Ranked #2268

NieA Under 7

Created by several of the same minds that thought up & executed Serial Experiments Lain, NieA_7 kicks off its first episode with a distinctly familiar—yet at the same time, distinctly different—atmosphere and presentation. Perhaps most notably, it shares the distinguished character designs of Yoshitoshi ABe, but it lacks the air of explicit seriousness that hangs gloomily about Lain. It shares an urban setting full of cars, people, and wires, yet it also pits this against frequent and habitual presentations of countryside and open air. Needless to say, one should not go into this series expecting the complexities and psychological intrigue that Lain possessed.

But this isn’t really anything to discredit it for, since it never sets out to be anything like Serial Experiments Lain at all. It’s a slice of life show based on a doujinshi by ABe, and in somewhat typical ABe fashion, it includes the mundane (cram school homework, newspaper delivery) juxtaposed against the absurd (aliens, mother ships, psychic waves). To coincide with the eclectic nature of its content is the eclectic nature in which it is presented. It often paces itself with slowly-developed, mood-oriented ‘quiet’ shots interrupted by (usually) short instances of quick slapstick comedy routines before returning to its understated atmosphere. At times this juxtaposition is rather jarring, but at others, it serves to accentuate the more understated moments that the series is rooted in.

And although it heaps on noticeable amounts of social criticism that isn’t wholly necessary to the plot, this aspect doesn’t really disrupt overall enjoyment. Its more personal themes that revolve around the protagonist, Mayuko, are given far more attention and are developed with much more precision. This was made particularly vivid with exceptional scene composition and a steady hand in editing, offering a wonderful visual experience alongside a thoroughly developed central character.

The rest of the character development is rather puzzling, however. Many of the characters are introduced, presented with avenues for further development, but then seemingly dropped by the end of the series. While I believe this works within the slice-of-life framework that the series operates by, it will probably leave many viewers thirsty for a more concrete resolution. Despite this, NieA_7 offers an excellent cast of characters that, although playing by many of the familiar tropes, are still well written and well maneuvered within their context.

Overall, NieA_7 is a highly enjoyable experience for those interested in relaxed, tone-setting narratives based around the simple things in life. read more

NieA 7 - 8.5/10

A diamond in the rough. For a series with such a lowly average on MAL, it's surprisingly good. It's reminiscent of Haibane Renmei because of its slow, dialogue heavy and relaxing style.

After watching the first volume, I wasn't too taken with it. It started off reasonably well, showing the struggles of a very believable young woman, Mayuko, as she tries to survive with little money and, at the same time, studies to get into college. But my interest levels dropped as soon as it was revealed that an alien, NieA, lived in Mayuko's closet, eating some of her food and causing her trouble. My interest continued to decrease as more cartoony aliens got involved and the usual anime silliness ensued.

Why did this bother me, you ask? Because NieA 7 didn't need an alien living in a closet and attempting to build a UFO. The highly enjoyable and realistic slice of life elements were, from my perspective, getting damaged by the random slapstick comedy elements. I can see and fully understand one of the reasons for the involvement of carefree NieA - to show the contrast between stressed Mayuko, trying her best to survive, and NieA, an alien so carefree that she comes across as thoughtless - but I feel the main reason was to take the anime away from the realm of the real. The thinking probably was that most viewers want to use anime to escape, and that if the story was too realistic it would've taken away from the enjoyment. This sort of thing is viewed as a negative by me because I like to see some anime that contain believable stories.

The good news for people like me is that after the mixed opening volume the series started to focus more and more on realism and less on anime insanity. Rather than having a UFO blow a hole through the roof and the like for giggles, the second volume had an episode where an arcade gaming competition was used for laughs, involving the staff at the bathhouse where Mayuko lives and works playing against a small army of kids. I found it funny because it wasn't over the top; because it tried to be real. In my the eyes, the best kind of comedy is the kind I can imagine happening in the land of the real - not just on some nutty planet on the other side of the galaxy.

After the first volume, there were also a lot of episodes that focused on the serious sections of the story without resorting to slapstick humour in an attempt to brighten up the mood randomly. My favourite depressing episode is probably the one where Mayuko gets invited to a 'Go-Con' (basically random group dating) and eventually decides against going because she doesn't have any nice clothes to wear and can't afford to have her hair cut. Simple, I know, but the feelings and thoughts Mayuko had during that episode are the kind many people have over the course of their lives and it was effective on an emotional level because of that. Slice of life is at its best when it allows you to go into the shoes of the characters and feel how they feel, and Niea 7 achieves this on a number of occasions.

Really, the reason Niea 7 is so endearing is because the cast, aliens aside, come across as real people. Mayuko struggles to get by and lacks a goal to work towards; the owner of the bathhouse attempts to handle two jobs in order to keep the bathhouse running, despite it bringing her debt because of her ties to the people who work there; Genzo, the shy guy with a crush on Mayuko because of her helping him when they were kids, tries to help Mayuko by bringing her rice, yet struggles to express his feelings for her...etc, etc. It's very easy to get into the heads of the cast and see things from their points if view, and that's what makes NieA 7 a fantastic series to spend time watching.

The message of NieA 7 is to live life to the full, instead of worrying about everything constantly. Life flies by very quickly and there's little joy to be had if everything is always too difficult. That's why Mayuko is envious of NieA for being so carefree, like nothing can bother her. As Mayuko lives with NieA, she understands how it feels to be 'free', and I'm sure the objective of the series when it was created was to make the viewers feel the same way as Mayuko.

Watching the series is a relaxing, occasionally depressive and mostly fun ride - a journey worth the time of any bored anime fan looking to unearth a gem. Do I recommend the series? Providing you can handle lots of talking and little in the way of action, yes. It's a charming series that fans of Haibane Renmei and its ilk will lap up. read more