Kimura

Kimura-Sensei
	;
Japanese	木村先生
Romanized	Kimura-sensei
Gender	Male
English voice actor	Andy McAvin
Japanese voice actor	Kouji Ishii

Kimura (Japanese: 木村先生 Kimura-sensei), also known as Mr. Kimura, is the only regular male character in Azumanga Daioh and teaches classical literature.^[1] Openly admitting he became a teacher to be close to high-school girls, he is constantly displaying inappropriate behaviour towards his female pupils. His continued employment at the school in spite of his continued blatant sexual harassment to minors and coworkers alike is one of the series's greatest mysteries.

Despite his lewd activities, outside of school Kimura appears as a responsible and kind-hearted person: he recycles littered cans, donates frequently to charities, and even offered ¥10,000 to a shrine as he prayed for world peace. He has a beautiful wife and daughter, who love him despite his strange obsession; his wife even claims to find him very handsome and thinks "he's cool!".

Biography[]

Kimura is a young-middle aged man that carries himself with a somber and eerie aura. Openly admitting he became a teacher to be close to high-school girls, he is constantly displaying inappropriate behaviour towards his female pupils that ranges from excuses to "observe" girls; such as during swimming class or when they are measured and weighed by the school nurse, to obscene innuendos; such as asking to be served "swimming pool water" as a drink or making charged remarks about female uniforms and swimsuits. He especially likes Kaori, much to her dismay, and has also expressed interest in Kagura, as seen when he asks her how it went after she had got her physicals, possibly also when he sees her and Sakaki in school bathing suits and calls one of the girls "barely legal"^[2] or when he, without hesitation, tells Kagura "I like you" in English because she was wearing the gym shorts that he loved.^[3] His addressing Kaori by her nickname "Kaorin" is inappropriate for a student-teacher relationship; he takes this a step further by asking her to address him by the similarly cutesy name "Kimurin" ("Mr. Kim-Kims" in the original English manga translation).^[4] Kimura appears to be uninterested in Osaka as he went back to class after seeing her in an episode, but did remark in a previous episode he wanted to see her and the other girls changing. When Osaka asks him at school, "if you like high school girls what do you think of Chiyo-chan?", Kimura says "She's fine too."

Kimura habitually appears with his mouth gaping open, and his eyes cannot be seen behind his glasses. At his first appearance in the manga, Kimura seems normal, but takes on his usual expression after he was asked why he became a teacher—as if he had some sort of mental break. In the anime, he is always open-mouthed. In the anime, he is always open-mouthed as well. The one exception is in his family photo. Most female students (and some faculty) intensely loathe him, but many male students admire his "sincerity". He once asked Yukari Tanizaki and Minamo Kurosawa out for drinks, but they turned him down since they were creeped out by him. He also dressed up as a male high schooler during the 3rd athletic festival, attempting to give Yukari a love letter – since she was dressed up in her old school uniform – and calling her "senpai".^[5] This disturbed Yukari. Despite his obscene activities, outside of school Kimura appears as a responsible and kind-hearted person: he recycles littered cans, donates frequently to charities, and even offered ¥10,000 to a shrine as he prayed for world peace.^[6]

He has a beautiful wife and daughter who love him despite his strange obsession; his wife even claims to find him very handsome and thinks that "He's cool!". He, at one point, drops a photo in the home room, only to have it picked up by the main cast. When Tomo asks who the woman in the picture is, Kimura replies, in heavily accented English: "Mai waifu" ("Mein wife" in the ADV Manga translation). The scene following is one of shock. The girls are unwilling to believe that Kimura could have married such a beautiful woman, and to prove that he is telling the truth, Kimura shows them a family photo of himself, his wife and their daughter (whom the girls are surprised by because she looks smart). The photo is a key part in Kimura's character development as it is one of the only scenes in Azumanga Daioh where Kimura shows any sign of true happiness or any other kind of real emotion.

Kimura sexual harassment — Kimura sexually harassing Kaori

Kimura transferred Kaori into his class, much to her dismay (Kaori dreads Kimura-sensei's attention even more emphatically than her peers). Kimura-sensei also expresses more interest in her than in any other student, to the point of planting a Kimura and Kaorin garden.^[7] He also tells her to call him by a nickname as well (Kimurin) when she complains that she is the only student in class being addressed by a nickname. Kaori attempts to overlook Kimura's fault after meeting his sensitive and sweet wife. However, this ends quickly. On their final day of class, to Kaori's horror, Kimura-sensei tells the class he and Kaorin will be together forever.^[8]

One notable part of Kimura's character is that he, for unknown reasons, often blurts out phrases in English even though he is speaking to fellow Japanese people and isn't an English teacher like Yukari. His reasons for doing this are unknown.

Kimura's continued employment at the school in spite of his continued blatant sexual harassment to minors and coworkers alike is one of the series's greatest mysteries.

Quotes[]

"BECAUSE I LIKE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS THAT'S WHY!!" (In response to Tomo asking him why he became a high school teacher in the dub; "BECAUSE I LIKE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS AND THINGS!" in the sub)
"Mai waifu"
"Several of the water pipes that run through my house have been leaking quite a bit lately. The rubber backing has probably grown very brittle and dried out. It tends to do that when it gets old you know. Have you grown brittle and dry...?"
"Yule be running because it's Christmas?"
"I think I'd like a glass of pool water! POOL WATER! AS IN WATER FROM THE POOL THAT YOU GIRLS HAVE BEEN SWIMMING IN!"
"Let's be together, Kaorin."
"ARE YOU HAVING FUN, KAORIN?!"
"If they have P.E. first hour, that means... they apparently don't care if they let them wear their P.E. shirts to homeroom too! And when they have swimming.... SWIMSUITS!"
"The wonderful time we've shared together will be ending as of today..... BUT! KAORIN AND I WILL BE TOGETHER FOREVER!"

Trivia[]

Kimura first appeared as the protagonist of the comic Azumanga Ohdama by Kiyohiko Azuma from 1999, along with characters such as Osaka, Tadakichi-san, Chiyo, Yomi, Sakaki, and Kaorin. In this comic, he is unnamed.^[9]
Kimura's line "Mai Waifu" (an Engrish corruption of "My Wife") has become a common term by fans to describe anime or video game women that are, in their opinion, "desirable."
Just like how the Yukarimobile can be considered the "main antagonist" for Chiyo Mihama and Kamineko can be considered the "main antagonist" for Sakaki, Kimura can be considered the "main antagonist" for Kaori.
In Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson cautions that the jokes that revolve around the "vaguely pedophilic teacher" (referring to Kimura) might disturb some newer readers of manga, and later suggested that he might be a parody of the readers of the magazine Azumanga Daioh ran in.