Azumanga Daioh Highly recommended

Publisher
ADV Manga
Writer
Kiyohiko Azuma
Artist
Kiyohiko Azuma
Country of origin
Japan
Length
4 volumes
Year
2000

Azumanga Daioh Volume 1

By Shabbir
27th Aug 07

Azumanga Daioh has become quite a popular series over the last couple of years due to the advertisements for the anime series. However, few people realise despite the title, that the anime series is completely based on the four volume manga series. If you have read the manga and seen the anime series, then the similarities are extremely obvious as the anime is almost a direct adaptation of the manga series. I felt that the anime went into more depth, but the manga has more episodes/occurrences.

The plot is pretty basic; Azumanga Daioh is about a group of high school girls in the same class. They have a friendly relationship with themselves and the teacher, and due to this most of their mishaps and other occurrences that happen result in comedy. Azumanga Daioh is a comedy from the very beginning, and portrays a main theme of friendship as the group of high school girls progress through their school life. It follows the characters through school as well as through their holidays.

Unlike any other manga that I have read, Azumanga Daioh is in a completely different format. Each occurrence is told in a short four-panel vertical slot. On any page, there are eight panels and therefore two episodes/occurences. It felt more like reading an American style comic such as Calvin and Hobbes, but the stories in Azumanga Daioh are much shorter. This doesn't upset the feel of the manga or lessen the enjoyment, but it's just something different from the norm.

Kiyohiko Azuma's art is clean and solid. Due to the nature of the manga, there are no complications whatsoever (I'm glad that this trend continued into the anime with the same artwork for the characters). Each character is far from being uniquely designed, but are easily distinguishable. The enjoyment of Azumanga Daioh comes from the fact that the looks of a character reveal their personality and the mood that they are in. For example, Yomi is the only girl with glasses, instantly revealing that she studies quite a bit, and this is true to her personality. Even the energetic Tomo, who has been given short hair, reveals her personality easily enough through her actions and facial expressions.

The plot is mainly based around the comedy of the group of girls, but does slowly progress through their time at the high school. You are able to see what each character does in their holidays as the series progresses. This is a good thing, as there are plenty of anime or manga series that finish more or less where it began with little to no changes happening. Hence, Azumanga Daioh follows time importantly, and shows how the friendship builds up between the high school girls. The main theme in Azumanga Daioh is that of comedy, but along with that other moods are portrayed through the events as the series progresses.

The book does not contain any special features as such, just a few colour pages at the front with a coloured piece of artwork of the two main teachers to the story. This continues throughout the four volume series. What surprised me more was that in actual size, the books are a little taller and wider than your average manga title, meaning that there is actually quite a lot to read. Due to the format of the manga itself, you'll find that you can get through it fairly quickly. Fortunately, this is certainly a title that you can just pick up and read, and then read again.

On the whole, Azumanga Daioh is an enjoyable series, cute and funny, with enough to make it a title to re-read over and over again. The humour may not be something in comparison to that of FLCL or Excel Saga (compared to those two, anything can seem not funny), but it's still worth the time to have a look and chuckle. If you enjoy the manga series, then it's almost definite you'll enjoy the anime series, and of course the other way.

4/5

Originally published on www.mangaview.net

-- Shabbir 27th Aug 07