One of the biggest genres within the media of anime and manga is undoubtedly comedy, gag comedy to be more specific. These kinds of titles have been a huge part of the industry, and one of Japan's most beloved anime titles is the slice of life comedy anime known as Sazae-san. It's clear that slice of life comedies are significant, and one of the most brilliant titles to emerge within this bracket is the wacky and hilarious Nichijou.
With a title that literally translates to "Daily Life", Nichijou is an incredible example of the perfect slice of life comedy anime and should always be considered in any conversation about the best comedy anime. So, what makes Nichijou such a stellar example of the perfect comedy slice of life anime?
Plot
The main focus of the Nichijou series is the childhood friend trio of Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami, and how their daily lives intersect with the child genius inventor Hakase Shinonome, her robot guardian Nano and their cat, Sakamoto. Each day is a different kind of mundanity or chaos, depending on the day, and each character experiences a different aspect of daily life.
From walking to school with friends, to daydreaming in class or even bearing witness to the school principal engage in a dramatic battle against a literal deer; Nichijou is packed with all kinds of hijinks, all of which simply form part of the daily lives of the characters. The series features an in-universe comic series known as "Helvetica Standard", which adds a meta-layer of mundanity upon the series' depiction of the characters' daily lives.
Characters
Like any narrative, the best part of Nichijou is its various weird and chaotic characters all of whom are eccentric on their own ways, or simply have something eccentric about them. The episodic nature of the series means that characters can and will end up in a flurry of hilarious, unbelievable and downright ridiculous situations (the aforementioned principle versus deer actually does happen), and each of their situations are just simple and just ridiculous enough to create all kinds of humour. Each of the characters, be they main or supporting, brings something random to the Nichijou world, and each of them is humourous in their own right for the kind of elements they bring to the series.
Mio Naganohara
One of the main trio, Mio is bright and cheerful, sporting adorable wooden blocks in her azure hair. Mio excels at academics, and is quite smart, so her friend Yuuko often copies her homework. While she is a cheerful girl, Mio can have a short temper, and when she is particularly embarrassed, she can gain incredible strength. This is seen in the famous clip from Nichijou episode 16, in which a brief questioning by a police officer regarding counterfeit banknotes devolves into an outright massacre in which Mio, a high school girl, one-shots several people (and one goat) due to having her yaoi fan fiction manga discovered by other people.Yuuko Aioi
Also known as "Yukko" to her friends, Yuuko is humourous and a tad eccentric and can be known to be quite a jokester as she enjoys making people laugh, but she also tends to be quite clumsy. She is not at all interested in her academics and has a laid-back approach to life. She has a great deal of energy, but she also tends to attract strange, unlikely misfortune. As a testament to her eccentricity, Yuuko has a habit of speaking to people in Malay, greeting them with a "Selamat pagi", which means "good morning" in both the Malaysian and Indonesian Bahasa (lit. "language").
Mai Minakami
A quiet girl who is often found reading a book, Mai is a multi-talented girl who is good at various activities, such as firing projectiles; arm wrestling; fishing; wood carving and more. She loves pulling pranks, especially on Yuuko. She makes a variety of jokes, and enjoys humour, but her deadpan facial expression and stoic personality often confuses people rather than make them laugh, but she also enjoys this aspect.Hakase Shinonome
The cheerful and mischevious Hakase (lit. "Professor") is a little girl of unknown age, assumed to be around eight-years-old, who happens to be a genius inventor who lives with no one but her caretaker robot, Nano. She doesn't attend school on account of having already graduated, and lives alone in her home with Nano, their talking cat Sakamoto, and her other sentient inventions. She is incredibly smart, but due to being a little kid, her inventions are often without much practical application (or sense), and her childishness is one of Hakase's strongest qualities, as it becomes particularly prevalent when she becomes argumentative or throws a tantrum when things don't go her way. Hakase's is highly intelligent, and her attention darts from one thing to the next. She loves snacks and sharks, and is greatly afraid of being bitten by dogs. Hakase constantly bothers her robo-caretaker Nano by installing various strange parts which Nano only comes to know about on their initial use, which greatly distresses the robot.Nano Shinonome
The robot caretaker created by the child genius inventor Hakase. Despite being designed with a giant metal turn-key on her back like an old-fashioned toy, Nano is desperate to ensure that no one ever finds out that she is actually a robot. Hakase's tendency to install all kinds of strange contraptions – snack dispensers and the like – in Nano's robot body is a huge cause for concern, as it happens without prior warning. Despite this, Nano and Hakase are very close, and the robot acts as the matron of the Shinonome household.
Uniqueness
From its interesting and light approach to the art style, adorable character designs and great visual humour, Nichijou is a stand-out anime on various levels. It is unique in its humour, characters and approach, and the manner in which it connects each character without needing to do too much in terms of fleshing out the characters in order to derive some level of humour from them.
Ultimately, the objective of Nichijou is to create a funny depiction of the everyday lives of various strange and eccentric characters, and with there being so many fun and hilarious running gags in the series, Nichijou is the kind of show that goes far beyond one's expectations, and comes highly recommended.