their job well. In the show, you can hear many catchy tunes. Nothing bad. (Yeah, I wrote some nonsense here, but I don't care about either art or sound. It's the story that matters.)
Characters: (9/10)
Well, after you see Osaka/Chiyo/Tomo/Sakaki, you'll have to agree. Each character is original, and many of them change during high school. It's all about the last period of the childhood and entering the adulthood. And about craziness and silliness, too.
Enjoyment: (9/10)
It was simply nice. Not as much funny as nice. It is one of those shows you watch totally relaxed, knowing there's nothing to destroy the happy atmosphere of the show.. It's just random craziness but in low speed. Pretty nice for the evenings, when you have no energy for following a fast paced story.
Overall: 9/10
jal90
Let's begin with some backstory. I first watched Azumanga Daioh in 2009. Back then I was an anime newbie and this would be my first completed series, which needless to say, was an absolute success. I adored every bit of the show and became really invested in it. And this didn't end there because over the years it has only become more and more obvious how deeply it shaped my tastes and perhaps my entire attitude towards the medium. Two conclusions should be inferred from the above paragraph. One, I'm a fanboy. Two, I came late to the party. When I discovered the show, it wasalready a product of another time. It had its rise of popularity once it aired and a while later, but what I found here and there were the remainders. Understandably so, but also kind of sad. After all the idea that Azumanga has to be observed in perspective has never been convincing to me.
Of course we could all agree about its position as a genre codifier and how it became the inspiration of a trend that has since then attained a lot of diversity. This has been talked about many times. Perhaps too many. I mean, historical perspective is fine to respect and praise a show, but that won't make me like it more. And this series deserves far more than being reduced to an anecdote in anime history. To say that it has passed the test of time with flying colors is an understatement. It never had the chance to grow stale. Simply, because it's really amazing at what it does. And in a way, it's also unique.
The main quality of Azumanga as a series is its comedy. We all know however about the problems to establish a universal appeal for this genre. What makes me laugh and what makes my neighbor laugh is different, it is not a reaction that can be forced or taught. And that's why people refer to comedy as the most subjective genre. A bullshit statement, actually, but one that illustrates the point and leads to the inevitable conclusion: Azumanga is not for everybody. It never was and it was never intended to be.
That point established, I think there is a lot to be said about the comedy of this show, which I find near flawless for a number of reasons. The style is reasonably varied. There is slapstick as well as wordplay, mundane with absurd and even some amounts of surreal. However in every single one of them it's the delivery what makes them work. Azumanga has some nice quotes here and there, but it's not an inherently quotable series like other comedies may be. A simple phrase without context tells you nothing about how far the joke reaches. There is a lot of care in the show to craft each of these jokes and make the most of them. Particularly, timing has been brought again and again as a key element that makes these jokes deliver. And it's not surprising. Even those who dislike it and find the scenes too slow or too dragged would easily agree that it does have a strong sense of timing, wrong and misguided as it may be. For me, it is by far the best I have found in a comedy. The way it uses silence and pauses is so far unmatched to me. There are entire jokes that consist on pure silent buildup and they work. The pauses between the dialogues and reactions match the characters and the context, and they add nuance and are by themselves hilarious. An issue I often find, not only in comedies but in many stories, is that the characters will answer each other in an unrealistically spontaneous way, like a battle of wits. In Azumanga Daioh, characters pause and take their time, which can vary from functional to very awkward, to process what they experience. There is a consistent effort to make these interactions really come to life.
In addition to this, the aesthetic accompaniment is always on point. Overall, the visual aspect is probably the least fascinating of this show, particularly in terms of animation being often reduced to an austere functionality. However by saying this one would probably think that the quality of the joke can be severely affected, and it is actually the contrary. Azumanga seems to be very aware of its limitations and uses them in its own advantage. One of the most hilarious visual jokes of the show involves several poorly drawn stick figures dancing spastically around the classroom. The reaction faces and expressions are also less visually striking than one would probably expect in a show that relies so much on them, but they are very effective nonetheless.
