Nichijou primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwine with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto. With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd. Walking to school, being bitten by a talking crow, spending time with friends, and watching the principal suplex a deer: they are all in a day's work in the extraordinary everyday lives of those in Nichijou.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Ryhzuo
Conventional wisdom has always taught us that more is usually better. We think that the more expensive car should have more completely unrelated features, the better ice-cream sundae should have a bigger pile of fresh fruit on top, and the better statistics report should be able to pull more numbers out of it’s arse. We compare phones by the multitude of apps it can run, our enjoyment of horror films is based on how many different ways the various victims die, and we often rate anime by how many story arcs, characters, subplots and themes it can cram into it’s 26 episode season. As themodern entertainment sector continues to emphasize excess and surplus, Nichijou is a much welcome, and frankly much needed throwback to a more old-school approach to entertainment. Nichijou’s frugal yet distinct style reminds us that something is perfect, not because there’s nothing more to add to it, but because there is nothing more to take away.
Nichijou brings to us a fusion of gag, moe, slice-of-life and slapstick comedy. It’s humor is very reminiscent of Azumanga Diaoh while it’s art style borrows heavily from the distinctly colorful palette of Lucky Star. Nichijou adopts a very light-hearted approach with it’s tone; it’s jokes are played fast and loose, and while there is a constant shift of pacing throughout each episode, Nichijou never seems to take itself very seriously.
Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about Nichijou is it’s production value. Frankly speaking, Nichijou is GORGEOUS to look at; it’s animation so incredibly fluid and it’s art so crisp and vivid that it actually puts other supposedly competent studios to shame. The artwork selects it’s palette very sparingly, with a result that is both vibrant yet easy on the eyes. This gentle tone is then frequently punctuated by segments of metaphorical (and in some cases literal) animation explosions, showcasing KyoAni’s talent with a huge variety of styles from gritty realism to crayon slapstick.
One can’t help but wonder if KyoAni isn’t deliberately showing off their workmanship with this anime. Many originally very short panels from the manga are translated into incredibly imaginative and stunning sequences of animation that simply scream “because we can.” Show off or not, Nichijou’s cinematography is nothing short of outstanding; it’s liberal interpretation of the original source material has really allowed the creativity of director Ishihara Tatsuya and the KyoAni animators to shine through like nothing we’ve ever seen before.
Special mention to Nichijou’s OP and ED songs, which are creative shorts (incredibly well sync’d I might mention) in their own right. As a fun fact, both of Nichijou’s OPs are sung by Hyadain, who is ONE guy. No female backing vocals at all, he does it all himself. Seriously I’m not joking, go look it up.
The aforementioned dynamic pacing forms the basis of Nichijou’s entertainment value. Each episode tackles it’s structure with a large degree of unpredictability. You never know what’s going to happen next, be it a humorous dialogue scene, a fast paced action sequence, an amusing random still image or a hilarious but completely unrelated skit. Despite this seemingly chaotic approach, Nichijou still manages to find a good balance between all it’s various styles so that no episode feels too weighted. While such a haphazard approach may seem counter-intuitive for a slice-of-life anime, this style ends up working greatly in Nichijou’s favor, adding another layer to it’s texture of absurdity.
The humor itself is very simplistic, almost to a fault, and one would normally attribute this as one of Nichijou’s flaws. That is of course until you remember that “Nichijou” translates to “My Ordinary Life” and as such, the simplicity of the jokes are a fitting homage to the show’s title and premise. Many of the jokes are simply exaggerated normal events like missing the train or a waiter forgetting your order, relying on witty dialogue delivery and clever timings to get the humor across. Some may consider this a hit-or-miss sort of comedy, which is only a fair judgement. All the same, you don’t necessarily have to laugh at jokes like these to appreciate them, which is one of the main reasons why slice-of-life can have such a widespread appeal (remember K-On?)
The characters are very likable, despite the obvious utilization of moe in many of their design. If you can shed that manly exterior and look past the few excessively “cute” scenes, there’s actually an abundance of things to enjoy about Nichijou’s characters. Conventional archetypes are few and far between in this anime, and all the characters harbor their own quirky habits and flaws that you’ll quickly grow fond of.
The best thing about Nichijou’s characters however, isn’t their individuality, but how they interact with each other. The personalities of various character groups clash, contrast and complement each other in extremely interesting ways; the conversations and activities of the two golden trios of Nichijou: Yuuko/Mio/Mai and Hakase/Nano/Sakamoto make up the abundance of material in each episode and just their hilarious adventures by themselves could probably carry an entire show. This is furthered by the great voice acting that the Nichijou provides; Nichijou is one of the rare shows where the seiyuus genuinely sound like they’re enjoying themselves. Dialogues are delivered with copious amounts of enthusiasm which really helps sell the spirited relationships that the various characters enjoy with each other.
With all that has been said though, I would like to come back to that idea I mentioned when we began, that idiom of “less is more.” The thing I love most about Nichijou, isn’t the amazing artwork, the clever cinematography, the light-hearted humor or even the imaginative characters. What I love most about Nichijou is the fact that, behind all the technicalities and production values, lies a very simple ideal. Everything about Nichijou revolves around this central principle of being enjoyable. All that it does, every scene, every character, every line of dialogue alludes back to this principle. Because at the end of the day, all Nichijou wants you to do is one thing; it wants you to enjoy yourself. With Nichijou, there is no story, no subplots, no recurring themes, no character development, no product placement, no lessons to be learnt, no obscure references to pander to a niche audience, no obvious fan-service pandering or ploys to sell related merchandise.
Fun is the only thing that matters, and it's this frugality, this ingenious simplicity, that allows everything to just click together like magic.
When you finally get home after a long tiring day, the only thing Nichijou wants to do is to give you an excuse to prop your feet up after and wash that blue feeling away as it slowly puts that grin back onto your face.
HaiiroTama
If I had to sum up all of Nichijou in one word, it would be "beautiful." As a slice of life, this anime can't be for everyone, as most people like to have a story that is actually driven by the plot. But even if you aren't into slice of life anime, there is something in Nichijou for everyone to enjoy. Story: Every episode is a series of semi-random "moments" in each of the characters' lives. As far as an actual storyline goes, there is no distinct beginning or end to Nichijou. No goal, no real conflict - as to be expected of a slice of life,"storyless." However, at about the halfway point, I started to question whether all of Nichijou somewhat revolves around Nano and her dreams of leading a normal, everyday life (which is what "nichijou" roughly translates to). There are some really beautiful moments that do advance the plot, which is part of what makes Nichijou so special as a slice of life.
Art:
Stunning. Characters are distinct, cute, and thoroughly enjoyable to look at. Animation has very fluid movements, and the "camera" work, especially during the funny scenes, is just brilliant. One thing that I particularly adore about this anime is the fact that, as opposed to some anime like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, in which the art style becomes overly-simplistic during moments of comedy, Nichijou's art style becomes vastly more serious and dramatic for almost all of the hilarious moments. Without losing an ounce of fluidity, Nichijou will abruptly switch from cute and colorful to intense, fast-paced action with over-the-top explosions and yelling. Everything about the art in this anime is something to behold.
Sound:
Hats off to Hyadain, as he did both of the OP songs and one of the ED songs, which are fun and upbeat, as expected of him. The background music is also very well-done, it's unobtrusive and mellow, allowing the characters themselves to set the mood more so than the music.
Character:
This is the glue that holds the entire thing together. The characters make up for the lack of a concrete story and then some - this anime is definitely NOT just something pretty to look at. During the few times that the plot progresses, so do the characters. They learn and grow, they have problems and they help each other. I found myself growing attached to all of the characters, I don't think there is a bad one in the bunch.
