Azumanga Daioh. It's like a sitcom of life in the high school you never went to. And, yes, it's very, very funny. Normally I'd use this space to lay down the foundation of plot in hopes of enticing you into the storyline. There's none of that here. Instead, let me paint the situation for you: A closet lover of all things cute, a child prodigy, an Osakan airhead, and a spastic overachiever go to school together. They have several friends with quirks much like theirs. Add in some strange faculty (including the Classic Lit teacher who teaches "for the high school girls! I love 'em!") and an unusual sense of humor. Stir in a pinch of high-school mayhem and schoolgirl antics. Mix together with a four-panel format and blend until smooth. That is one sweet cocktail. Azumanga Daioh's selling point is in both is characterization and its humor. Although it’s set in a typical Japanese high school, the humor remains funny to those of us unacquainted with Japanese culture. I’m sure that ADV Americanized many of the in-jokes, but I can’t cite any “awful” examples from the top of my head, so it obviously wasn’t too troubling. The jokes are simply funny--they tend to involve either strange situations or character interaction. The latter, also being Azumanga’s strong point, is especially well done. Each of the characters has some flaw (like Osaka’s propensity for staring out into space or Chiyo’s perfection) that gives a spark of personality and allows for brilliant reactions to most everything that happens throughout the manga. One of the characters, nicknamed Osaka, aptly has an Osakan accent. This is a touchy situation for most translators—while nearly every country has its accents, its difficult to distinguish which accents are most alike to one another. Dubs are more of a challenge, as they are heard and not read; with written words, it’s possible to get by with a footnote explaining the situation. In ADV’s case, they decided to give her a... Brooklyn accent. Er. From what I understand, the Osakan dialect is much like English’s “southern” one, with contracted speech and slight vowel changes. Why they chose to use a Brooklyn speech pattern, “fuhgeddaboudit”s and all, is beyond me. It’s also very inconsistent—sometimes her accent so thick that it’s nearly unreadable; other times, it’s completely nonexistent. Bad source? Sloppy translating? I don’t know. The art is very basic. It’s minimal—sometimes panels are repeated, and there is noticeable lack of ziptone. Facial expressions are simple, though effective. What must be taken into consideration, however, is that Azumanga is a gag comic. It’s a comedic four-panel affair—it doesn’t need to rely on beautiful layouts, just visual humor. (There’s only so much space it can use, too.) The art is a vehicle for its humor, and it works very well. One thing of note: ADV did a lovely job with the actual book’s design. Its size is especially noticeable when sitting on the shelf with a bunch of Tokyopop titles—it’s far larger, standing a good inch or so higher than the other books. (It’s the same size as the actual tankouban.) The back cover is interesting, but has a tiny flaw: there’s no blurb to describe the book’s actual contents! All it has is an amusing “dialogue” involving UPC codes and ISBN numbers. If I were a prospective buyer, I’d bit a bit hesitant to pick up a book without knowing anything about it. After all is said and done, one thing is certain: Azumanga is a must-read manga! It caused me several giggle fits, something that no manga in recent memory has been able to do. It’s fun for both girls and boys, breaking through its shoujo-esque premise! And if kawaii is your thing, you’ll be happy to discover that every page is positively dripping with it. [Rating: 5 out of 5 Ramunes.]