Azumanga Daioh
Alternate Title: ----
Story
Total Episodes: 26The Azumanga Daioh is short anime which follows everyday Tokyo life through a Japanese high school which is never explicitly named. The audience follows the trials and triumphs of six girls: Sakaki's obsession with cute animals, Chiyo's struggle to fit in with an age group far above her own, Osaka's perspective on the world and Yomi's patience with a playful best friend, Tomo, whose energy is rivaled only by her total lack of sense, and Kagura's efforts towards sports, school, and her friends.
Azumanga Daioh spans three years in which accounts of tests, culture festivals and athletic events are seen at the school. After school life plays a role in the story at the nearby shopping district and Chiyo's large house. Chiyo's summer home on the coast, an hour-long drive from Tokyo and the nearby theme park, Magical Land, are seen as places visited between school terms.
Azumanga Daioh generally follows everyday life but the series is occasionally marked by bursts of surrealism and absurdity, such as in an episode featuring the characters' New Year's dreams.
Characters
Mihama Chiyo: Chiyo is a child genius. The series humorously explores the consequences of her being skipped five grades to tenth grade (freshman in Japanese high school). Her lack of stature in comparison to her classmates' leads to a lack of confidence, particularly in physical pursuits where she feels that she is a burden. Others in the story are jealous not only of her intellect, but of her family wealth as well. The graphic rendering of Chiyo's ponytails later allowed for several visual gags in the anime, usually as flying wings in Osaka's daydreams. At home, she can frequently be found in the company of her enormous dog, Tadakichi. 
Ayumu Kasuga: Ayumu is a transfer student from Osaka. Tomo quickly chose for her the nickname "Osaka" contrary to Ayumu's behavior, which is different from the "typical" Osakan. Ayumu lacks the energy or motivation to dispute the nickname. She appears slow but she merely has a mind that works differently than other people, prone to daydreaming, absentmindedness, and non-sequiturs, but exceptional at answering very specific types of riddles. She is easily amused by things that normal people would consider bizarre. With the arrival of Kagura, the "Bonkuraazu" are formed along with Tomo and Osaka, their name for a trio of under-achievers. 
Tomo Takino: Tomo is extremely energetic and competitive, despite being no athletic and a slacker. She tends to irritate everyone around her, especially Yomi, who has been her classmate since elementary school. Tomo's character is extremely impulsive and never considers nor cares about the consequences of anything she says or does, except on the occasions when Tomo has actually been inspired to concentrate on something. 
Koyomi Mizuhara: A grade-school friend and general antagonist of Tomo's, Yomi, as she is commonly known as, is the title's voice of reason, carrying herself as the most mature and serious of the group. Though smart and athletic, she is constantly dissatisfied with herself due to her weight and is always trying various diets in an effort to become thinner. Yomi has another weakness of being an awful singer, but karaoke is one of her favorite pastimes. While usually functioning as Tomo's "straight man", she sometimes manifests a rather cruel sense of humor, such as when she uppercuts Tomo when she is frustrated with her. 
Sakaki: Tall, soft-spoken Sakaki is uncomfortable with her height, and her busty physique. Because she is shy, she speaks seldom and her reticence is misinterpreted as mysterious, or cool. She is naturally athletic but she has no real interest in sports. In contrast to what the other students think of her, Sakaki is, in reality, an emotionally sensitive person who holds a secret longing for cute things. She loves cats, but the neighborhood cats dislike her and her parents do not allow cats in their house. Sakaki is friends with Chiyo and is glad to find out that Chiyo's dog, Mr. Tadakichi, will let her pet him. Sakaki's friendship with Chiyo is an irony of circumstances, as both characters yearn to be like each other. Later in the series, Sakaki befriends a Yamamaya cat that had lost its mother and had sought out Sakaki. 
Kagura: Kagura is a later acquaintance, joining Yukari's class in the 2nd year. Yukari selects her as a ringer to win the school athletic competitions. Originally in Nyamo's class and with little success in studies, she devotes her time to the swim team but is an all-around good athlete. She is genuinely nice to her classmates but is competitive and has a slight obsession with Sakaki, with whom she sees as an athletic rival due to Sakaki being a naturally gifted athlete with no training at all. Like Sakaki, she is quite busty, but tomboyish. Like Tomo, Kagura tends to be quite impulsive in her actions but in contrast to Tomo, keeps it under control. Kagura has a sensitive side, which the audience sees in episode six of the anime following her homeroom's defeat in the sports festival, and the final episode following graduation. 
