Kiyohiko Azuma | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1968-05-27)May 27, 1968 (age 57) Takasago, Hyōgo, Japan |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
| Genre | Comedy,slice of life |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Notable works | Azumanga Daioh Yotsuba&! |
Kiyohiko Azuma (あずまきよひこ,Azuma Kiyohiko; born May 27, 1968) is a Japanesemanga artist. From 1999 to 2002, he authored theyonkoma comedy manga seriesAzumanga Daioh, which was later adapted as ananime series byJ.C.Staff. In 2003, he beganYotsuba&!, aslice-of-life manga series about the adventures ofa five-year-old girl; it is serialized in the monthly magazineDengeki Daioh.
Both the manga and anime ofAzumanga Daioh have been praised for their humor driven by eccentric characters, with Azuma acclaimed as a "master of the four-panel form" for both his art style and comic timing.[1]Yotsuba&! has received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences due to Azuma's artistic talent, writing, and the creation and development of the titular character, with the manga earning multiple awards and nominations.[2][3][4][5][6]
Azuma entered the Department of Visual Information Design in the Faculty of Art and Design atKobe Design University. About a year after entering the university, he begandoujin activities in a private magazine called "A-Zone," drawing fan-made parody manga ofSailor Moon and other characters. Upon graduating from college, he received a Bachelor of Arts (Art and Engineering) degree.[citation needed] In 1998, Azuma published aone-shot manga and twowebcomics called "Try! Try! Try!", in whichYotsuba Koiwai, her adoptive father Yousuke Koiwai, Ena, Fūka, and Asagi first appear.[7]
Azuma became famous forAzumanga Daioh, which was serialized from February 1999 to May 2002 in the monthly magazineDengeki Daioh byMediaWorks; three additional chapters were published inShogakukan'sMonthly Shōnen Sunday in May 2009 to celebrate the manga's tenth anniversary. The manga was first released in English byADV Manga, and later re-issued byYen Press.. The series title has no particular significance to the story. "Azumanga" is aportmanteau of the author's name "Azuma" and "manga", while "Daioh" comes from the magazine in which it was originally published,Dengeki Daioh.[8] In the anime, "daioh" is mentioned during the next episode previews, used in context with the meaning "great king". "Azumanga" is also used as a general term for Azuma's other comics and illustrations. Two previous collections of Azuma's works, including officialtie-in comics ofPioneer animations, were published asAzumanga andAzumanga 2 in 1998 and 2001, respectively.Azumanga Daioh was later republished in a reduced-size edition calledAzumanga Recycle.
Azumanga Daioh chronicles theeveryday life in an unnamedJapanese high school of six girls:child prodigyChiyo Mihama and her struggle to fit in with girls five years older; reservedSakaki and her obsession with cute animals while certain ones seem to hate her; spaceyAyumu "Osaka" Kasuga with a skewed perspective on the world;Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara's aggravation at an annoying best friend;Tomo Takino, whose energy is rivaled only by her lack of sense; sportyKagura and her one-sided athletics rivalry with Sakaki.
Secondary characters include homeroom teacherYukari Tanizaki, her friend,physical education teacherMinamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa, and the creepy classical literature teacherKimura. The story covers three years of tests, talking between classes,culture festivals, and athletic events at school, as well as time spent traveling to and from school, studying at Chiyo's house, and vacations at Chiyo's summer beach home and the fictionaltheme park Magical Land, concluding with the graduation of the main cast. It is generally realistic in tone, marked by occasional bursts ofsurrealism and absurdity, such as Osaka imagining Chiyo's ponytails being "unscrewed" from her head and an episode featuring the characters'New Year's dreams.
Ananime television adaptation titledAzumanga Daioh: The Animation was produced byJ.C.Staff and aired in Japan between April and September 2002, consisting of 130 four-minute segments compiled into 26 episodes. The compiled episodes were released onDVD andUniversal Media Discs (UMDs) byStarchild Records, and an English-language version was produced byADV Films. Before the series, a theatrical short and anoriginal net animation were also produced. Several soundtrack albums were released, as well as three video games.
Both the manga and anime have been praised for their humor driven by eccentric characters, with Azuma acclaimed as a "master of the four-panel form" for both his art style and comic timing.[9] However, he felt that he did not want to “limit himself to a niche topic” and decided to choose a topic in which he had little experience, and began serializingYotsuba&! in 2003.
