Sadly, the delay of Nichijou this week wasn't my fault; Doki was pretty late in releasing it. Considering I'll be keeping this series for archiving, I'd rather wait for a good copy rather than rush it.
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| I'm reminded of Kyouya from Ouran... |
This episode reminded me a lot of ones from the previous half, partially because it returned to the format of having a few long sequences broken up by lots and lots of smaller ones. The biggest difference was that the long sequences here were continuing a concept already presented, which made the little details really pop. From Biscuit #2 (the successor to Biscuit #1, obviously) and Mr. Rust+ (after Mr. Short Circuit failed) to the fantasy world that created Mio's hairstyle, this episode really reminded me why I like Nichijou to begin with: a funny joke isn't repeated; it's the funny concept that's never discarded.
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| Take note: Starbucks causes violence and depression. |
The short before the OP had Yukko taking Mio to Daiku Coffee, where she had previously been harassed by the confusing menu. While she looked on with treacherous glee at sending her friend into dangerous territory, Mio surprised all by knowing exactly how to order. (I won't lie; her order was pretty confusing until I broke it down. Stupid Starbucks...) After the OP was the return of Nakamura-sensei (seen going into Daiku Coffee previously, actually), who marvelled at her new invention, Mr. Rust+, which was remarkably similar to many (dangerous) drugs already in existence. Her instincts were the fall of her once more, as she accidentally sipped the spiked coffee when it was about to overflow. It makes sense now why everyone always comments that Nakamura-sensei faints a lot.
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| Damn, if the town actually looked like that... |
After a few shorts, the scene shifted to Yukko travelling on a train to head over to next town, where Mai had made plans with her (regarding free candy). It seemed to be a very embarrassing day for her, since she kept "messing up". When the lady next to her offered her dog a biscuit, Yukko mistakenly thought that it was for her. When she got up to give an old lady her seat, the woman refused before she'd even stood. When she attempted to flee the train quickly, the doors opened on the opposite side. On top of it, she kept bumping into statues and thinking they were real people. The little girl that followed her off the train (all the while laughing at her escapades) eventually showed her to Daiku Burger, where she was also meeting someone. The reason why Mai had requested to meet at the next town over made sense by the end of the scene - she planned on going trick-or-treating despite the fact that Halloween had passed some time ago. A quick scene much later showed the two not having much luck, quite obviously.
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| The concept of sleep bubbles is quite disgusting, once I think about it. |
A few of the shorts utilized this episode, some of them occurring in between long scenes just like back in the day, had the return of some missing characters (like Sasahara and Tachibana) and also some new ones (like the primary school teacher that intentionally counted down at different speeds until all her students had finished). I'm really just not into the Sasahara-Tachibana combo at this time; her over-the-top tsundere was funny only for a little while to me. I do still like Sasahara on his own, since his outrageously rich behaviour still feels fresh. Sakamoto's sanity was tested once more when Professor, previously suffering from restlessness, fell asleep after counting one sheep - what's more, Nano drifted off before the sheep even finished jumping. Yukko's random scene in passing an aggressive crow made me concerned about the state of Japan; I have never seen such an aggressive bird mingled amongst civilization before. I guess more than just the people are nice and friendly in Toronto...
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| So, naturally, you must iron! |
It was astounding to realize that the person the little girl from Yukko's scene in the next town was meeting was actually Tachibana; she looked so different out of her uniform that I didn't recognize her until a slightly longer scene with the siblings (the little girl being her younger sister) played, mentioning Sasahara. I wonder why Tachibana didn't recognize Yukko, although the bigger question is what was she doing at the next town? Does she live there? Does her sister live there? I was pretty confused. That was the last we saw of the Tachibana siblings for the remainder of the episode, so there was no hinting.
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| ...*dramatic music here* |
There were two Helvetica Standard shorts this episode, after not having one for a while. The second one was pretty standard, done in the usual art-style with the usual background music assigned to the sequence, and was about some humdrum topic of the coffee tasting different. The first one, however, was completely different, and I doubt it belongs to the same series, even though the title was the same. Most notably, the title sequence, the art-style and the music were all different. Anyway, it was about a girl that travelled 3 hours to get to a village/town in order to find a book (one she had read in her childhood) that had been donated to the library. It took a few minutes for the story to unravel, although the synopsis I gave was pretty much it. The story-telling was absolutely gripping, making me really want to know more about this. The ending was even more crucial - upon opening the book, the pages had been hollowed to conceal a gun. Was the book her treasure, or was it actually the contents? The book couldn't have arrived to the library with the gun inside; I assume donations are thoroughly checked. She might have known about the gun, or she could have gotten very trolled after finding the book in such shape. It was really intriguing to me, though I wonder if it'll be continued in future episodes or not.
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| What covers his ass?! |
Biscuit #2 made his introduction in a long sequence with Professor and Nano (Sakamoto wasn't so much a part of it). It's amusing how the thing runs on the "power of biscuits"; such energy should be harnessed! I won't say too much about this scene, since it absolutely brought back to life my annoyance at Professor's lack of ethics. (Biscuit #2 needs biscuits to live, but she ate them all...) Anyway, the longest scene of the entire episode was a return to the blimp that had graced a former episode. I had no idea that it was the same until Rho pointed out that the workers all wore numbered hats, just like in the other scene. At any rate, the princess was holding a "talent contest", where the objective was to make her laugh. Being extremely grumpy, nothing amused her, and the punishment was that a trapdoor would open and the contestant would fall out of the blimp.
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| She dreams of Mio quite a lot... |
Somehow, even though I remembered that the last scene ended with the wooden cubes falling from the blimp and onto Mio's head, I was still surprised with the way the scene ended. I should have known, though; there were ample hints. Number 8, who had been the most important of the numbered workers since it was his inner thoughts that were shown, got fed up with the show and ran off, not wanting to die. As he got some fresh air in the hallway, after opening a window, he ranted about the terrible situation and, in anger, threw his pompoms out of the window. Just like with the cubes, the blue items hurtled towards the ground - and became Mio's ponytails. The episode, of course, ended with Yukko waking up with a jerk, in class. I was flabbergasted, somehow, and really hope this kind of scene happens again. Although, what is left on Mio's head to replace?
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| The inhumanity! |
This week's Nichijou was a return to the format from the old-days, and I realize that I sorely missed it. I hope the next episode is the same. After having been with the characters for so long, the little details for continuity have really begun to catch my eye.
~Aaro
