Azumanga Daioh

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I'm surprised that there are no reviews written for Azumanga Daioh, although there are many for the anime.

Story

I adore slice-of-life manga, which would be the genre that suits Azumanga Daioh best. It's plot is nothing heavy, certainly nothing dramatic or romantic, and sometimes it doesn't even make sense. Yet it's amazing. The humor is random and strange at times, but that makes it all the more funny.

Art

Although I can't say I like the art as much in the first volume, the art in Azumanga Daioh is rendered well in most of it. Since it mostly consists of four-panel strips, the art is not detailed, ... but simple. Kiyohiko does a better job with the art in Yotsuba&!, even though the art in Azumanga Daioh is also pretty well done. Azuma obviously improves throughout the series, and cause the artwork to be a bit inconsistent (as you'll notice with Chiyo-chan's pigtails!).

Characters

The characters, I'd have to say, are the strong point. Tomo is the wacky and annoying hyper-energetic girl, there's Yomi, who is level-headed and even a bit of a cynic, there's Osaka, who is the spacy girl with logic no one understands, there is Sakaki, painfully shy with a seemingly hidden love for cute things, there's Kagura, athletic and blunt, and finally, there is Chiyo-chan, an adorable naive 10-year-old genius.

Then there are the teachers as well, the irresponsible Yukari, the reliable Miss Kurosawa (aka Nyamo) and the perverted Mr. Kimura. Each character has interesting personality traits that make them unique.

Azumanga Daioh is one of my favorite manga, I own all four volumes, and would greatly advise anyone to pick it up and give it a try.

I'm not an anime or manga buff. I don't know everything. I may or may not have good taste. I'm just a person who enjoys anime and manga. However, I hope this review helps anyone with deciding whether to read it or not.

PLUSES:
I have the Azumanga Daioh Omnibus and I have read the whole thing. I love Azumanga Daioh. It never fails to cheer me up. I love the antics of everyone in the group. I laughed at the crazy things they did. My stomach would hurt from the hilarious moments I shared with my brother reading this. I cried when it was done. No ... really, I cried. I really like Azuma's style of humor. The art was very basic and clean, which suited well.

This manga was one of the things that helped me get through my grandfather's death. Nothing like reading AD to cheer you up on the car trips to and from the cemetery and funeral home.

MINUSES:
I wish that it was longer or had a sequel. Or maybe not, because in my opinion, some things are better left to the imagination. The story... well, there's no story really. And the style of humor is definitely not for everyone. It is sort of a random, lol-ish, absurdity type of humor.

I would recommend this manga to anyone who needs a laugh and some cheering up. Nothing fancy, drawn-out, philosophical, or deep. It's just plain fun to read.

Azumanga Daioh doesn't actually have a storyline. Well, there's 10-year-old Chiyo, (Who is so unbelievely adorable), who's so smart that she's in high school, and she brefriends the most weird, yet hilarious classmates.

Azumanga Daioh is a set of 4 panel stories, and yet it works! The comedy is fresh and funny and the characters are amusing as well. There's Osaka, probaly one of the most slowest manga characters EVER! There's a time when she and Sasaki (a tall girl which the other charaters think she's cool and hard but in fact she has a secret love for cats but they are always biting her) are ... talking about an abbreviation of hemeroids (don't ask) then they start talking about I think about dolphins, then another character ask what are they talking about then Osaka comes out with hemeroids again. Tomo is another charater. She's loud and overly competetive with Chiyo. Then there's the absolutely lazy teacher who sleeps in class and forgets where she's supposed to be. (That's the very first scene, she walks into a class and says she won't tell them her bra size then a student says her class is next door). There's a competitive teacher, a lesbian student and so on so forth.

Most of the cast are girls but there is a male.... Mr.Kimura.... an out and out perverted teacher who is a teacher souly for teenage girls. All the characters try to ignore him but he just appears!