Overall, I love this anime. It is certainly beautiful in more ways than one, and it stands above many other anime in terms of being a slice of life and a comedy. If you like Lucky Star and Gintama, I can almost assure you that you'll have a blast with this anime. I know I sure did!
literaturenerd
Overview: This is an anime that I went into with high expectations. I was told OVER and OVER online that this was one of the funniest anime series to ever exist! I don't think I laughed once. I'm not just saying that I didn't get any sidesplitting laughs out of this, I don't think this series made me smile more than 2 times! Nichijou is certainly a series with an outstanding online reputation, but in this case I don't feel that the reputation was well deserved. Background: Nichijou was actually a bit of a flop in Japan and wasn't able to build a large Japanese fandom. However,it became a massive hit on the English speaking internet after 4chan latched onto it. For the last 3 years, Nichijou fans have been to /a/ what the bronies are to /b/! They are an absolutely devoted cult that recycle the same tired image macros OVER and OVER and team up the attack anyone that doesn't worship this piece of shit. Much like the Bronies, it is very difficult to tell how many actually like the show and how many embrace it entirely out of irony. Considering Nichijou is a comedy that is less funny than dropping a hammer on your big toe, I would say the latter is likely. Most of the humor consists of Japanese language puns and wordplay that doesn't translate well to a non-Japanese audience and even Japanese audiences didn't like it! This places Nichijou in a similar humor category as Vampire Holmes, which I also hated. The rest of the humor is "uber moe UGUUU" BULLSHIT, and tired slapstick gags that were old when Charlie Chaplin used them in the 1920s.
Story and Characters:
The story is simply the everyday life of a group of schoolgirls. Nichijou seems to borrow elements from both Azumanga Daioh and Cromartie High School without ever coming CLOSE to achieving the same level of humor and charm. A portion of this was that Azumanga and Cromartie had hilarious characters, while Nichijou just has really obnoxious characters. If I had to compare Nichijou to another anime it would be Lucky Star, but a version of Lucky Star that toned down all the anime and gaming references, leaving only the most mundane topics like finding a skirt that fits. Each of the characters fits into a well established archetype, but that alone doesn't explain why it's so bad. The Italian "commedia dell'arte" plays recycled the same stock characters and still won over audiences with their farcical humor. It is the combination of bland characters, linguistic humor lost in translation, tired gags, and horrible comedic timing that all come together to make this show a nearly un-watchable clusterfuck. If the show told a purposely bad joke and stretched it out until it became awkward for the audience, that would actually get a few laughs. When used right even "dead air" can be a useful comedic tool. Consider the opening of the famous comedy movie "Spaceballs". The joke is that the ripoff Star Destroyer is absurdly long in comparison to the ones in Star Wars, but that alone wouldn't be funny. It becomes funny because it just keeps going...and going...and going until the audience laughs because they don't know how to react. Nichijou just hits the audience with one bad joke after another in rapid succession like a machine gun of FAIL.
Animation and sound:
Here is where Nichijou got its points from. The opening theme is at least kind of catchy and the animation has moments where it shines. Having said that, I fucking HATE the art style of this series for taking even "moe" to a new rock bottom.
Overall:
If you want to tell other people online that Nichijou is great in order to fit in, go for it! However, I warn you to NOT actually bother watching Nichijou yourself because it is a massive waste of time. There are few experiences more annoying that watching a horrible comedy with no laughs. Avoid this anime like the plague!
ToxxicTeardrop
Nichijou is to me, one of a kind. It emphasizes what seems to be the essence of slapstick comedy, but induces your favorite lighthearted scenario all within the same episode. If you were keen of Lucky Star, Azumanga Daioh, Hidamari Sketch, or Pani Poni Dash, then you would definitely know what I'm talking about. Except, Nichijou, or "EveryDay", takes a twist and turn every now and then to let you know this is not so ordinary, and from there, you're on a wonderful ride to a pure fun and blownout comedy. Story: 7/10 Not at any point, did I criticize Nichijou for its direction of plot,because first of all, I knew what I was getting myself into, whoever reads the synopsis, or look at the cover even, can obviously expect slice of life and nothing else. It baffles me that there are still idiots (trolls) out there who complain and complain about these shows as if they expected some sort of abysmal plot (I know I might be feeding them at this very moment lol). That's besides the point, Nichijou is episodic, and it's good at it too, that's that.
Art/Animation: 9/10
This. If it did not have this, such a high production value, the enjoyment to this show would be severely cut in half. From your principal wrestling a random wild deer, to chasing down your best friend to retrieve a notebook that contains indecent sketches of your crush you accidentally handed over, it is all done, with the utmost 'epic' of animations I have ever seen in a slice of life, and given that there's no plot, this is a strong and important point to my overall enjoyment.
Sound: 8/10
First thing that caught my attention, wow that opening song, I didn't have to watch it a second time to know that it would become something that will eventually be like a broken replay button stuck in my own head. It's cute, catchy, fun and it captures the feel of the show perfectly. Other than the brilliant OP's, the sound effects for small things, like pouring a cup of tea, or the clear brilliance of using almost every famous and hardcore VA to voice-over an assemble of no-faced soldiers who are just a figment of Yuuko's (The airhead of our show) stupidity. No complaints.
Characters: 9/10
This show is character driven, it is almost impossible to dislike any character, because he or she provides you with entertainment despite what they might be doing. This show is separated into segments for the most part, meaning within the episodes of this episodic show, its episodic within itself. You switch from the school life of Mio, Mai and Yuuko, 3 best friends who let us wander upon their lollygagging, all to just live in the moment. Then we go to the home of the Professor and her robot friend, who she created herself, and happens to be about 8 years old, where the light-hearted part of the show shines, if you can't "Awww" at least once to the Professors' charades then I think your moe button needs to be repaired immediately. There is an extreme variety of characters, so you will be entertained.
Enjoyment: 10/10
An honest score, to say the least. I truly am happy I stumbled upon this show because for one, I saw the entire thing with my girlfriend, and she loved it, and now the both of us are sad that it's over, and two, there just needs to be more animes out there like this. I know, I know! It's too much to ask for more than one brilliant anime a year but come on, be real, it's what we want!
Overall: 9/10
So If you want a good laugh, or more than a laugh.. If you want to "lmao", then yup, I recommend!
drakenation
Great animation won't save this slice of life comedy from absolute failure. -- Overall: If you are looking for the fast-paced, pop cultured infused humor of Lucky Star, the strangeness of Azumanga Daioh or the cuteness of K-On, look elsewhere. Nichijou features obnoxious characters, jokes that drag on and a uneventful setting. -- Story: There is no real story to Nichijou. Minor events that happen before are acknowledged later on, but don't have any impact. -- Characters: The characters fall flat on their faces. Obnoxious, their "character traits" are over-exposed and take away from the almost-jokes the series try to tell. -- Comedy: Most jokes drag on for too long and lacka proper punchline. Random jokes are just dreams or imagination from a character with no fantastic element. Unfunny running jokes. Fail everywhere, everytime, hard.
There are a few interesting scenes and funny moments, such as an principal suplexing a deer, but that's a one second scene in a 5 minute joke. Watching a 25 episode for 10 seconds of almost-laughter is just not worth it. Watch something better
--
Art: The only praise I can give to Nichijou. The animation is fluid and contributes to the (few) funny jokes, and the character design is quite nice. However, without proper content, it's not enough to call Nichijou a decent anime.
leingodf8
How does one describe ordinary. Any dictionary will probably describe ordinary as "Something that is commonly encountered, usual" or something to that effect. So how does a show like Nichijou (which roughly translates to Regular Life) get a title like... well Nichijou. A show with robots, wigs, deer, and all manner of unusal things is anything but... ordinary right? Perhaps they titled it like this as a bit of a joke, to bounce off all the crazy stuff that is to come. But I think there is a little bit more behind the title than first meets the eye. Lets find out shall we? Ok, letsstart from the beginning. Waaaaaaaayyyyyy back in 2011, Nichijou first aired. I was in the motion of looking for something new to watch so I was keeping an eye on the new releases. When I glanced over Nichijou, my initial reaction was "hmmm high school slice o'life comedy... heh". Nothing immediatly jumped to my attention as a "must watch anime". Slice of life has always been very hit and miss with me... so I decided it probably wasn't worth my time and moved on to watch other things.
