When I had first read Azu Manga Daioh in its manga form, I found it to be a very cute and quite funny series. A few years later, my friend showed his anime DVD collection. Among all of his DVDs was the Azu Manga Daioh collection. I was surprised, especially since I had no idea that it was made into an animated series. Immediately I borrowed the DVDs and proceeded to watch them myself (and eventually buy them as well). One of the most notable things I observed was that the animated series and the manga were extremely close; you hardly ever find this with most series. I was happy to see that it was done this way.
The premise behind the series is simple: It is the story of a group of too-cute-for-kawaii high school girls and their antics in class, as well as the antics of their teachers. Every character is unique, and represents every archetype that you can come up with. Chiyo-chan (by far the cutest of them all) is a ten year-old who is a complete genius that skipped ahead to high school. She quickly partners the loveable Ayumu (also known as Osaka, where she is from). The hyper-energetic athletic one (who, ironically, is terrible at sports) is the “raging” Tomo, the quiet but intimidating Sakaki, Yomi the intellectual, and Yukari their insane English teacher. The interactions between everyone is what makes the series hilarious, and yet very cute at the same time.
Sylistically, the series is just adorable. The large heads, big cute eyes, and the easy going, flowing art is pleasing to the eye and helps the series along quite nicely.
The first DVD sports five episodes: Miss Yukari, Osaka’s Day, Nyamo, Pool Pool Pool, and Summer Break.
The first episode is a great introductory episode featuring all of the characters, and starts with the introduction of the super-cute Chiyo-chan. Also, this would be a good time to note that the episodes are split up into about five block shorts with sub-titles. Tomo makes a raging introduction in this episode as well showing just how energetic she is. At the end of the episode Osaka is introduced.
The second episode features many Osaka shorts, featuring the hilarious PE Volleyball short and the super cute hiccup short. The following short, everyone tries to find a solution to the raging hiccups. At the end, Osaka is amazed by Chiyo-chan’s pigtails and proceeds to think up hilarious possibilities.
The third episode features the second teacher, Nyamo-sensei who Yukari-sensei has a bitter rivalry with (despite Nyamo-sensei not really caring much either way). Their rivalry is similar to that of Tomo and Sakaki in the area of sports. This is a great episode for the interaction between these two teachers which is fully of hilarious situations.
The fourth episode introduces the creepy Kimura-sensei, who, well, is just absolutely creepy. But, it is creepy in a funny way, because of his outrageous comments and the poor girls’ reactions to them.
The fifth, and final episode, of the DVD ends like a school year would: with Summer Break. It is decided to meet up at people’s houses and it is later discovered that Chiyo-chan comes from a rather rich family and her summer house is the destination for the class this summer. And, as they need drivers, Nyamo-sensei and Yukari-sensei are dragged along. Yukari-sensei’s crazy driving is something to be seen to believed, and you have to feel sorry for the poor two that got picked to go with her. The episode ends with school beginning again, which is a perfect way to finish off the DVD.
This DVD is the perfect DVD to own, rent or buy, just to try the series out. You get a feel for the characters and the jokes. Also, if you continue with the series, there will be references back to later episodes which you will want to make sure you see! A definite must-buy!
Released: July 24, 2003 