With the points stated so far about its visuals it may seem that there is nothing particularly elaborate in this aspect of the show. This, while true to an extent, is also an understatement. The issue here is that it can be elaborate, when it needs to be and when it adds. Some really interesting shots, perspectives and visual effects are thrown from time to time, showing that there is potential. And believe me that the attention to detail and continuity can be really mindblowing at times. But by far the most impressive aspect I found about the Azumanga visuals is the color palette. This is obviously not a Makoto Shinkai or a KyoAni level of sophistication, however it adds a lot of identity to each scenario and it knows, very well, how to transmit emotions through colors, that add a lot of warmth or liveliness when needed.
The character designs are simple, but recognizable. I believe the anime does a fine job improving the standards of the manga in this aspect and making some of the characters more clearly differentiable. With very ordinary hair colors and simple hairstyles -except for Chiyo- and face structures, the variety is found mostly through their body complexions, their gestures and, whenever they are not at school, their clothing, which becomes a key descriptive element of the characters by itself.
In short, what makes the art of Azumanga work is not its technical reach, which good enough as it is doesn't really seem very ambitious, but the expert crafting of the material it works with. It's not fascinating, it's not excessively eye-candy... it is efficient. Very efficient. And delivers perfectly in a style of comedy that relies a lot on visuals, and somehow doesn't need to do anything over-the-top with them to work.
But what about the sound? While I can certainly understand that the art of this show may lack enough appeal for many people, the same can't be said about the sound design. To me this is as close to perfection as it can be, and as its stands, definitely one of the most severely understated qualities of the series.
The opening and ending can't be more different, but they both fit perfectly the mood of the show in their own ways. The first is a quite catchy, pure sugar-induced madness with lyrics that make no sense; the second plays a quiet melody of trippy melancholy, and lyrics that are equally nonsensical. Out of these two, by far my favorite is the ending, which delivers a mellow mood that I find perfectly fitting to end every episode of this show.
Except for a few diegetic moments, the rest of the soundtrack is instrumental, with pieces that are short, simple and just plain catchy. There is a clear intent to evoke the easy-going atmosphere of high school nostalgia through these and they do really well at it. But again, what matters here is whether these compositions manage to mesh well with the content. Needless to say, they do. Many scenes are so deeply shaped by, and associated with their musical accompaniment, that it becomes near impossible to separate the two. Like everything else in this show, the music adds to the mood, reinforces the delivery of the jokes, and is part of what makes many of its sequences iconic and immediately recognizable. In addition to this I'd also like to put some emphasis on the sound effects. They are simple, sometimes weirdly creative (wait... a car horn?), but for some reason they work way too well on me.
The voice acting allows for very recognizable pitches and fits each of the characters like a glove. I only have a few minor issues. Specifically, Osaka in the first episode sounds a bit off, like her voice actress was still getting used and trying to find the right tone for her, and some isolated instances of Chiyo sound a little too high-pitched for my tastes. Luckily, this is not the norm as both characters have wonderful voices that work perfectly 99% of the time, such as Tomo's, Yomi's, Sakaki's and the rest, each in their own style. What makes all even more amazing is that their performances excel not only in the tone, but also in the pace. The case of Osaka stands out in particular, with a voice that is the embodiment of chill and drags the viewer into a dreamlike state every time she talks.
Moving on to talk about the characters. This is the central aspect of the show and likely the easiest to talk about, since there is a lot of stuff to mention. The reason is that Azumanga Daioh is strongly character-based. They drive every single aspect of the narrative, and therefore their presence is what gives cohesion to the series, what justifies every aesthetic and storytelling choice and what makes Azumanga ultimately what it is. The personalities fit comedic roles and tropes, and can be labeled easily in that surface level, but I think there's a lot more to each of them.
