Azumanga Daioh Episode 9 Discussion

Free_Candy said:
wow 170cm and still growing?!
where are these chicks in real life god dammit....

jal90 said:
OK, I have rewatched this episode to understand the low appreciation it gets, and I'm afraid this is still a great one for me, and if it wasn't for some lack of jokes, one of my favorites of the entire series.

It's been said that this episode is just Sakaki loving cats for twenty minutes. Well, no. Because with the excuse of her most well-known and weirdest trait we get what is arguably the best and most accurate character study in the whole Azumanga series.

The way it starts, with Sakaki being compared with the "real world" (scene at the cinema), became quickly one of my favorite sequences in the show. It just shows how strange some attitudes of these characters are, as they seem to belong to another reality. I love how Azumanga, instead of trying to copy the day-and-day conflicts and features with a "based on reality" premise, reinforces the little points that make these characters not be actually 100% believable, and manages to talk about their relationships and problems with such a surprising authenticity.

The episode is mostly that, Sakaki being shown as an individual with serious weaknesses, pretty much obsessive, and lost in her own world. This one does with her what episode 2 did with Osaka, episode 12 with Chiyo, episode 18 with Yomi and maybe episode 13 with Tomo. It defines the character. It's the first time she's shown as she really is to the rest of the group, instead of that unapproachable exterior.

Another reason why I like this episode and consequently the whole characterization of Sakaki is just her shy nature. I'm sick of seeing clichés that never correspond with reality, people being described as shy by blushing every damn second somebody talks to them, stuttering, and such. Those things only happen in fiction: I, as a seriously introverted guy myself, empathize way more with scenes like the one where Chiyo accuses her of absorbing her height, or the conversation about the stuffed cats. It just shows somebody who is not used to talk with people regularly, nor have friends. She doesn't get into the dynamics of the relationships, says really weird things that seem completely normal to her, and can't understand a joke (yes, I think Chiyo is messing around with her, so this time Osaka's right :P) not to mention reacting normally to it. In that sense, that first episode where she's mistaken by Kaorin for an aggressive person sort of reinforces that; somebody who doesn't have the habit of conversation and isn't used to meet people is not going to dominate the nonverbal communication either.

Is this boring? Well, I find it fascinating. And actually quite dynamic for what a Sakaki themed episode could have been (you know, she is not one of those girls who loves doing many different things, add to this her natural quiet attitude which results on very little dialogue through the episode), extremely effective atmosphere (must say, watching this episode and then hearing the Raspberry Heaven ending is just powerful), cute music and overall a quite enjoyable experience. I also love the last fantasy, it may look weird, but it's so well-presented in the context of the episode.

And it's not that the story hasn't its good amount of jokes. Every one related to Tomo at Chiyo's house, Osaka's obsession with the race horses' names, Sakaki following innocently a girl with a bag with the form of a pink rabbit, her attempts to make Nekophotos and the subsequent five-second disappointed silence... but I'd agree it's somewhat weak compared with the Azumanga standard; I don't enjoy, for example, the scene with Chiyo's Dad playing baseball, it seems like it could be easily eliminated and was even redundant and unnecessary.

I'll give it a 9.5/10. Seriously underrated gem.

Nyperold said:
Yeah, that kinda bugs me. Chiyo, so smart she skipped five grades in a culture where that would pretty much never happen, thinks that height can be stolen? Huh?

jal90 said:
OK, I have rewatched this episode to understand the low appreciation it gets, and I'm afraid this is still a great one for me, and if it wasn't for some lack of jokes, one of my favorites of the entire series.

It's been said that this episode is just Sakaki loving cats for twenty minutes. Well, no. Because with the excuse of her most well-known and weirdest trait we get what is arguably the best and most accurate character study in the whole Azumanga series.

The way it starts, with Sakaki being compared with the "real world" (scene at the cinema), became quickly one of my favorite sequences in the show. It just shows how strange some attitudes of these characters are, as they seem to belong to another reality. I love how Azumanga, instead of trying to copy the day-and-day conflicts and features with a "based on reality" premise, reinforces the little points that make these characters not be actually 100% believable, and manages to talk about their relationships and problems with such a surprising authenticity.

The episode is mostly that, Sakaki being shown as an individual with serious weaknesses, pretty much obsessive, and lost in her own world. This one does with her what episode 2 did with Osaka, episode 12 with Chiyo, episode 18 with Yomi and maybe episode 13 with Tomo. It defines the character. It's the first time she's shown as she really is to the rest of the group, instead of that unapproachable exterior.

Another reason why I like this episode and consequently the whole characterization of Sakaki is just her shy nature. I'm sick of seeing clichés that never correspond with reality, people being described as shy by blushing every damn second somebody talks to them, stuttering, and such. Those things only happen in fiction: I, as a seriously introverted guy myself, empathize way more with scenes like the one where Chiyo accuses her of absorbing her height, or the conversation about the stuffed cats. It just shows somebody who is not used to talk with people regularly, nor have friends. She doesn't get into the dynamics of the relationships, says really weird things that seem completely normal to her, and can't understand a joke (yes, I think Chiyo is messing around with her, so this time Osaka's right :P) not to mention reacting normally to it. In that sense, that first episode where she's mistaken by Kaorin for an aggressive person sort of reinforces that; somebody who doesn't have the habit of conversation and isn't used to meet people is not going to dominate the nonverbal communication either.

Is this boring? Well, I find it fascinating. And actually quite dynamic for what a Sakaki themed episode could have been (you know, she is not one of those girls who loves doing many different things, add to this her natural quiet attitude which results on very little dialogue through the episode), extremely effective atmosphere (must say, watching this episode and then hearing the Raspberry Heaven ending is just powerful), cute music and overall a quite enjoyable experience. I also love the last fantasy, it may look weird, but it's so well-presented in the context of the episode.

And it's not that the story hasn't its good amount of jokes. Every one related to Tomo at Chiyo's house, Osaka's obsession with the race horses' names, Sakaki following innocently a girl with a bag with the form of a pink rabbit, her attempts to make Nekophotos and the subsequent five-second disappointed silence... but I'd agree it's somewhat weak compared with the Azumanga standard; I don't enjoy, for example, the scene with Chiyo's Dad playing baseball, it seems like it could be easily eliminated and was even redundant and unnecessary.

I'll give it a 9.5/10. Seriously underrated gem.