Nichijou
Posted: July 21, 2011 Filed under: "Reviews", Misaki Thursday, Nichijou 36 Comments »
I was taking beam profiles at work on Monday when suddenly, I just had to watch the new opening of Nichijou. When I looked it up just now, I watched it six times before I could tear myself away from Youtube. That makes fifteen views today.
I managed to get through my entire Nichijou screenshot folder while looking for a header picture. I can vividly remember each scene/screenshot and I burst out laughing several times.
But enough of how much I like Nichijou. On to something more interesting: how much I LOVE Nichijou.
Nichijou is the first anime I’ve ever fanboyed over. While I can see why some people wouldn’t immediately love the comedy with all of their heart and soul, I can also see that this style of random humor is everything I’ve ever dreamed and hoped for in an anime. It’s Hayate getting a 3LDK, with an extra room to boot. It’s Sena going on to win the Super Bowl. It’s not as good as Mikoto showing up in real life. But hell, it’s up there.
If Eureka Seven is my all-time favorite anime and Welcome to the NHK is my anti-drug, then Nichijou is my idea of a fun time.
I’m in a love hotel on Saturday night with beautiful naked women all over me. W-Wait, what? it’s SATURDAY NIGHT? That’s when NICHIJOU SUBS COME OUT! I must have failed horribly at life to forget that NICHIJOU comes out on Saturday night!
I’m in a “important meeting” with my boss. He’s promoting me to CEO, and I just have to sign this pa- SHIT, IT’S SATURDAY-FUCKING-NIGHT and I’m at WORK? Signing some stupid useless scrap of paper? I’d better jump out the window, hijack a car, and run all the red lights until I get home!
I’m in the White House, shaking hands with the President. A nearby aide is holding two medals for my dedicated service to the country, humanity, and Nichijou. Huh? NICHIJOU? HOT DAMN, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT AND I’M NOT WATCHING NICHIJOU?
Nichijou is so damn hilarious that even the stills between the shorts are laugh-out-loud/clutch-stomach-in-pain/near-heart-attack funny.
What’s even better is how Kyoto Animation is able to keep up such a high level of quality for so long. And yes, I do mean Kyoto Animation, the company that is making all of this possible. I read some of the manga earlier this week and although it is superb, the anime feels like an even better adaptation.
So yeah. I really love this show. Anime-wise, Nichijou is the best thing that’s happened to me in two years. I can’t recall a single airing anime that I’ve enjoyed so much. At 16/24 episodes, it’s #3 on my all-time favorite anime list and still clawing for #2.
And I know it’s going to get there.
P.S.: I can see how many fans of the manga would dislike the anime, though. Though the humor is still the same (the anime jokes are pulled from the manga, after all), the manga is -surprisingly – less random. Each chapter shows one scene with multiple gags. The humor is constant and consistent and overall it’s a lot more streamlined. The punchline-less moments the Nichijou anime has become [in]famous for aren’t present in the manga.
Yet it’s the combination of funny gags and punchline-less gags that makes the anime so memorable for me. In my opinion, animating Nichijou has been one hell of a job for KyoAni. I am much, much more than pleased with the result.
Haven’t actually lol’d in a long time since Nichijou. Watched random clips on YouTube so far but I’ll batch download later. +1 new KyoAni thing to drool over.
Do it! Nichijou hits all the right spots and I burst out laughing every episode!
I had Gintama episode 216 and Nichijou episode 16 on my laptop the other day and I decided to watch Gintama first. Big mistake. I couldn’t appreciate or laugh at the (honestly hilarious) episode of Gintama because I was just looking forward to Yukko, Nano, and the rest of the gang.
That, or Gintama’s been going down the drain recently…
Will watch Gintama (and batch get 100+ episodes) one day…
Also trying to watch Nichijou but seems like the subs are off in every fansub.
What do you mean by off? And what subs are you using? I found HorribleSubs/Crunchyroll pretty good, and I watched a few Ahodomo episodes and they were all fine, timing-wise.
Also yes, watch Gintama. It was my favorite comedy… before Nichijou. I managed to catch up to the show right when the first season ended last year.
Apparently its a tradeoff between the jokes and accuracy. Some jokes get lost in translation due to literal translation or not picking up the joke, and others get the joke but fail at accuracy. Nonetheless, I heard Wakamoto cube in Nichijou, so I must get it.
Ah, that kind of off. Was totally lost, lol.
