Amuzanga Daioh =]

Info

Azumanga Daioh (あずまんが大王 Azumanga Daiō?, lit. Great King Azumanga) is a Japanese comedy manga written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma. It was published by MediaWorks in the magazine Dengeki Daioh from 1999 to 2002 and collected in four tankōbon volumes. It is drawn as a series of vertical four-panel comic strips called yonkoma and depicts the lives of a group of girls during their three years as high-school classmates.
It was adapted as an anime, Azumanga Daioh: the Animation, which was produced by J.C.Staff and aired from the week of April 8, 2002 until the week of September 30, 2002. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo, Aichi Television Broadcasting, Television Osaka, and AT-X in five-minute segments every weekday, then repeated as a 25-minute compilation that weekend, for a total of 130 five-minute segments collected in 26 episodes. The compilation episodes, which were the only versions to include the title and credits sequences, were released on VHS and DVD by Starchild Records; the five-minute segments can be distinguished by their individual titles.

Plot

Azumanga Daioh chronicles everyday life in an unnamed Japanese high school in Tokyo, following the trials and triumphs of six girls: reserved Sakaki's obsession with cute animals, Chiyo's struggle to fit in with girls five years older, Osaka's spacey nature and skewed perspective on the world, Yomi's aggravation at an annoying best friend, Tomo, whose energy is rivaled only by her lack of sense, and Kagura's efforts in sports and school. The story covers three years of tests, culture festivals, and athletic events at school, after-school life at the nearby shopping district, at Chiyo's large house, vacations spent at Chiyo's summer home on the beach and at Magical Land, a theme park. It is generally realistic in tone, marked by occasional bursts of surrealism and absurdity, such as Osaka's bizarre imaginings, Chiyo's ponytails being "unscrewed", and an episode featuring the characters' New Year's dreams.
The manga and anime follow the same story line, though there are differences in small details. Some jokes could not be dramatized as written and were either changed or excised completely. In the first manga volume, Osaka's appearance is noticeably different from in the anime and succeeding manga volumes. In the same vein, Sakaki's initial unapproachable demeanor in the manga is downplayed in the anime.

Characters

Chiyo Mihama
A child prodigy, also known as Chiyo-chan, who is considered amazingly cute by the other characters. Through her, the series humorously explores the consequences of skipping five grades to tenth grade (the first grade in Japanese high school). She is a target of jealousy due to her intelligence and wealthy family. Chiyo's twin ponytails were used in several visual gags in both the manga and anime, such as flying wings in Osaka's daydreams. Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English)
Tomo Takino
An extremely energetic and competitive girl, despite being nonathletic and a slacker. Tomo's character is extremely impulsive and rarely considers the consequences of anything. She is a selfproclaimed Lupin III fanatic.Voiced by: Chieko Higuchi (Japanese), Mandy Clark (English)
Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara
A grade-school friend and Tomo's general antagonist, Yomi as she is commonly known, is the title's voice of reason and straight man, carrying herself as the most mature and serious of the group. Though smart and athletic, she is constantly dissatisfied with herself due to her weight and is always trying various diets in an effort to become thinner. Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Nancy Novotny (English)
Sakaki
A tall, soft-spoken girl uncomfortable with her height and busty physique. Her reticence is misinterpreted as mysterious, or cool. She is naturally athletic but she has no real interest in sports. Sakaki is, in reality, an emotionally sensitive person who holds a secret longing for cute things. She loves cats, but the neighborhood cats dislike her and her parents do not allow cats in their house because her mother is allergic. She later finds an Iriomote Cat on their school field trip. When they leave Sakaki cries, but the cat follows her and Sakaki names the cat Maya. Chiyo later takes care of Maya for Sakai due to her mother's allergies. Voiced by: Yu Asakawa (Japanese), Christine Auten (English)
Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga
More popularly known by her nickname Osaka (大阪 Ōsaka?), Ayumu is a transfer student from Osaka. Tomo quickly chose for her the nickname "Osaka" contrary to Ayumu's behavior, which is different from what Tomo sees as the "typical" Osakan. Ayumu lacks the energy or motivation to dispute the nickname. She has a mind that works differently than other people, prone to daydreaming, absentmindedness, and non-sequiturs, but exceptional at answering very specific types of riddles. Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
Kagura
A girl who joins Yukari's class in the second year. Yukari selects her as a ringer to win the school athletic competitions. Originally in Nyamo's class and with little success in studies, she devotes her time to the swim team but is an all-around good athlete. She is genuinely nice to her classmates but is competitive and has a slight obsession with Sakaki, with whom she sees as an athletic rival due to Sakaki being a naturally gifted athlete with no training at all. She is also sensitive and prone to tears when she doesn't perform as well as she wants to, or at the thought of parting with her friends. Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)
Yukari Tanizaki
The girls' English and homeroom teacher (class 3), with very unconventional methods and a close relationship with the class. Her students are casual enough to call her by her first name: Yukari-sensei, and even use the very informal and intimate name and title of Yukari-chan. She can be moody and, like Tomo, is incredibly impulsive and has a tendency not to think things through. Yukari has a rivalry/friendship with Minamo and attempts to prove that she is the superior teacher. Yukari is known for being an absolutely horrible driver with a car beaten entirely with dents. Yukari's driving skills are responsible for Chiyo-chan developing an occasional phobia to riding in cars. Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
Minamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa
A gym teacher at the girls' school. In the girls' first year of high school, she was the homeroom teacher of class 5. During their last two years, she was the homeroom teacher of class 2. She is an old high school friend and rival of Yukari, who occasionally refers to her by an old nickname of Nyamo (にゃも Nyamo?), despite Minamo's wishes to the contrary. Popular with the students, Minamo is nicer and in greater control of herself than Yukari, but, in moments of weakness, Minamo has proven that she can be just as vulnerable to losing control as is Yukari. She likes to gossip about Yukari to the students, but doesn't do so because Yukari has blackmail material on Minamo from back when they were students. Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

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