But... and I'm not entirely sure why... something stuck with me. When I first saw the ad for Nichijou, there was a picture of a girl, standing somewhat alone on top of a trash pile (with a few characters in the background), holding a flower pot. The most notable thing about the character was a giant wind up toy screw sticking out of her back. At the time I dismissed it but the image somehow stayed floating around somewhere in my subconscious. The art style just appealed to me, it was so simple and yet somehow a little bit elegant. And so, a couple of months after it finished airing, I decided to watch the series. I loved it.
Nichijou is a very odd series to review. Like most slice of lifes (slice of lives?), there isn't really a plot. Its just that... a slice of life, a little piece of a characters life. Or in Nichijou's case, many characters lives. Its a formula that is almost entirely dependant on how well the audience can relate to the character in question. There are other factors too of course, being a comedy, the humor itself is obviously important, and things like art and sound add bits here and there, but above all else, characterization is the key to its success. And well, in that regard I think Nichijou succeeded far beyond my expectations.
Lets start with the main characters. We basically have 2 groups, one being a young High school girl named Yuuko, with her 2 friends Mai and Mio, the other being a Robot named Nano, who lives with a child professor and a talking cat named Sakamoto. Wait what, talking cats, child professors, ROBOTS... do go on. Yes Nichijou certainly has its fill of odd and wacky characters, but to be honest, they are all very relatable and loveable characters. Each of them are funny in their own way, but they also have some very down to earth, even touching moments.
But, to be honest, the side characters are also pretty hilarious. Its funny, the series kind of jumps from story to story, sometimes lingering on one for less than 10 seconds, sometimes lasting for over 5 minutes. And yet it never feels confusing or cluttered. I don't think there was a single character I didn't at least somewhat enjoy watching, and it became very enjoyable to wonder in the little 5 second breaks between each short segment, as to who we are going to meet next.
Ok, so the characters are all well and good, but that can't be it can it? Well no, theres obviously more to it than that. Lets start with the comedy. To be honest... this is the part that tears me apart a little (just a little mind you). There are some freaking hilarious scenes in this show, but there are also some jokes that fall kind of flat. A lot of the jokes in this series (especially the ones between Mai and Yuuko) are more... "weird" than funny. I feel like there are a lot of puns in this series too, which isn't a bad thing, but seeing as I can't speak a lick of Japanese they usually won't mean anything to the average english speaking viewer. But I don't think the bad or the weird jokes are enough to do the series any harm. For each joke that falls flat, there are 2 or 3 more that will have you grinning from ear to ear. So I think the comedy holds up very well as well. As a final little touch, I think the art and music are both very well done. The art is so simple, but it just works so well. It captures the mood of the series perfectly I think. The sound too I think is amazing. There is a little bit about half way into the series that has no dialouge, about the girls building a tower of cards. I won't give away what happens, but the orchestra accompaniment makes it feel like its straight out of Fantasia. Overall very well done.
Looking back over this little piece on Nichijou... I still think something is missing. My head tells me that it isn't exactly that amazing of a series. While quite strong.. the characters are good and the comedy is good... its not anything special right? It doesn't step over any boundries, its not the funniest thing I've ver seen... so why do I love it so much? I think the reason is, above all else, this series has a wonderful beautiful atmosphere to it. While there are some very wacky moments, the series will always take time to slow things down and create a very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere as well. Everytime I watch an episode, a feeling comes over me. I feel safe, I feel at home. I'm in a world that I'm used to, that I've come to love. Its not perfect, there are some flaws here and there, but here it is cheerful... peaceful... ordinary.
If theres one thing this series has to teach... its that ordinary is in the eye of the beholder. What might seem ordinary to you, might be completely alien to another. But its that regular stuff you take for granted... Your Ordinary Life... that makes you who you are. Enjoy it to the best of your abilities.
Ziljun
"Our everyday lives may, in fact, be a series of miracles." Nichijou is the anime adaption by Kyoto Animation of the eponymous manga by Arai Keiichi. In a way, it might be one of the most important series in recent years, and in another way it's just a loveable comedy dense in quality and unadulterated joy of the art of animation. At 26 episodes, setting and keeping the bar high can be a tough job, but Kyoto Animation tackles any issues head-on and what remains is an awe-inspiring amount of everything that keeps anime fans in the medium. Nichijou translates to roughly “everyday”, as in ordinaryor regular. But the show stays true to the quote above and is able to present unique, bizarre and completely ridiculous situations taken from “everyday life” but turned up to 11.
Before I explain why, I’ll declare right away that after much consideration I’ve named Nichijou my absolute favorite anime that I’ve ever seen. I want readers to know and consider my bias, as a review will never be truly objective.
I've been wondering what word I would assign Nichijou. One single word to define the experience as a whole. The word I'm leaning towards is 'modern', mainly because of its presentation. Nichijou takes place in a crisp, colorful, detailed and absolutely beautiful, animated world full of quirks and memorable little doodles and characteristics. As first-time viewers will soon come to realize: A LOT of money went into Nichijou. Art and animation is treated as not only a way to convey images or adapt them from the manga, KyoAni frequently experiments with the art direction and animation to create some of the most brilliant moments of anime where the art and writing come together to not only complement one another but to carry a joke or situation to heights previously impossible. I don't say this lightly, but Nichijou may be (in more ways than one) the most beautiful anime I have ever seen in terms of visuals. No matter if you've seen over 300 series prior to this, you will find something new and something impressive. But it's not only beauty, detail, experimentation and innovation Nichijou's art does--it's also memorability. Nichijou’s strongest 10 goes to the art.
The opening and ending singles all offer something refreshing and new while tying the show together in a way that few songs manage to do. The two opening singles by Hyadain are memorable in the best of ways, but also set the stage with the fast tempo and energetic sound. The word “modern” comes to mind again. The first opening, Kataomoi, feels especially fresh and lively. I could not imagine a better pick for this show even if the lyrics don’t belong quite as well as the second opening with its theme around friendship. The two songs capture the insanity of the gags, but also tie into some of Nichijou's underlying themes like love and friendship. The result is a duo of openings that not only represents the series but brings it to life while bringing the viewer into the right frame of mind while the equally beautiful ending themes closes up each episode. The ending themes, particularly Zzz, is the perfect closer. The music slows down the frantic pace of the rest of the show while its lyrics will urge the listener to take a breath and think about what’s been going on. It’s like a review of the episode, letting the viewer appreciate and reflect on what they’ve seen as they “go to bed”, fitting the theme of the ending track. The second series of endings has a different animated short which I felt I had to mention. The fly-by of the town at dusk and seeing all the characters off-camera making their way home is entertaining every time. I never skipped the ending as there was always something to look at. The soundtrack itself can either be subdued or bombastic depending on the scene, building tension or releasing it. Not only does the soundtrack work, the way the sound interacts with the scenes is what sets it apart. I’m mainly reminded of the temple scene in the rain, where the total absence of music raises the tension to an unbearable level.
