I don't think it would be necessarily wrong for me to say that, in anime, the slice of
life genre is one that I enjoy watching immensely.
It might not have the same sort of qualities to it that I enjoy from say action heavy sci-fi
anime, or the more fantastical magical girl anime, but I've consistently enjoyed the
vast majority of shows from this genre that I have seen... with very few exceptions.
These exceptions are usually ones which decide that simply copying other slice of life shows
wholesale is good enough for their own series, and are therefore entirely run-of-the-mill
and uninteresting.
The baseline requirement I have for slice of life shows is that they find their own
thing, that thing that makes them unique instead of just another show solely
about cute girls doing cute things.
So what is interesting about the show we are talking about today?
Well, while it could largely be just written off as a run-of-the-mill, "cute girls doing
cute things" show by someone at first glance, this particular series decides to be unique
by changing the usual setting from the norm.
Moving said setting from an urban-based populated city school, to a much more rural version
of the same setting.
One where our characters comprise almost the entire population of the school they attend.
A school surrounded by the beautiful Japanese countryside that is wonderfully rendered in
artwork almost too good for the series it was drawn for.
But thankfully, while the setting is what makes this series unique, it's the characters
and their quirky lives that make this series memorable.
Ladies, gentlemen and others, my name is Arkada and today on Glass Reflection we are taking
a look at the 2013 anime by Silver Link adapted from the works of mangaka Atto: Non Non Biyori.
Let's jam.
Welcome to Non Non Biyori and its setting in rural Japan.
The story, as much as a show like this one has, starts off with young Hotaru
moving here from her previous residence in the bustling Tokyo city centre.
Hotaru finds herself a little bit out of sorts with her new situation, moving from a larger
school with 20+ students per class and numerous grades to one single class room with only
5 students of varying grades.
Here, instead of having standardised classes taught by a variety of teachers, they have
just one teacher and her job is more of a supervisor as each student is in charge of
their own workbook studies since they are all in different stages of learning.
Originally, Hotaru is very much the audience surrogate, allowing the series to showcase
this new unique setting by showing all of its elements to a character unfamiliar with
them.
At least, that's how it starts.
As the show progresses however, the rest of the main cast is introduced and an audience
surrogate becomes unnecessary, as each character has their own unique quirks and situations
that happen to them that don't necessarily need to be explained in order to be enjoyed.
And thus each individual episode of Non Non
Biyori splits off to tell usually two stories per episode about these characters and the
interesting situations in which they find themselves.
Of these characters, you have the bubbly Natsumi, possibly one of the least unique personalities
mirroring the over-the-top and energetic genki girls of shows past who have an indifferent
attitude towards schoolwork and their studies.
Most of the more out-there ideas and episode plots tend to come from Natsumi's easily
bored brain.
But despite her similarity to other genki characters like Azumanga's Tomo, she has
her own country flair that still makes her time on screen a treat, especially when she
interacts with her friends and family.
These friends like to break the mould on what kids their age normally discuss and do, like
Natsumi's sister Komari, who is regularly shown to be oblivious to most topics outside
her normal purview.
Komari wants to be grown up and has a bit of a complex about it actually, considering
both her small stature and the fact that her younger sister is quite a bit taller than
her.
But in trying to show off how grown up she has become, she instead consistently shows
off just how childish she still is.
This is never displayed as a negative to her character though; it's not shown in a way
that says she has some growing up to do.
More so, it's presented in a way that makes you try to realise that sometimes having childlike
qualities is still beneficial and everyone can be mature in their own ways.
Heading back to Hotaru, she is the character I seemed to least connect with, which is odd
considering her original status as the audience surrogate at the start of the show.
A lot of Hotaru's character quirks revolve around her childlike infatuation with her
sempai, taking even something as simple as receiving a small candy from her as a major
event in her life.
While this infatuation is charming at the start and does continually have its moments,
it loses its luster quickly.
Lastly, there is the youngest character of the group, Renge.
Chances are, if you have seen any gif's or screenshots from this series, it is a moment
that Renge was involved in.
She quickly takes over the position from Hotaru as the closest thing this series has to a
main character.
Renge could also be considered another major unique factor to the show.
