Azumanga Daioh

あずまんが大王

Manga8.428170 votes4 volumes · 69 chaptersFinished

ComedySlice of LifeCGDCTSchool

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About this title

Synopsis

Chiyo Mihama is a child prodigy who has skipped several grades to end up in high school. On her first day, she discovers that her class is full of eccentric individuals. Sakaki, who towers over Chiyo, is aloof and intimidating; Tomo Takino is loud and annoying; Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga is absentminded but great at solving riddles; Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara is obsessed with diets and loves karaoke despite her awful singing; and Kagura, who is a competitive tomboy. As the classmates become good friends over time, they experience their everyday lives together—things like school, studying, going on summer trips, and engaging in all kinds of shenanigans! [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Azumanga Daioh was published in English by ADV Manga from September 16, 2003, to April 6, 2004, and in a complete omnibus on November 20, 2007. Yen Press republished the series as a complete omnibus with new translations on December 15, 2009. It was also released in Brazilian Portuguese by NewPOP Editora from July 2014 to May 2015.

Published

Jan 18, 1999 to Mar 21, 2002

Authors

Azuma, Kiyohiko

External links

MyAnimeList page Wikipedia

MAL rank: #271
Members (MAL): 61,191
Favorites (MAL): 3,797

Related titles

Adaptation

Azumanga Daiou The Animation (anime)

