Product Description

Ever wondered what goes on behind the closed doors of the teachers' lounge? At Asashio High, the new school year brings new faces, both in the student body and on staff. The new crop of teachers are all former students, and it quickly becomes obvious they have yet to grow out of their hilariously juvenile ways. From romantic entanglements to otaku obsessions, these teachers just go to show that the fun doesn't have to end after high school!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #300346 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780759528987
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up—In both appearance and antics, the new homeroom teachers of Asashio High, all graduates of the school, are barely recognizable from their students. The physical education teacher, Izumi Maki, cannot seem to stay awake or remember the teens' names. Her cohorts include a competitive school nurse, a seriously formal Japanese teacher with a ravenous appetite, and a smitten foreign-language teacher. The artwork is sharp (the overly expressive eyes common to shojo manga serve the characters well) but constricted to uniform, square panels throughout most of the book. This format, coupled with a lack of fluidity between each episode, makes for a confusing read. Although notes are provided, they are at the end of the volume, so cultural references about food, video games, and gender-bending practices often get lost in translation. Still, this is altogether a fluffy, at times funny, romp, with some risqué poses and a bout of drunkenness that make the story best suited for older readers.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Azumanga teacher style
S. S. Astro: Asahio Sogo Teacher's Room can best be described as Azumanga grown up. The entire work is in 4-koma style with an occasional splash or two thrown in. The drawings are chibi free, but demonstrate a clean art style that will please any manga fan.

Now for the plot -
The work is a lot of fun. Don't expect amazing jokes on every page, but the slice-of-life humor is rather good. The main focus are four teachers: Maki, the gym teacher with a lazy attitude; Arai, the school nurse who is mostly bored and craving someone else's injury; Karasuma, the foreign language teacher who has hopes for a yuri relationship with Maki; and Nagumo, the Japanese teacher who can eat more than most small countries' could afford. There are other secondary characters that begin to get introduced towards the end of the work.

A good portion of the plot oddly takes place away from work, but makes reference to work. The group eats out (and drinks), the obligatory hots spring trip is experienced, and other such manga stand-bys. The portion that takes place during work is by far the best. From messy lockers, to grading papers, and experience of two of the teachers' first day as homeroom teachers is delightful. (Plus the handheld video game segment is so much fun!)

Overall, S. S. Astro is a fun 4-koma styled work. It is grown up enough that the extreme wackiness of Azumanga (such as papa cat) has been replaced, but the charm is not lost.

(3.5 STARS) "Azumanga"? Umm...Not Really. Still Entertaining
Four-panel comic "S. S. Astro" created by Banno Negi offers a unique take on high school life in Japan, which is frequently taken up as the setting for comic books. Here the entire characters are high school teachers (ASTRO stands for Asashio Sogo Teachers ROom or Asashio General High School Teachers Room). Remember the world of "Azumanga Daioh" and Yukari sensei and Nyamo sensei as the main cast.

The teachers (mostly female) are all described as unique persons with slightly eccentric traits; physical education teacher Maki sensei never grows up; nursing teacher Arai sensei is romantically attracted to someone else in school; Japanese teacher Nagumo sensei has uncanny ability of eating "accidentally" so much food, and so on. Students appear sometimes, but they are just "character # 1" without names.

I am sorry to say, however, that for all nice illustrations "S. S. ASTRO" is no "Azumanga." Obviously teacher's life in school is less eventful than student's (I was a high school teacher and I know that) and the manga's story goes on, it tends to be less and less about the school life, which initially rendered "S. S. ASTRO" quite unique. Maybe creator Banno Negi is running out of material.

The comic has been serialized in Japanese magazine "Manga Time Kirara Carat" (known for "Sunshine Sketch" and more recently "K-On!" both turned into anime series), but sadly "S. S. ASTRO" has not been published in the magazine since November, 2007. At this time of writing nothing has been announced as to the comic's return. Perhaps we muct wait for its Volume 2 (if any) very, very long.

Yen Press did a great job of translating the book. English edition has the same format as the Japanese one, with color pages intact. Translation of FXs and signs are not neglected. The translation itself is very good with 4-page translation notes that explain the comic's references to games and otaku culture. One thing must be said, however. The translator clearly confuses "ensoku" (field trip) and "shugaku ryokou" (school trip). The former is, as the notes say, "once-a-year" (and one-day) field trip, but the comic refers to the latter, much longer travel that students can join only once in their school life. (Remember the delightful epiasoeds in Okinawa in "Azumanga"? That's "shugaku ryokou" and we cannot afford to do that once in a year.)

The book also contains a 10-page preview of "Suzunari," my favorite comic of a cute girl with a pair of nekomimi ears.

Great Read
I love this Manga. It was the first 4-panel or yonkoma I've ever read. The greatest thing about this style, I've come to find, is unlike other mangas, the 4-panel ones are way more re-readable. Once I've finished, the down time for a typical manga is a year or two before I'm ready to read it again. With this style, I was ready to read it again the next day!

The story: was simply great! A little disjointed at times, but overall a fun and fast paced storyline.

This was a great manga and I would recommend it for anyone.