When Hotaru moves from Tokyo to a tiny town in the rural countryside, she’s in for some serious
culture shock: the nearest place that sells comics is 20 minutes away, the nearest video store is ten
train stations down the line, and there are only three other girls and one boy in her entire school!
Even though everything’s so different, there’s something about the laid-back atmosphere that makes her
feel strangely comfortable. While she’ll certainly miss parts of her old life, there’s a whole
lifetime of experiences waiting to be enjoyed with her new friends Renge, Komari, Natsumi, and
Suguru!
(Source: Sentai Filmworks)
img(https://orig00.deviantart.net/1996/f/2018/231/1/1/non_non_biyori_score_banner_by_overpowered99-dckgshf.png) There's no hampering your restriction when you stand on an open and grassy plain, with arms wide to absorb all the tender sunshine. Non Non Biyori is the source of that golden sunlight, an energy giving you many hearty smiles and feelings of happiness. Let's follow this warmth towards a fun life in a fresh rural setting! Yay, looks like you've arrived! Welcome to Asahigaoka, a lush countryside located away from the towering structures of a city. Can you feel its beautiful freedom? This is truly the place where leisure entertains the ordinary youngsters who live here in the most simplistic and delightful ways. Sure, it might not be unique, but there's no guaranteed rule that states how uniqueness will always lead to the best enjoyment. That's what makes this exceptional. It infuses easy, straightforward, and uncomplicated - all these words describing a basic essence - with a special quality. We get to see the playful attitudes of their youthful lives. With enjoyment ticking every second, this happy cycle continues on and on throughout the seasons of the year. Together, stronger bonds are formed and wholesome interactions create a dynamic bunch of all ages, from the elementary level to adults. Each day will always welcome a perfectly heartwarming experience. Playing one against another, unexaggerated comedy brings in heartfelt laughs into the countryside. All these certain dynamics that amplify each other's personality shape the most wonderful atmosphere. It's like my heart is cleansed from the dirt of reality, allowing me to relax and enjoy with a smile on my face. Everything adds up to an easy-going and friendly affection. With these girls around to illuminate Asahigaoka with a bright euphoria, it really does feel like a place we can call home. And all around me and you is the natural beauty of the artwork, a simple spectacle adding more than just colors. Through the seasonal hues of life and nature, the visual has captured the wonders of a wide countryside. From the green vegetations thriving on the ground up to the blue ceiling we call the cloudless sky, a sensation of peaceful tranquility envelops the soul. It's a clean environment with no stressful chaos in sight. Just walk around for a bit. Soon enough, your hearing sense will take in everything that this place can acoustically produce. The gleeful talks from the girls emit out a lot of heart-melting love. Sceneries are lifted by harmonizing soundtracks as wind instruments blow gently into the air. With the bell-like and woody tone, this cordial melody meditates with calmness. There's no calamity and pure softness is all it takes to let the most genuine emotions out. Combining these aspects together give Asahigaoka an enchanting ambience to unwind any strained tension. More than that, there is also a beauty found during those moments when the residents stroll about, minding their own business with a beautiful and vast scenery in the background. They might only be a young speck in a huge world, but their personality together is just as big as the planet itself. This is a juxtaposition between the young and the aged world. It really is a wonderful contrast, isn't it? Life may be a slow-paced existence within a rural scope but there's no need to rush through it. Feel the gentle breeze, breathe the positive air, stir the glassy stream. Nature is a beautiful entertainment in itself, and Non Non Biyori is an example of the things it can provide to us as its habitants. What an entertaining relaxation.
Non Non Biyori is an humanistic history. Isn't the traditional Slice of Life series, this is so much than other series with same genre. The story that tells us is so simple and does not get complicated at any time: girls living her life, day by day. But, what is the difference between this anime and another Slice of Slife series? I said it at the beginning! It's an humanistic story. All the main characters are children under the "adolescence age", with minimalist problems, like the height (Komari), the fun (Natsumi) or discover the world (Renge), problems that we have when we are less than 15 years old. ~~~img220(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rightstufanime.com%2Fimages%2FproductImages%2F814131018892_anime-non-non-biyori-repeat-altC.jpg&f=1&nofb=1) ~~~ Life in a rural community makes girls ignorant of the problems that exist in an urban society, which makes them happy for the small moments they live together, problems like love, money, popularity, all of these, doesnt' exist here, only the humility of each. Non Non Biyori is humanistic because each character behaves according to her age. Komari wants to be taller than Natsumi because she is the older sister and she wants to be more feminine. Natsumi only wants fun, and she's always making mistakes, but then she accepts that she failed, and Renge is discovering new emotions, adventures, wants to discover the world. Finally, Hotaru, she is the point and apart of the story. She comes from the city, she comes from a different life, and she contrasts with the other characters, since she has a different vision of life. Something that I love from Hotaru, is her personality. unlike the others, she behaves differently with her friends and in her home. being this behavior, something normal of a city person. As a functional person in society, you often have to maintain a different profile with your friends, family and co-workers, and this is what Hotaru's character transmits. This is different with the other girls, who behave the same both at home and in groups, there is no social pressure that leads them to change their personality in different scenarios. To finish, the anime will not introduce unnecessary ecchi or fanservice scenes, since it respects you as an observer, only you, the characters, and the context: the field. __That's the magic of Non Non Biyori.__ ~~~img220(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcarnivorouslreviews.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2Fnon-non-biyori.jpg%3Fw%3D1440%26h%3D750%26crop%3D1&f=1&nofb=1) ~~~
Simply put; if you like slice of life anime, you'll love this. Non Non Biyori is a wholesome and beautifully crafted anime, giving viewers a taste of what it's like living outside of the depressing concrete jungles that are cities. The first thing you'll notice with this show is the art. This is seriously some of the best, most beautiful and realistic scenery you'll find in anime. With cozy rice farming villages, majestic mountains, and lush forests, if this show somehow fails to entertain you in any other way, everyone should be able to appreciate how gorgeous the scenery is in this anime. Non Non Biyori is particularly immersive for the slice of life genre. While there are very few cliche anime design choices, like Renge's purple magician hair, the rest of the world feels very tame and realistic. Even though very few, if any, viewers have had a childhood anywhere remotely similar to that of the characters in Non Non Biyori, this anime does not fail to make you homesick for a childhood that you never had. Next is something I'm particularly picky about; the characters. Characters are what makes a show, anime or not, worth watching. As slice of life does not particularly rely on story elements, character design carries the full weight of a show. In the case of Non Non Biyori, it does not disappoint. Every character feels distinct, alive, and memorable. The synergy and conversation every character has with each other is simply fantastic. As this takes place in a relatively small, remote farming village, the relationships adults of different families and children of these families have with each other feels strong and believable. Music is something I personally struggle to pay attention to in anime, but when I notice it, boy oh boy do I notice it. Non Non Biyori's music choice between the openings, endings, and all the music in the episodes themselves is beautiful and perfectly fitting. You can see this for yourself as soon as the first episode begins. This show somehow managed to perfectly immerse the viewer in a relaxing childhood set in a countryside village *right off the bat*. It's honestly difficult to find anything wrong with this anime, and I simply can't think of anything myself. If you like the genre, you'll love this show. If you don't like the genre, you probably won't like this show. Simple as that. A little note: This first season and the movie are the two high points of the series. The second season (repeat) felt a little lacking compared to the first, but was still pretty good, maintaining a lot of what makes Non Non Biyori special. The two OVAs were honestly lacking and I didn't enjoy them much, though it's been a while since I watched them as of adding this note. I am still eagerly waiting for the third season to release after its announcement with high hopes.