The real stars of Nichijou’s sound is the sound of its stars, the main characters and their excellent voice actors. I especially want to offer my appreciation for Mio and Yuuko’s actresses for pulling off some amazing cries and screams. Unlike the high-pitched whine of usual anime girls, they’re raw, hoarse and the resulting contrast is absolutely hilarious. Of course, the entire cast does a great job at getting the humor of each situation across, as well as each individual character’s personality. For example, Nano isn’t only the motherly high-school robot because she’s written that way, it’s because it’s in her voice.
Nichijou’s format is basically loosely-tied sketches with short animation snippets like “Love-like” and “Helvetica Standard” thrown in-between. I feel that Nichijou uses this format to its limit, picking and choosing the best parts for jokes while being able to throw in unrelated jokes now and then. The show centers on mainly six characters in two separate environments: Mai, Yuuko and Mio together in their classroom, and Nano, Hakase and Sakamoto in the Shinonome Lab. While it is a standard, the girls come visit the laboratory and Nano joins the three in school later on in the show. This way it feels much more fluid to watch and the characters can mix and interact. Unlike other comedies and slice-of-life shows, Nichijou has a rich cast of side characters with their own lives, sketches, quirks and jokes. What really impresses me is the attention they give to each character and how well-written the mains are. Yuuko isn’t just the dumb, genki girl that Mio has to keep in check, she has a different relationship with Mai as the one who has to retort her jokes and “troll attempts”. Not only that, she’s misunderstood and even a relatable character to someone who is a “black sheep” while still being funny.
You’ve probably entertained the thought “what if a certain studio had unlimited funds and worked on something they really wanted to do?” That’s what I think Nichijou answers. It’s a labor of love for the KyoAni staff, and proof of the talent they have on board. When I watch this show, I feel the creativity and love they put in, and in the end it’s what makes Nichijou what it is. The finale is a heartwarming ode to friendship and the everyday, and the overarching message is revealed like something that had been right in front of you all this time. It’s so obvious and so basic you can’t help but smile and wipe away a tear. Underneath all the insanity and surreal situations lies something humble. It wants you to love what you have, even if it’s been there so long you hardly ever notice it. In its own way, Nichijou heals you.
Ranivus
New generation anime sitcom has arrived… A spiritual successor to two of my favorite anime sketch comedies of all time (Azumanga Daioh and Pani Poni Dash), Nichijou delivers the comedy 110% percent. Based on the manga of the same name, this is a perfect example of how a situational/sketch comedy should be made. Anyone trying to find some objective story to this will ultimately blow their minds in front of their faces, as there is none. Hence Situational comedy, because its basically a group of people in high school and we’re there to watch the hilarity ensue. Typically things like this center themselves around a fewmain characters, but this series lends itself to a few dozen characters. For anime novices, I would recommend not to watch this sort of stuff considering, the sheer amount of Japanese popular culture references will make anyone’s head spin. But if you know what an Arikawe Prize or yakasoba or Japanese word games, this show makes learning about J-culture fun and entertaining.
As many series tend to steer towards fanservice central, this series bumps the moe factor from a 10 to a 11. Even so much as putting little 5-10 second spots having Nano and Hakase dance around or play kids games. Nothing but a white background and them just having fun. This pretty much sums up this whole series in my opinion. The sheer power of how these characters can emit so many emotions and enjoyment out of the viewer is something to behold. I highly suggest watching only a few episodes at a time as you will probably laugh so hard you’ll soon run out of laughter, which CAN happen. Among the normal high school comedy that is Nichijou there are little sketch segments called Small thoughts, Helvetica Standard, and Igo Soccer Club. Each type have their own little charm and feel right at home in this series. It’s hard to really hate this series.
Normally comedy series have very average to poor production value, in which they rely on the characters and the comedy to carry the series to popularity (Gagyu Biyori Manga). In a rare event, this series easily has the highest production value of any Slice of life sitcom. The HD quality really shines; each sketch segment has their own style and just really made my jaw drop at the quality I was looking at. I mean I found myself wondering many times how long it took them to draw a broken melon bread still in its package or how they managed to properly draw a Blue popsicle run over by a bicycle. It’s crazy how many man hours this 26 episode series took. I wouldn’t be surprised if they spent 1-2 million yen per episode as its quality is comparable to Gunsligner Girls (1st season episodes were worth roughly 1million yen each)
I’m glad that I can finally see an anime sitcom of high quality that also has a high quality production value. I can’t bring myself to say this is better than Lucky Star as that series holds something special in my heart (on a personal level) but I can easily say its ranked between #1 and #2 as my favorite comedy of all time. Please please PLEASE, make more like this Kyoto Animation.
LeaderTGW
"A beautiful disaster-piece" is what I use to describe Nichijou. While watching, I couldn't help but find myself to be so engaged, eyes literally almost glued to my screen. That's how great it was. There are many things I loved about Nichijou which makes it one of my personally favorites.. I'll start right off the bat and say that what I loved most was the characters. In my many years of watching anime, many shows have come close, however none can touch the amount of likable and hilarious characters Nichijou provided with. A few of the things I liked and loved about the characters wasthat each of them "as the shows title gives it away" live their own unique daily lives. However, no life can be complete without any problems or distress, and that's were comedy comes in. I really enjoyed how even though the characters were in either really ridiculous or bad situations their was always something hilarious or heartwarming to lighten my mood.
Another thing I loved about the cast of characters was their personalities. Personality, Personality in character is something that helps you decide whether you like a character or not, (in my opinion of course.) In Nichijou there were too many characters with certain personalities that I could either relate to or enjoyed seeing which really earned the show some respect points from me.
Now, with the story, it was there, however like some slice of life shows, Nichijou doesn't actually have any specific story.. to say the least. It's again, just what you expect from the title a bunch of moe characters living an somewhat ordinary life.
Some things that I did like about the somewhat existent story was that there was always some sort of moral or lesson behind certain things that took place during the show.
Something else that really stood out to me was the artwork done in the story. The show transitions to and from different styles at times which I found rather unique. However, the biggest thing that I liked, which really worked well with the show it that the artwork is simple. What I mean by that is that there isn't anything that stands out too much. (Other than Nano's key lol) but jokes aside, the simple settings and character designs work out well because you really get to focus on what's happening to certain characters without getting distracted much by lets says flashing backgrounds, large settings, etc. So keeping things simple really worked with it.
The music in Nichijou is really delightful, cheerful, and overall a bit above average. I really like the opening and ending songs, which was one thing that I didn't like at first. The first intro song I got sort of annoyed with it but after a while it grew on me, then when it changed, I started to dislike the second opening and just like the first, it grew on me.
The voice actors were also really good, there was a pretty great cast in Nichijou. Some of my favorites were Mai Aizawa, who does Uryuu Minene on Mirai Nikki or Future diary, Minoru Shiraishi who also provides vocals for another character on the Future diary, and lastly, I seriously adore Konno Hiromi because she does lots of voices for other shows I like such as (Future diary. Lucky Star. and Air.)
Something really amazing that I loved so much about nichijou was no matter whose life I was watching in Nichijou, again, I was completely engaged, there is so much enjoyment, joy and laughter in the show that I can say without any doubt that the show is family friendly.
Overall I'm giving this show 9/10 not only because it's one of my personal favorites, but because it left a very good impression on me. If I had more time to watch it I would, Nichijou was a really great show recommended to me from fans of Lucky star, and I'm really glad that I was able to watch it.
NegativeFeelings
When your entire show relies on gag comedy, and the majority of that gag comedy relies on subverting expectations, and most of those subverted expectations end with something random rather than clever, you've taken comedy and beat it down to its worst form. The lolrandom form, which is the form that Nichijou loves best. It's a sketch show, and all sketch shows are bound to be hit-or-miss. Nichijou is just a lot of misses with maybe a hit or two sprinkled in every five episodes. Maybe it's just my sense of humor, but a lot of the humor relies too heavilyon being "randum", and being random alone, to me, isn't very funny at all.
