Azumanga Daioh

These aren't your typical schoolgirls in sailor fuku...

Abstract
You've heard of the (in) famous manga series, now watch the anime! That's right folks, the manga with absolutely no plotlines becomes the anime with absolutely no plotlines! But, believe it or not, it works it a wacky, helter-skelter, completely out of nowhere way. The anime follows the exploits of Chiyo-chan, Yomi, Tomo, Osaka (Yeah, that's what they call her) and Sakaki as they meander through their high school days in various and sundry adventures. Throw in their completely inept, scatterbrained and lazy-as-sin (But still likeable) teacher Yukari-sensei, Yukari's fellow teacher and friend/rival Kurosawa, a lot of killer cats and you've got yourself a series that'll having you laughing, rolling your eyes and, in some places, scratching your head as to what's going on.
The art remains close to the original cartoony manga work put out by Azuma Kiyohiko. No attempts at photo-realism (Or pencil-realism as it were) here folks. But the exaggerated artwork matches the feel of the manga and fits in well with the spirit of the show. The music used in the series won't exactly sell CD's, but it serves its purpose well for setting up situations, most of them comedic and downright ridiculous. I will say though that the opening and ending themes stay in your head, if for no other reason then they're just weird. This is definitely a show you want to watch after a hard day at work or school when you don't want to tax your brain, and you'll feel better after watching it. Azumanga Daioh earns its gold.

Background
Somewhere in Tokyo (Yeah, like it's gonna be set anywhere else?) there exists a high school where the most incompetent, apathetic and downright worst teacher you've ever seen set foot in a classroom works. She goes by the name of Yukari Tamazaki, and her students respect her SO little (And with good reason, I might add) that they address her by her given name, Yukari, instead of Tamazaki. Then again, considering Yukari's personality, I doubt it would make much difference to her if they called her 4-letter words...

Anywhoo, you've got a bunch of girls in her class that seem to be, for better or for worse, Yukari-sensei's favorites: There's Chiyo, the 10-year old genius. There's Yomi, the bespectacled, body-conscious one with at least a modicum of common sense. There's Tomo who's so genki it's painful to watch her. There's Ayumu the space cadet who, hailing from Osaka, gets the oh-so-original nickname of Osaka, and of course there's Sakaki: The tall, dark and silent type. Everyone's blithely convinced that Sakaki gets into gang fights every day, as she always shows up at school with bandages on her hands and head, but that just a symptom of a very deep, dark secret Sakaki has. Seems she's got a real soft spot for anything kawaii, especially cats, and she'll go out of her way to pet one. It's just too bad that cats don't like her nearly as much, hence the bandages.

As I mentioned, there's really not a plot per se in the series. Each episode is really just a collection of short stories lasting about 5 minutes each that details the girls and their daily occurrences. And with the exception of one male teacher, Kimura-sensei, there are no recurring male characters in the show, which is a little surprising. It does take a while to adjust to the pacing and setup of the show since it's so atypical, but once you do you're in for a fun ride.

Materials and Methods
Azumanga Daioh originally ran as a collection of 4-panel manga stories in Dengeki Daioh done by Azuma Kiyohiko before it was made into an anime series. Part of the manga's charm was that despite, or maybe because of, its attempt to try to tell a story in just 4 panels, you couldn't have a lot of long, drawn-out storylines. You had to jump straight into the action, and it worked well. There was just no room to waste in the manga, and the short stories that make up each episode have the same feel, so in that sense the anime series is very faithful to the manga. Studio Genco, the same folk who produced the acclaimed animated movie Millennium Actress and co-produced Onegai! Teacher produced the Azumanga anime. The art looks a great deal like that from the manga, however it is a little hard to tell the girls apart at times, because of couple of them happen to have very similar haircuts. In a couple of spots the only way I could tell them apart was because of their respective seiyuu.

Speaking of seiyuu, this series has a mix of old vets as well as newbies. Experienced pros like Aya Hisakawa as Kurosawa (Skuld from Ah! Megamisama, Kero-chan from CCS) and Akiko Hiramatsu as Yukari-sensei (Nene from BGC, B.T. from .hack//sign) share the stage with greenhorns like Rie Tanaka as Yomi (Chii from Chobits) and Yuu Asakawa as Sakaki (Priss from BCG 2040, Motoko from Love Hina). The pros are pros of course, and Miss Asakawa is starting to make a career of voicing girls who never speak. Both the opening theme (Imagination Cake) and the closing theme (Raspberry Heaven) are sung by, I kid you not, a duo calling themselves Oranges & Lemons. Both themes strike me as slightly discordant and kinda wacky, but in both cases that seems to be intentional. One thing's for sure; you won't be forgetting them anytime soon.

Results
If nothing else, Azumanga Daioh would get points for originality and trying something different. I mean, how many other series go into it with the attitude "Plot? We don't need no stinkin' plot!" But all the disparate pieces of the puzzle come together to make a very fun and enjoyable viewing experience. Whether it's Sakaki constantly getting her hand chomped on by a cat, Yukari's constant fighting with Kurosawa or Kimura's lecherous leanings, you'll be laughing, shaking your head and rolling your eyes. The comedy here's not as over the top as, say, Excel Saga. Azumanga's humor comes from taking everyday situations and pushing them past the point of believability, much like a situation comedy would.

Sometimes the 5-minute stories are self-contained, sometimes a couple are strung together with a common thread, but you never really know what's coming next. I mean, there are very few series out there than can take something as ordinary as walking to school and turn it into a workable gag. One of the few complaints I had in the series though was the lack of boys in it. I mean, these are high school girls. Wouldn't at least SOME of them be interested in the opposite sex? You don't have to turn this series into a romantic comedy, but a few fumbling attempts to speak to the boys or vice versa really could've upped the laugh factor in my opinion.

For an ensemble piece, each character gets ample screen time and you come to know each fairly well, which is nice. I'm sure most people will claim Sakaki as their favorite, but I think that without Yukari-sensei the series wouldn't be nearly as funny as it is. It just adds a new twist to the comedy when the one person whom you'd think the girls could count on for guidance and wisdom turns out to be even less mature then they are. Definitely not the kind of girl you take home to mom. Definitely.

Conclusions
Azumanga Daioh isn't going to win any accolades for deep philosophical thought, but that's not its goal. It's just good old slapstick, something you can just turn on and watch while turning your brain off, which we all need sometimes. The characters have different enough personalities that they play off each other well and provide a chance for the viewer to be able to pick a favorite. The gags in the series are varied enough to keep the ball rolling without getting old, and they're going to find someway to put a new spin on things. Without a doubt, Azumanga Daioh gets a Gold.