City The Animation

Aimless daydreaming in high school is an ordinary part of growing up. But once graduation comes, suddenly there are bills to pay and a higher education to tackle. Even so, Midori Nagumo never quite stopped dreaming—even after entering college—as she still wants to have fun while ignoring her responsibilities. Contrasting Midori's recklessness is her supposed best friend Niikura, who is the complete opposite of Midori and has a goal of becoming a photographer after college.

However, Niikura is often pulled into Midori's schemes, which leads them to meet Wako Izumi, a tenacious, yet airheaded classmate who is always taking pictures of things she finds fun. The trio ends up living together in the same apartment and attempt to navigate their lives in the city of City, where unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary things occur daily.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Izumi, Wako Main

Ishikawa, Yui Japanese

Nagumo, Midori Main

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

Niikura Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Izumi, Riko Supporting

Wakui, Yuu Japanese

Amakazari, Eri Supporting

Tadokoro, Azusa Japanese

Makabe, Tsurubishi Supporting

Kawahara, Yoshihisa Japanese

Makabe, Matsuri Supporting

Nanase, Ayaka Japanese

Makabe, Tatewaku Supporting

Irino, Miyu Japanese

Nobuteru, Tekaridake Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Mimineko Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Tateishi, Kensuke Producer

Nishimura, Mainari Producer

Ueda, Tomoki Producer

Reviews

Jan 17, 2026

uyuryazar

Recommended

City the Animation is one of those unique works that truly cannot be explained; only experienced. It is wholesome, cute, and deeply charming, while also a work of true artistic brilliance. The sound design and soundtrack are consistently excellent.

Comedy is widely considered the hardest genre to get right in any medium, and City the Animation excels at it. The humor swings between exaggerated absurdity and grounded, emotional moments, with well-timed reactions helping the jokes land. There were a couple of skits that didn't land on me, maybe I wasn't "cultured" enough to catch them, but overall it was brilliant; sometimes making me laugh, sometimes making ... me tear up. I've enjoyed it a lot.

The bold outlines and flat, simplified colouring might stand out at first, but once the animation gets moving, everything flows effortlessly. The smooth, dynamic animation and thoughtful visual composition strongly enhance the humor. Backgrounds and expressive movement bring the world to life, and the level of detail from character acting to visual gags is impressive.

While it does not rely on outright parody like Gintama, City the Animation is full of subtle easter eggs and visual gags. These references are never intrusive; you lose nothing if you miss them, but they enhance scenes for those who catch them. It respects the viewer's attention without demanding constant cultural literacy.

In the end, City the Animation is less about plot and more about feeling; about atmosphere, rhythm, and the joy of simply existing within its world. It is a show that rewards presence more than analysis, and it does so beautifully.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 29, 2025

11equalsFish

Mixed Feelings

Informative

These are my complete honest thoughts as a huge fan of the the works by manga artist Keiichi Arawi, but just know that I'll be critiquing parts of the show in detail, so it's a long read.

CITY: The Animation has been a distant dream for fans in the past decade, so this has been a long time coming. It's a miracle this comedy spiritual-sequel has finally been made by Kyoto Animation with their top tier craft. CITY should be a grander, more mature story-oriented take on Nichijou, but this adaptation has skipped more than half of the original manga content, making it an unbalanced adaptation. ... It's a difficult compromise, but they managed to condense the story to 13 episodes, each ~27 minutes. Nichijou in 2011 was the second last 2-cour show made by Kyoto Ani, being 26 episodes.

The manga licencing issues with Kadokawa are why another collaboration with Keiichi Arawi didn't happen until more than a decade later. These rights are crucial for Kyoto Ani, which is known for fair practices. This studio also had such a deadly and tragic attack, some of those original artists behind Nichijou are gone. It's hard to develop that series further, so City the Animation is the next best thing.

ART AND ANIMATION - 9/10
The level of technique and composition is on a very high level, incredible consistency across every frame, and illustration and directing that feels immediate and silly, perfectly like the manga. Th art style has no gradients, but bold lines and shapes give clarity to every detail and motion. The character animation and 3d camera movements are stunning. The style is cute but transitions easily into more realistic detail during close-ups and multiple layers of composition, grounding the environments with an impressionistic but believable depth. This all gives the world of CITY a tactile, intuitive feeling.

Things operate on an heightened emotional level. Moments in the manga are extended, given lots of emphasis, and are surpassed by this anime. The intimate and calm moments balance the loud and bombastic moments. Overall, it's amazing to watch.
It's super impressive this is inked in analogue, the finalized thick lines directly on the paper in brush pen, it takes such skill to animate that way. It is heart breaking how the old work influences this new one, and how some of the staff from Nichijou who died can still be felt and represented here by the staff that worked with them. The studio and the author worked closely on this series composition, and this feels like a unique and artistic work.

