cokesque

Synopsis

Ten-year-old Mihama Chiyo is already in high school. Her classmates are in awe of her intelligence but not so much so that she isn’t able to make friends quickly. Osaka, who just moved to town, is a bit spacey and marches to a different drummer. Sakaki is cool and naturally athletic but wants nothing more than to be surrounded by cuteness. The noisy and energetic Tomo and weight-watching Yomi have been schoolmates forever. Together with three quirky teachers, they form the nucleus of the anime based on Kiyohiko Azuma’s four-panel comic strip which follows the students through their high school careers.

Impressions

The hilarious Azumanga Daioh is one of the best anime of 2002.

I hate seeing comments like “Azumanga Daioh is the Seinfeld of anime” because it is an injustice to both shows. But like Seinfeld, Azumanga has no significant plot. It’s series of vignettes (five per show) about the characters’ lifes as they progress through high school. Sometimes this forms a cohesive story, about the school cultural fair for instance, and sometimes it is completely random, like Osaka chasing the dust in her eyes. The comedy is completely character-driven. It is hard to find a character not worth loving, and the chemistry between them is as good as it gets.

Of course, Azumanga Daioh is a polarizing anime. Either you like its style of humor or you don’t.

Neko Factor

Sakaki-san kakko ii!

- 2003-05-06 18:46 -