A lovely slice-of-life show about life in a sleepy little town in the countryside. 5th grader Hotarun's parents have moved from Tokyo to a town so small, there's only one school, and five students (of varying ages) in the school's single class. If you're the type to long for a quieter existence than what the city has to offer, this charming series should be right up your alley (if that sounds absolutely awful to you, you might want to pass). There's no drama about Hotarun being too big for her britches or having trouble fitting in; she happily adapts to life in the countryside and the other characters happily accept her. Hotarun serves as an audience surrogate experiencing the slow, laid-back country lifestyle for the first time, but while she's continually surprised by how things are done in her new home, she's never scornful or superior about it. None of the characters, Hotarun included, are particularly deep or complex, but they're likeable and engaging enough to keep you invested in their antics. It's generally a gentle show, but it does occasionally get genuinely emotional. It's not the type of show where the characters grow or change, and that makes it a little frustrating for me, especially after being introduced to this so-called "healing" anime subgenre by the extremely well-written and structured _Laid-Back Camp_, which features characters who _do_ grow and change as the series progresses. Shows where characters remain static have their charm, I suppose, but I much prefer shows where the characters display growth and development, both in themselves and in the relationships with the people around them. Stuff like this, _Lucky Star,_ or _Yuru Yuri_, to name a few, will never allow their characters to grow or change; the characters are the same people in episode 12 as they were in episode 1, which honestly can be a little boring. Technically speaking, the show is solid. The backgrounds are stunningly gorgeous, and the score is wonderfully emotional and evocative. The animation is simple but effective, and the character designs are varied and charming. Visually there's not much to complain about. If you want something gentle and soothing, you could do a lot worse than Non Non Biyori. The characters will never change, but in a way they reflect the setting of the town they live in. That can be reassuring, or the plot to a horror film, depending on your perspective.
*“Nyanpasu!” - Renge Miyauchi* ~~~From the very beginning, Non Non Biyori sought to set the mood and turn our attention to the blissful surroundings of our main characters. Displaying off a lush countryside of vegetation, scarce yet simple housing, and an easygoing soundtrack, it was building the tone to be both carefree and lighthearted. This anime had so many great elements to make it one of the best Slice of Lifes I’ve seen, but it was the background and environments that tied it all together for me. With one of the most adorable character casts I’ve seen in a while, some of the most beautiful background animation, and hilarious moments that make you smile every episode, this is what makes Non Non Biyori such an enjoyable journey!~~~ __Art and Animation: 9.3/10__ ~~~As I had mentioned before, this anime did so well in presenting us with a wonderful environment that we could experience alongside the characters. With the vivid spring colors and lush vegetation, it was refreshing to just take in the scenery and appreciate what the Japanese countryside looked like. From the forest with the sunlight filtering down to the forest floor, to the riverbanks teeming with crystal-clear waters, and the open beaches with few people to disturb you, it was such a relaxing anime to watch. The thought, attention, and consideration put into the backgrounds and setting alone made this anime one of my favorite SoLs to date. This was just the beginning though, because our cast of characters define the very essence of cuteness! The designs of the characters had fit their personalities very well, and the facial expressions had properly expressed the required emotions at the time. This added to the overall immersion and helped to add more character to our lovely cast. When it came to the animation of the characters themselves, there weren’t any huge mistakes to be discussed. The animation was very fluid and consistent the whole way through without any genuine problems at all. This area of scoring was truly a strong suit for Non Non Biyori.~~~ __Storyline and Character Development: 8.7/10__ ~~~As with most anime in the Slice of Life genre, there isn’t always a clear cut storyline being followed. Most of the time, it generally focuses on character development and interactions as a way to engage the viewers and keep them invested. With Non Non Biyori though, there isn’t any character development or storyline. Even events in the storyline that could’ve been used as drama aren’t really stirred up. For example, our young girl Hotaru has just moved into the Japanese countryside after being raised in the bustling city of Tokyo. Not only that, but she doesn’t even know anyone in this unfamiliar and isolated environment. This could’ve EASILY turned into a bit of a coming-of-age drama arc where she tries to adapt herself to a new and unfamiliar environment for the first time. But that's not the direction that the author wanted Non Non Biyori to take. Rather, Hotaru quite easily made friends and accepted her situation by making the best of it. This truly shows that this anime wanted to present us with an experience that was full of nothing but enjoyable moments for our cute cast of girls. The things they did weren’t really special in themselves, but just the experience alone was fun to watch as they learned new things together. Their adorable reactions of discovery, easygoing chemistry, and contagious humor was more than enough to make up for a lack of storyline or character development. Renge was by far my favorite character because of how fun and hilarious her personality was. It appeared like she was always the one behind most of the humor in this anime, and I appreciated every second of her screen time. Both her matter-of-fact wits and facial expressions made me smile every time! That amount of cuteness should be downright illegal.~~~ __Soundtrack and Audio: 9.3/10__ ~~~The soundtrack is one piece of the anime that I wish I could’ve seen a bit more of. Every time the soundtrack was introduced, it just added even more to the relaxing tone of the environment. Even from the very start, they made it a point to set the mood with music that would give a sense of an easy-going community and lifestyle. Then add a talented vocal cast to the mix? Oh boy, you bet this anime is gonna be a fun one. As comes as no surprise, the vocal cast did such an amazing job of making their characters their own. Their emotions were accurately expressed through their words with such a natural feel. It was such a relief to not worry about the quality of the vocal cast or lookout for that one annoying character I couldn’t stand listening to!~~~ ~~~__Concluding Thoughts!__~~~ ~~~What can I say? This anime was as relaxing and lighthearted as you could get with a Slice of Life anime. By not centering on a storyline or even having some type of character development, this anime could’ve easily failed and become a mindless story of a group of girls in the countryside with nothing better to do other than goof around. But with the amazing personalities of the characters, the chemistry they all shared, and the humor they enjoyed together, there wasn’t a single dull moment to be seen in a single episode. Then add gorgeous scenery and a feels good soundtrack? You get one of the best and most enjoyable Slice of Life experiences to date. For not only is it enjoyable to me, but by also being very high quality from a technical standpoint, Non Non Biyori earns its score of 9.1/10. Why the high score? Well, what better way than to see for yourself why many have fallen in love with this too-cute-to-handle anime in the beautiful Japanese countryside!~~~ ~~~A Special thanks to my Editor: @Zedlin~~~ ~~~Streaming Platform: Crunchyroll~~~