Whenever I come upon a joke like that, I tend to ignore it and press on. Even if the subs got it right, I probably wouldn’t understand it. Besides, Nichijou’s rapid-fire gags make up for it.
That’s funny, I haven’t really laughed at any comedy shows except for the odd joke or two that WASN’T EVEN FUNNY. The last three times I laughed were… ‘why must bleeding’, AoEx when Rin used his head, and Steins;Gate when Daru something. 🙁 JOKES NEVER APPEAL TO ME
You are a 100% bad person, then. What comedies have you watched/are you watching?
I can’t name many off the top of my head 🙁 Nichijou, Azazel-san, Mitsudomoe?
Haven’t watched Azazel-san, but I’d say Mitsudomoe is a disgrace to anime in general. Hated the twenty minutes of the show I managed to sit through.
For better (subjective, of course!) comedy, I’d recommend:
– Seto no Hanayome: Top-tier romantic comedy without much romance
– Welcome to the NHK: Dark comedy.
– Gintama: Action/Comedy. Has lots of laugh-out-loud episodes.
– Hare + Guu: Comedy, resembles Nichijou.
– Kannagi: Romantic-ish comedy, heavy on the ish. Generic, but really good.
– Detroit Metal City: Death Metal Comedy. Some people really love it.
– Yakitate!! Japan: Sports-ish Comedy. It’s about baking bread that can send you to heaven/through time.
– Dokuro-chan and Punie-chan: Slapstick comedy, where the ‘stick’ is a spiked bat.
– Minami-ke: Slice-of-life comedy. Little to no moe involved (pre-K-ON! material, here)
I could go on for hours about this – I really enjoy good comedies. I don’t know what you’ve watched before, but I’d consider that a pretty good list. There are also more “classic” comedies like Azumanga Daioh and FMP Fumoffu, but those have been copied and taken from so many times that they’re not really interesting anymore.
P.S.: Hare+Guu was a 1999 show, but it still delivers relatively unique humor. The same goes for Dokuro-chan and Punie-chan.
P.P.S.: long comment is long
🙁 I would watch them if I laughed at comedies more often. Also, those three were just three that I’ve watched, and I haven’t really found them funny (except for twice in Mitsudomoe that made me choke on my whatever-I-was-consuming-at-the-time).
So watch some of the ones I suggested! I’m a believer in anime comedy, and I will see to it that you laugh your head off at something!
I am so happy someone appreciates Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu as I do. I need to watch it again. Guu definitely takes the cake, but Hare’s franticness (not a word, I know) perfected it. Right on brozza!
I give all the credit to Scamp. He used to have a Hare avatar, and I got interested and downloaded the series.
Hare is definitely a good match for Guu. With every top-tier boke, you need a complementary tsukkomi, right?
Every time I catch glimpse of this series on blogs, I’m tempted to give it a try, but then I’ll hop on Twitter and see others complaining about it. If you’ve seen Cromartie High School, how does it compared to this? Or is it more like Azumanga Daioh? Hmm… so tempted!
It’s more a blend of Cromartie and Azumanga. Imagine the mundane, everyday situations of Azumanga Daioh and put in the reactions and exaggeration of Cromartie, and out comes Nichijou.
Personally, I didn’t like Cromartie High School. It was too predictable at times, and the jokes stretched on for too long (probably causing the predictability – you could figure out the punchline in an instant). On the other hand, while I’m watching Nichijou I find myself saying “what the fuck” and laughing all the time.
Of course, it’s a matter of taste. I would never straight-out recommend Nichijou, simple because not everybody laughs when they watch a punchline-less joke and think, “that’s it?” Many require a more developed, wittier joke (though I think this is plenty witty!).
tl;dr Give it a shot! Just don’t blame me if you don’t like it. (But praise me if you do! Heck yeah, Nichijou!)
I still stand by my Opinion that Nichijou is anime Pete & Pete with a bigger cast.
I’ve never watched Pete & Pete. I was always a Cartoon Network guy.
Kyoani really does have remarkable success at adapting 4-koma and slice-of-life anime. I’m waiting for the right chance to watch this. I know, I should be watching this every Saturday night regardless of what I’m doing, but yea… Wish I had more time.
I’m not sure if Nichijou really is a 4-koma. I read the first five or so chapters and there were no 4koma strips…
I have bundles of time. Do you want a few?
Oh really? It totally feels like it is. Anyway, I’d love to have about 7 bundles.
