So I got this beauty on the mail last week:

Azumanga Daioh Omnibus

I wish I had a digital camera, or that I could find a decent picture of this online, to show you what it’s actually like. It’s like a phone book – over two inches thick and filled cover to cover with Azumanga goodness. I’ve sooo been waiting for this!

Update: ok, here it goes. Sort of, anyways:

Azumanga Daioh - Front

Azumanga Daioh - Back

In case you’re not much in touch with the manga subculture, or have otherwise been living under a rock for the past decade, Azumanga Daioh is one of the funniest things to ever have graced printed paper, for a certain value of “funny”, and if you’re enjoying this site at all then this might just be the perfect book for you. Not that I’d compare my so called “work” with Kiyohijo Azuma’s, but there’s definitely some influence from him, starting with this, and following with Yotsuba to! (a manga about a single father and his wacky daughter… yeah).

The humor is absurd, sometimes even bizarre, but there’s a lot of effort put by the author on the characterization of the girls, each of which is unique, charming in her own way and completely unforgettable. Which one will be closer to your true self? Perpetually-spaced Osaka? Hyperactive Tomo? Cool-looking yet soft-hearted Sakaki (one of the most brillant characters ever written or drawn)? Down-to-earth but weight-obsessed Yomi? Prodigy child Chiyo? Even the secondary characters are fun and memorable.

And to think that this amazing (and massive) work is only the warm-up act for the hilariousness that is Yotsuba to! If I wasn’t so busy laughing to tears, I’d be feeling rather envious of the creator of these beloved mangas.

In short, go buy this now. It’s almost 700 pages of non-stop fun currently going for $22.49, a real bargain if there was ever one.

Disclaimer: the link on this page will lead you to the Amazon store where I have an affiliate account, meaning if you buy this book I’ll get some of the profit. In truth I couldn’t care less about the money, so google the book and buy it however you want. Just buy it! I could hardly recommend you a better way to spend $25 bucks. That is, until I start selling my own stuff, of course

PS: yes, I am aware that I’m at nearly 200% fanboy mode here. Give me a break, will you? I rarely talk about things I dislike simply because I tend to avoid them rather than let them annoy me. So in this site you’re bound to hear me gush about the things I love. I’m not a critic, that’s for sure. Though, heh, every so often I’ll get hooked on something that starts well and goes downhill… take a look at this week’s incentives to hear about one such case (that’s tomorrow BTW).