Yotsuba&! is published byASCII Media Works in the monthlyshōnenDengeki Daioh since the March 2003 issue, with serialization on-going. Chapters have been collected in sixteentankōbon volumes. Each chapter ofYotsuba&! takes place on a specific, nearly sequential day of acommon year starting on Wednesday. The year was initially believed to be 2003, coinciding with the date of the manga's serialization, but Azuma has stated that the manga always takes place in the present day.[10] This allows the appearance of products created after 2003, such as theNintendo DS Mr. Ayase plays in chapter forty-two.Yotsuba&! is centered on Yotsuba Koiwai, a five-year-old[11] girl who is energetic, cheerful, curious, odd, and quirky—so much so that even her own father calls her unusual. She is also initially ignorant about many things that a child her age would be expected to know—among them doorbells, escalators, air conditioners, and even playground swings.[12] Thisnaïveté is the premise of humorous stories whereby which she learns about—and frequently misunderstands—everyday things.[13]
At the start of the series, Yotsuba and her adoptive father, Yousuke Koiwai, relocate to a new city with the help of Koiwai's best friend, an impressively tall man named Takashi Takeda, known as Jumbo. Yotsuba makes a strong impression on the three daughters of the neighboringAyase family, Asagi, Fuuka, and Ena, after Ena meets Yotsuba trying to find out how a swing works. Most of her daily activities and misadventures often originate from interactions with these characters and more, such as Asagi's friend Torako, known asTiger (from Yotsuba, the kanji forTora is the same kanji intiger). The series has no consistent plot continuity—the focus of the stories is Yotsuba's daily voyage of discovery. Many chapters take place on successive days, so that the series follows, almost literally, the characters'daily lives.[14] The tone can be summarized by the motto, used on chapter title pages and advertising: "Today is always the most enjoyable day" (いつでも今日が、いちばん楽しい日,Itsudemo kyō ga, ichiban tanoshii hi), or in the original translation, "Enjoy Everything".
Yotsuba&! is drawn not in the verticalfour-panel strips of Azuma's earlier series,Azumanga Daioh, but in a full-page format, giving him more artistic scope.[15][16] Azuma's work onYotsuba&! has been noted for its clean art,[17][18] and expressive faces.[19][20] Azuma is also praised for his joyous tone,[21][22] slice-of-life storytelling,[15] comedic writing,[23][24][25] and eccentric yet realistic characters, especially Yotsuba herself.[26][27][16][22][28] The manga has received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences due to Azuma's artistic talent, writing, and the creation and development of the titular character, with the manga earning multiple awards and nominations.[29][30][31][32][33] Despite its popularity and the success ofAzumanga Daioh, no plans have been announced for an anime adaptation ofYotsuba&!. In an entry posted on his website on 15 May 2005, Azuma said there were no plans for it to be animated; he reiterated this on 5 December 2008, claiming that the stories and style ofYotsuba&! are not well-suited for animation.[34] In 2006,Azumanga Daioh andYotsuba&! were both selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Media Arts in the manga category. No crossovers between the two works occurred until sixteenth volume ofYotsuba&! in 2025, which features a cameo appearance from Osaka.[35]
In May 2000, he established Yotsuba Studio in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, with Hideki Satomi. Although he does not disclose much about his private life, in a blog post written in 2011, he has stated that he feels hesitant when buying children’s furniture to use as reference for his manga because he has no children.[citation needed]
| Title | Year | Notes | Refs[36] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallaby (わらびー,Warabi) | 1998–2000 | Serialized inGame-jin | |
| Try! Try! Try! | 1998 | One-shot forYotsuba&! and related webcomics | [37] |
| Azumanga Daioh | 1999–2002 | Serialized inDengeki Daioh Published byMediaWorks in four volumes | |
| Magical Play | 2001–2002 | Character designs forONA series Published by Dengeki Comics | |
| Yotsuba&! | 2003–present | Serialized inDengeki Daioh Published byASCII Media Works in sixteen volumes |
... [A]ll the characters are vividly depicted, which gives exhilaration to the work and the whole atmosphere has a gentleness.
Such is the way of Kiyohiko Azuma's slice-of-life storytelling, which was mastered within the four-panel pillars ofAzumanga Daioh but perfected only in the full-chapter format thatYotsuba&! brings.
What is really special about Yotsuba, though, is that newness with which she, as a child, sees the world. That the manga allows us to glimpse the world through those same eager eyes is what gives it appeal far beyond its humor. And it's in this that Azuma's decision to move past the four-panel format really pays dividends.
Incredibly strong drawings with excellent composition, detailing without being over-drawn and solid inking enhances the whole package.
He beautifully draws everyday life and items, providing a grounding background. The detailed settings, such as the town streets, nicely contrast with the simpler character faces. And his sense of motion makes action sequences feel like a cartoon, they move so smoothly.
Azuma's facial expressions bring YOTSUBA&! to life, making every page feel rich with personality, almost radiating emotion. The faces play a key role in the art, dominating each panel but not overpowering it.
Its light-hearted fluffy slice-of-life episodes are accentuated by Azuma's cutely expressive artwork, which gives the book a near-weightless quality.
McElhatton4 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Yotsuba is like a blank slate of joyous fun, learning about everything and loving every minute of it ... Yotsuba&! manages the clever balancing act of being both manic and gentle fun at the same time.
about-vol4 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).The second half of the book is observational humor at its absolute pinnacle ... [T]here are plenty of times when Yotsuba&! is less than brilliant—usually when the series defeats itself by dragging out a joke too long.
Almost everything is a new experience for her, and her enthusiasm provides the appeal of the stories. Her wide-eyed innocence and seemingly inexhaustible energy makes for charming misunderstandings and comedy.
... [A]ll the characters are vividly depicted, which gives exhilaration to the work and the whole atmosphere has a gentleness.
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