Azumanga Daioh

by Kiyohiko Azuma

Book Overview

The best high school stories are simultaneously funny, warm, and endearing - but most importantly, the characters come alive on the page. Get to know the girls who set a new standard for the high school experience

Sakaki - strong and silent with a soft and fuzzy center
Chiyo - a towering intellect wrapped in a ten-year-old package
Tomo - The Mouth
Yomi - should stop eating if she wants to lose weight
Osaka - well, she's . . . different...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316077380
• ISBN13: 9780316077385
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: Yen Press
• Length: 688 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 6.1" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

A Classic

As a kid I would see this series online, and in stores. However, the pricing was too much for a 12 year old. Now it is 2019. In my local game store it was $12. On here I used my free book option, being only $3.99. The book is not quite what I expected, but is by no means bad. The story is a classic for a reason. Really funny, I thought it was going to be leaps and bounds more non sensical, but I enjoy its respective presentation of being sensical and funny. I enjoy the characters, the story reminds me of high school and growing up. I would have enjoyed this as a kid and still now as an adult. So worth 1.06 I paid. Super thick, over 600 pages. Really good and worth it. Especially now that It is so affordable. I thought was a run of the mill Moe story, but it is much less K-On and a lot deeper than I thought it would be.

Comic Strips!

The original Azumanga Daoih was written as comic strips, like the kinds of comics you'd see in a Sunday paper. So, that is the format for this manga. Well, most of the time, occasionally there is a full length chapter. If you aren't expecting to see comic strips, you might be a little surprised. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this format, and I much prefer the anime. If I was not familiar with the characters prior to reading this, I guarantee you, I would have been confused. The comic strip format allows for more confusion of what is going on also. While it does follow the anime, there are some parts that where left out, and that is what makes this book worthwhile to read. There are some instances where the jokes appear better as comics, but most of the time they aren't as funny as they are in the anime. I would recommend this manga to anyone that has watched the anime first. Then, I think the manga would be more worthwhile to read. This is the Omnibus, meaning that it has all four volumes combined into one huge 677 pages + of great humor!

Light hearted reading

Azumanga Daioh follows a group of highschool girls through school. Each strip is self-contained, but there are over-arching themes like vacations, sports festivals, etc. At first, it's hard to get the different characters separate because a few look the same in black and white, but eventually the girls' personalities come out through their action and dialog and makes it easier. Reading and re-reading these strips always makes me crack a smile. It's cute, light-hearted fun. My first time reading through this, I felt sad toward the end because I just didn't want the story to end.

Humorous, wacky and awesome manga!

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.

Economical way to enjoy Azumanga Daioh: The Manga

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.