Non Non Biyori was produced by Silver Link, the studio who brought us BakaTest and Watamote among other series. It's a bit of a departure from what they've done before; a much more earnest, understated sort of school comedy. That an anime studio could follow up something so thoroughly cynical and uncomfortable by design as Watamote with such a effortlessly charming and affecting little show as this is actually kind of impressive to me. What's perhaps even more impressive, however, is how very enjoyable it was. While Silver Link has proven themselves to be a fairly competent studio, I would say that Non Non Biyori is their best work yet.
A lot of it is in the production. Silver Link has made some good looking anime, including fairly recently the incredibly sharp looking Fate/Kaleid Prisma Illya. This understated little slice of life anime can be just as impressive as that often flashy magical girl action series somehow. The art is absolutely gorgeous. Rarely do we get such beautiful scenery shots in the anime. There isn't any need for lots of flashiness in the animation, but it still never looks anything less than good. Sound is equally excellent. The voice cast was well selected and really do a lot to make their characters come alive. Background music is well chosen. Both the opening and ending themes suit the show perfectly and ooze charm.
Why Non Non Biyori is a great anime has even more to do with the content of the show than the package though. A lot of it comes down to the uniqueness of the premise. Non Non Biyori, at its core is an anime focusing on moments, comedic and otherwise in lives of four young girls who attend school together. There are, of course, dozens of anime which can be described with those exact terms or terms similar; it's the specifics set Non Non Biyori apart. Through anime, I know I've probably seen well over a decades worth of years in the lives of Japanese students, but Non Non Biyori stands out a lot and it's in lare part due to its choice of setting. Rather than another year spent in a big city or an average town, Non Non Biyori is set in a far off, remote rural farm community. Only a few families live in the area, so the school the girls attend only has five students, all of whom are different ages and thus in different grades. Country life is depicted in a earnest, realistic way that makes it seem all the more engaging and at times magical. It's a definite change of pace from the norms of genre and undoubtedly adds to what makes Non Non Biyori so great.
Even more important are the characters. For a slice of life comedy series, this is the most important part. To want to watch the year in the lives of a set of characters, you need to like those characters in the first place. Non Non Biyori's characters are very endearing. The story is in part told through the eyes of Hotaru, a city girl in the fifth grade who has just moved to the country with her family. She takes her time adjusting, but soon starts to fit in and really fall in love with her new surroundings. What helps in this is Komari, a middle schooler two years older who Hotaru develops a crush on. The two are a tale of contrast, Hotaru, despite her age being tall and adult like in demeanor and appearance, while Komori is short and child like. Joining them is Komari's sister Natsumi, a year younger, who is energetic and fun loving but poor at school. Tiny first grader Renge rounds out the main cast, providing much humor and cuteness with her often precocious attitude. Supporting players include, among others, Renge's adult sister, the lazy and sleepy Kazuho who works as the girls only teacher; Kaede, the owner of a local rarely visited candy shop who has a strong bond with Renge; and Suguru, the fifth student in the class, who is actually Natsumi and Komari's older brother, who never speaks and is seldom noticed by the others, even when he displays surprising talents.
All of the cast are likable and affecting. They are developed very well through the series' 12 episodes. The main characters are all well geared toward providing humor, but they are also suited to providing surprisingly poignant moments as well. Ultimately that is the greatest strength of the show, its heart. It's warm, it's affecting and just very hard not to love. A thoroughly masterful little anime. Strongly recommended.