This is nearly the best looking show I've seen, but it sticks to a fun mood and doesn't really have peaceful or serious moments. There is a ton of movement and fun. The simple character designs are animated with great detail, and the effects animation is evocative of the feeling of the scenes. The anime adapts the manga down to the panels, interpreting the art style variations, characters movements and duplicated body parts as they really would be. Subtle small movements, stretchy bounces, smear frames, action lines, onomatopoeia and silly abstractions are all precisely drawn. Every line and color in the background frames the characters with a balance that only great illustrators can achieve. The color design is warm, bright and vibrant, giving a sense of energy and comfort. The backgrounds for comedic moments are creative and colourful. This bold visual style shows the wonderful joy and absurd mood of this comic world, feeling like a summer where everything goes well.

Episode 5 is an incredible highlight, I think the flat simple design makes the episode easier to follow, for all panels and multiple POVs. It's a breath taking experience, with the intensity of information. Rewatches are kind of necessary when there's a lot to see and remember at once. The physical model of the mansion is fun mixed media. Other episodes also have incredible sequences and animation showcases like this, but there are some still frames that have no movement in lower energy moments.

STORY AND COMPOSITION - 6/10
This comedy is about the intertwined stories of an ensemble cast, many short moments of people in the titular City, their stories contrasting and connecting with each other. Nagumo, Niikura and Izumi are the main characters, but there are many nearby residents living their lives. The sections skip between many topics in the school, a family run restaurant, a newspaper department, a soccer team, a theatre troupe, etc. These contrasting stories are interconnected and woven together, making a varied comedic tone. CITY's best quality is the relatable and loud emotions, and the beautiful detailed spreads depicting those character moments and environments. There is genuine whimsy and fun showing the joy and coincidences of life.

The range of jokes and scenarios is wide, but the series composition is odd because the missing foundations are noticeable. The anime cuts crucial sections of the main character's story, removing most of the context from the anime since the beginning. Most of the farcical and bombastic jokes have been cut tell the slice of life parts in this limited time, which is not the strong point when the entire presentation is comedic. They removed the more adult scenes too. Less than half of the story has been adapted, but the series' pace looks to reach the end in this one season. Little in the series has enough build up or context. None of the ensemble cast gets enough scenes. Whole arcs are skipped, leaving things somewhat incomplete.

The focus is skewed so badly that that the three main characters don't really have a backstory or connection, so they are quite vague. The evil land lady who adds context to Nagumo's money troubles is almost completely gone, and the main characters have little time to themselves, so a main part of story's conflict, drive and soul is not present. It's built as a series about everyone, with intricate connections that can be appreciated most by attentive viewers. This is lessened as the high school side characters are the only ones given time for a complete character driven emotional arc, which are the most simple and cliché parts. This only works as a palette cleanser to the actual main characters. Kyoto Ani reorganised Nichijou, a gag manga, into a coming of age character story to create solid emotional core, but they removed CITY's story and cut much of the young adult themes of maturing.

The vision is not fully realized. This kind of collective story achieves a compounding effect only when it has time to develop, and the CITY manga is an evolution of Keiichi Arawi's style, pushing the bounds for energetic creativity. Part of the comedy's effectiveness is that it seems silly, but it has a surprising sustained level of depth, scale and craft. The irony is Kyoto Ani set the standard here, Nichijou's mundane slice of life direction adds depth to the absurdity, and the intermissions of stunning sakuga and photo realism broadens that comedic range. With the follow-up CITY series they've made a show like a beautiful, authentic gag manga, but the story is reduced to be more superficial. Doing the opposite has broken the effect, the series feels like pieces of great moments that don't have weight or much real meaning to the characters. The entire narrative backbone that develops the main characters is gone.

It's telling by episode 5 with the huge crowd scene, we don't know most of these characters yet, and the connections between them are vague. It's awkward that there is so much skipping, and the viewer has to make many assumptions. They've also condensed the entire island arc into one outro sequence, which is novel, but there's not much satisfaction in that. I've only found a handful of funny moments in the entire season because of the rushed pacing, but it is consistently amusing, and the story composition is functional. The song and dance number at the end is beautifully choreographed, and a creative wrap up, but it's not as complete as the missing final Mayor Election arc that addresses all the characters of the entire City and connects them all together in one grand finale. There is limited character progression outside of call-backs, and the larger scope doesn't amount to much.

MUSIC AND AUDIO - 6/10
The music is appropriately silly and whimsical, but could have more variety. The tone of the jokes can be delicate with the quiet music, which doesn't always match the intensely surreal jokes. This show does not have enough unique music for the many completely different scenes, and it gets a bit repetitive. There are long stretches of silence without background noise which can kill the mood, but is peaceful. The tone is light but not that comedic, and the music often doesn't have enough energy and texture to match the stunning visuals and slapstick. The timing of the accompaniment matches the jokes well, so it is good when it counts.

