/a/ - Aryanime

after being aware of it for a few years but never actually watching it, I decided to try watching azumanga daioh and i must admit that the 4cuck oldfags were right, it is kino. i was initially quite dissuaded from watching it because of all the xittertrannies and normgroids who recently picked up the show and started flaunting their admiration for it at every possible turn, thoughbeit im unemployed and have nothing to do all day so i decided that i may as well at least try watching it to pass the time. now that ive finished it, i I can confidently say that out of the 15ish slice of life anime I've watched in my life, im quite sure azumanga is the best of all of them. unlike almost every shonen anime ive ever watched where i felt like i had to grit my teeth and force myself to watch it, i found myself actively rationing out the episodes of azumanga instead of just rushing through them to get through to the end as quickly as possible because i wanted to savour and really engage with every moment of the show. for only 26 episodes I was honestly surprised with how much attachment I could build to these characters and how much i could grow to like them, even if i didnt care for them initially. I think this sentiment is most exemplified with chiyo, who i hated at the beginning of the show for her high pitched voice and over the top demeanor which i found to be incredibly grating thoughever by the time the graduation scene rolled around i had built a genuine appreciation for her character, and i felt that i could almost relate to her because of how sombre it was to see all of the characters move on with their lives and for the show to conclude, but i knew that it was necessary. if azumanga was some thrembillion episode long goyslop gag show like the simpsons or family guy then it wouldnt have the quality or temporal nature that made it special in the first place.
<
It's sort of hard to put my finger on it, but azumanga feels very different to almost every slice of life anime ive ever heard of or seen before despite being seemingly quite generic in concept. one significant thing it accomplished that not many anime, or really tv shows in general have ever done for me was actually making me feel melancholic, thoughbeit simultaneously happy in a way. seeing all these fictional anime foids having purer and more true friendships in a total 9 hours of runtime than i have in my entire life was in part brutal, yes, but the fact that they get to exist in a good world full of camaraderie, kindness and joy, even if it doesn't exist outside of the pages of a manga or the pixels of a screen is something they deserve. i know that shows of this quality are few and far between and that some people on this board recommend watching haibane renmei as a sort of successor to azumanga, but i would like to know, have any /a/ryanime enjoyers had similar experiences with azumanga daioh, or any other keyed anime for that matter? im not just asking for generic recommendations like the other 4 threads with the exact same topic but anime that actually provoke a deeper level of feeling and appreciation for the media in question. This may sound hyperbolic, but i do really mean it when I say azumanga made me feel a sort of happiness and empathy I haven't felt in a long time, so i humbly thank whatever chink animator toiled over his pen, paper or computer to make it happen
>inb4 seriousposting on shitty.clitty
this website is my personal blog and there's nothing (You) can do about it. also yomi WABAG if that matters