Azumanga Daioh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Azumanga Daioh
Azumanga Daioh
あずまんが大王
(Azumanga Daiō)
Genre Seinen, Comedy, High School, Slice of Life
Manga
Authored by Kiyohiko Azuma
Publisher Flag of Japan Mediaworks
Flag of Canada Flag of United States ADV Manga
Serialized in Dengeki Daioh
Original run February 1999 – June 2002
No. of volumes 4
TV anime :
Azumanga Daioh THE ANIMATION
Directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori
Studio J.C.STAFF
Network Flag of JapanTV Tokyo
Flag of South Korea Tooniverse
Original run April 8, 2002 – September 30, 2002
No. of episodes 26
Web anime : Azumanga Web Daioh
Directed by Fumiaki Asano
Studio Chara-ani.com
Original run December 28, 2000
No. of episodes 1
Related works

Wallaby, Yotsuba&!

Azumanga Daioh (あずまんが大王 Azumanga Daiō?) is a manga that was written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma, released in 1999. It was adapted into an anime, Azumanga Daioh: the Animation that was aired in 2002 in Japan.

Originally published in the magazine Dengeki Daioh, [1] Azumanga Daioh was drawn as a series of four-panel comic strips called yonkoma. Yonkoma are superficially similar to anthologies of Western newspaper comic strips, the primary difference being that yonkoma have a vertical rather than horizontal layout.

The anime, which aired from April 8, 2002 until September 30, 2002, was produced by J.C.Staff[2] and was broadcast on TV Tokyo, TV Aichi, TV Osaka and AT-X[3] in five minute segments every weekday, and as a 25 minute compilation each weekend. Thus there are 130 five minute episodes which can alternatively be seen as 26 episodes, each 25 minutes in length. These episodes were released on VHS and DVD by Starchild Records.[4] As the compilations were the only versions to include the title and credits sequences, these versions are the ones released on home video. The individual five-minute segments can be distinguished from one another by their retaining their individual titles for the compilation versions.

There were two other episodes: The Very Short Azumanga Daioh Movie, a six minute trailer released to movie theatres to publicize the upcoming television series, and Azumanga Web Daioh, a pilot episode under four minutes in length that appeared on the official Japanese Azumanga Daioh website for a limited time. [5] Azumanga Web Daioh was originally intended to gauge whether there was enough interest to warrant creating a web-released series version of the manga; overwhelming demand resulted in the decision to abandon the original web-release plan in favor of television release. As a pilot, it featured different voice actors and music from the regular series.

In the United States, the anime was released on both a six DVD volume set September 9, 2005 and later a five DVD volume "Thinpak" set by ADV Films.[6] The sixth DVD volume included The Very Short Azumanga Daioh Movie. The manga was published in English by ADV Manga.[7] The two soundtracks to the anime were released in the United States by Geneon.[8]

After the end of the animated series, a hoax of a live-action version of the show was announced to be created by the Tokyo Broadcasting System and Suntory which would be named either Azudorama Da Yo! or Azumanga Daioh: The Drama. Professional-looking promotional material and photos were prepared and presented on the internet with "actresses" who resembled their animated counterparts with a fair degree of likeness.[9]

Contents

[edit] Title

The title of the series has no particular significance to the story. "Azumanga" is a portmanteau of "Azuma" (the name of the series' creator) and "manga", while "Daioh" comes from the magazine in which it was originally published, Dengeki Daioh.[1] Daioh is mentioned at the end of episodes, during the next episode previews, used in context to mean "king," or "great king".

The name "Azumanga" is the general term for Kiyohiko Azuma's works (illustrations and comics) as well.[10] The titles of two work collections published in 1998 and 2001 containing official comics of Pioneer animations[11] were Azumanga and Azumanga 2.[12] Azumanga was published in the form of a reduced-size edition later, called Azumanga Recycle.[13]

[edit] Synopsis

The Azumanga Daioh manga is short, totaling four volumes. Both the manga and the anime follow everyday Tokyo life[14] through a Japanese high school which is never explicitly named. The audience follows the trials and triumphs of six girls: Sakaki's obsession with cute animals, Chiyo's struggle to fit in with an age group far above her own, Osaka's perspective on the world. and Yomi's patience with a playful best friend, Tomo, whose energy is rivaled only by her total lack of sense, and Kagura's efforts towards sports, school, and her friends.

