I’m basically going to complain about everything I didn’t like about the anime, and make it sound a lot worse than it actually is… but I feel like I need to justify such a mid rating and explain something that’s been bugging me.
It has a great opening song, which is very inspiring, but everything that follows fails to live up to what the song promises. The problems begin with the characters: Komari and Natsumi are sisters, Renge is in 1st grade, and Hotaru just moved to town. That’s the main cast- these four girls. So right away there’s this imuoto thing going on with Komari and Hotaru develops an extremely odd and not-at-all funny obsession with her that didn’t make sense for the kind of story this seemed to want to tell; a girl moving to this new life in the country.
And Komari isn’t the kind of girl that makes a very good crush- she’s barely grown out of being a loli and acts very immature. Every scene with her and Hotaru is about her complex with her immaturity, and Hotaru makes lovey-dovey eyes at her, and I don’t find it cute or entertaining. But the worst offender in this foursome is that thing with purple hair and lintels for eyelids- RENGE. Oh dear god she is annoying as fuck. It took a few episodes, but pretty soon every second she was talking- in that annoying baby talk sounding desperate yet psychotic- it was like fingernails on a chalkboard!!! And she never shuts up. She points at things and goes “waaaa”- like a baby- and they seem to be playing it up as if it’s funny. And she’s unbelievably stupid. I get that she’s a first grader surrounded by older girls and would not be as smart as them, but when you have a young child around older ones- that usually rubs off on the younger one who will act more mature. If you don’t believe me, watch how your nieces and nephews, or your own children- act around older kids. But in Renge’s case, she is single-mindedly thick as a brick and dumb as a plank of wood to the wide-eyed confusion of all those around her. Possibly one of the best episodes she meets another girl her age- and approaches the new girl the same way she is around the older girls- she acts like a clueless idiot. But then something incredible happens: the new girl is mature, interesting, and kind- which (incredibly) inspires Renge to act like a normal human. Her time spent with the girl are some of the best moments; and the look on her face that doesn’t fully register the shock of realizing she’s moved away abruptly just about made me cry before she did. That moment gets played out a little too long… but… then the anime just moves on from all this as if nothing happened. Renge doesn’t even seem to care anymore. Why? No reasons given, the show could easily have been about how that photographer girl brought Renge out of her shell and taught her a vocabulary higher than an ape- but nope. Half an episode she’s gone, and Renge goes back to being a baby.
The rest of the characters in the show aren’t much better. The teacher seems just as clueless and boneheaded as Renge. I think the strongest character is actually Natsumi, Komari’s older sister. She’s the most unique of all the girls, is somewhat a tomboy, gets into trouble, and runs away from the house when she does. But she’s dragged down by a cast of utter morons.
…And then there’s the brother. UGH. The writers obviously decided they wanted this to be about girls, in most anime that usually means no boys allowed. This show’s answer though is not to banish him completely- but to have him basically be mute, so he’s just a cardboard prop that shows up in the background now and then. It was one of those things that- the attempt at making him an unimportant background prop actually made him more noticeable… his silence is deafening. Literally- the absolute worst moment is in the last episode of season 1 when Renge finds him eating leaves (I can’t explain) and he just stares at her munching the leaves while Renge looks at him with a typically dumb stare… two boneheaded idiots looking at each other with blank faces, unable to say anything. It’s utterly painful to watch, but it sums up this anime perfectly. Who thinks this is a masterpiece??
I dunno.. I don’t hate Non Non Biyori, but I just don’t think it lives up to the praise it gets, and most of all- it did not live up to the expectations I had for it, which may have been unfairly high. That might really be the show’s greatest weakness, that it’s remembered for being better than it actually is. You can tell me the later seasons are better, and I will be glad to take you at your word. I have no plans to watch any more of this show.
If you wanted a calming slice of life anime, there are so many that are better than this. You would have to really like the characters to choose this one- and you’re choosing between an 8 year old who talks like a baby, a teenager who acts like a baby, a new girl with no personality, a teacher who is dumber than all of them; a couple other characters that are cardboard props; a nonexistent story that goes absolutely nowhere, and some nice backgrounds and music. It doesn’t add up to a great anime in my book. 6/10