Chiyo is the closest this series has to a main protagonist. An impossibly cute ten-year-old who happens to be a child prodigy and skips five grades all of a sudden, becoming an endless source of cuteness and being admired and supported by her new classmates, who see her as some sort of mascot. However that is not all there is about her and for a character that is so implausible in her premise I find her realism very refreshing. Hanging out with people that are older, you can notice how difficult it is for her to understand certain things, and that childhood innocence is often an object of light teasing. She is booksmart, she can understand academic concepts and apply them, but she's also immature and childish, and it shows. When somebody makes fun of her favorite baseball team, she gets mad. When a typical teen conversation is brought, she feels completely lost. Her obsession with growing fast and catching up with her classmates is there, and also the increasing passive-aggressive tolerance she grows towards Tomo's antics. What makes Chiyo so great is that she systematically avoids a reductive approach to her character and comes off as way more multi-layered and dynamic than she initially seemed to be.
Sakaki is the shy and introverted girl who appears to have an intimidating presence. She is initially played as a character who seems difficult to approach by her classmates and by being accepted in a group of friends she gradually opens up. And bold "gradually" here. If there is something that truly resonates in this character to me is how, even when she has attained a stable group of friends, she still feels and behaves like the odd one. I'm not talking about individual quirks all the other characters have, I'm talking about the group not being able to understand her or her feelings (resulting in some instances of surprisingly abstract and non-sequitur comedy), her not engaging into conversations so often and being reserved even with them. You don't fix lack of self-confidence overnight and that is something the show understands brilliantly with her. Sakaki is the one who has the most consistent character arc, if not in terms of focus (though she at least comes close) at least in terms of linearity. I have a soft spot for her for personal reasons and I think it's a wonderful display of this character model.
Next comes fan favorite Osaka. Oh, what can I tell about her. My favorite character not in the group, not even in the series, but in the entire range of the anime medium. The point is, she does not have a dramatic character arc and she is quite static in the sense that she doesn't seem to grow significantly through the series or become any better or worse at anything. However what makes her stand out to me is her base personality, which is just that great, so much that it becomes an endless source of comedy. To know what I'm talking about: we have a girl who is the literal definition of quiet and mellow, and so easily distracted that she will get asleep in class in a regular basis or lose any train of thought as soon as it comes to her head. However that is not the only thing about her as her logic operates in a truly different wavelength, one that you can't either call genius or stupid, just so distinct and unique it stands out. Add more character traits out there: odd skills for puns and lateral thinking, rather creepy sense of humor, absolute lack of self-discipline and just plain laziness. The possibilites all of these offer for interaction are huge, and just her presence in an eight-second still frame letting me guess how her brain is operating and processing things that precise moment is enough to crack me up. Everything is slowed down around her, everything feels nicer and more pleasant when she is there. Osaka is not just a character. Osaka is a mood alone and by herself.
I can't help but start talking about Tomo and Yomi as a single entity, as their character dynamics are very tightly tied to each other, working as some sort of "odd couple". Their interactions match the typical boke-tsukkomi that is very common in Japanese comedy, with Tomo being the noisy idiot and Yomi being the straight man. Two polar opposites that somehow complement each other so well that their conflicting friendship is probably, by far, the most solid of the group. What I find most interesting about this beyond the comedic delivery is that there is an actual, tangible sense of mutual respect in both of them, that they would never admit but it's there. This is less obvious with Tomo, whose wildcat personality is not prone to self-reflection, but Yomi at points really seems like she enjoys and wants to indulge in the same view of life her friend does. Yomi herself has a quite interesting personality. She is a hard worker and projects some strong self-confidence that kind of hides but not completely her own quirks and insecurities, which Tomo knows better than anybody else, to her dismay. In the end she is probably the one who needs to get away from her own personal concerns the most, and there is something in there about the way she talks about and acts towards the group that truly resonates. Tomo on the other hand could be summed up as an eternal waste of energy who loves to poke fun at her friends and annoy them. The kind of personality you need a lot of time to tolerate, let alone hang out with and find amusing. However, if Yomi hides insecurities, Tomo's attitude seems to be the product of insecurity itself. She wants to be the center of attention all the time and has serious displays of envy when others perform better than her at this.