Story: 1
There is no story. They attempt to build something resembling a plotline nearing the end but it just ends up feeling unnecessary. Nothing much to say here, you shouldn't be expecting a story from a sketch comedy.
Art: 7
Damn, those backgrounds. The artwork is beautiful, and why wouldn't it be when that was where most of the budget was pumped, and in incredibly large amounts, too. The backgrounds are great, the characters are simple, and occasionally the animation gets really good. Of course, the quality of animation doesn't stay consistently good enough to get the show anything higher than a 7, because for most scenes it's pretty standard animation for the complexity of the characters and objects that are being animated.
The characters are very cutesy, and the whole style of the show is simplistic, which adds a childlike charm to it all. I just wish that instead of 26 episodes of interspersed quality animation, there had been something like 13 episodes of really good animation.
Sound: 3
Definitely nothing I'm going to remember in particular. The OPs for both cours were nice, but that's about it. The background music is forgettable, and the themes aren't good enough to be memorable.
Voice acting is fine, for most of the characters. Nothing really spectacular outside the main duo, Yuko and Mio. Those two alone really pulled up the score for the sound, since the voice actors did such a good job. Can't really say much about the other characters, because while the voices were fitting they weren't really anything spectacular. The forgettable music drags the score down to a three.
Character: 3
The characters at least have some personalities. The main problem with the characters is that their respective gags get played out too soon and too quick, and then get replayed for the next 13 episodes. Nano is embarrassed about being a robot, Mio gets really angry sometimes, Mai is just... weird, we get it. Too many of the jokes rely on the same personality traits for the main characters, and it gets old. The characters lose a lot of quality when they're made so one-dimensional by allowing one certain trait to define them.
At the very least, the characters have personalities that fit a comedy setting. The main trio complements each other nicely, if that's even something you can complement shows for, considering you'd expect that main characters wouldn't be polarizing in a comedy show.
All in all, the characters are rather forgettable because the characters themselves are walking gags. If you turn your characters into jokes, then they're only going to be remembered as jokes, not as characters, and Nichijou crosses that line.
Enjoyment: 2
I'll be honest, I laughed a couple of times and there were some moments that were genuinely enjoyable. Does that mitigate the rest of the 26 episode series that I spent waiting for something enjoyable or funny to happen? Obviously not. It isn't worth the time to watch the whole series just to watch the handful of actually funny scenes scattered throughout.
You'd have a much easier, and much better, time just going on Youtube and looking up the funny clips from Nichijou. You'd save a lot of time by just watching the clips that are actually funny and avoiding the time spent being confused and bored with the show. The characters aren't memorable or interesting enough to justify watching the whole show just to get the experience. You'd get the same experience watching those few select scenes and only lose out on a couple of hours you could have wasted waiting for those scenes to show up.
Overall: 1
The show should have been shorter, so as to not spread out the good scenes so much, because that's really what kills it for me. The writers experiment too much. It's like a comedian who writes down a bunch of jokes but doesn't edit any of them out before a show, so he stands in front of the audience and tells 20 misses and 2 hits. Do people laugh at the hits? You're god damn right they do. Does that justify sitting through the 20 misses? No it does not. Nichijou runs into the same problem. It spends too much time alternating between comedic scenes and ones that are just either serene, sad, or just slice of life rather than comedy. If you ask me, the writers should have cut out a lot of the scenes. I know humor is subjective, and that different people think different things are funny, but a lot of the scenes in Nichijou feel unnecessary and could have been left out so that you don't have to spend too much time waiting for the next scene that will tickle your subjectively unique sense of humor, because you are a special snowflake.
This isn't to say that the show isn't funny. It just isn't funny TO ME. Which is why I gave it a one. And like I've explained previously, it's because I don't really take enjoyment from lolrandom type comedy, and that's what most of the show is. You could think it's the funniest damn thing on Earth, but that's all a matter of what you consider to be funny.
takarabako
Nichijou means "Everyday Normal (Life)", and this anime is nothing close to that. Are drugs illegal in your country? Well, most likely they are. But assume that you had access to all of them, then you bought one of each kind, and then you mixed them all in one big pot, and then you drunk a spoon of that drug-soup. The final effect? Something close to Nichijou. You'll be living with a state of mind, where you imagine you're living in reality and experiencing all kinds of daily life, but actually you're lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, yet you don't realize it. That'show it feels to watch Nichijou. For someone sane like me this anime is nonsense from beginning to end, but if you're drugged enough you'll call it slice-of-life or something like that.
Examples? Too many too mention - pretty much everything. Just watch one episode, and you'll understand.
Genre - Comedy. Where?
Some people claim it's funny. Are talking cats funny? Is it fun to watch a retarded kid talk sloooooowly. Is it fun to see a clumsy girl forgot her homework? Or is it funny to see someone suddenly take out a bazooka from out-of-nowhere and shoot at their friends? If you find those things funny, then you really need to check out 9gag, and if you still continue finding Nichijou funny, check yourself with a local psychiatrist. More than likely they'll successfully diagnose you with some disorder.
Relaxing? More like headache-inducing!
The so-called-humor is so over-the-limit that it's not funny. It's either pitiful to watch or disgusting or simply boring. Technically, it gives you a headache if you watch it for long enough. In the whole period of 26 episodes I haven't laughed even once, but after 26 episodes I'm close to puking.
Creative?
Yes, I haven't seen anything as creative as this since 2girls1cup! The abnormality is over-the-top and I have to agree, I wouldn't be able to come up with so much b.s. no matter how long I would spend thinking.
Characters:
If you find a group of druggies in the back-alley somewhere, then I bet you it's gonna be exactly the same atmosphere. The characters of Nichijou are really not much different from druggies. Their personalities are unrealistic, and don't occur in real life unless you make someone take a bunch of drugs.
Art:
Possibly the only thing acceptable about this anime.
Regarding Recommendations:
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou - this one stays in the realm of reality, while Nichijou flies to the planet of druggies.
Azumanga Daioh - very similar, but Azumanga had better characters.
Lucky Star - this was at least funny, Nichijou lacks any humor what-so-ever.
School Rumble - similarly unrealistic, but School Rumble was a bit more funny.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - this is a parody of all kinds of characters, nothing in common with Nichijou.
Nisemonogatari - someone took too many drugs and added this completely unrelated series as a recommendation.
Arakawa Under the Bridge - this is a story from the land of dreams, not the land of drugs! Don't mix up the two!
Gintama - how can you compare a masterpiece like Gintama to a crap like Nichijou?
I'll finish here, in the end I was only pissed off about seeing Gintama as a recommendation...
Final Question:
Why did I rate it as 1/10?
Because my limited brain is slowly running out of space for watching crap, and every 100 anime or so my scoring gets harsher and harsher, and I was going to score this as 2/10, but then I'm a cat lover, and I don't have enough fingers to count all the scenes that involve physical abuse of a poor Sakamoto (the cat).
Some people find animal abuse funny, especially when they're on drugs, so I'm not surprised that the "humor" of this anime revolves around this kind of "fun".
By the way, previous sentence is also a very good one-sentence summary of the whole anime.
ktulu007
Nichijou is a comedic manga/anime/PSP game written by Keiichi Arawi. It's had very limited releases outside of Japan with the North American versions even being canceled for reasons I don't know. The question is, were audiences thankfully spared or are they missing out on something? I'm going to examine the anime to find out. This is yet another comedy without an over-arching story. The episodes do have a definite order, however. The setting is that a bunch of characters live their ordinary lives. It's mostly about high school girls but there are some teachers, animals and other assorted characters as well. Now for the all importantquestion: is it funny? The answer is on occasion. A lot of the humour just relies on complete randomness. And it's not randomness that leads to an amusing moment most of the time. It's just something completely random happening, like a vending machine not working properly. Sometimes it's funny but it's usually just something stupid that leaves you waiting for a nonexistent punch-line. The non-random humour is generally very predictable and a lot of jokes get repeated.
