Azumanga Daioh Volume 5: Seniors! - Anime News Network
- Anime News Network
- Bamboo Dong
- 10/24/04
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It?s time for the AzuDai girls to have the time of their high schools lives?going on the class trip. I always thought that American high schools should have class trips (other than local field trips), but I guess that would really cut into the sittin? around time that goes on in public schools. Well, if we never got the chance to go on a trip with our classmates, at least we can watch someone else do it. As the girls head to Okinawa, viewers get a crash course in the local dialect, packing the show full of puns, the subtitles full of Romanized Japanese, and the insert full of liner notes. More this time than ever before, I was overjoyed that ADV spent so much time and care with the liner notes. They carefully explained all the jokes and decided which Japanese words should stay in the subtitles, making it one of the best translating jobs I?ve seen in a while. Of course, being the sucker for cute things that I am, and being a pro-Sakaki viewer, I automatically liked this volume for the Maya episodes. While in Okinawa, the girls stopped by Iriomote Island, home to the endangered Iriomote cat (the same species that Ichigo Mew is joined with!). Unlike her tragic run-ins with the vicious cats of past, Sakaki befriends the cutest cat in all of Azumanga history, and to my content, was able to hold it close. Unsurprisingly, as with the previous volumes, this disc is filled with the everyday adventures of the girls and their teachers. As the series progresses, viewers are likely to warm up to at least one or two of the characters, making it much more charming to watch. Still, your enjoyment of the series will largely hinge on if character-driven comedies are your thing or not. Either way, it?s an enjoyable amble into high school-dom, so give it a quick rental.
Posted on Sunday, October 24, 2004 (Archive on Wednesday, November 24, 2004)