yushi

Azumanga Daioh ~ Website (ADV)





This has to be the funniest anime i have watched in ages, i'm up to Vol. 3 right now and there are moments where i need to pause the DVD to catch my breath because i am laughing way too much to follow what is going on. The thing is, it's so stupid not to mention pointless and i don't mean that in a bad way, i mean it as in it's just totally fucking crazy. Even the shows intro is a sign as to the madness you're about to be exposed to over the next twenty minutes.

But strangely, the show has a serious note which i can't stop thinking about - one of the male tutor characters (he's in the intro) in the show openly admits both verbally and by actions that he is only in his job so he can be with and around high-school girls. I can't think of one tv show suitable for kids 12+ on UK tv that deals with the issue of pedophilia - in fact i would say in western shows the subject is avoided like it where the plague were as Azumanga Daioh just knocks it around for jokes. The girls in the show are horrified at what this tutor comes out with and tries to do as you would expect but what this suggests to me is that Japanese girls (and indeed boys too) about to enter high-school or are already in high-school and are watching shows like this (Azumanga Daioh was quite successful both in this animated form and as an original Manga) are much more aware of the potential risks of blindly trusting authority figures where as western girls of a similar age are maybe a little more naive. I have no evidence to suggest what i suggest is correct and i haven't done any research into the related crime statistics but it wouldn't surprise me if i was indeed correct.

Lazy Ear Candy ~ listen
The Zutons: Not A Lot To Do
Album: Who Killed...The Zutons (2004)