No girls trying to learn instruments, no turning conquests of love into 12th-dimensional chess, Azumanga Daioh simply followed the lives of six high school students going about their daily lives. While it’s hard to say whether or not Azumanga Daioh is technically the first slice of life anime ever, it was definitely the first of its kind to take off the way that it did. Still, whether we’re talking about Nichijou, Kaguya-Sama Love Is War, or any other day to day show, they all owe a debt to 2002’s Azumanga Daioh. These are both still slice-of-life anime that have evolved from their more humble origins. Asobi Asobase revels in its dark and absurd humor. Titles like Chio’s School Road centered around the wacky hijinks of a girl just trying to get to school every day. However modern offerings are a bit more pointed than those of previous generations.

Your K-On!’s and your Lucky Stars can all be traced back to Azumanga Daioh. Today, slice of life anime shows that mostly focus on the daily lives of characters instead of building up to any grand plot, are still abundant. Perhaps having more in common with something like Seinfeld, Being another show about nothing as they say, than other prominent comedic anime of the time like the seemingly cocaine-fueled Excel Saga or the slapstick of Love Hina, its indulgence in the lackadaisical was its appeal.

Slice Of Life Anime has come a long way since Azumanga Daioh burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, turning everyone that watched into die-hard believers.

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