

Tonally, AD has a little bit of the philosophical and occasionally slightly dark undercurrent of Peanuts while remaining superficially light and entertaining: the sort of humor that flies under the radar of kids but that would be detected by adults, a type of intergenerational virtuosity that we take for granted today and that I think Schulz kind of pioneered. (In this regard, manga are amazing, like emojis on steroids.) Likewise, both Peanuts and AD use very stripped-down line drawings to great emotionally expressive effect. (For instance, think about how Peanuts comics periodically return to stories like Charlie Brown attempting to kick the football, or Lucy endeavoring to distract/woo Schroeder at his piano). Stylistically, AD uses very short, four-panel comics that sometimes stand completely alone as anecdotes and sometimes link into longer stories or revisit and riff on recurring themes.


Another reviewer compared it to Charles Schulz's classic comic Peanuts, and though this wouldn't have occurred to me, I agree: AD sorta resembles Peanuts in both style and tone. Make no mistake that this is far, far more goofy, Saved By the Bell-type stuff than the pseudo-gravity of 90210.

However, this educative value runs very secondary to AD's primary goal of often quite "random" humor, as many reviewers have described. That is to say, the overall effect of accompanying the group on their scholastic journey, revisiting up to four times the significant annual happenings of their school year (various festivals, exam periods, sports events, school competitions, vacations and field trips), is greater than the sum of its parts. AD tells the story of a group of girlfriends (and their not-much-older but occasionally far more immature and messed-up teachers) traveling through their four years of high school in Tokyo. Thus, it's perhaps not the best for sickbed reading, as I did, hoisting it aloft with my trembling ailing wrists, but its sheer substance would make for a wonderful gift presentation! The omnibus format is also recommended because this manga series, like a couple good chipotle peppers packed in adobo, is characterized by a pleasantly cumulative warming-up effect. This Azumanga Daioh 4-in-1 omnibus is a 750+-page volume that's thicker than a brick - sort of an Infinite Jest of manga. That "why, this is unlike anything else!" feeling. Remember the first time you ever ate an unfamiliar food that's since become a dietary staple? - for instance, in my case, sushi, pad Thai, or good authentic hummus or guacamole? Well, that's kind of how I feel having "discovered" manga: that "how can this have been in existence all that time without my having known it!" feeling.
