Azumanga Daioh

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Template:Nihongo is a manga by Kiyohiko Azuma that was adapted into an anime in 2002. Published in the magazine Dengeki Daioh, the manga consists almost entirely of four panel comic strips that are known as yonkoma in Japan, subsequently compiled and rereleased in tankōbon format. While comparatively few manga of this type are released in the United States, this is superficially similar to anthologies of Western newspaper comic strips, with the primary difference being Azumanga Daioh has a vertical, rather than horizontal layout.

The title is literally translated as "Great King Azumanga" (which the characters themselves puzzle over in the anime, since no one by that name ever appears), but the title is better interpreted as a portmanteau of the creator's name (Kiyohiko Azuma), the word manga, and part of the name of the magazine in which it was published (Dengeki Daioh).

The anime, which aired from April 4, 2002 until September 30, 2002 was broadcast in five-minute segments every weekday, and as a 25-minute compilation each weekend. Thus there are 130 five-minute episodes which can also be seen as 26 episodes which are 25-minute in length. Besides these episodes there were also "The Very Short Azumanga Daioh Movie" (which is a 6 minute trailer to promote the show, also known as an episode 00) and "Azumanga Web Daioh". There were 6 volumes of videos released on VHS and DVD.

In the United States, the series was released on 6 DVD volumes by ADV Films with the manga being published in English by ADV Manga. The 6th DVD volume also included "The Very Short Azumanga Daioh Movie". The two soundtracks to the anime were released in the United States by Geneon.

Contents

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Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Both the manga and the anime follow the trials and triumphs of everyday life in a Japanese high school. The readers and/or viewers follow Sakaki's obsession with neighborhood cats, Chiyo's struggle to find acceptance in an age group far above her own, and Yomi's (sometimes lacking) patience with a rather silly best friend. They get to see yearly accounts of summer vacation, holidays, tests, and athletic events. Although it generally follows everyday life, this series is occasionally marked by bursts of surrealism and absurdity, such as an episode featuring the characters' New Year's dreams.

In the anime, Episodes 1 through 10 cover the first year of high school, and introduce the main cast and their personalities and foibles. Episodes 11-19 cover the second year as the girls become more mature and Kagura joins Yukari's class. Episodes 20-26 cover the third and final year, as the girls prepare for college entrance exams, and the series concludes with graduation.

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Reasons for popularity

The series has attained the status of a cult classic because Azumanga Daioh is distinctly different. There is no overriding goal, be it as simple as Character A and Character B finally announcing their love for each other, nor is there a grand event such as saving the world from some horrible doom. There is no struggling romance to prolong the series or be used awkwardly for the comedy inherent in misunderstandings. The only goals the series can be said to have are the same goals that high school students everywhere have, that is to achieve good (or at least passing) grades, make friends, put up with said friends, and eventually graduate and have a life of their own. This makes the series, despite its wacky characters and occasional steps into absurdity, very "real" and easy for almost anyone to associate with.

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Characters

Image:Azumanga daioh ending.jpg

Six schoolgirls and two teachers make up the main cast alongside a few secondary characters, including a creepy male teacher with an abnormal obsession with teenaged girls (Kimura-sensei), another girl (Kaorin) in the same grade who seems to have a crush on Sakaki (the most distant of the main characters) and a friend of hers with a relatively small role in the story (Chihiro).

Four of the girls were included in Newtype Magazine's top 100 anime heroines of 2002: Osaka was awarded 7th, Chiyo 11th, Sakaki 21st, and Yomi 78th. Together they made Azumanga Daioh the 2nd most popular series of 2002 for female characters.

Character profiles are given in Western order, with the surname after the given name.

