"Azumanga Daioh" is a whimsical comedy based on the antics of a group of schoolgirls, beginning when they start high school. Although the series is based off of a manga (Japanese comic, typically serialized like American comic books), this manga is a collection of daily, four-panel comic strips. In that spirit, the TV series was initially divided into five-minutes episodes, collected five at a time into one full, half-hour program. There are a total of twenty-six, half-hour programs. The second DVD contains five episodes: "Sports Fest, 2nd Year", "Culture Fest, 2nd Year", End of 2nd Semester and Christmas", "Koyomi´s Ordeals", and "One Spring Night".
There are six main girls to the story. The first is Chiyo, a ten-year-old girl who was smart enough to skip five grades to get into high school. The second is Sakaki, a tall girl whose discomfort with her height, athletic ability, and physical development renders her shy and standoffish. Yomi is generally the voice of reason, especially to her friend Tomo´s thoughtless antics. The fifth, Kagura, joins the rest of the girls at the start of year two.
The final character is Ayumu Kasuga, although one could be forgiven for not remembering her name. Her classmates almost immediately nickname her "Osaka", as that´s the region of Japan she´s from. Unlike a typical Osakan, Ayumu is not loud or boorish. On the contrary, she´s quiet, spaces out almost continuously, and loves complicated puns. Although Ayumu doesn´t like her nickname, she´s simply too out of touch to fight it. Even the teachers call her Osaka.
The second term comes and goes on this disc. Because this is Japanese high school, there´s only one year left before graduation. In Japan, high school begins at what would be our sophomore year Time just seems to pass so quickly in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s a little disappointing to think that the series ends. Although the cover features Yomi, I´m not sure more than one episode on this volume gave her a significantly greater screen time than any other character.
The episodic nature of the show makes me think of somebody reminiscing on their high school days from years and years down the road. Maybe I think that just because this year is my tenth-year high school reunion. My infamously-poor memory only has short vignettes from my high school years. Like the scenes in "Azumanga Daioh", I remember little of nothing of my time in class, instead remembering the funny or exciting times.
There are boys in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s just that none of them are central to any plot. Whatever other good qualities they might have, the boys uniformly worship Mr. Kimura, a lecherous teacher. In spite of the many good deeds he commits outside of school, Mr. Kimura openly plots to get into the girls´ swim practice and bemoans his inability to get into their locker room. Luckily, the girls don´t have much trouble keeping Mr. Kimura contained.
The very first episode on this disc has a great treat; the viewer gets to meet the creepy teacher´s, Mr. Kimura´s, family. You can´t guess what his wife looks like.
Because of the show´s roots, laughs come hard and fast. The beginning of each five-minute bit has its own title. I think each bit contains somewhere between 1-3 strips, judging by the number of punch lines.
There are six main girls to the story. The first is Chiyo, a ten-year-old girl who was smart enough to skip five grades to get into high school. The second is Sakaki, a tall girl whose discomfort with her height, athletic ability, and physical development renders her shy and standoffish. Yomi is generally the voice of reason, especially to her friend Tomo´s thoughtless antics. The fifth, Kagura, joins the rest of the girls at the start of year two.
The final character is Ayumu Kasuga, although one could be forgiven for not remembering her name. Her classmates almost immediately nickname her "Osaka", as that´s the region of Japan she´s from. Unlike a typical Osakan, Ayumu is not loud or boorish. On the contrary, she´s quiet, spaces out almost continuously, and loves complicated puns. Although Ayumu doesn´t like her nickname, she´s simply too out of touch to fight it. Even the teachers call her Osaka.
The second term comes and goes on this disc. Because this is Japanese high school, there´s only one year left before graduation. In Japan, high school begins at what would be our sophomore year Time just seems to pass so quickly in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s a little disappointing to think that the series ends. Although the cover features Yomi, I´m not sure more than one episode on this volume gave her a significantly greater screen time than any other character.
The episodic nature of the show makes me think of somebody reminiscing on their high school days from years and years down the road. Maybe I think that just because this year is my tenth-year high school reunion. My infamously-poor memory only has short vignettes from my high school years. Like the scenes in "Azumanga Daioh", I remember little of nothing of my time in class, instead remembering the funny or exciting times.
There are boys in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s just that none of them are central to any plot. Whatever other good qualities they might have, the boys uniformly worship Mr. Kimura, a lecherous teacher. In spite of the many good deeds he commits outside of school, Mr. Kimura openly plots to get into the girls´ swim practice and bemoans his inability to get into their locker room. Luckily, the girls don´t have much trouble keeping Mr. Kimura contained.
The very first episode on this disc has a great treat; the viewer gets to meet the creepy teacher´s, Mr. Kimura´s, family. You can´t guess what his wife looks like.
Because of the show´s roots, laughs come hard and fast. The beginning of each five-minute bit has its own title. I think each bit contains somewhere between 1-3 strips, judging by the number of punch lines.
