[[anime]]
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/azumangadaioh.jpg
[[caption-width:249:From left to right: [[TheStraightMan Yomi]], [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Osaka]], [[CheerfulChild Chiyo]], [[ShrinkingViolet Sakaki]], [[BoisterousBruiser Kagura]], and [[GenkiGirl Tomo]].]]

''You Belong''

A comedy series based on the manga of the same name,** ''AzumangaDaioh'' is the rather disjointed and occasionally surreal story of six high school girls and several of their teachers. Being episodic to the point of resembling sketch comedy, and largely lacking serious conflict or drama, the show has little in the way of conventional storylines, preferring to set up and deliver the animation equivalent of several daily comic strips per episode.

''AzumangaDaioh'' has been described as "''{{Peanuts}}'' [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs on LSD]]". Its ensemble cast often defies stereotypes, e.g., with a homeroom teacher who behaves more childishly than her students. Heavily character-driven, its humor, especially in its manga incarnation, often relies on subtle changes in facial expression, running jokes, references to Japanese culture, and jarring shifts into absurdism.

[=**The=] title combines the author's name (Kiyohiko Azuma) with the word "manga" and the name of its original publisher (''Dengeki Daioh'' magazine) -- it can be read as the Japanese equivalent of an acronym for "Azuma's Comic Strip For Daioh Magazine" (''Dengeki Daioh'' being a magazine aimed mainly at [[{{Shonen}} teenage boys]], the general theme of the strip was to poke gentle fun at the audience's female classmates -- "Man, teenage girls are ''weird''...").
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* TheAbridgedSeries (But can you really parody a comedy?)
* AdultChild (Yukari-sensei)
* [[AnimalsHateHim Animals Hate Her]] (Sakaki)
* ArtEvolution (It takes a while for Azuma to perfect the designs of the main characters, and by the time he does, his entire style has shifted into a more consistent, rounded appearance. Osaka is perhaps the worst offender during this process, as she doesn't even look like ''herself'' until the second volume or so.)
** The recent re-release of the manga in Japan has seen the first volume substantially redrawn, so that the artwork is much more uniform--albeit reminiscent of [[{{Yotsubato}} something else]]...
*** The new ''Extra Lessons'' chapters serialized for the 10th anniversary of the manga have backgrounds detailed enough to be worthy of [[{{Yotsubato}} ''Yotsuba&!'']].
* BeachEpisode (three of them)
* BerserkButton (Osaka's pretty laid-back and easy-going...but DO NOT split your chopsticks improperly, or you'll get the full brunt of her anger, as Tomo found out)
* BestBeerEver (Yukari)
* BigBadassWolf (Kagura calls Sakaki a "lone wolf" in one scene, although Sakaki would rather imagine herself as a cute lil' doggy.)
* BigDamnHeroes ([[spoiler: Mayaa]])
* BigFancyHouse (Chiyo-chan's)
* BigFriendlyDog (Mr. Tadakichi)
* BirdRun (Subverted: Osaka tries this during a relay race, but it only slows her down.)
* {{Bishoujo}}
* BlahBlahBlah (Yukari tries speaking to a foreigner in English, which the viewer isn't supposed to understand anyway)
* BlankWhiteEyes (frequently)
* BoisterousBruiser (Kagura)
* BookDumb (Tomo and Kagura)
* TheBooRadley (Sakaki, sort of -- she just looks intimidating)
* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine -- Tomo and Yomi.
** Yukari tries to preform this in class with Osaka. After asking Osaka who should play the Boke and who should play the Tsukkomi she hits Osaka over the head for saying she should be the Boke.
** In one of the early episodes, Tomo also asks Osaka to be the Tsukkomi to her Boke, despite her protests. She reacts to Osaka's completely unenergetic Tsukkomi with a WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome BlownAcrossTheRoom, clearly demonstrating her hyperactive nature.
* {{Bokukko}} (Kagura)
* BottleFairy (Yukari)
* BunnyEarsLawyer (Kimura and Yukari are portrayed as competent teachers but do things in school that would make headline news)
* CallingYourAttacks ("Double Chop!")