The cast of the characters is really too big. As a result most of them are used for one or two jokes. There are maybe six core characters who get involved with more than that and they're still pretty bland.
The art is boring. The technique shifts pretty frequently and none of it is particularly good. Noses are largely absent and animals barely resemble what they're supposed to be in most cases. It's passable, but it's not decent.
The voice acting isn't bad. The cast does a fine job, nothing spectacular but it's fine. One issue that I do have with the voice acting is that there are several loud tirades that just feel like pointless noise. Because shouting for about five minutes straight is funny? No, it's just annoying. Speaking of annoying, a lot of the music in this is badly sung and just obnoxious.
The yuri factor is a 2/10. There are a couple moments that border on homoerotic but there aren't many and they never go anywhere.
My final rating for Nichijou is a 3/10. There are a few funny moments but it's mostly just loud and boring. If you think that random=funny you'll probably find it hilarious. Otherwise, I would stay away from it.
moe_sama
My friends had hounded me for a while to give Nichijou a watch, but from the clips I had been shown on YouTube it just never seemed like my kind of humor. So I sat through all 26 episodes and the OVA. The animation team took an opportunity here when given the source material to go absolutely nuts to create over the top, intense, fluid animation sequences whenever that chance arises. There are a lot of sequences and shots to be impressed with, and I feel it's worth watching for those alone. What I appreciated about Nichijou and the story it doesn't tell is that it doesn't gothrough your standard slice of life let's go to osaka/kyoto/komiket/the beach/hotsprings/culture festival scenarios. The world it takes place in is very self contained and that which normal high school girls like the protagonists would be familiar with.
There's far more of a focus on romance subplots than I initially thought this would have. Characters are pretty bland, but their quirks and the way they interact more or less entertained me.
Nichijou is the epitome of taking things as far as they can possibly go.
As an anime I feel Nichijou isn't bad. You can tell the work that was put into it was genuine and you can appreciate that.
As a comedy I feel Nichijou fails.
I may have cracked a smile twice through the entirety of Nichijou, and as a series I had heard nothing but praise for the comedy of I just don't get that appeal.
When the writers commit to a joke you're going to sit through several minutes of back and forth between characters that is supposed to be fun absurdist humor but the longer it drags on, the more it wears on you and starts to get annoying.
There are a lot of sequences like this, and as the series is chopped up into a bunch of self contained shorts and side stories, it makes me feel as if it would have probably been better suited to sit as 15 minute or less shorts in between other shows if it were aired on television.
Too much of Nichijou gets on your nerves fast and though I didn't find it funny, I can say that it at least entertained me throughout the runtime.
Zelot
This review will be hard to write, as I will probably laugh at certain parts. Story: 8 So... Nichijou isn't much of a story, rather a collection of short stories, a bunch of them. These short stories are divided based on the characters. In the beginning we have mainly separate stories all happening around the same time, but are not interconnected. I found this a bit boring, just a collection of stories with characters who had no idea the other characters of the anime existed. Towards the end though, the stories become interconnect as the characters meet each other. These episodes were more interesting,seeing the stories all fitting together.
The only parts I didn't really enjoy were the Helvetica Standard, the humor was to weird or didn't have enough context for it to be funny (At least to me)
Art: 10
The art of Nichijou at first glance is very simplistic, but as you watch more episodes, you will notice the different art styles used in Nichijou. Nichijou covers a multitude of genres, with the art matching whatever genre the short story is about. The art and animation for scenes such as Mio losing it or Mai and Yuuko playing coin soccer are some of the best art.
Sound: 8
Both OPs are very catchy and addicting to listen to. The first ED was really good as well, but I found the other 6 EDs used during the second half of the series not as enjoyable. The background music was nice, with a few added to my music playlist. The background music help set the mood for each short story.
Character: 9
Characters were all enjoyable, with very unique roles. My favorite being Nano, as she is a very mature character with a bunch of moe. Maturity and moe? What. The only problem was character development, there is none, but it doesn't matter much in an anime like this. Misato taking Tsundere to another level as well.
Enjoyment: 10
Boy I wish I could rate this higher, I enjoyed this anime so much. There so many parts in where I: questioned what happen, laughed hysterically, and stared blankly as I was speechless. These all kept my attention and was very enjoyable.
Overall: 10
One of the best if not the best comedies I have seen, in where I will definitely rewatch.
myronator
Being a KyoAni project, the first thought that came into my mind when I saw the cover art for Nichijou was that it is going to be a comedy/slice of life filled with cute girls doing cute things. Luckily, there's much more to this anime. Nichijou is a sketch comedy, with a sprinkle of slice of life, set in a junior high school. While the title in English is "My Ordinary Life", Nichijou is full of the extraordinary. There are two main plot threads going on throughout Nichijou. The first follows the trio of Yuuko, Mio and Mai as they try to get through theyear at school. The second follows the Professor, her cat, Sakamoto and her robot, Nano as they attempt to run a working household together. Alone, these stories are enough to carry the series. However, this is a sketch comedy with recurring characters. A feature of sketch comedies with recurring characters is that each character gets their own story. Hence, Nichijou manages to have many short stories throughout the series involving many of the side characters in addition to the main ones. This means that, unlike what most people say, Nichijou has a lot more plot than people realise.
Upon initial viewing, it takes a while to get accustomed to the style of comedy. However, after being acclimatised to the randomness and energetic scenes, the show will become enjoyable. Of course, comedy is going to be reliant on one's sense of humour, so if this isn't down your alley, then it won't work. But for the majority of people most sketches in this show will hit the mark and have everyone laughing. The sketches themselves are mostly based around usual occurrences at schools, for example, forgetting one's homework or having a crush on a guy. However, Nichijou is also willing to go to the extraordinary with situations like the school principal fighting a deer or the "tsundere" trope being taken to the extreme where she uses missile launchers instead of the usual "B-BAKA!". By setting the tone early, this series manages to not only feel like these sketches belong together, but the stories themselves intertwine as each episode progresses.
The technical aspects of the show help sell the comedy. The animation flows extremely well, which is quite surprising for a comedy, but it allows for the slapstick scenes to be as high octane as the creators want it to be. There isn't much of a soundtrack to the show, however the sound effects add to each scene well. One of the drawbacks is that each character's design is quite similar, especially for the girls. Almost all of them have the same body shape and face, where the only differences are the hair style. Also what can be a negative is when the girls get into shouting matches that their high pitched voices can be quite intense.
Overall, the best part of Nichijou is the world it creates. The characters and setting are fleshed out well and feel like a real place; even with the bizarre events that occur frequently. The show isn't just all comedy; there are many touching moments throughout which helps one empathise and connect with the characters while perhaps teaching a few lessons on being a good friend. That's not to say it's a tearjerker, but it will remind viewers of the troubles they went through in high school and how they dealt with it. However, the show's message is quite basic; friendship can make everything fun and can help people get through difficult times.