Anyway, Azumanga Daioh is perfect for you if you just want a laugh. It's easy to pick up and read and will have you laughing all the way through reading it.

this series is a yonkoma(short comic strips).its about this group of girls who are in high school and are very unique individuals.no magic powers, ninjas,or any fictional things that you can come up with.just "regular" high school girls.

i rated the characters 10 because the characters are so interesting and different that you wonder how they can hang out with each other.each girl adds something to the story.if you have never had a favorite manga/anime character before im sure this series could give you a selection.

overall this is a series for stupid jokes,humor, and just plain enjoyment.if you have nothing else to do this is a ... good thing to pick up.

Azumanga Daioh is often hailed as the mother of all Slice of Lifes, and for a good reason. Not only does it pioneer the idea of "cute girls doing cute things" and "daily life activities with little plot," it does these two things right.

Story: 10

The lack of a story is its story. Azumanga Daioh is a classic SOL manga, where most of its content is dependent upon showing the day-to-day activities of its characters, their interactions with one another, and their general progression through life (in this case school life).

While it does have a central focus driving it along (the characters' journeys from the ... beginning of high school to graduation), this focus is subtle, and is often felt as an aftereffect rather than directly demonstrated.

Additionally, there is no romance subplot to be had, which I would argue tends to be the downfall of many SOL manga. As such, the reader isn't hellbent on the result of the relationship, and instead can focus on enjoying the day-to-day aspect.

Art: 9

The art is not good. Period. It is an old manga, and the techniques, technology, and style clearly shows. Don't expect breathtaking scenery or beautiful wallpaper-worthy panels. Don't expect adorable girls with detailed hair and clothing, flying in the wind. That said, this is the one manga where a lack of good art...WORKS.

This is due to one primary factor: The characters are supposed to be ordinary. Oftentimes, manga artists tend to make the mistake of trying to pass off their main characters as ordinary and unremarkable, but end up drawing them as clear protagonists, with amazing details and shading. In my opinion, if your MC's can be distinguished from NPC's, they are NOT "normal." This is not the case for Azumanga Daioh. Any of the MC's can easily pass as an NPC, and none of them can truly be called "pretty." Sure, some people can argue Chiyo and Osaka looks cute, but it often is due to their personalities than their actual character designs, which looks downright basic.

Yet, in this particular case, it only serves to drive home the theme of the manga as a SOL. Take for example the final graduation scene. The reader can really feel the ordinariness and humanity of the student body. They are not protagonists who will all become doctors, lawyers, researchers, or ambassadors. Some of them really look like they will fail at life, while others have an uncertain road ahead of them. This, I would argue, is the reason why so many readers often cite this as one of the most emotional graduation scene: because they can relate.

Character: 10

Of course, the art is not the only thing that accentuates the characters. Their personalities are also very distinct and down to earth, making them appeal very much to an average reader. You will like some, you will hate some, you will not notice some, and you will find some annoying; almost as if you were really looking at your actual classroom.

Enjoyment: 8

It was enjoyable, and how could it not be with all of the above reasons?

However, did I read it in one sitting? No. The lack of any centralized plot (including romantic subplot) does act as a double-edged sword, as it can make the manga somewhat repetitive and mundane, especially if the reader is conditioned by manga with more exciting plot development.

Some of the annoying characters can also end up getting under your skin after a while.

Nonetheless, it was a pleasant read, and especially hardcore fans of SOL titles such as Non Non Biyori will certainly find it endlessly appealing, although I would be incredibly shocked if such a fan have not read Azumanga Daioh.

Overall: 10. Classic. Well worth the read. Masterfully crafted.

Azumanga Daioh is a 4-koma high-school comedy. If you ever enjoyed a manga or an anime consisting of even one of those three components you should pick it up. The setting is simple: We have some high-school girls and we witness their 3 years of high-school, one hilarious 4-koma gag at a time.

A word of caution: While this is a masterpiece, there is a good percentage of people who dislike the overall silliness of the genre, so don't go around recommending it to your work supervisor simply because he has enjoyed Death Note and Attack on Titan.

The anime adaptation follows very closely the manga, ... so this review can be applied interchangeably to both of them. The greatness of Azumanga Daioh can be found after you peel the initial layer of simplicity, in the underlying complexity of the work. The main focus is too make you laugh and it delivers. The cuteness of the scenes and the wackiness of the surreal elements are welcome additions, but they always remain byproducts, and are never allowed to upstage the comedy.

