Yawning Nonetheless :: Reviewing Azumanga Daioh Anime Part 2

More about the character...

Cooking is so fun….cooking is so fun.

Chiyo 

The overly optimistic child prodigy of the group. Chiyo acts as the voice of creativity and motivation. Although she is wise beyond her years in terms of book-smarts and strong-willed determination, her experiential immaturity often leads to her being fairly gullible. Her playful, childish tendencies are often charming and hilarious, such as delicately dashing between streetlights in the middle of the night to reach a convenience store.

Sakaki. Not good with cats.

Sakaki 

As one of the most memorable Shirking Violets in anime, Sakaki is a peculiar case as her intimidating physical stature and perpetually ponderous expression involuntarily thrust her into the limelight. She shares a particularly close bond of friendship with Chiyo as the two of them are the kindest and gentlest members of the group and have a mutual interest in animals. Sakaki’s affection, however, extends to full-blown infatuation and her attempts to pet cats are continually met with abrasive hostility, much to her dismay and our amusement. Sakaki embodies The Woobie quite well as you can’t help but feel sorry for the fact that she draws unwanted attention. People expect her to be “mean” and “badass,” but tragically few people see her for who she truly is (hence, the Shirking Violet).

Tomo and Yomi

These two share quite the relationship. Conceptually, it’s nothing new as far as Vitriolic Best Buds go, but in terms of execution, the interplay between them is nothing short of priceless. Tomo is the hysterically hyperactive (and by that I mean, even the likes of Haruhi Suzumiya can’t hold a candle) and carelessly capricious Genki Girl who injects excitement and vivacity into the group. However, with genkiness comes the desire to be center of attention. Tomo is no exception and takes it upon herself to play pranks on people (her favorite target being her best friend, Yomi), make boisterous, tactless remarks, and just be an indefatigable Jerkass in general.

Fortunately (for the world), she’s at least periodically reined in by Yomi, who plays the role of the Straight Man, i.e. the feet-on-the-ground, stringently sober foil to Tomo’s free-radical nature. Of course, this doesn’t stop Tomo from getting on her nerves (When Yomi is unable to make it to the theme park due to an illness, Tomo is first one to rub it in her face as much as humanly possible). The highlight of their friendship occurs when Yomi gets so fed-up with Tomo’s antics that she decides to sock it to her in the final episode of the series.While their interactions may be unoriginal insofar as that they all but epitomize the staples of aBoke And Tsukkomi Routine, Tomo and Yomi are an endless source of hilarity rivaled only by Osaka herself.

Osaka
Speak of the Osakan Oni! Osaka is hands-down the most charming character of the show. She repeatedly steals the spotlight whenever she’s onscreen and is the driving force behind many of the series’ running gags.For one, her “slow and spacey” open-mounted, wide-eyed, and completely blank default expression which she admirably displays is impossible to look at without laughing. Then there’s the fact that she’s endearingly naïve and gullible, often absentmindedly stating the obvious or being harassed as Tomo’s personal chew toy (Osaka is probably her second favorite target after Yomi).

“Get it together, get it together.”

However, Osaka’s eminent infamy can be chalked up to her vaunted position as queen of Cloud Cuckoo Land. It’s as if her approach to life is to be totally vacant and complacent while occasionally spouting the weirdest lines imaginable. But she does so in such an openly innocent and benign manner that dubbing her an inattentive idiot is always done under the most affectionate of intentions.

To be fair, in a hilarious revelation, Osaka demonstrates that she’s incredibly skilled at thinking literally as she manages to answer Tomo’s trick-riddles without a second thought. All the more proof that she rules over her domain with an iron fist.


To Be Continue (End Of Part 2)