So I sat through all 26 episodes and the OVA.
The animation team took an opportunity here when given the source material to go absolutely nuts to create over the top, intense, fluid animation sequences whenever that chance arises. There are a lot of sequences and shots to be impressed with, and I feel it's worth watching for those alone.
What I appreciated about Nichijou and the story it doesn't tell is that it doesn't go through your standard slice of life let's go to osaka/kyoto/komiket/the beach/hotsprings/culture festival scenarios. The world it takes place in is very self contained and that which normal high school girls like the protagonists would be familiar with.
There's far more of a focus on romance subplots than I initially thought this would have. Characters are pretty bland, but their quirks and the way they interact more or less entertained me.
Nichijou is the epitome of taking things as far as they can possibly go.
As an anime I feel Nichijou isn't bad. You can tell the work that was put into it was genuine and you can appreciate that.
As a comedy I feel Nichijou fails.
I may have cracked a smile twice through the entirety of Nichijou, and as a series I had heard nothing but praise for the comedy of I just don't get that appeal.
When the writers commit to a joke you're going to sit through several minutes of back and forth between characters that is supposed to be fun absurdist humor but the longer it drags on, the more it wears on you and starts to get annoying.
There are a lot of sequences like this, and as the series is chopped up into a bunch of self contained shorts and side stories, it makes me feel as if it would have probably been better suited to sit as 15 minute or less shorts in between other shows if it were aired on television.
Too much of Nichijou gets on your nerves fast and though I didn't find it funny, I can say that it at least entertained me throughout the runtime.
