Azumanga Daioh Anime Synopsis
Azumanga Daioh is a slice of life and school comedy
following the lives of a group of six girls through the course of their
three years in high school. The main characters are Chiyo Mihama,
Sasaki, Kagura, Ayumu Kasuga (better known as "Osaka"), Tomo Takino,
and Koyomi (Yomi) Mizuhara. Each has their own unique traits and
oddities which makes them memorable.
Chiyo Mihama (Chiyo-chan) is a child prodigy and is
basically a grade schooler in high school. She continues to get top
marks in her class but everyone tends to treat her like a child, which
frustrates her very much. Sasaki is the opposite of Chiyo-
chan, she is easily the tallest person at school, is good at sports and
has a mature aura about her. But Sasaki is, in fact, the shy and silent
type. She has an obsession about all thing cute, but is embarrassed to
try such things herself because her stature would make it look odd.
Kagura is Sasaki's self-proclaimed rival. She is a talented athlete and
is naturally competitive at all things. She constantly challenges
Sasaki because while she needs to train every day to maintain top form,
Sasaki is gifted at sports without any training. Ayumu was given the
nickname "Osaka" because she transferred from the Osaka region in
Japan. But Osaka's behaviour is unlike typical Osaka residents who can
be loud and energetic. she is quite slow and daydreams during class.
Osaka also says the strangest things during conversations, making her
the weirdest girl of the group. Tomo and Yomi have been close friends
since grade school. Tomo is spontaneously energetic but can be
obnoxious at times. Yomi is the mature one who constantly keeps Tomo in
check. Yomi is very sensitive about her weight and becomes highly
irritated whenever Tomo teases her on the subject.
The typical Azumanga Daioh anime episode is composed of
several short stories which sometimes continues the plot from one story
to the next. Activities include school festivals and trips to
Chiyo-chan's summer house. The best part of Azumanga Daioh is, of
course, its humor. This can sometimes be subtle, and other times be so
hilarious that you can't help but laugh out loud. The supporting
characters add even more laughs to this anime; my favorites are the
antics of the childish Yukari sensei and of the perverted Kimura
sensei. Azumanga Daioh is an excellent high school comedy that can be
viewed by all ages. Many other anime series have tried to emulated its
success, but none have truly captured the formula that makes this
series so great. |