I would recommend this show for everyone who enjoys lighthearted anime, but it must be noted that one's sense of humour must be considered first before deciding whether to watch the show. For people that do enjoy a comedy set in a high school and full of energy, Nichijou is a must watch. Now I join the many fans who are hoping for a second season.
wengdeng
I'm going to start out by saying this my favourite anime. It has made me laugh when I did not have the energy to talk, it has let me escape reality when I did not want to exist. Whenever I try looking for comedy anime similar, common recommendations like Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh appear a lot. Danshi Koukousei comes close, but Nichijou is an experience that outshines all of these by quite a margin. There is really no definitive genre to put this show in other than comedy, it is almost the epitome of it, because that's all it is: simple pure ecstasy. Enjoyment: Itexplores humour in ways I could not begin to imagine. For the most part, Nichijou uses the "traditional" anime gag style of comedy. This efficiency of this method has always befuddled me because it exploits the core of why humans find things funny (the unexpected action), but follows it up by breaking the golden rule of comedy (explaining/calling out the joke). Then this anime takes this already uniquely unprecedented brand of humour and blasts it at full volume, and even the tsukkomi becomes the joke. So the natural conclusion was that Nichijou's funniness comes for its major amplification of gag humour to the point where every single punchline just jumps at you. Yet, rewatching it for the third time still held up as well, if not better, than the first time. Perhaps it is the amazing voice acting, after all, one could make an entire soundboard out of the sounds these characters make. Then the series throws a fastball at me with an entire skit completely without speech, which is just as funny as every other skit. Well-paced, well-executed, Nichijou's comedy is done to a t in every technical aspect, and downright hysterical in practical implementation. And all while being astoundingly comical, it is, at all the right places, beautifully heart-warming, more so in the second half (see: Episode 26), with a deep message of positivity and optimism.
Art:
Undoubtedly, amazing. Moe stylings mixed with grand production value, breathtaking backgrounds and effects, fluid animation that competes with Madhouse's sakuga and makes 2D animation look like it was rendered straight from Maya, so amazingly capture the essence of the series it could bring a tear to my eye. It is unlike KyoAni's usual work, yet, weirdly, I feel only they could've pulled off Arawi Keiichi brilliant vision and absurd hilarity.
Sound:
All music was perfect in their usage – from the background compositions that carry along the slice of life and school anime feel, to the memorable sounds used for recurring sections, and that one time they used an emotional vocalised song during a ridiculous skit of Mio training for high jump. Another thing that captured my attention was the sound design and engineering. As mentioned before, the voice acting is riotously done, but how they time it and fit it with the music and visuals, adding effects and certain points, most notably when they repeat screams in succession, is brilliant. As for the openings and endings, Hyadain was a flawless choice, with his upbeat, well-produced and cheerful sound, much like the show itself, while Sayaka Sasaki's calm and melodious vocals add to that heart-warming factor. The choice to change ending songs every episode for the second half was also bold and very fitting.
Character:
I could rant on and on about the cast. Every single character is remarkably unique and enjoyable to watch, every single one, secondary or tertiary. And oddly, in a world where unexplainably random and outlandish events are occurring, they are to an extent, believable. In the way that they are not stuck with a singular trait, they each have quirks that stray from their definitive role, and switch up their position between interactions. This is perhaps why I enjoyed it more rewatching it. Understandably, with so much happening to so many people at an unbelievable pace, especially for people used to, frankly, normal anime, it is difficult to connect with the characters early on the first time around. It is even more fun watching them act when you already know and love them.
Overall:
It is simply a show created to make you smile, no matter the situation. And it succeeds. I understand why some people might not like it, but I am absolutely, unequivocally in love with this anime.
Micsupreeme
Nichijou is a one-of-a-kind anime that exists not only to represent everyday life, but a wide array of social, emotional, relate-able, and some times down right daft modern day plights. As a generalization for anyone who can't be asked to read all of this: Nichijou is a bold, up-beat, masterfully crafted, immensely funny, refreshing; cartoon-esc take on modern day life. It breaks through the typical barriers of the SoL genre and breathes new life into the term "ordinary" - As you will find out, if you watch: Nichijou is quite far fetched at times; as it seamlessly makes instant transitions from extremely dramatic, to extremelycomedic, and maybe even to sad - all the drop of a hat!
Rendering it FAR from just, "ordinary life": which is probably what you expected when you came here.
So! All in favor of a SliceOLife/Action/Romance/Comedy/Adventure/Drama/Fantasy/Moe/SciFi..... -The list goes on forever and so that's likely why it's packaged so deceivingly as a stereotypical SoL.
Nichijou doesn't major in a strung out, perplexing story line. Therefore rendering it as an episodic show for the most part, which works wonders for the vibrant, and somewhat abstract presentation method it utilizes so well: compiling countless, effectively crafted, short-story scenes that keep the viewer engaged, on top of encompassing a massive spread of genres as a whole.
In terms of presentation, Nichijou emphasizes in an action and cartoon-like manor: a variety of cliche anime techniques, often for the purpose of looking ridiculous. Thus making everything very engaging, and appealing to people of all ages. If i were to name this approach, it would definitely be "OTT" (over the top) - which, if you understand what i'm getting at here, should give you an idea of how it comes across as such a hilarious show.
On the topic of comedy, i'm not joking (get it), It's great how the show makes use of so much effective (primarily) slapstick material; without detracting ATALL from the characters and atmosphere. As a pre-warning, don't watch unless you're free to laugh out loud wherever you may be ;)
Statistic related stuff now (yay of course)...
For both Art and Sound, i see No flaws - as the animation style is adaptive and makes great use of current situation, in turn, greatly helping to enhance the way in which the show conveys feelings. While the use of sound is always appropriate in similar ways.
Note: I think the intro sequences are Top Notch!
As you should already be aware, i can't exactly mark extraordinarily in terms of story or development detail, as it's not THAT kind of show, which is a blessing really, having enjoyed all of it myself.
To conclude... The craftsmanship, the abstract presentation, story concepts, comedy all equate to... and i can't stress it enough here: a brilliantly entertaining, laid back show like None I've ever seen before.
So i ask EVEN of those who dislike SoLs to give it a go, as, again: it may as well have a genre of its own.
Toucanbird
Nichijou: My Ordinary Review Nichijou, aka. My Ordinary Life is quite a contradiction. This anime is far from ordinary and the best way I can describe it is pure insanity. In fact, this anime is so insane that it is actually quite ingenious. The story of Nichijou is pretty simple. It's split up between the somewhat bizarre every day happenings of three high school girls (Yuuko, Mio, and Mai) in one half of the story and the comical struggles of a robotic girl having to take care of her child professor and talking cat (Nano, Hakase, and Sakamoto). While a majority of the anime focuses aroundthese six characters, there are quite a few short segments that focus in the supporting characters and in most cases, these segments will happen randomly within the narrative. Usually I'm not a big fan of when side story interrupts a flowing narrative, but in this case, it works. The main narrative isn't necessary deep and focuses MUCH more on comedy than storytelling. Nichijou's setup is best described much like an episode of Monty Python. It's made up of a bunch of sketches that somehow make up about a half-hour of hilarity at a time. Although, unlike Monty Python, Nichijou does actually have a narrative.
The artwork I'd say is decent. The animation itself isn't stunning in graphical nature. However, what it lacks in flashiness, it makes up in creativity. How this series is animated is perfect for the nature of this series. It's cartoonishly comical in it's animation and it's just what the doctor ordered for this series.
On top of that, the opening and ending sequences are just gorgeous. The opening sequences for both the first half and second half set the mood perfectly. When you see the opening, you know you're in for a crazy, comical, and downright wild ride from start to finish. What I found interesting though was the ending sequence. I actually thought ZZZ was one of the better anime endings I have ever seen with its joyful and downright artistic feel. It feels almost as if you're watching the dream sequence of a young child. While I can't necessarily say it "fits" the anime, what I can say is despite that, the concept was certainly brilliant and kudos to the production team that put it together.
