Azumanga Daioh tv Review

Azumanga Daioh is a slice of life anime that follows six friends throughout their three years of high school. There is no overarching plot other than following the experiences of these six characters through high school; however, Azumanga Daioh still succeeds on its strong cast of characters and their interactions. The main characters are all female, and the friends - and their teachers - get into some very interesting and hilarious situations. They are: Tomo, the energetic one with no self control, Yomi, Tomo's... "friend" through all their school years, Chiyo, the 10 year old genius, Osaka, the airhead, Sakaki, the tall, athletic and shy one with a thing for cats, and Kagura, the athlete and self-proclaimed rival of Sakaki.

Credits: destati

Story & Characters

Azumanga is a story about how a group of girls gets through three years of High School. The amazing part about this anime is that there is no storyline from one episode to another. Only a few recurring themes, which include mostly the character's personality traits, are consistant throughout. Each new episode marks a day or two in the lives of these teenage girls, each with their good and bad traits. I believe what I loved the most about this anime is how smoothly the characters melded together in the day to day plot. The silliness, the small dillemas and the everyday problems that come with school all have different effects and pull different reactions from the characters. You follow each of their lives, know each of their weaknesses, and more often than not you'll be finding that you can relate to at least one of the characters. The fluid yet fluctuating events keep you interested, and the crazy teachers that take care of these students are a whole show in themselves. It shows the problems even adults have and how being older has nothing to do with being more mature. In the end, after watching all the shows, you find yourself left with a sense of...I dont know how to explain it..."nostagia"? At least for me, thats what I felt as the girls say goodbye to their high school and their friends as they prepare to scatter into the world around them.

Rating: 10

Art

The art in this anime isnt what I'd call beauitful. Its very simple, yet its that same simplicity that helps convey the themes of the small stories so strongly. The funny scenes are portrayed with simple changes in art like the characters turning into ghosts, or the strange convoluted faces they show when they're hurt or angry. Overall its very simple, but it helps achieve the desired moods and portray the intended emotions quite well. The lines are clean and the scenes in the background are the typical simple painted backgrounds of classrooms, streets, and homes. The way the animals(especially the cats) is somewhat strange. All the cats in this anime have heads the size of bowlingballs and are all apparently evil except for one cat at the end. The characters have better(and more typical) proportions. They're nicely done with each of them looking different with different heights, and sizes(which also makes a mainstay of the series).

Rating: 7

Sound

I love the voices in this anime. There is only one high-pitched voice in this show and it belongs to a 10 year old girl, which is understandable. The other character's voices all fit their size and attitude. The voice actors were well chosen for this anime. The OST for this anime includes some songs you only hear briefly in the anime but they're somewhat silly and fun to listen to. The intro song is really cute, and also completely crazy as it makes no proper sense. I suppose it reflects the disconnected way the series is presented with one episode having almost nothing to do with another. Overall, theres nothing that hurt my ears but there wasn't anything that would make me go out and buy the CD either.

Rating: 5

Presentation

The presentation for this anime is very good. Its full of surprising events, each with its own little subplot. There is no great main storyline, which makes the anime something you can watch over a period of time. I wasnt ever left with any 'edge of my seat', 'must watch next episode' feeling which is a nice break from the usual dramatic anime which sometimes i feel I have to watch all in a day. The presentation of the days events loosely follows a typical schoolday and evening and then interaction between the characters sometimes produces a deep thought but usually leaves you chuckling at their strange and humorous antics. This is mostly a watch-once anime as there isnt anything deep or significant you'd miss if you watched it only once. Its very light, and a very refreshing series.

