#214: Azumanga Daioh (2002)

Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori

Screenplay: Ichiro Okouchi

In response to the manga by Kiyohiko
Azuma

Mumble Actors: Chieko Higuchi as Tomo Takino; Houko Kuwashima as Kagura;
Rie Tanaka as Koyomi “Yomi” Mizuhara; Tomoko Kaneda as Chiyo Mihama; Yuki
Matsuoka as Ayumu “Osaka” Kasuga; Yuu Asakawa as Sakaki; Akiko
Hiramatsu as Yukari Tanizaki; Aya Hisakawa as Minamo “Nyamo” Kurosawa;
Kōji Ishii as Kimura; Norio Wakamoto as Chiyochichi; Sakura Nogawa as Kaorin

Viewed in Japanese with English Subtitles

Azumanga Daioh has been a truly lengthy time to return to for me, fond of
this sequence originally, nonetheless returning to this now as an grownup. Azumanga’s provide topic matter, a manga by Kiyohiko Azuma, has been published in the West, and modified into originally
for Dengeki Daioh, a manga for teen
males, thus undercutting any preconceptions of a target viewers. Some sex
jokes aside, and the postulate the all-female leads are “adorable” for the
target viewers, here is incongruous to the “moe” genre which would
emphasise adorable faculty ladies doing things. In contrast, this sequence is a grand
extra whimsical work for the upper. The handiest technique to initiating with Azumanga Daioh is genuinely to belief at
the diversifications sooner than. Azumanga modified into
gauged with a minute small immediate, an ONA very early in that medium, known as Azumanga Web Daioh (2000), clearly a taster to belief if there modified into an viewers for this.
Baring some very dated faculty corridors made in early polygons for the medium, Web Daioh is charming both in how it
is method much less favorite than the many minute immediate work. Alongside all three having
varied seems, it is accurate a snapshot of what would be entailed, nonetheless with a
plotline which is now not referred to in a build in any of the beefy tv
sequence. Particularly, that the critical like been given a movie camera to file what’s going to
be a time pill, in a temporary which, if anything, does now not like as grand of the
humour as would come later.

Some distance extra inserting is Azumanga Daioh: The Very Brief Movie (2001),
a temporary originally made for theatrical screenings¹, which ADV Movie’s included in the final of their
DVD releases when anime, in the early to mid 2000s frail to be shatter up up per
episodes in sets over multiple DVDs. It is a recurring work to experience in how,
whilst the sequence for me has a memorable, here is J.C. Crew as a studio (sooner than they worked on the sequence) flexed in
a broad level of quality animation for what modified into a taster. Characters belief
thinner than they’d be in the sequence, with extra murky highlights on their
designs, and whilst a recurring series of words to make exhaust of, this feels even
atmospheric for what is a excessive faculty comedy a few troupe of female students
which, whilst in a position to being very surreal, is also matter-of-truth and tender
in its fling. It’s charming to belief this immediate, as with every tv sequence
of exhibit, in phrases of seeing its theatrical reinterpretation although this came
beforehand (belief Escaflowne from its
1996 tv sequence to the 2000 theatrical reinterpretation). It is also
factual the immediate modified into made obtainable, as whilst this replicates jokes that will presumably
be expanded with the sequence, this has one imaginative reinterpretation of 1
later frail, recurring to this and flexing the animation price range, the put Ayumu
“Osaka” Kasuga imagines her classmate Chiyo Mihama, a baby prodigy who is a ten yr used moved up into excessive
faculty, attempting to discover her pigtails which ran off on a race the put carrots
grow as broad tress in mysterious lands.

The interesting sequence proper,
produced by J.C. Crew and aired from
the April 8, 2002 until the week of September 30, 2002 – on TV Tokyo,
TV Aichi, TV Osaka, and AT-X – modified into also varied from how most in the West would favor
experienced it, as it modified into originally five minutes segments proven every weekday,
than repeated as a 25 minute compilation that week, main to a 26 episode
series most of us know this as now. Azumanga
Daioh in regardless of build is a chain of vignettes tied by its solid, spending
the three years in a excessive faculty for the five (and fleet six) predominant female
students in one class with a few facet characters. Chiyo, as talked about, starts
as a ten yr used girl so excellent who modified into moved into excessive faculty past a few
grades. She is the closest character to the “moe” archetype, that
jokes include her being elegant as a baby on this grownup setting, a later
episode running with how sticking her in a penguin costume even causes the
hardest of hearts of their faculty (even their boorish homeroom trainer Yukari)
to melt seeing her. Here is also a exhibit, in a position to win away with this in animation,
which finds humour in her being knocked about in violent slapstick. Sakaki is
the quiet and thoughtful one, the most grownup of the neighborhood in how, to her
classmates, she is the dapper and cool figure, beauty and big at sports,
taller than each person else, nonetheless is smitten by animals and adorable things with a
lot of eccentricities, at the side of imagining wait on tales to plush toys she owns.
This involves the repeated topic, along with her mother having hypersensitive reactions, she can’t
like pets of her grasp and, with the repeated amusing story about this, cats or on the least
one particular grey one on her technique to college will be predisposed to chunk her.

