Nichijou

Nichijou

Cover of volume 1 of Nichijou, published by Kadokawa Shoten.
日常
(Nichijō)
Genre Comedy
Manga
Written by Keiichi Arawi
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Shōnen Ace
Comptiq
Original run December 2006 – ongoing
Volumes 7
Original video animation
Directed by Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio Kyoto Animation
Released March 12, 2011
Runtime 24 minutes
TV anime
Directed by Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio Kyoto Animation
Licensed by Madman Entertainment
Network Chiba TV
Original run April 3, 2011 – September 25, 2011
Episodes 26 (List of episodes)
Game
Nichijou: Uchuujin
Developer Vridge
Publisher Kadokawa Shoten
Genre Visual novel
Rating
Platform PlayStation Portable
Released July 28, 2011
Anime and Manga Portal

Nichijou (日常 Nichijō?, lit. Regular Life) is a Japanese comedy manga by Keiichi Arawi (あらゐけいいち Arai Keiichi?). The manga began serialization in the December 2006 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Shōnen Ace, and was also serialized in Comptiq between the March 2007 and July 2008 issues. An anime adaptation by Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between April and September 2011. A PlayStation Portable game by Vridge and Kadokawa Games was released in July 2011. The manga and anime series were initially licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment but both releases have been cancelled.[1]

Contents

Plot

The series follows the lives of a group of high school students and their school. Various oddities and absurdities abound, such as a robotic girl made by a scientist who is an eight-year-old girl, a boy who rides a goat to school with his butler, a girl who can procure various guns out of thin air, a cat that can speak and a principal who has wrestled a deer. Despite its bizarre settings and characters, the students still lead normal lives.

Characters

Main characters

Yūko Aioi (相生 祐子 Aioi Yūko?)
Voiced by: Mariko Honda
Yūko is an energetic high school girl with short brown hair. One of her negative sides is that she is often too lazy to do her own homework and always copies from either Mio or Mai. She knows that Nano is a robot, but never tells anybody about it. While generally easygoing, her mood will instantly change if someone calls her an idiot repeatedly. Her nickname is Yukko (ゆっこ?).
Mio Naganohara (長野原 みお Naganohara Mio?)
Voiced by: Mai Aizawa
Mio is bright and cheerful girl sporting light blue hair and pigtails held by two small wooden cubes. She has a crush on Kōjirō. She is more 'normal' in contrast to her friend Yūko and often has to humor her to make her happy. She is also a talented manga artist who will occasionally draw dubious pictures of Kōjirō in her notebooks particularly yaoi.
Mai Minakami (水上 麻衣 Minakami Mai?)
Voiced by: Misuzu Togashi
Mai is a rather quiet girl who is very intelligent. She is seen to be multi-talented, excelling at using projectiles, fishing, wood carving and arm wrestling. In contrast to her looks she has a rather eccentric sense of humor, often frustrating her friends with her pranks. She has two pet dogs who also share their master's sense of humor.
Nano Shinonome (東雲 なの Shinonome Nano?)
Voiced by: Shizuka Furuya
Nano is a robotic schoolgirl that was built by the Professor. She often worries about keeping her identity as a robot from other people, despite the fact everyone already knows about it due to the noticeable wind-up key exposed on her back. Her limbs will sometimes fall apart, revealing dubious items that the Professor has installed without her noticing, ranging from bean firing weapons to Swiss rolls. She's the Professor's caretaker and also takes care of all the house chores.
Professor (はかせ Hakase?)
Voiced by: Hiromi Konno
The Professor is an eight-year-old genius scientist who created Nano, often making various adjustments to her without her noticing but refusing to remove the obvious wind-up key from her back on the grounds that it is cute. Despite her intellect, she still acts like any child of her age. Her favorite animal is the shark. She does not go to school—apparently because she has already graduated—and instead spends her days playing around in the house. Her name is never mentioned, but her family name is apparently Shinonome.
Sakamoto (阪本?)
Voiced by: Minoru Shiraishi
Sakamoto is a black cat which wears a scarf created by the Professor which allows him to speak. As in cat years he is 20 years old—older than both Nano and the Professor—he speaks in a condescending tone towards them and tries to act like the adult of the house, though to his shame he occasionally succumbs to his cat-like habits. A running-gag in the anime is his tendency to endure comically-horrific physical-abuse at the hands of the Professor, usually in the form of a childish booby-trap. His original name was Taisho and was once Ms. Nakamura's pet cat.