Side Story

Azumanga Daioh: Hoshuu-hen

Other

Main characters

Ayumu Kasuga7604 fan favorites
External profile
Height: 156 cm Ayumu Kasuga is a transfer student from Osaka. Tomo, expecting her to act like the stereotypical Osakan—loud, exuberant and fond of jokes—chose for her the nickname "Osaka", although Ayumu's behavior could not be more different. Ayumu considers the name "slow" and "spacey", but she lacks the energy or motivation to dispute it. The nickname sticks so well that she is called Osaka by teachers and even in the class roster, to the point that no one remembers her real name. In the manga, Osaka mentions that she lived in Kobe when she was in elementary school and was born in Wakayama. Tomo, who says she doesn't know where Wakayama is, tells Ayumu to "just be Osaka". (Source: Wikipedia)
Sakaki1907 fan favorites
External profile
Height: 174 cm Sakaki is a quiet, stylish girl. Looking cool and distant, she's often seen staring out of the window. Being tall and well-endowed in both athletics and appearance, she's often admired by many girls in her school. Despite being tall, cool and aloof or distant, deep in her heart she wishes to be small, soft, and cute, like Chiyo-chan, but she perceives that she can't - because of her height. She loves cats and always attempts to be friendly with them, but often gets scratched and bitten in response. Her soft and girly side shows when she's drawing, talking and reading about cats, or when she's holding one.
Chiyo Mihama864 fan favorites
External profile
Chiyo Mihama , usually called Chiyo-chan, is a child prodigy, having skipped five grades to 10th grade (first year in Japanese high school) at the start of the series yet is still top of the class. Such grade-skipping would be unthinkable in Japan, and the series humorously explores its potential consequences. The other characters find Chiyo amazingly cute, but sometimes take advantage of both her youthfulness and her scholastic abilities. Her diminutive stature leads to her having a lack of confidence, particularly in sports where she fears she is a burden to others. Chiyo is frequently viewed with jealousy by fellow students, initially because of her intelligence, but later also because of the discovery that her family is exceedingly wealthy (they own an enormous mansion and a summer house which Chiyo invites her classmates to visit on several occasions). The stylistic rendering of Chiyo's pigtails allow for several visual gags in both the manga and anime: Osaka often imagines them to be flapping wings, or as entities independent of Chiyo herself. At home, she can almost always be found in the company of her enormous dog, Tadakichi-san. Of all of the girls, she is the only one who does not sit through college "entrance exams" as she intends to study overseas, possibly in America.
Tomo Takino795 fan favorites
External profile
Tomo Takino is extremely energetic and competitive, despite being nonathletic and a slacker at the same time. She tends to irritate everyone around her, especially Yomi, who has been her classmate since elementary school. Tomo's character is extremely impulsive and never considers nor cares about the consequences of anything she says or does. However, on the occasions when Tomo has actually been inspired to concentrate on something, she has demonstrated that she is quite capable. She succeeded in gaining the grades needed to qualify for the same high school as Yomi, though Yomi ridiculed her and openly said that there was no way that she could do so. Once Tomo began attending high school, however, she returned to her lackadaisical ways. (Source: Wikipedia)
Yukari Tanizaki476 fan favorites
External profile
Birthday: October 1st Star Sign: Libra Height: 158 cm Tanizaki Yukari is the girls' English and homeroom teacher (class 3), but a teacher 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.
Kagura346 fan favorites
External profile
Height: 156 cm Kagura's name comes from Shinto ritual: the kanji for Kagura (神楽) meaning "entertainment of the gods". It was used to describe the traditional music played at shrines and the Imperial Court. Kagura also makes a cameo appearance as an anthropologist in Classroom of Thesis; From the Report to the Graduation Thesis by Kazuhisa Todayama which refers to several other Azumanga Daioh characters. While she makes appearances earlier on as one of Nyamo's students, Kagura doesn't become a true acquaintance of the group until sometime later, joining Yukari's class in the 2nd year (Yukari selects her as a ringer to win the school athletic competitions). She devotes most of her time to the swim team but is an all-around good athlete. Thanks to her dedication to swimming Kagura receives some rather pronounced tan lines during the summer months, which friends like Osaka waste no time in pointing out. She also has a one-sided rivalry with Sakaki and attempts to outdo her in all things, be it playing softball, sprinting, or even eating lunch. This is how her character was introduced to the rest of the cast, when during 1st year's field day, she was defeated by Sakaki in a running event. The next time the two meet, Kagura has decided to make Sakaki her rival, yet she also makes continuous attempts to be a good friend to Sakaki. Unfortunately for her, Sakaki is a natural athlete (and doesn't remember a thing about running against Kagura during the first Athletics Fest, which stuns Kagura) and defeats her in almost everything except stamina events. Like her would-be rival, she is sometimes embarrassed when Tomo calls attention to her large breasts. (Source: Wikipedia, edited)
Koyomi Mizuhara274 fan favorites
External profile
Koyomi Mizuhara (水原暦, Mizuhara Koyomi?), commonly known as Yomi, is a grade-school friend and general antithesis of Tomo. She is the voice of reason of the series, 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. She can never seem to stick to these diets however, as she finds herself constantly tempted by her favorite foods. Another weakness of Yomi's character is that while she is above average in everything else, Yomi is an awful singer, but karaoke is one of her favorite pastimes. While usually functioning as Tomo's "straight man", she sometimes manifests a rather cruel sense of humor. Yomi also has an uppercut that Tomo is usually on the receiving end of whenever she pushes Yomi too far. However, even though she likes to think that she is well above the childish behavior of some of her classmates, Yomi has demonstrated in the story that she can be just like the rest of the characters on certain occasions, such as trying to get Chiyo to infuse a shrine charm with some of her intelligence so that she could pass her college entrance exams. (Source: Wikipedia)
Minamo Kurosawa73 fan favorites
External profile
A gym teacher at the girls' school. In the girls' first year of high school, she is the homeroom teacher of Class 5. During their last two years, she is the homeroom teacher of Class 2. An old high school friend and rival of Yukari, they have a juvenile, exasperating, but funny relationship with each other; Yukari relentlessly insults and freeloads from Nyamo, but Nyamo gets her digs in, too. "Nyamo" is a nickname from her student days, but Yukari calls her that, and so does Tomo. Other students call her Kurosawa-sensei. Whereas Yukari appears to be an older version of Tomo, Nyamo resembles Yomi (more in personality than looks) and the two teachers' odd relationship is similar to the one that Tomo and Yomi share. Popular with the students, Nyamo is nicer, less obnoxious, and far more in control than Yukari. Yukari often teases her about her past romantic relationships and that she is a "stupid P.E. teacher." During one of the summer trips the girls take together, Nyamo gets very drunk (usually, Yukari is prone to this behaviour; as a matter of fact, Nyamo drank specifically to keep the alcohol away from Yukari) and tells the girls all about the birds and the bees, which embarrasses Sakaki and confuses Chiyo, but impresses the other girls. In addition to teaching her homeroom class and P.E., Nyamo is the coach/advisor of the women's swim team. Kagura calls her "Coach" and holds her in very high regard. The fact that students tend to come to her with their problems is yet another source of Yukari's jealousy, as well as the fact that she is generally more "together" and better-disciplined. Unlike Yukari, Nyamo is able to maintain an apartment of her own. She also owns and drives a blue Toyota Vitz 5-door. She is very sensitive to comments about her love life, which has evidently provided Yukari with an endless supply of blackmail material and points at which to rib her. One of these apparently involves a "love letter" from high school, which Yukari loves to dangle over her head. Still, she is quite devoted to teaching and at one point turns down a job offer that would have given her far greater income and prestige. (Source: Wikipedia)