* CatchPhrase ("A!"/"Ah!")
* CatsAreMean (Kamineko)
* ChasteTeens (Five post-pubescent high school girls and no romance for any of them)
** Osaka {{lampshades}} this in the manga "No one's got a boyfriend to bring along?"
** And in the show, "But neither of you have boyfriends to show off your summer styles to."
* CheerfulChild (Chiyo-Chan!)
* ChristmasCake (Kurosawa-sensei)
** Also, Yukari.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}} (Osaka)
** Also Sakaki somewhat. She can spout some weird stuff to the others after one of her Chiyo-Dad imaginings.
* ColorFailure (Happens a number of times)
* CornerOfWoe (Kurosawa)
* CrossPoppingVeins
* CueTheSun (YOOHOO!)
* CutenessProximity (Sakaki.)
** Also everyone upon seeing Penguin Chiyo. Weapons-grade cuteness.
* {{Delinquents}} (Sakaki's unintentionally intimidating attitude cause the girls to mistake her for one of these)
* DirtyOldMan (Kimura-sensei)
* {{Dojikko}} (Kimura's wife)
* DreadfulMusician (Yomi, though she's more HollywoodToneDeaf)
* DrivesLikeCrazy (Yukari is the TropeCodifier.)
* EarlyBirdCameo (Kagura)
* EarWorm (If you can listen to Soramimi Cake without it getting it stuck in your head, you are officially immune to any EarWorm.)
** "Tsukurimashou~ Tsukurimashou~ Sate sate nani ga~ dekiru kana~"
* EngagingConversation (Minamo-sensei, give Chiyo a chance to grow up first, okay?)
* EnsembleDarkhorse (Osaka)
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep (Her name is Ayumu Kasuga, but everyone starts calling her "Osaka" by the start of second year. In the anime, she's Osaka within moments of her first appearance once Tomo decides to nickname her.)
** The ''fans'' have to look up her name, if they remember at all.
** The ''school'' (or at least Yukari) can't remember her real name, either.
* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins ([[TwoWords Penguin. Chiyo.]])
* EvilLaugh (Tomo, mostly, given her [[{{Jerkass}} nature]], but Yukari can pull off a mean one. See the beginning of the trip to Okinawa arc, she looks about ready to turn into a hag and eat half the class...)
* {{Ephebophile}} (Kimura notes he became a teacher because he likes high school girls. In fact, Osaka asks him in the manga whether Chiyo really counts for his liking of High School girls since she's so much more a Grade Schooler. He insists: "[[{{Squick}} High School is High School]]".)
* FacelessMasses
* FaceOfAThug (Sakaki only looks TallDarkAndBishoujo)
* {{Fanservice}} (Relatively minor but still quite present in the beach episodes; remember who the show's for)
** Some of the "bumper" pages between manga chapters border on pin-ups.
** Yukari even lampshades this in one episode.
** Let's not forget Yomi stripping to her underwear before the opening credits are even over.
* FestivalEpisode (many)
* {{Flanderization}} ([[SchoolgirlLesbians Kaorin's crush]], Osaka's eccentricity, Tomo's [[GenkiGirl genkiness]])
*{{Foil}} (Yomi to Tomo, Nyamo to Yukari)
* FourTemperamentEnsemble (Chiyo-chan is sanguine, Tomo is also sanguine (showing how two people with the same temperament can be very different), Sakaki is either melancholic or supine, Yomi is choleric, and Osaka is phlegmatic.)
* GenkiGirl (Tomo)
* GirlishPigtails (Chiyo)
* GoNagaiSideburns (Kagura, though not extremely HotBlooded, is a BoisterousBruiser certainly entitled to them)
* GratuitousEnglish
---> '''Yukari''': ''(In the pool)'' "Oh my god! Unbelievable!"
