Customer Reviews

Azumanga Daioh, Volume 2

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Chiyo-chan is the child prodigy who manages to shock the older girls with her knowledge of...just about everything.

Tomo is the crazy, hyperactive one who seems to exist only to annoy the hell out of everyone.

Sakaki is the quiet, athletic lone wolf who is idolized by every girl in the school...for pretty much no reason at all.

Osaka is the aloof, absentminded girl that gets fairly lousy grades, but occasionally comes forth with some sort of profound, life-changing statement.

Kagura is Sakaki's rival, determined to beat her in whichever way she can, although she rarely, if ever does.

Finally, Yomi is the only one of the bunch who is "normal" in any way, and thus, is the glue that binds the other 5 girls together.

This is high school in the world of Azumanga Daioh. I bought the first 2 volumes of this manga in April of 2004 at my local comic book/anime store, and I loved it. Azumanga Daioh doesn't really have a story; rather, it's a series of short, 4-panel comics (much like the funny pages in American newspapers) that portray the crazy high school adventures involving these 6 girls, and their equally crazy teachers: Miss Yukari and Miss Kurosawa ("let's go drinkin tonight'!") The humor in AD isn't really that obvious or accessible at first, but once you get it, you'll be hooked.

A few highlights to look for from the first 2 books: Osaka wondering what the "ho" in "heave-HO!" means ("Shut up and pull!"), the first appearance of Chiyo-chan's dad (one of the biggest "WTF?" moments in any anime ever), Miss Yukari throwing chopsticks at Miss Kurosawa after being shown the proper way to use them, Sakaki's miserable attempt at drawing a mascot, and Chiyo-chan and Osaka's equally miserable attempts at drawing pandas. ("This is no panda...")

In a way, the characters in Azumanga Daioh remind me of myself and my friends Tomo, Yomi, Osaka, and Kagura are me and 3 high school buddies, except we are all male, and thusly, nowhere near as hot as the girls in here...heh. Strangely enough, alot of people I've talked to about this think the exact same thing. It's a very relatable manga, perfect from anyone ages 14-18.

The anime series is equally well done, incase you were wondering.

Volume 2 of 4 of this series is just as entertaining as the first. The tales of Chiyo, Sakaki, Osaka and the gang continue as they encounter summer vacation, a new school year, and more wacky adventures.

This series follows a comic-strip format of usually 4 vertical panels. So those who love the sunday funnies will enjoy this, but those who are looking for an intense, complicated story will not.

Will Sakaki be able to pet a cat without it biting her? What is the secret behind Chiyo's pigtails? Who is the coolest teacher in the school? You'll have to read this to see if any more light is shed onto these questions (and for more, see the anime!)