~~~img500(https://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/QqWs63C.jpg?zoom=2)~~~ Who are we to decide that Slice of Life is a genre filled with the same shows? Isn’t there a batch of examples that still have those same aspects of Slice of Life and even create a fresh atmosphere and aura to its world and characters? The answer is quite simple: yes. There are still slice-of-life anime that provide more than just cute girls doing cute things, though there’s nothing inherently wrong with it. Non Non Biyori is one such show that fits the category perfectly as an instant slice of life classic. One phrase that perfectly summarizes the show would be a breath of fresh air. I mean that too. If there is one thing that distinguishes Non Non Biyori from most shows, it is the pleasant atmosphere that engulfs the world of the show. From its character interactions being so grounded in a real-life, down-to-earth manner that makes it more memorable and authentic to the environment to the subtle hints of its artistry in the backgrounds and characters. The plot detailing the issues of differentiating city life from the rural countryside areas of society doesn’t necessarily paint a whole demonstrated structure of how the story goes. But if you look at it further down the road, that isn’t necessary for this show. It just lets the plot speak for itself through regular dialogue rather than pointless exposition to explain anything since there’s hardly anything to tell in the first place. Sure, that might capsulize the slice of life genre, but Non Non Biyori is probably one of the few who does it better than the vast majority. ~~~img500(https://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/uxfuNyO.png?zoom=2)~~~ What little plot that Non Non Biyori showcases make up for the excellent colorful cast of characters that make the show worthwhile to watch all the way through. Every girl has a unique personality that distinguishes them from the rest in terms of the writers' build-up to their sense of humor in the comedy. They aren’t just this mesh of girls with personalities A, B, or C. The difference in character makes them feel like real human beings that anybody can relate to, whether from their disposition or typical actions. Renge, for instance, is the youngest of the bunch, and you’d think that they’d make her into this young girl who acts older than her elementary age, but it is, in fact, quite the opposite to this general aspect; at least in most cases to be specific. Her kindergarten mind ranges from being cute and curious that, in some cases, it can be construed to how come kids at her age act in a civil manner. The art is pretty breathtaking, considering how minimal the scope is to the show. It greatly enhances the atmosphere in its relaxed tone and inflection from how the characters look crisp and clear from the actual colors and designs. The backgrounds especially give a wide range of detail to perfecting this countryside town, giving its structure more creativity and care to design how the characters live through their day-to-day lives. ~~~img500(https://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/48rbxXC.jpg?zoom=2)~~~ What’s unique about the comedy itself is how the timing is so minimal and slow that it quickly makes the scenes more memorable just from the silence and pauses that last up to even about ten seconds. Again, the atmospheres help the show’s credit with this. The environment is so chill and down-to-earth that the jokes fit the anime perfectly, even with its mild attempts at being wacky in a typical moe comedy. That at least is always welcomed, thanks to the hilarious antics of Renge and Natsumi, whose air-headed ways still tickle the moe-bone whenever her actions are on-screen. Casting couldn’t have been better to give these characters the voices that fit them very well. Highlights include Kana Asumi with her very distinct, sarcastic voice that matches Komari’s senpai attitude that all the other girls look up to her. Ayane Sakura has made a name for herself in the seiyuu community by gracing her beautiful voice to the public, and she has done it with Natsumi, a role that she was born to play. However, it would be interesting to hear someone like Yui Ogura play her. ~~~img500(https://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/pjKPwc0.jpg?zoom=2)~~~ For what it is, Non Non Biyori might be a big surprise for anyone who might be getting a little tired of the Slice of Life genre dominating the majority of the seasons lately. I am one of these people. Though I don’t necessarily have any contempt or hatred for all of the shows like this, Non Non Biyori is a clear sign that the genre has a lot of things going for it and reminds us why it’s still considered a favorite genre for so many people. The show perfectly captures what it was like to be a middle school kid. It does want us to remember what it was like being at that age filled with mystery and friends, or lack thereof. Most slices of life fail to capture this essence, but we finally have one, and its name is Non Non Biyori. Grade: A-
Nothing can be objectively good, but enjoyment has to come from somewhere. Non Non Biyori is an anime that I really enjoyed but I don’t know exactly why. I will be comparing it to other anime to see if I can figure out exactly what made it so enjoyable to me. The story in Non Non Biyori is pretty simple: it’s about a girl from Tokyo who moves to a rural part of the country, likely a hamlet. Although it’s supposed to be about her getting used to her new lifestyle, this intent is lost fast and just like Akari from Yuru Yuri she eventually doesn’t even seem like the protagonist anymore. It’s not really a problem since in my opinion this anime works better with a group lead than a single protagonist at the head of the group, but the character introduced as the protagonist does seem to have the least characterization out of the main cast. It’s a common theory that the setting is what makes it so enjoyable because it’s relatable, but Tamako Market takes place in a town much more similar to my own and it wasn’t anywhere near as enjoyable. I had some problems with Tamako Market since the main character was the only one with decent character development and generally not much going on, but there wasn’t anything I can remember specifically about it that would make it that much worse than Non Non Biyori. The story of moving to a different place is a story that I can connect to since I once lived in Costa Rica for six months which has a very different culture and atmosphere than my own, but the exchanges in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, Kiniro Mosaic, and Ikoku Meiro no Croisée The Animation are much more similar to the situation I was in and I didn’t enjoy any of them quite as much as Non Non Biyori. I definitely had problems with these anime as well: I didn’t like the harem ending of Sakurasou, the accents in Kiniro Mosaic made the series feel fake, and Labyrinth felt more like a Japanese dub since it’s set in France with French characters. The art style could be a reason to like Non Non Biyori, after all the characters are very well designed and the background art is beautiful especially for such a long series. Starting with the character designs they all have realistic hair colours save Renge who despite having purple twintails fits in nicely with the art style. They’re obviously drawn as lolis and are never sexualized. They would make better