Having went insane on a sentimental level last episode, Nichijou returns once again boasting an actually beautiful and moving plot with which none could have been any better to end the series with.
As always, the series’ integral display of nonsensical madness, unconventionally diverse visual animation, and slapstick humor is prominent – yet the striking difference between this and most episodes of the series how emotionally in-tune it is with the viewer on an affectionate degree. Although many perceived Nichijou to have no plot early on and perhaps even to now, we have noticed that through this tunnel of raw comical fury and randomness, there is indeed a light of serious story salvation at the end.
Whilst at the usual venue of school, Yuuko proposes a surprise birthday party for Nano – as the discussion evolves, it becomes a party for both Nano and Hakase. The situation then begins to devolve in the typical over the top ridiculous Nichijou fashion which we’ve come to love the series for. Though the group is not even sure of their actual birth-date – Mio jumps on the bandwagon with little hassle as she likes the idea of “surprises”.
The scene could of course not end without a rather straightforwardly silly gag – Mai forgot her purse at home, and Yuuko’s wallet went missing episodes earlier in the amusement park. Thus Mio is left shocked yet with little choice but to agree – which she does. With everything settled, Yuuko decides its time to rush over to Nano-chan and tell her everything completely oblivious to the fact that spoils the “surprise” – Mio immediately halts her whilst calling her a “baka”.
Deviating from the standard, Yuuko goes for a risky maneuver and experiments with a highly dangerous comeback – she throws a line at Mio mentioning Sasahara rejected her. Shockingly, Mio manages to mitigate that impending crisis quite well – she refutes it with several defensive statements before losing track of herself and blatantly saying she loves Sasahara. Though entertaining, embarrassing, and humorous aside, it’s (unfortunately) not nearly as bad as Mio’s marathon as seen in the previous episode.
The group then is seen only mildly for the remainder of the episode until they arrive for the party. Meanwhile, Hakase is hoping to give Nano a new, smaller screw for her back. Nano eventually comes to realize whilst reminiscing on past events that she is an individual as she currently stands and screw on her back or not, she’s still Nano – thus removing it would only deter from her personality, making her more generic. Realizing this, she accepts the screw and no longer seeks its removal.
As all comes together, the episode ends quite happily ever after with the five main characters of Nichijou laughing.
Nichijou comes off to the average otaku as a collective of shorts:
While the title Nichijou or “My Everyday Life” suggests a story of simple, everyday school life, the contents are more the opposite. The setting is a strange school where you may see the principal wrestle a deer or a robot’s arm hide a rollcake. However there are still normal stories, like making a card castle or taking a test you didn’t study for.
Although quite the opposite indeed, one can come to understand around the mid-point of the series – the affairs of ever-increasing prevalence for the Shinonome family, or more specifically Nano, are what serve to be the serious side of Nichijou for an otherwise exquisitely idiotic series with drivel spit for plot. And it is this transition from amusing meaningless absurdity to a credible tear inducing story which can also leave one questioning whether it is intended to represent such evolution in our own lives.
Then again, we’re merely speculating what may have inspired the artistic mind of creator Arawi Keiichi.
On another note, this series is beyond any reasoning the most gratifying work of humor ever conceived – it is so exceptionally ravishing in that respect, it can leave its fans in tears from the sheer essence of beauty it portrays in heavy quantities. Every gag is a clever concoction of wit which is relevant to the viewer’s life – making it not only 10 times more effective, but perhaps even considerable a satire.
It by going beyond what is reasonably expected, respected, and common practice that Nichijou succeeds. The series doesn’t follow the arrogant rules engraved in the imagination of fools with a closed mind who believe everything must be done by the book. The masterminds of Kyoto Animation accommodated every scene to the highest level of obscenity yet superiority in delivering that emotion, story, or feeling they wanted.
If a scene involved characters chasing one another, they did not sustain the same animation style – nor did they make use of half-assed effects. They went all out, making use of everything to their advantage in order to give the scene dynamic intensity and movement. Even looking at the screencaps below, one can see how vivacious the differences are according to the setting of the scene. A concept which many do not understand is the indescribable wealth of skill and technique present and necessary for the visual stylings of Nichijou.
Even the voice acting and other audio is of an unfathomable caliber – Chan-mio’s voice in particular is very distinct and attractive, even more so when yelling.
We can go on into infinity over the excellence of Nichijou – yet we must come to an end, just as the series, and hope they’ll give us more to enjoy again.
