The watching and posting of this episode was invariably delayed due to time spent in a nail salon with Rho and Pearz. There were flowers and polka dots being created everywhere, but no Nichijou to be had. Luckily, that's all over now.
 |
| Yummy stuff~ |
This episode was slightly less funny than the previous one, but it was ultimately because one of the long scenes featured the Professor (and we all know that I'm not too keen on that little girl). However, Nichijou is pretty consistent with each episode being around the same "humour level" as the previous one. This episode contained a very funny scene with a "new" character: Annaka of the Big Bow. There were also the usual shorts (I felt that maybe there were more in this episode than before, but that's unsupported).
 |
| Is there no way to avoid that? Or does that just take the fun out of it? |
After the opening (showing the comedy trio in a game of what was translated as Red Light, Green Light), it began with Yukko being late for school (again). It was another scene with her as the sole character; she's a pretty strong character to make such soliloquies work. (Her scene with the Principal vs Deer was extremely amazing, and I did consider that a solo for her.) The traps set out for her were amusing, although I did wonder the impossibility of avoiding the thing as the door opened. At the very least, she must have been able to take out the one waiting for her in the lower door. However, in the interests of comedy, I'll leave it alone. This scene really stood out to me almost purely because of the way it ended: it turned out that class wasn't even being held in that room.
 |
| Aren't bubbles usually some kind of soapy mix? |
The amount of shorts in this episode seemed a little higher than usual, but I might be misjudging since they weren't really that spaced out. After Yukko's scene came a short with Mai eating bubbles (so weird...), then the trio with Yukko acting goofy (and being punished with bodily harm for it), and then the Professor-Nano-Sakamoto combination about terrible trumpet playing. That felt like a long string of shorts, but they led to a really hilarious scene. (Setting up the stage...?) I didn't like these shorts all that much, but that's hardly because they weren't funny; I recognize that my tastes are generally hit-or-miss. I was surprised to not see a Helvetica Standard scene, though.
 |
| Waste of noodles! |
Annaka showed up in a scene about
nagashi soumen, which I had to look up. (The idea of wasting noodles like that is a little bit annoying...) I absolutely loved this scene; it embodied what the "outsider" of a crazy scene in typical anime feels like. The idea of eating, with pre-used chopsticks, noodles that are coming down a shoddy bamboo slide connected to someone's kitchen window is extremely questionable, but it all added to the hilarity of the scene. Although Annaka's only reactions were almost breathless gasps of question, I liked her off the bat. My biases are going to destroy me.
 |
| I should test if a book provides any warmth... |
The next long scene of this episode had the Professor sporting a ponytail and adopting an "older sister" attitude, trying to help out around the house (while being a little condescending, really). The scenes containing the Professor are really touch-and-go for me; there were some that I liked and others that I didn't. ...I didn't like this one so much. It was independent of my questions about her ethics; this was mainly about how I really don't like people that get in the way, make more work for you, and
don't understand it. If there had been even a moment of her being teary-eyed and apologetic, I would have absolutely adored her cuteness in this scene. I'm so hard to please...
 |
| Violent retribution for accidental infringement, once again. |
The final long scene contained, once again, Yukka as she contemplated her life after high school (all the while avoiding her homework). Her scenes tend to drag a little for me if I can't follow her thought process enough; I think the reason I liked the Principal vs Deer scene was because there was outside influence to her thoughts. While left on her own, I don't think it's all that interesting. However, she's really a strong character to be able to even pull off a scene all by herself (and twice in the same anime, too). I liked her previous scene this episode; the highlight of this one was the punishment doled out by her mother (but it wasn't enough to make this scene a good one, to me).
 |
| End-of-day markdowns! |
I really like the attention to details that this anime has. The last few episodes (and potentially further back, but I just can't remember) contained "silent" shorts that basically had the camera positioned in a specific location, showing the progression throughout the day. The market above began with empty shelves, then showed them full with items in another scene, and finally ended with the end-of-day sales. The previous one, as far as I remember, showed turtles lazing around in the sun on top of a lake. It's little things like that that really wrap each episode up well for me; it's a collection of things packed into a 24min package without feeling hectic.
 |
| I imagine that must be like getting sprayed with hot oil. |
So, after waiting a day for Rho to have the time to watch this episode with me, I finally watched it while positioning the laptop next to her (as she played L.A. Noire) so she couldn't complain. I think my addiction to this anime, at this point, really speaks volumes. I liked this episode, and there's a pretty good chance I'll like the next one, too. The jokes, parcelled off into pieces, are usually funny, I love the presentation, and the inherent development excites me.
~Aaro