The final member of the sextet comes a bit late to the party. Kagura is, like the rest of the cast, a character I like a lot, however I would not call her exactly a personal favorite. That is partly a byproduct of something that could actually be seen as a positive compared to the others. The point is, her set personality is more ill-defined than the rest. Yeah, you could say she is the resident tomboy but it's not like that defines her spectrum in its entirety, not even a significant enough fraction. And similarly to her other traits. She is competitive, yes, but it doesn't affect her relationships that much. She is stupid, yes, but not in an obnoxious or particularly remarkable kind of way. She is also very kind and prone to help, but it doesn't play a specially crucial narrative role in the character. Her personality is more down-to-earth than the rest, less veering to extremes and more about reaching a common ground. Which is kind of weird in a series about, precisely, flashy and contrasting personalities, and makes her role in comedy sort of secondary even when she is an integral part of the group. For that reason I think she performs better at more serious or emotional instances, which sadly for a character with this potential, are not the most prevalent aspect of Azumanga Daioh.
Finally, in this set of main characters we have to count the teachers. Yukari and Nyamo become very prevalent in the narrative of this series and they represent the adult approach... sort of. Maturity is not really their most prevalent trait, and for the most time their interaction is filled with childish taunt and arguments due to their extremely conflicting personalities. You can think of them as grown-up versions of Tomo and Yomi, following very similar patterns. While this sounds like lazy writing and I certainly do see where people come from when they bring this up, the quite noticeable differences between this couple and Tomo & Yomi, particularly on the subject of their conversations, their reactions and the extremes they reach in their personalities, allow to add nuance and display some interesting commentary here and there. The main one is that they are adult characters in an adult environment, who are pressured to act according to social standards that are way stricter. In that sense, the consequences of their behaviour are obvious, and while under the same base personality Tomo appears as silly and ultimately harmless, Yukari is reckless and transgressive. In a series that presents adulthood as the inevitable conclusion, the presence of these two teachers stands as the remaining trace of a rebellious spirit. Nyamo is worried about her long-term future as she feels she gets old and hasn't fully conformed to the standards of her age; Yukari just doesn't care, as if she simply refused to grow up. With this I may be putting too much emotional package on what is otherwise a hilarious comedic duo that just happens to work like that most of the time, but this in particular is explicitly tackled in the show and the result is really satisfying, and it added a lot to the series in my opinion.
There are still other characters that play minor yet mildly significant roles. Kaorin, a classmate who develops a huge unrequited crush for Sakaki, is probably one of the very few frustrations I have with the series because I feel her being relegated to a -most of the time- side role took away a lot of what this character had to offer. Her personality would have been very interesting to explore more in depth and in more situations aside from her standard running gags. Other than that, she is just absurdly cute and the series uses her as an excuse to deliver a lot of great visual jokes through her reactions.
And finally, we get Kimura, who is often cited as the most controversial aspect of Azumanga. One of the very few male characters of the show and the one who has the most presence, he is a teacher who happens to be a creepy pedophile... except he's a genuinely great person and family man... except he's sick and disturbing... except... well, you get it. A duality that is played for laughs and has understandably bothered some people in an otherwise harmless show due to the seriousness of the topic it nonchalantly jokes about. Some have, on the other hand, claimed that he is meant to represent and parody the perverted trends of the viewers and therefore defend his presence on the show as some sort of satire. Understandable as they may be, I don't particularly share these interpretations, and the main reason why is that Kimura to me appears so surreal and outlandishly absurd that I can't take him seriously as a representation of anything.
I would go on describing each of these characters and how the show puts a lot of great emphasis on their individualities, but the truth is, in this kind of series you wouldn't go anywhere if there is not chemistry among them. Luckily, that is not the case because these otherwise hilarious and interesting personalities really shine when they are combined with each other. The amount of quirks, jokes and character exposition we get from these characters increase exponentially through their interactions, and the significance they manage to acquire can be mesmerizing. After all, this is a show about interaction, and this is where it is at its absolute finest. Particularly, what it understands exceptionally well is that the nature of relationships can be fundamentally different even in the same group, and there's a big enough difference in the way Chiyo for instance treats and approaches Tomo, Yomi, Sakaki,Osaka and Kagura. Expand that to each character in the relationships they grow through the series and you get a rather complex and very well thought out microcosm that brings a lot of nuance not just to the individual characters but to the whole group.