** "Hallo every-nyan! How-ah you? Fain sank you."
** "Oh My Gah!"
*** "Ah, I wish I were a ''BIRD!''"
**** "I'M SOWWYYY!!!"
** "[[MemeticMutation Mai waifu!]]"
** Yukari has an ''entire monologue'' full of this in episode 22.
** "HELP ME!"
* GrowingUpSucks
* {{Hachimaki}} (Sakaki)
* {{Hatsuyume}} (One of the earlier episodes is devoted to the dreams of Osaka, Sakaki, Tomo and Kaorin)
* {{Henohenomoheji}}
* HeroStoleMyBike (Yukari in the first episode, while one of her students is trying to fix ''hers'')
* HeterosexualLifePartners (Yukari and Kurosawa-sensei)
* HetIsEw (With only ''two'' regular males in the cast (one of whom is a [[MindScrew large yellow cat...thing]] while the other is a certified DirtyOldMan {{Ephebophile}}), plus LOTS of LesYay, this is definitely gonna come up.)
* [=~Hey, It's That Voice!~=] ([[NorioWakamoto Chiyo's "dad"]] is [[{{Dragonball}} Cell]], [[CowboyBebop Vicious]], and [[CodeGeass Emperor Charles zi Britannia]])
** In Japanese, Osaka has the same seiyuu as [[{{Bleach}} Orihime]].
* HiccupHijinks ("What causes hiccups anyway?")
* HollywoodPudgy (Yomi)
* HorsebackHeroism: Kaorin being saved by Sakaki in the dream episode.
* HugeSchoolgirl (Sakaki)
* IKnowWhatWeCanDoCut (The HiccupHijinks plot in "Osaka's Day")
* TheIdiotFromOsaka (Well, uh... Osaka, though technically her personality is a subversion of the "loud, fast-talking, money-grubbing Osakan" stereotype. And she only went to junior high in Osaka proper.)
* ImagineSpot
* ImprobableAge (Chiyo-Chan, the ten-year-old high school girl)
* InsaneTrollLogic (Osaka produces enough of this for everyone to go around. Tomo has her moments as well.)
* InsideShoes
* {{Jerkass}} (Tomo is a big fat jerk! As well as her adult counterpart, Yukari-sensei.)
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk (Kimura. One of his lines can be paraphrased as "Well, now that I donated $100 to the orphanage, let's go for some peeping!").
* {{Joshikousei}} ("Joshikousei toka suki da kara!")
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Osaka, though in the English dub, Osaka has a Southern Belle accent.
* KeepItForeign: In the English dub of the anime, Yukari becomes a Spanish instructor.
** It's the same for the first issue of the translated manga. The second issue got a new localization team and switched to her being an English teacher.
* KindheartedCatLover: Sakaki loves all animals, but her affinity for cats easily surpasses the rest ([[EnemyToAllLivingThings even if the love is one-sided]])
* {{Kuudere}} (Sakaki, natch!)
* LateForSchool (Yukari, in [[strike:the first]] pretty much every episode)
* LeaveThePlotThreadsHanging
* LesYay (The reason for ChasteTeens. Or perhaps its result.)
** In the newly-released chapters, the Les Yay achieves critical mass. [[http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh69/kriegsaffeno9/obviouslesbians.jpg Only barely out-of-context, folks!]]
** [[http://mangahelpers.com/s/megchan-scanlations/readonline/43115/12?t=1251048090 How about this?]] Note that in the first manga and anime, ''no one'' commented on this.
** [[http://mangahelpers.com/s/megchan-scanlations/readonline/43115/13?t=1256843642 Yukari has a very...interesting take on Nyamo's "knight in shining armor" fantasy.]]
* TheLinus (Chiyo, acing test after test while failing to understand sexual stuff any teenage girl would know by heart already)
** Chiyo is not a teenager.
*** A better comparison would be "any ''high-school girl''".
** Does she still count?
*** High school is high school.
* MeasuringDay
* {{Meganekko}} (Yomi, the StraightMan)
* MegaNeko (the large floating orange cat that [[MindScrew may or may not be]] Chiyo-chan's father)
* MemeticMutation ("Mai waifu", as first spoken by Kimura when introducing his [[UglyGuyHotWife hot]] "waifu" to the girls. Used by fans to describe anime or video game women that are, in their opinion, "desirable". Also, [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant Osaka is evil]].)
