Azumanga daiô

This anime is a very significant and unique show. In other words, cool. I loved it. It featured a bunch of laughable and lovable school girls (and a few teachers) and with an anime with school girls, you'd expect romance, drama, and even that magical girl stuff from Sailormoon. Well. This one doesn't have any of those which is a good thing. That's what makes it great. Even though the episodes were kinda of short, it was so great and funny, that you'd want to see it over and over again. Recommended for anime fans, non-anime fans, and for those who are sick of Magical girl or harem shounen anime. Watch it. You know you wannna. I like that Chiyo and Sakaki and even that reckless yet cool driving Yukari-sensei.

this is definitely for me, for a long time, I've dwelled in complex & masterpiece anime like Bebop, Ghibi productions, Kenshin OAV, Jin Roh, Grave of Fireflies, Metropolis etc until at some point I realize these shows are "not entertaining" anymore since they make me think, they make me relate so deep into the characters, got emotionally drained even depressed.

Not in the case of azumanga daioh...

For me this show is just great, fun, gorgeous, sweet, cute, you name it. It even brings back some highschool memories, there isn't asingle episode where I can watch and not having a HUGE smile, and another smile, and another smile, and.... It sure is hard to pick any favourite character since they all make the show, but I'll go with Sakaki (the cool one with a soft spot), and the "impossible" bond setting with Kaorin is particularly sweet & hillarious heh heh

Recommended for those who want a change of atmosphere into a cute, funny, lighthearted show

Now, this is what I've been waiting for! An anime series without spells, heartless villains and destroyed world. Not that I don't like these either but it was about time to watch a simple, beautiful and amazingly funny story like Azumanga Daioh. There is no plot in this show, instead we get to see the everyday life of six girls with different characters throughout their three high-school years. Sounds boring but believe me, it's not. It's so funny, it's so weird and surreal at times, it's possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen. The voice cast fits perfectly (I prefer the Japanese voices, they are so much cuter!) and it has one of the greatest music scores I 've heard. Really, the music is so unique and distinctive, cheerful harmonicas and flutes, setting a great mood. it's also very touching and sweet at certain episodes. From all the characters I would say Osaka is the best, she will make you laugh hard with her weird personality.

I really hope more anime series like this will come in the near future.

definitely 10/10

I saw a trailer for Azumanga daioh and thought it was going to be childish nonsense. Admitedly the trailer only showed a modified version of the show's introduction sequence, rather than real footage from the show. Shame on the makers of the trailer, I say! Then I watched an episode of the show and was instantly hooked. This is probably one of the best comedy animes I've seen so far. While shows like Abenobashi or Excel Saga are funny in a zany way, Azumanga is funny in a more realistic way. As other reviewers have noted, there is no plot as such - it's more like a sitcom.

The characters seem very likable and all have their own characteristics. Some of the teachers also feature, and I think this gives the show an interesting perspective as you see that they just as quirky as the kids. (OK, perhaps MORE quirky than some of the kids).

One of the reasons this show has hooked me is that it is consistently funny. Some other shows I've seen have had a few episodes that were hilarious and a few that barely raised a smile. I think every episode of Azumanga has had me laughing out loud.

If you haven't seen this show because the trailer put you off, don't panic! Yes, there's a certain amount of cuteness (especially Chiyo), but the show is a lot of fun. But the Muppets demonstrated that cuteness doesn't mean it's only for kids.

Azumanga may not be suitable for young children because of some cuss words and slightly teenage/adult content (although children see that on TV before the watershed these days). Teenagers aren't likely to be too worried by any of that though.

This 37-year-old male gives Azumanga daioh 5 stars out of 5!

Azumanga Daioh (Hiroshi NISHIKIORI, 2002) (based on Kiyohiko AZUMA's comic strip of the same name)

Take the fundamental sweetness of the best of the "Peanuts" TV specials, mix it with the whacked out humor of "Calvin and Hobbes", add in some stylistic homages to Isao Takahata's films (the memory scenes of "Only Yesterday" and his neglected 1999 masterpiece "Our Neighbors the Yamadas") -- and you have anything but a routine anime series. (It also reminds me a bit of the quirky short-lived TV series "Square Pegs" from many years ago). The show follows the lives of seven girls (including one 10 year old genius who skipped middle school) and three teachers (two highly dysfunctional, one _mostly_ sane) through all three years of high school (that's how the system works in Japan). This is mostly side-splittingly funny, though it managed to evoke a few furtive tears before it ended. The characters are everything in this virtually plotless traversal of three years of school (and vacations). Although this series runs for 26 episodes, it ends all too quickly -- I was far from weary of the charming and loveable characters portrayed here. (The best term to describve the show is, of course, Japanese -- "kawai" which means not only ultra-cute but very loveable). This show was immensely popular in Japan, and has recently been licensed for release in the USA (thank you ADV).