But in the end, what is the point of this? What is Azumanga Daioh about? Well, you may have heard that common expression that is always up there when a series of this sort is brought. "It is a show about nothing".
Please never bring this again. Please.
I'm joking of course, and it's obvious and understandable why one would state this. There is not an end goal to this story and characters don't face hardships. Due to the eventful nature of regular fiction, the absence of this is enough to label it as a fine and simple "nothing happens". The problem is, the "nothingness" of Azumanga is far richer and more expressive than this simplification may make it look, and while I don't have any problem with selling this show as a relaxing and laidback piece of simple fun in contrast with other more stressful and thrilling pieces of fiction, I feel that it diminishes a lot what this show has to say in the several relevant topics it deals with through its run.
I would probably reduce the storyline of this show to three main themes. The first one is obviously, as this is a slice of life, routine. Through its 26 episodes, we get a reasonably detailed view of how school life is, the events, the regular classes and the holidays, for three years. We observe the characters in several routinely environments and learn from them through this exposition, while understanding them as part of a dynamic narrative. One of the most defining traits of this show on this is how ideally happy and inconsequential it is. There are not big conflicts at school, the main characters never get into complicated romantic plots, and people in general are very nice to each other, leaving a comforting feel that helps to see this whole scenario as the evocative ideal it intends to be.
The second one is friendship. Azumanga after all is a story about the consolidation of a group of friends, observing their interactions and the subtle changes in the way they approach each other. I have covered this in a way when I talked about the characters and their growing and dynamic relationships, so I won't expand my thoughts too much on this one, but I'll just say that the final scene of this show works mainly as a reaffirmation of this theme, and it is one of my favorite anime conclusions of all time. This is a fine measure of how powerful and resonant it is to me.
And last but not least, transience. This may not be apparent at first, but trust me that it will permeate when the journey is over. It is implied in the structure of the show as it deals with a stage in life that is transitory and has clear boundaries, and the concept of time passing is everywhere in it. It is a story strictly about the three years of high school and doesn't go anywhere before and after that, and there is a linear narrative with a very clear progression towards the end of this journey. This clear delimitation of time and space serves a purpose that is at times directly mentioned, like in the victory parade scene or as the main theme of episode 19 (both of which are additions from the anime, by the way), where characters become aware that things are not going to be like that forever and need to face the eventual change. But above all it is something that is there in the background as a constant factor and ties everything to a major reflection on life and the way one should conceive it. It is certainly nostalgic, but it is in no way reactionary; since change is inevitable, better enjoy and make the most of what you are now.
In the end Azumanga is not about deep topics with complicated reflections. You will probably not find anything challenging or thought-provoking in here, and it's not its intention. However there is some artistic reach in its simplicity and the execution underlines its significance in ways that to me, personally, have permeated further than many other shows who were heavier in narrative content and theoretical implications. How much and how well this works is up to the viewer, so I am not going to pretend like this is a universal reaction when it's far from that. However I think that the content and narrative of this show deserves at the very least to be talked about, and hiding it behind a phrase like "nothing happens" or "it's about nothing" looks condescending to me and keeps on evoking the idea to future viewers that it really has nothing to say, which I do not and will never agree with.
The anime is based on a 4-koma manga, which for those who don't know is basically a collection of comic strips. Oddly enough, in terms of content it is very loyal to its source, despite some of the jokes not being adapted and them being displayed in a different order. In addition, the anime has some additional content like the above mentioned, but it's very well combined with the whole, and doesn't feel like filler at all. There are a few minor differences in tone, particularly on the way some jokes of the manga are adapted, that make the anime look more amiable and less cynical, and at the same time there is more emphasis on this nostalgic feeling and transience, however these are circumstantial and I believe they are a near-perfect representation of each other. I would recommend the anime if you liked the manga and vice versa because they are enjoyable in almost equal terms, though I lean towards the adaptation. There is something about the inherent difficulty of translating the rigid pacing of the comic strips to the continuity of an animated narrative that I admire a lot, and the way it manages to deliver the same jokes and concepts by having to reconceive their narrative structure in their entirety is one of my favorite things of the show. I said before that the timing was brilliant, and this is probably the most blatant testimony of this.
