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(4.19/5)super cute and fluffy
I really enjoy this show, its cute and fluffy while also having lots of funny moments. no major plot or anything like that but its also not full of empty air like some other shows are. its pretty easy and a nice starter anime imo.
Slice of lemons
Pros:
- cool to see what life might be like in the deep Japan countryside
- humorous moments
- some of the voices are extremely ridiculous but are funny
- has some idioms
Cons:
- I frequently think: is this really what I should be doing right now? but, I have saved some of the cards already.
- all girls, zero men (for male language)
Will see if I make it through the series.
This show actually changed my view of art
Everyone eventually finds The One. The One where you hold off watching the final episode so that it'll never end. The One that you could rewatch time and time again. The One that you're constantly reminded of. The One that you want to tell absolutely everyone about.
Most people I know don't watch anime, so forgive me while I use this space to tell you all about The One.
Around a year a half ago, when I started to get deeply into anime, I would never have expected a show that ultimately could be summed up as "four young girls play in the countryside" would end up being The One. Slice-of-life is a very hit and miss genre, difficult for me to get into initially because of the misses, not to mention a preconception that TV shows had to have a plot being constantly driven forward, because that's what the medium of TV is for, right?
Non Non Biyori blew apart that notion for me entirely. Not beholden to plot, its episodes are filled with time - time for slow montages of beautiful backdrops of the Japanese countryside, time to feel the impact of pregnant pauses, time to dwell on each touchingly poignant moment, time that reflects the long, lazy summer in which much of the show takes place.
This is a masterpiece of slice-of-life: leisurely but never boring, iyashikei but still able to coax out laughter and tears, showing us turning points in its characters' lives but also unafraid to have times where it shows us nothing but beauty.
It is an ode to countryside living and to childhood: not just to its joys, but to the sad or scary or otherwise memorable times too. As such, the show is often stolen by Renge, the youngest of the main four characters, in whose emotional, innocent mind, situations like the death of an animal or a fight between friends are world-shattering events, but to whom a new toy or a hatching of an egg are the source of unparalleled wonder. If I have one criticism of the show, it's that not all characters get to shine as much, but it's understandable that such a balancing act is hard to get right.
Slice-of-life is hit and miss, but when it hits, you'll find yourself hopelessly trying to convince your non-anime-watching friends that a "little girl cartoon" has more artistry and poignancy than any Western Prestige TV show you've seen.
A delightful slice of life with great characters and some of the funniest "low-key" humor you could ask for. The animation and especially backgrounds are gorgeous and even the music does an incredible job turning fairly subtle comedic moments into full-blown hilarity (I love the little wah-wah sounds that punctuate banal disappointment).
I do think the first season makes a bit of a misstep by centering Hotaru as "the main one". She's kind of the outsider character, being from the city going into the rural town, but the countryside isn't so wildly alien and different that we really need a Dr. Watson type character to ask question for the audiences benefit. The second and third seasons fix this by centering more on Renge, who is infinitely more fascinating and even Hotaru becomes a lot more fun being more of a wacky side character who's strange obsession with Koma becomes more a part of her personality. Really though it's an ensemble show and the personalities all play off each other and add something valuable to the mix. Some of the side characters come in rather quickly and sometimes without introduction so there can be a bit of "which one were you again?" which I imagine is something getting lost in translation going from Manga to Anime (the show is structured in a strange way, where season 2 is chronologically stuff that happens in-between season 1 episodes rather than a full-on sequel).
Still, the occasional hiccups aside, every episode is charming. I love all the strange misconceptions and discussions Renge gets into. Kazuho's eternally sleep-deprived state leads to some of the funniest character comedy I've seen in an anime while still being fairly grounded in terms of the strange things she does. I love that the show is willing to go slow and let you soak in the atmosphere.
Difficulty-wise I actually found this a bit easier than Shirokuma Cafe, they do speak a fair bit faster but the vocab is a lot more commonplace than the strange items that come up in Shirokuma's dajare so it was pretty easy to follow with Japanese subs.