This series, although obviously Japanese, can apply to how everyday life, particularly in a average city/town, can be most interesting. While it is sometime before we have robots in our everyday life, everything else this series give can give hold pretty good ground.
Story (8/10)
Being a modern Anime/Manga, this story follows a series of characters living a normal high school life, although there are 5 girls and a cat that focuses on more than the rest of the cast.
3 of the girls we follow are Yuuko Aioi, a cheerful brunette girl that has an average intelligence, Mio Naganohara, a blue haired neutral mannered girl that makes manga on her spare time, and Mai Minakami, and black haired poker faced girl that is essentially the troll of the series. The 3 girls go through school like normal with different days of mostly Yuuko getting into mishaps, sometimes having Mio involved like having an argument with Yuuko, and Mai having some sort of trolling action.
The other 2 girls are Nano Shinanome, a robot girl that was created to take care of her creator, 8 year old Professor Hakase Shinanome (which in translation sounds redundant doesn't it?). While how long Nano takes care of Hakase is an interesting discussion, the series picks up where Nano wants to live a life of a normal Japanese, which in her opinion is to go to school. Many of Nano's gags involve her inconspicuous wind up key in her back and what every secret modification Hakase has made. I mentioned earlier that a cat is actually part of the main cast, which he isn't introduced right away. The cat's name being Sakamoto, claiming to be older than the Shinanome girls, which could be true, but they go along with it, at least Nano does.
Not only this series revolve around these characters, but also have multiple short stories or gags that occasionally pop in called Helvetica Standard. This section exist to give either a related gag to the main cast, or just there for fun.
Being a comedy series, there isn't a central problem or rather expedition like a traditional story. Instead, it's a series of gags, which is as expected. If you're looking for a academy award winning plot, you're looking in the wrong place. The story is more or less a set up for the characters to have their gags.
Art (9/10)
What sets Nichijou apart from a typical Anime and also from it's Manga counterpart is how lively the animation was put. The effort put into the series by Kyoto Animation proves their stellar resume of series they worked on like Clannad, Hyouka, Full Metal Panic!, Free!, and more.
This time, Kyoto Animation gave Nichijou not only a color enhancer of the colorless Manga, but also having great animated special effects, such as when a character was bombarded with explosives, we see the distinct smoke clouds, the victim in a white color and their outlines. Although it sounds like a typical cartoon technique, it is complimented by the distinct pencil outlines of the characters and backgrounds along with the flat but bright enough colors to keep the attention of the viewer.
Sound (8/10)
I'm not a genius nor even close to someone that works with sound effects, so I kept it a 8 out of 10 to not only keep a lower bias for the series, but also because the soundtrack was also average.
The OP's and ED's in terms of song quality are nice, but not my cup of tea. The OP's and ED's give good highlights of the series by referencing some of the gags that happen in the series.
Character (10/10)
My own judgement of how I rate a series aside, this category is where this series shines the most. All of the characters have distinct personalities and have little chance of turning the viewer off. Basically, there's a character for everyone. Personally, my favorite character is Sakamoto the Cat.
While going into each character would be fun, it's really up the viewer to decide how the characters stack up to their standards. From my experience, most people I've met that watched this series all agree there's not one character they had a problem with, they're all likeable, only some more than others depending on the person.
Enjoyment (10/10)
A comedy is only as good as the humor of the viewer. If your sense of humor doesn't fall under slap stick and some Japanese specific gags, then it might not be for you. I do sound pretty biased since this falls under my sense of humor perfectly. However, since it doesn't give such deep Japanese references, it will be more enjoyable than let's say Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.
Overall (9/10)
While I personally give this series a 10 out of 10, realistically for many people, this series gets a 9 out of 10, also by the logic of how I scored it anyways. This series not only show how modern Anime/Manga have great quality, but can be a great series to add to one's versatile list. Many quotable lines, easy gif clips, and truly a modern classic.
