In the past few years, the Slice of Life genre gained a lot of popularity. Many of these shows while similar have unique stories. As I explained in my editorial about the genre back in 2010, there is really no defined definition of what makes a show a Slice of Life.
In particular, Kyoto Animation has pushed few of the most popular shows of this genre. Lucky Star and K-On has a huge following for cute characters, but both of them have two different premises. The former focuses on the anime subculture and the latter, the true essence of friendship. On the other hand, Nichijou takes a spin of the genre with less emphasis on characters and more on ingenious comedy (Image Source).
In the past, Kyoto Animation was not known that much for its creativity or creating original stories. Their strengths were in the faithful adaptation of source material into a show. Underneath their various adaptations, they have made an original production called Munto with subsequent remakes in 2009. Even though the 2003 production allowed them to produce the Full Metal Panic and Air anime, the sequel fell flat from the half-baked story and the fact that nobody cared for it after several years. This happened as a result of their strengths being mostly in adaptation and animation. They simply didn’t have enough experience with original productions, which PA Works have been successful at. However, with their adaptation of Nichijou, they were able to bring some creative juices in certain aspects.
Compared to their previous productions, Nichijou takes a distinctive approach with the emphasis more on the jokes than on the characters. Each episode is split up to several segments and focused on different sketches that vary in size. Sometimes, they are not always continuous. This makes the comedy segments feel separate, which makes it easier to recall the funniest moments in the episode. In a way, this also allows the minor characters to get time in the spotlight even though Hakase/Nano/Sakamoto, Mio, Yuuko and Mai get shown more often for oblivious reasons. Although all the characters don’t get developed much, there are some as shown with Nano herself as she eventually able to experience a mostly normal life and attending school.
Unlike Lucky Star and K-ON, some of the segments in Nichijou are creative and even memorable. The source material basically outlines how these comedic moments will play out and the creativity is mostly seen through the execution. This is noticeable in numerous instances such as Mio brutally attacking people, Yuuko helping her make it over the pole and of course the blimp. Out of all of these moments, “Helvetica Standard” is where they show most of this in a very weird manner, especially in Episode 19 where they go over the top. Most of the comedic moments are enjoyable, but there some are just a hit and miss. So, it’s mostly going to depend on the viewer.
Overall, Nichijou might not be the best of what Kyoto Animation has done so far, but how they show the comedy made the show entertaining. Through the characters and the performance of each joke, they can apply their experiences they used in this show and use this knowledge if they ever make another original production. Hopefully, they won’t make the same mistakes as they did in the previous production. ¶
“In the past few years, the Slice of Life genre gained a lot of popularity. ”
You mean…in the past 30 years ? Maison Ikkoku, anyone ?
“As I explained in my editorial about the genre”
Oh yeah, that nonsensical “editorial”…Angel Beats = slice-of-life…*facepalm.jpg*
No more questions.
I know you are famous in the blogosphere, so I won’t be hard on you with all the criticism… but yeah, I have nothing to say.
While it’s true that some of the jokes were hit and miss, and that some of the comedy is variant on the viewer’s tastes, overall, Nichijou was a rather successful attempt by Kyoto Animation to create something clever and original to the genre. I’m quite satisfied with the series and would like to see more, because even though some jokes don’t quite hit, they’re not totally horrible and I can usually overlook it or simply chalk it up to not being my taste but probably funny to some other people.
Confused…in general I don’t even know what you’re getting at with this editorial or whatever you call it. What really loses me is you call this an original production. How is it original? Did they stray from the manga? Is it like Galaxy Angel where the anime had nothing to do with the game, nor even in the same genre of the game. Help me out here. I’m still not convinced to watch this, so what originality makes this, well, original?
Because if you’re talking about anime that does random things in small vignettes then tell my how this is better or on par with those.
I just don’t get it.
For me, this editorial was particularly difficult to explain considering the nature of this show. This is the reason I didn’t blog much about the show because all the segments are different. What was I explaining is the direction they took to adapt the comedy to animation. This is pretty much what I can think of because that what is the show is. It’s something that is up to the viewer… Besides from this, this show is hard to explain compared to the themes in something like K-ON because that is more defined and relatable to real life. I could go on trying to explain it and it wouldn’t matter too much.
I find Nichijou more enjoyable than Lucky Star in general. Need to finish off Lucky Star to give a better opinion of it, but Nichijou is still winning as of now.
Haven’t finished Lucky Star either (four episodes left). After seeing so many slice of life shows, the show doesn’t feel particularly special anymore as there are others that did a better job who don’t get the same popularity.
I really do think Kyoto Animation is flaunting their creativity with Nichijou. You can really see how this adaptation is completely different with stuff like K-On and Lucky Star. There’s an ambition, an aim, and a unique form of comedy. It also helps that the animation to deliver the jokes are top-notch.
In comparison to their other work, I agree that they are trying a bit harder to stand further with the jokes… However, it can be a double edged sword as not everyone would react the same to the jokes. Compared to Lucky Star, it’s definitely has a bit more substance than just dumping a crap load of Anime References and calling it a day…
As for K-ON, it’s in a different league as it’s focused more on the friendship aspect. Sans the scenery, it’s like Aria, but with more moe and musical instruments.
I’ve seen my own fair share of slice of life anime, from the popular ones such as K-ON, Lucky Star, Haruhi, etc.. to the lesser known ones like Mitsudome, Kyou no Go no Ni, and even the Alps series. I can say with confidence that Nichijou tops all of them in so many aspects. The fact that it is even being compared to Lucky Star is driving me nuts. The thing about Lucky Star is that its success never did made any sense to me. All it ever did was reference things from anime and games that wasn’t even remotely funny. K-ON’s success was more understandable since it’s a moe-fest, and most people are suckers for moe. I know I am.
Nichijou, however, completely blew my mind when I first saw it. It’s like a steroid version of Azumanga Daioh! A talking cat, a robot girl, a deer wrestling principal. All of that just instantly clicked in my head, and Nichijou suddenly became my new favorite slice of life anime. I don’t think anything I watch from now on will ever top that.