Teachers

Izumi Sakurai (桜井 泉 Sakurai Izumi?)
Voiced by: Mami Kosuge
A young, constantly flustered and easily frightened teacher. She tries to enforce the school rules, but is typically unable to accomplish much.
Manabu Takasaki (高崎 学 Takasaki Manabu?)
Voiced by: Tetsu Inada
A male teacher who has romantic feelings for Izumi but is unable to tell her as he thinks too much and is shy to admit it.
Principal Shinonome (校長先生 (東雲) Kōchō-sensei (Shinonome)?)
Voiced by: Chō
The bald Principal at the school where the story is set. While known for his old jokes and puns, unknown to most, he is a talented wrestler.
Vice Principal Kōsuke Ōra (教頭先生 (邑楽 耕介) Kyōtō-sensei (Ōra Kōsuke)?)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Naka
Known for wearing glasses and a yellow tie, he hates the Principal and doesn't hide the mean things he does to him.
Kana Nakamura (中村 かな?)
Voiced by: Kaoru Mizuhara
A science teacher who is fixated on Nano's robotic nature. She constantly schemes to capture Nano for study, but her machinations invariably backfire.

Students

Kōjirō Sasahara (笹原 幸治郎 Sasahara Kōjirō?)
Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara
A rich flamboyant high school boy who acts like an aristocrat when in reality his family are just farmers. He likes to ride his goat Kojirō Sasahara (笹原 コジロウ Sasahara Kojirō?) to school and is often seen with his butler.
Misato Tachibana (立花 みさと Tachibana Misato?)
Voiced by: Chika Horikawa
A peach haired high school girl who generally acts as a tsukkomi towards Kōjirō whenever he does anything to annoy her. Misato, however, does this by shooting him with various guns and heavy weaponry that come out of nowhere, which he miraculously survives despite being injured. In reality Misato has feelings for Kōjirō, but due to her tsundere attitude, she constantly denies her feelings or shoots Kōjirō if he annoys her.
Tsuyoshi Nakanojō (中之条 剛 Nakanojō Tsuyoshi?)
Voiced by: Kazutomi Yamamoto
A student with a natural mohawk which he detests. Tsuyoshi wants to be scientist in the future and thus doesn't believe in the supernatural.
Haruna Annaka (安中 榛名 Annaka Haruna?)
Voiced by: Kaori Sadonaka
A girl with a large ribbon on her head. She unfortunately sometimes runs into crazy individuals much to her confusion. She likes to read manga.
Kenzaburō Daiku (大工 健三郎 Daiku Kenzaburō?)
Voiced by: Ryōta Yoshizaki
A brown-haired boy who is the president of the go-soccer club. His rich father is the president of Daiku Industries.
Yuria Sekiguchi (関口 ユリア Sekiguchi Yuria?)
Voiced by: Ai Hirosaka
A quiet girl who is a member of the go-soccer club.
Makoto Sakurai (桜井 誠 Sakurai Makoto?)
Voiced by: Takahiro Hikami
Izumi's younger brother who joins the go-soccer club.
Tanaka (田中?)
Voiced by: Kōta Yamaguchi
A boy with a large black afro.
Weboshi (ウェボシー Weboshī?)
Voiced by: Yōko Tamaoki
Misato's classmate who has a ponytail. Her real name is unknown.
Fet-chan (フェっちゃん?)
Voiced by: Yumi Higuchi
Misato's classmate. Ends her sentences with "fe". Her real name is unknown.
Mihoshi Tachibana (立花 みほし Tachibana Mihoshi?)
Voiced by: Manami Honda
Misato's younger sister and a kendo student.

Other characters

Yoshino Naganohara (長野原 よしの Naganohara Yoshino?)
Voiced by: Motoko Kobayashi
Mio's easy going older sister who goes to college. She likes to wear costumes and often plays pranks on others. She is also Misato and Mihoshi's senior in kendo, a sport she is naturally talented at.

