Azumanga Daioh is often heralded as one of the shows that pioneered the “(absurd) slice of life comedy” genre – later followed by series such as Lucky Star and Nichijou – and as such, it is recommended as a classic anime and staple of said genre.

Why was it then, that I had such a hard time getting through it?

In contrast to Nichijou, with its fast-paced and physics defying humor, Azumanga Daioh relies more on comedic timing and culturally related jokes. While I was watching it, I got a strong impression that this show is driven more by the slice of life elements rather than comedy, but the long stills and grating trope-driven personalities seem to suck the humor out of even the best situations.

The (heavily repeated) jokes and gags are very bland, although it is hard for me to fault it for this. It could be that Azumanga Daioh was copied by other series to the point that the jokes lost their humor, or the majority of the jokes do not translate well into English, but regardless of the case, the anime becomes something that feels like a chore to watch rather than a relaxing and humorous pastime.

Aside from the loose connections formed by the class room setting, there is not much of a plot to tie things together, leading one episode to seem no different from another, with no sense of progression or development over time. This episodic nature does not necessarily become a demerit, but combined with the other flaws such as the humor and character personalities (or lack thereof), it only serves to magnify those issues.

The characters themselves, often regarded as the linchpin of this genre, were shallow at best and irritating at worst. Again, it could be the case that the characters themselves defined the tropes later repeated throughout future anime, but you can only watch those personalities show up in so many low quality anime before you start to get sick of them. They are childish, yes – but it is an experience best described as babysitting the same annoying kid for the tenth week rather than observing comedic interactions between students.

The one highlight, however, would be the art style / animation. It is dated, but the art is always consistently high quality for the era, even during gags – which is an area where other comedy anime often start to slip on the details.

As far as the anime itself goes, I can easily say that I would not recommend it to anyone I know. If you were doing a historical study of the genre, then it would be worthwhile – and maybe if you were fluent in Japanese and familiar with the cultural jokes, then it could even be humorous. Maybe at the time it originally aired, it would have been more humorous/relevant and a stronger candidate as a result. But for the average Western watcher? I would say no.