The principle of initial simplicity and underlying complexity can also be found in the 8 or 9 main characters. Initially they look like stereotypes that can be found in dozen other works, but the fact that they are masterfully written, makes them lovable and memorable.

The magaka gave me the sense that he really knew what he wanted the manga to be about and never bothered with elements he did not care about. For instance there is no romance (just a few o-nee-sama gags), no adversity (well, there is a hateful cat), or any drawings of boys (a fact that is farcically mentioned in the anime). I found that this lack of elements the mangaka did not care about made the whole much stronger.

The greatness of Azumanga Daioh has spawned many copies, but they cannot capture the brilliance behind it. There are a lot of 4-koma manga (and their anime adaptations), a lot of “cute girls do cute things” slice of life manga/anime, but Azumanga has no peers. The only one getting kinda close is Nichijou, but its success lies on the fact that it copies Azumanga shamelessly.

So if you loved the manga the only thing you can do is watch the anime (and vice versa). To get yourself a work of similar quality you will have to cross genres a little bit into high school shoujo (Ouran Kokou Host Club, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun) or shounen (Great Teacher Onizuka, School Rumble) comedies. Great stuff 9.0/10.

Azumanga Daioh is a popular classic for a reason. Simply put, it's a work of comedic genius. Everyone should read it and watch the anime.

STORY: 9/10. There isn't much to the story; just another slice-of-life tale of Japanese schoolgirls. However, it's done brilliantly. There's never a dull moment, and you'll find yourself laughing out loud at the hilarious conversations these girls have and the situations they get into. There are also heartwarming moments, especially at the end. Though it could be considered somewhat cheesy, it seems like the best possible way to end the lighthearted series.

ART: 8/10. Since it's a 4koma with a new gag ... in every strip, most of the drawings of people are from the chest up. As a result, the designs are pretty simple and allow you to focus more on the humor. At the same time, the art is very expressive, clean, and it looks great. There are also occasional "special" strips that are set up like a regular comic, and this is where Azuma's art skill really shines. The details are lovely and not to be missed. Overall, the art does its job beautifully.

CHARACTER: 10/10. This is what makes the amazing comedy possible. Every character in this manga is well-thought-out, original, and completely hilarious. From spacey Osaka to firecracker Tomo to lecherous Kimura-sensei, they all add their own unique flavor to the manga. I'd say my favorite character, though, is Chiyo-chan's dad. You won't find a cool cat like him anywhere else.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10. Holy Cthulhu, this series is funny. The weakest of the strips will make you crack a smile, and the best ones will have you laughing out loud. This isn't your typical anime/manga humor- this is off-the-wall, unpredictable, and overall clever. It's just as enjoyable for a Westerner as a Japanese person- you won't have to understand Japanese culture to appreciate the jokes. It's totally fresh and nonstop funny.

OVERALL: 10/10. Basically, this manga is a masterpiece- and I don't throw that term around lightly. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen, done, or eaten. You should go and pick up a copy right now. You won't regret it.

While yes I found Azumanga a bit boring when I watched it a few years back the manga is so funny,well paced and can be sad at times (like how it ends which has a uplifting but sad ending in the same vain as something like Wrinkles). I don’t normally like these type of stories these days or even the smart person gets worship (personal reasons) but this was great.
Manga just seems like a better art form overall then anime. I’m glad I picked this up since I love Yotsuba. Didn’t expect to enjoy it that much years ago when I was thinking of reading ... it.
Now I’m off to read the three chapters YenPress didn’t release (which they should have) and hope they are at least half good as the original.
8/10

I was always very closed off with the type of mangas and animes I watched, and never in my life did I think I would become obsessed with a manga and anime about a group of high school girls living their daily lives together...

One of my favorite mangas of all time. I love its characters and also its silly and nonsensical humor, which is handled in a 4-panel format in a spectacular way. I finished it around February and today as I write this I can't stop thinking about this series and the impact it had on me. The emptiness that leaves you when you ... finish the last chapter is impressive. in short: PEAK FICTION!!!!!!!!! (btw what a shame that in the anime they didn't animate the mini arc of Osaka and Chiyo working at Magnetron Burger...)

