Monk Ed wrote:I loved the sentimentalism like a desert wanderer loves water, probably because I'm so awash in so much cynicism and snark and insincerity in all my media and people online that whenever I see something that's not afraid to go full-on sentimental it's a tremendous relief.
In general I definetly agree with this and I did love After Story also partly because of this.
Monk Ed wrote:Also Fuuko arc had this one bit of hilarity I keep thinking of from time to time even when I haven't thought of Clannad per se in a long time: the "I'm Okazaki, I've turned into a girl!" and "Wha--! Two Okazakis!" "We divide sometimes" scene. Still makes me laugh just thinking about it.
That scene as hilarious, yeah. I liked the SoL comedy bits in general the most in first season and this definetly belonged to the top drawer material in that vector.
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Nichijou
jäy jöy juu jöy jäjäjäjä jäi jäi or how it went...( ͡° _ʖ ͡°)Nichijou is Osaka's
(Azumanga Daioh, not the manzai town) idea of stoner comedy amped up to eleven through KyoAni's post-Fort Knox robbery budgetary irresponsibility and Tatsuya Ishihara perfecting art of overreaction. In this everyday life candy ban is murder of John Lennon and spilling cup of coffee equivalent of Boston Tea Party. Even by standards of moon empire Nichijou's sense of comedy and general ingredients are, pardon the original idiom,
fucking weird. In its own way humour in Nichijou is no less distinct and distinguished than in Jacques Tati's morose masterpiece Playtime.
Given such premises the everyday depicted doesn't really reflect a day in life as led by inhabitants of our world, but nevertheless the series is true to its name. While surreal comedy is name of the game it's almost as strongly a slice of life show following huge bunch of quirky characters through their high and low key lives in rather heartwarming fashion, perhaps best exemplified by
relaxing, Where's Waldoesque pan over the city set to warm music acting as series's second ED. Schoolboys riding goats, talking cats, 8 year old professors, robot girls with giant windup keys and go-soccer players are par the course for series's cast and their lives are almost always interesting and most often very amusing. Seiyuus were amazing to boot. It's been a long time since anime has made me laugh out loud with such frequencies as Nichijou did when I finally got its groove.
satsugai seiyooo satsugai seiyooo
Just as important for Nichijou's success as the rather original source material is KyoAni's efforts in bringing the series alive. To get the big claims out of the way first animation quality is just insane. Insane. Even by KyoAni's sky high standards Nichijou is particularly stunning exhibition of their prowess and I have no qualms saying this is the best animated comedy series I've ever seen. The art direction and background art don't lose in comparison and opt for warm, simple pastel tones that suit the content perfectly. Pastoral, sweet soundtrack does its job just as well, emphatizing generally the gentle SoL lull over surreal. Digita effects are kept in minimum and when used integrated to other elements with noteworthy fluidness. It's rare for me to look at 3DCG models of characters and have considerable uncertainty whether or not I'm looking at hand drawn footage or not even for a second.
All this impressive technical effort is marshalled under Ishihara's always rock solid, often helluva impressive directing. Series's is very creative about its form and the way it mixes visual styles, sound and dynamic "camera" movements with bizarre reaction shots. The series dabbles in everything from art of silent comedy to impressive action(!) scenes to nico nico dougaesque MAD editing and it does everything supremely well. Ishihara's greatest talents have always been in depiction of everyday life, character expressions and comedic timing so Nichijou is pretty much perfect for him.
All in all Nichijou is great series in my eyes. Its technical merits are undeniable while the non-sequitur oddball comedic sensibilities syncs well with my own offbeat sense of humour. It doesn't steal Azumanga Daioh's crown as genre pinnacle but does come closer to that than pretty much any other comedic SoL with emphasis on comedy in a long, long time. Nevertheless I can't help but qualify my high praise for Nichijou with big if: the series's nonsense feel for funny was more often than not
too much even for Japanese and if the comedy doesn't work for you Nichijou naturally loses a lot of its appeal.
Still, the character cuteness is enjoyable even in that case. Nano is pretty damn hhhhnnnggh for one.
9/10
( ͡° _ʖ ͡°)
The climax of the Fuuko arc made me cry (one of maaany times), and I never got the sense that the series was sappy or shmaltzy or what-have-you. I loved the sentimentalism like a desert wanderer loves water, probably because I'm so awash in so much cynicism and snark and insincerity in all my media and people online that whenever I see something that's not afraid to go full-on sentimental it's a tremendous relief.
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