Azumanga Daioh: The Animation

Synopsis

Azumanga Daioh chronicles everyday life at an unnamed high school in Japan. In the manga, the setting is never named. The anime is specifically set 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. The manga and anime follow the same story line, though there are differences in small details. For example, when Yukari and Nyamo go out for dinner in episode three of the anime, Nyamo tells Yukari she is not holding her chopsticks correctly; in the manga version, it is Mr. Kimura who tells her this. In the first manga volume, Osaka's appearance is noticeably different from in the anime and succeeding manga volumes. This might be because the broadcast of the anime started when the manga series was nearly finished, and the drawing style had already changed since the beginning. Hence, the anime was drawn in a style more similar to that of the later manga volumes than the early ones. In the same vein, Sakaki's initial unapproachable demeanor in the manga is downplayed in the anime.