Nichijou is an adorable Slice of Life anime that revolves around two different stories that eventually merge into one. The first, of three average high-school girls; Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi, and Mai Minakami. The three survive high school, along with their many classmates and teachers, as well as the many obstacles that come their way. The other, consists of your average, clumsy robot girl, Nano Shinonome, living at home with her 8-year old Professor, Hakase Shinonome. The two girls conquer everyday problems and conflicts, such as what to do with a stray back cat, who now has the ability to speak due to a magic red scarf that Hakase had created, and how to hide Nano's Dharma, that's been covered in black marker. As the series progresses, the 6 girls cross paths, and become great friends. However, with these new acquaintances, come with even more little everyday problems. The cute little series is sure to make you laugh at least once, making it a great series to watch, and a personal favorite of mine.
I had found Nichijou not long after I had gotten my profile on Osu, a rhythm game for the PC that is really, really addicting. My friend had found out that I was playing it, and we started playing multiplayer immediately. Thanks to her, I've improved a lot since March 2016, and I think I'm only 100,000 away from her in the rankings (Which is better than it sounds, since there over a million people in the ranks.) Anyways, one of the first songs we played was the theme to Nichijou. I thought it looked really cute whenever I played it, and I googled it to see where it was from. It turns out, the song was from Nichijou, and I started watching it immediately. I finished the series in a week, due to school, sleep and homework. Sadly though, the series does not have a sequel or second series to it, like Squid Girl, or Chi's Sweet Home does, but I believe it does the potential to have a second series to it. Anyways, as you can see, I really loved the series, and I really recommend it for anyone who likes a little comedy in their anime. Anyways, without further ado, let's get on with the review!
WARNING! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Story: 10/10
Yes, we're starting out with 10/10. Deal with it. Anyways, Nichijou's story is very lighthearted, and full of comedy. It's one of those stories that seems like their is a point, and yet no point at all. Sometimes, the story wouldn't progress for another episode or two, and just filling it with little cute and funny shorts to make you smile. And its not like it doesn't have a story, it really does. If the it didn't, I don't think the 6 girls would've crossed paths in the first place. The ending was also very heartwarming, seeing that the girls celebrated Nano's birthday, making her feel happy, causing the function on her key activate right away. The only issue I have with the ending was that the minor characters were not involved. I felt like they all should've had their little endings, like if the Teachers got together or not, you know, cute little endings like that. But yeah, otherwise the story was great and I give it a 10/10.
Art: 10/10
Yep, again, the art style of Nichijou really goes with the adorable concept of the comedy/slice-of-life theme. I've drawn the art style one maybe a couple projects, because a lot of people had wanted me to draw more on Undertale Amino, and I ended up drawing a comic of Mettaton as Nano and Alphys as Hakase, and the art style was very cute, and easy to pick up. It took a little while though, since I had school in between. I really enjoyed how the series looked as if it jumped out of a manga itself, (which, it kind of did in fact), especially the "Helvetica Standard," scenes. But yeah, nothing really to complain about for this section, so another 10/10.
Sound: 10/10
Tired of the 10s yet? Haha too bad. No no, just kidding, just kidding. Kinda like how I mentioned with DBZ, Nichijou's soundtrack is really unique, giving it a certain vibe, but instead of Dragon Ball's action-packed vibe, Nichijou gives off a quirky and fun feel to it, going smoothly along with the characters of the story. In addition, just like Tales of Symphonia, I can go back to the series' soundtrack alone, and listen to it for hours, except I won't be bawling my eyes out over sad scenes like ToS. Instead, most of the soundtracks make you smirk or giggle. And that being said, the Soundtrack is given a 10/10, nothing to complain about whatsoever.
Characters: 9/10
Ok, so don't get me wrong, I loved each and every one of the characters in Nichijou, I really did, it's just I wished they brought more of the minor characters out a little more. Like, I'm not complaining that they added the main characters too much in the series, I just wish they brought up some of the minor characters as well. For example, if you haven't noticed, I really like the teachers that wok at the school, Izumi and Takisaki, and how her brother, Makoto blocks in the way of their relationship. Though they aren't the main characters of the series, we see them every once in a while, and we get the idea that Takisaki has a thing for Izumi, but family stands in the way for either of them to get any further in their relationship. In a way, this idea brings out the short-and-sweet style of the Slice-of-Life genre, but, this is where I believe a separate side story should come in, revolving around the minor characters, rather than the main ones, relatively to how Lucky Star revolves around Konata and her friends, but also around Kyou and her friends, and Konata's cousin, Yutaka, along with her first-year friends. But anyways, seeing that I'm getting sidetracked with similar Slice-of-Life Animes, so I'm giving the character section of this anime a 9/10.
Enjoyment/General: 10/10
Ok, so I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I REALLY liked this anime. Like, it's one of those that I wouldn't mind going back to to re-watch it, but I don't have the time with a big "Plan to Watch" list of 40 different animes. It's definitely a great anime to check out, if you want a little comedy in your life, and you have a little time. Seeing that I've watched a handful of Slice-of-Life Animes, and this being one of my favorites that also got me into the genre itself, that proves that I highly recommend it. Even if Slice -of Life isn't your thing, I still think you should at least give it a try. I mean, there wasn't that much I didn't like about the series really, and maybe I'm being to soft on the series, maybe I'm not. But anyways, all I'm saying is that everyone should at least give this anime a try, and if they do like it, great. If they don't, oh well, everyone has their own taste in anime.
