'Nichijou' Is Truly an Anime Comedy Gem

Considered by many as one of the funniest anime series of all time, Nichijou – also known as Nichijou: My Ordinary Life – was something I had always been meaning to see (at the earliest, I considered picking it up immediately after watching Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto).  I finally decided to start watching it after I finished Daily Lives of High School Boys, intending it to be its replacement – something I could sporadically watch, reserved for my “free-ist of free times.”  However, although it’s somewhat similar to Daily Lives of High School Boys in its comedic style and presentation, I was compelled to binge and finish Nichijou immediately.  It’s because there’s an “addicting” flavor to it that Daily Lives of High School Boys didn’t have.

Each episode of Nichijou is composed of short vignettes that explore the daily lives of various zany characters – most of which attend or work in Tokisadame High School.  The cast is extensive, and it takes a bit of time to become fully familiar with all of them (I even initially got some characters mixed up).  Nonetheless, this show not only fleshes out its characters quite so winsomely, providing each one his or her own distinctive quirks and personalities, but it also masterfully paints a well-realized, interconnected world for them to live in.  Thus, you eventually come to effortlessly follow each one’s arcs – more than that, you get deeply immersed with what’s going on with them.

That is probably why I was more compelled to binge Nichijou than Daily Lives of High School Boys.  I was more invested with its characters.  The characters are the source of that aforementioned “addicting” flavor.

Among the characters, there are two major groups as most of the storylines focus on them.  First is a trio of high school girls – the lively, easygoing, and idiotic Yuuko Aioi; the bright, periodically irritable aspiring mangaka Mio Naganohara; and the quiet, pokerfaced genius Mai Minakami.  It was quickly pretty clear to me, based on their respective characterizations and group dynamic, that they served as the basis for Nozomu “Baka” Tanaka, Akane “Wota” Kikuchi, and Shiori “Robo” Saginomiya – the main trio of Wasteful Days of High School Girls.

The second is the Shinonome household, which is composed of the Professor, a brilliant inventor despite being just eight years old, but is also susceptible to the attitudes and preferences that someone her age can have; Nano Shinonome, a housekeeper android that the Professor made who has the appearance and maturity of a teenager despite being just one year old; and their pet black cat Mr. Sakamoto, who can talk like a human because of the red scarf that the Professor made him wear.

Midway through the series, their storylines intersect, as the Professor finally allows Nano to go to school – a life-long dream of hers – and she joins the same class that Yuuko, Mio, and Mai are in.  Soon, she becomes a member of their circle – turning them into a quartet.  Yuuko, Mio, and Mai also become frequent visitors to Nano’s house, wherein they befriended the Professor as well.

As a slice-of-life comedy anime, Nichijou isn’t just a superior version of Daily Lives of High School Boys or Wasteful Days of High School Girls.  It’s probably even the best of the genre.  Really.

Now, while I didn’t always find its jokes hilarious – there were jokes that I didn’t get, since they likely require the viewer to be a native Japanese in order to grasp; and there are jokes that I did get what they were going for, but I just didn’t find effectively funny – it definitely has a couple of the most memorably hilarious scenes I’ve ever seen in anime.  And thus, all in all, I feel it’s still valid to describe this show as hilarious.

It always manages to maintain high comedic energy.  Thus, during the gags that I did find funny, I was always somehow prepped to laugh; while during the gags that didn’t make me laugh, I still found a sense of endearing amusement from them.

In addition, its brand of comedy is as impressively diverse as its characters.  Gags range from simple to surreal, from predictable to subversive.  Thus, its humor doesn’t become stale.

Personally, I actually think Nichijou becomes funnier and funnier as the series progress.  Part of this is probably because I was gradually becoming used to its unique comedic rhythms with each episode.  But aside from that, I believe that it was designed to be that way.  There are types of jokes that need to be introduced at their “basic” forms first – simply for setting up the required elements and mechanics.  Then, when they recur in revised forms down the line, they are delivered with greater comedic impact, which are only made possible because certain expectations have already been laid when their “basic” forms were introduced initially.

But what I think made Nichijou a level above other slice-of-life comedy anime I’ve encountered is its heart.  Now, I don’t mean that this was the first time I encountered “heart” in a slice-of-life comedy anime.  In fact, the themes that it touches on are pretty clichéd.  And yet, I feel that that there is more meaning and elegance to how it displays heart.  When comedy anime gets sentimental and pensive, it often comes as a pleasant left turn.  This instance can strike as profoundly heart-tugging because of its contrast to what the show usually is.  Nichijou executes this beat tremendously, giving me the best experience of “heart” in an anime comedy since Aggretsuko.

Lastly, if there’s one thing I didn’t like about Nichijou, it would be how the Professor can sometimes be quite a spoiled brat.  Yes, she’s just acting her age, but still, she can be pretty annoying with her selfishness and tantrums.  Nevertheless, I don’t hate her character as a whole.  I understood the role that she had to play in order to make the show work.  And she does have redeemable qualities.

To sum it up, I had tons of fun with Nichijou.  Engagingly crafted, intrinsically comical, and occasionally heartwarming, it totally lives up to its fame as an anime comedy gem.

I wish they make a season 2.