Hmmn. I’m not sure if I can give away that many. I’m saving up several bundles for next semester of college.
[…] Nichijou → […]
Nichijou’s been inconsistent, but has warranted at least a laugh an episode from me, mostly from the Professor and Nano bits. And the early jump rope gags. I don’t think it’s the absolute best in random anime comedy, but I do look forward to it week to week.
Whenever I come across a scene that I don’t understand (cultural references like wordplay), say “what the hell?” and laugh it off. What I dread most from a show like this is predictable comedy, and thankfully Nichijou doesn’t have much. The only predictable scene I can recall is pitching grandson.
Because I take the humor lightly, I find myself laughing all throughout an episode of Nichijou. And that’s what makes me such a fanboy.
Slightly off-topic: I’ve heard “Professor+Nano > others” from a lot of people (and it really shows in the fanart), and I don’t really understand it. I read a comment saying that people go for the more “traditional” moe characters like Nano and Professor instead of “regular” schoolgirls Mio, Yukko, and Mai. Though the Professor and Nano bits are definitely more moe-oriented, they’re still as random as the schoolgirl trio bits. Bah.
Personally, I like Yukko the most (nobody ever sides with me).
Yukko’s my favorite character as far as personality and antics go, but Professor and Nano just have a sort of comedic chemistry that works for me. Several other bits have made me laugh, but Professor and Nano gags are the ones that usually do it.
It’s something that I can watch with my brain turned off and cackle like a madman at, and I appreciate it for that. That, and the excellent animation, which would give Nichijou some mileage even if the humor didn’t.
+1
I like a lot of their segments, but some of their more moe scenes fail to impress me. (Professor has cat ears on. Nano: “Professor, I think that’s moe!”) For me, the tsukkomi-boke act that Yukko and Mai put on are more consistent.
Yeah, Nichijou has some excellent animation. KyoAni really pulled all the stops for this show (but according to the sales, nobody appreciates it!).
I was turned off right at the OVA before the series started… The beginning with Mio struggling to comfort Yukko was meh, but probably because I didn’t get it yet… However the scene with Sakamoto getting distracted while talking about something serious to Nano and Hakase saved it that got me to watch the first episode. From there, it all went downhill… Me rolling down the hill from laughing so hard! There are so many happenings in each episode that it’s hard to remember everything, but I just know they’re funny. My favourite scene is still Yukko knocking that wooden puck from the daruma and awesomeness ensues!
The OVA wasn’t very good, to be honest. I gave it a 3/10 for cute characters and a bit of effort, but not for humor. The Kyoto Animation tag is what convinced me to watch the TV series.
My favorite scene is probably Yukko losing her money at the amusement park. That face…
Nichijou has to be the dark horse of the year. Epic and every moment is classic. It’s been a while since I could remember an anime that’s actually kept me anticipating every moment except for Phantom and Canaan (those turned out to flop…)
Well it’s not entirely a dark horse (it’s Kyoto Animation, after all), but it was certainly a surprise and a refreshing deviation from the regular 4-girl 4-koma shows hat have been popping up recently (A-Channel, Yuru Yuri, etc.).
I never liked Phantom or Canaan. They were interesting enough, but I just couldn’t care enough about their stories to watch the whole series(es).
Might be my favorite show of the season. I could watch 500 episodes of this and still want more. I mean, I say that now…
Nichijou S2 please
Well said dood. I haven’t read the manga either and I’ve also heard hardcore fans of it being disappointed but since when have I concerned myself with the opinions of hardcore fans?
Anyway, this is also one of my favorite comedies this year and I can understand why some don’t get why it’s hilarious but the main reason I love it is because it’s exactly the kind of humor I enjoy: Random, nonsensical and melodramatic to the core. Melodrama should be used for humor, not seriously. Serious melodrama can only work when done right, such as AnoHana and Red Garden. Anyway, great post and I’m looking forward to reviewing the 2nd half since I already reviewed the 1st one.
I actually read a couple chapters, but yeah – I don’t follow the manga (which is NOT 4koma like everybody thinks it is!).
I wouldn’t describe Nichijou as “melodramatic.” From what I know, “dramatic” can mean drama-like or exaggerated. Melodramatic, on the other hand, means something that’s unrealistic and overly drama-like… like a Key romance or Angel Beats or something.
Just my $0.02.
[…] and manga like this are so good that they make me want to exclaim to the world how good they are. And I do. It’s not that I’m trying to convince you that Nichijou is good. I know full […]