This is the life of Houtaro, a child who undergoes a sudden change due to his father's workplace transfer: from megalopolis Tokyo to rural Asahigaoka.
Non Non Biyori appears to be just another typical slice of life anime with cute girls doing cute things, and maybe it really is. However, there is a beauty behind the show.
I have a deep appreciation for slice of life shows. It is relatively easy to win over viewers with fantasy shows, full of superpowers, with a vast world of adventure, and all these things that permeate the popular imagination. Who has never dreamed of something like that at some point in life?
However, there is an extreme difficulty in representing the grandeur behind everyday life, in making everyday life something attractive. And this is precisely the beauty behind iyashikei works.
The difficulty in portraying the grandiosity that the natural possesses goes beyond the flashy supernatural, the pyrotechnic, the megalomaniac, the fantastic.
With the advent of technological advances and their most diverse and varied means of entertainment, human beings have lost the ability to contemplate the beauty of simplicity.
On rainy afternoons, the concern with the quality of the WiFi or Cable TV signal took the place of the moments that once enjoyed the drops falling from the sky, the earth being washed, the smell of rain, the sounds of the storm, the arch forming iris.
The noises of the city took the place of the morning sounds. Always busy stations, overcrowded trains, the concern to find a comfortable place to be able to, then, put on the headphones and be distracted on the journey on the way to work robbed the glory that the morning has.
When was the last time we got up early, with no worries, no rush, just to see the sunrise? To contemplate the care of the sun's rays appearing at just the right moment to lift the veil that separates day and night?
Or the bucolic climate that is characteristic of the evening, followed by a sunset that paints the cities with shades of red.
Or the mysterious icy aspect that the nights have, with the moonlight that clears without revealing more than necessary. Or as a nocturnal aspect, it inspires the reflective, nostalgic, melancholy moments that life has.
Non Non Biyori presents us with the story of four girls living in a peaceful village, so peaceful to the point of having peculiarities such as the human population being smaller than the number of cows existing there, or the fact that there are only five students in the only school in the village. city, each in a different series.
"But how can that be attractive?" It's a common question to ask.
The story takes us to follow the daily life of these girls, from games and ways to have fun in a place away from big technologies, as well as the relationships built by them and how that makes them grow.
When I watched Non Non Biyori two things awakened in me.
The first was nostalgia for my childhood. Consuming the work with this bias brought up many nostalgic memories that I had lost a long time ago.
Memories of things that today's kids don't do anymore. Plays that they don't even imagine that one day existed. Memories of a simpler life, when my only concern was getting to school, or the hours I would spend in the library.
Non Non Biyori aroused at times this kind of reflection on the inevitable passage of time. About what I've become and the paths I've walked here.
The second way I consumed the work was from the perspective of an adult, full of worries, responsibilities and duties. Perhaps the main responsibility is to build a better world for children who are experiencing childhood.
As in the moments when Dagashiya, the sweets shop saleswoman, found herself in this transition between adolescence and adult life.
It is worth mentioning the moments of interaction between the character and Renge. As an adult who still bears the responsibility of leading a child's growth, taking care to be an example to be followed, inspiring good actions that can be replicated and correcting those that should not be committed.
It is quite common for the spectator to consume the work from one of these two perspectives.
The show throws us into natural landscapes with a tone of verisimilitude to that of real life. The great scenarios awaken this synesthesia that results in a somewhat satisfying immersion.
In several moments it makes us feel in the real Asahigaoka.
Furthermore, the plot does not have a moral reflection on human existence, nor a script with wild twists.
The show just shows us the beauty that exists in the little things in life. In aspects that are so intertwined with the human condition as to go unnoticed.
Few series manage to portray well the innocence and curiosity of childhood, as well as the moments of discovery of the world around them and the emotion that exists in the simplicity of everything.
Whether for its nostalgic or contemplative character, with a light and relaxing narrative, the show invites us to admire the wonders that only simplicity has.
In the words of one of my favorite composers I sum it all up:
"I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself: What a wonderful world!"