Overall, I can't recommend Azumanga Daioh enough. It is random, consistently hilarious and among the most rewatchable of all comedies I've seen. That alone would be enough to place it as a solid recommendation, but it is also a very tightly constructed show with a strong sense of identity and an execution that hits all the right chords and elevates its narrative simplicity and straightforward messages to a higher and more transcendental category than expected. And I insist on this: it is not a complicated show in theme and narrative, it is simple. But to make this simplicity work to the reach it gets in here you need mechanisms that are far more complex and deserve a lot more spotlight than they are usually given. If you want to extract a conclusion from this whole wall of text, let it be that this series is just exceptionally good at what it does. No more, no less. And that, simple as it is, requires a lot of work in the right direction.
maybelletea
Ohh, what to say... there was a point where I really did love Azumanga Daioh the anime, even though I liked the manga more. But now, I just can't like it as much, when I like the manga that much more. I mean, I would rather read the manga than watch the anime. I'm in the minority here, but that's okay, I realize most people think the anime is amazing. Story The story is something either people really like, or really dislike. Some people believe it's genius, while other believe it's annoying and boring. Personally slice-of-life is my favorite of genres, so it suits me well towatch or read Azumanga Daioh. The humor is abundant and always allows for laughs.
The story doesn't have a complex plot; basically it follows the simple day-to-day life of 6 high school girls. But the way it's presented makes the difference, and it's not a boring read or watch at all.
Animation
One of the reasons I like the manga more is the poorly done animation. There's often deliberate pauses, and the characters don't move much. I'm aware that most anime does not have amazing animation, but Azumanga Daioh has worst than most, in my opinion.
Music/Soundtrack
I think this is my favorite aspect: the soundtrack music. In fact, I bought the first soundtrack CD. Some are peppy and enthusicastic, while others are sweet and nostalgic. The opening and ending themes are also well-suited for the show.
Character
No matter in the anime or the manga, I just love the characters of Azumanga Daioh (my personal favorite being Kagura). There is Chiyo-chan, the ever adorable child progidy, the quiet mysterious cute-loving Sakaki, the annoying and rowdy Tomo, the slow-minded and incredibly unique Osaka, atheltic and rambunctious Kagura, and finally, the weight-conscious sensible Yomi. Each character has their own quirks and are well-rounded. I like their relationships with one another, too, and how their friendship progresses throughout the series.
Voices
The voices are a downfall, at least with the dubbed version. I just can't stand Chiyo-chan's squeaky and unnaturally high-pitched voice. Actually, I can't stand Chiyo-chan's voice in either the Japanese or the English. However, the voices of the others are all well done.
Overall, I give Azumanga Daioh, the anime, a 7. I give Azumanga Daioh the manga a 10. Even so, I reccomend this anime, but while reccomending that one should read the manga beforehand.
yuki2nagato
I'd heard that Azumanga Daioh was a comedy that no one should miss so I started watching. Mistake number one. Assuming that 4-5 eps wasn't enough to really "get" this anime for what it was: Mistake number two. Most people fall into one of two groups; those that really really like the series and those people like myself that were not impressed by the series in the slightest. If you don't like the series after 4-5 episodes stop watching. Art: The art in Azumanga Daioh is decent, not bad but nothing really ground-breaking either. Rating: 7 Sound: The voice acting was just about equivalent to the art ofthe series. My opinion of the voice acting in this series is probably biased by the fact that the nature of each character was tied to the voice acting so take this with a grain of salt. **The Japanese sub is very much better than the dub btw
Rating: 7
Character:
Where to begin. Tomo was annoying; no let me rephase that: Tomo was half the reason why I couldn't finish this series for as long as I did. Chiyo and Yomi were probably the better of the major characters in that they managed to not be either annoying, have ADHD or leave long unnecessary pauses in their speech.