* {{Moe}} (The series itself is something you can curl up with, but Osaka and Kaorin are also incredibly cute.)
* MoeCouplet (Sakaki and Chiyo, sometimes Osaka and Chiyo)
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily (Kamineko)
* MyNameIsNotDurwood (Osaka, to the point that almost everyone forgot her actual name)
* NightmareFuel (Chiyo's HeroicBSOD after riding in Yukari's car.)
** ''[[CreepyMonotone Today is the first day of the new school term...Hahahaha]]''
** And we almost forgot the time in the first "summer break" episode, where Osaka randomly imagined everyone getting killed off, like in a murder mystery. "And then it turns out... I'm the killer!"
*** The message is delivered after that. When Osaka says she's the killer, no one takes her seriously, then she slowly turns her head towards the camera and gives a PsychoticSmirk. Brrr...
** Depending on your view, how bout the "Osaka and the knife" scene? It has potential.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant (Osaka again)
* NoAccountingForTaste (The Kimuras)
* NoodleIncident (Love letter!)
* NorioWakamoto (wishes he was a bird)
* NotAMorningPerson (Osaka and Yukari)
* OddCouple (Tomo and Yomi)
* OhCrap (Chiyo's is pretty epic. Examples include that time Yukari said the class trip was cancelled and when Chiyo found out Iriomote cats can eat animals as large as her dog, Tadakichi.)
* TheOjou (Chiyo-chan)
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent (Yomi, and this time she ''is'' ordinary)
** At least when you try to compare her to her other classmates.
* OverlyLongGag (''lots'' of them)
* PetBabyWildAnimal (Maya)
* PetTheDog (Parodied when the girls find out Kimura-sensei has a kind wife, a cute daughter, voluntarily cleans litter off the streets and regularly donates to charity... but it ''doesn't'' stop them from thinking he's creepy; also played straight with Sakaki's weakness for cute things... Well, ''almost'' straight, given her terrible luck with said cute things. Even without ''that'' angle, it's actually kind of heartbreaking.)
* PostEpisodeTrailer
* PungeonMaster (Osaka)
* {{Sarashi}} (in one of the sports festivals in the manga)
* SatelliteCharacter (Chihiro)
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Yomi when stressed or irritated, Mr. Kimura perpetually.
* SchoolgirlLesbians (One-sided: Kaorin really, ''really'' [[http://www.mangatoshokan.com/read/azumangadaiohhoshuuhen/692/3/12 adores Sakaki]], but [[SelectiveObliviousness Sakaki fails to notice]].)
* SchoolgirlRival (Kagura engages Sakaki when she first transfers into the class, and Tomo tries this with [[HilarityEnsues predictable results]].)
* SchoolFestival
* SeinfeldianConversation
* {{Shonen}} (often mistaken for {{Shojo}})
* ShooTheDog (Sakaki must do this to Mayaa before leaving Okinawa. [[spoiler:He comes back to drive off Kamineko from the streets.]])
* ShortAnimeMovie (a "{{pilot}}" literally a few minutes long)
* ShoutOut (Tomo idolizes Fujiko of ''{{Lupin III}}'')
** Chiyo-chichi's infamous "I wish I were a bird!" comes from a commercial for the Nova chain of English-teaching schools.
** The penguin suit that Chiyo-chan wears in the anime intro is of just the right shade of blue that combined with the eyes looks just like a [[{{Disgaea}} Prinny dood.]]
** In the costume couple race in the second year's sports festival, [[{{SpiritedAway}} guess what Chihiro disguises as.]] (partnered with a No Face to boot)
* ShrinkingViolet (Sakaki very definitely fills the role)
* SlasherSmile - [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37mPoKQijj8 Osaka]]
* SliceOfLife
* StandingInTheHall (Tomo, self-inflicted)
* StraightMan (Yomi)
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike (Osaka and Sakaki in regards to Chiyo-chichi)
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial (When the second year starts, Yukari tells her class that she notices a lot of students who were in her homeroom last year, but denies that it's because she doesn't want the trouble of having to remember a bunch of new names.)