Azumanga Daioh spans three years in which accounts of tests, culture festivals and athletic events are seen at the school. After school life plays a role in the story at the nearby shopping district and Chiyo's large house. Chiyo's summer home on the coast, an hour-long drive from Tokyo and the nearby theme park, Magical Land, are seen as places visited between school terms.

Azumanga Daioh generally follows everyday life but the series is occasionally marked by bursts of surrealism and absurdity, such as in an episode featuring the characters' New Year's dreams.

There are slight differences between the manga and the anime, such as the occasion when Yukari and Miss Kurosawa go out in episode three.[15] Due to Azumanga Daioh's straightforward premise there are few outright changes between the manga and the anime, though some jokes simply could not be adapted to an animated format and were either changed significantly or excised completely. In the first manga volume, Osaka looks noticeably different from the anime and the succeeding volumes of the manga. In the same vein, Sakaki's initial unapproachable demeanor in the comic is downplayed for the television format.

[edit] Characters

Further information: List of Azumanga Daioh characters
The main characters. From left to right: Sakaki, Kagura, Chiyo, Tomo, Yomi and Osaka
The main characters. From left to right: Sakaki, Kagura, Chiyo, Tomo, Yomi and Osaka

Four of the girls were included in Newtype Magazine's top 100 anime heroines of 2002: Osaka was awarded 7th, Chiyo 11th, Sakaki 21st, and Yomi 78th. Together they made Azumanga Daioh the second most popular series of 2002 for female characters.[16]

Character profiles are given in Western order, with the surname after the given name.

Chiyo Mihama (美浜 ちよ Mihama Chiyo)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English)

Chiyo is a child prodigy. The series humorously explores the consequences[17] of her being skipped five grades to tenth grade (freshman in Japanese high school). Her lack of stature in comparison to her classmates' leads to a lack of confidence, particularly in physical pursuits where she feels that she is a burden. Others in the story are jealous not only of her intellect, but of her family wealth as well. The graphic rendering of Chiyo's ponytails later allowed for several visual gags in both the manga and anime, usually as flying wings in Osaka's daydreams. At home, she can frequently be found in the company of her enormous dog, Tadakichi.
Tomo Takino (滝野 智 Takino Tomo)

Voiced by: Chieko Higuchi (Japanese), Mandy Clark (English)

Tomo is extremely energetic and competitive, despite being nonathletic and a slacker. She tends to irritate everyone around her, especially Yomi, who has been her classmate since elementary school. Tomo's character is extremely impulsive and never considers nor cares about the consequences of anything she says or does, except on the occasions when Tomo has actually been inspired to concentrate on something.
Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara (水原 暦 Mizuhara Koyomi)

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Nancy Novotny (English)

A grade-school friend and general antagonist of Tomo's, Yomi, as she is commonly known, is the title's voice of reason, carrying herself as the most mature and serious of the group. Though smart and athletic, she is constantly dissatisfied with herself due to her weight and is always trying various diets in an effort to become thinner. Yomi has another weakness of being an awful singer, but karaoke is one of her favorite pastimes. While usually functioning as Tomo's "straight man", she sometimes manifests a rather cruel sense of humor, such as when she uppercuts Tomo when she is frustrated with her.
Sakaki (榊 Sakaki)

Voiced by: Yu Asakawa (Japanese), Christine Auten (English)

Tall, soft-spoken Sakaki is uncomfortable with her height, and her busty physique. Because she is shy, she speaks seldomly and her reticence is misinterpreted as mysterious, or cool. She is naturally athletic but she has no real interest in sports. In contrast to what the other students think of her, Sakaki is, in reality, an emotionally sensitive person who holds a secret longing for cute things. She loves cats, but the neighborhood cats dislike her and her parents do not allow cats in their house. Sakaki is friends with Chiyo and is glad to find out that Chiyo's dog, Mr. Tadakichi, will let her pet him. Sakaki's friendship with Chiyo is an irony of circumstances, as both characters yearn to be like each other. Later in the series, Sakaki befriends a Yamamaya cat that had lost its mother and had sought out Sakaki.
Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga (春日 歩 Kasuga Ayumu, also known as "Osaka" 大阪 Ōsaka)

Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

Ayumu is a transfer student from Osaka. Tomo quickly chose for her the nickname "Osaka" contrary to Ayumu's behavior, which is different from the "typical" Osakan. Ayumu lacks the energy or motivation to dispute the nickname. She appears slow but she merely has a mind that works differently than other people, prone to daydreaming, absentmindedness, and non-sequiturs, but exceptional at answering very specific types of riddles. She is easily amused by things that normal people would consider bizarre. With the arrival of Kagura, the "Bonkuraazu" are formed along with Tomo and Osaka, their name for a trio of underachievers.
Kagura (神楽 Kagura)

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)

Kagura is a later acquaintance, joining Yukari's class in the second year. Yukari selects her as a ringer to win the school athletic competitions. Originally in Nyamo's class and with little success in studies, she devotes her time to the swim team but is an all-around good athlete. She is genuinely nice to her classmates but is competitive and has a slight obsession with Sakaki, with whom she sees as an athletic rival due to Sakaki being a naturally gifted athlete with no training at all. Like Sakaki, she is quite busty, but tomboyish. Like Tomo, Kagura tends to be quite impulsive in her actions but in contrast to Tomo, keeps it under control. Kagura has a sensitive side, which the audience sees in episode six of the anime following her homeroom's defeat in the sports festival, and the final episode following graduation.
Yukari Tanizaki (谷崎 ゆかり Tanizaki Yukari), also known as Yukari-sensei

Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)

Yukari is the girls' English and homeroom teacher (class 3), but a teacher with very unconventional methods and a rather close relationship with the class. Her students are casual enough to call her by her first name: Yukari-sensei, and some of them even use the very informal and intimate name and title of Yukari-chan. She can be moody and, like Tomo, is incredibly impulsive and has a tendency not to think things through. Yukari has a rivalry with Minamo and attempts to prove that she is the superior teacher. Yukari is a reputedly bad driver, as evidenced by the horrid condition of her car the students' have lovingly dubbed "the Yukari-mobile".
Minamo Kurosawa (黒沢 みなも Kurosawa Minamo), also known as Kurosawa-sensei or "Nyamo" にゃも Nyamo

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

Minamo is a gym teacher at the girls' school. In the girls' first year of high school, she was the homeroom teacher of class 5. During their last two years, she was the homeroom teacher of class 2. She is an old high school friend and rival of Yukari. Popular with the students, Minamo is nicer and in greater control of herself than Yukari, but, in moments of weakness, Minamo has proven that she can be just as vulnerable to losing control as is Yukari. The two have arguments but Minamo does try her best to take the high road and not let Yukari's antics get to her and tries to help Yukari out and become a better teacher.

Apart from the main cast there are several minor characters, including a creepy male teacher with an abnormal obsession with teenage girls (Kimura-sensei), another girl (Kaorin) in the same grade who seems to have a crush on Sakaki (the most distant of the main characters) and a friend of hers with a relatively small role in the story (Chihiro).

[edit] Reception

In Japan, the Azumanga Daioh manga received a Jury Recommendation during the sixth Japan Media Arts Festival in 2002.[18]

English reviewers have commented positively about Azumanga Daioh. Fred Patton of Animation World Magazine, has described Azumanga Daioh as "delightfully witty and even an educational window onto what Japanese high school life is really like." [19] Chris Beveridge of Anime on DVD, stated that "There's a lot to laugh with here and a cast of characters that grow quickly on you as you start finding those you favor and those you don't." [20] Andrew Shelton from Anime Meta explains that "The character of the girls (the only male is the rather creepy Kimura-sensei who has a, thankfully, minor role) is extremely well brought out. The superb observation, and ability to capture expression, makes the anime incredibly fun to watch in addition to meeting the story requirements. The action, and very rich comedy, are also wonderfully represented. There is just so much meaning, and charm, in even the most minor of expressions."[21] The licensed manga had sales that reached top 100 lists on occasions[22] and was included in the top 25 manga recommended by International Correspondence in Retailers Guide to Anime/Manga. [23]

[edit] Media

Screenshot of a scene from the opening of Azumanga Daioh
Screenshot of a scene from the opening of Azumanga Daioh
Main article: List of Azumanga Daioh media

[edit] Music

Original Soundtrack

  • Music by: Masaki Kurihara

Opening theme

  • "Soramimi Cake" (空耳ケーキ soramimi kēki translated as "Cake of Mishearing". Translated by ADV as "Fancy Hearing Cake")

Ending theme

  • "Raspberry Heaven"
    • Performed by: Oranges & Lemons
    • Music by: Yōko Ueno, lyrics by Aki Hata.

