The Business

August 31st, 2006General0 comments

As far as anime goes, I’ve mostly only been exposed to the Miyazaki films; however I’ve been watching this really weird, cute series called Azumanga Daioh; it’s about a bunch of high school girls, their teachers, and not much more than that.

Osaka: “Oh no — I’m the murderer!”

It’s described as being a lot like Peanuts — irreverent and about every day struggles and stories. I think that’s fairly accurate.

To tell you the truth, I’m not sure why I like it so much. It’s cute, and I think cuteness’s stock is on the rise these days because of our increased level of fear. I always hit up CuteOverload after reading about people being blown up in Iraq — it keeps me from going nuts.

But beyond the cuteness, the series is about a lot more than it seems on the surface — it’s all about the characters and their quirks, which is something that always draws me in. It’s also a lot about friendship, and often about how people who can’t stand each other can simultaneously be really good friends.

I think what I like best about the manga and anime that makes it to these shores (essentially the very best stuff that gets produced in Japan) is that there’s something universal about it. It’s a good feeling to think that people all over the world deal with the same crises, and that the story is only told in different mediums.