"Azumanga Daioh" is a whimsical comedy based on the antics of a group of schoolgirls, beginning when they start high school. Although the series is based off of a manga (Japanese comic, typically serialized like American comic books), this manga is a collection of daily, four-panel comic strips. In that spirit, the TV series was initially divided into five-minutes episodes, collected five at a time into one full, half-hour program. There are a total of twenty-six, half-hour programs. The second DVD contains five episodes: "Sports Fest, 2nd Year", "Culture Fest, 2nd Year", End of 2nd Semester and Christmas", "Koyomi´s Ordeals", and "One Spring Night".
There are six main girls to the story. The first is Chiyo, a ten-year-old girl who was smart enough to skip five grades to get into high school. The second is Sakaki, a tall girl whose discomfort with her height, athletic ability, and physical development renders her shy and standoffish. Yomi is generally the voice of reason, especially to her friend Tomo´s thoughtless antics. The fifth, Kagura, joins the rest of the girls at the start of year two.
The final character is Ayumu Kasuga, although one could be forgiven for not remembering her name. Her classmates almost immediately nickname her "Osaka", as that´s the region of Japan she´s from. Unlike a typical Osakan, Ayumu is not loud or boorish. On the contrary, she´s quiet, spaces out almost continuously, and loves complicated puns. Although Ayumu doesn´t like her nickname, she´s simply too out of touch to fight it. Even the teachers call her Osaka.
The second term comes and goes on this disc. Because this is Japanese high school, there´s only one year left before graduation. In Japan, high school begins at what would be our sophomore year Time just seems to pass so quickly in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s a little disappointing to think that the series ends. Although the cover features Yomi, I´m not sure more than one episode on this volume gave her a significantly greater screen time than any other character.
The episodic nature of the show makes me think of somebody reminiscing on their high school days from years and years down the road. Maybe I think that just because this year is my tenth-year high school reunion. My infamously-poor memory only has short vignettes from my high school years. Like the scenes in "Azumanga Daioh", I remember little of nothing of my time in class, instead remembering the funny or exciting times.
There are boys in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s just that none of them are central to any plot. Whatever other good qualities they might have, the boys uniformly worship Mr. Kimura, a lecherous teacher. In spite of the many good deeds he commits outside of school, Mr. Kimura openly plots to get into the girls´ swim practice and bemoans his inability to get into their locker room. Luckily, the girls don´t have much trouble keeping Mr. Kimura contained.
The very first episode on this disc has a great treat; the viewer gets to meet the creepy teacher´s, Mr. Kimura´s, family. You can´t guess what his wife looks like.
Because of the show´s roots, laughs come hard and fast. The beginning of each five-minute bit has its own title. I think each bit contains somewhere between 1-3 strips, judging by the number of punch lines.
There are six main girls to the story. The first is Chiyo, a ten-year-old girl who was smart enough to skip five grades to get into high school. The second is Sakaki, a tall girl whose discomfort with her height, athletic ability, and physical development renders her shy and standoffish. Yomi is generally the voice of reason, especially to her friend Tomo´s thoughtless antics. The fifth, Kagura, joins the rest of the girls at the start of year two.
The final character is Ayumu Kasuga, although one could be forgiven for not remembering her name. Her classmates almost immediately nickname her "Osaka", as that´s the region of Japan she´s from. Unlike a typical Osakan, Ayumu is not loud or boorish. On the contrary, she´s quiet, spaces out almost continuously, and loves complicated puns. Although Ayumu doesn´t like her nickname, she´s simply too out of touch to fight it. Even the teachers call her Osaka.
The second term comes and goes on this disc. Because this is Japanese high school, there´s only one year left before graduation. In Japan, high school begins at what would be our sophomore year Time just seems to pass so quickly in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s a little disappointing to think that the series ends. Although the cover features Yomi, I´m not sure more than one episode on this volume gave her a significantly greater screen time than any other character.
The episodic nature of the show makes me think of somebody reminiscing on their high school days from years and years down the road. Maybe I think that just because this year is my tenth-year high school reunion. My infamously-poor memory only has short vignettes from my high school years. Like the scenes in "Azumanga Daioh", I remember little of nothing of my time in class, instead remembering the funny or exciting times.
There are boys in "Azumanga Daioh", it´s just that none of them are central to any plot. Whatever other good qualities they might have, the boys uniformly worship Mr. Kimura, a lecherous teacher. In spite of the many good deeds he commits outside of school, Mr. Kimura openly plots to get into the girls´ swim practice and bemoans his inability to get into their locker room. Luckily, the girls don´t have much trouble keeping Mr. Kimura contained.
The very first episode on this disc has a great treat; the viewer gets to meet the creepy teacher´s, Mr. Kimura´s, family. You can´t guess what his wife looks like.
Because of the show´s roots, laughs come hard and fast. The beginning of each five-minute bit has its own title. I think each bit contains somewhere between 1-3 strips, judging by the number of punch lines.
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