The voice acting was downright spectacular. This is one of the few animes I've ever watched where I didn't feel like a single character was miscast. One rather unique concept this anime picked up was for the previews, they'd take a random object from the episode, give it its own personality and voice over from guest stars. I was amazed at some of the star power they were even able to pick up, including Aya Hirano, Yui Horie, and Tomokazu Seki just to name a few. The passion that was put behind the voice acting in this series was just incredible to see in action, from the major roles to even the smallest of minor roles.
Of all the things that made this anime click, I felt the characters were the strongest. The main characters were certainly interesting to watch. You had Yuuko the clumsy, dumbstruck girl with a fun personality, Mio the incredibly obsessive, short tempered, but forgiving girl and Mai, the quiet oddball that seems more concerned with her own world than others around her. The other side of the main cast was great as well. You had Nano the self-conscious, yet dutiful robotic girl that serves as the caretaker for Hakase, an extremely intelligent, yet childish scientist, and Sakamoto, a stray cat that's taken in by them and gains the ability to talk by wearing a scarf. The main characters were great and I can tell you the supporting characters were just as fantastic. I rolled in laughter just about any time Sasahara appeared with his wealthy and poetic mannerisms or when Takahashi-sensei embarrassingly obsessed over Sakurai-sensei.
If there is one thing I really didn't like about Nichijou as a series, it would be how it ended. I found the final episode to be rather weak for a series finale. I could tell that the writers were really hoping to keep this going with a second season but was unfortunately discontinued due to poor sales. It really is such a shame because I felt the plot itself for the most part wasn't bad and there were open ends to many of the characters side stories. It did a pretty good job of rapping up Nano's story and perhaps Mio's as well (although that one is open for debate).
Overall, if you're looking for an anime that's chaotically hilarious, you can find none better than Nichijou. The creativity behind Nichijou is purely astounding and I'd even go so far to say that this is perhaps the best comedy series I have ever seen. What it did surprisingly well was advertise itself as a pure comedy but somehow implemented surprising slice-of-life elements where you wouldn't expect them. While I did watch this series for laughs, I found myself enjoying each character's on-going narrative and was invested in their outcomes. All-in-all, Nichijou's comedy might not be for everyone. However, I am willing to bet even the stiffest of stiffs would find something to chuckle at in this series.
themegamancave
Every once in awhile, an anime comes around and grabs you by the balls and says “watch me you pleb!” Against your better judgment, you listen to those instinctual feelings and binge-watch the hell out of it. Nichijou was the recent series that had the effect on me. I heard about it while perusing the interwebs at funny anime scenes and came across the one with the principal versus the deer. After visually consuming this gem of a comedy scene, I was almost instantly on Amazon trying to find a copy of the series to purchase. Nichijou, translated to My OrdinaryLife is truly anything but ordinary. This anime is an intricately articulated masterpiece of slapstick comedy. It is art in it's truest form. I found myself laughing my ass off through every episode at least once, and also taken back at times due to the true genius of the writing. Nichijou is an exaggeratory wonder with great art, sound and a magnificent script and is severely underrated by many in the anime community.
Nichijou was adapted from a popular manga written by Keiichi Arawi, and debuted on air in 2011 commandeered by famous anime director, Tatsuya Ishihara. I mean, this guy's done lots of cool stuff like Kanon, Clannad, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and the currently airing Myriad Colors Phantom World. So undoubtedly, Nichijou's got some expectations to live up to. Naturally, Ishihara delivers and presents us with 26 episodes of mind melting awesomeness.
It would actually be kind of unfair to officially grade the story of Nichijou. There really isn't one when you look at it literally. So, I'll instead focus on the writing. This anime follows the every day escapades a handful of people go through. Whether we're talking about the ever-entertaining school girl trio of Yuko, Mai and Mio or the role-reversed professor and robot and their talking cat Mr. Sakamoto, all the characters make seemingly uninteresting daily tasks watchable by anyone with an attention span, and believe me... mine is short. There are also a few reoccurring scenes within Nichijou I found highly entertaining like the jumproping egg head dudes or the random rock paper scissors games the professor and her robot creation would partake in, always rigged by the professor of course. There are a couple more of these types of scenes in the anime, and the sequencing throughout each episode ensures even the squirrliest of us can continue to pay attention. That's perhaps my biggest compliment of the entire show. Nichijou makes use of “dead time” so well, even if it's with a deadened scene like the ones in Family Guy.
Anyway, I could literally sit here all day and talk about the high quality of writing in the show, but I guess you just have to go and watch it to understand what I mean. Nichijou is not an anime you need to necessarily watch in order either, so if you're short on time, check out episode 6 first (it's the one with the principal versus the deer) if you want to sample the show. That shit is pure epicness. It's rare to find an anime that does what Nichijou does so well... whatever the hell that is.
There are certainly a lot of characters in Nichijou, and although there are some cliché tropes that exist, they're entirely purposeful and only go on to add to the overall humor of the show. I mean, this anime doesn't even need a story or in depth character development to shine. Put loads of expressive and over the top characters together in one series and watch hilarity ensue. Schoolgirls Mai, Mio and Yuko play off each other so well it actually made me step back and go, “Yeah. THAT is how true comedy is written.” Yuko is the standard goofy girl who often copies her friend's homework because of one reason or another and is highly competitive, even though she's not good at much and hates being insulted. Mio is the cute, brainy blue-haired one with the crush on the popular guy at school and has a secret manga-drawing addiction. Lastly, we have Mai: A soft-spoken, overly-sarcastic girl who seems to beat Yuko at every possible thing ever. She's really as deadpan as you can get. Other students of note at the school consist of Kojiro, a sophisticated classic man who often rides a goat to school, followed by his butler. (Is someone going to remind him that his parents are farmers??) as well as Misato, the tsundere trope that follows Kojiro around hiding her true feelings and often fires random pieces of artillery at him when he pisses her off (like where the hell does she pull this stuff from?).
There are even more characters including a naturally mohawked myth-debunker, a timid teacher with the courage of a 12 year old with stage fright and a talented wrestler that doubles as a principal. Oh, and I didn't even begin to mention the 8 year old professor and her mom-like robot creation. And, even with the large amount of characters, I feel the show balanced between them all quite well. Just when I was beginning to think about why I hadn't seen a character, a knee-slapping scene would come out of the woodwork. The writers even do a great job incorporating the Professor and Nano (the robot) into the rest of the character's lives. I was wondering at first, “where the hell do they fit in?” There's really a character for everyone in Nichijou. While character development is lacking for obvious reasons, the golden writing and dialogue proves it unnecessary.
The art style in Nichijou is atypical, and definitely does a great job of showing us that you don't need the same stereotypical character design in every show. The manga is actually very interestingly drawn as well, so Ishihara had some good source material to work with. Some scenes are drawn sloppily and others take on a super exaggerated feel to express the intensity of the transpiring scenario. I also absolutely loved the zombified faces some of the characters exhibited throughout the series when they expressed certain emotions. Again, episode 6 was one of the funniest anime episodes I have ever seen period. The opening is epic and lively, and I love the stuttered lines uttered by the two singers. The upbeat and irregular style exuded are refreshing with all the Jpop OPs we're used to seeing these days. The ending was nothing special, but it added a nice bow on each episode's conclusion. The rest of the music was catchy and sophisticated, though none of the tracks particularly dazzled me. The voice acting was top notch though, with notable performances being Mariko Honda as Yuko and Yoshihisa Kawahara as Kojiro. All in all, the art and sound were great, but not the best ever.
I enjoyed Nichijou almost as much as someone can enjoy a comedic anime. I can't remember the last time I laughed this much during a series. I couldn't get enough of the anime, and I fanboyishly talked about it at work to seemingly uninterested individuals.... but it was just that good. I would recommend Nichijou to anyone who needs a change of pace in their anime backlog or someone who needs a good laugh. Don't take this show seriously, because it certainly doesn't take itself seriously.