Media

Manga

Nichijou began as a manga series written and illustrated by Keiichi Arawi. Originally, the manga was meant to be a short, stand-alone series which was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace magazine between the May and October 2006 issues. Starting with the December 2006 issue, the manga began regular serialization in Shōnen Ace, and was also serialized in Kadokawa's Comptiq magazine between the March 2007 and July 2008 issues. The first tankōbon volume was released in Japan on July 26, 2007; as of October 2011, seven volumes have been published. The manga uses a combination of normal comic format and four-panel comic strips. Bandai Entertainment licensed the manga, but later cancelled its release.[2][3]

Anime

See also: List of Nichijou episodes

A 26-episode anime television series produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Tatsuya Ishihara aired in Japan on Chiba TV from April 3 to September 25, 2011 and was also simulcasted by Crunchyroll under the name My Ordinary Life.[4][5] Prior to the airing of the anime series, an original video animation episode, titled "Nichijou Episode 0", shipped with the sixth manga volume on March 12, 2011.[6] Bandai Entertainment had licensed the anime,[2] but its release was later cancelled.[7] The series will be re-edited into twelve episodes for broadcast on NHK Educational TV in January 2012.[8]

Theme songs

Opening themes
Ending themes
Insert songs

Video game

A PlayStation Portable video game titled Nichijou: Uchuujin (日常（宇宙人） lit. Regular Life: Alien?) developed by Vridge and published by Kadokawa Shoten was released on July 28, 2011.[9]

Reception

The Nichijou anime has reportedly had low BD and DVD sales, and did not come close to meeting the break even line according to animation director Shunji Suzuki.[10] The first DVD volume sold 924 copies in its first week of sales,[11] while the second and fourth BD volumes sold over 2,000 copies each in their first week.[12][13]

Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network reviewed the first seven episodes and gave it a B, calling the anime a "slice-of-life comedy with a penchant for lunacy and a taste for huggable cuteness; a rare chance to see talented animators fully indulging their love of the art."[14]

References

  1. ^ "Ken Iyadomi on Bandai Entertainment's Downsizing". Anime News Network. January 3, 2012. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/bandai_downsizing_ken_iyadomi_interview. Retrieved January 3, 2012. 
  2. ^ a b "Bandai Entertainment Adds Nichijou, Gosick Anime". Anime News Network. July 30, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-30/bandai-entertainment-adds-nichijou-gosick-anime. Retrieved July 31, 2011. 
  3. ^ "Bandai Entertainment Will Not Release Nichijō Manga Also". Anime News Network. January 3, 2012. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-03/bandai-entertainment-will-not-release-nichijo-manga-also. Retrieved January 3, 2012. 
  4. ^ "Nichijou Manga Gets Anime by Kyoto Animation". Anime News Network. May 22, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-05-22/nichijou-manga-gets-anime-by-kyoto-animation. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  5. ^ "Crunchyroll Simulcasts Nichijou/My Ordinary Life Anime". Anime News Network. March 29, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-03-29/crunchyroll-simulcasts-nichijou/my-ordinary-life-anime. Retrieved March 29, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Nichijou Manga's 6th Volume to Bundle Anime Episode 0". Anime News Network. May 23, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-05-23/nichijou-manga-6th-volume-to-bundle-anime-episode-0. Retrieved May 23, 2010. 
  7. ^ "Bandai Entertainment to Stop Releasing New DVDs, BDs, Manga". Anime News Network. January 2, 2012. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-02/bandai-entertainment-to-stop-releasing-new-dvds-bds-manga. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
  8. ^ "NHK's ETV to Air Re-edited Version of "Nichijou"". Crunchyroll. November 25, 2011. http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/11/25/nhks-etv-to-air-re-edited-version-of-nichijou. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  9. ^ "アニメ化も決定している人気コミック『日常』がPSPでゲーム化される。 [The Popular Comic Nichijou That's Been Made Into an Anime Has Been Made Into a Game]" (in Japanese). Famitsu. April 5, 2011. http://www.famitsu.com/news/201104/05041760.html. Retrieved April 5, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Animator Shunji Suzuki Confirms Nichijō, R-15, Itsuten's Low Sales". Anime News Network. October 1, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-10-01/animator-shunji-suzuki-confirms-nichijo-r-15-itsuten-low-sales. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
  11. ^ "Japan's Animation DVD Ranking, June 20-26". Anime News Network. June 28, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-06-28/japan-animation-dvd-ranking-june-20-26. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Japan's Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking: July 18-24". Anime News Network. July 26, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-26/japan-animation-blu-ray-disc-ranking/july-18-24. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
  13. ^ "Japan's Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking: September 26-October 2". Anime News Network. October 4, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-10-04/japan-animation-blu-ray-disc-ranking/september-26-october-2. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
  14. ^ "My Ordinary Life Episodes 1-7 Streaming". Anime News Network. June 17, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/my-ordinary-life/episodes-1. Retrieved November 17, 2011. 

External links