Kyoto Animation’s adaptation of Keiichi Arawi’s Nichijou remains one of the greatest comedy anime ever made. I recall watching it for the first time back in secondary school and falling in love with its small, lovable cast and colourful animation style that surprised and delighted at every turn. It has become the source of countless memes and gags I see shared on the internet to this day. Unfortunately, it never got a second season.
Now, after what feels like years of waiting, one of Arawi’s new works is being adapted by the same animation studio. This time, it’s with a more authentic aesthetic that feels like panels of the manga are bursting out of the screen. It looks amazing, and has me thinking about all the things that made Nichijou so great, while I kick myself for not checking City out sooner.
Nichijou Is A Comedy Anime Like No Other
When you explain Nichijou on a surface level, it sounds like a million other slice of life anime out there. It follows a group of high school girls in a Tokyo prefecture going about their daily lives. So far, so generic. But it’s the eccentric execution of this concept that makes it so compelling.
Dropping a piece of your bento onto the floor results in an epic deathmatch between two characters as they try to catch it using their chopsticks, while anxiously trying to order coffee at a random café is blown up to epic proportions. There is a principal with a bulletproof vest having a wrestling match with a deer in the schoolyard and a girl who, rather than confessing her love to a boy she likes, instead barrages him with automatic weapons. It is all treated as a facet of normalcy in a gag anime that is never afraid to push boundaries.
My personal favourite characters are Hakase and Nano, a scientist and her robot living with a talking cat called Sakamoto who always judges them from staying in. Nano is just a robot with a giant key sticking out of her back who wishes to attend school and make new friends like any girl/robot her age, but it takes a while for Hakase to trust her enough to leave the horse and pursue a life of her own.
Despite being absurdly over-the-top and ridiculous at every turn, there is also a lot of heart to Nichijou’s characters. Yuko and Mio are the two main heroines, a couple of dumbasses who are best friends despite the fact they fight all the time. I’ll be here all day describing all the specific gags and visual touches that make Nichijou so wonderful, so just trust me and check it out for yourself. And watch the opening theme. It’s a banger, I promise.
I’m out of the loop when it comes to anime these days, so I hadn’t actually heard of City until the PV for its upcoming adaptation dropped this past weekend. What I can tell is that Kyoto Animation is pursuing a closer visual aesthetic this time around as it tries to match the character designs and signature style of Arawi’s work more than ever. While only a tiny bit more than a minute-long, it makes one hell of a first impression with its bold lines, happy and expressive characters, and a general vibe that makes it feel akin to a WarioWare level come to life.
City is Kyoto Animation’s first non-sequel anime in six years, so it will be exciting to see such a talented studio tackle a fresh project.
As for the plot, it follows three girls known as the Mont Blanc Trio. Midori, Wako, and Ayumu are all attending the local university and find themselves living out their lives as they get into various hijinks with the local populace. It sounds a lot like Nichijou, and I have no problem with that. It will be interesting to see adult characters in this environment over high school students – although those still make up part of the cast – and watch how they live together, interact, and get into various eccentric situations.
The trailer teases plenty of them, alongside a gorgeously dense setting which is colourful, imaginative, and filled with potential. The manga first started being serialised in 2016 and is still ongoing, so the anime has plenty of material to draw from.
From reading the wiki, it seems the supporting cast is packed with imaginative characters who, from occupation alone, could be worked into countless comedic skits, whether it be owners of family restaurants or wannabe photographers who love taking snaps in the middle of the street. City The Animation debuts in July, and you can bet on me being seated the second it comes out.
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