Yukari Tanizaki: Yukari is the girls' English and homeroom teacher (class 3), but a teacher with very unconventional methods and a rather close relationship with the class. Her students are casual enough to call her by her first name: Yukari-sensei, and some of them even use the very informal and intimate name and title of Yukari-chan. She can be moody and, like Tomo, is incredibly impulsive and has a tendency not to think things through. Yukari has a rivalry with Minamo and attempts to prove that she is the superior teacher. Yukari is a reputedly bad driver, as evidenced by the horrid condition of her car the students' have lovingly dubbed "the Yukari-mobile". 
Minamo Kurosawa: Minamo is a gym teacher at the girls' school. In the girls' first year of high school, she was the homeroom teacher of class 5. During their last two years, she was the homeroom teacher of class 2. She is an old high school friend and rival of Yukari. Popular with the students, Nyamo is nicer and in greater control of herself than Yukari, but, in moments of weakness, Minamo has proven that she can be just as vulnerable to losing control as Yukari is. The two have arguments but Minamo does try her best to take the high road and not let Yukari's antics get to her and tries to help Yukari out and become a better teacher.
Gallery
Song Lyrics
SORAMIMI CAKE
lu La lu La piano wa sekai no yumesaku nohara ni melody
kowareta tokei wo shinjite jikan wa dare no mikata?
doushite konna ni watashi no mune yasashii dareka wo matteruno?
oshiete sutekina mirai Moonlight,moonlight sleepin‘
lu La lu La Omoide ringo ni mezame no shoujo ga kiss shite
setsunaku hirogeta hon niwa futari no bell ga naruyo
dakishimetaikara itoshiihito
mou nakanaidene Good bye sadness
fushigina tobira no moji wa [Soramimi cake]
Wonderland! youkoso kiminiwa Fairyland! ai no mahou nano
Love's all way! Mainichi fuwafuwa komugi no yuuwaku
Cake for you! tabetene konya wa Tea for you! seiza no ochakai
mado ni tenshi no chorus kiminiwa soramimi? sukidayo sukidayo no koe
lu La lu La Piano ni sekai wa yumemiru chiisana melody
yubikara inori no waltz ga afureteii kimochine
itsudemo sunaona watashi no mune shizuka ni nemuri no aisatsu
himitsu no onegai dakara Holly,Holly whisper
lu La lu La dokodemo danro wa mikkagetten kara oriruhimo
kogoeru tabibito no kokoro tokashite Hug shiteruyo
kireina kuuki ni hikari no michi mayowasu arukeba Welcome pleasure
hitomi ni ukanda moji wa [Soramimi no cake]
Wonderland! youkoso kiminiwa Fairyland! koi no yorokobi wo
Love's all way! mainichi wakuwaku komugi no bouken
Cake for you! chiisana shiawase Tea for you! daisukina egao de
mado ni tenshi no chorus kiminiwa soramimi? sukidayo sukidayo no koe
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RASPBERRY HEAVEN
kokoro ni hane wo motte tsutate mune no sasayaki ima, kaze ni notte
kokoro wa hoshi no kanata negai wa kanarazu kanau ai ni kitte sono kagi wa mirai e
mado ni sotto yobu koe wa koi no yokan soshite mada tooku no ai demo shinjiteru asu wo shinjiteru kimi wo
Rapsberry heaven hitori ja naite yakusoku shita ne heaven Raspberry heaven amai namida rakuen de mata hohoen de
Raspberry heaven mukae ni kita no yasashii yume no heaven Raspberry heaven,I'm coming back to you rakuen no hana saita hi ni kimi to futari... futari de aimashou
hikari ga oikaketeku mabushii shiawase no chizu hora, suteki da yo ne
hikari ni yasuragu toki samishii kao ni sayonara mitsuketai omoi de no houseki
"soba ni oide" sono koe wa koi ni yureru watashi? demo koushite shizuka ni matteiru asu wo matteiru kimi wo
Raspberry heaven yorokobi no nami tadayou mama ni heaven Raspberry heaven hitomi tojite kobune wa doko ni nagareru no
Raspberry heaven dakishimetakute tanoshii yume no heaven Raspberry heaven,I'm coming back to you rakuen ni hana utsukushiku kimi to futari... futari de aimashou
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