Tomo is the hyperactive tomboy
with very impulsive behaviour and absence of whit, at the side of learning that
reindeer build exist, whilst Koyomi “Yomi” Mizuhara, who comes off as
the most generic of the initial five until in a while, is there as the despondent
straight man inserting up with Tomo, clearly loving every varied of their admire-despise
relationship although they build bicker a lot. Equipped successfully in episode ten,
when she is transferred to their class, Kagura is the athletic sports figure,
caught with the “bone heads” neighborhood with Tomo as a result of struggling with
her grades, nonetheless is extra intellectual and accurate eager with what she does. The
varied member of the boneheads’ trio is Osaka, who is the one extra inclined to be
a meme from this entire franchise. She as well emphasises that, whilst this
became a exhibit which translates to the West well, modified into very grand a piece intended for
a Japanese viewers. Osaka, nicknamed as such for coming from that metropolis, is the
final unsuitable of any individual on a wholly varied wavelength or selecting up
alerts from a particular dimensions, baring one running amusing story that works extra
for folks who realize Japanese, although they translated, of her being
God-admire with puns and jokes about kanji in the Japanese language that will presumably
belief admire varied words.

There are handiest a few extra
characters. Kaori deserves to be talked about as the classmate whose crush on
Sakaki. Baring some mania in her admire for, Kaori is blatantly with a homosexual crush
for her female classmate which, barring the amusing story being her substandard most involving fortune attempting to
revel in the experiences, has genuinely grown in weight as a candy facet character.
Hers is also a persona who genuinely emphasises the cultural distinctions of
this comedy; her form of character comes from a perspective as a long way wait on as the
1910s, linked to the cultural phenomena of ladies having crushes on varied
ladies in colleges in Japan identified as “Class S”^2/3. A 1919
novel Yaneura no Nishojo by Yoshiya Nobuko linked to here’s a
romantic work a few lesbian romance between ladies in an all-ladies faculty
which, alongside a cushy ending, has been argued to be the cultural spring from
which the yuri genre of all-female romance in anime and manga took inspiration
from⁴, Kaori although a comic strip discovering herself phase of this filthy rich
heritage in her grasp method. 

There are the two female
teachers, who are necessary inclusions, their homeroom trainer Yukari, a factual
English trainer (in the fashioned Japanese dub) when she is targeted, nonetheless a
tempestuous and impulsive figure of rowdiness, laziness and hangovers,
contrasted by her excessive faculty pal and straight laced fellow trainer Minamo
“Nyamo” Kurosawa, the P.E. trainer who contrasts her as another
straight-man. There are entirely a few male characters, barring Chiyo’s canines Mr.
Tadakichi and Chiyo-Father, the personification of Chiyo’s father as imagined
by Sakaki and Osaki who is a omnipresent orange cat humanoid which, in the
Japanese is voiced Norio Wakamoto, a voice actor who thru that
I grew up with the Anime World Negate podcast became a cult figure for a particular
viewers for his recognisable voice, especially as Chiyo-Father is as recurring
as he’s amusing to belief even for this exhibit. Sadly, this also involves Kimura,
who is sadly going to be the one facet which undermines this entire sequence and
may presumably per chance also very well be off-inserting for him, because his entire amusing story is that Kimura is a
classical Japanese language trainer who lusts after schoolgirls. I half of suspect
he’s intended to be a parody of this conception of a perverted male trainer, as the
female solid (and the female teachers) are skeeved out by him, nonetheless he has now not
old model at all because, rightly, the postulate of a male trainer creeping on excessive
faculty/secondary faculty students is unacceptable in real life.

Daioh has some grownup jokes, nonetheless barring those about breasts between
the female students, most steadily for Sakaki to wind up blushing, as the most
“grownup” of the troupe in figure, most of the jokes are cleverer and
now not steadily ever sex linked, one of many few specific genuinely one of many most involving because
you build now not hear the conversation at all, when on the summer season home Nyamo, below the affect of alcohol,
unintentionally teaches the children the birds and the bees when commenting on
her grasp sex life with a montage of flowers and varied quant items slash too, and a
lot of stern proud nods from each person (barring a perplexed Chiyo) to her awe.
Kimura himself is now not refined. I admit a guilty laugh or too discovering a few jokes
amusing, at the side of when his wife is presented and, considered as a candy (if clumsy)
girl that raises questions from the solid of how on Earth she is married to
him, nonetheless he unfortunately is the albatross that you can want to win over for this
sequence, especially when the entirety else is great as it is.

