We all have experiences in life that we've shared together; something everyone's done. Whether that's having a secret exposed, feeling embarrassed, a dedication to something that you love, or even just the quiet, lovely moments that only you and your friends really cherish, it's all of a feeling we can relate to. Keiichi Arawi's _Nichijou - My Ordinary Life _ takes those experiences we all know and remember, and injects quite possibly the most exaggerated dramatization of what the experiences, no matter how large or small, feel to us in our head. And I think that, in its entirety, is where the magic lies in this anime.
Nichijou involves the everyday lives of three high school girls, and the interactions they hold in their high school and outside of class, as well as an intertwining story of a small girl, who has built a human-robot to take care of her, along with a talking pet cat for company. While, on paper, it could seem very bland, that's where the magic happens. While, yes, there's no long overarching plot like in your everyday shounen anime, each and every small section of comedy and relatable experiences gets their point across, and makes you want more and more.
As per a lot of my anime introductions, I watched Nichijou with my roommate in the summer of 2018. In an August filled with watching her play Undertale, we spent the next two days eating Wendy's salads and watching this beautiful masterpiece of an anime. I remember that there were so many relatable, and hilarious scenes that made us both laugh so hard, that we had to pause the episode multiple times to catch our breaths and wipe away tears. Scenes such as:
- Dropping your camping dinner, and trying to hide the fact you majorly screwed up.
- Dropping your favorite food on the dirty school floor, and your entire world goes in slow motion.
- Accidentally pushing the wrong end on a mechanical pencil, and absolutely screaming.
- Losing your wallet at the fair, and having to pretend you're still having fun.
- Having your friend find out you draw yaoi-
It's these small moments when it's very refreshing to watch an anime just for a good laugh, and you realize that there are no big plot points, no reason to turn your mind on and remember anything - because we've subconsciously remembered all these feelings from our pasts, so we can just turn our brains off, react, relate, and laugh.
In terms of characters, I couldn't love them more. The three main girls of the story are fantastic, relatable, and funny. There's something very refreshing in an anime where the characters are so vibrant that they themselves can carry the show to extraordinary levels without the help of really anything else - in my personal opinion. In my view, besides the humor in relation to the situations, you watch this show for the vast display of characters.
Yuuko is a very energetic girl, who loves cracking jokes and bugging people, which can sometimes be her downfall. Her overreactions to everything were one of the main selling points for me, to be honest. They're relatable to an almost creepy level to what we all feel inside in the moment, and sometimes even how we wish we could express ourselves realistically.
Mio is the most down-to-earth of the trio, but she's also very cheerful a lot of the time. She's usually the receiver of Yuuko's energy and the two clash, but she would be considered "the mom" of the group. She has a hobby for drawing BL - or, in some cases, straight-up yaoi -, which is the main source of conflict of her character, when people - whether cops, her friends, or teachers may accidentally see them.
The last, and my personal favorite member of the trio, is Mai. Mai is basically, what you would call a troll. She's a very expressionless, speaking in a monotone voice, and quiet girl. She's always around to troll the others, whether it's having the only source of food at the camping trip and eating it all in front of them, or challenging Yuuko to a full day where Yuuko can't point out things Mai is doing wrong, so Mai takes it to the extreme to do all sorts of things that bother her (i.e., wearing glasses over contacts).
Visually, and soundtrack-wise, it's a very... simple expression. It's not a very detailed work in its artwork or music, but I think that that's the style that works with what the theme is going for. Simple, everyday experiences require simple drawings that really hit home. Now, there are really detailed and visually beautiful moments, but it's not something like watching, say, Akira or Mob Psycho 100, or nothing soundtrack-wise like, for example, the various works of a composer like Shiro Sagisu or Tsutomu Kamishiro. However, it gets the job done very well and you'll appreciate the work more with it rather than without for sure.
The voice acting in this show, however, is fantastic. The expression in each and every character's voice clearly shows, and you can tell the voice actresses were having a lot of fun adding so much depth and personal expression to their craft. When a character screams or gasps, the over-dramatization of them just adds to the unique experience of this show, and since the characters are the main highlights, I think each and everyone needs to have their own attention in the spotlight so they can show their craft, which they do.
All in all, the August of 2018 showed me an anime that will forever be my most beloved comedy series of all time. It showed me that even the smallest moments of life, which may seem insignificant, are also very important, and hold lots of memories. They can be laughed at later on, and are experienced by everyone. It's the little things that make life worth experiencing, and if you have friends to share those experiences with, you may just end up laughing about them later.