This first-grader with a resting grumpy-cat face is the little sparkle of joy in each
episode of the show, presenting us with her fresh look on both life and the world around
her.
Renge is a character who perfectly fits the mould for exactly what the series is trying
to show.
She's someone who can wake up every day and have a new and (to her) exciting adventure
that we get to witness alongside her.
We get to see her joy, her wonder, and sometimes her very unconventional thought process to
most situations.
The episodes revolving around not just Renge by herself but also, relationships
that Renge has with people like the owner of the local candy store
are some of the best in the show's first season.
She's just so friggen cute.
Now, I've talked a bit about the importance of the setting up to this point, but I really
do want to stress how in this particular case the setting is what makes a lot of this show work.
It is the building blocks, the foundation of the show without which it's just not the same.
As unique as these characters are, if you were to take them and plop them into a more
populated school setting, most of the more uncommon situations would never be able to occur.
You can't see what a school culture fest would be like for example in a school with
only 5 students when the school has WAY more students than that.
The individuality of all the characters might get muted or offset by them having to grow
up and learn in a much more socially oriented school community.
Not only that, but one of the best aspects of the show (being the artwork) would be vastly
different as soon as you leave the countryside.
This is because the backgrounds are the stand out feature of the art department.
The show itself is focusing heavily on the more relaxed and carefree nature of the countryside,
even having a pun built into the show's name, and the background and scenery work
shown really does work to capture that feeling of the serene countryside.
While the character art overlaid on top of that for some cuts does make the frame look
a little jarring from time to time (as the characters are nowhere near as detailed as
the backgrounds), the quality of said backgrounds makes up for that significantly.
I'd even say, as scandalous as it may be, that some of these backgrounds rival those
from Ghibli in quality.
All of the beautiful imagery of the show is accompanied by the show's equally relaxing
and carefree musical score.
It's a score that knows how to set the tone, both for the fantastic backgrounds, and even
the more carefree discussions between the cast.
Not only that, but the show also knows exactly when it's not needed, as sometimes the best
way to enjoy the scenery is to just enjoy it with the natural soundtrack of nature's beauty.
Non Non Biyori has become one of my favourite
shows of its genre for just how it makes me feel, but at the same time I don't say that
in a way that implies the show will be constantly playing with your emotions even in a good way.
The goal of the series seems to be to showcase a very relaxed and calming view of life and
that view makes for an enjoyable experience to watch at the end of a stressful day, or
perhaps any day really if you're feeling up to it.
But in the end, this is still a "cute girls doing cute things" kind of show, even going
so far as to add a brother character to the two sisters, who is almost always there but
never has any dialogue in the entire show.
But this is fine because it's not like they needed him to talk and it's honestly far
more amusing having him be a mute.
This said, if you've already been turned off of these kinds of
shows in the past, I'm not entirely convinced that that Non Non Biyori will be able to change
your mind on the genre, but… if there was ever a show to do it, this might be it.
With all of that said, I would like to present
the very calming and very relaxing series of Non Non Biyori with the recommendation
to Buy it.
It's a series that doesn't overstay its welcome even after two series and a movie
that just aired in Japan, which I unfortunately don't have the ability to watch…sadness.
But the series is available for streaming over on Crunchyroll and Hi-Dive, if you have
access to those websites, and is available for physical purchase from its North American
licenser Sentai Filmworks.
Also hey!
If you are interested in reading the manga for Non Non Biyori our friends over at Bookwalker
have a 30% off sale for the digital versions in celebration of the film that just released
in japan!
The offer is available until September 6th and I'll put down a link in the description
along with our usual bookwalker code for new users.
A very special thank you to my patrons, who not only support my work in general, but allow
me to do videos where I can more easily talk about the shows I'm passionate about instead
of only sticking with the bigger blockbusters every video.
I do love and appreciate you all.
Specifically though, as I like to do, I want to give particular shout-outs to patrons Rune
Jachobson, Joshua Garcia, Calhoonboy, Siri Yamiko, Victor Ekmark, Ryefan Boneapart, and
Branden Caine for being especially awesome.
You guys are great!
And until next time – ladies, gentlemen, and others – watch more anime…and stay
frosty.
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