Azumanga Daioh, based on the manga of the same name by Kiyohiko Azuma, is a quirky high school comedy that is unlike other anime series. Over the course of 26 half-hour episodes, this slice-of-life show follows a group of female students through all three years of high school in Japan. The show combines wonderful characters, gentle yet off-the-wall humor, and an overall sense of nostalgia for high school life.

Unlike other anime series, Azumanga Daioh does not have a singular plot running through it. The only continuity between episodes is the passage of time. The original manga was drawn in "4comi" or comic strip form. Each strip had a title and dealt with a situation across four panels. This structure also makes its way (sort of) into the anime version. Every episode is divided up into five sections and each section has a title. The sections of each episode are connected together by a common theme. For example, an episode may have five different stories that each deal with the characters at the yearly Sports Festival the high school is having.

The heart and soul of Azumanga Daioh are the characters. While most of them represent various high school archetypes, each one is distinctive. Sakaki is a girl who is envied and admired by the other girls in her class. She is tall, athletic, and naturally smart but also quiet and somewhat aloof. She has an affinity for all things cute and is routinely attacked by a stray black cat she desperately wants to pet. Chiyo (or Chiyo-chan, as she's called most of the time) is a 10-year-old genius who has skipped a few grades into high school. While she is arguably the smartest girl in the class, she has some trouble dealing with the non-educational aspects of high school. She envies Sakaki for her height (Chiyo-chan's short for her age) and attitude. The irony is that Sakaki envies Chiyo-chan for being so darn cute.

Tomo is loud, hyperactive, and brash. She speaks her mind, comes up with ridiculous ideas, and imagines herself as being a whole lot better than she really is. Tomo only gets through high school by copying the homework of her best friend Yomi. Yomi is not only Tomo's childhood friend but also her exact opposite. Of all the characters, she's the closest to a "normal" girl. She's studious and friendly and like other high school girls, she constantly worries about her weight.