The Mushishi manga is also a very nice read - it's all these lovely gray-toned watercolor-y images and sparse dialogue.

The feeling in that manga, this sense of awe before the nature and associations it manages to ewoke (I swear I could smell autumn during one chapter of Mushishi) is quite relaxing. Meditative manga, somehow

Have you seen Lucky Star? It's very much like Azumanga, yet many people only like the one or the other. I personally prefer Lucky Star, but I'm always interested in hearing what people like in series I don't like (that is, if my dislike is for reasons others than "meh, mainstream crap, seen this before")