** "Oh, and don't change the seating either."
* TheTalk (While on holiday a [[strike:slightly drunk]] completely demolished Nyamo ends up giving said talk to the girls; given their reactions the next day it would seem she went above and beyond the call of duty.)
* TallDarkAndBishoujo (Sakaki)
* {{Tareme}} (Osaka)
* TastesLikeDiabetes (Chiyo-chan in a penguin suit. Or even just Chiyo as a whole.)
* TearJerker (Watch/read through the whole series, then watch/read the last episode/chapters. You will cry. Oh yes, you will cry. You won't believe it.)
** Sakaki gets plenty of scenes that qualify.
* TedBaxter (Tomo)
* TeenGenius (well, pre-teen -- Chiyo-chan)
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight (Osaka, [[http://www.mangatoshokan.com/read/azumangadaiohhoshuuhen/692/3/12 here]]. It may look like a big case of FreudWasRight to some readers, [[SchoolgirlLesbians but...]])
* TheOneGuy - [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftAMtTH6mKQ Kimura-sensei]]
* ThunderShock (Sakaki, overwhelmed by the cuteness of a photo of kittens.)
* TitleDrop
**In the first episode of the anime, the logo appears, but then is cut off as it is hit by a baseball and flung out of frame.
**There was another episode where Chiyo is tackled by Mr. Tadakichi (her dog) and then the logo and title are shown/heard.
* TokenLoli (Chiyo, though lampshaded and played for laughs)
* {{Tsurime}} (Sakaki and Kagura)
* TwoTeacherSchool (Three Teacher School, technically)
** No one wants to remember [[SternTeacher that one teacher]] who only appeared in one scene in week/episode 1 and made [[TheWoobie Chiyo]] freak out.
* [[UglyGuyHotWife Ugly Guy Hot Waifu ]](Kimura)
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: While we never get to see for ourselves, it's said that Tomo looks and acts exactly like her father. Yomi is not pleased.
** Also, Kaorin and her mom look exactly alike.
* VomitDiscretionShot (When Yukari throws up after getting really drunk in one episode, a shot of the show's logo hides the act, although we still hear her retching.)
* WackyHomeroom
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome (Osaka, Kagura and Tomo combining their test scores for the sole purpose of beating Chiyo. You'd think they were trying to form ''{{Voltron}}'' or something.)
** Tomo, because she does not want to pay attention in class at the moment, proclaims herself to be some sort of action girl super spy. She then jumps like 10 feet into the air and flips into a ball. Her friends look up in amazement as she perfectly lands back in her seat exactly as she started.
** The act of ''breaking chopsticks'' is made to look awesome a number of times
** Yukari's sea-parting [[GratuitousEnglish Engrish]] monologue, raised practically to AGodAmI levels
** Yomi's reaction to the buffet in the Okinawan hotel. Limiter released!!
* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Cicadas]]: the new chapters show that Yomi ardently hates cicadas, and is totally paralyzed when [[{{Jerkass}} Tomo]] puts one on her back.
* WidgetSeries (this series is random enough to fit nicely in this category)
* WithFriendsLikeThese
* TheWoobie (Chiyo, Sakaki, Osaka)
* {{Woolseyism}}: Hey y'all, I'm Osaka...
* {{Yonkoma}} (the normal format of the manga)
* [[YouFailStatisticsForever Tomo Fails Statistics Forever]]: She attempts to predict which questions will show up on a test by randomly selecting questions from a study guide. Her reasoning: either it will be on the test, or it won't, so there's a fifty percent chance either way. This works about as well as you'd expect it to.
** They didn't fail. Their scores added up to 103%.
* ZettaiRyouiki (Yomi)
----
<<|NoteworthyAnime|>>[[anime]]
<<|{{Manga}}|>>
<<|TropeOverdosed|>>