Azumanga Daioh: The Animation

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.

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

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.

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.