younger sisters than girlfriends. The eye size is pretty typical for a seinen moe anime and although it obviously isn’t realistic it could arguably be the most attractive eye size in anime. Apart from Renge’s triangle mouth their faces all look fairly similar, but their face shapes are still distinct enough that their hair isn’t the only thing you can use to tell their head shots apart. The brother looks like a fairly generic anime boy and since he doesn’t even have a voice actor I haven’t felt any reason to remember his name. The two older characters Kaede, the candy store lady, and Kazuho, the teacher, have more unique designs than the main cast. Aside from how different the characters look from each other they all do have memorable designs even for a veteran of the moe genre such as myself. I wouldn’t necessarily consider Non Non Biyori’s designs to be my favourite designs, though. Anime adapted from video games such as Kantai Collection, Hyperdimension Neptunia, and Idolmaster have more attractive designs in my opinion. Apart from Aikatsu and Steins;Gate I can’t remember any anime adapted from a video that was actually well made especially in terms of competing against Non Non Biyori. Kantai Collection dragged out and although it’s lackluster storyline wasn’t any worse than Non Non Biyori’s absence of a solid story it still felt far less satisfying and halfway through I felt no drive to complete it. Hyperdimension Neptunia has some of the most beautiful character designs I’ve seen, but the story fails to be engaging and as fun as the characters are to be with it wasn’t that enjoyable of an anime. Idolmaster does have some character development and the story has some substance to it, but with 14 main characters and only 25 episodes it doesn’t have enough time to give any of them that deep of characterization. Aikatsu I already consider to be better than Non Non Biyori so its strengths and weaknesses are irrelevant. Steins;Gate is adapted from a visual novel with a story that has many paths but only one of which was adapted into the anime. The story is good, the characters are designed well, and it’s incredibly enjoyable, but for whatever reason I still rank it below Non Non Biyori. Steins;Gate is a very different series from Non Non Biyori, but the reasons I liked the two series still share a considerable amount of overlap. Both of the anime have likable characters and are set in a fairly small yet well developed area. Steins;Gate explores its setting by showing the characters changing the very world they live in through sending simple text messages and Non Non Biyori explores its setting by showing the characters travelling around through their little village and using different ways to indicate just how far apart different parts of their village are from each other. If the character design truly was the thing that made the anime so enjoyable then High School Fleet, the other anime Atto provided character designs for, should have been as enjoyable, but I found that anime to be quite mediocre. The background art is very detailed, pretty, and shiny for an anime of its length. The three Makoko Shinkai films I’ve seen, Five Centimetres Per Second, Your Name, and Garden of Words have just as beautiful of backgrounds if not more beautiful, but as movies they only have so much time to make an impact and as good as their art was the stories in them were either too complicated for their runtime or otherwise weren’t quite as strong as what you would see in a series. The personalities of the characters aren’t too detailed and only serve as ways to move the plot forward rather than being important contributions to the enjoyability of the anime. The three anime series I distinctly remember as having as good of background art as Non Non Biyori are Yama no Susume, Glasslip, and Anohana. I know, it’s not everyday that someone would willingly compare their favourite anime to Glasslip, but I think it’s for the best. The first season of Yama no Susume has good backgrounds but is too short to draw any conclusions from; the second season I consider to be better than Non Non Biyori and therefore isn’t important for comparison. Glasslip is infamous for being far more uneventful than even anime like K-On! and Lucky Star. I think it would be safe to say that even if the background art was among the most important factors towards my enjoyment that all of the turn-offs in Glasslip would make it unenjoyable to even the people who valued background art the most, but there are still some people who enjoy Glasslip sincerely so it can’t simply be turned down as an anime impossible to enjoy no matter what your tastes. Not only does Glasslip not have any real characterization, but the intent of it being a supernatural romance is sort of forgotten about and nothing really happens throughout the series. In addition to no value in the storytelling there also weren’t any successful attempts at comedy. Anohana is a much better anime than Glasslip, but it still fails in a number of ways. The characters were interesting and well drawn, but the story of a dead friend who only the protagonist was incredibly unrealistic. My theory that Menma’s spirit was actually audio-only and Jintan was simply imagining her in physical form was shattered by the end due to conflicting information. Non Non Biyori doesn’t have any unexplained supernatural elements to bother me, but even anime with seemingly flawless magic systems like Death Note and Shigofumi rank lower on my list, but I won’t go into explaining those. What makes the background art so important in Non Non Biyori is where the anime takes place. The setting is quite unique and it’s the only slice of life anime I’ve seen set in a such a unique place that doesn’t have something to do with careers. Shirobako, Bartender, and Barakamon have similar settings, but Shirobako and Bartender are fairly slow and information heavy. Barakamon I saw right after Non Non Biyori and although there wasn’t really anything wrong with it I still didn’t enjoy it quite as much. As I was explaining before, Non Non Biyori does a lot with its small world. Unlike anime such as Sword Art Online and Gurren Lagann that have too big of a world to handle correctly the characters and the director do a good job at getting you to know where everything is without having to go everywhere in near-real time like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. Having too small of a world can also be a problem. Seitokai no Ichizon takes place in a single room for the first few episodes and even when they do the school doesn’t feel as natural or well laid out as the village in Non Non Biyori. I actually found the comedy in Seitokai no Ichizon to be comparable to if not better than the comedy in Non Non Biyori, but I still didn’t think it was as good of an anime. The protagonist in Elemi is an inanimate object so naturally the movement in the anime was extremely limited no matter how good the writing was. All of the places in Non Non Biyori feel like places I could really go to. The candy store not only reminds me of real candy stores that I’ve been to but the aesthetic of it and the way everything is organized truly feels so well put together that even if I hadn’t seen other stores like it that wouldn’t make it any less believable. The bridge they jump off of feels nostalgic despite the fact that I’ve only done things in real life that were remotely similar. The scene is written in a way that I could see myself in that situation just through the shared sense of that kind of childish innocence. When they go to the little hole in the wall and talk about how they had done that before when they were younger I relate to that sense of nostalgia in a way that I haven’t really seen in other anime. Sure, there are some anime that I saw as