Azumanga Daioh Omnibus Volume 1 (v. 1) [Paperback]

Kiyohiko Azuma (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Series: Azumanga Daioh | Publication Date: November 20, 2007

High school: a time of friends, memories... and biting cats? Leering teachers? And is that penguin carrying a tray?! Welcome to Azumanga Daioh, the acclaimed story from writer/illustrator Kiyohiko Azuma (Yotsuba&!) about the humor and wonder of teenage life. Join the brainy Chiyo-chan, spaced-out Osaka, over-the-top Tomo, soft-spoken Sakaki, hair-trigger Yomi and brash Kagura as they fumble their way toward graduation and the future, collected here for the first time in a single volume.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Four previously published volumes of this charmingly whimsical manga are assembled under one cover, collecting a huge number of four-panel strips and the occasional entry in more traditional comic style. Taken as a whole, the sheer volume of material builds a world that makes up for the slightness of the individual strips as we follow four high school girls to graduation. Each chapter, named for a month, focuses on typical events of the season, and the humor comes through a variety of approaches: physical comedy, contrasting expectations, goofy behavior, exaggerated literalism and the occasional dreamy surrealism. The girls have defining characteristics and hairstyles. The standout is brainy 10-year-old Chiyo, who closely resembles the title character from Azuma's later work Yotsuba&!. Meanwhile, the freedom of action of an incompetent teacher who inappropriately behaves like a student herself is shown as oddly attractive. The story line is very Japanese, with its emphasis on structure and school ritual. Some of the Americanizations, like having an Osaka student speak Brooklynese, are necessary but slightly jarring. The omnibus is an ideal presentation for the series and should bring new readers to the franchise. (Nov.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 686 pages
• Publisher: ADV Manga; Omnibus Ed edition (November 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413903649
• ISBN-13: 978-1413903645
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #889,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Economical way to enjoy Azumanga Daioh: The Manga, November 26, 2007

By 

Lance Vambridge "Lance" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Azumanga Daioh Omnibus Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

As a fan of Azumanga Daioh (the animation), I've been interested in reading the original manga, but the price of collecting all four volumes (around $30) was a barrier. When I saw that this Omnibus was much cheaper, I decided to buy it.

The manga itself deserves 5 stars, as Azuma is hilarious in his writing and drawing. Some of the jokes that fell a bit flat in the animation really shine in written form. Content-wise, this manga is great.

Moreover, the Omnibus has some slight improvements over the original manga. Some of the glaring inconsistencies present in the original manga have been fixed (e.g., Yukari is now an English teacher from start to finish, and Osaka's accent has been toned down). Also, the Omnibus has slightly larger pages, making the text easier to read.

However, the Omnibus' packaging is somewhat lacking. It is entirely black and white (unlike the original manga books, which had color inserts). There are still no translator's notes for volumes 1 and 2. Moreover, the translator's notes for volumes 3 and 4 refer to the original page numbers (and not the pages in the Omnibus), so a note for "page 13" may actually refer to page 505.

In sum, if you're looking for an economical way to enjoy the manga, the omnibus is a good buy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous, wacky and awesome manga!, December 16, 2007

By 

Hongster (Fort Lee, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Azumanga Daioh Omnibus Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

This is done by the same author of Yotsuba (and you know that it's going to be awesome). ADV decided to release all 4 volumes in one Omnibus edition and the paper is a larger print (a huge plus since I've owned omnibus edition that were the same size as a regular manga and it simply messes up the entire book). The price of all 4 volumes combined is around $40 but you can own all 4 in one book for around $20 and that's a great deal! (Unless you are the type of person who does not like hulling around a big book and would like to carry 4 small books instead).

The manga itself centers around 6 high school girls and their daily life in high school and pretty much that means your going to have a lot of funny moments. Of course the story does include high school teachers and other aspects of life other than life in high school, you will simply enjoy the life these characters go throughout the book. There has not been one panel (the book is written in a 4 panel comic strip) that I have found to be boring or redundant, although there were some panels that I didn't quite understand (simply because I am not very accustomed to Japanese culture). There will be some jokes that some may not understand because of the culture, but with this book you will be able to understand Japanese culture a lot more.

If you are a fan of the anime series, Yotsuba, or want a series that is light on content but very funny, pick up this series as you will not be disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Zany & madcap, but sometimes exausting to keep up with!, November 21, 2008

By 

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" (Whereever I go, here I am.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Azumanga Daioh Omnibus Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

If you love zany, madcap, & sometimes nonsensical humor, then this is the manga for you. If not, then you're better off looking elsewhere. The manga's delivery is in a day to day format, similar to a daily comic strip you'd find in the newspapers. In fact, that's pretty much how the manga was delivered in it's parent magazine, in one to two strip doses per magazine.

The manga surrounds a group of high school girls as they go through their day to day activities & social interactions. Most of the manga cliches are here, minus the romance. There's also the zany & strange, which also frequently pokes it's head into the series. Again, reading this all in one gulp isn't recommended. It's so strange & wierd at times that trying to read it all at once can get to be a bit of a chore! (I know, I tried.)

Overall, this big compilation is perfect for those who want to collect manga but are on a budget. The price is right, the manga is excellent, but... the layout of the book is somewhat wonky. This big brick of a book is a bit unwieldy to hold sometimes & makes me afraid for any future deterioration of the spine over time & future readings because of it's size. (Every time you open the book, the spine weakens. Over time the spine & glue will eventually break apart & pages will fall out. This is why so many large books have sewn in binding or remain in hardback.) Even so, it's still a deal at the price!

Manga: 4/5
Book layout: 3/5