Rating: 4
Story:
There isn't one. This is a slice of life anime that took the genre to the extreme. The "jokes" used in the series that everyone seems to find funny for some reason get old pretty quickly. Sakaki getting bitten by cats for example; funny the first few times but after a while it makes you wonder why the series kept reusing it... So goes every other bit of humor in the series. Ah yes the awkward pauses... How could I forget... This is the only series I could find that does this and for good reason.
Rating: 4
Enjoyment:
I didn't really enjoy watching the series much. I have a need to finish animes once I start them; so Azumanga Daioh ended up being an anime that I've had to force myself to complete. That's not a good sign.
Rating: 4
Overall:
Azumanga Daioh is probably the most overrated series I have ever seen. There is no plot; you've heard this before from other reviews and even some of the fans themselves but we are so very not kidding about this it isn't even funny. You could start midway in the series and miss absolutely nothing of importance in regard to plot. Yes there were times where the series was funny but much more often than not, the jokes were repetitive and punctuated by awkwardly long pauses. Chiyo and Yomi were the show's major redeeming characters and Tomo, the comic relief of the series, just turned out to be (see above) annoying rather than funny.
Rating: 5
ShotgunHelmet
When producing a slapstick-comedy-slice-of-life-high-school-anime, you COULD dump duffel bags of money onto the floor of the animation department, dispense to each employee a drip feeder of amphetamine salts, and look over them with a knowing grin and a sparkle in your eye that says, "it's a long shot, but, God willing, it just might work." And, in return, you would get Nichijou. Azumanga Daioh takes the opposite approach. Held together by twigs and glue in comparison to the more modern, sleek, slice-of-life anime, Azumanga Daioh is nonetheless the ur-"cute girls doing cute things" series, and its purity of essence is still unparalleled twenty years afterthe fact. Azumanga Daioh makes good use of a seemingly modest budget, which is complemented by an excellent localization by A.D. Vision (of Ghost Stories fame). Gags that were given no more than a page in the original 4-koma manga are allowed much more room to develop, with minutes of runtime every episode dedicated to stretching out the joke, focusing on characters' reactions, often nonverbal. While there are a couple particularly dated, out-of-place gags (Kimura), the style of comedy in Azumanga Daioh is undeniably so influential as to be foundational for the genre yet executed so perfectly that it stands alone. Considering this is an adaptation of a work by Kiyohiko Azuma, that is just par for the course.
To some degree, the pacing and structure is just as much a product of studio limitations. The animation is unimpressive. Cells are constantly reused, and you'll see frequent panning & zooming across still frames, or loops of 1-3 frames for several seconds, usually (but not always) with dialogue in the background. Bordering on the avant-garde, it is not uncommon for Azumanga Daioh to have periods of 30 seconds at a time where you are shown just two or three different frames and no dialogue. This doesn't really matter. Azumanga Daioh uses the medium for exactly two things: jokes and moe. Trying to do any more than what it does is just a liability.
You probably won't even notice how thin this show spreads itself visually, because the score and voice acting are perfectly done in both languages. This is one anime where it is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged—if only by the reviewer—to occasionally swap between the sub and the dub, to taste. If you have done so, the reason should be obvious. If you haven't, do.
Actually, that is my sentiment on watching Azumanga Daioh in the first place.