a kid and are pieces of my childhood and therefore nostalgic to look back on, but I can’t remember any other anime that really go into that sense of realistic nostalgia the characters have around things in their own world. Dagashi Kashi did that a bit, but the monster of the week style of it made it feel a bit too fake for it to hit me in that same way. I have very strong memories of playing with my cousin up at his dad’s (or my uncle’s) cabin. In the summer we played around the lake getting mucky, we went under a bridge and blew up firecrackers that we stuck to the bridge with clay, and we found tadpoles in the pond. In the winter we used the firecrackers in the snow, we went on the frozen lake on snowmobiles, and we sledded down hills on waxed cardboard. We also play games like the “suicide notes” game where we would jump off a loft and say why were killing ourselves and then would drink something to “revive” us. These years didn’t just blend into one another since I would look forward to the next time I would go up there and would always go with fond memories of the previous trips. The nostalgia wasn’t just additive, it was magnified through the nostalgia of nostalgia itself. The characters have cell phones and are obviously living in the modern day and age, but you can still watch the anime as if it is through the eyes of the characters looking back on their childhood. The designs of the school uniforms and the buildings themselves are rather unique. One important thing to note is that since the school has both elementary school and middle school students they don’t all wear the same uniform, in fact if weren’t for the flashback that showed Kaede wearing the uniform it could have been assumed that it was just how Natsumi and Komari’s parents decided to dress them. In the whole school there is only one male, but it isn’t a harem and not only is he not that important of a character he doesn’t have single line and is only used for comedy. With the male and female uniforms in consideration they’ve both designed nicely. Renge and Hotaru don’t wear the uniform but the clothing they do wear looks good. The school’s design is quite interesting. It’s quite small and only has a few rooms. It feels quite natural and as poorly as it is taken care of the internal structure isn’t too chaotic. For a schoolgirl not too much of the anime takes place in the school. I think this works to its benefit since their lives outside of school are more interesting, but the time they’re shown in school isn’t wasted and their pathetic excuse for a teacher is charming in her own way. Apart from anime based around music like So Ra No Wo To and Nerima Daikon Brothers it can be hard to know just how much the quality of the sound is affecting your enjoyment, but I feel like the voice acting and background music in this anime really did make a difference. This is an anime I think would lose a lot in an English dub if it were to ever receive one. The very first scene has Renge playing a recorder completely out of tune, which sets the tone for the series very well. Renge’s “nyanpasu” doesn’t have any nice sounding English equivalent, sort of like how off Nico’s “Nico-Nico-Nii” sounds in the English dub of Love Live. Like most moe anime the cuteness of their voices is just as important to the series as the cuteness of their character designs. Komari’s slight tsundere lilt has a nice sound to it even if her personality doesn’t feel super realistic. Little things like rocks being thrown and water splashing all sound realistic enough but also don’t have that problem where instead of imagining the sound in their world you would be able to tell that someone had to use a microphone to create that sound effect. Renge’s voice doesn’t have as big of a range as the other characters, but she still expresses a lot of emotion. Chocotto Sister and Saki I also liked the voices, sound effects, and music in, but they just didn’t feel like as strong of series overall. What analysis would be complete with taking apart the animation of the opening theme? As much as I doubt a good OP could provide the sole enjoyment for a show especially considering how good the OPs for anime like Absolute Duo, Lord Marksman and Vanadis, and Golden Time were compared to how little I actually enjoyed those anime, but I do believe the openings to this were really well made and at least made some contribution to my enjoyment of the anime. The OP starts off by showing the river the series is set near which gives a bit of information about the setting right off the bat since you wouldn’t normally see rivers like that in the city, especially without any pollution and being surrounded by rocks rather than concrete. I know the OP doesn’t actually start at the beginning of the first episode, but it still does give a good introduction to the series in addition to what we see of the anime before the OP starts. After the first shot we are shown the sky with clouds to further the idea that this is set in the semi-wilderness of a quaint hamlet. The title is shown in a colourful and bubbly font similar to the kind that an elementary school student might use to write their name. I think this might be nodding towards the fact that the main characters are younger than our typical 15-17 year olds these anime tend to revolve around. We see a can being kicked, a reference to the popular kids’ game “kick the can”, and then shows Natsumi with a grin implying that she was the one who kicked it. The students start running and the teacher stands there dazed as if ignorant to her job as “it” or even to the rules of the game in general. Throughout the series the teacher is constantly shown as being less competent than the students she has been assigned to teach so her inability to suppress her apathy in order to just properly play a game with some children says a lot about her character. Considering how unathletic she has been shown to be it’s surprising that the can even needed to be kicked in the first place, but she obviously didn’t do a good job at protecting it. Even with their failure of a teacher playing the key role in their game, they still seem to be enjoying themselves more than any normal adult has in years. They try hard to run away as fast as they can even though “it” is making no effort to chase after them whatsoever. How easy it is for them to have fun really plays into the series and in a way can even metaphorically describe how I feel about the series as a whole since despite how little seems to be going on in it the anime is still extremely enjoyable. The next scene shows the students playing music, cooking, and playing all under the limited supervision of their teacher. Although the teacher has her eyes permanently closed, she is shown to be sleeping in the last of these three events by having a bubble coming out of her nose and giving her a more joyous look on her face than usual. Again, the kids seem to be enjoying these activities, but considering how poorly Renge was shown playing the recorder in the first scene it’s a given that whatever skills they’re meant to be learning in these situations are taught in an ineffective manner. They are then shown walking in the rain with umbrellas and next the picture changes to a puddle showing the kind of weather that they typically get in that area. They are then shown relaxing in the shade of a tree with a ball visible showing that they were playing some sort of game and got tired. We then see a train go by in the background and it is shown that Hotaru was riding it. I think this is used to show the cultural distance between her and the other characters. She looks solemnly at the scenery through the window as it passes by. Natsumi is shown sitting on a tree branch and looking out at the sunset. The next image shows Komari inside