Because past this, I specialize in Azumanga Daioh has old model admire handsome wine.
Structured around the three years of starting of their first yr to
graduation, with the repetition of sports day, the cultural pageant and
summer season, the put each person goes to Chiyo’s summer season home, Daioh has plenty of creativity surrounding its easy structure of
five minute vignettes. The provision topic matter modified into a “4-koma” manga which
frail four panels per page, so the variation had the power to improvise
around the provision in creative ways. It’s incredibly whimsical, in the end
fleshing every character out from archetypes and even devoting episodes to
sure figures, admire Chiyo or Sakaki. It even does so unofficially, Yomi even
technically getting an episode, setting out as seemingly the weakest character
handiest to stress her as the commonest of the neighborhood as a particular, a individual
who loves food nonetheless is responsive to her weight, clearly likes Tomo (as
vice-versa) regardless of their antagonism, and unfortunately getting ill the day
sooner than she is meant to race at the side of the neighborhood to a theme park.

The archetypes each person begins as
are amusing ample, nonetheless each person grows in titbits of them we learn, even Chiyo
regardless of being the broadest character of the lot you may presumably per chance presumably gleefully knock flying
in the air as a slapstick gag. Inequity this with a later exhibit, I watched wait on
in the day as an ADV Motion photography originate,
admire Pani Poni Jog! (2005), which
modified into a miles extra over-the-top and absurd, contrasting even Daioh’s strangest
moments, at the side of its grasp cat that exists in a merchandising machine who claims is
God, with a miles extra broader and albeit extra strange solid of characters who were
now not deliberately fleshed out as other people. Azumanga
Daioh when it needs to be strange gets very strange, nonetheless contrasts with what is
known as the “carve of life” genre, of favorite life depicted in
animation, as equally. There is a entire episode, with too many factual ones to
resolve from of their compiled model, about strange Novel Yr’s Day dreams, the put
Chiyo-Father is presented, which stands out, as does Osaka’s belief Chiyo’s
pigtails are sentient. There is also then again one role in spring, the put there may be
cherry blossom on the trees, which is entirely a relaxed character constructing part,
the put Nyamo (being on the stage of questioning if she ought to aloof marry) and Yukari
bond, assembly a well-off pal from their faculty days, contrasted by clearly
seeing Tomo and Yomi admire every varied when Tomo climbs thru Yomi’s bedroom
window to lallygag around and tease every varied.

Records of the exhibit’s fashioned
five minute build makes its structure extra admirable, in how running jokes are
allowed to grow and domesticate perfectly for the duration of even for an episodic level. One
of the most involving is the Yukari-mobile, that Yukari is now not handiest a dreadful drive nonetheless
one, when originally hinted at early in the sequence, causes Chiyo to endure everlasting
PTSD after the critical summer season home, and if in the end being paid off onscreen
after so grand build up off-display. Sakaki’s race with cats, in contrast,
gives a candy conclusion after, for the duration of a college time out to Okinawa, they
come all the strategy thru a wild iriomote kitten.

The presentation is Daioh’s most involving virtue. The exhibit will
fling jokes and even lengthen them to the purpose they change into funnier in a
proto-anti-humour. For parts, this even feels admire a proto-model of
many years-later sequence admire gdgd Fairies (2011-13) which like been entirely primarily primarily based around female voice actresses, most steadily
with low budgets, in character having conversations and most steadily breaking out
of them. The outlet credit score alone are magical – a prelude to events thru
the sequence whilst being visually dynamic, with a most involving and surreal song by Oranges & Lemons about magical cake to role the tone perfectly. The tune by Masaki Kurihara for the duration of is as vivid and naughty for a exhibit that can
juggle sweetness with silliness. Sadly, their profession is vastly immediate,
which is unhappy barring the lovely strangeness that, amongst their minute CV for
anime tune, it involves California Disaster: Gun Salvo (1986), a genuinely idiosyncratic
OVA title from when money modified into ample for one-offs.

Azumanga Daioh is a chain price see, although nostalgia exists
for the sequence. Barring the one abominable character in Kimura, I specialize in the
sequence is a hit. It modified into released again after ADV Movie’s first DVD bustle with the 2016 Sentai Filmworks compilation in the usa, nonetheless sadly now not in
Britain, a disgrace as it is a pleasure to experience.

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1) The immediate, in response to the Anime
Recordsdata Community entry for the immediate movie, modified into intended to play in
theatres alongside Slayers Top class
(2001) and Di Gi Charat: A Outing to
the Planet (2001) as a opener for Sakura
Wars: The Movie (2001), as sure a marathon of interesting work as you may presumably per chance
win.

2) Don’t
Throw Class S Out Completely by Zeria,
published on November 20th 2017 for Floating
Bliss.

3) Females-Loving
Females in Standard Japan by Erin
Subramian, taken from Yuricon.com amongst its older essays.

4) Yuri
Novel: Yaneura no Nishojo, written conversation between Erica Friedman and Hafl
published Can even ninth 2010 for Okazu.yuricon.com