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Students

Chiyo Mihama (美浜 ちよ Mihama Chiyo)
A child prodigy, Chiyo has skipped five grades to 10th grade (the first grade in Japanese high school) at the start of the series and is still at the top of the class. She's über-cute, but taken advantage of because of her scholastic abilities by her friends at times (not to be confused with being bullied.) Her lack of stature in comparison to her classmates leads to a lack of confidence, particularly in physical pursuits where she feels she is a burden; however, her inherent kawaii factor acts as a counterbalance here as well, as witnessed in the cheerleading part of Episode 6's sports festival. Just about the only thing she's no use at is tongue twisters, which she demonstrates in both Episode 1 and the Very Short Movie by attempting "Basu Gasu Bakuhatsu" (trans: Bus Gas Explosion), and flubbing it spectacularly.
Tomo Takino (滝野 智 Takino Tomo)
Tomo is extremely energetic and competitive (though not very athletic), and yet a slacker at the same time. She tends to irritate everyone around her, especially Yomi, her classmate since elementary school.
Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara (水原 暦 Mizuhara Koyomi)
A grade-school friend and general antagonist of Tomo's, Yomi is the title's voice of reason, carrying herself as the most mature and serious of the group. She also dislikes her weight, and is always trying various diets in an effort to be thinner. While usually functioning as the "straight man" of the bunch (particularly as regards Tomo), she sometimes manifests a rather cruel sense of humor.
Sakaki (榊 Sakaki)
Tall, soft-spoken Sakaki is uncomfortable with her height as well as her busty physique. Because she is so shy, she doesn't speak much, and her reticence is misinterpreted as "tough," "mysterious," or "cool." Despite this, she holds a secret longing for all things cute. She loves cats, but for some strange reason cats always bite/scratch her - in particular, the grey one she calls Kami-neko (lit. God Cat/Biting Cat, depending on the kanji). She finds her kindred spirit in an Iriomote mountain cat towards the end of the series, which she refers to as Yamamayaa (an Okinawan word for Iriomote mountain cat). Later, she adopts him and names him Mayaa.
Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga (春日 歩 Kasuga Ayumu a.k.a. "Osaka" 大阪 Ōsaka)
Ayumu is a transfer student from Osaka. Tomo, expecting her to act like the stereotypical Osakan (loud, exuberant and fond of bawdy jokes), quickly chose for her the nickname "Osaka," although Ayumu's behavior could not be more different from the "typical" Osakan. Ayumu considers her label "too simple" and "icky," but she lacks the energy or motivation to dispute it. Unlike the stereotypical Osakan, she seems slow and easily distracted, but she merely has a mind that works quite differently than most people. This makes her prone to daydreaming, absentmindedness, and non-sequiturs, but it also makes her unusually good at answering very specific types of riddles.
Kagura (神楽 Kagura)
Kagura is a later acquaintance, joining Yukari's class in the 2nd year (Yukari selects her as a ringer to win the school athletic competitions). She was originally in Nyamo's class and displays a very competitive spirit with her peers in all things (though with little success in studies). She devotes most of her time to the swim team but is an all-around good athlete, and genuinely nice to her classmates. She has a slight obsession with Sakaki, whom she sees as an athletic rival. She does have her sensitive side, however, which we see in episode 6 of the anime following her homeroom's defeat in the sports festival, and the final episode following graduation.
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Teachers

Yukari Tanizaki (谷崎 ゆかり Tanizaki Yukari) a.k.a. Yukari-sensei
The girls' English and homeroom teacher (class 3), but a teacher with very unconventional methods and a rather close relationship with the class. Her students are casual enough to call her by her first name: Yukari-sensei. Depending on the day, time, and her mood, she can be either a horrible tyrant or one of the sweetest, most touching teachers ever. Her driving is so reckless and terrible that it damages her car and leaves several of the main characters emotionally scarred, especially Chiyo.
Minamo Kurosawa (黒沢 みなも Kurosawa Minamo), a.k.a. Minamo-Sensei or "Nyamo" にゃも Nyamo
A gym teacher at the girls' school. In the girls' first year of high school, she is the homeroom teacher of class 5. During their last two years, she is the homeroom teacher of class 2. An old high school friend and rival of Yukari. Popular with the students, Nyamo is nicer, less obnoxious, and far more in control than Yukari.

Template:Azumanga Daioh characters

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Viewpoints, trivia and speculation