reading a book while hiding away from the rain, which is clearly a common occurrence in the place they live. Renge hangs up a teru teru bozu, a Japanese spiritual ornament intended to keep the rain away. This not only shows that she would rather it not be raining despite relying somewhat on the rain for crop growth but also that she believes this little handmade figure will actually work to make the skies clear again. Although in Japan the teru teru bozu is a well known symbol we don’t see it in many anime. I’m going to speculate that most teenagers in Japan don’t trust this figure to help any and considering all the other Japanese cultural traditions that rely on faith that Japanese teenagers will participate in I think this specific one is likely seen as particularly childish. The four main characters are then shown lined up on a bridge and they take turns jumping into the river. Hotaru is reluctant to join at first, but she quickly gives. This scene is also shown in the series, but I wouldn’t call it a spoiler simply because of the apparent storyless structure of the anime. The manga wasn’t even adapted chronologically, hence the name “Repeat” for the sequel, and it never really needed to be since it’s not important what order the events happened in. I think it’s pretty obvious what this scene is meant to show. Hotaru isn’t too into this idea, but she still wants to join her friends in an activity that they’re all used to. The next scene shows the characters staring blankly at the camera for a couple seconds before eating what look like cookies in perfect unison. This could be to show how in sync they’ve become, but even without any deeper meaning they looking really cute doing that together. Natsumi and Renge have a snowball fight. Natsumi misses her shot and Renge picks a snowball far too big for her to feasibly use as a weapon. Natsumi looks frightened, but seeing the way Renge staggers back it doesn’t look like she would be able to throw it very far if at all. In the background we see Komari crying while Hotaru cleans the snow off of her that she was once covered with. We never see this full scene in the show itself, but even this little snapshot makes for an interesting tale. The concept of a girl having snow piled onto her fits in with the show so well I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something from the manga that simply wasn’t able to be adapted. We end with Natsumi jumping on large colourful tires that have been positioned to be played on. The scenes are set up in a way to show all four seasons of the year wrapped up into 90 seconds. I don’t pay enough attention to opening animations to give examples of similar openings to compare this to. Like most slice of life anime this puts a very big importance on the characters, both how likable they are as individuals and how they interact with each other. I will be talking about the four main characters as well as the more prevalent supporting characters. Hotaru is introduced to us as the main character. She’s from Tokyo as are 25% of the total population of Japan and the majority of the anime studios. She lives with her parents and has a healthy family relationship, much like the rest of the characters. Although the parents aren’t too important of characters, it is important to note that they’re all alive and still together since a lot of anime feature main casts that don’t have complete families. One of Hotaru’s defining features is how mature she looks for her age. Personality wise she more closely matches her chronological age than her visual age. She has a crush on Komari even to the point of making plush dolls of her. This seems more like yuri fanservice than a legitimate attempt to give her character more depth, but even if it does break the illusion of reality it still never bothered me. In fact, I found this little bit of romance to be kind of cute. Renge is a rather unique character. Some call her the most realistic child in anime, although she still isn’t quite as believable as Rin from Usagi Drop. She is significantly younger than the rest of the main cast, but they still manage to be normal friends without seeing her as being less important. She does have certain childish needs that the others will often have to cater to. She acts like a bit of a younger sister to all of them even though the only other character related to her is their teacher. Pretty much everything she does looks so heartwarming and innocent that it’s easy to ignore how weird she would look in real life. She could be referred to as a loli, but she isn’t sexualized in any way. This anime is made for adult men and much unlike anime such as Ro-Kyu-Bu the characters are intended to be as innocent and realistic as would make sense for the context. Considering the fact that school swimsuits are more fetishized in Japan than bikinis it still could be considering sexual in that way, but it would still be disturbing for people to fap to it. Komari isn’t exactly a cliche character, but she does follow a lot of tropes. She has a strong complex around being a loli and doesn’t like being the older sister who looks like a little kid. Just like Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist she freaks out about her height frequently and although as a comedy anime this isn’t exactly misplaced it is a pretty generic character trait. It’s supposed to be funny, but since any audience member who has seen at least a handful of anime like this is already used to that joke it loses its value as a joke and just becomes an annoyance. Just like any other moe or harem anime she complains about her breast size and she is envious of Hotaru who has much larger breasts than her despite a few years younger. Unlike Lucky Star, Toradora, and Yuru Yuri that were willing to go so far to actually turn the flat chestedness of a character into an important part of the show or even a major plot point this anime just passes it off as something you should come to expect from these types of anime and doesn’t do anything with it. I’m not saying that Chuu Bra is a good anime because it was brave enough to make its entire plot revolve around breasts, but I think it’s better if an anime actually does something with the tropes it incorporates rather than just inserting harem light novel humour into an anime where that isn’t warranted. These things wouldn’t be so much of a problem if she had more going on, but the fact is that her entire character is based around the standard imouto stereotypes. For whatever reason none of this bothered me all that much when I was watching the series. In retrospect I recognise that she wasn’t that well written, but unlike Sword Art Online that I’ve come to consider much worse upon noticing its flaws after the fact this hasn’t made me feel like any of my enjoyment was any less deserved than when I watched the anime. She has yaeba and considering the fact that the town hasn’t been shown to have a hospital or even a properly functional school I don’t think anyone would care to “fix” it or even see it as a problem that needs a solution. Natsumi is Komari’s younger sister and is the youngest child in her family. Surprisingly despite how realistic this anime is said to feel she’s the only character in the main cast who doesn’t just feel like some anime character. This isn’t to say that she’s a boring character, though. She acts exactly how you would expect a girl her age to act. You could see it as a good thing that they aren’t all just normal people because it does make their characters a bit more fun even if they wouldn’t fit well in reality. She takes good care of Renge and generally gets along well with the other characters. As shown in the OP she’s considered to be fairly adventurous and athletic. The next character I will talk about is Komari and Natsumi’s