Ending theme for "Short Movie"

  • "Sarabai"
    • Performed by: Tomoko Kaneda
    • Music by: Hikaru Nanase, lyrics by Masaaki Taniguchi

[edit] Video games

There is an Azumanga Daioh PlayStation video game, Azumanga Donjyara Daioh, which is a puzzle game similar to mahjong.[24]

Azumanga Daioh Advance was released for the Game Boy Advance[24], taking the form of a simplistic collectible card game (or CCG).

An arcade-only Puzzle Bobble spin-off was produced by Moss and Taito.[25] As well as featuring characters, graphics and sound-bytes from the series, the 2-player mode allowed each player to fire balls into the other player's arena, a feature not present in any other official Puzzle Bobble game.

[edit] References and notes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ a b Azumanga Daioh (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
  2. ^ (Japanese) あずまんが大王（ストーリー. J.C.Staff production. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  3. ^ Azumanga Daioh at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2006-12-15
  4. ^ Azumanga Daioh on VHS and DVD. King Records. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  5. ^ Azumanga Web Daioh can no longer be downloaded from original website http://www.azumanga.tv
  6. ^ ADV DVD Store. ADV. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  7. ^ ADV Manga Store. ADV. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  8. ^ Anime Music - Azumanga Daioh. Geneon. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  9. ^ Azumanga Daioh: The Live-Action Hoax. The Anime Expressway. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  10. ^ (Japanese) Hideki Satomi. "「リサイクルの功罪　循環型社会の光と影……それは結局ただしいのか?」("Risaikuru no Kouzai Junkan Gata Shakai no Hikari to Kage ... ... Sore ha Kekkyoku Tadashii no Ka?"". Retrieved on 2006-08-13, a commentary by Hideki Satomi contained in Azumanga Recycle
  11. ^ The official comics of Pioneer animations included in two work collections published in 1998 and 2001 were Tenchi Muyo, Battle Athletes Victory, Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure, El-Hazard, Pretty Sammy, Serial Experiments Lain, Doki Doki Pretty League, and Forestall Army Corps
  12. ^ (Japanese) Azumanga 2 on Amazon.com. Accessed 2006-12-16.
  13. ^ (Japanese) Azumanga Recycle on Amazon.com. Accessed 2006-12-16.
  14. ^ In the manga it is never stated which city the girls live in, only implying it is neither Osaka, Nagoya, or Okinawa through conversations and events. The anime confirms that the series takes place in Tokyo.
  15. ^ Azumanga Daioh, Anime episode three differences from manga: In the anime version, Miss Kurosawa informs Yukari that she does not hold her chopsticks correctly. In the manga version, it is originally Mr. Kimura who informs her of this.
  16. ^ [April 2003] in Kimberly Gueire: Newtype USA (Magazine), 6, John Ledford. Retrieved on 2006-12-16. 
  17. ^ Case study: The Educational System in Japan. Accessed 2006-12-16.
  18. ^ Jury Recommended Works. Japan Media Arts Plaza. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
  19. ^ New from Japan: Anime Film Reviews. Animation World Magazine online. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  20. ^ Azumanga Daioh Vol. #1 (also w/box). Anime on DVD. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  21. ^ Azumanga Daioh. Anime Meta-Review. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
  22. ^ Top 100 manga. International Correspondence. Retrieved on 2006-12-16. and Top 100 manga. International Correspondence. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
  23. ^ Retailers Guide to Anime/Manga. International Correspondence. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
  24. ^ a b Related items: Azumanga Daioh. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  25. ^ (Japanese) Azumanga Daioh game. Moss. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/z/u/Azumanga_Daioh_5292.html"