Azumanga Daioh Volume 2

Azumanga Daioh #2 continues to sublimely balance the fluffy mixture of zany high-school comedy and pure unadulterated ‘cuteness’ that made the first volume such a fun and amusing experience. The oft laugh-out-loud humour exists firmly in the realms of ‘dream-like alternative’, effortlessly refusing to exclude or isolate any particular age-group with its unique brand of amusing situations.

We join the girls as they trudge through their busy first year of Japanese high-school. Notable events include Chiyo’s birthday party, a tightly contested school sports competition and even a surreal detour through some of the girl’s bizarre dreams- and some say school-life isn’t fun?

The eccentric school teachers come dangerously close to stealing the show again; especially the worryingly perverted Kimura-sensei – a stand out character who seems to enjoy taking his painful desperation to uncharted new heights; Kimura’s unique delivery of the classic ‘peeping Tom’ caricature forces some of the biggest laughs.

Ayumu ‘Osaka’ Kasuga is my favourite of the ‘core’ bunch at the moment; her off-beat, almost sleepy personality combined with a very inquizative nature helps her stand out like a sore thumb in comparison to other girls. I guess she is just a lot more fun to watch than the others; her very unorthodox, imaginative way of approaching situations seems to instantly command my attention.
But that’s not say that the other girls don’t have their own chances in the spotlight too. On the contrary, most take their individual moments to shine with enthusiasm – especially Sakaki, who’s obsession with cute little animals (cats in particular) is pushed to the very limits of what most would consider a healthy interest.

Azumanga Daioh is fast becoming a champion of the ‘cute-comedy’, but it must be weary to maintain a good balance between these two aspects of the show if it to continue to be such a damn fine watch. There are several extended scenes, often involving cute ickle kittens or something, that verge on becoming barf inducingly cute – in short, too cute.
Obviously, a key part of Azumanga Daioh has always been the large emphasis on all things sweet, but this has thus far been balanced well by some cold and witty humour. I felt like there were several scenes here that lost said balance and risked alienating viewers that aren’t so at home with such blatantly ‘fluffy’ aesthetics (like myself). Granted, this series’ is typically aimed at young women, so attention to such things shouldn’t be too surprising, but a lot of Azumanga’s success has thus far has been down to its ability to appeal to a wide range of people. It would be a shame if the writers lost sections of their audience by focussing too much on certain (aforementioned) specialized areas.

Finally, it’s worth adding that the emotional side of Azumanga Daioh is often played down in favour of the zany humour, but there are several memorable images to be found here that resound with a very warm sentimentality- effortlessly emphasizing the basic freedom and simple contentment of youth. Azumanga Daioh is certainly special in this sense, giving us a chance to feel something completely different for the characters other than just sheer slapstick amusement.

In Summary

Azumanga Daioh #2 is laced with a very off-beat, creative sense of humour; a genuinely funny and extremely weird experience that will leave an indelible mark on your mind.

Don’t let the high-school setting put you off, this is anything but a formulaic teen comedy. Each episode will unintentionally leave you on a cliff-hanger of addiction, desperate for another fix of Azumanga’s outrageously weird brand of humour.