brother who seems so insignificant that I can’t even remember his name. Aside from Hotaru’s father he’s the only male character we know about in the entire town. He’s quite reserved and doesn’t even have a voice actor since he never speaks. He participates in activities with the other characters and in one episode he’s shown to be quite dextrous. Although he’s almost like a main character, because he doesn’t speak or interact much with the other characters it’s hard to remember much about him. He’s pretty much only used comedy and any scene where he isn’t just a background character he isn’t exactly treated well. For an anime with a single male character surrounded by cute girls he doesn’t seem too thrilled and for all we know he might be asexual. If we assume he isn’t he doesn’t have many options anyway. Komari and Natsumi are his sisters so they’re off limits, Renge is far too young for him, and Hotaru is a lesbian. Kaede the candy lady is only six years older than him so she could be a potential partner, but I don’t know how good of a couple they would make. Hotaru might be bisexual, but she seems a bit too obsessed with Komari to be interested in getting into a relationship with him. There was the vegetable stand that is put out by other people and we have seen busses with drivers that are most likely from that town so I don’t think the characters we have seen are the only residents, but it isn’t clear just how many other people live there or how many dating options he has if they were to keep the town going for more generations. Kaede who is also known as “the candy store lady” is a young woman who runs the local corner store that the main characters will buy candy from. She graduated from the local school and has a close connection with Renge. In addition to candy she does sell some other things in her store, but we haven’t seen too much else being sold there nor have we even seen any of the adults shopping there. It was shown that she has a kitchen attached to the store and with the way it’s set up you can tell that she actually does live there. She was first introduced as just some storekeeper, but she later became an important cast member and has gone on different outings with the other characters. It is unknown what other customers she has that aren’t the main characters. The school teacher is another important character. She is Renge’s older sister. Being only four years older than Kaede she was likely taught at the same time but we don’t know who taught the class before her. She seems like the most incompetent teacher and is often shown sleeping when she’s supposed to be teaching. I’m sure we all have had substitute teachers who do nothing but just give out worksheets for students to complete rather than actually teaching partly because the actual teacher isn’t expecting a single day of poor teaching to be that much of a detriment, but she is the main teacher and even worksheets would do a better job than her teaching style. When you think about how dysfunctional the teacher is it’s hard to overlook how the rest of the school is run. Japanese schools are cleaned by the students rather than janitors and their school doesn’t seem well taken care of. The roof leaks and the floorboards can even give way. Who knows how old the school uniforms are. They don’t look like they have much wear, but even though Hotaru is about the same size as the other girls she was never offered a uniform so it might be that they were all being used. There’s only one male student so there might be a male uniform laying around that she could wear with her own skirt, but either no one thought of that or it might be that the only reason the ones we see don’t look torn up is because they go through periodic repairs. As redundant as it may seem in an piece of writing that is intended to deconstruct my enjoyment of the series there still are a few things related to enjoyment that I haven’t gone into much depth yet. The humour in this anime is often cited as being one of its strengths. The raw enjoyment that comes from the situations and random jokes differs a fair and is actually a bit weaker than the comedy in Sansha Sanyou and Joshiraku. These two anime don’t really have anything wrong with them that would noticeably tick me off, but I still don’t consider them to be as good of anime. One thing I appreciate about Non Non Biyori is how naturally the characters grow on you. Sure, it is a common trope for a character to join a new group of people at the beginning so the introductions make sense, but unlike anime such as Code Geass and No Game No Life where even the protagonists are secretive about their true intentions the characters in this show are up front about themselves and we learn about them in a similar way to how you would learn more about your friends or coworkers in real life. I think it’s really nice and relaxing to get to know unrealistic characters in such a natural way. Anime like Anne Happy and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei introduce the characters just fine, but because all of the characters represent something different they don’t feel like real people. I know anime like Log Horizon have realistic characters in an unrealistic environment which is a good combination, but it doesn’t feel quite as good. My second point for the enjoyment section will be continuing on my comparison to Steins;Gate. Steins;Gate is well written and doesn’t have that visible of flaws, but after this analysis I understand why I didn’t like it as much as Non Non Biyori. The characters are well written and have interesting and realistic personalities, but the way they're used doesn’t leave me with the same fuzzy feeling Non Non Biyori gives me. Two of the characters die multiple times and one of the characters even changes from male to female not through a sex operation but by artificially changing their embryo to xx after it was already fertilized, something that is only possible through flawed Japanese mythology. I know I had some negative things to say about Non Non Biyori, but for a show with a magic system so well explained it disturbs me to see things that don’t work in our world and aren't explained in theirs. These specific things ticked me off in the show because of how tight the rest of the logic is. Just like the difference between cobblestone and a near-perfect sidewalk with a couple cracks the individual flaws are more noticeable and memorable in Steins;Gate than in very flawed anime like Vividred Operation, Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu., or Date a Live. The story in Steins;Gate is almost possible so the couple problems were a bit disappointing. In comparison Non Non Biyori doesn't have a story to begin with and all of its flaws fall within the realm it has set out for itself. Its simplicity is in itself a strength because it doesn't require the viewer to suspend their disbelief that much in order to get maximum enjoyment from it. The most important reasons about why I like Non Non Biyori so much more than similar anime is the way it enabled me to connect with my past nostalgia and how well it avoids blatant mistakes as well as being able to cover up its smaller existing ones. As far from reality as the characters may be they are still super cuddly and fun to be around. They really feel like they belong in their world. Although I was skeptical at first as to why I held this anime to such a high regard I still believe it’s just as good as I did when I first saw it with my brother on a plane over a year ago. I have also watched Ghost Stories (dub) with him and although I loved that anime it still wasn’t quite as good so I don’t think just watching it with him would be too big of an impact. The songs were great and the way they show all four seasons was a nice touch.
