Do you like random and crazy? Do you want to watch a show that takes the ordinary things in life and blows them out of proportion? Do you like good shows? Then this is the one for you! :)
STORY
The basic premise behind Nichijou is...that there isn't any premise at all. What the show likes to do is present the viewer with our "main" cast (Yukko, Mio, Mai, and Nano) in a variety of different situations ranging from stuck elevators to getting bit in the hand by a dog. Each may last for 20 seconds or go as long as seven minutes or so, but any time in-between is perfectly valid. Sure, some of the small arcs are interconnected in small ways (such as a running bike from the previous short zooms by during the middle of the next), but most of these small stories are completely random and usually unrelated to anything else that has occurred. There are other supporting characters as well (too many to list) and they too are apart, either alone or with each other, in the zany and crazy stories that are told.
Is this a bad thing? Surprisingly no. It fits the show very well, and allows for you to just enjoy the moment for what it is. It was kind of interesting not having to worry about characters developing through drama or having a comprehensive world that fit the narrative, all of which was done quite on purpose. The chopped-up way in which everything is presented just adds to the hilarity and craziness of the entire show.
ANIMATION
From an outside perspective, one may think that the show is quite plain looking. And to a degree, that person would be correct. However, when you start actually watching the show do you realize how everything is actually extremely well animated. This is especially true for those over-the-top moments. The show does a fantastic job in terms of showing off effects, character movements, and background/foreground happenings.
I think it is because of this plain looking design that the studio behind Nichijou was able to animate everything incredibly well. There are other smaller details that usually occur too, such as nervous-sweat that constantly exudes from the student advisor to the sleeping bubble that protrudes from napping characters. And after getting half-way done with the show, who do I find out is the studio? KyoAni. I had no idea that they were behind this, but after finding this out, it made perfect sense why the animation itself was of such high quality.
I think it may be best to give an example. In the scene where "Mio Goes Crazy", the parts where she is flying through the air or beating up Yukko are not only hilarious, but are really well done. And this happens constantly. The show is good in terms of animation when everything is fine in the world, but when the scenario devolves into chaos, then the animation really gets kicked up a notch.
CHARACTERS
This section is difficult. For this type of show, I think everyone going in knows not to expect anything growth-wise with the characters. After all, it is, at its core, a comedy. As such, it really comes down to whether the person watching really loves the characters or not.
For me, I thought the main cast was wonderful. I liked Yukko and her stupid jokes, Mio's inability to deal with her need to draw BL manga, Mai for being just completely oblivious to anything else around her, Nano for always worrying about people finding out she is a robot, and Professor for being such an adorable kid. They each have their own personalities, but they can definitely change to fit the situation/mini-story at hand. Which is great, because that is what gives it the comedy that it does so well.
As for the rest of the cast (and there are a ton of other minor characters), I think the only others that I liked to watch were the student advisor and the teacher (the two that had feelings for one another), and the new Principal (the one who fought the deer). Besides them, the others were fun but nothing to really care too deeply about. Again, this doesn't necessarily hurt the show, since it simply relies on a wide variety of situations and characters in order to concoct many, many different small stories.
SOUND
For the first OP, I thought it was fine. The same for the first ED. The second ED was not that good to me, but I actually grew to like the second OP. The rest of the soundtrack isn't meant to be listened to on its own, but rather fit the situations as needed. As such, the OST is nothing too great.
However, I would like to commend the voice actors/actresses for the show, especially Yukko, Mio, Nano, and the Professor. I found their voices to be pretty unique, especially when the first two would get mad/angry. I felt like they gave it their all in their performances, and they never drop in consistency throughout the entire show.
ENJOYMENT
I have to reiterate to get the point across: you have to like random, you absolutely have to like over-the-top, in order to enjoy the show and its type of comedy. Luckily, I am pretty easy to get a laugh out of, so for the majority of the show, I was doing just that. This is another of my favorite scenes, just due to the scale of what I am talking about. If you laugh at this, then you are really going to like what the show offers. There's nothing more to it really. Certain brands of comedy are not to the liking of others (as with all things), but it is pretty easy to know early on whether you are going to enjoy 26 episodes of fun characters doing insanely crazy things!
I will say, some of the segments can be hit or miss, but they are almost always a hit. With that said, don't be too surprised if you find yourself not always laughing at what is going on on-screen. The show does try to do touchy-feely moments sometimes, but they pale in comparison to the comedy that it does so well.
SUMMARY
Story: Good, over 113 short stories compiled together to make many laughs and fun times
Animation: Great, KyoAni shows off their skills as usual, especially during all of the over-the-top moments
Characters: Good, while nothing ground-breaking, the characters themselves fit wonderfully with the world and give us the hilarity that ensues
Sound: Good, only the second OP is good, but it is some of the voice acting that really left an impression
Enjoyment: Good, I like this kind of comedy and the show makes you laugh through every single episode
Final Score: 8/10
