Go Team Sea Slug!
Azumanga Daioh is a perky school-days, shōjo type anime that I absolutely adore. From the opening credits, it lifts my spirits and makes me smile. It’s based on a manga and was adapted to anime form back in 2002. It’s a goofy but sweet story that follows the lives of five high school girls that come together in their freshman year, all in the same class. Their teacher, Miss Yukari, is a laugh riot. A wild, unpredictable English teacher who has more in common with her students than her coworkers. Her old friend and the girls gym teacher, Minamo Kurosawa, is a stabilizing influence. Well, as much as anyone can be with Yukari! The girls are united by the unexpected arrival of Chiyo Mihama, a child prodigy who has skipped five grades to enter high school at the tender age of ten. Chiyo (or Chiyo-Chan as she’s known to her friends) is smart…really smart! And very cute with adorable little pigtails.
Her classmates include Tomo Takino, a rambuncious girl that is constantly challenging one of the others. She provides much of the physical humor in the series. She’s crazy, plain and simple! Koyomi Mizuhara (known as Yomi) has been in the same class as Tomo since grade school, much to her dismay. Tomo is the thorn in her side as well as her friend.
Transfer student Ayumu Kasuga who quickly becomes known as Osaka, thanks to Tomo, is a bit of a dreamer…well, a true space cadet! She falls asleep in class or spaces out with wild imaginings. She’s one of my favorites! Rounding out the class is Sakaki or Miss Sakaki, a tall, quiet girl who’s very athletic. A lover of all things cats, she seems to be cursed when it comes to actually interacting with one!
Two other girls, Kaorin and Kagura, play secondary characters in the group. Karorin is a shy girl with a big crush on Miss Sakaki. Her dream is to simply spend time with her. Unfortunately, Mr. Kimura, one of the other teachers, likes Kaorin as well. He’s a creepy kinda lecherous guy who openly admits he only became a teacher because of high school girls. But he is more than a one-sided character as you learn more about his wife and family, it makes you wonder if he’s all that he appears. Kagura becomes part of the group later in the story. She’s a lot like Sakaki in that she’s quite athletic and yet is remarkably similar to Tomo in her competitiveness.
Overall, Azumanga Daioh is a heartwarming, hilarious story about a bunch of high school girls that aren’t so different from all of us. You get to know the characters and all of the little quirks that makes us human. You start to care about these girls as you share in their silliness and adventures. This anime will make you laugh. It’ll remind you of simpler days and friends you’ve known over the years. And lastly, it’ll make you yearn for more when it’s all over. This is one of those stories you want to go on and on.
I highly recommend this anime as well as the manga for everyone! There truly is something here for everyone! It remains one of my all-time favorites! A guarantee to make me smile even on my worst days.
Technorati Tags: Azumanga Daioh, Azumanga daiô, anime, manga, Team Sea Slug, Miss Yukari, Minamo Kurosawa, Chiyo Mihama, Chiyo-chan, Tomo Takino, Koyomi Mizuhara , Yomi, Sakaki, Miss Sakaki, Ayumu Kasuga, Osaka, Mr Kimura, Kaorin, Kagura