Uma garota que se transfere da grandiosa e agitada Tóquio para um pacato e simplório vilarejo no campo. Com o contraste que há entre mega edifícios na capital e as colinas e árvores em uma cidade afastafa de tudo, entre estações e cruzamentos superlotados e placas sinalizando a travessia de vacas pela estrada. Esta é a vida de Houtaro, uma criança que passa por uma mudança brusca devido a transferência no local de trabalho de seu pai: da megalópole Tóquio para a campestre Asahigaoka. Non Non Biyori aparenta ser somente mais um típico anime slice of life com garotas fofas fazendo coisas fofas, e talvez até seja mesmo. No entanto, existe uma beleza por trás do show. Eu tenho um profundo apreço por shows slice of lifes. É relativamente fácil conquistar espectadores com shows de fantasia, repleto de superpoderes, com um vasto mundo de aventura, e todas estas coisas que permeiam o imaginário popular. Quem nunca sonhou com algo do tipo em algum momento da vida? No entanto, há uma extrema dificuldade para se representar a grandeza por trás do dia a dia, em se fazer o cotidiano algo atrativo. E é justamente esta a beleza por trás de obras iyashikeis. A dificuldade em se retratar a grandiosidade que o natural possui vai além do chamativo sobrenatural, do pirotécnico, do megalomaníaco, do fantástico. Com o advento dos avanços tecnológicos e seus mais diversos e variados meios de entretenimento o ser humano perdeu a capacidade de contemplar a beleza da simplicidade. Em tardes chuvosas, a preocupação com a qualidade do sinal do WiFi ou da TV à Cabo tomou o lugar dos momentos que outrora se apreciava as gotas caindo do céu, a terra sendo lavada, o cheiro da chuva, os sons da tempestade, o arco íris que se formava. Os ruídos da cidade tomaram o lugar dos sons matinais. Estações sempre movimentadas, trens superlotados, a preocupação de se encontrar um local confortável para poder, então, colocar os fones de ouvidos e se distrair na viagem a caminho do trabalho roubaram a glória que a manhã possui. Quando foi a última vez que levantamos cedo, sem preocupações, sem pressa, somente para ver o dia amanhecer? Para contemplar o cuidado dos raios de sol surgindo no momento certo para levantar o véu que separa dia e noite? Ou o clima bucólico que é característico do entardecer, seguido de um por-de-sol que pinta as cidades com tons de vermelho. Ou o misterioso aspecto gélido que as noites possuem, com o luar que clareia sem revelar mais que o necessário. Ou como aspecto noturno inspira os momentos reflexivos, nostálgicos, melancólicos, que a vida possui. Non Non Biyori nos apresenta a história de quatro garotas vivendo em um pacato vilarejo, tão pacato ao ponto de possuir peculiaridades como a população humana ser menor que a quantidade de vacas ali existente, ou o fato de que so existem cinco alunos no único colégio da cidade, cada qual em uma série diferente. img(https://imgur.com/yelvuzs.png) "Mas como isto pode ser atrativo?" É algo comum a se perguntar. A história nos leva a acompanhar o cotidiano destas garotas, desde brincadeiras e meios para se divertir em um local afastado das grandes tecnologias, bem como as relações construídas por elas e como isso as fazem crescer. Quando assisti Non Non Biyori duas coisas despertaram em mim. A primeira foi a nostalgia da minha infância. Consumir a obra com este viés trazia à tona muitas lembranças saudosas que há muito eu havia perdido. Lembranças de coisas que as crianças de hoje não fazem mais. Brincadeiras que elas nem imaginam que um dia existiram. Lembranças de uma vida mais simplória, quando minha única preocupação era chegar ao colégio, ou as horas que eu gastaria na biblioteca. Non Non Biyori despertou em alguns momentos essa espécie de reflexão sobre a inevitável passagem do tempo. Sobre o que me tornei e os caminhos que percorri até aqui. A segunda forma na qual consumi a obra foi da perspectiva de um adulto, cheio de preocupações, responsabilidades e deveres. Sendo a principal responsabilidade, talvez, a de construir um mundo melhor para as crianças que estão experimentando a infância. Como nos momentos em que Dagashiya, a vendedora da loja de doces, se viu nesta transição entre a adolescência e a vida adulta. É válido ressaltar os momentos de interação da personagem com a Renge. Como um adulto que ainda assemelha a responsabilidade de conduzir o crescimento de uma criança, tendo o cuidado de ser um exemplo a ser seguido, inspirando boas ações que podem ser replicadas e corrigindo aquelas que não devem ser cometidas. img(https://imgur.com/kF2ZdGa.png) É bem comum que o espectador venha a consumir a obra de uma destas duas perspectivas. O show nos arremete às paisagem naturais com um tom de verossimilhança ao da vida real. Os ótimos cenários despertam essa sinestesia que resulta em uma imersão um tanto quanto satisfatória. Em diversos momentos faz-nos sentir na verdadeira Asahigaoka. Ademais, o enredo não possui uma reflexão moral sobre a existência humana, nem um roteiro com mirabolantes reviravoltas. O show tão somente nos mostra a beleza que existe nas pequenas coisas da vida. Nos aspectos que estão tão entrelaçados com a condição humana a ponto de se tornarem despercebidos. Poucas séries conseguem retratar bem a inocência e a curiosidade da infância, bem como os momentos de descoberta do mundo a sua volta e a emoção que existe na simplicidade de tudo. Seja pelo caráter nostálgico ou contemplativo, com uma narrativa leve e relaxante, o show nos convida a admirar as maravilhas que somente a simplicidade possui. Nas palavras de um dos meus compositores favoritos sintetizo tudo: >"Eu ouço bebês chorando, eu os vejo crescer Eles vão aprender muito mais do que eu jamais vou saber E eu penso comigo: Que mundo maravilhoso!"
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