Last week's post was met with a minor amount of upvotes and no comments, and I figured Phuks would shut down due to boycotts if I didn't post again, so here I am.
Azumanga Daioh was one of the first mangas I read, shortly after my very first one, which I believe was called Girl Got Game. Azumanga is primarily a comedy series, with a few dramatic scenes here and there, as well as some touching moments as well; it also has a slice of life style, as we follow several girls as they go through high school together in preparation for university and life in general. It might be the funniest manga I've read thus far.
Our cast of characters is fairly diverse and interesting. Fan favorite Sakaki is a tall, athletic girl, who is very quiet, intelligent, and loves cats. Yomi is intelligent as well, although she always seems to be trying to diet, and is sometimes childish, despite trying to act mature. Tomo is very active, loud, and stupid, and is always looking to crack a joke. Very early on, Ayumu, who is quickly renamed to Osaka because she moved from there, also joins the cast, and she's about as smart as Tomo, and seems to have her head in the clouds. Kagura is active, a member of the swim team, also struggles with class, considers Sakaki an athletic rival, and tries to stay upbeat. Finally Chiyo-chan, a much younger student who transferred in because of her extreme intelligence. She's extremely bright, helpful, and kind. A few minor characters finish out the bunch, primarily Ms. Yukari, their homeroom teacher, who is frequently late, sometimes sleeps during the classes she's supposed to teach, and is generally a selfish and terrible person, although she has some positive traits in there too.
The art is...well, it's passable. It's not great, but then the series is in 4-panel style framing, so great art is not needed. Despite the style of the artist, I actually like the format. I think it works well to provide the little glimpses of their everyday life that make it great, and the artist, Azuma Kiyohiko, will often string together several "strips" to create a longer conversation/story.
The humor is definitely the selling point of this series though, and he delivers strong here. Although it was slightly less funny on my most recent re-read, (but maybe that's because I had also watched the entire anime, available on Hulu, if you have it, shortly before), I think it's definitely there. The characters acting and re-acting off each other are what sells it, and their genuine relationships between the ones that are closest feel quite real, despite their sometimes exaggerated personalities or nature.
This is a great, humorous series that is very lighthearted and knows not to take itself too serious. If you're interested in reading it, you can find it here; again, an ad-blocker of your choice is recommend for visiting this site. Remember to go from right to left.
If you have Hulu, you can also find the anime on there as well; the anime has some bits that are not in the comic series, but also misses one or two bits as well, although I think they're mostly minor. I think I might slightly prefer the anime, since the color and improved art make it easier to distinguish characters, and my favorite episode, "One Summer Night", has stories that don't appear anywhere in the manga. But I can definitely recommend both for a pretty funny, easy-going time.
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