  • Although the series has a cast of cute girls and an obvious lack of men for the most part, it is not considered a shōjo series. It also has some popularity among fans of yuri and shōjo ai (and in the case of Chiyo, lolicon) due again to the lack of presence of male characters and the distinct relationships (close friendships, for the most part) between the girls.
  • Among yuri/shōjo ai fans, Tomo and Yomi are often considered to be a couple. Yukari and Nyamo are also often considered to be a couple. Kagura and Sakaki are also a popular fan-pairing, though there is not quite as much canon support for this as the other couples mentioned here.
  • If one looks closely, Chiyo's elementary school friends Miruchi and Yuka look like younger versions of Nyamo and Yukari, respectively.
  • In the family photo Mr. Kimura shows to some of the girls, his daughter looks like a younger version of Sakaki.
  • Fanfiction to the contrary, there is no evidence that Mr Kimura's inappropriate behavior has ever extended beyond peeping on the girls in their swimsuits and inappropriate remarks.
  • Some fans maintain that Kaorin's surname is "Aida" (相田), but this is based only on a single and inconclusive reference in one panel of the original manga. In the panel, Miss Kurosawa is taking the roll during PE class and a girl is seen from behind replying to the name "Aida". She appears to be Kaorin, based on her hairstyle. Officially her surname remains unknown.
  • "Kagura" is Kagura's surname. "The question sent to me most frequently is the one concerned with Miss Sakaki's and Miss Kagura's given names. But, sorry, they are secret." (Azuma, May 2005)
  • Kaorin's mother looks almost identical to Kaorin except for very minute differences in hair style. She is also the only one of the girls parents to be explicently shown.
  • At one point in the anime series, Nyamo's mother asks her to go out on an omiai. It is never revealed what happened as a result of this. Earlier on, Yukari makes a reference to Nyamo "not being single last year", which has led some viewers to believe Nyamo is divorced -- although a failed relationship that did not result in marriage is just as likely. In any event, none of the former romantic partners of either Nyamo or Yukari has appeared in the series.
  • Yukari teaches English, and speaks the language well enough to converse with visiting Americans, but on those occasions when she is shown speaking English she has a very thick accent. (Sometimes Yukari's English conversations are simply "Pera pera pera ... " which is Japanese onomatopoeia for speaking a foreign language fluently. It is also Japanese for "Blah blah blah...") Chiyo has not only learned English well enough that she expects to be able to get by in America, but she also has a decent grasp of Okinawan.
  • The future career ambitions of the girls play an important role in the final storyarc, which revolves around their entrance exams and advancement to the next level of their education. Chiyo is planning to study in the United States, at a school where "students who have skipped grades" have done well in the past. Sakaki takes the exam to enter a veterinary university, while Kagura decides to pursue a career as a college swimmer. Osaka's decision to take up teaching infuriates Yukari, who sees it as a gross personal insult and Tomo has her heart set on becoming an INTERPOL agent.
  • According to Osaka in the manga, she was actually born in Wakayama, then raised in Kobe. Though Tomo still insists she is "from" Osaka, finding it too confusing to understand all this.
  • In episode #21, there was a name Tomoko Kaneda (the voice of Chiyo-chan), amongst staff list of key animators. What drawing she did, was never revealed. Though it is suspected that it is the depressed Chiyo-chan scribble at the start of the episode.
  • According to interview done for art book of the series, the director made a request for the opening song to not have any tone changes or climatic phrases, hence leading to the extremely catchy piece "Soramimi Cake."
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Important places

Numerous places play an important role in the series. The most important is The High School itself, which is never explicitly named. Apparently it is a prestigious school and not that easy to get into (Yomi frequently expresses annoyance that Tomo and the other "Bonkuras" were somehow able to pass the same entrance exams she did). Many episodes revolve around important annual events at the school, such as the Sports Festivals (on which Yukari frequently places extravagant wagers) and the Culture Festivals.

Chiyo Mihama's Mansion, the most impressive home any of the girls have ever seen, eventually becomes the de-facto headquarters for the group, where they meet to study and socialize. The group also made annual trips to Chiyo's Summer Home on the coast, an hour-long drive from Tokyo that Yukari finds utterly irresistible. These trips frequently became crucibles for embarrassing revelations about Nyamo's past.

The unnamed shopping district near the school is the scene of much activity -- holiday outings, shopping trips and the like. It is unlikely that the karaoke parlor in the district will forget the girls' Christmas Eve visit. There is also a bookstore in the district that is frequented by the girls, Chiyo and Sakaki in particular.

Magical Land is a theme park of relatively recent vintage modeled on Tokyo Disneyland. Among its attractions is a roller coaster considered "the best in Japan". A group trip to the park and plans for a repeat visit after graduation caused great difficulty for Yomi.

A class trip to Okinawa, with a side trip to Iriomote Island, would prove to have important implications for Sakaki in particular, who met Mayaa there.

In the manga it is never stated in which city the girls live in, only infering it is neither Osaka, Nagoya or Okinawa through conversations and events. The anime confirms that the series takes place in Tokyo.

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Differences between manga and anime

The Azumanga Daioh manga is relatively short, totaling a mere four volumes. This, coupled with the fact that the series has a very straightforward premise, without adding the various things that a typical manga/anime series would have to cause differences (romantic subplots, action/fighting, an overall goal such as saving the world) means that there are few outright changes between the manga and the anime. There are, however, still a few differences. Some jokes simply could not be adapted to an animated format, and were either changed significantly or excised completely. (Both of these are few in number.)