In comparison, Nichijou had an incredible orchestrated score, with 4 times the number of tracks. There are a few scenes like that which are elevated by beautiful music, such as Niikura punching the big nose creature. The classical orchestral music and Niikura's undignified suffering is hilariously absurd, showing the struggle and beauty of life. Overall, the show's score feels light hearted but sparse.

The sound effects are mostly detailed and satisfying, being a bit toy-like and funny. Some parts could be more dramatic and louder for impact in the literal explosive moments. The voice actors all sound like their character archetypes and give great and earnest performances. They say exaggerated and funny lines with good timing, with a large range of contrasting emotions and expressions in the joke structures.

The OP has a joyful yet nostalgic sentiment about friendship, and the difficulty of living and growing up. It is a celebration about precious moments of connection. It is well composed and balanced in a pop way, with an easy melody, some slow sensitive parts, and soulful singing. The overall effect is beautiful and inspiring.
The ED is beautiful and creative, with pseudo CGI claymation. It looks so colorful and soft, the silly and playful mood fits the show well. The design has beautiful soft shapes and bright colors.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND NOTES - 7/10
This show is more balanced than Nichijou, but it's genuinely disappointing if you've read the manga. It should've been more with the stunning art direction, but not much of the show feels meaningful. It's hard to understand why this show has been composed like this, maybe it's from lack of budget and support to make it a longer length. It does work as a counterpoint to Nichijou. In my opinion, Episode 5 is the most satisfying, so I feel the show peaks early. The ending song sequence is also great.

Some fans are hoping for a second season or OVA, since Kyoto Ani often makes sequels and movies. This one season is incomplete, but the opportunity has already been used. We will likely never get a complete adaptation. If CITY was adapted to the midpoint, a season 2 would've been great. This adaptation is really accurate towards the scenes and panels, but the material's potential is a bit wasted.

This is an good show because it is a bold creative risk and technically in class of its own, with a stunning and incredible production. I would not recommend it to everyone, because absurdity is not everyone's taste, and the heavy Japanese style and references are interesting but may be confusing. I'll watch it again soon to refine this review.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 1, 2025

patkarunungan

Not Recommended

Warning: DOWNVOTE ALL YOU LIKE. IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT THIS ANIME IS HORRIBLE.

City: The Animation is marketed as the successor of Nichijou. During its announcement, many people perceived it as KyouAni's answer to the much hyped but disappointing 'My Deer Friend Nokotan.' What does it offer?


§ The Story

This is basically slice of life. Its main characters are 1) Nagumo Midori, 2) Niikura, and 3) Izumi Wako, but it doesn't revolve exclusively around them. The skits may involve random characters within the city.


... § Notes

1. I'll start with the bad, and the real issue why I am giving this a low score. So many skits are thrown together to create a single episode. Some are a bit funny. Others don't make sense. The vast majority is random bullshit.

Some of the things that make it tolerable are the part when Niikura loses something valuable, and we are trying to see if and when she will retrieve it. Unfortunately, these are few and far between.

You'll get a laugh out of watching Doraemon (or even better, Crayon Shin-chan) than this turd. I have to repeat what I said in my review for Elusive Samurai. No matter how beautiful you dress a turd, it will always be a turd, and City is KyoAni's turd.


2. Let's praise City for some of the things it does.

⚫ It has a catchy OP and ED. "Hello" by Riho Furui gives you an optimistic vibe. "LUCKY" by TOMOO, the ED for most of the episodes, is not that far behind the OP. The ED for episode 11, "Mambo No 5" by Dámaso Pérez Prado, a popular tune from the West, is used to echo a character's attempt to go viral on the anime's version of YouTube.


⚫ The chief animation director, Tokuyama Tamami, and his team of animation directors, as well as the various storyboardists, deserve credit for this anime's superior animation. It's a masterclass of animation and storyboarding.


⚫ This anime's director, Ishidate Taichi, also directed Violet Evergarden, had some roles in Hyouka and Hibike Euphonium, and was an assistant director in Nichijou.


3. Speaking of Nichijou, which by the way literally means everyday life, so slice of life is referred to as nichijou in Japanese; City is another manga of the Nichijou creator, and this is seen as the spiritual successor of Nichijou.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen Nichijou to give a detailed comparison. It's not even necessary to have seen Nichijou to watch City.

But from the few clips I've seen, the animation is a major upgrade, even if the animation in Nichojou is above average or even superior to anime from other studio.


§ Conclusion

I cannot in good conscience recommend this turd. The superior animation is inversely proportional to its writing quality, meaning it's abysmal.

Of course, some do love it, especially KyoAni fans. But for those with more critickal eyes, KyoAni has to do better.

I do recommend this anime to future animators to dissect its storyboarding. That's one bright side I can see in this turd.


NOTA BENE: A grade of 2 out of 10 means either of two things: the anime is extremely boring, or it may have fun elements, but it's ultimately illogickal and doesn't make sense. Or just possibly, I rank it above my 1's but below my 3's.

My enjoyment spectrum lies from 4 to 10. If I have scored an anime below 4, I actively dislike it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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