Rating: 8

Final Verdict

8.0000 (good)

Reviewed by Sunira, Nov 05, 2005

Comments

screenlooker Nov 05, 2005

i thought that the sound was better than a 5!
fawna-chan Nov 05, 2005

oh! i love this anime! hm...but it's okay compared to the other animes...
Lenne Nov 05, 2005

I love Azumanga Daioh! XD
I like the story,it's simple and funny..really easy on the the eye and heart.By the way,great review! ;)
tareren Nov 05, 2005

Quite a nice review... about the anime, though,.. I do not quite like Azumanga >_< I just do not think it is very funny >_> School Rumble is much much funnier hehehe XD
kuroimisa Retired Moderator Nov 06, 2005

Lol good review :) Usually I hear a lot of negative feedback about Azumanga because of its fragmented nature, but I enjoyed it a lot- the characters are truly one of a kind :) A nice balanced and informative review ^.^
Darkshadow21 Nov 06, 2005

LOL. Yeah, azumanga isn't meant to be watched all at once. Actually, it's better to watch it one 5 minute segment at a time, maybe once or twice a day, that way you can go through it without getting bored(I can't watch the entire DVD at once, nor can I read one volume of the manga at once, but I still like it in small doses). That's actually the way the creators of the anime intended it, they decided to make it 5 minute segments instead of 30min eps because similar animes had flopped as full-length episodes.

(I forgot where I read that)

The only reason I didn't like the voice acting is because I imagined the voices to be totally different when I read the manga. Once you read it, then you hear it on TV, you go ">.<! What were they thinking!" because you're so adjusted to the voices inside your head.

Anyway, I don't have anything else to say right now, so nice review.
tubbyguts Nov 06, 2005

its a good break from all the serious and more complicated works
justducky Nov 06, 2005

Ouu~ thanks for the review. I think I might check it out. We'll see if this is true, haha.
treks Nov 07, 2005

a great review :D I agree on most of what is said, but I would have given it a 9 total, I think :)
But hey, people differ ;)
-Mayumi- Nov 07, 2005

great review, watching Azumanga reminds me of all the wackiness of a student's life and how even being an adult doesn't always mean that you've become mature. >_<
i've watched all the episodes but have not yet read the manga, i'm planning on buying it next week. ^_^
runemaster Nov 08, 2005

Great anime. Story of a group of girls in school, seems stupid, but the story and the way they make it makes the anime a very enjoyable piece. Sometimes there are parts of the anime that are just plain, but there are alot of time that the anime throw comedies, usually from the same aspect.
Evanrued Nov 09, 2005

I was thinking on whether or not to look this anime up and rent or buy it. But this review has helped me make my decision. ^_^ I found your review very helpful, and I hope others do as well. Thanks ^^
hazey Nov 09, 2005

Good review, i agreed with you, but I wouldn't give a A+ for the story
Nosferatum Nov 09, 2005

hazey:
Well, if not for the story then for the characters may be? I'm so delighted with Sakaki that for her presence solely can give A+ to whole series :)
Michaela Nov 10, 2005

gerat review I love the show and I think you gave it a good rating, its deff one of those shows you need to watch over time, when you just need a good laugh and a break from the ordinary. Great show though.
hongrboi Nov 12, 2005

Ahh sorry for the late comment.i was quite busy the last few weeks. Anyways, I haven't watch the anime yet but I've been looking for soemthing to crave my comedy needs and i think I've found it ^^
keevang Nov 13, 2005

looks cute ^_^
renki Nov 16, 2005

I like this animation.
kingmakoto718 Dec 01, 2005

i just loved the show, it was waaaaaay too funny to describe. omg the characters in there ae soo funny in there own stupid way!
sukie Dec 01, 2005

ya ya! this series was really funny! got a few laughs out of me! =D
carlos18 Jan 06, 2006

Yes this series is very good I see it about 3 times.
JC206 Jan 16, 2006

this was a funny anime watched it like 2 or three times...nice job on the review...
ripsilver Mar 16, 2006

awsome anime.. real funny and nice review.... ha ha ha.. i cant stop laughing ha ha ha ha ha ha ha aha aha ha ahahaha aha hah
ganstamonica Jun 06, 2006

I love Azumanga Daioh! It was too funny! xD This is a great review, Sunira.

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