(WARNING: Contains REALLY SLIGHT spoilers for Spring 2011 shows… but it’s not like we’re giving the ending away anyway though, so whatever.)
NICHIJOU (a.k.a. MY EVERYDAY LIFE)
OP:
ED:
Nichijou is a comedy anime adaptation of the manga of the same name that’s currently running in the publication Shounen Ace. The show is the 12th solo television production of Kyoto Animation (Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, K-ON!, Clannad, Kanon 2006), and is set to run for 26 episodes. The show’s format features vignette-style portions in each episode to focus on random occurrences in the characters’ lives to reflect the occasional 4-koma (four panel) nature of the manga.
The show revolves around following the normal, everyday lives of a group of high school students as their experiences in school. The term “normal”, however, seems to be totally subjective for them in this case, because their daily routines more often than not border on being completely ridiculous and random, and sometimes just downright impossible.
![12](https://acceleratormode.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/122.jpg?w=627&h=346)
You know this is a special show already when people get to ride goats to school and no one gives a damn about it
Some of the more primary characters in the show include Yuko Aioi (VA: Mariko Honda, played Kurimu Sakurano in Seitokai no Ichizon), a energetic and cheerful girl who’s terribly lacking in common sense and smarts, Mio Naganohara (VA: Mai Aizawa), an equally cheerful girl who serves somehow as the voice of reason for Yuko, yet is prone herself to lapses in her own reasoning as well, and Mai Minakami (VA: Misuzu Togashi, played Minatsu Shiina in Seitokai no Ichizon alongside Yuko Aioi), a quiet girl who sometimes seems to be more knowledgeable and pragmatic than she lets on to others.
Other prominent characters include the robot girl Nano Shinonome (VA: Shizuka Furuya), who despite her best efforts to pass herself off as a normal girl is always given away by her fairly obvious wind-up key sticking out of her back, and her creator, a 5 year old girl who simply goes by “Hakase” or Professor (VA: Hiromi Konno, played Nakata Sae in Amagami SS and Akira Kogami from the Lucky Star ending segments). Despite her young age, the Professor’s shown to be a pretty capable inventor, despite her childlike disposition being evident also in her works, as shown in her various “upgrades” to Nano, like a flying toe that pops out when she twists her windup key just for the hell of it, among various things.
The humor in this show takes a lot out of its other slice-of-life comedy predecessors such as Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star, focusing on the lighthearted absurdities that happen to the characters as they go on with their lives. But just the same as those earlier examples, this sort of humor often times becomes something of a hit or miss with some audiences who may not quite get what the joke is about, as at times they may find the situation a tad bit too ridiculous or out-of-this-world. It can start out slow for others because of the sudden changes of pacing that this brand of humor is prone to, but if experience is to teach us anything, it could be expected to pick up and eventually end up with a very satisfying bang once the viewer gets more acclimatized to the show as a whole.
As expected once again from Kyoto Animation, the animation’s really crisp and sharp, and they’ve really shown great adaptation of it for each specific scene they do. The music is topnotch as well, as the OP and ED of the show are quite possibly my favorites for this current season.
Overall in my opinion, this is one of the better comedy shows out there for Spring 2011, and if you’re new to this kind of comedy, do give it a try, as I promise this show will eventually grow on you with its random and unsettling yet genuinely funny brand of humor. If you’re a veteran of similar shows such as Azumanga Daioh already though, then you’d do well not to be missing this one as well.