I read this because the author, Kiyohiko Azuma, wrote my favorite manga [book:Yotsuba&!, Vol. 01|511240] At first, I was a little disappointed because I didn't think this manga was as funny or as good as Yotsuba&! But I'm glad I kept reading because I found out: the more you get to know the characters, the funnier and better the story becomes. By the fourth and final volume, I was sorry to say good-bye to these girls and their teachers. The story is really just a series of interactions told in (mostly) four-paneled strips. Hilarious doesn't describe this series because it also gives you a warm ... happy feeling. It's a real pick-me-up when you're feeling down. Highly recommended to fans of Yotsuba&!

Edited to add: watch the anime too! It's weirdly adorable and funny :)

Azumanga Daioh is one of those stories that took me back to my high school days, don't ask me how many years its been I don't want to remember. This is about a group of friends getting through high school. It is told in a very entertaining way and allows you take a look at life in different way. The art is great and is almost the same as the anime. There are many differences between the manga and anime but not so drastic that one takes away from the other.

Having watched the Azumanga Daioh anime before reading through the manga, I have a different and perhaps backwards view on the Azumanga story. Either way, the Azumanga Daioh manga is a very enjoyable, highly readable, and easy to follow title. It may be said that Azumanga Daioh is required reading for any salt-worthy anime fan.

The Azumanga manga is almost flawless. I can't think of anything to complain about or point out as a flaw. The only thing that might be an issue is that some (as in very few, maybe 2-3) text-boxes are too crammed with text, making the text small and hard to ... read. But if you get the Azumanga Daioh Omnibus, which contains all four Azumanga mangas in one set, you won't have an issue because the omnibus is huge and "blown-up," so that even tiny text is easy to read. And for that matter, art-work that features a lot of detail in a small area is now vibrant and beautiful, and the characters look shaper than Osaka's wit.

If you have a choice between the smaller, individual mangas or the omnibus, I recommend the bigger, complete omnibus. Unless you don't want to lug around the rather large tome, and prefer a small compact single manga.

I have only read the ADV Manga translations of the Azumanga Daioh manga in the Omnibus version. I very much want to read other translations someday soon, such as the Yen Press version of the Omnibus, which is an improved version of the ADV Manga Omnibus. The Yen Press Azumanga Daioh Omnibus features an entirely new translation, full-color pictures of the Azu-Crew in between each chapter, (this not only serves as some neat art-work to look at, but a very clear message that a new chapter is beginning) and brand-new, never before read content that expands on the lifes of the girls and their accomplices.

In any form or translation, Azumanga Daioh is a juggernaught title of the anime world, and if you haven't read it yet, you're a bonkler.

SATA-ANDAGI!

best thing since sliced bread (maybe)
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Azumanga daioh is considered a classic in the SOL genre, though the opinions on it seem to be very divided, some people think its the greatest thing ever and others view it as incredibly overrated.
I my self fall in to the category of people that love it and here's why:

...

Azumanga daioh (a combination of the mangakas name Azuma and the name of the magazine it was published in Dengeki daioh) tells a story about a group of friends living their high school years from the start of the first year to graduation. Each month of every year being divided in to two parts.

Typically Azumanga is told in the 4-koma panel style (if you don't know what it is google it) and has a highly comedic tone, though it dose once in a while deviate from it for longer more traditional manga style comics that are well worth it.


Azumanga characters are written by effectively using tropes.
Tomo is extremely loud, impulsive and competitive despite not being able to win at anything, she has been friends with Yomi since first grade, who would be considered the "smart" one of the group, if it weren't for the child prodigy Chiyo who skipped from elementary straight to 10th grade. Yomi is there to ground Tomo into and the others to reality (sometimes failing to do so) and generally used as a punching bag for the manga, since nothing seem to go her way.
Osaka is hard to describe, but id consider her the airhead of the group. Also you have Sakaki, who has an image of being cool and distant, but really she likes everything cute and really wants to pet a cat.

