SO CRAZZZZZZZY The Animation

At announcement, I was not wanting, nor expecting it to be a Nichijou 2, or some kind of sequel in spirit.
I was hyped, and would have been fine with anything KyoAni could be doing with the great mind that made this previous hit, I went in taking what was shown at face value, for what it is, what it fails to do and what it lacks.

CITY has a similar setting, wacky place, wacky residents and an appreciation for the small facts of life that can become an infinite source of adventure, fun and good moments to share with the people you love... But there's a catch: it is NOT FUN, not in the slightest bit.

That would not be an issue at all, you cant expect a book to make you laugh to tears because a previous one was a comedy, but you can definitely expect having at least one little corner smile when you enter the great Zapata Circus and everything around you is supposed to be a sensory overload to keep you entertained.
It is the primary flaw with CITY, it wants you to laugh, it tries so painfully hard to draw a single smile out of you with every move in the book. You get explosions, crazy creatures, stunts, a LOT of screaming into your ears, it feels just like going at the circus except NOTHING is remotely amusing.
It's made with everything that is bad about japanese comedy, screeching into my ears is not fun, explaining a joke out loud is not fun, showing a daily life situation with a oh so crazy twist because the guy has turned himself into a pickle is NOT fun! All these things do not create amusement on their own, it has to be wrapped into a convincing context that sets the viewer in the mood for laughing, it's not something you draw out of someone as if you were tickling them, it's something that has to be sponatenous.

CITY felt like a failed stand-up act, it tries, and tries and tries but the more it does, the less it lands, because the audience will get bored. And when it happens, every single gimmick becomes an annoyance, some episodes are so physically painful to endure that switching to the dub was a salvation and even managed to make some moments more pleasant.

But- but- but- but but CITY isn't just about jokes... it's about enjoying life, the day to day, the little things!!!!! No it hardly is, the sensory overload is so permanent you can barely ever catch a break. Nichijou had entire episodes where there wasnt anything going on, it even had special breaks such as helvetica standard, something like love to stop the crazy train in its tracks from time to time. It's what made it work, thoughtful timing that were respectful to the viewer. So much so that I often rewatch episodes in standalone because they each convey a different mood, CITY is a constant mess, it has ONE good episode worth rewatching which is the one with all the alternating points of view, truly brilliant one.

It could have shone in its laid back moments, there were the good ingredients for the job but it simply didn't use them enough, in favor of making yet another goofy ahh moment with weird animals, rap about weird animals, annoying songs and still more screaming. It all felt like something that would be funny if you were 5, or funny if you've never been faced with any kind of absurd humor in your life, like "baby's first "

Good thing it had great animation (it's THE animation after all) and beautiful graphics to make the 28 minutes of what feels like your wannabe comedian cousin demo reel less awkward.

Bottom line: It's key-jiggling the animation, if you want a great anime that is funny, touching, emotional taking place into a likeable city and its funny folks, go watch /anime/8726/soredemo-machi-wa-mawatteiru

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