The anime also contains some "filler", perhaps to help round out the number of episodes, or simply to explore aspects of the characters that were not explored in the manga. For example, in the anime, Miss Kurosawa actually goes out on a date at one point. This episode, while still comedic, has a somewhat more serious tone, and gives the viewer a look at the adults when they are not annoying the daylights out of each other. The slight re-arrangement of episodes within the anime as well has given rise to one minor character point: in the manga, Yukari-sensei's birthday occurs on summer vacation, (presumably in the space between the annual summer trip and the start of school on September 1st), while in the anime it occurs during the spring holiday in March. Template:Endspoiler

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Popular cultural references

  • Tomo appears to be a major fan of the manga and anime series Lupin III, to the point of choosing a hairstyle to emulate Fujiko Mine (of whom she believes she can do an amazingly good impression). She later expresses an apparently serious desire for a career as an INTERPOL agent - much like Lupin's nemesis, the Inspector Zenigata.
  • Tomo is also a fan of "Ayu" (Ayumi Hamasaki)
  • Tomo frequently refers to Manzai comedians, and expects Osaka to join in (manzai being a form of slapstick comedy particularly popular in the Osaka region.)
  • Osaka has been known to use the phrase "Oh ha!", which was popularized by Shingo Katori of the pop group SMAP, as an example of how "normal" Japanese people talk. As Tomo points out, this is not a correct assumption.
  • Several of the girls have a fondness for horror stories. Tomo, Osaka and even Chiyo have tried to tell them at one time or another; Osaka's means of telling a horror story is especially disturbing. Tomo's "The Terror of The Moldy Bread" is more science fiction, while Osaka tends to tell stories about serial killers. Oddly enough, what terrifies Chiyo is "dirty stories", which Tomo seems particularly fond of.
  • Kagura and Yukari enjoy playing video games.
  • In episode 17, Osaka and Tomo were having a conversation using one word only, "Mi" (sixth sign of Chinese zodiac), as a reference to Chi from Chobits (Chi says "Chi" very often.)
  • Yotsuba Koiwai from Yotsuba&!, (another of Kiyohiko Azuma character creations) physically resembles Chiyo, but also shows specific traits from other Azumanga characters as well. Many fans belive that some Azumanga Daioh characters have had breif cameos in Yotsuba&!.
  • There is a reference in the manga of AzuDai to another Azuma title, Wallaby, when Kosaka Kokoro, the female lead, appears in the stuffed-toy café storyline. In Wallaby, a classmate of Kosaka-san's died, and she made a stuffed toy of a wallaby as a tribute to him. The toy, however, ends up being possessed by the spirit of the dead boy. Having only seen a few pages of this manga, further comment is not possible. In her Azumanga appearance, Kosaka has the wallaby in her pocket.
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Other Media

Azumanga Daioh also inspired a Playstation video game of (almost) the same title, Azumanga Donjyara Daioh. As the product was not released outside Japan, further details are yet to be revealed. However, just like many other Japan-exclusive titles, ADD was leaked, pirate copies can be found here and there.

Azumanga Daioh Advance was also released for the Game Boy Advance, taking the form of a simplistic CCG or collectible card game. The idea was to arrange five-card hands into an order that maximised the number of lines of three stars or more, either horizontally or diagonally. The eight main characters (the six girls, Yukari and Nyamo) were playable, the two teachers being unlockable. Secondary characters, such as Mayaa, Tadakichi-san, Kami-neko, Kaorin, Kimura-sensei and even Neko-Koneko (if the latter can be called a character), appeared if good hand scores were achieved. Chiyo-chichi appeared as a 5-second warning.

The PC was home to a selection of AzuDai games - variations included side-on beach volleyball, snowball fights which owed something to the Bomberman franchise, and the near-ubiquitous kart racing genre that most IPs seem to be subjected to at some point in time (this one was a half-decent effort, however). There was also a vertically-scrolling shoot'em-up written by an amateur coder, which had Chiyo-chan shooting down multiple Chiyo-chichis (it resembled Ikaruga alot).

An unofficial Flash-based game, "Azumanga Druglord," features Tomo, Yomi, and Osaka as new initiates into the mafia where they are given a variety of tasks. This however was a complete fan creation and not connected to the show, or its creators in anyway.

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External links

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