Azumanga has really good side characters from the teachers to other students, and you never get bored of it since it places importance equally on all its characters. With this you get to see pretty much every combination of the characters play out.



overall azumanga daioh is a really enjoyable series that is well worth the read.
(also the term waifu originates from its anime counterpart)

p.s. the anime intro song is so good i cant stop listening to it.

I found Azumanga to be very mediocre. Like many other comedy mangas from around the same time period, I rarely laugh at the jokes or the funny scenarios the character finds themselves in. It is often puns, funny faces or playing on the distinct traits of the characters. Is is an easy read since it is written in a 4 panel format and is probably the reason I read it until the end. Some chapters were however a couple pages long, and these were the most interesting ones. So should you read it? If you like light humor in 4koma format in a high school ... setting you might find it somewhat entertaining.

Everyone and their mom knows it, it's one of the most iconic Slices of Lifes (Slices of Life..?) ever made. Personally, I really like Tomo. She brightens everything up when she's around and I can't help but smile whenever she does her thing. I also really like Sakaki, but I find Chiyo annoying. The other characters are all also great in their own ways, even the minor ones. They're definitely Azumanga's strongest aspect.

There isn't much of a story, it's just the girls going to school and getting to know each other, but that's perfectly fine in my opinion. I recommend this to just about anyone, ... even if you don't normally read manga/watch anime. Good for all ages (mostly) and is pretty timeless.

Azumanga was, well outside of Lucky Star, my intro to true anime. Not the stuff 4kids put out. And wow, as a kid just entering middle school, I thought at the time I hit the jackpot. It was very relatable with a lot of it's real life personal issues and connections, but also extremely funny with tons of references that, well, most I didn't get at first *thanks omnibus that I got from Borders before it shut down*.

It's goofy, but realistic to a degree high school girl friendships (plus their also out there teachers) to a tee. Basically, it's what I think a lot of ... the similar slice of lives strived for.

The only issue I would have with recommending this manga to a new comer would be it's references, which a youth like me had no idea of when I first came across them. Thankfully I had the Omnibus version which had tons of notes that explained all the references, but it does make this manga not the greatest first start as what I jumped into, even if I loved every bit of it.

If you never read any 4 panel gag manga. Read this masterpiece. For me, this is the face of four panel gag manga.

Story
It pictures an everyday life of school girls and their teachers in an unnamed Japanese high school. Yes, it is so simple and that is the beauty of it.

Art
Its a four panel gag manga. So, the art is not that great but it suits the story and the format of the manga. In another word it's perfect.

Character
One word for all the characters in this manga: IMAGINABLE
Its not the story. Its not the art. Its the character that makes me fall in love with ... this manga.
That is 20 words. hehe.

Enjoyment
Its very enjoyable. It is very impressive how the author pull out so many comedies out of that simple plot.

Overall
The story is plain, the art is good, and the rich set of characters (especially Chiyo, Chiyo is very rich) make this manga very enjoyable and super duper fantastic. Read it you'll understand.

Slice-of-life manga following a group of girls growing up together through high school with some cameos from teachers and a random cat. It's a bit like Garfield or other newspaper comics in that a joke is made in 4 panels and there's a thin overarching storyline to hold everything together. It's rare these days to find ink and paper writing or art which makes you really laugh out loud but that is what Azumanga gets you to do again and again and again.

It must be at least 5 years since I've read it and I still remember the characters and some of the randomer/crazier gags. ...

Besides the humour, the author/illustrator also does a good job of building relationships between the characters throughout the 4 volumes. If high school is already in the distant (or recent) past for you, this will make you miss all the great times you spent with friends and nostalgic for the freedom of youth.

It's the earlier comedy manga from Kiyohiko Azuma but not as funny or clever as Yotsuba. The humour relies more on the traditonal young girls in school type that's been overdone in anime & manga, the funniest character was probably the pervert teacher. The art isn't nearly as good as in Yotsuba and the cast isn't as lovable, I didn't find myself getting attached to them.

Still it's got some decent jokes and there are far worse attempts at comedy out there so you could do worse than Azumanga Daioh. It has the same uplifting happy feeling that Yotsuba has which is a point in ... it's favour.