Azumanga Daiou is a popular episodic comedy series which follows the fortunes of seven girls, two teachers, and one dog through the three years of high school. With its whimsical humour and pathos, it has been compared to the BBC comedy series \"Last of the Summer Wine\", only done with teenagers instead of old age pensioners.

Much of the story centers on Chiyo-chan, a ten year old genius who has been advanced five school years and whose combination of cuteness and superior academic ability inspires ambivalent feelings amongst her considerably older classmates.

Each character is sharply defined and a lot of the humour arises from our anticipation of their inevitable behaviour, from the narcoleptic Osaka who lives in a dream, to the manic Tomo whose boisterous behaviour always goes a little too far. The animation is minimal and at times repetitive, but the images are beautifully drawn with a refreshing look and equally pleasant background music.

A notable quality of Azumanga Daioh is that it treats its characters with respect, succeeding in celebrating the girls\\\\\\\' womanhood whilst avoiding cheesy fanservice: that\\\\\\\'s right, there are no panty shots in Azumanga Daioh! The girls may sometimes be sexy, or on occasion discuss subjects such as breast size, but they are not sex objects: they are female individuals, depicted on their own terms. This makes Azumanga Daioh appealing to male and female viewers alike.


©2003 Shez