Azumanga Daoih

Title: Azumanga Daoih
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Anime, Comedy, “Slice of Life”
Language: Japanese
Duration: 25mins (26 episodes)

Based on the Manga of the same name, it follows these students throughout their three year stint at high school, through the trials of the exams, sports days, culture festivals and all the events that identify these years. Much like the manga, it follows a very similar format with each episode broken down even further into separately titled 'strips' with perhaps four or five strips within each episode, allowing us to follow multiple characters despite the short run time. Given the inherent lack of plot, the variety of personalities within the group becomes imperative in determining the shows ability to last; too few characters (or too many left feeling two-dimensional) can quickly kill off all interest, and yet whilst it doesn't feel as though they develop much over the course of the show, neither does interest in them wane.

Much of the focus naturally seems to be drawn to young Chiyo, a child prodigy who skipped enough years to land her in high school at the tender age of 10 and still be top of the class, though she still displays a certain naivety that makes her quickly become friends with the resident dreamer, Kasuga (nicknamed Osaka after her hometown), suffering from a severe lack of attention span and frequently letting her imagination run away from her resulting in some rather bizarre non-sequitur responses. Also with something of an attention problem of a different kind is Tomo, the hyperactive slacker incapable of taking anything seriously which can often annoy much of the group, but none more so than the grounded and 'voice of reason' for the group, Yomi, who has had to put up with her antics since elementary school (and every so often snaps, leaving Tomo on the receiving end of her uppercut). Tomo's hyperactive nature also leads her to challenge people to contests she has no hope of winning, not only in matters of intellect with Chiyo but also challenging the two resident athletes – Sakaki and Kagura – to contests of physical ability.

Kagura arrives in the second year as a result of their incompetent teacher, Ms. Yukari's continual desire for her class to win at sports day so she'll win a bet always made with a rival P.E. Teacher and old high school friend, the far more loved Minamo, or “Nyamo” for short, and also shares Tomo's competitive nature so often accepts her challenges, though unlike Tomo is fully aware of when she has pushed things too far and struggles to keep it under control. She also finds a rival in the form of fellow athlete Sakaki, envious of her natural abilities; whereas Kagura has to constantly work to improve Sakaki shows little interest in sports. Instead her interest lies firmly in the care of animals – especially cats, obsessed with their cuteness compared to her own (misjudged) perceived non-cuteness – despite most cats attacking her and refusing to let her pet them. Whilst the most sensitive of them all, her shy and reserved nature leads many who don't know her to believe her to be somewhat dark and mysterious, particularly Kaorin who obsesses over her whilst simultaneously becoming the centre of attention from her pervy teacher, Mr. Kimura, who early on openly admits the only reason he became a teacher was to be near high school girls.

Whilst a “Lucky Star” comparison feels required – both shows focussing on a slice of life format and set in a school – beyond the initial premise the manner things are tackled feels remarkably different. Its been toned down a little from the horrendously predictable core of four in “Lucky Star” to a large cast that actually genuinely feels like a school class, lending multiple avenues for interaction between them from the very beginning whilst still giving each character their own section of the script to allow their individuality to shine. Another critical difference is the actual style of comedy on display, relying far more heavily on visual gags as opposed to conversational ones and as a result allows much less to become lost in the translation.

The animation is basic and feels constructed on a budget, and yet whilst at times childish and annoying, I can't deny that it fits perfectly with what the series strives to accomplish. The show in itself seems to succeed in taking you back to that time when you were a child and in many regards, what I usually demean as unnecessary tools to compensate for an inadequate script, this particular style accentuates this atmosphere strived for. It is also kept surprisingly grounded to reality in terms of appearance; there may still be the large eyes but there's no crazy hair to cheaply differentiate between them, and their figures feels in proportion to what you would expect, visibly showing consideration – and as described in one episode, falling under either “Japanese” (short, slim and flat chested – Osaka, Tomo), “American” (tall and well developed – Sakaki) or “Hawaiian” (somewhere between the two – Kagura, Yomi). In fact, their appearance often lends an impact on their personality, the most obvious examples of this including Yomi who often worries about her weight and of turning into more of an “American” build, and the odd kinship between Sakaki and Chiyo; the former very tall and fully developed longing for Chiyo's cuteness, whilst the young child prodigy wishing she no longer drew attention for her small stature.

There are some shows that should come with a warning, and as much as “Ichi the Killer” was violent and the works of Lynch make no sense whatsoever, this show needs the same warning for excessive gratuitous displays of cuteness. It would be easy to pick out the likes of Chiyo, frequently made to wear adorable suits or the manner she interacts with her pet dog Mr. Tadakichi, who is easily large enough for her to ride down the street, but the same can be held true for the rest of the cast who all retain their own brand of adorability; be it Sakaki's animal fetish, Osaka's tendency to nap and day dream or Tomo's hyperactive nature, and when it all collides the result is often tear-inducing. Nothing may have actually seemed to happen throughout these 26 episodes, but I can't help but wish nothing would happen for just a little longer.