Half-Masked

Tomorrow, I will observe the first anniversary of the day I sat down and actually watched an episode of Azumanga Daioh. I mentioned it in passing on my blog, unaware that an entire series of articles would follow. I examined and celebrated the show and its characters, and those posts marked my progress of thought from the first to the last episode. From this, I came to an astonishing conclusion: I have never enjoyed television more.

If you had told me on Dec. 21st, 2008, that I was about to see a show I would adore like no other, that I would be introduced to the finest anime personalities of the last decade, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. It might even have put me off on searching it out. I avoided “My Name Is Earl” for years because of all of the incessant nudging and bothering to get me to watch it. First watching Chiyo and Osaka’s adventures in High School, I felt like an explorer stumbling onto lost treasure.

Azumanga Daioh makes me as inconsequentially happy as I have ever been. For every 22 minute episode I am a grinning, laughing idiot. I am not concerned with language barriers, or critiquing the animation quality. It shuts off my defenses, and sends the cynical part of my mind on vacation. When the credits ran, the analytical side of my brain made up for lost time. What amazed me was that I didn’t have to reach for hidden meaning or subtext. For a show that appears so silly and non-sequiturish on the surface, I saw plainly and clearly a work of human understanding.

How can that be? By choosing not to flaunt the fact that it understands and respects its characters. Every tv show must compete in a vicious fight for ratings, and that often comes at the cost of coherence. Even the best shows can talk down to their audience. Not here. You can’t expect people to love your characters if you don’t. I doubt there’s ever been a show more in love with its cast.

But I’ve already spoken on that… a lot. Like, a ridiculous, ricockulous amount. In fact this post is already quite a bit longer than it needs to be, so I’ll arrive at my point:

I am starting a new holiday tradition. Every December 21st, I will revisit this series in some way. There may be fan-art. It is even likely I will continue to blather about it on whatever blog I have at the time. I will do this every year that I am able, every year that I continue to breathe, or maintain the ability to articulate my hands into typing, writing and drawing. It will take a comatose state, sudden amnesia or death to nullify this. If we should run out of oil in my lifetime, thus eradicating the ability to maintain machinery and lose electricity forever(thus denying any ability to watch this show), I will quietly observe a few memories and smile.

I vow this, because there are only so many times Rudolph and Frosty can have that warming effect. Christmas Vacation is nice and all, but I’m not always in the mood for it. I don’t know if I’ll get tired of AD, because I have to physically stop myself from spending all of my time watching Chiyo and Osaka’s high school misadventures. This is a year-round endeavour, and I am not always successful. No other anime can say it has amused and touched me so deeply. I figure I owe it this much.

And now I leave you with a special holiday message from Chiyo’s Dad.

END OF LINE

~A.H.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 6:35 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.