Toucanbird
Azumanga Daioh - Azumazing Show! It's hard to believe that 11 years have passed since this breathtaking series came along and became the staple for anime comedy for the past decade. You can tell that shows like Nichijou, Lucky Star, Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou, Acchi Kocchi, and many other anime comedies were built around the realistic high school sketch comedy that this series has inspired. Going into this series, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it since I didn't particularly care for the animation style, but I soon learned that this series goes far beyond it's cheap animation. Azumanga Daioh's plot israther simple. It revolves around the everyday lives of six high school classmates and their misadventures together as well as with their high school teachers. However, what really makes this anime go is the characters and scriptwriting. This anime is a staple of how to create great characters. Of the six classmates, you have Chiyo, the adorable, cheerful child prodigy that skipped five levels right to high school, Sakaki, the tall, athletic, and quiet student that secretly loves cute things, Ayumu (Osaka), the airheaded transfer student from Osaka whose mind always seems to wander, Tomo, the eccentric personality of the group that seems to cause trouble, Yomi, the smart, childhood friend of Tomo who's the brooding sense of reason, and Kagura, the athletic rival of Sakaki who seems to always misunderstand Sakaki's thoughts and intentions. Overall, it was a hilarious group to watch interact with each other because of how radically different each character was. Even the supporting cast was downright hilarious with Kaori, the outsider with an enormous crush on Sakaki, as well as the three teachers Yukari, the selfish, self-centered teacher, Kurosawa, the thoughtful, caring teacher, and Kimura, the creepy, possibly pedophiliac that creeped out many of the female students (especially Kaori and Yomi). The adventures that all these characters shared together was a delight to watch and constantly made me laugh...while at the same time, would become emotionally touched toward the end of this series as it came to a close.
I found the last three episodes to be extremely well done for this series, doing a great job of expressing the emotions all of these students went through as their high school lives came to a close. I found Chiyo, Kagura, and Sakaki's arcs to be remarkably emotional during this stretch.
It's hard to believe that this is a J.C. Staff production considering how remarkably well done its storyboard and characters are developed. Although, I'll admit the animation was far from great. While it fit the mood of the series, it still felt a bit lazy and cheap at times. Still, I can hardly complain about the production since I'd call it one of J.C. Staff's best works.
As far as the weaknesses of this series, as I mentioned, the animation is nothing notable. Luckily, it fits the tone of the series so it isn't a big weakness, but it is still glaring at times. Personally, I wish it would've done a little more in developing some character back story with each character. For example, Tomo and Yomi are childhood friends...but we never really got to see why they act the way they do with each other. Or perhaps delve a little bit more into each character's own traits. Another example being Osaka sleeping during class and the friends mentioning that she must not sleep much at night. She never really does say "why" she doesn't sleep at night so I'm curious as to what her late night hobby is. It was little things like these that bugged me at times and wish the series would've went more into this rather than repeat a lot of comedic gimmicks like the sports festival, culture festival, or the summer home visits. Another one of the unfortunate bits about this series is, some of the comedy is EXTREMELY hit-or-miss. One example being the dreaming episode. Not to spoil too much, there's an episode where the series jumps into the dreams of some of the characters. I found it to be a pretty acid trip filled episode that generally wasn't all that funny. It wasn't the only episode, but it was the one that stood out the most. Some people will enjoy that style of comedy while others might be a bit turned off by it.
Overall though, I have no qualms in saying Azumanga Daioh is one of the best anime comedies I have ever seen. I absolutely loved the character interactions of this series and I'd even go so far as to say it was one of the best written scripts I've heard in an anime, as well as the seiyuu work to go with it. I was remarkably sold at how well both these production elements went hand-in-hand. I am really a huge fan of Azumanga Daioh's style of comedy and as I stated, it was really nice that this was the series that paved the way for high school sketch comedy to become so popular in the mainstream. If you really like the aforementioned Nichijou, Lucky Star, Acchi Kocchi, or high school sketch comedy in general, I highly recommend this series.
halalman
Azumanga Daioh is the greatest anime to have ever existed nothing tops it surpasses all space and time, the story will leave you awestruck, the plot is concise and clear, the music god it's so good, my favorite is Sakaki's single too good, although people are 50/50 on this anime I'm the exception. If Azumanga Daioh has 0 fans then I'm dead. Anyway for real tho this anime really changed my life, since then I was all alone but now I met so many people and good friends thanks to this anime, it truly saved my life fr fr no cap like before I waslost but this anime came in and swept all my troubles away. This is literally your favorite anime's favorite anime. Fav character Nyamo, Sakaki, Tomo, Kagura, and Yukari.
